Doll had to admit, she was out of her depth here.

Watching the eldar ships rip through the imperial fleet on the immense projection at the center of the tomb-class's command room, tearing through them near effortlessly with a strange sort of grace… It made her feel oddly vulnerable without the Solver. For all the horrors it had brought with it, the feeling of power had been… intoxicating at times.

And now she was back to being a worker. Back to being powerless.

Well. Mostly.

The necron tech certainly helped even the playing field.

"The eldar seem quite upset with the humans." She spoke up, watching as Isotatekh turned towards her and away from the display.

"The eldar do not appreciate having their numbers depleted any further. Let alone having their superiority challenged by those they deem below them. Their arrogance has often served as their undoing… Though it is hard to argue that they cannot back up their claims to an extent." He said almost grudgingly. "I admit myself quite neutral in regards to the humans themselves. They are nothing special in the grand scheme of things, and it is hard to feel particularly violently about people who merely display the same flaws my own kin regularly partake in."

"Hm." She said, not commenting. She felt pretty neutral about humans… before discovering it was humans that infected her mom with the Solver. She felt pretty damn bitter about that much. But it wasn't like the humans in this galaxy did that. "Are you going to join in?"

Isotatekh shook his head. "No, no. Our alliance is regarding the attack on the plague god and the rescue of the eldar goddess. This doesn't involve us. If the eldar are so insistent on beating up the primitives, then they can do so on their own. It isn't like they are struggling."

She nodded, turning away from him and going back to what had become her routine.

Contemplating the patch and trying to understand it further. Trying to decipher it.

It was an intrinsic part of her code now, the only thing holding back the Solver and allowing her true free will. But she had promised Uzi that she would help her, and she intended to hold to that promise even if Uzi had never decided to accept the help. If only to give her a true option to get out if she wanted to.

In another life, they would have been cousins in a way. Perhaps… things could have gone better between them.

And yet, there was still the matter of V. Of avenging her parents. Without the Solver it would be more difficult, but with the necron tech she was sure she could figure something out. Perhaps she could repurpose the patch to prevent the backups, given that if that J had been brought back once, then V likely would as well…

"You look thoughtful." Isotatekh's voice brought her back to the present.

"Just some consideration of the future." Doll said.

"May I inquire as to what?" The necron lord asked.

She turned to him, a cocked eyebrow on her digital face. "What makes you curious?"

The necron's face did not really move, but she could tell he was amused. "Consider indulging your elder."

"... The Patch. I downloaded it before Cyn could destroy it." She admitted eventually. "I have been… considering ways to use it to…" She sighed. "It doesn't matter."

"I would say it does." The necron lord said, suddenly serious. "Something like this would give reason for the Anomaly to turn on us if she knew. She has proven extremely volatile when it came to that matter. And with biotransferrence in the balance… I would hope you have a very good reason to risk this."

Doll winced. Maybe it would have been better to lie after all. But she'd been lying for a long time, and she was getting tired of it. Tired of fighting against the people trying to help her. "V. The Dissassembly drone who killed my parents. I wish to take her down… permanently. But killing her will not do the trick; She will eventually come back. I am hoping to utilize the Patch to fix that particular issue." She was honestly a tad surprised at how easily it was all coming out. Perhaps spending so much time working alone and suddenly succeeding thanks to the help of others had loosened her tongue more than she expected.

The necron lord looked at her carefully for some time. "... You long for revenge, don't you."

Doll snorted. "That is putting it lightly. The beast slaughtered my parents before me. I will not rest until she is slain."

"Are you certain this is the right path?" Isotatekh raised a hand before she could interrupt. "Hear me before passing judgement on my words. You seek retribution for what was done to your parents. That is entirely understandable. However, the foe you seek to face may no longer be there. I have started getting a proper picture through conversations with your kind, and it seems to me the disassembly drones did what they did out of survival and terror at what the Anomaly would do to them. Now that that is no longer a concern… you may find yourself confronted not with the monster that you hunt, but with a person haunted by their past actions."

Doll snarled. "V is anything but regretful. She was gleeful when she slaughtered my parents and so many others. And even so, am I not allowed to hate the wolf that took my parents even if it did so for the sake of survival?"

"Again, I pass not judgement on the validity of your cause. Merely the consequences of it." Isotatekh's voice was soothing in a manner that successfully calmed Doll down. "Your quest has already brought you in opposition to the Anomaly and its allies. Should you continue to hunt down this V, even if you were to prove successful, they likely will hunt you down in return and destroy you."

Doll nodded. "I am aware. I will accept my fate then."

Isotatekh sighed deeply. "This time then I speak to you as a parent, not a lord or an acquaintance. You do this to avenge your parents, yes? I can assure you this. No parent worth their salt would want their child to die for vengeance. No good parent wants their child to die at all." His tone grew somber. "If one of our Ancient Enemy successfuly took me down… or a rival house brought me low and slayed me, the last thing I would want is for Amatoth to die avenging me, successfully or not. I would want her to live. Above all else."

The worker hesitated at that, looking down at her hands. "...I…" She gulped. "I cannot just… forget it. My mom… my dad…" She let out a ragged breath. "I close my eyes and I can still see it… the memory file is intact. I can see it clearly still. I cannot just… move on. Ignore what happened, let her get away with it! I don't care if she's innocent, I don't care if she was controlled, or unable to stop herself; I wouldn't even care if she was conscious when she did it! SHE KILLED MY PARENTS!" She screamed in the silent room.

Isotatekh's head lowered. "...I can understand that. I have lived a very long time and lost many people close to me. Friends, family… some to natural death, but most to war and its horrors. I have shared what I could with you; But whilst I will not stand against you in your quest, I will not aid you either." His eyes seemed to glow with ethereal green light. "...For your own sake however, I again advise you to seek a different path."

Doll looked away from him, trying not to show the shaking in her hands. "I will make my own decisions."

Isotatekh sighed. "I see." Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a teleportation, Amatoth appearing in a surge of green light with a wild look in her eyes. "Father! One of the human vessels appeared above Copper 9! I believe there may be trouble, may I have permission to leave?"

Isotatekh sighed. "I'm afraid your mother was clear. You are not to depart the ship until the situation between the eldar and the humans is resolved. We would not want you caught in the crossfire."

Amatoth snarled. "My friends may need me! Mother's edict is too strict!"

"And yet she is the one in charge in matters of battle and war. You know this." Isotatekh replied sternly. "I will send some forces to scout and, if necessary, aid your friends against any hostile forces."

Amatoth turned away, cursing. "...Fine. I shall obey. But if something happens, I will not allow myself to be constrained any further."

Doll snickered, Isotatekh giving her an unamused look. "...very well." He sighed. "Children."

Zorial watched grimly as the crusade fleet began entering a stable orbit around Praxis Quartus. The eldar armada was not far behind, having finished tearing through the rearguard piece by piece and now moving without pause in this direction; It was a hopeless fight, and one he was starting to fear he'd brought upon Praxis Quartus… perhaps he had gambled a bit too much.

You couldn't save everyone. He'd overplayed his hand.

Was it too late? Perhaps he could play on the fanaticism of the crusaders to get them to die somewhere far from the planet… but no. No, that would go against the whole point. And the eldar would hardly care… not when they had such an overwhelming advantage.

"Cyn." He spoke yet again, for what felt like the hundredth time today. "Please. If you can hear me… I need your assistance."

"Annoyed expression." He closed his eyes in relief at the sound of the mechanical voice. "I am. Quite busy right now. I have an important. Task to take care of."

Zorial opened his eyes, finding Cyn sitting cross legged on his desk, having shoved the paperwork to the side. "I assure you this is of great importance."

Cyn blinked. "Then go on. Ahead."

"The imperial crusade." He said, bracing himself for the conversation to come. "They are currently under attack by the eldar. I won't ask what caused this, I assume they brought it on themselves. But most of the people there have little choice but to be a part of it; Forced into service, or given little other option. I would spare them the fate of dying for the decisions of fanatic leaders. I have offered them refuge." He looked at her with as serious an expression he could manage. "Please Cyn. Call on the eldar to cease their attack."

Cyn did not answer for a moment. "You are. Serious. Giggle. Oh how. Amusing. Zorial. You cannot think you will. Convince me. To spare them?"

Zorial had in fact not expected this to be easy. "I understand you dislike humanity. But these people are often as enslaved as servitors are, even if their chains aren't as visible. Propaganda, fanaticism, poverty…"

"N is dead." The words chilled Zorial to the bone. "The Imperials. Killed him." Zorial knew, right then and there, that it was over. There would be no sparing the imperial crusading fleet, no preventing them from the slaughter. Perhaps even not for himself. Cyn had proven herself vengeful to the extreme, and by his mere association with humanity… "He will get. Better. But it was. Scary. And it made me. Upset." Oh. Well that… was still very bad. Perhaps drones functioned under a similar principle to demons, where they died and eventually came back.

"...I see." He said eventually, recovering his wits. "I am sorry to hear it, Cyn. From what I have seen of N, he hardly deserved such a fate." And as much as he wanted to ask more, every second brought the eldar fleet closer to annihilating whatever remained of the crusade… and now possibly even his world. "...Your quest. You intend to go into the Warp yes? Your alliance with the eldar and the necron."

Cyn tilted her head. "Yes. That is. Correct. We seek the realm of. The Plague God."

Zorial closed his eyes. Was he really about to do this? He'd done so much to escape it… millenia spent finding a way out. "Then you will need a guide. The necron do not know of the warp, not really, and whilst the eldar are more familiar with it… their expertise in its pathways and domains pales in comparison to one who has spent millenia dwelling in them." His eyes pierced into Cyn's own glowing ones. "I offer you my service in your quest. In return, I only ask you to spare the people of this world your wrath and that of your allies… along with the imperial crusade fleet for their previous wrongs." His expression darkened. "Any further mistake on their part… I leave them out of my hands."

Cyn leaned forward. "I thought you. Wanted nothing to do. With the warp. And its entities."

"I do not." Zorial firmly said. "And yet, I want the death of the people here even less."

Cyn however continued. "You risk much. To save people you do not know. I do not. Understand you. Zorial." She paused. "Sigh. I suppose you earned. Some. Consideration. Very well. I will have the. Eldar. Back off their attack. And in exchange. You will. Assist us. In the coming. Quest." She rose to her feet. "But the Inquisitor. Is mine. And I shall keep. Her."

Zorial could care less. "All yours." He said simply. He could not save the Inquisitor, and he wasn't even sure she would want to be saved by him of all people.

"Happy smile. I am glad we do not need to. Fight. Over this." She said as she turned away from him. "Rest. Zorial. You look. Tired." And with that, she was gone.

Zorial collapsed into his chair, relief flowing through him. Within minutes, he received confirmation the eldar fleet had stopped pursuing.

Crisis averted. For now at least.

N stared at Uzi. For once, he did not have to look down.

Uzi stared back at N. For once, she did not have to look up.

He gave her a small smile. "...Hi."

Uzi leaned forward, tapping him in the chest. "...Cute." She eventually concluded, making a massive blush appear on N's face.

He sighed, looking at himself. His limbs were shorter, as was the entirety of his body to be fair. He was smaller, weaker, could not change his arms into deadly weapons… even his usual coat was gone, replaced by his old butler outfit from his time at the Elliotts. "...I guess?" He said softly. "It's very weird being back in this."

Uzi's expression grew a tad concerned. "Good weird or bad weird?"

He shrugged. "Just… weird I guess." He glanced around. They were back in the bunker's infirmary, a number of instruments strewn around with dozens of various body parts all around. He could see what remained of his old body leaning against the wall, barely anything left from the burned ruin. "...Worth it if it makes you call me cute though." He added, giving her a teasing smile.

It was Uzi's turn to blush as she hit his arm softly. "Ugh, shut up!" She said, glaring as he grinned wider. "...I was really scared, you know?" She eventually added. "Scared I'd lost you like… for good. I…" She gulped. "It felt like something was ripped out of my chest. Like I was in a constant free fall with no one to catch me."

N winced. "Uzi…"

"So I don't want to be scared anymore. I almost lost you once." Her hands reached out, grabbing his into her own. The blush on her face had amplified by magnitudes. "I… N I…" She let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh! Why is this so difficult?!" She slapped her own face. "Just be honest for once in your damned life Uzi Doorman!"

N's eyes softened considerably. "It's okay Uzi. Take your time." His grip tightened. "I'm not going anywhere."

Uzi glared. "That's a promise you can't keep." She threatened. "But that's okay. I'll always come find you." She took a deep breath. "Cuz like… what kind of girlfriend doesn't go look for her boyfriend when he gets lost?" The words came out fast and breathless, as if she was afraid she might go quiet if she paused for even a second.

N felt like his entire faceplate might start melting from overheating. "...Boyfriend and girlfriend huh?" He said, his tone lighter than he ever recalled it ever being… save perhaps with V back in the mansion.

Uzi looked away. "I'm sorry, I made this super weird, we can just forget this…" She stared pulling away only to squeak as N dragged her back in, arms wrapping around her as she froze.

"No. I like the sound of it." He said, whispering next to her. "Boyfriend and girlfriend."

Uzi slumped, relief clear in her frame. "Good. That's… that's good. Cuz I was going to be so damn sad if you said no." She looked up at him, her expression heart-breakingly hopeful. "...Hey N?"

N smiled helplessly. "Yeah?"

"I love you." She said, for once refusing to look away even as embarrassment made her want to crawl into a hole and die.

He chuckled, nuzzling into her neck. "I love you too." He could feel her start nearly vibrating against him, the blush threatening to completely overtake her visor.

She managed to stay there for a solid three seconds before pushing him away, refusing to look in his direction. "Alright that's enough mushyness!" She croaked out, but he could still see the massive smile she wore at the corner of her face. "You're going to make me sick."

He laughed gently, taking a step back and crossing his hands behind him. "If that's what you want Uzi." He took a soft breath. "...What happened when I was… you know."

She tensed up, making him wince. Nothing good then. He'd suspected as much. "...J went full eldritch worm centipede thingie again. Because Cyn was unavailable it started rampanging on automatic. V and I showed and found you…" She paused, seemingly unable to speak for a few seconds. N waited patiently for her to be ready. "You dead. We kinda… both lost it. Completely. V went full feral on the assassins" She chuckled. "It was kinda hot honestly." She winced. "We definitely want to tell V that you're doing better now. She's been beside herself…" She said softly, looking concerned. "I…" She shivered. "...I killed them. Then I went to find the other humans, the ones that had come with them, the ones that had come to kill us again and I killed them too. Or at least some of them."

N had been hoping that wouldn't be the case, but then again… if he reversed the situation and it had been Uzi who'd died? If he hadn't known she would be fine… and even if he did?

He would lose it as well. Hell, he'd already lost it hard when J and V had almost been killed…

She continued as he remained quiet. "Cyn showed up." N blinked and some of his surprise must have shown on his face because she snorted in amusement. "I know right? It was enough to shock me out of it. She then told me I had a backup of you and that we could save you." She said softly. "Because of the fact we have souls… it would actually be you. Not just a copy behaving like you. But we had to go looking for you." Her eyes darkened. "Your soul was claimed by Khorne, even if it's not his. So once Cyn and I managed to make a body to transfer you back into… we went into your system and worked to kick him out and get you back. V stood guard whilst we did that." She looked deeply amused. "We went down to this weird cathedral place down beneath this creepy lab. Cabin Fever Labs. Cyn wouldn't let anyone else get close whilst we worked. J was in charge of making sure no one did anything stupid in the alliance whilst we were busy doing this. It's a good thing V was here though, because the moment we started dragging you out of Khorne's domain demons started pouring in." She laughed. "You should have seen her. I've never seen her this protective before." She chuckled. "It was super cute." She blushed. "I mean, for such a bitch bot. After that we got you back here until you woke back up."

N giggled. "No, that does sound about right… I get you." He slumped. "...I owe you guys huh. All of you. Again."

Uzi rolled her eyes. "You owe us nothing dummy." She flicked him on the head. "You're my boyfriend. Like hell does some angry roided-up god get to keep you away from me."

He nodded softly. "Right." He said, his voice tight from emotion. "So the alliance is fine?"

"Yeah. The eldar were super pissed cuz the imperials shot down one of their ships, but they got a whole bunch back so they're pretty satisfied."

N sighed. "Damnit… I was hoping to prevent more…" He shook his head. "I guess it can't be avoided. This galaxy sucks."

Uzi snickered. "It really does."

He frowned. "So… how's V?" He asked. "I didn't realise you'd need a guard for this… I suppose that was too optimistic."

Uzi sighed. "Yeah, neither did I, but Cyn was convinced the blood god would try something. And he did. He really did. Poured a hell of a lot of demons onto us. V got them all, even the big one near the end. She…" Uzi hesitated for a moment. "She was in a bad state. Like, really bad state. Whatever bullshit magic demons have it messes with you guys' regeneration. She was missing a few limbs and had this massive gash in her chest, it was awful. I was amazed she could still move honestly. But she's mostly recovered by now." The purple worker drone chuckled. "Only reason she's not standing by your bed is because Amatoth showed up and was freaking out after hearing what happened. V's calming her down."

N's eyes hollowed out. "I'm sorry, V is calming her down?" He said in disbelief. "Like, our V?"

Uzi frowned. "Hey give her some credit. She can…" She winced. "Okay yeah no I was surprised as well. But she seems… weirdly calm right now. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

N nodded. "Guess we'll figure it out." He looked at himself once again. "...Man this is weird."

"Looks cute though." Uzi said with a grin. "And you're my height. I could get used to this."

He raised a digital eyebrow at her. "Really?"

She hesitated, before shrugging. "I mean… I dunno. You're adorable like this honestly. But you're…" She blushed, looking down. "...Kinda hot as a dissassembly drone. I mean, I'm fine with either as long as it's you. Both are nice."

"Oh." N was blushing quite heavily now, looking down as well as stood in front of her.

They were still quiet when the door to the infirmary opened, V walking in with a tired look in her eyes which vanished when she took in N. "N!" She exclaimed, rushing over at near super sonic speed before stopping just in front of him, aborting the motion to hug him as hesitation overcame her face. "Oh my god, they warned me they were putting you back in your butler body again but…" She was staring at him with wide eyes, a massive smile on her face. "Oh my god you are so cuuuute…" She squealed, carefully picking him up and bringing him to face level. "I could just eat you up…"

N laughed nervously. "Heya V. Please don't." It was… novel being the small one in front of V. He was starting to understand Uzi's perspective a little more right now. The difference between a worker and a disassembly drone was obvious no matter what, but seeing it from the perspective of a worker was certainly… different. "I hear I owe you for still being around." He said softly. "Thanks V. It seems all you do is save me."

V chuckled, putting him back on the floor. "It's all good buddy. We're squadmates right?" She said with a smile. "Besides. I got to take out some aggression. It was nice." She added with a grin before turning to Uzi, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Oh hey, you're still here."

Uzi rolled her eyes. "Oh wow geez, done ignoring me huh?"

V shrugged. "Sorry, you're just so ignorable." She said before pointing to N. "...He's adorable right?"

Uzi nodded, making N go crimson. "Oh yeah. Combine that with the puppy-like personality, I totally get why you had a massive crush on him back in the mansion."

"I know right? He's so cute." V said, patting him on the head.

"I am right here guys." N whined, pushing away V's hand.

V and Uzi both looked at him silently before looking back at each other.

"I want to pet him too." Uzi said firmly.

"Oh go ahead. He's all yours."

Uzi grinned. "Hell yeah he is." She said, before patting N on the head as well.

N sighed, resigning himself to his fate.

V's eyes narrowed, looking from one to the other silently, both of them blushing softly. "... Oh. Finally got the courage to confess pipsqueak?" There was a strange air of hesitance to V that made both Uzi and N look at each other with some confusion.

"Oh." Uzi said, nodding with an awkward smile. "Uh… yeah. I… I guess I did." She said, her expression softening. "I mean… could you really resist confessing to that dork?"

V looked away. "...No. No I couldn't." There was such longing in her voice it made Uzi and N once again glance at each other. "...Listen. I…" V was still refusing to look at them both, reaching up to her face. "...Gah why is this so difficult?! J you made it sound so easy…"

N glanced at Uzi, who gave him a small nod before letting him go as he walked over to V. She froze as he placed a comforting hand on her arm, a soft smile on his face. "...V? It's okay. It's just us." He gestured to Uzi and himself. "We're your squad. You can tell us anything."

V finally looked at them, a blush on her face which surprised both of them. "I… Promise you won't laugh. If the gremlin laughs I am absolutely going to run away." She babbled, her faceplace burning in embarrassment.

Uzi rolled her eyes. "Don't worry drama bot. I'm not going to laugh at you. N would kick my ass." She snickered. "If he still could in that body."

N shrugged. "I'm still more used to fighting than you." He said with some confidence. In reality he was all but certain Uzi would kick his ass if they fought like this. "But yeah V. We're here to hear you out, don't worry. No judgement." He promised.

V stared at him, then at Uzi, before taking a deep breath. "Alright so… I was… chatting with J a while ago. Before this all went to shit." She glanced around, clearly feeling awkward. "I… She pointed out that we're going to live a… really long time. Potentially forever." She said, and that had N and Uzi alike thinking. It was true, if one discarded the idea of a violent death. Between their robotic bodies, the backups and the Solver… it was unlikely any of them would die for a very, very long time. An eternity even. The very concept was making N feel somewhat dizzy, whilst Uzi seemed delighted by the idea. "And I… I don't want to spend all this time like some… pining idiot, forever denying her feelings and making herself and the people around her miserable. I've done enough of that for a lifetime." She said with a heavy note of regret, looking towards N. It made something within him twinge in a mixture of hurt and longing. The memory of all of those times she'd ignored him, pretended not to know him… he knew she'd done it for him of course, never to hurt him…

But the results remained the same.

She took a breath. "And well… since coming to Copper 9, I've been… trying to deny my feelings. How I felt. And then when I discovered something new I buried it away like I do everything else and ran away. Used violence as a shield to try and push people away." She sagged. "But I can't keep doing that. Not for eternity. So I…" She blushed, looking away. "...Look, I… I like you. Both of you. I'm not repeating myself, I already feel like crawling into a hole and dying right now and oh god this was such a stupid idea and…"

"V!" N exclaimed, grabbing her by the hand and making her stop babbling. "Calm down. It's… it's okay." He said reassuringly. "It's… a bit of a surprise, I…" He blinked. "Well actually I'm kind of freaking out as well. Uzi, mind being the rational one here?"

Uzi meanwhile had gone wide eyed, looking between the two with a flustered look. "Me?! You're not the one having two hot robots pining after you!"

"I kinda am…" N muttered.

V snorted. "Knew you found me hot."

"We already established that, shut up!" Uzi exclaimed, pointing at her angrily. "You… you… you just come here, and I thought I finally figured out what the hell is going on in my love life and you come in and make it all complicated!"

V sighed. "It's fine. I didn't expect anything to come of it to be honest. I just wanted to express what I felt so I wouldn't regret it forever." She opened her wings. "Anyways, bye!" And with that she was gone before either of them could stop her, slamming through the roof and leaving a hole in it.

Uzi and N stared at the hole silently for a moment.

"So… she's totally still freaking out isn't she?" Uzi pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Classic V not knowing how to handle a situation and leaving super dramatically there." He said with a confident nod. "So… how do you feel about it?"

Uzi snorted. "Kinda confused. I mean, I know some people act mean to the people they like, but I didn't realise V was like that."

N chuckled. "She isn't. Not really. At least not usually. I think that's just how she interacts with you." He sighed. "I knew she still had feelings for me but I didn't realise it was still…" He trailed off, making a vague gesture with his hand.

"I get you." Uzi sighed. "Man, one hot robot having a crush on me was already wild, two?"

N chuckled. "I mean, at least I can say that V has good taste." He said, looking at Uzi.

She gave him a look up and down, a smirk on her face. "Yeah she does."

N blushed, looking away. "So… what do we do with that?"

Uzi hummed. "I mean… I guess I'm not as opposed as I thought I would be, honestly."

N blinked, looking back at her. "Really?" He said, surprised.

She shrugged. "I mean, despite arguing a lot I actually like V. She's reliable, confident and pretty damn badass. And we're all squadmates, that brings a weird degree of closeness." She snorted. "At least if you're not J."

N winced. "Ah… yeah J was never that great at team stuff." He said with some regret in his voice. "I get what you mean though. We're already a trio in most things, the idea of all three of us together doesn't feel as weird as it should."

Uzi cocked an eyebrow. "Man, you can tell you've been with humans a lot. Should? We're robots. Who cares how humans do things." She grinned. "Besides. Now I've got another thing to tease V with. Like hell am I missing out on the opportunity."

N tilted his head. "So… we're like. Letting V join us?" He pointed to the two of them. "In our… thing?"

She shrugged. "It's a squad. Just a… romantic one as well, I guess?" She sighed. "Man this is weird."

N chuckled, walking up to her and placing his head on her shoulder, making Uzi blush heavily. "It's fine. We'll figure it out. It's us after all. There isn't anything we can't do if we put our minds to it."

Uzi snorted. "Good point." She tilted her head. "We should probably go look for V before she freaks herself out into doing something dumb."

N sighed. "Good point. Though without my wings, I'm not sure how I'm going to keep up." Uzi's eyes suddenly brightened, an evil cackle escaping her as her arms locked around N. The butler's eyes widened. "Oh no. Uzi don't you da…"

Leathery bat-like wings opened on Uzi's back and she was off, carrying N in her arms as she went off in pursuit of V with an exhilarated laugh escaping her as N let out a startled scream.

She'd messed it all up. She knew she would and yet she still did it anyways, because she was V and she couldn't think things through to save her life.

She'd fucked up with N.

She'd fucked up when he'd turned against J and her.

And now here she was, messing things up again.

Damn it.

Damn it all!

She let out a dejected sigh as she sat by the edge of a ruined skyscraper, looking down to the ruined streets below. The city was an even bigger mess than before; Most of it was gone by now, destroyed by orbital bombardment, artillery strikes and the purge of the orks by the eldar. There was little remaining; This was probably the tallest building around really.

Except maybe the spire.

She could see that Uzi and N were getting closer according to her squad tracker. She considered running away, but what was the point? She already said she wouldn't run away anymore.

And then she did anyway. Like the coward she was.

She wanted to scream.

Uzi landed a few meters away from her, gently putting N on the ground next to her.

"Yo." Uzi called out. "You done mopping?"

V sighed. "I'm not in the mood to fight Uzi." She said angrily, yet her voice lacked much bite.

"I'm not here to fight. Unless you wanna." Uzi grinned ."Then I'd win." She rolled her eyes. "No we're here to pick you up, you drama queen. God it has to be a disassembly thing, being so overly dramatic I swear. The whole lot of you."

"Oh I do NOT want to hear that from you!" V said, turning around and getting up on legs. "You are such a dramatic drone as well! 'Ugh look at me, I am so cursed and evil and special for my weird eye powerrrrrs…'" She said in a high pitched mocking tone.

"Wah! I do not sound like that! Tell her N!"

N nodded. "Yeah no, she sounds more like 'Gah! How dare you interfere in my brooding! Bite me!'" He, said, giving Uzi a teasing grin as she kicked him.

"Ugh! You're both the worse partners I swear!" Uzi said with a grumble.

V froze. "...Partners?" She asked, her voice half disbelieving and half hopeful.

Uzi nodded. "Uh… yeah. N and I talked about it and like…" She looked away, blushing. "...Wow this is way more embarrassing saying out loud than when it was just you and I N."

He patted her on the shoulder. "Let me try." He said gently. "So… just to confirm V, you're crushing on both of us. As in, Uzi and me. Right?"

V could not find the strength to answer, simply nodding with a flustered expression.

"Right." He said gently. "So we were discussing regarding that, and we agreed that we both also… like you. A lot." He admitted, a faint blush on his visor. "And well… we're all already a squad and all. It would feel weird breaking up for a relationship. So like… if you are up for us trying to all be… together… I mean, Uzi and I would be up for that." He was stammering by the end, "Oh biscuits. Did I mess it up?"

V couldn't help herself. She snorted. It only made N look more mortified and she began full on laughing, holding her waist with her hands as she began losing it. He just looked so worried, wearing his cute little butler outfit… "N…No N, you… you did just fine." She said with a snicker. "I'm just… relieved. So relieved…" She coughed, clearing her throat. "Um. Right. Just, you know. Someone has to keep an eye on you two idiots for when you do something stupid."

Uzi snickered. "We do a lot of dumb stuff."

"Oh yeah." N agreed, both of them pounding fists with a nod.

V couldn't stop the fond little smile on her face as she looked at them.

"Oh god, V is smiling. We may be doomed." Uzi whispered.

"It's super cute."

"I know!"

V scowled. "I hate you two."

"Nah you don't." Uzi snickered. "You wuuuuv us…"

"That's it! Killing the gremlin!"

"Bring it bitch!"

"Uzi, V, no!"

Wake up.

Dorothy's eyes snapped open. She let out a cough, her fingers closing in on the white snow she was laying in. "...I… how long…"

A few days. It took some time to help you recover. Regrowing an arm is no easy thing.

She whipped her head to her missing arm, grogginess all but gone as her eyes went wide. The arm was back, though it was markedly… different. "It… it looks like a bird's…" She whispered in awe. It looked as if some bird of prey's clawed leg, refashioned into something more fitting for an arm, with five digits ending in sharp claws.

…Indeed.

"So… what happened?" She said softly. "We… we lost?"

Yes… and no. We did fail to eliminate the callidus… but as it turns out, the Imperium is plenty capable of self-sabotage without our intervention. It was deeply amusing.

"Oh." She said, getting up. "So… I guess it worked out in the end."

Indeed. And now, most of the pieces are in place.

"Will you tell me what you have planned now?" She asked curiously. She didn't mind if he didn't, but it would be nice…

I'm afraid there are ears everywhere. Perhaps another time.

She sighed. Of course. She hadn't exactly expected much more.

But for it, I shall say this much: I need a few highly dangerous beings… distracted. At each other's throats, so to speak. And I wish for you to help me with that.

She looked down. "I…I already failed you once. You still trust me with an important task?"

We learn as much from failure as from success. One particular wisdom the Emperor of Mankind never truly accepted…

She felt tears nearly in her eyes. She wasn't a failure. She wasn't being discarded. "I… thank you. Truly. I promise, I will redeem myself!"

…Failing to account for an adversary I did not warn you of is no failure on your part. But I appreciate the energy. However, you will need some further training first.

She nodded. "How?"

A tear appeared in reality.

Brute force.

Cyn stared at the four drones standing before her.

Uzi, N and V were all holding hands, faint blushes over all of their faces whilst J was giving them an unamused and unimpressed look.

"Disgusted expression. Gross."

"You're gross!" Uzi immediately snapped back, a snarl on her face. "What do you want anyways?! We were bonding!"

V snorted. "If you call us trauma dumping on each other bonding, sure."

"Shut up!"

Cyn raised a hand, silencing them both. "It has come to my. Attention. That you have been struggling with. Our enemies. Here. And we have had. Multiple. Near worst case. Scenarios." She pointed out. "I have previously. Mentioned upgrades. But I believe these to now be. Insufficient. I would like to. Offer a better. Upgrade. To you all. To make you more. Capable. In the face of what comes. Ahead."

Uzi narrowed her eyes. "...And I assume you'd need access to N and V to give them these upgrades?"

"Glad to hear you're concerned about me as well." J sarcastically said.

"Bite me corporate rat."

"Wha! Oh you little…"

Cyn continued, choosing to ignore their spat. "Their hardware. At least. But you can help. And make sure. I am not. Doing anything you. Disapprove of." She tilted her head. "We will do N's. Later. As he will need to be. Transferred as well. Which will be. More complicated."

It was actually N that spoke next. "I want them."

"N?!" Uzi said, whirling towards him.

"Uzi…" He sighed. "I don't have the powers you or Cyn have. And I've… I've hit my limit. I've been getting absolutely destroyed every fight I get in… at least unless I let… something in." He said, eyes hollowing out. "I… I want to protect you. All of you. And I can't do that if I stay like I am."

V nodded. "Yeah. When I thought those demons… I almost lost. And that was one big demon with a bunch of smaller ones. Where we're going? There's going to be so, so much more… and worse. I won't be able to help." Her claws almost scrapped against her metal body in frustration. "I need to be stronger."

J shrugged. "I just do what the boss says so I don't get my shit wrecked."

Cyn nodded. "J is. A good. Employee."

N frowned. "No wrecking J if she says no Cyn."
"Party. Pooper." Cyn tilted her head. "Well then. Let's go into my. Spooky. Laboratory."

"And no spooky laboratory jokes after what you did to us."

"...Apologetic tone. My. Bad.."