S quivered with a mix of bewilderment and terror as Q's hollow head peered down at her. One of the cameras with yellow pupils extended forward.
"Q is n-not here right now. We are tr-trying to fix her."
The many camera-like eyes all motioned to the lifeless skull of the former disassembly drone as S continued pressing for information.
"W-what the hell are you…? What did you do to Q…?"
While blinking at S, the creature motioned towards Q's head.
"Q… R-rebuild."
The creature didn't bother finishing its sentence. A long scythe-like claw appeared from the vents and pointed at Uzi. S knew exactly what it wanted. Shr looked towards the small worker drone, contemplating what to do.
"S… No…"
N stepped in front of both S and whatever had taken over Q's body. He extended one of his chainsaw hands to block S from reaching Uzi.
"You said Q DIED."
"I-… I th-thought she did!"
Uzi stepped behind N and poked her head out from over his shoulder. She pointed towards the wired amalgamation hanging eerily from the vents.
"Then what's that?"
S clenched her jaw and looked at her former teammate's new, twisted, form. She couldn't make sense of what happened to Q or why she was acting so strange.
"Q… Or- whatever you are. What happened? Is-… Is the Archangel dead?"
S's body began to shake even more. A glimmer of hope sparked within her body. A hope that the monster that had killed E was deep within the ground where it belonged.
The amalgamation's many camera-like eyes blinked as a few more of those scythe-ish arms slowly creeped out of the ceiling.
S's voice became more desperate for an answer as she felt the opportunity slipping away.
"Q please… Just talk to me!"
The monster, formerly known as Q, said only one more short sentence.
"Better to a-assimilate than explain."
S put her arms out as if to ask what she meant by that, but before either of the three drones could utter another word, Q leaped from the ceiling at all three of them.
N pushed Uzi away, with his foot, from the oncoming foe as both chainsaws, which replaced his hands, began revving wildly. S jumped to the side and shoved herself against the wall, trying desperately to avoid the monster.
Q's scythes lurched forward and attempted to stab N; however, they were too slow as his body dashed into the monster and severed the scythes before they could make any sort of contact. N slid along the floor and repositioned himself on the monster's side while furiously cutting wire after wire off the seemingly endless horde of cables pouring down from the vents.
S gritted her teeth and drew her blades as a few mechanical hands reached out to grab her. Even though she didn't care much for Q, having to fight her once sister-in-arms stung S's heart. She sliced each arm off cleanly and quickly while sliding along the wall towards N and Uzi.
"N! DUCK!"
He dropped his head at the disassembly drone's voice. On cue, S fired a missile from her hand which collided with one of the monster's scythe-like claws. N quickly backed away and stood a few feet in front of Uzi. S landed beside N as the two drones looked at one another. S tilted her head slightly back to glance at Uzi.
"You'll still help me right?"
Uzi nodded.
"Good. N, let's go."
"Alright S. Uzi, stay back."
The female worker backed away as N and S moved as one towards the monster. Its calm and robotic voice rang in their sensors, but they did not falter. In response, the creature's cameras split apart from one another and hid themselves behind a dense thicket of wires and claws.
"Eye roll."
The two disassembly drones lunged forward and sliced through wave after wave of wires. Each time they cut a wire, another two seemed to rush in. The drones spaced themselves out far enough for their movements to not impede each other. N's chainsaws effortlessly chipped away at the mass as he inched closer. He did not blink or stutter no matter how many wires rushed him.
S launched herself into the air only a few yards high in the cramped always to avoid slamming against the ceiling. Her wings appeared out of her back as dozens of the monster's appendages began to encircle her. N ignored his newly formed teammate being trapped in a typhoon of wires as he continued ripping through the monster. It shrieked while backing away, but N wouldn't let it escape. He drew his wings and pushed off the ground, aiming for the center of the mass.
The female disassembly drone turned back and forth while looking for an opening in the mechanical typhoon surrounding her. All at once the wires lurched towards her. Some limbs seemed to be hands while a few were the massive claws she'd cut before. Ultimately, her movements couldn't keep up with the onslaught she was forced into. Slowly S began to be overwhelmed by the never-ending assault of the amalgamation that took over Q. Her body slowly withered down as small scratches and slight cuts manifested on her mechanical body, with every group of appendages she cut down.
Uzi watched helplessly as the disassembly drones fought a seemingly unwinnable fight. N was making progress but would soon be overwhelmed once S was dealt with. Dozens of ideas and thoughts simulated in her mind. In contrast, her body was frozen with anxiety at the fight unfolding before her. The disassembly drones were losing, and Uzi could do nothing but watch.
N turned over and over as the center of the mass shifted side to side. His vision was eclipsed by the darkness of the ever-expanding sea of wires. His body also began to heat up as he sliced faster and faster while desperately trying not to get overwhelmed. The wings on N's back were grabbed by the mass of wires as his body was pulled to the floor. He tried to retract them, but the mechanical monster's many hands forced the wings to remain extended.
The wings he had relied on to move were now the reason he couldn't. His body began to heat up more as he felt like collapsing. Harder and harder he struggled as the monster began to tear through his chest.
"D-die faster."
He struggled more and more as his body began to over-exert itself even more than before.
"W-what are you!?"
The monster stopped for a moment as one of the cameras peered through the army of wires. The yellow pupil within the llens flashed in his face as it got within inches of touching his visor.
It said nothing. The creature only stared at N for a moment before retracting the camera back into the swarm of wires. N writhed in frustration as he struggled to make any progress.
At the start of the fight, N was making quick work towards the monster, but now his progress had practically ceased. He wondered if the creature had let him and S get close on purpose.
"N, HELP!"
Uzi's voice called out to the drone as his head shot in her direction. N couldn't see the worker drone however that didn't stop him from encroaching towards the sound.
"UZI!"
A newfound fire ignited within his already blazing body. N's sensors seemed to beam as Uzi's voice grew closer
"N, PLEASE!"
"HANG ON UZI!"
He desperately cut towards the girl while disregarding any damage he received. Uzi was in trouble and needed his help. Nothing else mattered but saving the drone who'd let him see the light.
With one final slash, N dove through the opening in the wires and rolled out. He quickly recovered and looked up towards Uzi's voice.
Nothing.
N turned and readied himself for another attack. His eyes darted around as he realized Uzi was nowhere to be found. The hallway itself looked slightly different than before.
He was on the opposite side of the hall.
The monster's scythe-like claws slammed into his side as he coughed and collided with the wall. His knees buckled as he struggled to recover.
More and more heat flooded throughout his body. Parts of his vision began to glitch as steam emitted from the drone. Another claw angled straight downwards, aiming for N's head.
"N, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
S slid along the wall of the hallway past dozens of tendrils reaching for her. She fired a missile deep into the center of the creature as it repelled in pain. The claw aiming for N was partially parried by S's blade. It cut at N's cheek as his knees buckled once more. His vision glitched more and more.
"Get up you idiot! This fight isn't over!"
"W-where's Uzi?"
"Don't worry about that, she's probably fine!"
"Where is she…?"
Both disassembly drones were battered and beaten. Whatever took over Q seemed to shake off the excess wires the two drones had cut off.
The creature was much smaller than before. S could see a yellow light shining dimly underneath a thin layer of wire protecting it.
"Listen, N, it's protecting something within itself. It has to be its heart. If we just-… N!?"
N began glitching uncontrollably as more steam flowed out of his body. The female disassembly drone began shaking him slightly.
"N, snap out of it! What's happening to you?"
"I-I'm f-fine… Hhh…"
N sighed and used his hands to support him on all fours. His limbs struggled to hold him up. The damage he'd received earlier was far too much for him to handle. Combined with the burning sensation in all of his sensors, N knew he didn't have much energy left in the tank.
"Jeez N… Stay here dude, I can handle this."
S sighed and took a step forward towards her foe. The creature's eyes all locked onto S as she flicked oil off her blade.
"Final chance Q…"
It, once again, refused to reply.
"Dang it…"
The female disassembly drone fell face-first onto the floor. Oil leaked from dozens of cuts along her body. The injuries she sustained were only slightly less major than N. S's final call to Q was her only hope.
Scrambling for the two disassembly drones, the creature lunged forward in order to bombard them with its body.
"OHHHHH YEAHHHHH!!!"
Before the creature could look up, a small, male, worker drone, with a red cap and maroon vest with yellow sleeves, sliced off two of its cameras with one of its previously discarded claws. His body had dropped from the ventilation shaft where the majority of the creature lurked before it shed its discarded wires.
S forced her head to look up at the worker drone.
"Thad…"
"Hey there. Looks like you need some help."
Thad's eyes never left the creature as he gripped the discarded claw like a scythe. The eyes that Thad had chopped off quickly sparked and ceased functioning.
"Listen here weird blob wire thingy, I'm not letting you hurt my new pals."
The creature let out a low mechanical growl at Thad as it rushed him. Thad's confidence wavered as his reaction speed failed to match the creature. He could barely block a single tendril coming his way. He was quickly overwhelmed by the creature and thrown to the side into the hallway's dense metal wall.
Thad coughed and groaned while gripping his shoulder. Oil was leaking from the completely caved-in shoulder on the worker drone's left side.
He flinched slightly and clenched his eyes shut tightly as a single tendril came flying for his chest.
"HAHA! HELLLL YEAHHH!""
Thad opened his eyes and saw the tendril detached from the rest of the creature. A small ninja star was stuck in the ground between the main body of the monster and the severed tendril.
"Uzi…?"
The female worker drone appeared from the dark and smirked.
"Miss m-…"
Uzi's eyes were filled with horror as she noticed N and S sprawled out on the floor motionless. The creature turned all of its attention towards her.
"W-what happened…? How d-did-…"
The female worker drone looked on in shock as N's seemingly dead body stained the floor with oil.
Her breathing became heavier as her body shook with a mixture of anger and fear. She was absolutely terrified of the monster in front of her, but Uzi was also pissed. Rage filled her body and made the drone twitch.
The amalgamation of wires launched once more towards yet another future victim. Uzi stood completely still all while twitching continuously.
"Stop…"
Time seemed to slow down all around the girl.
"Stop it…"
Her body tensed up.
"Leave me alone…"
Uzi began to raise her hand. She didn't know why, but the feeling was just so natural.
"LEAVE-"
Her hand couldn't keep steady as the creature closed in.
"ME-"
Her fingers spread out as her arm straightened out and pointed towards the wired abomination.
"ALONE!"
A familiar symbol replaced the left pupil on her visor as that same symbol appeared between her spread-out fingers.