Chapter Text
Have you ever woken up one day and just had that feeling? That sixth sense that nagged at the back of your head? When you wake up and your whole body can just FEEL that today would be a bad day?
Uzi Doorman was no stranger to the random thoughts in her head, hell ever since her fight with Cyn she had literally had a voice in her head. Constantly talking to her, making fun of her, trying to get her to wear a bow despite Uzi nearly ripping her tail off for the 6th time.
That's what scared Uzi the most, was that for the first time in months.. She was quiet. Cyn wasn't saying anything, no good morning, no insult, no acting like her alarm clock.. She has begged for this day to come for a long time but now that it was here; she was nervous.
Rolling out of her bed she walked over to the mirror, her eyes were still that yellow/purple gradient she had grown to accept, and her tail was still yellow, But it wasn’t moving, and she couldn't figure out why
You have been torturing me for months Cyn, why are you just now choosing to finally be quiet
…
Cyn?
Uzi shook her head and chose to just get ready for the day, Cyn was probably just messing with her, trying out new mind games. She grabbed her hoodie where it was laying half-hazardly in the laundry pile. why do we even have laundry, we don't even sweat! She also grabbed her beanie, her mom liked it, she liked it, truly a win win.
She walked out of her room with tired energy, you would think saving the world would allow her to sleep in but NOPE! She turned to the living room and immediately tripped on one of her dads doors, causing her to fall to the floor, her visor gaining a small crack that immediately started to heal.
“Uggghhhhh” She lifted her head, just to slowly lay it back down. After around 5 seconds she took a deep breath and got up, slowly walking to the kitchen and drinking a small cup of oil. She was lucky that doll had left a bunch in her passing, just waiting to be borrowed for an extended period of time.
She took a look around. looks like mom and dad left without a goodbye, again
Whatever, she doesn't care…
Nope, not at all, they can leave her alone for all she cares.
She finished her oil, put the jar back in the fridge, and started walking to the door, she didnt bother leaving a note, she was pretty sure her parents wouldnt even notice she left.
She went to open the door when a knock rang from the other side.
“Uzi? UUuuuzzzzziiiiiiii!”
N!
She practically ripped the door off its hinges, diving into N hard enough to almost tip him, a soft oof was said before he hugged her back
“Aww! I missed you too!” N said goofily.
Uzi held the hug for a second before pulling away quickly, remembering they were in an active hallway. “I didn't miss you, I don't care!” she said while crossing her arms. Despite looking at the floor, her visor blush gave away her true feelings about the whole situation. Making N smile slightly.
Uzi closed her door and they started walking to the school area, normally V would have joined them, but V and Lizzy were long outside the colony, probably taking selfies out at some of the abandoned buildings, sharing the local drama instead of going to school, Uzi couldn't blame them, she wanted too as well.
Skipping school that is, she doesn't care about the others.
She doesn't care
==--==
School is so boring…
Uzi could never focus to begin with, she usually just threw on her headphones and listened to nightcore, but upon inspection she had realized that she left them at home. N had offered her his headphones, but Uzi declined. I would never deny my own boyfriend his music
Arriving at school, they all took their seats, patiently waiting for the teacher to show up.
5 minutes passed.
Then 10.
After 15 minutes the class had descended to chaos, people on their desks, others forming groups of each other to talk, a cliche paper airplane flying around the room. It was all too much, and Uzi forgetting her headphones certainly made this such a great time for her.
If only she could even muster up the energy to be sarcastic.
The only saving grace she had was N. who was happily doodling on a piece of paper, kicking his legs slowly as his tail flicked around. She had been lucky enough to convince the teacher to let them sit next to each other. And by convincing she means just doing it and fighting anyone that opposed until they all give up..
But if it works it works.
She was about to stand up and watch him draw when the door burst open, in walked a drone that was not their teacher.
This drone had a balding hair style, gray around the sides with some brown at the top, he wore a faded tweed jacket with the stereotypical leather elbow patches with an accompanying pair of dress pants.
Honestly she was confused on how he found a matching outfit on this dreaded planet. She couldn't be bothered to think much though; thankfully he looked like he was about to start talking.
“Everyone sit.”
Everyone slowly made it back to their chairs, not wanting to test the sub too much.. Yet.
Once everyone had taken their seat, he cleared his throat.
“Good afternoon, your teacher called me after he quote "couldn't be bothered”. As such I will be your substitute for today”
The rough and grumpy voice was enough for Uzi to mentally check out, though she kept her eyes following him, somewhat curious about what he could possibly teach today.
He walked over to the desk, opened a briefcase and pulled out a list. He straightened the page a few times before walking back to the center of the room.
“I have a list of names here, I'm going to call attendance. When I say your name, your going to call back to me. It's like a simple game of ping pong. We can even mix those terms together, Call it something like a.. A callback ping”
And that teacher's singular attempt at an analogy is where Uzi’s day went from low and boring, to eventful and shitty
==--==
N always tried to be as cheerful as possible, wanting to make sure everyone felt included and he especially loved seeing Uzi smile. He knows it isn't easy for her, he was there to witness everything she’s had to go through.
Her mom being gone then returning, her dad leaving her for dead, the whole solver situation, Cyn.. who now lived inside of her head, being diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety… It was a lot. Seeing her smile after all of that is a simple joy of his he wouldn’t give up for anything.
She doesn't always make it easy for him though; if N had a nickel for every time she had brushed off a nightmare, or lied about if she was fine or not, never letting herself be seen as anything other than her evil edgy self. He could probably have bought her a lifetime supply of therapy.
Although she would probably rather have a workshop, and would probably bite the therapist…
N focused on his drawing, he was so excited to show Uzi later, hopefully after a fun hour of watching a new anime that she had probably pirated, maybe going to see the stars again, or maybe…
The door swung open, and it walked… not our teacher? N could only describe him as an aged up Rajesh from the super old show “Big bang theory”; Something Uzi introduced to him as a mental torture video. He agreed.
The substitute was yet to even describe his name, simply told everyone to sit down. So N decided to put his drawing stuff away, he watched as his girlfriend's head hit the desk. If he knew her well then she's probably going to take a nap.
N smiled again. shes so adorable
“Good afternoon, your teacher called me after he quote "couldn't be bothered”. As such I will be your substitute for today
He was a bit worried about his normal teacher.. Despite him never doing anything in the class but groaning and playing solitaire while teaching, N had still tried to pay attention, hoping he could make the teacher proud of him.. Even if his desperate need for validation was a bad habit.
“I have a list of names here, I'm going to call attendance. When I say your name, your going to call back to me. It's like a simple game of ping pong. We can even mix those terms together, Call it something like a.. A callback ping”
That had to be the stupidest thing the substitute teacher could have ever said…
N’s eyes went wide, panic flooding his processor. Did he not read the notes?? Did the teacher not write any notes down?! his neck immediately snapped to his girlfriend. Who had stopped moving completely, staring at the teacher with her eyes wide and hollow.
All of a sudden N heard something, he realized quickly that Uzi’s fans had started speeding up rapidly, her breathing also started getting faster despite their lack of need to breathe, he then noticed other students turning to look, some confused, others V had probably spread some tea with, because they were looking with genuine concern.
He tried whispering her name, but she kept staring straight ahead, eyes unmoving as they tracked the teacher who was still listing names for attendance.
“Uzi?” - The teacher's voice rang out. No response
“Do we have an Uzi Doorman here?”
N started thinking, He knew this was some form of panic, he knew that getting her out of the class and into a spot they could have to themselves. He just didn't know how. Could he carry her without making the problem worse? Could she walk on her own? Could he even ask her these questions?
He didn't have to think long, her breathing had turned into full hyperventilation, she shot up from her chair, stumbling around the desks as concerned classmates tried to stop her, some reached out but immediately retracted their hands.
“Are you Uzi Doorman?” The teacher seemed concerned too. But Uzi wasn't listening. She frantically looked to the door, then the teacher, the other students who had all either started starting or trying to calm her down.
Before N could even react, try to calm her down or even think. She had drawn her wings and shot herself through the roof, hastily flying out past the spire.
Concrete and metal beams fell down into the class. The Sub looked on in disbelief as students looked on in horror.
N did not waste time however, He drew his wings and shot through the ceiling himself. Screaming after Uzi in a desperate attempt to get through to her.
“UZIII!!!”
==--==
“Callback Ping”
Her subsystems went into overdrive.
BaDum
Her core had sped up, her vision glitched and she was… N- no
She could see Cyn, standing in front of her peers, the floor flooded with oil as the walls faded to black, her classmates all looked dead, almost for weeks.
Uzi froze.
BaDum
She couldn't hear anything but the static that was flooding her audio sensors, the sound of her core flushing oil through her systems in an attempt to cool down the meltdown of her processor
Callback Ping
She couldn't breathe, her fans were at max but it wasn't fast enough, she started taking in gulps of air desperately trying to breathe. She then heard Cyn speak to her
“Uz- z- zi Doorman?” It called in a spookily slow voice.
BaDum BaDum
Callback Ping
The static in her ears was now accompanied by a loud ringing noise, She tried desperately to plug her ears to no avail, she couldn't close her eyes and she couldn't stop the smell of rotted blood and oil flooding her nostrills.
I need out. I need out. I need out. I need outIneed out IneedoutIneedoutIneedoutINEEDOUTINEEDOUTINEEDOUTINEEDOUTOUTOUTOUTOUTOUTOUTOUTOTUOUT
CALLBACK PING
She felt a jolt through her body, the ringing getting louder. She hastily stood, watching as Cyn cracked her neck to meet her gaze
“Are you Uzi Doorman?”
She didn't dare answer this monster, she tried to go as fast as she could to the door; only to watch in horror as it faded out from her vision, she turned to face everyone, who had all started staring at her. The FATAL ERROR screen shining bright from their visors.
BADUM BADUM BADUM
Warning signals flashed all over her visor, “Prior Hazard” “High Temp” “Optical Error” “Cooling Override” Not that she could read them, She frantically looked for a way out as her vision grew more and more blurry. No door no window no no-
Her wings shot from her body before she could even think to do so, She shot upward, crashing through the void. She looked out at the abandoned city, watching as the sky, once always black had turned into a deep red with a mix of blood and oil falling from the sky. She darted, blowing past the spire.
CALLBACK PING
She didn't know where she was going, She didn't care, she needed to run.