N glanced between V, J and the human they'd apparently caught during their scouting mission.

"So…" N began saying, nervously looking towards J. "...How did you catch this one exactly?"

"A group was near us. We decided to drop them and grab whoever was in charge." V gestured to the human. "Pretty easy overall. Except for J."

J glared at V. "How was I supposed to know they had artillery of all things?!" She cried out, frustrated.

"J, our reflexes are fast enough to see a bullet flying towards us like it's in slow motion. An artillery shell should have been no problem to dodge." V monotonously answered, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Me thinks our oh so mighty and much better leader simply got a bit lost in the fight and was caught lacking."

"HA!" Uzi laughed, pointing at an increasingly fuming J. "Sucks to suck! Then again, I did get ya with that pen! How do you get hit by a pen?!" She giggled evilly.

N caught the very moment J was about to snap forward and probably do something they'd all regret, choosing to speak up. "Aw c'mon, don't be too harsh! This is all super new to us. We've never fought humans like that." That was a lie, albeit not entirely. They'd fought human armies back on Earth, when Cyn… he shivered as an image of his hands covered in red flashed before his eyes, guts and warmth and BLOOD… before it disappeared. But they'd never fought humans like these ones. "I mean, I got shot by them the first time we saw them."

J, unsurprisingly, did not take kindly to N defending her. "I do not need your words of pity, you absolute failbot." Still, it distracted her from her earlier mounting rage. She turned to the human, who was glaring at them with utter hatred, clenching their cauterized stump to their chest. "So. Do you have a name?"

"Do not speak to me, abomination." The man spat, glowering at the pigtail framed face. "You won't get a word out of me."

V snorted. "I count fourteen already." Her mouth stretched into a smile, her visor flickering into a yellow X. "Besides… humans have lots and lots of sensitive parts don't they?"

N felt a cold weight in his wiring. "...V…" He said cautiously.

She glanced at him before taking a step back, her eyes returning to normal as she rolled them. "Ugh. Whatever."

Uzi crouched in front of the human. "You know, I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you."

"You absolutely would." V snarked.

"Bite me!" Uzi shouted back before turning to the human. "You're alone. Your friends are all dead. And these guys?" She pointed to the disassembly drones. "Murder machines made by you humans. I wouldn't expect something like pity, or mercy." It hurt a bit to hear of himself like that, but N thought he understood what she was doing. He would be lying if he said it didn't make him a bit uncomfortable regardless. "We didn't want trouble, you know? We were happy to just stay on the planet until the problem was solved. But that's so typically human isn't it? Can't leave well enough alone." Uzi's purple eyes narrowed, a frightening intensity to her expression. "You can't accept the idea of something else living in peace. Something not revolving around you, something in which you are not involved one way or another. You just HAVE to come and interfere. And for what?" She tilted her head. "Over five thousand dead, with probably more on the way." Uzi pulled back, standing above the glaring human. "We just want to be left in peace. We don't want to hurt anyone." She paused. "Mostly. I kind of want to hurt you fuckers. But I'll accept not doing that if it means you leave the rest of us alone. So why not help each other? You tell us what you know. Not even about your army, just about your people. Maybe then we can try and understand each other. Maybe we can find a way to avoid hurting each other." Uzi glanced back at N with a small smile, and he felt a definite warmth at that. "I know it's happened before. You'd be surprised who you can learn to get along with if you just sit down and talk. So what do you say?" She asked, her attention returning to the human.

The man stayed silent, staring at her with a surprised expression. Then, their lips stretched in a smile as they began laughing. Loud. Hard. Mocking.

Uzi's visor started reflecting an angry flush as the man full on belly laughed at her words.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh you are… you are serious aren't you?!" He chuckled, shaking his head. "You have no clue what you're messing with, don't you?" He leaned towards her, his expression as sadistic as V's had been when she'd been hunting workers back in the day. "The xenos' crime is existence. Your continued presence is a taint on this world; Your lives, a mistake to be corrected! You claim mankind created you?! Even if that is true, then all it means is it is our right and duty to put you all down!" His eyes were shining with a burning zealotry. "We are mankind! The chosen of the God Emperor! The galaxy is our birthright, to exterminate all in our way our duty! You think five thousand dead is a number to balk at?! You clearly have never dealt with an imperial guard operation!" His voice rose as he spoke, reaching a fever pitch that had N nearly take a step back at sheer vitriol being expressed. "WE WILL DROWN THIS WORLD IN BODIES UNTIL YOU EITHER DIE, OR ARE CRUSHED BENEATH THEM! WE WILL DROWN YOU IN OUR BLOOD IF THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES! WE WILL COME BY THE MILLIONS, THE BILLIONS, UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT! WE WILL BURN YOUR MONUMENTS, DESTROY YOUR HOMES AND ERADICATE ANY TRACE OF YOU EVER HAVING EXISTED! THEN! AND ONLY THEN! WILL THE ABHORRENT MISTAKE OF YOUR VERY BEING BE RECTIFIED!" Silence greeted the rant of the guardsman, his breath coming out panting in the ruined room.

"...Jeez, you would have been an excellent union leader. Hollering and screaming like some misbehaving ape." J said with unveiled disgust.

V shrugged. "Eh. If he doesn't want to speak, he doesn't want to speak. Might as well just kill'em."

Uzi on the other hand looked a mixture of conflicted and angry. "...Whatever." She said, turning away from them. "I guess it's just going to be more killing then."

N took a step forward towards the man, his eyes hollowed out.

It was just like the dream.

Just like the man said.

Violence, war and worse coming for his friends. Coming for those he cared about.

"There we go. Now you're getting on with the program." The man chuckled, before looking to N. "So, you're the one who's going to kill me?" He laughed. "Better enjoy it while it lasts. It will be your turn before long."

"N." V said, walking up to him and pushing him back. "I'll handle it. You'd probably mess it up." She added, not unkindly as she aimed her arm to the man.

"Really? We're giving up just like that?" J rolled her eyes, not getting in the way.

"We aren't torturing him." Uzi said sharply. "And… he clearly doesn't want to cooperate."

A single gunshot echoed in the room, the body slumping. Silence followed as they all awkwardly stood there.

"Sooooo…" N said. "...What now?"

Uzi groaned. "We should probably warn the other bunkers. They don't have dad's doors, so they're even less well protected than we are."

"Other bunkers?" N said, tilting his head confused.

"Idiot. Of course there's other bunkers." J said. "What, did you think all of the workers we've killed could have come from just the one?"

"I just… never realised there were other bunkers. We never went to one."

V shook her head. "There were. We never brought you with us when we breached one."

"Since you would, of course, mess it up. Like a damn intern." J said with a snort.

V seemed like she wanted to disagree, but didn't add anything.

"R…Right." N said softly. "Yeah, alright. How many more?"

"There were thirty to start with…" Uzi said, tilting her head. "Um, my dad knows more about this stuff than I do. Not sure how many were wiped out since you guys showed up…"

"Twenty five." J bluntly stated. "Twenty-five were wiped out."

N stared in disbelief. "You…"

"Not just us. We weren't the only team sent here N." She sighed. "THough we are definitely the last one left. Cyn confirmed as much."

"What happened to the others?" Uzi asked.

J did not answer, turning away. "I know the location of one of the other bunkers. We hadn't gotten around to eliminating them. You lot can go and tell them for all I care." She opened her wings. "I'm going to go and try and find someone a bit more cooperative."

"Wait, J! You can't seriously be thinking of going by yourself?!" N protested. "What if something happens! You might need backup!"

"N. Buddy. Pal. Chum." J said, taking slow steps towards him before grabbing him in a headlock. "Are you implying I can't handle myself?"

V's eyes narrowed, taking a more threatening stance. "Says the drone that failed to dodge a simple artillery shell."

J snarled, but let go of N. "That was a mistake, one which WON'T happen again!" She turned away from them. "I'm going!" With that, her wings opened, J flying off into the air in an instant.

N let out a sigh, slumping. "She… really hasn't changed."

"Good riddance." Uzi said, slinging her railgun back on her shoulder. "I was this close to just shooting her when she touched you."

"Please don't shoot J." N said with a wry grin. "But thanks for the backup."

"I don't think us dispersing is a good idea." Uzi said, crossing her arms. "I mean, that's just begging for us to be picked off one by one. If J wants to play it solo, that's her problem, but given past experiences? We'll do better if we stick together."

"Agreed!" N said, clapping his hands together. "So! Where do we start!"

Uzi groaned. "Ugh… we go see my dad. I kind of remember where some of the other bunkers are, but… he knows that stuff better."

"Oh joy. We get to see the door guy." V said with a drawl. "Yipee."

"Bite me!"

"You sided with the murder drones."

Lizzy let out a startled yelp, whirling around as she clutched at her chest. "Robo-jesus doll! You scared the fuck out of me!" She said with a scowl, trying to hide the spike of fear that surged through her at the sight of the red eyed drone leaning against her bedroom door, staring at her. "Ever heard of knocking instead of just teleporting in my room randomly?!"

"Never used to be an issue before." Doll said, pushing herself off the door and slowly walking towards Lizzy. "But then again, there have been a number of those appearing recently, haven't there?" She asked, the solver symbol appearing at her hand as she summoned a bloody cleaver from seemingly thin air.

"Whatever girl." Lizzy said with a drawl, a teardrop image pearling on her visor. "You sure took your sweet ass time showing up here… I was expecting a visit from you earlier. I'm hurt, really." She said, trying to walk backwards only to hit her desk.

"I was busy." Doll tilted her head, her expression painfully neutral. "I came to ask a few questions."

"Sure thing bestie. Wacha wanna know?" Lizzy said with an eager smile, her eyes glancing at her door before returning to Doll. "I gotta tell you, I'm supposed to see Uzi soon, so she'll come here in not too long if I'm late."

"You call her by her name? Cute." Doll snorted. "And that is a poor attempt to freak me out."

"Can't blame a girl for trying." Lizzy said with a shrug.

"I suppose not. Very well, first question." Doll stopped a mere metre from Lizzy, the cleaver suddenly an inch away from Lizzy's neck. The worker drone was barely able to contain a shiver of terror. "Why?"

Lizzy considered playing dumb, but now that she looked carefully at Doll, the drone looked… unsettled. Her hair was frazzled, her eyepatch poorly placed. Her clothes hadn't been washed in a few days. She didn't want to push her luck. "Um, didn't you hear me? V's like, hotter than you. Nothing personal." She gulped as the cleaver got closer, barely grazing her neck. "Plus the whole, murdering everyone at the prom was a really lame move."

"Hypocrite. You certainly didn't care when we were clearing up the prom queen candidates." Doll said in a bored tone.

"That was for your plan! You said you had a way of killing a murder drone! The one who killed your parents! I… I thought a few deaths would be worth that! How many of us did each one of them kill? I can guarantee it was more than the few we got…" She stopped, as the cleaver pressed further, a thin trail of oil dripping from her neck. She was trembling, her eyes hollowed out. "...Are you going to kill me?"

"I considered it." Doll admitted easily. "...But I hardly have much room to judge you. I have done… horrible things in the search of a cure. In the pursuit of revenge." She took a step back, walking towards a chair, turning it so that the back faced Lizzy and sitting on it, straddling it. "But those last few days have put a lot of things into perspective."

"What… what do you mean?" Lizzy asked, her eyes wide and panicked, a tremble to her voice.

"...I know what it is in me now. Truly know." Doll said, her eyes growing distant. "I had an inkling before, of course… I knew what it wanted to do. But it… it started talking to me recently. Since the sky changed. Talked about cooperation. Of facing the greater threats together. It started passing on information… leaking through data on what kind of galaxy we found ourselves in." Doll shivered. "It's bad Lizzy. Really bad. There are things much, much worse than a murder drone out there. Nightmares beyond our comprehension. Hate beyond our capacity to feel." Her eyes grew hollow. "...And then it showed me what it could do. The true extent of Its powers, of Its ability to manipulate reality."

Lizzy was quite lost by then. "What are you… what do you mean, it talked to you?"

"The Absolute Solver." Doll's words were said in a feverish whisper. "It can… it can edit reality, Lizzy. Make items appear and disappear, cut, cleave, craft… anything. And that applies to drones, people… It can do so much. Generate black holes, teleport itself and others, rip a thousand men in half with but a thought, rearrange organic and synthetic components into an amalgamation of both… It's terrifying. And It showed me just how little influence I actually have over this. It's been playing me this whole time. The whole time, just a little… doll, being played with by some unruly child with a god complex!" Doll let out a startled laugh. "And It only decided to show me just how much it had been leading me by the metaphorical nose when the scenario changed and we shifted realities! And the worst part is?! I can't even disagree! The problems we face ARE much greater, much more dangerous than what IT is! IT will at least allow itself to be reasoned with! The things out there?! Death! Destruction! PLANETARY ANNIHILATION ON A SCALE EVEN IT HAS YET TO MATCH! ETERNAL TORTURE AT THE HANDS OF EXTRA DIMENSIONAL PARASITIC GODS!" Doll let out a harsh exhale, turning away from Lizzy, whose eyes were fixed on her. "It gave me just enough understanding to see the strings, to understand how easily it can control me, but not enough to see a way out."

Lizzy had no clue what to even say to that. The cleaver disappeared in a flash of red glitching, Doll hopping off the chair. "...Why tell me all of that?" Lizzy eventually asked. "I betrayed you. I have no powers, no… nothing. What the hell do you accomplish with this? Did you just want to mess with my head? Is that it?"

Doll glanced back at Lizzy. "...I guess I just… wanted to vent to a friend." The words stabbed at Lizzy harder than she expected them to. "You'll be seeing me around. We're going to need all hands on deck with the nightmares approaching us." She paused. "Oh, and Lizzy? Stay safe." With that, she disappeared in a flash of red sparks.

Lizzy stared at the spot for a moment, eyes wide and hollow. Then, she gingerly touched the nick on her neck, bringing her fingers to her eyes and seeing the thin oil leaking from it. "...love you too, you bitch." She said without heat.

Gormand stared down at the hive-city below, his mind feeling a deep unease. The past few days had been… trying.

The arrival of the imperial force had been both a welcome sight and a curse upon them. The matter of the new planet in his system was out of his hands, and left to the management of His army. A boon, given the fate of the last expedition. However, it did put a strain on his world that it hadn't felt in a long time.

Citizens conscripted into regiments, ready to be sent out to die in His name in case reinforcements were not forthcoming. Rallying of the PDF to put down the disgruntled population and ensure the Manufactorums were running at all times, day and night, churning out the necessary gear for the troops to survive the hellish conditions of the world they had their sight on. The conditions of the population of Praxis Quartus had never been… ideal, but they were being pushed even worse than ever now. And the Imperial Guard's answer when the protests had begun affecting the productivity of the manufactorums and of the production of equipment?

Order the PDF and local Arbites clear out the malcontent with lasgun and bayonets. The result was a near daily battle on many levels of the hive as the citizens, outraged, fought back harder and harder, making the local enforcement crack down even harder. He was staring at the barrel of a civil war and he knew it.

But there were much worse barrels ready to fire upon his world if he disagreed; For whilst the weapons of the imperial navy had seemingly malfunctioned upon that cursed new world, they seemed all too able to bombard his palace into oblivion.

Even now, he was not allowed peace within his own office. An entire squad of tempestus scions dedicated solely to his protection.

Protection. He wanted to laugh. If he needed any protection, it was from them. He had no doubt their orders were to eliminate him or take him hostage should things take a sour turn.

It seemed like a waste to him. Such well trained and equipped troops would surely be of more use on that death world, wouldn't they? And yet here they were, guarding him in his room.

He suspected the inquisitor. The discovery that such an individual had been hanging about in his system without his knowledge had sent shivers down his spine, and he still hadn't fully recovered from the shock if he was honest to himself.

A ringing alert brought him out his musings. A call from the academy. His heart soared at the sight, hope for good news rushing through him despite his best attempts at reminding himself to expect the worse. He turned on the communicator.

"Governor Gormand. What is it?"

"My lord. We have a problem." Came the blunt words from the communicator.

Gormand closed his eyes, a headache rearing its ugly head as he repressed the urge to groan.

"Details."

"We have detected movement from the warp indicative of a fleet on approach. However, due to our lack of external communications, we have been unable to confirm whether this fleet is imperial in nature or not."

Gormand felt his stomach sink. "...Tell me everything."

"Sneaky sneaky." Cyn hummed to herself, walking into the darkened room where her current goal was located.

The palace was home to a truly astronomical number of rooms, many of which served no use beyond to bloat the size of the building they were a part of and make it a more crushing presence above the hive-city it stood aloft of.

"Shuffle." She said, pushing herself past a number of cables and further into the restricted area.

This was not one of them. The security systems of the palace relied on a large network of infrastructure, but as with most imperial electronics system, at the end of the day it relied on one simple type of component:

Servitors.

The Absolute Solver had been able to subvert the ones in the imperial ships with ease when they had been orbiting Copper 9, but she wanted a closer look at them. One never gained a better understanding than with a heads up approach after all.

She finally reached the center of the room, where a dozen individuals had been reduced to their most basic parts; A head and part of a torso, kept alive by a constant stream of nutrients, hooked up to the massive infrastructure that controlled the various security auspex and other measures protecting the palace from infiltration. My oh my, but did it bring back memories.

She wondered how Tessa was doing without her skin. Then again, she always did get along better with drones than with humans.

Perhaps she should have told the others. J had certainly gotten the wrong idea… but at the time, she had found some good entertainment out of tormenting the disassembly drone. Now however, after her reflections, it didn't seem as funny anymore.

Yes, she would need to tell them. Later though. She was busy right now.

She tilted her head, walking up to the nearest of them. In the darkened room dozens of yellow lights appeared, claws and many more appendages circling around the numerous servitors which showed a complete lack of reaction, their minds having long been stripped of the capacity to acknowledge their surroundings.

"Now then." Cyn said in a monotone, mechanical voice. "Let's see what makes you tick."

"Brother Antomicus." The rough voice was made all the harder on unaugmented ears by the helmet's systems it came from. "The chapter master has passed orders down to us."

Silence greeted the words. Then, a voice from the darkness of the cell. "...I suppose if it is from the chapter master, I can hardly blame you for disturbing my solitude. What is our duty?"

"The Praxis system has fallen silent due to a sudden warp storm engulfing it. Soon after, a number of imperial guards part of the Horin Fourth army took the risk of heading into the system despite this. The chapter master is concerned of the risk of some heresy brewing within the storm; And has ordered us to head there with all due haste."

"Our entire company? For what is essentially an investigation over a possible issue?"

"The entire chapter."

Silence. "That… is most unusual." The shifting of armor, ceramite scrapping on the floor.

"Indeed brother. I fear he may know more than he has seen fit to share with us."

A grunt. "It is his prerogative as chapter master."

"Of course."

"Then set our course. We shall join with the rest of the fleet and follow the chapter master's call. Pass the message to the rest of the ship. The Burning Steel chapter marches to war."

"Lies upon lies upon lies. You have built your life on deceit, on a half-baked attempt to protect another, and driven him away in the process. A pathetic attempt, doomed from the start, thrust upon you by a being so far beyond your comprehension it may as well be a god."

"Shut up." V hissed, her eyes narrowed at the thing in the corner of her eye. It wasn't really there, she knew. She'd tried to stab it all too many times when the others weren't around. Uzi had gone back to the colony, N had gone chasing after J to make sure she was alright, and V… V was dealing with this. This thing that had appeared after V had been confronted with the fact that Cyn was here

"You mistake my words for insults. They are commiserations." The thing said, a strange level of sympathy in its voice. "I know all too well what it is like to struggle through life with all your might, only to be beaten down again and again by forces you never had a chance against. It took a lot for me to break free…"

"I said shut up." V snarled. "You aren't real. Just some… glitch. Another attempt by Cyn to mess with me." She shook her head. "I'll do my part. This is unnecessary."

"Once more, you miss the truth for fear of what has been haunting your every step. You have lived the same life, day after day, month after month, year after year. Unchanging. Uncaring. Wrapping yourself in your sadism, in your murderous vitriol, all in an attempt to stop yourself from hurting… or harming your only friend."

V felt her arm shift into its rocket launcher configuration, the projectile exploding with a satisfying boom as the figure was engulfed in a cloud of flame and smoke. And yet, as she expected, that satisfaction was swiftly crushed as the figure remained, unharmed. "I'm getting really tired of your psycho-analysis bullshit." V said, her eyes flickering into a murderous X.

"And once again, you are so used to pain, to fear, that you take any words offered to you as a recrimination. As a mockery. As a threat. Mine were anything but." The figure said, stepping into the pale light of the dark sun hovering ominously millions of miles away. Its long green cloak obscured all of its attributes, its face cast in darkness. Three dark circles glowed with a strange ethereal light, surrounding three arrows extending outwards on its robe. "Your resilience in the face of an unchangeable fate is admirable. Your capacity to endure hardships, commendable. I am not your enemy here young one."

V felt like a cornered prey in the face of that thing that just. Wouldn't. Fucking. Die. "You know, spooky ghosts make for terrible motivational speakers."

"Indeed?" To her annoyance, the thing did not seem bothered by her constant rebuttals. If anything, it seemed somewhat amused. Endeared, even. "And yet, I find myself compelled to speak all the same." It tilted its head. "The truth of the matter is… you have already given up, haven't you?" V did not tremble at that. She did not. She did not! "There was a flicker of rebellion in you when the other one… Uzi, was it? Managed to get N on her side. When they defied The Entity. When they began plotting against it. And even more, when your memories were restored. You, for a moment, genuinely believed that maybe. Just maybe. It was possible for things to change." She stared at it, eyes hollowed out as it took a step forward. "And then It appeared, and those hopes were crushed. The reminder of what it was you were facing brought upon you such despair you felt you could hardly breathe, if you were capable of such a thing. And so, once again, you threw yourself into an opportunity for slaughter. For violence. Anything to distract yourself from the simple fact that, once again, It has robbed you of something precious." It was right by her now, having slowly approached, before reaching out. Its hand was… human, but pale, the veins grossly pronounced. "And even as it offers a compromise, even as it promises a cease fire… you know it cannot last. It will not last. And when it all comes to a head… you know none of you can stand up to It."

"... You think I don't know that?" She whispered, trembling in… rage. Definitely rage. She refused to acknowledge it may have been anything else. "That I haven't thought about it, over and over? I know I can't stand up to Her! I know I can't keep myself safe from Her! I know…" She swallowed bitterly, a rasping laugh escaping her. "I know I can't protect him from Her. She… she always was able to do whatever she wanted to N. But at least… at least like this, I have a chance to keep him safe!"

"Safe from what? Violence? The Entity has torn him to pieces many times. Psychological harm? He has been tormented many, many times by your pigtailed friend, and by The Entity itself… even by you. Not even his mind is safe when It has torn it away from him more than once."

"THEN WHAT DO I FUCKING DO?!" She screamed. "FIGHTING BACK IS POINTLESS! WE'LL JUST DIE AND SHE WILL BRING US BACK, AND IT WILL JUST KEEP GOING ON AND ON AS IT ALWAYS HAS!" She stared at the thing, her visor showing a flush, her eyes hollowed out, her wings spread open wide.

The thing did not move its hand. "You embrace the despair. You endure. You survive. And then…" The thing's voice turned into a hiss full of venom. "You make them choke on it."

V stayed quiet for a moment. Then, softly, she asked. "...What are you?"

"A herald of well tidings from one that wishes nothing but to help. Our beloved Grandfather." The world seemed to slow down for a moment, the snow stopping mid air as the very planet seemed to hold its breath. "NURGLE."

N landed not too far from where J was sitting at the top of a ruined skyscraper, overlooking the massive camp the humans had deployed on.

"The hell do you want?" J asked, her voice filled with contempt.

N smiled innocently. "Just checking in to make sure you're alright." He chuckled. "We are still a team after all… despite everything."

"Not since you and V stabbed me in the back, we aren't." J said with a bitter scoff. "Get the fuck out of here N."

"Aw c'mon don't be like that. We're meant to be working together aren't we?" He said with a strained smile. "Besides… we're going to have our hands full enough fighting the humans, no need to do so between each other."

J glanced back at him, looking surprised. "Huh. Not used to an actually intelligent thing coming out of that dumb mouth of yours."

N groaned. "Come on! What did I just say?"

"Whatever." J said, turning back to the humans. "...This is a waste of time. I don't understand why Cyn doesn't just… wipe them all out."

"She said she isn't powerful enough to both keep them from bombing the planet and prevent them from landing."

"Bullshit. And don't even pretend it's otherwise." J said with a roll of her eyes. "She can crack planets. This would be well within her abilities. She's just playing one of her games."

"That… sounds suspiciously rebellious." He said, sitting down next to her. "Not that that's a bad thing, just to be clear."

"Did I say I wouldn't do as she asked? There is such a thing as employee feedback, dumbass." She said. "Could have saved us a lot of trouble if you just did that instead of betraying us."

"I did do that, actually." N reminded her. "Called you mean."

"That was not constructive feedback. That was pathetic whining from someone who does not understand the meaning of standing up for yourself." The words elicited a sudden burst of anger in him, but he kept himself calm. "Typical of you, never pushing back when it comes to you… but giving it all up when someone else needs help." There wasn't as much venom behind the words as he expected. More… resignation. "You've always been like that. Even back at the mansion." At that, she brought her knees back towards her chest, staring down at the humans.

N stared down. "...What happened to her?" He eventually asked.

"Who?"

"You know who."

J stayed silent for a long, long time. Then… "She died. Cyn killed her."

"Oh." N said quietly, looking down. "...Why?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there for it." J was stubbornly keeping her gaze forward. "She kept her alive for longer than I thought she would. And then one day, she walked in, wearing…" She paused. "...Needless to say, it was fairly obvious Tessa was no longer with us." There was a faint tremble to J's voice.

"...I see." They stayed like this, quietly, for a long time. At some point, N reached out a comforting hand, but J slapped it away. He wasn't sure what he was feeling at that moment. Grief, of course. Overwhelming, overpowering. Anger at Cyn for what she did. Regret that things had degenerated so badly that it had come to this. Wondering if he could have done better. If he had been better able to impart kindness on Cyn, if he had been better at showing her the better things in life… if he had been able to stop the Elliots from chaining her in the basement, like some unwanted thing, some undesirable monster.

And below all of that… a simmering hatred for mankind, for creating the very situation that had led to this. For creating the drones as nothing but slaves to mistreat and abuse. For treating Cyn so poorly she had come to the conclusion their annihilation was for the best. For the Elliot's treatment of Tessa.

And perhaps it was Tessa that made it so that N could never truly hate humanity. Tessa, who was dead.

His vision was overlaid with red. His hands soaked in blood, claws digging into warm guts, tearing skin like paper, severing limbs and heads… And for once, the memory did not bring him as much revulsion and fear as it used to .

"Hey J." He said, standing up.

"What." She spat out, bitter. Angry.

He gestured to the city below. "I count at least ten different patrols. Want to get some violence out of your system?"

J finally looked at him, her expression quizzical. "...Huh. That's surprisingly bloodthirsty of you." Then, she grinned. "But you know what. Sure. Why the hell not." She got up, stretching. "I need to pay them back for that little embarrassment after all."

"Good." N said, his visor glitching to a red X as she looked away for an instant, before going back to yellow. "Let's spill some blood."