Lizzy paced back and forth across the carpet, hand over her misbehaving eye. -Think, think, who could've given this to you?- Trying to recall what she'd been told about Uzi and Doll's solver. -No good, I don't know my code parents!- She grumbled, biting her thumb nervously. Having been adopted, she had even less of a clue about who or what this could've come from. Assuming that it was the same source as theirs anyway. But why had hers taken so long to awaken? And wouldn't Uzi have some kind of, sense? Instinct?? SOMETHING that could have told her she had a latent solver in her system. She put her hands over her face. "OK, it's ok, don't freak yourself out. Uzi has to know something about what's going on." Nodding to herself before walking to her nightstand. She picked up the phone, opening the chatting app. With a deep breath, she sent Uzi a text.
Lizzy: Need help with the dress ASAP
It took a little longer than she wanted for Uzi to answer, her finger tapping the side of her phone anxiously.
Uzi clicked off the screen on her phone. She went to stand, however, a devilish idea came to mind. She grinned and raised one of her hands to the side of her mouth. Turning to face the couch while doing so. "Hey V, Lizzy needs help with her dress. My hands are tied, why don't YOU go help her?" Turning back to the movies spread out in front of them. V sat up, knowing exactly what her game was. Her gaze towards Uzi narrowed, but ultimately she sighed and rolled her eyes. V pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the door, giving it a brief knock. "Hey uh, Uzi's busy, I'm comin' to help instead. Mind if I come in?" Feeling awkward while standing in front of the door. Lizzy was quiet on the other side. -Dammit, well there goes that- groaning under her breath. Holding up a hand Lizzy said, "Yeah! Come in," Moving to her bed and pulling the curtains closed. She huddled in the small space, hoping she could talk her way through this. V stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She looked around, finding Lizzy missing. "You in the bathroom?" Walking over to the bathroom door. Her hand reached for a knob but stopped when she heard Lizzy's voice from behind her, "I-I'm in here!" Waving a hand through the curtain, it then retreated behind the curtain.
V stepped away from the bathroom door, walking towards the bed. Lizzy watched as V's shadow moved across the curtain walls, illuminated by the bedroom light. Her eye twitched and something flashed in her mind. Flashes of a silhouetted, clawed V laughing maniacally. Lizzy furiously shook her head, holding her hand over her eye, -Stop it!- She scolded into the ether. V placed a hand on the edge of the curtain, Lizzy's voice spoke out before she moved, "W-wait, I, uh, need a minute." V's hand dropped the fabric, letting it fall back into place. She held up her hands, "Sorry, should've asked first." Leaning against one of the bed poles. Lizzy drummed her fingers against the blanket beneath her. Trying to think of what to say and drawing a blank. V crossed her arms, looking over at Lizzy's desk. Above it was the corkboard full of papers. The pictures Lizzy and Uzi had drawn, in between photos and momentos. All hung up with cute colorful animal pins. Each of the photos was dated with a little note. She tapped her fingers on her arm and looked to the curtain separating her and Lizzy. "...You didn't need help with your dress, did you? You ok? You've been so, weird, lately." Lizzy stiffened up, "W-weird how?" Keeping a hand over her eye. V sighed, reaching up a hand and scratching her neck.
"Well, I dunno, you haven't been talking to us as much. Ever since graduation, you've been, weird. You haven't been coming out to parties, you stopped drawing, you've been pulling away from us. Are you, ok?" V's genuine worry made Lizzy feel awful. Of course, during this, she ended up waking up robo-Satan somehow. Lizzy leaned back against her pillows, thinking over V's words. Eventually, she sighed and started talking. "Look, first, it's, not because of you guys. I've just had a lot on my mind lately," she wrapped her free arm around her knees. V drummed her fingers against her arm, "Well then, talk to me about it. I might not be able to give you advice, but I can listen." Moving to sit down on the floor closer to where Lizzy was sitting on the bed. Lizzy looked over to V's shadow, moving her hand away from her eye. She was quiet, wondering if it was really ok to tell her. How would she feel once she knew? Though, Lizzy also knew silence would probably only make things worse. With a sigh she leaned back and started talking, "We were gonna have a party house, me and the other girls." Picking up the discarded photo from before and holding it gently in her hands.
V glanced up at the curtains, but didn't interrupt, letting Lizzy talk. "We had plans and everything ya know? We were gonna split the work four ways. Each of us finding at least a mid-level niche would make it easy to get something nice. Me, Doll, Rebecca, and Emily. Then when I graduated I realized, I didn't know what to do anymore. My plans don't mean a thing now that they're all gone." She didn't realize she'd begun crying until she sniffed unconsciously. "I mean, I know I have to move out eventually. Find a niche, do, something. But I don't know what anymore. Either way, I'm just gonna end up alone. They're all gone and I couldn't do a thing about it. I couldn't even say I was sorry." Her tears came forth, lighting up her screen with a pink dancing glow. V leaned her head back, looking towards the curtain. She heard Lizzy's attempts to stifle her crying, "Well, I know it's no party house. But you can move in with me if you want. Find you a niche you can enjoy." She chuckled then, "Hey, Thad's still looking for a place to move into right? If you really want to party house it, we can ask him about it too. The three of us could get a nice place easy, one high up in the stacks with a sky door." Pointing up while she spoke.
Lizzy sniffed, a small smile cracking out across her face. She looked up at the ceiling of her bed, "That sounds nice, I'd love to haha. I can show you the one we were looking at before, if it's still open for grabs that is." V nodded, standing up. She pointed to the curtain and asked, "Can I come in?" To which Lizzy responded with, "Yeah, sure." Putting the photo to the side. V pulled back the curtain, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She turned to look at Lizzy. Just like she'd thought, Lizzy looked pretty great in the new outfit. Though someone like her could make anything work if she wanted to. She moved to sit next to the smaller drone who had her eyes downcast at the bed. V placed a hand gently on her shoulder, making her look up. That's when V noticed it, pointing at her own eyes, "Is that uh, a new look?" This confused Lizzy, and she sat up straighter. "Is, what a new look?" Her hand made its way to her visor. V leaned out of the curtains, "Your mirror is still in the top drawer right?" She asked, placing a hand on the nightstand to prop herself up. Lizzy said, "Y-yeah," feeling nervous about the prospect of a mirror, but also wanting to know what V was talking about. V retrieved the small hand mirror, moving back to her spot next to Lizzy. She held it up for Lizzy to see.
She finally understood what V was talking about. Her eyes had a split color much like Uzi's. While the bottom half was pink, the upper half was a reddish orange. The panic was starting to settle back in, her expression in the mirror changing to reflect that. V felt the hand mirror buzz in her hand before there was a snapping crack. She quickly turned it back towards herself, seeing that it was shattered. V looked at the mirror, then Lizzy, suddenly understanding why she'd asked UZI to help her. V held up a hand when she noticed Lizzy's panic, quickly putting down the mirror. "Hey hey, calm down," placing both hands firmly on Lizzy's shoulders. "There's no need to panic, we've dealt with this once we can do it again. I'll get Uzi and we can get this sorted. No worries at all, ok?" Patting her shoulders then scooting her way off the bed. Lizzy nodded and brought her knees up to her chest, waiting for her return.
"Rock, paper, scissors!" Uzi, Thad, and N all threw down their hands. Thad and N pulled rock while she had scissors. She held up her hand with a, 'dammit!' While Thad laughed, "You're out Zi haha!" Uzi shook her head and said, "Don't pick something lame ok?" Crossing her arms. She noticed V waving her down from behind the boys, mouthing 'get over here' and gesturing for Uzi to come towards her. Uzi waved to the boys and said, "I'm getting a drink." Standing up and walking towards V. She put her hands in her pockets and asked, "So, how'd it go?" Her mischievous grin returned. V spoke quietly, "She didn't actually need help with her dress." Trying not to let the others hear. "Something weird is happening, we need your input." Pointing towards Lizzy's door with a thumb. Uzi's eyebrow raised in a questioning look. V rolled her eyes, "Just, come on." Walking towards Lizzy's door hurriedly. Uzi shrugged and followed along.
Lizzy felt even more nervous now that she was alone. This had to be some kind of divine retribution right? A punishment? Something in between? The red glow that was so familiar was now part of her. It was a bit too much. She picked up the shattered mirror, trying to see her eyes in the shattered surface. This was becoming more of a mess by the second. She knew that color. It was Doll's glow. -How did this happen?- She thought to herself, placing a hand just below her visor. Every second felt like an eternity of waiting. Placing the mirror down, she drummed her fingers against her knees. Finally, the door opened and V entered with Uzi, the door quickly shutting behind them. Lizzy peeked out the curtain, moving it aside when she saw the pair. Uzi walked over, wondering what this was all about. She was about to ask what's up when she saw Lizzy's eyes and the shattered hand mirror beside her. V walked over and sat down beside Lizzy, "She has a solver now, apparently. Any idea what happened?" Putting a hand on her back to help keep her calm.
Uzi glanced back, Cyn wasn't active at the moment. She placed her hands on her hips, brows furrowing. "Are you able to summon it?" Uzi asked, walking closer to the bed and leaning on the frame. Lizzy looked down at her hands, wondering if trying was even a good idea. "I uh, I don't know. This kind of just started like, minutes ago." Her hands were shaking. The hand on her back moved in comforting circles when V noticed this. Uzi looked around for something to test on, picking up a stuffed octopus plush from her bed. She held it out in front of her and said, "Imagine trying to grab and hold this, and hold up your hand. You've seen me do it dozens of times." Uzi pats the octopus plush's head while talking. Lizzy nodded, taking a deep breath before holding up her hand. She held three fingers up and tried to imagine moving the plush. There were a few tense moments of silence, all three waiting for something to happen. However, nothing did. The air remained empty and no solver symbol was appearing.
Lizzy moved her hand, "Doesn't look like I ca-" when her hand hovered in front of Uzi instead of the plush, a symbol appeared. It was bright pink and shaped in a circle. Much like the normal solver it had an inner and outer ring, but four pointed lines reached out around it. All three stared at the symbol as Lizzy moved her hand back in front of the plush, causing it to vanish. She moved it back in front of Uzi just to see it appear again. "Whaaat is that supposed to mean?" Lizzy asked, watching the lines of the circle slowly spin around the outer ring. Uzi put the plush down and walked forward to examine the symbol closer. Uzi put a hand to her chin, summoning her solver to compare the shape, "I have, no idea. I've never seen the solver take a form like this. Looks like you can't move objects with it though." She began to mutter to herself about what this mutation could mean. Or if it was a solver at all. Lizzy dropped her hand, feeling more confused than before. Uzi stood up straight, the symbol vanishing, "Your folks don't know anything about this? You know like uh, me and mom?" Lizzy shook her head, rubbing her arm, "I don't know my code parents. I was found on the surface when they still did rescue sweeps." Shrugging while looking down.
Uzi nodded, "It's fine it's fine, I'll ask my mom about it. She's been researching the solver a lot longer than I have." Waving a hand in the air. Lizzy looked down at her hands, holding them together in her lap. Trying to keep the mood light, V said, "Well, I think it suits you. If you squint, it looks like a flower," grinning at Lizzy and patting her back. Lizzy chuckled, raising one of her hands towards herself. The symbol appeared, spinning slowly, "Yeah, it kind of does, doesn't it? Or like a parasol-" That was the last thing she could get out before it suddenly started spinning faster. Her eyes widened, "Wh-what's happening now-" then it all went black.
[Privledges granted, one moment...]
"Lizzy!? Lizzy!" V was shaking her, holding her arms. She'd stood up and moved in front of her. Lizzy was unresponsive. Her screen displayed [processing request] with three dots disappearing and reappearing in a sign that something was loading. Uzi grabbed V's arm, "Careful! You don't wanna hurt her!" Pulling V away from Lizzy. V turned to look at Uzi, "What's going on!? Is she ok!?" Uzi sighed, sounding frustrated. "I don't know! For now, we have to make sure she didn't get some weird virus!" Speed walking towards the door, "I'm getting my bag, watch her." Exiting the room with a huff. V looked towards the door, then Lizzy. She could only hope that this wasn't anything like what she'd experienced all that time ago in the manor.
Lizzy sat up, looking around. She was in the dark space again. This time she wasn't sitting on oil. Just a nebulous darkness. Hands moved over her visor, blocking her vision. She reached up to remove them but heard a familiar voice. "Just take a nap, I'll take care of this, ok? I won't them toy with you." Lizzy placed a hand over the one holding her, "Doll!? Is that you? What are you gonna, hey." She tried to get Doll to respond, but the other drone refused to speak further. Lizzy felt her limbs getting heavy as the darkness consumed her. This Doll wasn't the one she'd known before. The sound of her voice was strained, like she hadn't spoken in years. This was bad.
V tapped the floor with her fingers, glancing at the door every once in awhile. She heard movement from behind her and stood up, "Lizzy?" Holding up her hands. Lizzy sat up, first looking down at her hands. Then down at her outfit. V reached a hand out towards her. Lizzy's own shot up and V only had moments to react when the red solver symbol appeared in front of her. A red eyed stare being thrown her way.
Outside the room, Uzi grabbed her bag. Opening it to see if she'd remembered to pack her on-the-go gear. N looked over, tail wagging, "Hey is Lizzy almost ready? We picked out a movie order!" Looking excited. Uzi looked over at the two, then back down at the bag. "Her dress needs size adjustments," she lied quickly to go back to what she was doing. Behind her, Cyn made her appearance. The tail head moved to look over Uzi's shoulder. Uzi looked at her, "What do you want now?" Cyn simply smiled and said, "The [RED ONE] appears to still be angry." Uzi looked confused until she heard a loud CRASH from Lizzy's room. N and Thad looked up, startled by the sudden commotion. Thad went to ask Uzi what was happening but the purple drone was already on her feet and running for Lizzy's room. Cyn let out a small and mischievous 'weeee' as Uzi ran. She opened the door to see what the hell was happening, the other two coming up behind her. Lizzy's dad wasn't too far behind, "The hell are you doing over here?" He asked. However, he wasn't answered due to Uzi running into the room.
V had been thrown into the desk and corkboard, shattered wood and paper settling around her. V attempted to push herself up, screen cracked from the impact and messing with her vision. She moved to stand but the red symbol appeared at her knee joint, severing it and forcing her to kneel. Lizzy had stood up from the bed. A tail trailed behind her, hanging low. The head resembled a blooming rose, its eyes closed as if asleep. Lizzy turned her head to look at Uzi. The pink hue was missing, replaced by a red glowing anger. She held up a hand, "Stay out of this." Before Uzi could say anything, she was thrown through one of the bed poles. This sent her crashing to the ground in splintered wood and ripped fabric. "UZI!" N shouted, running forward and drawing his blades. A red glow surrounded his neck and a moment later his body dropped to the ground. The stump once holding his head spewed oil onto the ground. Thad watched on in horror as Lizzy walked towards V. The dissasembly watched the glitching form walk towards her, trying to stand up. Within her vision the image glitched between Lizzy and a shadowy red-lined silhouette of a drone she recognized. Lizzy held out a hand to her side, the red solver symbol spinning and becoming a saw blade.
"I won't let you trick her, monster." It was Lizzy's voice dipped in venom. V held up an arm, opening the hatch and deploying her gun. It shook as she aimed. When did it become so hard to shoot? Luckily, she didn't need to. Thad had grabbed Lizzy's arm, wrapping both of his arms around it, "STOP!" He shouted. His voice was panicked, frightened. He didn't let go, leaving the spinning solver to hover in the air dangerously close. Lizzy didn't look back at him, she just spoke. "Let go of me, now." Not moving her arm from its position. Thad shook his head, "No way! If you do this, you'll regret it! Just calm down! Lizzy please!" Red eyes looked back at him, making him pause. "...Doll-" Thad was suddenly pushed to the side by Uzi. She had grabbed a water bottle out of her bag, it being full of oil. She popped off the lid and splashed the contents onto the tail. Much like when hit in the face with water, the tail's eyes opened. The eyes glowed pink against the petals. Lizzy looked back, "No, not yet, stay-" but she suddenly froze. Her screen displayed [Processing request.] The tail's eyes closed, followed by a few tense silent moments.
When her eyes returned, so did the pink hue. Still overlayed half in red. The solver symbol vanished and Lizzy was left panting, hunched over and grabbing at her chest. She looked up and saw V's condition. Lizzy quickly moved to V's side, sitting on her legs. "V? What happened? A-are you ok?" Grabbing V's hand with both of hers. V switched her gun back into a hand, placing it over Lizzy's. "I'm fine. It'll take more then that to put me down." Lizzy didn't looked convinced. She looked around behind her, taking in the carnage that had occurred. Uzi looked to Cyn saying, "I can't believe you were right about that," Sighing as the tail made a [TEEHEE] sound. N pushed himself up off the ground, head finally repairing. He put his hat back on his head. Quickly he ran over to Uzi to make sure she was ok. Holding an arm protectively in front of her, looking at Lizzy cautiously like she was going to pounce. It took a few moments for Lizzy to realize why that was. She looked back at V, then the damage and oil splatters. "Did I, do this?" Her voice was small, glancing between everyone. Thad stepped forward, holding up his hands, "Lizz, listen, I think-" Lizzy had already stood up, stepping away from him when he tried to approach. She felt something moving behind her and looked back. The petals of the tail had closed, creating a lizard esc appearance. Red angry eyes looked back at her through the splatter of oil, closing when it lost energy. Something within Lizzy told her that the others weren't safe as long as those eyes were filled with hatred. She turned and ran, pushing passed her confused father. He reached out to grab her arm but she slapped his hand away, shouting, "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Making a break for it. Getting far away from the dissasemblies was her main priority. When Doll died, she still hated them. If she hadn't been aware till now, she was still stuck in that stage. That meant that as long as they were around V or N, they were in danger. She also knew that the moment she repaired, V would come after her. Lizzy wouldn't let that happen. Until she knew why Doll had returned, she couldn't stay near them. Less she lose control again.
