You, V, N and J part ways, flying over the icy terrain to cover more ground.
You, of course, have to stick with V.
You catch up to V. "Ugh. You're totally her favorite."
V scoffs. "You think I'm J's favorite?"
You roll your eyes. "How could you not? I mean, sure you're a disappointment when you don't 'babysit' me, but aside from that, you really don't hold back on killing those murder drones."
V swats at you. "And neither do you."
"Yeah, yeah. Well at least you don't malfunction every time you try to kill those worker drones. You're a perfect model!"
V actually laughs at your comment. Not the sharp, mocking kind either—this one's genuine. A short burst of amusement that puffs out into the cold like steam.
“Perfect model, huh? Tell that to J. She looks at me like I downloaded the wrong firmware.”
You give V a playful shove. “She looks at all of us like that. But come on—you’re fast, you’re brutal, and you look good doing it. That’s basically everything she wants, right?”
V tilts her head, considering that. “True. And you? You glitch and twitch and still outscore me. That’s gotta sting for her more than it stings me.”
“Yeah. J can shove her ‘efficiency’ stats. We’re art. Murder art.”
V cackles at that, tossing her head back. “Yeah we are. We’re like—performance murder. With style.”
You flash her a jagged grin. “Exactly. Worker drones see us coming and just know it’s over. And the way they scream?” You shudder with a smirk. “Never gets old.”
V nods, practically giddy. “This one earlier? Took one look at me, dropped his wrench, and ran into a wall. Knocked himself out cold.”
You snorted. “No way.”
“Swear on my tail,” she grins, patting the syringe-tip like it’s a pet. “Didn’t even get to stab him. It was honestly kinda disappointing.”
“I had one try to play dead. Like, full-on dramatic faint. Thought I’d fall for it.”
“Did you?”
You raise a brow. “Of course not. I sat on him until he stopped twitching.”
The wind howls around you both, snow whipping by as you skim over the wreckage-littered tundra. But it’s quiet for a second. A comfortable quiet.
Hours later...16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMR8J15WP4k
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxBTkSKbBs
You perch on a lamp post. V perches on another lamp post. Your joints twitch, making you lose balance and fall of the lamp post and onto a car. V laughs, pointing a finger at you.
You reach for the nearest piece of rubble before sitting up and attempting to throw it at her, causing her to lose her balance. But she caught herself, hanging by her tail.
V dangles from her tail like a smug, upside-down cat, still laughing. “You seriously just fell off a lamp post? What are you, three firmware updates behind?”
You brush shattered glass off your shoulder, glitching slightly as your arm spasms. “At least I don’t live on lamp posts like some kind of feral alley drone.”
V swings back and forth for a second, still hanging, then drops gracefully down beside you with a thunk.
You flop back with a loud groan. "Where are all the bunkers?!"
V shrugged with exaggerated casualness, kicking a chunk of frozen debris off the car hood. “Maybe they heard you coming and decided it was safer to eat their own wires.”
You scowl, visor flickering. “Hilarious. Really. Peak comedy.”
She grins, all teeth. “Thanks, I’ve been working on my timing.”
You mutter, “You should work on your aim. I’ve seen cleaner kills."
V gasps in mock horror. “How dare you. I have style, Y/N. It’s called dramatic flair.”
You twitch, one leg glitching as you push yourself upright again. “It’s called missing on purpose because you think posing is more important than precision.”
“Oh please,” V snorts, briefly deploying her claws with a satisfying shnk. “I could carve your name into the ice with one hand.”
You twitch harder. “Do it, coward.”
V tilts her head, neon eyes gleaming. “...You really want me to? Because I will.”
You lean in, your grin crooked and defiant. “Only if you spell it right this time.”
She lunges for you, and you both go toppling off the car into the snow, tangled in limbs and tail cables, still laughing and throwing swats at each other.
Enventually, V's wings deploy and she takes off into the air like a bullet. You hold onto her hands, your grip still strong no matter how many times she spun around in the air.
V spins hard, trying to shake you off like a bug on a windshield. “Let! Go!”
You’re cackling now, holding on tighter. “Not until you admit I’m better at aerial kills!”
“Over my burnt motherboard!” she snarls, flipping mid-air.
You spin with her, your leg glitching as it flails behind like a ragdoll. “Careful! You’ll mess up your perfect hair!”
V gasps like you just insulted her creator. “You take that back, Twitchy!”
“Make me, Miss Flair-for-Drama!”
You both spin again, chaotic spirals in the sky—an aggressive, flailing knot of claws, wings, and glitchy limbs that somehow doesn’t crash… yet.
She finally throws you, and you crash-land into a snowbank with a WHUMP, limbs splayed and visor covered in snow. You spit out a bolt.
V hovers above, arms crossed, tail swaying smugly behind her. “Say it.”
You glare up at her from the snow. “Say what?”
“That I’m better.”
You start to rise slowly. “You’re—”
She leans in closer.
“—a dramatic, smug, over-programmed tryhard.”
V huffs, wings flaring. “Ugh, you’re so annoying.”
“Yet you keep hanging out with me.” You flick snow at her face.
“Because you’d probably get lost or electrocuted without me!”
“I would not! I—well—maybe zapped. But only a little.”
V groans and plops down next to you, wing folding in as she brushes off a chunk of ice. “You’re exhausting.”
You nudge her with your elbow. “But you love me.”
She doesn’t respond right away. Just stares off at the tundra.
Then she mutters, “Don’t let J get to your head, okay?"
You shrug. "I don't."
"It's okay, it's okay," V cooes, patting your head. "I know you're in denial."
You have the straightest face. I'm not in denial.
"But don't worry, Y/N. I think you're perfect." V says.
You blink.
Your visor flickers, your mouth opening just a bit in pure confusion. Did she just say—?
V grins wider than ever, tapping the side of your head like she’s checking for a reboot button. “Yup. Perfectly broken.”
You groan loudly and collapse back into the snow like your code just gave up. “Why do I even talk to you.”
She leans over with smug smile, “Because deep down, you admire me.”
You whip a snowball at her face. “Deep down, I want to strangle you.”
V gasps, her visor flashing with fake offense. “Y/N! Are you saying I’m not your murder prom date?”
You cover your face with both hands. “Please shut down.”
She pokes your shoulder with a claw. “Never. Not while you're this fun to mess with.”
You sit back up, looking at her with the deadpan of someone who’s accepted their fate. “I hope a snowstorm fries your memory core.”
V rests her head in her hand, kicking her feet in the snow. “Aww. Then I’d forget how pathetic you looked falling off that lamp post.”
You both sit in silence for a second.
Then V casually holds out her hand. “Truce?”
You eye it warily. “This a real truce or another one of your fake-outs where you stab me?”
She shrugs. “Fifty-fifty. Live a little.”
You take her hand. She doesn't stab you.
Yet.
You glance at her. “So. Still better than me?”
V smirks. “Obviously.”
You yank her into another snowbank. “Not for long."
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJJYjlAb96
I gave up here :')
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