For practically half her entire life, Uzi had prided herself in that she would always do the opposite of whatever an Autobot told her. After all, they were of the old order of Cybertron, the corrupted leaders that drove their planet to the tip of destruction. Yet—here she was running away from a fight because one told her to. She was fleeing from her so-called 'fellow' Decepticons as they were ganging up on a sweet, caring, gentle…
No.
N was all those things, but he was also an Angel of Death. A cannibalistic killing machine. He could fight. She had to believe he could win because she needed to focus on getting the others back home. Though when she reached them, Uzi realized just how hard that might be.
To be fair, it was as bad as she expected. They had taken a full-force collision from Bonesmasher's vehicle mode and were thrown through the air by his mining fork like a bunch of crash test dummies. Thad took the brunt of the attack, and it showed. The entire right side of his torso had a giant dent placed within it, the damage stretching from his hip to his shoulder in a brutal display that mimicked the impact on his vehicle mode. His right arm was barely even attached. It was dangling by strands of synthetic muscle and shattered soft metal plating. But as bad as it looked from the outside, Uzi knew the internal damage was much worse.
What amazed her was that he was still conscious. Most drones would've been thrown deep into a stasis-lock by now—forced offline by the sheer magnitude of trauma they had taken, like Doll had. Yet, Thad was still trying to move. His fingers were dragging grooves in the frozen ground as he tried—and failed—to pull himself toward the fallen forms of Doll and Lizzy. It was a noble gesture, but a little sad to watch. Thankfully, Uzi was there to help him.
"Thad." She called out to him as she dropped to her knees right beside him and placed a hand on his remaining good shoulder. His entire frame seemed to sag in response to her touch, the tension leaking out of him all at once like a snapped support beam.
"Hey, Uz…" His voice crackled with static. It was garbled in places, but somehow, it still carried that stupidly charming friendly-jock persona to it. "Did you see me fly?" He looked up at her with a half-lidded expression and a crooked smile, like he hadn't just been nearly turned into scrap. Too bad for him, she had working optics.
"I did," Uzi said dryly, brushing snow from his face and hair. "It was terrifying. You're not supposed to bounce, Thad." Carefully, she slipped her arm around his torso and began to ease him into a sitting position. His frame groaned and clicked the entire way, the sound of grinding metal and protesting servos filling the cold air, along with his soft whispers of 'ow,ow,ow,ow'. "Can you still transform, tough guy?"
For a moment, Thad didn't answer. His visor was completely filled with damage reports—ranging critical failures to several entire subsystems stuck in a boot-loop. There were so many that they stacked on top of each other, one after another, threatening to overwhelm his vision in an array of pop-ups. But just as quickly as they appeared, they were dismissed as Thad had blinked them away.
"Only one way to find out," he said, lifting a shaky hand and clapping it over her forearm. "Just give me a minute… and I'll be back on my wheels and ready to roll." There was an echo of determination in his voice that made Uzi smile. Then, of course, he ruined the moment. "Oh… by the way," he tried to mutter, but with how damaged his voice was, it still came out as a normal volume, "I'm sorry. For not telling you about me, and Doll."
Uzi was completely caught off guard by the apology. She was about to ask what the hell he was even talking about—until it clicked. The relationship he apparently had with her cousin and, somehow, also with Lizzy…Gross.
"Yeah, uh," Uzi dragged a hand down her visor out of sheer awkwardness. This was not a topic she was comfortable with, "finding out my cousin had an Endura—let alone two—was a bit of a shock." There was a lot she could say about such a thing. Such as calling it weird, maybe even accusing Thad of being corrupted by both of them. But really… What was the point? It wasn't like she and Doll ever talked about their love lives, or anything really prior to coming to the surface. And Lizzy? Yeah, no. That was a door she didn't want to open without a backup plan and a fire extinguisher. Besides, now was really not the time or place for any conversations. She could literally hear N behind them fighting the Decepticons. Still, if she had to say anything—
"I guess I'm glad she's got someone like you looking out for her," Uzi admitted, while giving a quick shrug. "You're kind of a metal-head, but in a good way." Thad gave her a lopsided smile. Or maybe that was just his facial wiring refusing to align properly. It's hard to tell.
…and as much as Uzi didn't want to, she just had to ask. "But seriously. Lizzy? What, do both of you just have really bad taste in girls?"
There was a blur of static that crackled like a horrid cacophony of wheezing breaths—it took Uzi a little too long to realize that it was just Thad trying to laugh. "She isn't so bad," he rasped, his voice barely holding together through the distortion. "You and her would get along if you both—"
"Doubt it," Uzi scoffed as she stood and walked toward the fallen popular girl, who was face down in the snow. "But I guess I can deal with her if I have to—oof!" She had just reached out to shake Lizzy out of her dazed state, only to get smacked straight across the face by the back of a hand. A hand that was swung by Lizzy, who had suddenly thrown herself onto her knees and was now holding a…severed arm as a weapon. The hit itself was nothing compared to the injuries already covering Uzi's body, but that wasn't the point. It wasn't the pain that got to her, it was the sheer audacity of what just happened. It somehow felt insulting!
"Did you just slap me with that arm?" Uzi demanded, her voice caught somewhere between outrage and the kind of incredulous disbelief that made her question her life choices.
Lizzy, to her credit, barely seemed to acknowledge the question. She blinked down at the severed limb still clutched in her hand, turning it idly like she was only now realizing what she'd done. "Huh. Guess I did," she mumbled. "I just grabbed whatever was in the snow and swung at whoever was dumb enough to get close." Then, with a shrug and absolutely zero remorse, she added, "Well, think of it as payback for dragging us into the side of the Great War full of psychopaths."
Rather than argue or give into the temptation of drop-kicking Lizzy back into the snow, Uzi grabbed the girl by the shoulders and forced her on her feet with absolutely zero gentleness. "If you've got enough energon to run your mouth, then you've got enough to walk."
Lizzy stumbled the moment she was forced to carry her own weight, her entire frame shuddered as the countless dents and scratches along her outer shell sent sharp pain through her systems. She clutched the severed arm in her off-hand and began to use it as a makeshift cane, just to keep herself upright. "Primus-shocking-damn it, Uzi—ow! Could you maybe not manhandle me like I'm a crate of spare parts?"
"Oh, quit being a protoform and help me with Doll."
"Ugh, fiiiine." Uzi was actually grateful that Lizzy didn't make some awful pun about offering a hand.
Together, they trudged toward Doll's unconscious body. She had already been mangled before, but somehow, she looked even worse now—her frame was twisted in a way that made Uzi's spark chamber uncomfortably. It was pure luck that she hadn't lost a limb after tumbling across the snow earlier.
Then again… there was still a chance that could happen. The moment they grabbed a hold of her, the true extent of the damage became painfully obvious. The plating groaned under their grip, soft metal was shifting in ways it absolutely shouldn't. Uzi could feel it weakening beneath her fingers, every dent and gash a grim reminder of just how close her cousin was to losing her spark entirely. "Vector Sigma," the short drone muttered through clenched teeth as she hoisted Doll's legs while Lizzy took her arms. The unconscious bot's head lolled against the latter's chest, her expression eerily serene—an almost cute look, if not for the sheer desperation of their situation. Uzi tried not to stare at the sight for too long, as it really wasn't helping the guilt she still felt. But when she caught her own reflection in Doll's cracked visor—she froze. Hadn't that thing been completely shattered earlier?
A throb pulsed through her head, and a flicker of distortion crawled across her vision. Another warning—something about recognizing an unknown program again. There were lines of unreadable code scrolling in the periphery of her vision. Uzi shook it away as there would be time to run a self-diagnosis later. Right now, she just needed to focus on something else—anything else—so she looked at Lizzy and asked, "Why did you guys come back? I thought you were heading for the colony?"
"Yeah, well, that was the plan—until we got hounded by that psycho with the fork. We weren't gonna make it. Our best shot was running back toward you and that Angel guy." Lizzy paused for a moment to adjust her grip on Doll's arm while glancing around for the Autobot. "Where is that freak, anyway?"
"Don't call him that."
Lizzy scoffed. "What do you care what I call him—"
Then, there was an explosion. The blast was like a shockwave, sending snow and debris flying as a rusted-out vehicle barely twenty meters away was obliterated in a violent burst of flame. Standing atop the smoldering wreckage, silhouetted by the inferno, was N. His wings were spread wide, and his visor burned with an intensity that nearly rivaled the flames below. For a brief moment, he was still—a phantom against the firelight—before he lunged straight back into the melee. Bonesmasher barely had time to fire his oversized cannon again before N met him mid-charge, slamming into the Decepticon with brutal force.
Lizzy stared at the sight in shock, her jaw going slightly slack. It was a rare moment where she was completely at a loss for words. "His name is N." Uzi's voice barely registered as she spoke out, almost to herself. "He's a friend."
The wording was enough to grab at Lizzy's attention as she blinked, then slowly turned toward the smaller drone. "You have those?" She waited for the 'Bite me' to come back as a retort. When she got nothing but silence, Lizzy's expression shifted slightly—just a hint of concern showing in her eyes. "Uh, hey. That was a jab at you having no friends, just so you know." Still, Uzi didn't respond. Her focus was entirely on N as he was putting up one hell of a fight.
The Autobot was practically untouchable, he weaved through the storm of blaster fire from both Negatron and Bonesmasher with such skill that it almost looked practiced. He ducked low beneath a searing bolt, then twisted himself sideways past another, before finally launched himself across the snow. In less than a nano-click, he was face-to-face with Grindor, their weapons clashing in a burst of sparks—N's blade versus the rotors of Grindor's makeshift buzzsaw.
Despite the size difference between the two drones, N was able to push back the taller Decepticon back with a surprising level of strength. He deflected the Grindor's rotors, creating an opening for the sharp syringe-tip of his tail that was aimed straight for the 'Con's other arm—but it wasn't enough.
There was no denying that he was strong. He wasn't just holding his own; he was thriving in the chaos of the fight, he was maneuvering and striking like a machine possessed. But every time N gained an edge in the fight, another Decepticon was there to tip the balance. It was still three against one.
Negatron's oar not only blocked the stab from N's tail, but the tip of the syringe stuck within the wood-painted metal. N barely even had time to mutter something, before the brown armored drone would yank the oar back, dragging the tail and—by extension—pulling its owner off balance. That's when Bonesmasher struck. He rushed forward like a wrecking ball, slamming his shoulder into right N's chest with such force that the Autobot was lifted off his feet and hurled him backwards into the snow. Grindor's rotors spun back to full speed as he saw a opportunity, he moved forward with his blades aimed to carve the Angel of Death in half—only for N dodge out of the way, as in the split-second before impact came, he slid himself right between Grindor's legs, missing the killing blow by a hair's breadth.
Before Negatron could react, N came at him, there was a flash of silver as his blade carved across the older drone's chest. Sparks burst from the impact—he left a mark, but the armor was too thick. That didn't matter, as the Angel was still able to dodge and counter the swing from Bonesmasher's mining arm in one fluid motion—using a wing to deflect the blow. He then raised his blade for another attack, but was forced to back away when Grindor charged in from the side to separate him from the group.
If it were a fair fight—hell, even a two-on-one—N would've carved through them like a hot plasma torch through scrap. But this was anything but fair. As he vaulted backward to create some breathing room, Negatron's boot came crashing down on his tail. There was a hard tug, and once more, N lost his balance. In the blink of an optic, Bonesmasher lashed out again—his mining fork snagging N's blade arm and yanking him with monstrous strength. There was a sickening snap. The tail tore in half under Negatron's boot, and a violent splash of inner energon sprayed across the snow. The torn hydraulic lines writhed like severed nerves. Before N could even scream, he was hurled through the air and sent into the side of a building hard enough to leave a giant dent, the crunch of steel and shattering glass echoing down the block. Broken mirror panels and debris rained down around him in a glimmering cascade—but N didn't even acknowledge any of it as he threw himself back onto his feet before the last shard hit the ground and ran back into the fray.
He was losing. Anyone could see it, but he didn't care. It obviously wasn't about winning for him and that seriously pissed Uzi off. "He's the only reason we aren't scrap right now. I should be helping him, but instead, I'm—" She let out a snarl of frustration that was fueled by her own self-annoyance. "Shock it!" Without even a hint of hesitation, she dropped Doll's legs and began to run toward the fight.
Lizzy barely managed to keep her hold on Doll's upper half at the sudden shift in weight. "What the hell are you doing?" she shouted, staggering as she fought to keep her balance, her frame screaming in protest from the effort. "Loser, get back here!"
Uzi didn't even spare her a glance as she moved herself forward, each rushed step sinking into the snow and slowing her down as she tried to ignore her own pains. Her right arm shifted with a mechanical grind, unfolding and locking into its cannon mode, followed by a click that echoed from within her frame—her safety was off. In an instant, electricity snapped to life across her frame in vibrant green arcs that crackled violently with power.
Thad had just barely pulled himself upright. His whole frame was shaking like it could fall apart at any second. He tried to take his mind off of it by looking around—that is when he noticed the fight. Then he spotted Uzi marching headfirst toward it, arm-cannon raised up as she was trying to find a clear target. As quickly as he could, he moved to stop her. Although with both of them limping, it was not much of a chase—especially when Uzi began to bark orders at him. "Thad! Transform, then get Lizzy and Doll to the Colony. Don't stop, don't slow down, just go!"
"You gotta be…" He fell into a coughing fit as his voice was still filled with static. "No! Uzi, we're not leaving you behind again! You're almost as badly hurt as we are—"
"Ugh!" Uzi spun herself around to face him, her optics bright with frustration. "Oh, my Primus, we don't have time for this!" The arm cannon at her side hissed with building energy as she stepped toward him—close enough now that their height difference barely mattered with how poorly he was standing. "I'm staying. I'm helping N. And if you don't like that, then you can just bite—"
Just then, the ground beneath their feet exploded. There was a deafening boom that split the air as snow and shrapnel erupted skyward in a blinding whiteout that swallowed everything whole. Then—something hit Uzi. Hard.
She felt the air leave her internal vents the moment the force slammed into her chest like a shot from a tank. One instant she was shouting—the next, she was airborne, spinning backward through the snow. The world turned to white, then black, and then—Pincers. Massive ones. They clamped down on her shoulders like a vice, ripping her out of the air and slamming her bodily into the frozen street. Her back hit the metal with a servo-rattling crash, the impact rippling through her entire frame. Pain lanced through her core, sharp and immediate. Her inner workings glitched violently—unknown symbols and warnings flashed red across her optics.
She barely had time to process the monstrosity that hovered over her. It was the same Insecticon that had ambushed N. Its massive frame was all jagged armor and twitching limbs, the mandibles were clicking with maddening anticipation. A chorus of tiny insectoid shrieks buzzed from its mouth as it leaned closer, with multi-faceted optics that were each filled with anger. If Uzi were to guess why, she would say it was probably pissed at her for kicking it earlier.
"Oh, slag!" Not being able to properly think at the moment, Uzi tried to wrangle herself free from underneath the creature, to give herself a chance to shoot the overgrown bug with her arm-cannon—but she was pinned. The creature's barbed legs had buried themselves into the ground, anchoring itself as it pressed down on her with its heavier weight. No matter how hard she tried, Uzi couldn't so much as budge her cannon into any position to actually aim at the thing.
This caused more panic to flare within her circuits. Her optics flicked upward—just in time to see the Insecticon's tail coil back. With a sickening snap, it lunged the stringer downward. Uzi was barely able to twist head aside in the nick of time, the tail slamming into the metal just inches from her face. A toxic hiss filled the air as the venom-laced tip burned through the street like acid, a line of steam curling upward from the melting metal.
"Vector Sigma!" Uzi yelled, as she struggled harder against her restraints, pulling herself hard enough that she was threatening to disconnect her own limbs if it meant a chance at freedom. All while the Insecticon screeched, its mandibles snapping in frustration as it yanked its tail free, preparing for another plunge—only for Thad to come roaring in from the side. "Get off my friend, you shock!" He tackled the tail with everything he had, catching it mid-lunge, and wrenching it back with all his might to keep it away from Uzi. The Insecticon thrashed in a fury, it was trying to shake him off, but Thad held on with a death grip, his already damaged arms straining even further with the effort. Sparks burst from nearly broken joints, and plating was literally peeling away due to the sheer force of the struggle against the Insecticon's superior strength. But even as his arms burned from within like he had never felt before, even as his frame gave deep groans of imminent failure and warnings were flooding his visor again, Thad refused to let go. "Uzi!" he howled through gritted teeth, "For Primus's sake—shoot the damn thing!"
"You think I am trying to make friends with it?" Uzi snapped back.
"I wouldn't mind if that was also an option!" The scorpion began to violently buckle and writhed in an attempt to dislodge the battered drone clinging to its tail. Which meant—for just a moment—it wasn't fully focused on Uzi. She took that as her opening.
With a desperate scream, Uzi threw her head back—then snapped it forward with every ounce of internal power she could muster, slamming her visor straight into the Insecticon's multi-eyed face. The blow was strong enough to force the creature back, it let out a shriek of pain so high-pitched it bordered on being inaudible. She could feel its grip on her loosen, just slightly, but not nearly enough. As much as Uzi tried to force her arm-cannon up, to wedge it beneath the scorpion's massive frame, she needed more room, just a little more leverage—
"Primus shocking damn it, Uzi!" Lizzy suddenly came into view, "You know I fragging hate bugs!" In one fluid motion, she raised the severed arm she'd wielded earlier—the very same one she had slapped Uzi with—and she plunged its jagged, broken end straight into the Insecticon's shoulder joint. The improvised weapon pierced through the carapace-like armor of the scorpion with a sickening crunch. Thick black energon burst from the wound in a pressurized spray, painting Lizzy's arm and the snow in greasy, steaming gore. The creature screeched, a horrid sound that echoed off the frozen buildings. Its body recoiled in agony, mandibles snapping and limbs flailing as its hold on the ground finally broke.
That was all Uzi needed. She was able to wedge her arm-cannon directly between the armor plates of the creature's vulnerable underbelly. She wanted to give a badass one-liner, or say something witty. Instead she just screamed out, "Shock you" at the absolute height of her vocal components while she pulled her internal trigger.
The plasma discharge she fired erupted with a deafening boom . For a fraction of a second, the Insecticon froze. Its limbs began to lock up mid-twitch, and its entire grotesque body seizing up violently—then it detonated. Green light tore into the Insecticon's undercarriage, it was a single shot that burned through armor, circuits, and anything resembling an internal structure leaving nothing but a spectacular eruption of shrapnel and scorched energon. Jagged plating and biomechal viscera were flung skyward like the universe itself had hit 'Delete.' Nothing truly remained except for scorch marks in the snow and the lingering stench of burning metal. Well, one piece managed to survive mostly intact.
Thad, who had been flung back by the concussive blast and was keeping his eyes closed as he expected the worse the entire time he wrestled with the tail, began to slowly open his optics. He half-expected to find himself in pieces. Instead, he found his arms still locked around something heavy and twitching. It was the Insecticon's tail, or rather, what was left of it. The appendage was reduced to a smoldering wreck that hung over his shoulder.
"…Holy slag." His eyes grew wide as he inspected the limb, turning it over like it was some kind of trophy. "That's so Prime!" Without missing a beat, he hefted the thing toward Lizzy, who was still gripping the mangled arm she'd just used to stab a vehicle-sized bug. He smiled as he made his offer, "Upgrade?"
Lizzy let out a wheezing laugh that was very much unlike her usual self. "You're an absolute dork." She tossed the arm aside, and turned her gaze toward Uzi—who was slowly dragging herself back up from the ground. A grimace had crossed her face; she realized she was covered in inner energon. The black substance had splattered across her face, her hoodie, and even her cannon arm—every inch of her dripped with it in heavy, black globs. It oozed from her limbs in thick, wet splats, staining the snow beneath her while leaving behind a near-perfect silhouette of white where she'd been moments ago.
Somehow, that just made Lizzy laugh harder. "Well, look on the bright side," she said through barely contained giggles, "you were already in desperate need of a wardrobe change."
"Bite. Me." Uzi made sure to stress her words out—before flipping Lizzy the one-finger salute with her normal hand.
Thad quickly stepped between the two before another round of insults could fly. "Hold on, where's Doll?" Though every word that came out of him was distorted like a damaged radio transmission—it didn't matter. The moment he said their Endrua's name, Lizzy's eyes widened in alarm.
"Oh, scrap." Spinning on her heel, she bolted toward the unconscious drone, who was lying awkwardly in the snow, limbs sprawled in a position that could only be described as comically disrespectful. It was glaringly obvious she'd been unceremoniously dumped when Lizzy ran off to help the others.
Thad winced as he followed behind Lizzy, and saw the state of the favorite Russian speaking drone. "...She is going to be so mad at us when she wakes up."
Lizzy waved a half-heartedly dismissive hand with a surprisingly weak amount of confidence. "Eh, it's not that bad. I think she'll understand." They locked eyes for a moment, and collectively knew that Doll would absolutely understand… and not care. She'd been tossed, dropped, dragged, and dropped again in a single hour—context be damned, she is not gonna be happy with either of them. "Well, at least it'll be hot when she yells at us for her mistreatment. And look, if we can go five minutes without anything else trying to kill us, I call that a wi—" Lizzy's didn't even finish the sentence before a furious roar shattered the calm that they had.
"They killed Pincher!"
One of Lizzy's eyes twitched. "—That wasn't even twenty seconds." All three of the colony drones turned toward the source of the shout. To absolutely no one's surprise, Bonesmasher was already barreling straight for them, his massive frame kicking up snow in his wake. His plasma cannon was already charging, the core inside glowing an angry white-hot, like a mini sun ready to vaporize whatever was in its path.
While Thad and Lizzy flinched at the sight of the weapon, Uzi had raised her arm-cannon on instinct, snapping it up into firing position as her stance shifted into a defiant brace. She knew she couldn't dodge the Decepticon cannon shot. None of them could. But if they were going out, she wanted to go out on her own terms. But before she could pull her trigger again, a blur of black and silver crashed into Bonesmasher's side, sending both of them tumbling through the snow in a chaotic whirlwind of metal and sparks.
Uzi recognized it as N immediately. She watched as the Angel and the brute were violently scrambling for dominance in a mess of claws and blade. When they both regained their footing, Bonesmasher was the first to lash out—he tried to throw a kick aimed straight at N's midsection, only for the Angel to not only catch the limb but yanked it toward himself, giving him a chance to smash his elbow directly into the side of the knee-joint. A hideous crack echoed across the battlefield as sparks erupted from Bonesmasher's leg, the brute roaring in agony as he collapsed. But N didn't stop his assault as he lunged himself forward, ramming his own knee straight into Bonesmasher's already cracked visor, leaving a spiderweb of cracks so deep that it was impossible to make out the Decepticons' eyes.
Negatron had then appeared from behind the pair, and he saw his chance—he rushed forward and raised his blaster, jamming the barrel right up against N's head. He was too slow though, the Angel was able to twist himself out of the way, a beam of raw plasma whizzing just past his cheek. Before Negatron could adjust his aim, N's hand shot out and clamped around his throat. He lifted the older drone up in the air and smashed him directly into Bonesmasher's staggering form at full force. The two Decepticons collapsed in a mangled heap of twisted limbs and leaking energon.
Uzi's optics locked onto Grindor, who was already surging forward in a rush to aid his fallen teammates. Every part of her frame screamed at her to do the same for N, to charge in and fight alongside him. Her arm-cannon whirred to life, power surged within as it prepared to fire—but then she heard it. A struggling mechanical whine that sounded like a glitching T-Cog trying to sync with its main function, only…it couldn't.
She looked toward the others, and saw the sound had come from Thad. His transformation cycle had failed. The shell of his alt. mode had jammed, misfolded plates had twisted across his frame, leaving him stuck in a grotesque, half-shifted state. Metal warped and groaned as his body tried—and failed—to complete the cycle. The result was a violent, pulsing mess of glitching servos and shifting panels, like his own frame was trying to crush itself. "S–Shock, this hurts! Oh Primus!" Thad's voice cracked beneath the grinding of his own parts, he was barely even audible.
"Thad!" Lizzy was already at his side, and had both hands gripping a chunk of half-folded plating. She was trying to manually force it into place. But she wasn't strong enough to do it on her own. "Ern—it's stuck!"
Uzi felt conflicted as gaze flicked—just for a moment—toward the battlefield again. Toward N as he was still outnumbered. Still fighting. Still alone. Then she heard Thad scream. Another failed transformation attempt sent him convulsing, as his mass began to jerk erratically and a sickening pop echoed from within his being as something clearly broke off. Lizzy gritted her teeth, throwing more of her weight against the shifting plates, but nothing came of it. "Holy shock, this shocking hurts!" Thad rasped, his messy voice laced with agony. "Shock! Shock! Shoock!"
"I'm trying, Thad!" Lizzy shouted back, desperation showing in her voice. Her pink eyes were filled with fear and worry for her Endura as she tried to help him. "Primus' sake, why won't this connect?"
Uzi's single hand balled into fist and she muttered a bitter, "Damn it," before she forced herself to turn away from the fight and ran toward Thad's side. She transformed her arm-cannon away and dropped to her knees, before slamming her hands against his trembling plating. "Come on," she grunted. "We have to hurry!"
"You think I'm trying to take my time fondling him?" Lizzy snapped back, Her eyes were locked on the misaligned parts as she braced for another shove. "Not exactly my idea of a date!" The two girls shoved together and were able to force a single plate into position with a loud snap —the process of connection was loud and jarring, but solid. One section down. At least fifty more to go.
And the entire time they went to work, Uzi tried to her best to ignore the sounds of the fighting, the screams, and the fact that her friend might be getting killed.
