Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It happened far too suddenly.

Uzi didn’t know what was happening. Loud sounds kept going off, bright lights trying to blind her, the heat of flames attempting to consume her. Other Worker Drones were running all around and screaming.

Not like they were on a coaster or watching a scary adult movie. This terror wasn’t fake. It was real.

And her daddy was no different. Khan’s grip on her wrist was tight and his optical lights had tears in the corners. Uzi didn’t know where mommy was. And dad wouldn’t tell her.

All Uzi could do was keep running after her father, even as her feet barely met the ground and she kept tripping over the rocks, snow, and…

Arms and legs…?

Uzi called out to her father, but he didn’t answer. The deafening noises around them wouldn’t allow it. Tears spilled from Uzi’s eye rings. Her plush crow in her arms was the only thing keeping her calm enough to keep going.

But, in the distance, Uzi could see a large metal building getting closer. Khan sped up, nearly leaving his daughter behind. Another loud boom rumbled the ground and made fire flare. It licked at their feet as they booked for the open doors.

A creature came barreling down in front of them. Khan was forced to skid to a halt, Uzi falling onto her butt. He barely managed to get her back up before turning around to run in a different direction.

It didn’t matter. A shrill whistle flew over the two’s heads before the object making it made contact with the ground. Another blast rang out, this time separating the small family.

Blinding fire and suffocating smoke disoriented the alpha–stage worker girl. Uzi went flying as more debris rocketed into the sky. Right when she landed on the ground, she lost the air in her vents.

And for a short moment, things went quiet. The only thing she could hear was the static in her audials. Warnings she couldn’t quite read flooded her HUD. The scent of smoke hung heavy in the air, too strong for her poor air filter to sift through.

It took a while for Uzi to regain her senses. She closed out all the warnings and stumbled to her short, cylindrical hands and feet. Uzi looked around in a daze, barely registering everything happening around her.

Her sights landed on her crow plushie—crispy on the edges and missing a leg but intact otherwise. Uzi picked it up and began walking, noting a limp in her left leg. Pain spiked in her limb every time she walked. In fact, pain spiked everywhere.

But Uzi called out for her dad through her tears and the thunderous chaos. Yet another fire erupted right by her. Uzi turned, her CPU still unbearably dazed.

‘It looks like a flower blooming…’ The little girl thought.

The thought was discarded quickly as the ground shook once more. Uzi fell down again and partially snapped from her stupor. Her hollowed eye lights cast upon the carnage around her.

Flying drones flooded the sky and made artificial rainfall. Metal droplets pelted the ground and left holes. Uzi turned just in time to see some guy get rained on and left with the same holes.

He didn’t get up after that.

His oil began getting soaked up by the snow.

With a fearful step back, Uzi was snapped from her unaware fog. She gripped her plushie tighter and began running through the foray again. More metal raindrops fell from the flying robots shrieking and laughing above. More Worker Drones fell to the ground in heaps and didn’t get back up.

As Uzi ran, she screamed for her father. Her voice was all but drowned out by everything around her. Uzi couldn’t even hear herself. But she kept shouting for her daddy until her voice box popped with static.

A building nearby growled and groaned. Uzi whipped around to it, watching as a tsunami of dust blossomed from the base of the structure. The entire building began crumbling under the constant fire, roaring one final cry of hurt as it collapsed.

Uzi started running even faster. Even the creatures in the sky were retreating from the falling building. And as the wave of dust caught up with the young girl, Uzi was swept off her feet and lost all of her senses.

Silence.

It was the first thing that registered for Uzi.

Sluggishly, her systems booted up one at a time. It took a long time before she could finally open her optics or twitch her fingers. As her aforementioned eyes flickered to life, Uzi saw the carnage around her.

Small, lingering fires crackled, snow was burnt, ash and smoke drifted through the air in a smog, debris lay everywhere, and unmoving bodies sat with them. The creatures from before were gone.

The only trace left behind was the battlefield they’d wrought.

With the tiniest of noises, Uzi hobbled to her feet. Her stiff, unsteady limbs could barely carry her weight. Yet Uzi stood tall amongst the rubble and destruction.

Her right optic flickered and was dim compared to her left. A large and thick crack ran down that side of her visor. Subtle waves of pain echoed through the crack. It, just like Uzi’s rugged and shallow vents, went unnoticed in the numbness of shock.

Through it all, Uzi managed to pick up her stuffed animal again. The poor thing was even more abused. Threads snapped and limbs barely clinging on. Fur scorched and leaving black marks whenever one brushed their hand against it. Eyes partially melted from the sheer heat of flames alone.

But Uzi hugged it to her chest and trudged her way through what was left of last night. And at this point, she wasn’t even sure she recognized the place.

Buildings had fallen, drones were dead, ash marred objects, holes littered the snow, and the air smelt like fried circuits. Uzi had no idea where the roads even were anymore. The streetlamps were gone, the signs, too.

So she traveled wherever her feet took her.

Along the path riddled with death and decimation, where the smoke wasn’t so suffocatingly thick, where the fires sizzled out, and where she might find her daddy.

‘Daddy…’ It was Uzi’s first thought after the battle. ‘Where is daddy…?’

She opened her mouth to call for him, but all that came was static. Uzi tried again, quite a few times, but all it did was make her voice synthesizer crackle and pop out a spark. Uzi clutched her throat as she began to cough and hack, her legs giving out on her.

Any air Uzi took in to soothe her voice box or vents was rifled with gritty dust and carbon. And not the good candy kind, but the kind that follows the extinguishing of a candle or an overworked machine.

Yet the girl’s focus turned to the spark that had erupted from her mouth. A tiny flare, a puny speck of heat. All from her and no monsters of the sky.

The dying fires around her caught Uzi’s attention. They stared back at her as she did them. They were the only light source, heat source, sound source. The only living thing sitting in this wasteland with her.

‘Can I… Make a fire, too?’ The girl wondered.

The train was stopped as her tanks shuddered. She’d forgotten she hadn’t eaten dinner last night. Uzi got back to her feet, taking her ruined plushie with her. Beginning her trek again, Uzi decided to find something to eat. And maybe along the way, she’ll find her father.

However, it would take a while as Uzi’s pace was unbearably slow. Her limbs didn’t want to work like she wanted them to. Heck, they never worked like she wanted them to. But they were really stubborn this time.

Walking so awkwardly made Uzi leave streaking tracks in the ashen snow. She didn’t notice, too preoccupied trying to find food. Anything would do, she thinks, even yucky cell batteries or coagulating gel.

The sun was fading away. Uzi was lucky enough to find a—stable enough—shelter somewhere edging the city. The tiny post office was in ruins from the inside out, but it was standing.

Uzi dragged inside some torn couch cushions and a dirty tarp. It wasn’t a great bed, but it was the best she had. Though, it wasn’t anything that would be good to eat.

After setting up her “bed” behind the front counter, Uzi sat down with her bird plush. The last remnants of sun were falling below the horizon now, leaving everything else dark and lonely.

The shop, too, fell dark and lonely. Uzi peeked over the counter to stare at the empty shelves and cracked floor. She couldn’t see or hear anyone outside. It was just her.

Uzi hid behind the counter and pulled her plush and tarp “blanket” tighter to her chest. She tried to roll towards the wall and get some sleep, but it was impossible. The dark was scary, especially when she was all alone.

Not to mention that it had fallen far colder without the sun. Uzi shivered like a leaf in a hurricane. The flimsy tarp wasn’t doing her any favors with blocking out the cold. Not like how the fires from last night would.

With a new idea, Uzi got back up. She gathered as many scattered papers and cardboard boxes as she could. Setting the said papers into the box, Uzi made herself a “fire pit.” She then looked around for anything to try and light it.

There was metal all around, but it was heavy. And there weren’t any matches or lighters she could use like her cartoons showed her. All she had was herself.

Another deep shudder ran across her entire frame. Uzi looked to the outside, still not seeing anything she could use to make a fire.

‘How did they make fire in my shows?’ She wondered, stepping hesitantly closer to the broken windows. ‘They used matches and lighters. I think wires, too.’

Uzi turned to find some wires. Which wasn’t hard, since a few thick ones were sticking out of the wall. Uzi dragged them over to her box and put the severed tips inside. Yet as she waited, nothing happened.

“Why isn’t it working?” She questioned quietly.

Kicking the box and wires did nothing. Waving the wires about hadn’t done a thing, either. Trying to squeeze them gave her no results. Giving them a loving kiss and singing a few hopeful praises also proved fruitless.

Nothing she did lit her fire. Uzi instead ditched the idea and crawled under her tarp, curling close into her torn cushions to conserve a little heat. The ash on her plush felt warm.

It was hard to keep count of how many days keep on passing by. Without school, Uzi didn’t know whether it was Monday, Thursday, or even a new eighth day of the week. All she knew was that her tanks have been hurting the past few days.

Her bodily lights are dim and she can barely even move. But she forced her body to keep going even though it hurts. It feels like her tanks shake and rumble every other minute. It’s hard to even think straight sometimes.

Uzi focuses on the tapping of her footsteps as she moves through the… What was this?

She can’t remember…

She doesn’t know…

Her bare feet are numb to the cold floor, though. That much she knows. Though, a lot of her body is numb to, well, a lot of things. Pain, cold, ache, dirt, movements, touch. The only thing she can truly feel is the hunger sitting deeply rooted in her tanks.

The feeling of something warm under her foot stirs Uzi from her narcosis. Her gaze turns down to a small puddle of oil on the floor. She stares for a solid couple of seconds before she sits down in the corner.

Under a bright window, with utensils, drawers, and other things littering the floor. Cabinets have no doors and the lights above are broken. But it’s a nice space, Uzi thinks, if a little chilly.

And if there’s one thing that Uzi has learned on her own out in the wastes, it’s that metal likes to make sparks.

Picking up a rock, Uzi starts scraping it along her arm. The first few tries only scratches her plating even more. But it eventually creates a few bright specks that land on the oil. And it takes a couple more tries until the oil ignites.

Blooming like a flower, the fire creates a soothing warmth in the cold of the room. Uzi stares into the bright flame, wisping and whispering to her while she picks up a random can and slowly chews on it.

The taste is horrible. Terribly bitter while having a vile aftertaste. And the rust on it makes the texture gross and gritty. But it’s the most delicious thing she’s had in ages.

Uzi finishes the can before she realizes it. She only does so when she bites down on her finger. Uzi lets her hand fall as she continues to stare into the endless light of the fire.

Yet her staring is disturbed by the sound of repetitive tapping. At first, Uzi didn’t recognize it. But as the sound got closer, she realized there were drones approaching her.

The fear that it was those creatures from that night however long ago had her eye lights turning to rings. Uzi’s core picked up in pace and she crushed herself into the corner of the room.

From the doorway came drones wearing primarily dark clothes but with some colored accents here and there. On their frames were various dangerous things; bats, guns, knives, spears, even swords.

But the most notable thing about them were the horns adorning their heads. Different kinds from different animals, yet also ones unique and not belonging to an animal. Even those were in different colors.

One of the dark, weapon and armor-clad robots turned towards her. His large, mahogany antlers were intimidating as they stood on his head. Fog blew from some sort of vents or something on his helmet.

The drone started walking towards Uzi. She was scared even more and looked around for any weapon of her own. She plucked a chipped and rusting bread knife from off the floor, pointing it at the man as her brows furrowed and her teeth grit.

“S-STAY BACK!!” She shouted even though static laced her voice. “I’LL CUT YOU UP! I SWEAR I WILL!!”

The robot stopped just two steps away from her. The mahogany stranger slowly kneeled down in front of her, his hands raised by his head. They then turned to his helmet, pressing some buttons so that the seams would pop loose.

Taking off the armor, it was revealed to be a man under it. His red eye lights took in the young girl; Tattered, filthy, scorched, starving no doubt, yet…

Very defiant.

The man chuckles breathily, making Uzi’s grip on her knife tighter. “I can’t say it’s everyday that you see a little kid brandishing a knife at an adult.” He joked.

But Uzi was having none of it. She waved her weapon about hastily and messily. The man just watched, didn’t even move. His optics returned to her face plates, taking her in with a look she couldn’t read.

“Did you light that fire on your own?” He asked, voice slightly gruff—like his voice box was scraped with sandpaper.

Uzi didn’t respond. Her gaze just narrowed on him. But the man glanced at the said fire—or what remained. The oil was all used up.

“You’re a little young to be lighting fires,” He spoke next. “And too inexperienced to be a threat with that flimsy thing.” His gaze turned back to the girl.

“MEANIE!! I can still cut you!” Uzi hollered back.

The mahogany stranger just scoffed with an amused smirk. “Maybe if I was a loaf of silicone bread, sure. But otherwise, you’re not getting very far.”

Uzi just growled. Or maybe her tanks did. It was hard to tell.

But the man knew as his eye lights had widened. He let out a soft sigh and pulled something from a pocket. Uzi stiffened and tried swiping at him. The man caught the rusting blade between two fingers, stopping her easily.

“Here. I can’t spare too much right now, but this should help your starvation problem. At least a little.” The mahogany stranger offered her a floppy disk.

Uzi stared down at it. She couldn’t resist snatching it from his hands and scarfing it down. The man would’ve laughed again if he didn’t know how dire her situation was.

“What’s your name, girl?” He inquired with a cock of his head.

“Mmf– Uzi.” She replied, licking her fingers clean of dirt and floppy disk.

“Well, that’s a nice name. After the gun, right?” The man chuckled.

Uzi only gave him a puzzled look. He reset his voice box behind his hand.

“Well, Uzi, you’ve really intrigued me.” The mahogany stranger spoke. “Despite being on the verge of death, you’re still fighting hard to survive. It’s not something you see everyday, and especially not at someone your age.” He smiled gently at her.

The little girl didn’t know how to respond. She curled in on herself and shied away from her man. The mahogany stranger let out another sigh but offered his hand.

“If you come with me, I can give you new clothes, food to eat, oil to drink, a bed to sleep in, shelter from the snow and rain, and ways to light fires.” He told her. “It sounds far better than waiting for a slow and painful death, doesn’t it?” He cocked his head again.

Still, Uzi didn’t quite reply. “…You promise…?” She inquired softly.

“I promise.” The mahogany stranger nodded.

Uzi glanced at his hand. She lifted her own trembling one and took it weakly. The man carefully picked her up and sat her on his hip. He turned to walk out the door and give this girl another shot at life.

“What’s your name?” Uzi suddenly whispered, her tiny, stiff hands clutching onto his cloak.

“My name is Wulfenite.” He replied.

“It’s nice to meet you, Wulfienite.” Uzi spoke just as her optics closed.

Wulfenite chuckled. “Nice to meet you, too, Uzi.”

Chapter Text

The place Wulfenite took Uzi to was surprisingly busy. Though, maybe that’s just from everyone crowding around the new kid and cooing at her.

“She’s adorable!”

“So small, though.”

“Wonder where this one came from.”

“Another mouth to feed? And more than usual, too.”

“Don’t be like that!”

Uzi shied away from all the prying optics, hiding herself behind Wulfenite. He sighed out and waved his hand, parting the crowd. The horned strangers continued to stare as she was taken into their home.

Turning to said home—and new one for Uzi—she saw it was very scrap-like. Not surprising since these guys live in a literal scrapyard. Metal crates were transformed into rooms and housing. Tarps, banners, and other large scraps of cloth were posted up for shade. Trash, scrap, and furniture littered the hideout in huge piles on every side.

It was intimidating for Uzi. She’d never seen a place like this, and the drones with the sharp horns, thick scars, and uncountable weapons all staring at her didn’t make her feel any better.

“I see you brought back a little ‘souvenir’ from your outing, Wulfenite.” A man spoke, a smirk on his lips.

The two turned to see a guy with short, emerald green klipspringer horns and equally green eye lights coming towards them. He turned to Uzi, looking her over before letting out a short laugh and planting his gloved hands onto his blue coveralls’ hips.

“It’s quite a tiny one, I’ll give you that. Thought you’d take in something bigger.” He remarked in a tease.

“Don’t act like she’s some sort of pet, Gneiss.” Wulfenite retorted flatly, his look just as so.

“I’m sorry! But you also can’t act like it isn’t true that this girl isn’t tiny as hell!” Gneiss gestured to Uzi with his hands.

Wulfenite wanted to argue, but he truly couldn’t. Uzi was tiny. But part of him has the suspicion it’s from her lack of good nutrition.

“Well, she won’t be tiny for long. Not when she gets a stable diet and has somewhere to call home.” The mahogany-horned man argued instead.

“You think the Boss is gonna allow it?” Gneiss wondered as his arms crossed.

“Dunno, but I’ll try.” Wulfenite sighed back.

Gneiss was similar, his stance falling a little. “Fine! Fine. I’ll come with!” He smirked again as he followed the two.

“I didn’t ask you to come.” Wulfenite told him.

“But you were thinking it!” Gneiss chuckled.

“Was not.”

“Was too~~!!”

Wulfenite just sighed. But as Gneiss went unusually quiet, he turned to him. His friend’s expression had fallen into something more serious. A sweat drop blinked onto Wulfenite’s visor.

“You might need the help.” His Klipspringer-horned friend told him. “Not only will you need someone to help convince the Boss, but it’s not going to be easy taking care of a kid. Not with our job.” He went on.

Wulfenite truly couldn’t argue that. “I know. But I couldn’t leave her there to die.” His grip on Uzi’s hand tightened.

Gneiss glanced at Uzi again. She stared back curiously yet was still very shy. As Gneiss gave her a friendly smirk, he turned back to his buddy.

“You know, I know you’re a sucker for kids, but one day, it’s really gonna bite you in the ass.” He stated.

“But it hasn’t yet.” Wulfenite retorted.

Gneiss sighed but decided not to comment further. They were coming upon their boss’ office anyway.

The scrapyard waited patiently. Tense silence hung heavy and thick in the air like smoke. And while sharpening weapons or clinking guns tried to break it, the silence was stubborn. No one spoke a word, or they were very quiet.

Such tensity lasted until a door groaned open. Everyone turned towards Wulfenite as he stepped out of the boss’ office. He walked up to the group and urged Uzi to step forward with a small smile.

“Everyone, say hello to Uzi.” The gruff-voiced man said.

Finally, the uneasy atmosphere broke in an instant. The whole scrapyard whooped and greeted their newest little member. Uzi, although startled, couldn’t help but smile back at them.

“I can’t believe you actually convinced the Boss to keep the girl.” Someone chuckled.

“And I can’t believe we’ve actually got a child to take care of.” Another spoke.

And then the cheering suddenly halted. The big group of horned Worker Drones turned to each other, a silent question being communicated through their hollowed optics:

How the hell do they take care of a child?

Over time, Uzi had gotten acquainted with everybody within the scrapyard. She even memorized the layout of the yard itself, and what rooms belonged to who. And of course, she was housed with Wulfenite.

But, despite being the newest member of the scrapyard, she still had to put in some work. Not only did she need to have a complete education, but she needed to learn how to defend herself and how to help around the place.

Though, more emphasis was put into her education, since she was too small and weak to do much at the moment.

“Alright, Uzi! Are you ready to learn with Uncle Gneiss!?” The said man exclaimed loudly as he barged into the container home.

“How many damn times have I told you to knock!?” Wulfenite snarled, whipping around from making breakfast.

“Sorry. Guess I was a little excited, teehee!” Gneiss giggled as he stuck his tongue out.

He got a RAM card to the face in retort. “You say that every time.” His friend growled.

Gneiss licked the card off his face, chewing on it as he gathered Uzi. “Well, I’m gonna go and get her started on learning stuff. You’ll be alright without your new kid?” The Klipspinger-horned man teased with another smirk.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Wulfenite growled back. “Also; Don’t do something stupid with her. Otherwise, I’ll beat your ass.” He warned with a point from his frying pan.

“Alright, alright! I get it, sheesh…" Gneiss puffed. “Welp, let’s go, Uzi! Time to get out of this grumpy ol’ place!” Wulfenite snarled at his back as he left.

Wulfenite wasn’t around today. He had work, which meant Uzi had no one to take care of her.

Well, that was a lie. Technically, she had the entire scrapyard taking care of her. But she quickly grew bored and decided to be cheeky, playing a secret game of hide-and-seek with the residents.

She could hear her name being called by multiple drones. Uzi giggled and ran deeper into the scrapyard. The giant mounds of metal and furniture made it easy to hide from all the adults.

Uzi looked behind herself one more time. She laughed again as she kept running without looking. It eventually made her bump into something and fall to her butt.

Rubbing her face, Uzi looked up. She stiffened and her optical lights went hollow when she spotted the “Boss.”

A tall man with thick plating. His horns were huge even for him; Two big, sickle-like horns where the arch appeared in the center while the extending tips curved up. They were thick and dark in color, like a dark wine red.

Uzi stared up at the large drone in fear. Her smiles and giggles were gone, just as her playful mood was. Now, she just wanted to return to the other adults and do something else. Even boring learning.

The “Boss” continued to stare down at Uzi in silence. His e-cigar between his fingers glowed a bright electric red in contrast to his far darker horns and even eye lights. Said bodily lights were more like a maroon or burgundy.

Boss’ optics flicked up to where the others were calling for Uzi. He took a puff of his e-cigar, the red glowing even brighter. As the light settled into something dimmer, the tall robot let out his smoke.

“You should go back to the others.” He spoke, voice surprisingly soft but far deeper than Wulfenite’s. “You shouldn’t worry mercs like them. Who knows what they’ll do to find you.” He advised, his gaze turning to his e-cigar.

Uzi was quiet for a couple of seconds. She nodded and got back to her feet. As she turned and walked back, she took one last look at the large and bulky Worker Drone smoking in the middle of the scrapyard.

With another loud shout of her name, Uzi turned back around and ran off to the others.

Nights were always so dark. Dark and cold, lonely, too. Uzi didn’t like any of it. And she didn’t like it when she got nightmares in Sleep Mode.

Images of crumbling buildings, sounds of harrowed screams, the feeling that she should be feeling the heat of explosions but isn’t, and the bright, effulgent flames that snap and swirl in the winds.

Oil runs down her face from a familiar crack in her visor. Her leg sits oddly on its limp. Uzi’s old clothes are scorched and torn. Her lost plushie sits in her arms as she stares into the endless destruction of her home.

The creatures flying about that day produce that metal, artificial rain. More Worker Drones are filled with holes and fall in heaps on the ground. Uzi moves through it mindlessly, unable to control her own frame.

Through the obliteration, she hears an explosion go off. Another building topples, this time onto one of the creatures. It shrieks something animalistic and cries for help. Yet no one answers nor arrives. It’s left to die under the weight of the building.

A surge of flame washes over the monster just as it gives up. The blaze crackles and roars in her audials. It consumes everything that it can; Worker Drone, monsters, homes, streets, even the stars.

Everything is swept away in the blinding wave of heat and ash. Even the noise is drowned by the conflagration. It doesn’t discriminate between who gets to live and who gets to die.

And before Uzi even knows it, the world goes silent. She blinks and suddenly, everything has ended. All that’s left are the flames to clean up the mess. They are the only thing left that warm the cold night the flying beasts left behind.

The fire is the only thing offering Uzi comfort.

Up until she wakes up with a stifled whimper and finds herself staring at the ceiling of her new home. Uzi is stuck on her tiny bed, under her warm blanket, in the dark room. Her voice box has a static bubble stuck inside it and her core is pounding in her chassis.

Sitting up, Uzi looked around the place. She barely has anything to her name, even some time after coming here. The home itself isn’t enough to calm her trembling hands or the prickling tears in her optics.

The little girl is forced to get out of bed and enter the main room of her home. It’s as dark and empty as her bedroom, same with the kitchen. Wulfenite’s bedroom door is open, but he’s working. He isn’t home.

Uzi is all alone. The tears finally streak down her display.

Unable to stand the loneliness, Uzi runs out the front door. She thumps down the grated steps leading to the metal containers that are her home. As her feet meet the snowy ground, she books it out into the scrapyard.

Though, she has no idea just where she is going. The yard is still huge and practically a maze if you don’t remember the markings and signs. And Uzi, too distressed to notice her surroundings, misses all of them.

She is quick to become lost within the giant scrapyard. And once she calms down enough to realize it, she’s scared all over again. Uzi turns every which way. All she finds is a small building in the distance not too far from her position.

Uzi walks towards it, sniffling and hiccuping between her tears. More whimpers escape from her voice box whilst her feet drag in the snow. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for her to make it to the building.

Wandering inside, Uzi can see that the lights are on. But there’s no drones inside the place. Just like in her home and in the yard, it’s silent and lonely. But Uzi prefers the light, so she refuses on going home to instead look around.

However, there isn’t much to find. Still no drones and barely any furniture. Uzi isn’t even sure what this place is used for. It’s got a lot of machinery, however. Many of them intrigue her, even.

But, there’s nothing here. So Uzi sits on a random chair sitting by a desk and curls in on herself. The bright lamp makes it hard to fall into Sleep Mode again, but Uzi isn’t even sure she wants to. She doesn’t want to have another nightmare.

Waiting for the sun to rise is extremely boring, though. Uzi can’t help but look around a little just for something interesting to focus on. But nothing happens and she’s left both fatigued and bored.

It causes Uzi to start to drift off. And while she tries to fight it, she’s simply unable to. Sleep Mode tugs her back into its arms, holding her securely to its chest. Maybe, if Uzi is lucky, she won’t have another nightmare–

“Ah. You’re supposed to be at Wulfenite’s right now.” A feminine voice startles Uzi out of her dozing.

Snapping awake, Uzi turns to see a woman with the brightest orange hair ever. It resembles fire, and is even wavy like it. Especially with the way it’s held in a high ponytail.

The woman’s bodily lights resemble that of champagne. A soft, pale yellow that holds tiny white sparkles without her noticing. Her horns were a similar color, though they were shaped more like Scottish Fold cat ears. However, her engineering outfit doesn’t quite match the rest of her looks.

“You’re, uhhhh, Kazoo, right? Something like that?” The woman’s brow is quirked just as her head is cocked. “You’re Wulfenite’s new kid. Old fart, finally got the boss to cave in, huh?” She muttered to herself as she stepped around ‘Kazoo.’

“Look, uh, I dunno why you’re here—or even how you got here—but this ain’t no place for lil squirts like you.” The woman told the little girl. “I know Wulf is out right now, but you shouldn’t go running around on your own just ‘cause you ain’t got no one to watch you.” The woman spoke as she put away tools and rolled up blueprints.

Uzi watched with intrigue. The blue paper had such interesting schematics on it. So many things, so many details. She needed to know more.

“What’s that supposed to be?” Uzi pointed to the paper in her hands.

The woman blinked at Uzi with mild surprise. She turned back down to the blueprint.

“It’s, uh, it’s just a lil something. Nothing that grand, just a spec I’ve been working on.” She replied.

“What does it do?” Uzi asked next.

The champagne-eyed woman stared at the girl for a few seconds. She set down the blueprint to lean a hand onto the desk while the other sat on her hip.

“How about you tell me what you’re doing here first, and then I tell you more about it.” She offered.

“I had a nightmare.”

‘Oh. Huh. A lot more simple than I thought.’ She wasn’t sure why she was surprised by that.

“Uhm, okay. So, you had a nightmare and decided to come all the way out here?” She recapped, pointing at the floor as her brow quirked again.

Uzi nodded. The woman thought it over. She then sighed and rubbed her visor. Uzi noticed how she wore fingerless gloves. They were cool.

“Fuuuuuck, I’m not good with children…” The woman muttered to herself.

“What’s your name?” Uzi inquired.

Again, the woman just stared at her. “...It’s Frisbee.”

Uzi snickered.

“OI! Don’t laugh!” Frisbee smacked her upside the head.

Uzi whined but quickly stifled her laughter. Frisbee just sighed and spread out her blueprint.

“Laugh at my name again and I won’t tell you about my projects.” She scolded.

“Sorry…” The girl muttered.

Frisbee rolled her optics but said nothing. She slid the blueprint to sit between her and the child. Frisbee pointed to the front of the odd device.

“This here’s a lil bluetooth-like connector. It allows charges to be detonated from a distance.” She began. “It can work with multiple types of bombs, but you’ll have to flip through which ones you want to blow up on the detonator.”

Although she just began, the woman glanced at Uzi with the expectation that she’d have quickly gotten bored and want to return home. But the opposite happened instead. Uzi stared and listened in full.

“Does the detonator do anything else?” The girl inquired, looking at the fiery woman.

Frisbee was hesitant to reply for a minute. She peered deep into Uzi’s eye lights, finding a want, a need to learn more about a detonator of all things. The girl’s attention was on her, not on going home or trying to find something else to do.

“I–” Frisbee tried to reply, but found nothing. She let out a sigh and let a smirk cross her greasy features. “If I tell you, you’re gonna go on home right after, right?” She said.

Uzi nodded with an eager hum. Frisbee couldn’t help but chuckle at it.

“Then lemme tell you a thing or two about bombs…”

Chapter Text

If there was one thing that Ms. Frisbee taught Uzi, it was that fire did not discriminate.

“Oi! Be careful, be careful!!” The fire-looking woman snatched Uzi’s collar and yanked her back from a furnace. “We may be made of metal, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get damaged by fire! Singe a circuit, and you’re heading straight to the medical post!”

Uzi gave her a curious look before turning back to the furnace. A metal sword glowed in bright yellow and orange as it sat on the hearth’s ledge. Frisbee sighed and pulled on some thick gloves to pick up the sword’s handle. It was dunked into a large cooling tank, letting steam erupt into the air.

“Listen, I know you’re curious and all, but this ain’t no place for a child. I think it’s best you run along and find something else to do. Maybe learn your numbers or something.” The woman said as she lifted the sword to check.

“But I wanna learn about what you do.” Uzi whined back, swaying around and pouting.

“I do dangerous stuff, and I really don’t want your mean ol’ pops getting on my ass when you accidentally burn yourelf.” Frisbee argued back.

“He isn’t that mean…” Uzi mumbled with a deeper pout.

“HA! You ain’t known him as long as the rest of us have!” The woman grinned as she barked her laugh.

Uzi made another whine but she let the topic drop. “I still wanna watch you! And I wanna learn more about bombs!”

“Maybe after I’m done fixing this sword, alright?” Frisbee sighed in return. “Unlike you, I don’t got all the free time in the world. So just wait until I’m done, and then we’ll go explode more things.”

Uzi thought it over for a few seconds. “How long is it gonna take?” She asked.

Frisbee was admittedly a little hesitant on telling her. “About an hour. Think you can wait that long?” But she decided to anyway.

“Yup!” Thankfully, Uzi didn’t have any qualms about it.

“Good. Then you go and find something to do away from any hot surfaces or things while I finish this up.” Frisbee told her, turning back to the cooled weapon. “Maybe you can review some of whatever you’ve learned. It’s good to memorize it.” She added.

“Okay! I’ll go get things to blow up!” The little girl then turned around and ran off into the scrapyard.

Frisbee sighed out in relief at finally getting a little peace and quiet around her workshop. ‘The girl’s nice and all, but she’s certainly harder to handle than a weapon…’ Frisbee thought as she turned back to her work.

The mercenary headquarters was quiet for the most part. A group had returned from a job with some supplies in tow. The resources were distributed while the group went to meet with the Boss to discuss the completed contract.

Though, as Gneiss was sorting through some tools, he saw that there was a toy tucked in with them. “Hey! Is there a reason there’s a toy in here? Or were those drones who contracted you trying to pull a fast one?” He called to the returning group.

“It’s for the girl! Figured she might want something to play with other than daggers or armor.” One of the men replied with a chuckle.

“Is that so? Well, I’ll make sure to give it to Uzi!” Gneiss smiled back. “Where is she anyway? I don’t think I’ve seen her past this morning.” He then turned to look for her.

His question would be quickly answered when a loud explosion went on deeper within the heaps of junk. Everyone turned towards the column of smoke with voided eye lights. It didn’t take long for many of them to bolt off towards it.

Thankfully, mercenaries are quick on their feet. So they arrived in record time, only to see Frisbee and Uzi laughing manically as another explosion went on. As the ground rumbled and another smoke cloud was added, Gneiss finally snapped out of his stupor.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!”

Frisbee and Uzi turned, the former pulling up her goggles. She smirked with all her teeth before replying.

“I’m teaching the squirt how dangerous bombs are!”

Gneiss sputtered for a solid second, his voice glitching and warbling. “ARE YOU INSANE?!”

“It’s a valuable lesson to learn! If the girl doesn’t know how dangerous weapons are, she might play with them and end up dead!” Frisbee argued. “Now, Uzi. There are different types of bombs, some of which don’t make explosions like these–” She turned to the girl.

“I think we can teach her without giving a live demonstration!” Gneiss shouted. “Uzi! Get down here! I do NOT want Wulfenite to beat my ass later for this!”

Frisbee waved the other drone off. “Ah, don’t listen to him. Wulfenite will do it anyway since Gneiss gets on his nerves so much.” She then handed the girl the detonator. “Now, this is my prototype of the remote I told you about. There’s only one type of bomb listed, so no need to flick through them. This button here lets you blow one up, however.” And she began ignoring the shouting man from below.

Uzi stared at the remote. Her lavender gaze moved to the pit before her, still smoldering from previous explosions. The destruction reminded her of the night everything was taken away from her. She couldn’t even help the fact that she often flinched at the explosions.

Fires waved along the ground, clinging and spreading on fabrics and anything that wasn’t metal or stone. It created a bright light in the dark crevices between chunks and hunks of junk. The light was only dimmed by the sun hanging in the sky.

Finally, Uzi pressed the button. As soon as it clicked, another bomb went off. The explosion was smaller, but fires had ignited all the same. They burst to life with a splash of smoke by her small fingers.

“Now remember, you never want to be close to a bomb when it goes off.” Frisbee’s voice broke Uzi from her trance. “They’re still dangerous even to us. So you always want to get a safe distance away before letting one go off.”

“...What about the fires they make?” Uzi questioned.

“You don’t want to go near them, either. Wires and circuits can still be damaged by them. And our oil is still combustible with enough heat.” Frisbee explained.

Uzi was quiet. She stared down at the smoke and flames below. Her thumb trembled over the bright button on the detonator. She pressed it again, letting another bomb go off by her command and her command alone.

Wulfenite blew out a stressed sigh as he wandered back towards the makeshift apartments. His major scolding of Frisbee lasted far longer than he anticipated. And was far more intense than he’d thought he’d get.

‘I know she’ll need to learn about this stuff eventually, but she could’ve waited until the girl was in a better frame.’ The mercenary thought. ‘On top of that, she didn’t have to let Uzi go setting off grenades!’ His fists clenched tight at his sides.

But he opted to let the anger go in favor of opening the front door to his house. Uzi sat at the tiny table in the middle of the room with Gneiss. The girl was doing some work he’d compiled for her, something far safer than experimenting with bombs.

“Thanks for watching her, Gneiss.” Wulfenite spoke as he neared the two.

“Yup. Figured it’d be better than seeing you chew out Frisbee.” The green-horned robot chuckled.

Wulfenite wanted to make a remark but didn’t. He turned to Uzi, staring despondently at her paper.

“Is everything alright, Uzi?” He wondered as he set his weapon on a stand by the wall.

Uzi just hummed and nodded. Wulfenite’s stare turned worried. He glanced at Gneiss—he shrugged in equal confusion.

“She’s been like that ever since I got her away from Frisbee.” He explained. “She won’t open up to anyone about why. I can only assume maybe it has something to do with the period before you found her.” The man rubbed his neck nervously.

Wulfenite stared at the girl again. He let out a vent and pointed to the door. Gneiss left without a word. As the door shut, Wulfenite and Uzi were left alone.

“I heard you let off some bombs with Frisbee.” He started with. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”

Uzi shook her head.

“Then is there any reason you’re so down?” The adoptive man asked next, taking the seat next to her.

Uzi was quiet, her pencil scratching away at her paper. Wulfenite stared down at it. Just doodles or stray marks, some dark swirls here and there.

“I liked it.”

“Hm?” Wulfenite turned back to the child.

“I liked playing with Ms. Frisbee. The bombs were fun.” She spoke.

A sweat drop blinked onto Wulfenite’s visor. “Well, even if it’s fun, it’s not something someone your age should be doing.” He told her.

“But why?!” Uzi whipped up to him, already pouting.

“Because it’s dangerous! You shouldn’t be anywhere near explosives!” Wulfenite barked back, voice stern.

Uzi glared defiantly at him. It reminded Wulfenite of the day he’d found her, huddled away in that corner with a damaged bread knife pointing at him. And unwillingness to be killed without a fight settled within her hollowed optics.

Wulfenite sighed. “Maybe when you’re older you can learn more about them.” He told her. “But not right now. Not when you’re not even past a beta-stage frame.”

Uzi still didn’t look too pleased about that. But Wulfenite wasn’t going to risk her safety over an adrenaline rush.

“I’m going to make dinner. Why don’t you finish that up and freshen up?” The mercenary stood up.

Uzi let out her own tiny sigh, just nodding in silence. As her adoptive father walked into the open kitchen just a few paces away, Uzi turned back down to her paper. She drew the fires under the swirling stacks of smoke before finishing her math problems.

Although it had been some time since Uzi’s introduction to bombs—and her first time detonating them—there was still a feeling of tension in the air. Or maybe “abuzz” would be a better word? Either way, Uzi noticed how everyone was looking forward to something.

Even Boss lingered around the front yard of the headquarters more! But for what reason, Uzi didn’t know. And she wouldn’t find out until about three weeks later, when she was in the middle of lunch.

“Come on, that can’t be healthy for a child!” Gneiss exclaimed.

“And what else do you think we have to give?! We already only have so much to spare even among ourselves!” Another man argued back.

“She still shouldn’t be drinking gasoline, I can tell you that much.” Wulfenite sighed. “Here, try this, Uzi.” He then handed the said girl some computer chips.

Uzi turned her head away with a whine. She didn’t like those chips!

Wulfenite held back the annoyed growl in his voice box. “Eat it, Uzi! We don’t have all the food in the world!” He urged her with a motion of his hand.

“I don’t like them!” Uzi shouted back.

“Well, not all of us like them either, but we don’t complain!” Gneiss argued back.

Uzi huffed and turned her head away again. Wulfenite and Gneiss were both just about ready to pry her mouth open and force her to eat.

“THE SHE-DEVIL! THE SHE-DEVIL IS HERE!!” Though, someone else had other ideas in mind.

Everyone snapped towards the entry gates. They groaned as they slid open slowly. Ash and frost rose with the motion. Yet through the white-grey cloud, a figure could be seen approaching the mercenary headquarters.

A lithe yet well-built frame walking on springy shoes, the heels that of thick daggers. Her black one-piece had a sizable train to cover the back of her legs. Yet the inside of the train was lined with thick animal-like fluff. The same fluff lined her shoulders like a shroud.

A few plates of dark grey armor lay here and there; Her hips, her shins from her shoes, her hands, and her chest. Cross-shaped daggers and small pouches with cross-shaped buttons sat on various parts of her frame, too. Yet, among the dark colors, only two things added a pop of color.

Her bodily lights, a blue so icy you’d think frost had gotten stuck on her facial screen. And her four icy-blue layered horns, shaped after the Jacob sheep sitting on her long ebony hair. Each one was sizably thick and shaped perfectly for ramming and puncturing each.

As the woman entered the headquarters, the iridescent sheen of fresh oil could be seen glimmering off her clothing and plating. More of the thick substance dripped to the snow from off her armor and many knives.

Though, the oil stains were nothing compared to the offline Murder Drone being dragged behind herself. More of its oil lathered the ashen frost as dying wires sparked and error-red lights flickered.

The Boss walked up to the unknown woman as the gates began to close. Once close enough, the woman let the body drop to the floor without a singular care in the world.

“Mission complete, Lauss. The only casualties came from rival mercs.” The woman spoke, her gaze as penetratingly glacial as third-degree frostbite.

“Good. Are the resources coming our way?” He asked whilst letting out an e-cigar puff.

“No. This time, it was in meds.” The woman replied.

She pulled a large bottle of pills from a bigger pouch of hers. Lauss took the bottle, staring at the liquid and powder pills inside. He smirked and nodded at her.

“Well done. Not that I expected any less.” He told her. “I’ll have someone take that Murder Drone corpse to the workshop out back. You go rest, get something to eat, whatever it is you do.” He took another drag, letting the woman go on her way.

Said lady nodded in silence and moved towards the canteen’s open area. Her sights narrowed on Wulfenite as she approached.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Big Bad Wulf.” She smirked, stopping just before the man.

“Hello, Tolla. I see you were tasked with another pack spree.” The male Worker Drone returned, barely taller than the woman.

“Well, someone has to get rid of those bastards. And if no one will, then I will.” Tolla replied. “But, I see the rumors about you having convinced the boss to keep a kid are true.” Her icy sights then turned to Uzi.

It felt as though they snapped to her like a sniper reticle. Uzi flinched and simply stared at the far taller woman in fear, feeling the urge to cry just from how hellacious her presence was.

And as Tolla kept on staring at her blankly, without even a guess as to what she was thinking, Uzi felt tears well up in her optics–

“What an adorable little thing!!! How could you pick her up while I was away?! Wulfenite, you’re such a meanie-pants!” Though, unexpectedly, Tolla began smothering the child in a hug.

‘This is exactly why.’ The man wanted to retort, a sweat drop on his visor.

“Please don’t strangle her, Tolla.” Wulfenite instead said.

“I’m not strangling her! Just giving her the love and attention I know you don’t give!” Tolla huffed back before returning to smothering the poor child.

Though Wulfenite was slightly offended by that, he was at least glad Uzi wasn’t terrified of her anymore. Though, he also isn’t sure if she’s feeling very inclined to like Tolla either, if the way she’s whining and trying to free herself from Tolla’s arms is anything to go by.

Chapter Text

As Uzi grew up, the mercenaries taught her all sorts of things. They adapted to her energetic style of life and the mischief she creates. The entire headquarters took care of her, especially when Wulfenite was out fulfilling contracts.

The little girl was a fond and familiar face among the mercs. And as she grew up, so did her needs. Frisbee and Gneiss put together a jungle gym for her to climb on. It was both practical and useful, as Uzi would learn acrobatic tricks while playing.

Along with it, she learned some tidbits about safety. When the weather got rough, it was better to bunker down somewhere and wait out the storm. If you were outnumbered or outmatched, you should retreat and call for backup if applicable.

And of course, Uzi kept on learning her basics; Math, science, technology, writing, some language, and weaponry. Uzi took it all in like a sponge, even the subjects she didn’t like.

However, it was Frisbee who pushed her into getting into craftsmanship and engineering. They’d always make a little time for each other to go over blueprints, fix weapons, blow up bombs, and brainstorm. Even if everyone else had their worries about the two’s friendship, it was clear Uzi wasn’t going to let them dictate what she can and can’t do.

The feeling only grew when she got even older, turning into a fresh teenager and getting a frame upgrade. Something sturdier, taller, and more flexible than her previous frame. Though, Uzi still had a problem with how small she was compared to everyone else.

But it was at this time that she’d be given her first-ever firearm.

“It’s about time that you learn how to pull a trigger.” Tolla said just after Uzi opened her birthday present from her.

“Tolla! Uzi does not need a gun!” Though, Wulfenite wasn’t as ecstatic as his adopted daughter was.

“She is thirteen, Wulfenite! She’ll need to defend herself eventually!” The four-horned woman argued back.

“Uzi can defend herself! She had a combat knife!” The other man retorted coldly.

“And what if that doesn’t cut it?!” Tolla countered, her arms crossing over her chest. “You know there’s plenty of weapons that can outmatch a simple knife! Having her learn how to use a pistol is going to be pivotal to her!”

Wulfenite wanted to argue, but couldn’t find anything to counter that with. Tolla sighed and turned back to Uzi who was showing her new firearm to the other mercs.

“Listen, she doesn’t need to learn how to use something like a sniper or a rifle right now. But she should learn how a gun works and how to aim, fire, and reload it.” Tolla spoke quieter. “It’ll ensure her life far better than a knife will. Especially if she’s up against Murder Drones or other mercs.”

Wulfenite stared at his daughter silently. Frisbee pointed out the safety and what it does. Gneiss suggested she put some stickers on it to really make it ‘hers’. Uzi smiled bright and laughed loud. She was just so happy to get her very own handgun for the first time ever.

“She’s already learned some of the basics of guns.” Was what the antlered man replied with.

Tolla’s optics turned back to him, staring from the corner of her visor. “And the rest of the basics?” Her brow rose.

“...” Wulfenite was silent.

“Are you trying to prevent Uzi from becoming a mercenary?” And that question had thrown him off.

Wulfenite whipped back to Tolla. She’d turned fully to face him. Although she didn’t look pissed like before, she certainly wasn’t what you’d call ‘happy.’

“You know she’s going to become one no matter what, right?” The woman went on. “She’s told everyone by now how she wants to follow in our footsteps—in your footsteps. And she’s already shown she doesn’t give a shit who tries to stop her. She’s going to do it.” Her hand sat onto her hips in a stern, knowing fashion.

And for a few seconds, Wulfenite only stared. He took in a deep vent just to let it back out in a sigh. A hand rose to his neck, rubbing it and combing through his scruffy short ponytail.

“I know, I know. But I don’t want her to get into it too early.” He said. “She’s not anywhere near ready for something like that. And… I worry that– That it might not be good for her.” The man explained.

Tolla’s head cocked. “How so? Because she’s bound to get hurt with a job like this?”

“Well, yes. But also because of her penchant for recklessness.” Wulfenite agreed. “I’m not sure if she was this troublesome before I found her, but Uzi does like causing mayhem every now and then. And sometimes, I think Frisbee only exacerbates it, which worries me.” His hand fell from his side, resting on the hilt of his sword against his hip.

The woman next to him turned her head towards the purple-haired girl. She was already aiming her weapon, as if to shoot at something. Her form was still a little sloppy, but she could be forgiven since she’s never been taught about it extensively.

But Tolla tittered and nodded in agreement. “Well, you aren’t wrong. She’s certainly caused quite a few of us CPU-aches before. Even Lauss has been angry with her—not that Uzi seemed to care in the end.”

“I think that worries me the most.” Wulfenite sighed back, his posture falling in defeat.

Tolla just laughed, her own posture lightening and loosening up. “Hey! Look at it this way; If she can keep us on our toe joints, then she’ll most certainly keep the enemy on their toe joints, too!”

For once, Wulfenite’s lips broke into a smile. Not a big one, but a small, amused, and agreeing one nonetheless.

“Even so, I still feel like she’s gonna be keeping us alert for a long time.” He said.

“I don’t expect anything less from her.” Tolla replied fondly.

Uzi hunched over her desk, hands fiddling with a small device. She tore off some duct tape and stuck it onto the sack. A few wires were attached to the sack and the plastic box on the top. After calibrating a few things, she got it connected to a remote.

The C4 was placed into a small pile off to the side on her desk. The teenager leaned back and took a deep vent of the stale, rusty air in her metal container room. The soft yellow light of her old lamp, the bulb sporting a large crack, lit up the container.

After taking a few more vents, she turned back down. Uzi’s lavender optics turned to her stack of bombs.

‘Hopefully Auntie Frisbee will be happy with my work.’

“Uzi! Time for training!” Wulfenite’s voice came from beyond her door.

A smirk spread onto the teenager’s lips. She got up from her chair, throwing off her clothes and putting on something else; A black t-shirt, cargo pants, her pouch belt, and combat boots.

Uzi stuffed her pouches with some knives, ammo, grenades, bandages, and her pistol in her holster. The teenager barged out of her room, prancing outside her home before stopping at the railing overseeing part of the scrapyard.

A deep vent was taken, the cold air trying to freeze her excitement over. Yet all it did was add fuel to the burning ecstasy in her chassis.

“Uzi! Come on!” Wulfenite called from below.

“I’m coming! Have some patience, old man!” His daughter puffed back, stomping down the rusty stairs as fast as possible.

“Me? ‘Have patience?’ I think I should be telling you that, Missy.” Wulfenite ruffled her royal purple locks, making Uzi giggle.

The two walked deeper into the junkyard. Some things were added over time, others taken away. Mostly the latter, as the heaps and mountains of scrap held quite a lot of decent material. But it was still familiar to Uzi, memorized like the back of her hand.

“What’re we working on today? More aiming and reloading? Or gun maintenance?” Uzi questioned as the duo walked.

“We’re doing a little bit of that, and some hand-to-hand combat.” Her father replied.

“Oooh!! With fists or knives?!” Uzi hopped even closer, the excitement growing in her optics.

“Fists. You haven’t learned too many punches yet.” Wulfenite answered.

Uzi giggled and hopped around him, punching the air as she did so. Her dad just rolled his optics but couldn’t help the tiny smile from forming on his lips.

“Make sure to save some energy for training. Otherwise, you’re going to get your aft kicked.” He warned.

“Psh! Please! I think I’m going to do the aft-kicking around here!” Uzi laughed back, tapping backwards on her toe joints.

“Sure you will.” Wulfenite just sighed. “Just make sure to be paying attention when training. You still have a lot to learn before you can become a mercenary like the rest of us.” He added.

“I know, I know! Robo-Jesus, you tell me that everyday!” Uzi groaned back, stopping her bouncing to walk properly.

“Then there must be a reason for it.” Her father argued.

Uzi swerved her head just enough to peek at him from the corner of her visor. “Because you like to nag others?”

She got a smack on the head for that.

A fire crackled at Uzi’s feet. Over it sat a pot of oil, bubbling and refining ever-so-slightly. The stars tried to peek through thick, toxic clouds. The double moons managed to pierce through them. Quiet chatter went about the headquarters as dinner was made.

Uzi carved rust off a metal ingot. Its color was dull and the sheen nonexistent. But it was still edible despite the copper patches. As long as you cut them off, that is.

Flakes of rust fell to the snowy floor with each scrape. Uzi knew she’d have to sharpen this knife afterwards. She should probably sharpen others while she’s at it.

“How’re the ingots coming along?” Tolla asked, standing beside the teenager.

“Fine. Still trying to get stubborn flakes of rust off.” Uzi replied, her gaze focused on the ingot.

“Need some help?” The woman offered.

Uzi shrugged. Tolla took it as a yes and sat down. She pulled out a knife of her own, made specifically for carving. She picked up an ingot and began slowly scratching away patches of brown and orange particles.

“How’s your training going? Getting any better? Learning anything new?” Tolla asked, trying to fill the quiet.

“Technically I learn something new everyday.” Uzi giggled back. “But it’s going good, I guess. Kinda just doing the same stuff over and over, though.” She answered for real.

“Well, that’s what training is about. Doing the same thing everyday until you perfect it.” Tolla told her, a gentle grin on her face plates. “All of these mercenaries here had to train in order to become mercenaries. Same can be said for those in other groups.”

“And you didn’t have to train?” Uzi’s brow rose like the corners of her lips.

“Some of us are just created with natural talent!” Tolla sighed back proudly, straightening up to puff her chest out.

Uzi laughed at the woman, to which Tolla giggled back. It helped lighten the stagnant air surrounding Uzi. And as their laughter settled, the air remained chipper.

“Do you know when I’ll be able to get my horns, Ms. Tolla?” Though, Uzi’s question threatened to ruin it.

The said woman went silent, her smile falling for a neutral expression. “Probably… When you complete your first mission.” She answered.

“Oh.” Uzi’s tone turned disappointed, maybe even nettled. “So, not until I’m eighteen? If not older?” Her smile had slipped right off her face plates in favor of a frown.

Tolla sighed, her hands falling to her lap. “Yes, not until you’re an adult. And I’m sure you’ve heard this many times by now, but there’s still a lot you need to learn before you can go on a mission.” She added.

“Yeah. That’s why I said ‘if not older.’” A little snip had slipped into her tone.

“You do realize it’s not just me, and Wulfenite, and Frisbee, and Gneiss that have this mentality, right?” Tolla inquired. “Lauss also doesn’t want you going out too soon. We all know you can defend yourself, but there’s still things you need to get down-pat before being sent off somewhere.”

Uzi’s gaze narrowed. It wasn’t on the ingot anymore—that was clean of all rust anyway. Instead, it had landed on the fire. Burning bright and crackling, small embers and illuminated ashes filtering up into the air. It was an addicting sight to her, even when irritated.

Addicting and soothing.

Uzi tossed in another piece of wood. The flame consumed it and flared stronger. More embers had exploded out to rise in the sky or fall to the snow and add to its ash. And Uzi knew that the more she fed it, the bigger and feistier it’d grow.

One of her favorite things about fire was how all-consuming it was–

“Uzi! Are you listening?!” Tolla asked with an elevated voice.

The called girl snapped from her reverie. She blinked at Tolla before shaking her head and rubbing her visor.

“Sorry. Got a little spacey for a minute there.” She replied.

Tolla let out a vent. “Maybe the exhaustion from training is catching up to you. Why don’t you eat something and then head to bed?” She suggested.

Uzi nodded and stood up. She stretched her arms above her head and turned for the cafeteria to grab a bowl. Tolla watched as she left, now alone with the metal ingots and the boiling oil.

A concerned sigh slipped past her lips when she turned around. Now faced with the fire, she had a worrying thought.

“Uzi has always been attracted to you, hasn’t she?”

The fire’s only response was to make the scorched wood shift and clunk, flaring up and spewing more embers.

Chapter Text

Tolla leapt over a wide swipe from Wulfenite’s sword. Her agile movements tempted to dizzy the bulkier man, always dancing circles around him whilst barely touching the snow. But Wulfenite stayed patient and waited for the other woman to stop.

When the other woman crouched low for a lunge, Wulfenite pivoted around her. Tolla whipped around, barely dodging another swipe from his large blade. Her back met the snow as her hand planted onto it, springing her back onto her feet some distance away.

Wulfenite didn’t let the woman get away that easily. He ran back in, his heavy weapon dragging in the ashen snow. He used his running start to gather more momentum in his weapon—spinning on his toe joints and letting his blade fly.

The four-horned woman smirked through her voided eye lights. She hopped onto her own toe joints and spun. A leg extended to glide mere millimeters above the drawn sword, dodging it elegantly.

Whilst in the middle of her spin, Tolla pulled out her clawed knuckledusters. The Murder Drone claws lining the sturdy metal swung out for her opponent. Wulfenite had to stumble from his swing just to avoid getting his head lobbed off.

Tolla pulled out her other pair of clawed brass knuckles. She swung ferociously at the man, her toe joints barely touching the snow as she spun around violently just to constantly reposition.

Wulfenite used his large sword as a shield against the assault. Sweat drops blinked onto his facial glass as he was slowly inched backwards. Tolla’s swift movements and surprisingly strong attacks etched away at his weapon, leaving scratches in her path.

Tolla finally got into the perfect position to make a vertical spin with her whole body. Her toe joint tapped onto the snow while her other leg kicked up. Wulfenite’s sword was knocked upwards, leaving him vulnerable.

As the Jacob sheep-horned lady was about to get the final blow in, a loud and bright explosion rocked the entire scrapyard. Tolla yelped and swung on instinct, her claws scratching Wulfenite’s cheek.

The two whipped around to the smoke and embers floating into the sky. After a glance at each other, they got to their feet and darted towards the rumbling noise. A few other mercenaries followed, weapons already drawn or about to be drawn.

As everyone got close, they could hear the sound of manic feminine laughter. And upon arriving at the scene of the explosion, Frisbee was already there. She seemed rather calm about the fires erupting in a pit.

“What the hell happened?!” Tolla shouted, skidding to a stop next to the woman.

“Just testing some new explosives is all!” Frisbee replied with a big grin. “These puppies should blow those damn Murder Bots to smithereens! Hahaha!!”

“They’re going to blow us to smithereens!” Wulfenite argued, brows furrowed deep. “And who the hell is laughing so damn loud?! This is no time to be cheering!” He whipped to the bright pit.

Frisbee waved him off. “Ah, that’s just Uzi. You know how she is.”

“IT’S WHO!?!” Wulfenite shouted, eye lights going hollow.

Before Frisbee could reply, Wulfenite was diving head-first into the fiery fray. Frisbee and Tolla stared after him, the latter with hollowed eye lights and the former looking unamused.

“He does realize he just stepped into a live mine field, right?” Frisbee rhetorically asked the other woman.

But Tolla just smacked her upside the head.

Meanwhile, Wulfenite stomped through the blasts and conflagration. He quickly reached Uzi, standing atop a large pile of scrap junk. He had to pause just to take in Uzi’s uncanny joy at the blaze encircling her while smoke created tall stacks.

Her manic laughter echoed out among the occasional explosion. The ground trembled under her feet yet Uzi never lost balance. Uzi felt like an entirely different drone standing atop the burning world.

“Uzi!!!” Wulfenite shouted. “Get down here! Stop setting off these explosives! You’ve proven that they work already!” He stepped closer, looking for a good spot to hop up to her.

“Aww, but why?!” Uzi shouted back down at him. “Don’t you see how pretty this all is!? Don’t you see how it lights up even the tiniest, darkest crevice?!”

“I do! But it’s dangerous to stand here to set all these bombs off!” Wulfenite argued, finally finding a good spot to hop onto. “Not to mention that you’ll make this entire part of the scrapyard collapse if you don’t stop!” He added, bouncing up another few paces.

His adoptive daughter pouted but lowered her arms. Yet her shit-eating grin returned as her thumb pressed the button to her detonator once more. Another blast echoed across the area and made the ground quake.

“Uzi!” Wulfenite warned, his hollowed eye lights turning enraged.

The called girl just simpered at him. But she ended up sighing and pouting once more. With a huff, she bounced off the top of the scrap pile with a somersault. Her feet gracefully met the ground just like how Tolla taught her.

Wulfenite followed the girl down, hopping along different pieces of junk. As he caught up, Wulfenite grabbed his daughter by the collar and dragged her along. Uzi whined and clutched at his wrist.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Sheesh, chill out!!” She yelled.

“Absolutely not!!” Wulfenite snarled back. “You could’ve hurt everyone here! Or attracted the attention of the Murder Drones or rival mercenaries! You could’ve killed everyone!!” He berated.

Uzi recoiled from his shouts, wiping off some spit from her face plates. “But they didn’t! And it’s not like I wasn’t setting the explosives off away from everyone!” She argued back.

“THAT ISN’T THE POINT, UZI!!” Wulfenite bellowed.

He ignored anything else his daughter had to say. The two reached the top of the pit, immediately being met with the Boss. The sweat drops on Wulfenite’s visor increased upon seeing him.

“Hi, Mr. Lauss!” Uzi waved from her crouched position being dragged by her father. “Did you see the light show I put on? Very pretty, huh?” She giggled as her hollowed eye lights narrowed on the tall man.

Lauss’ brow quirked at her. He quickly schooled his expression when he turned back to the girl’s father. Wulfenite straightened Uzi up and let go of her collar.

“I’m sorry about this, Boss–” He stepped forward to finally get this out of the way.

“I’d rather hear it from the conductor herself.” But Lauss quickly shut him down.

Wulfenite paused. He turned to his daughter who smirked back at the large-horned man. Uzi sauntered forward with her hands held behind her back. She stopped just in front of the man, still giving him a shit-eating grin.

“Me and Ms. Frisbee were trying out some new bombs.” She began. “We’ve been working on them for a while! So we were quite excited to try them out!” Uzi giggled.

Lauss’ brow quirked again. He turned to the ginger woman. Frisbee only shrugged back, unable to deny what the purple-haired girl said. Tolla elbowed her in the side with a disapproving look.

“I admit that I may have gotten a liiiittle carried away for a while there. But can you blame me?! Those explosions were awesome!!” Uzi laughed louder, all but hopping on her feet. “Even those Murder Drones can’t put on a better light show! And I’ve seen them try!!” She went on.

Lauss remained silent. His sights turned to the smoldering scrap piles and the towers of smoke. Embers lifted into the cold air just to die out. Some flames crackled here and there in the pit.

The tall man turned back to the girl in front of him. A dreadful kind of eagerness shone in her optical lights. And the mania burned like the fires below within her hollowed pupils.

“And how effective would you say these bombs were?” Lauss questioned.

“Oh, they are very effective, Boss~” Uzi tittered behind her hand.

Again, Lauss went silent. He stared at the aftermath; The smoldering flames, the drifting smoke, the scare on everyone’s faces, the silence after the chaos. His mercs were still wary, searching the dark sky in case Murder Drones followed the loud sounds.

“You gave everyone quite a scare.” He told the girl.

“Eh. ‘Gotta crack a few eggs,’ right?” Uzi shrugged in return, not even bothered by it.

Lauss’ expression hardened on her. ‘She’s either going to be a blessing…’ He took in a deep vent.

‘Or the death of us.’

Today was the day. Uzi is going out on her very first mission!!

She woke up early, before the sun could even rise. Uzi pulled on her black clothes with red accents. Grenades, bombs, ammo, combat knives, a couple detonators, and her trusty pistol were gathered and set onto her hips.

Uzi swiped a rifle from off her wall and made sure the mag was full before slinging it over her shoulder. A bag was stuffed with more supplies, including cleaning and repairs kits, bandages, more ammo, a flashlight, even more grenades and bombs, and some food for her travels.

After everything was packed, Uzi exited her room, just to bump into the chest of her dad. Uzi turned up to him, quirking her brow.

“Uhm, hi.” She spoke.

“Going out already?” Wulfenite asked, arms crossed as he stared down at her.

“Yep! Got everything I need! Just gotta tell the boss and I’ll be off!” Uzi smiled at him.

Wulfenite was mute for a few seconds. His tense posture and expression fell with his arms. Wulfenite pulled his daughter close, startling her for a moment. Uzi sighed but hugged him back, patting his back for extra assurance.

“You be careful out there, you hear?” Wulfenite spoke softly.

“I know, I know. You drilled aaallll the merc tactics into my motherboard by now.” Uzi sighed fondly.

“Just reminding you.” Her father said.

He let her go but only to hold her at arm’s length. The tiny “apartment” was quiet as the two stared at each other.

‘I can’t believe it’s already been so long.’ He wanted to say. ‘Uzi’s eighteen now and ready for her very first mission.’ Tears wanted to well in his optical lights.

“You make sure to come back alive, okay?” He told her, his hand moving to cup her cheek.

“Yeah, yeah. You know I’m gonna come back alive! I want those damn horns already!” Uzi giggled.

But, she still leaned into his touch. It was a stark contrast to how she acts around others or her precious “Boom-Boom Babies,” whatever she calls them.

“Well, you’ll only get those horns if you come back to us alive. So don’t miss out on this opportunity, Uzi. You only get one.” He said, letting his hand fall.

“Yeah, I kinda figured.” His daughter tittered. “But I should go now. Don’t wanna be late for my first-ever contract!” She laughed louder, leaving his arms.

Wulfenite sighed but followed her outside. As Uzi barged through the front door, she saw many of the other mercenaries out there to send her off. Uzi laughed louder and hopped onto the rusty railing, sliding down it onto the ground below.

Uzi passed by familiar and unfamiliar face plates alike. Those she knew and those she only saw in passing. Gneiss high-fived her as she passed, Frisbee patted her back in support, and Tolla ruffled her hair before giving her a strong hug.

“You be careful out there, Uzi. It’s still dangerous, even for mercs like us.” The Jacob-horned woman spoke.

“Wulfenite told me the same thing!” Uzi laughed back, returning the embrace.

“I figured, but it doesn’t hurt to keep on telling you.” Tolla giggled back. “Now go tell Lauss you’re ready to go. He’s waiting.” She then pushed the young woman towards his office.

Uzi trotted off and disappeared into the tall man’s office. Wulfenite made it in time to see the door shut. Then again, he wasn’t exactly trying to rush…

“Think you’ll be alright without your kid for a little while?” Tolla inquired, giving him a reassuring smirk.

Wulfenite hesitated to reply for a minute. “...I don’t know.” It was an admittance he wasn’t sure he wanted to make.

“I guess we’ll all find out soon enough then, huh?” Tolla exhaled. “I think she’ll be fine, though. Despite her… Tendencies.” The woman made a slight wince at the end.

Wulfenite had to agree, as much as part of him wanted to disagree. “That’s exactly what worries me.”

“It worries all of us.” Tolla agreed.

Lauss’ office door opened and Uzi skipped out. She, Tolla, and Wulfenite went over to the large gates keeping land rivals away. As the mercenaries surrounded the gates, Uzi turned towards them to address them one last time.

“When I return, I’m going to have my horns!” She declared. “So you better be ready for when I come back, because I’m not gonna wait any longer anymore!” She smiled wide, pointing at everyone.

“It’s still gonna take time to make them, girl!” Frisbee called from afar.

“Then that forge better be fired up when I return! Because I won’t have much patience left!” Uzi laughed right back. “Anyways, I have to be off! I’ll see you all later, when this mission is complete and I’ve proved that I’m ready for my horns!” She told everyone else.

The mercenaries all cheered while Uzi spun on her heel. The gates opened up for her, presenting her with the barren outside world. Uzi blinked at the morning sun just staring to rise beyond the horizon.

Uzi took a deep vent, feeling her core pounding in her chassis in excitement. The weight of her backpack helped to ground her as she prepared for her first time in the outside world in many years.

‘It’s almost scary how fast the time flew by.’ She giggled to herself under her vents. ‘But I’m glad it’s here.’ Uzi’s lavender sights narrowed on the horizon.

“I can finally see the world ignite by my hand, after all~!” Uzi laughed to herself with voiding eye lights as she took her first step outside the gates.