Lovable N || N x Harem

Chapter 3

N's eyes blearily opened, greeted by the onslaught of snow that poured against his face. The fans inside him buzzed to life as he began to move his creaky joints, hissing as an aching sensation shot across every inch of his frame. His body felt like a hundred year old machine finally moving for the first time in years-his body felt hundreds of times heavier, and it was an effort to move at all. His body was in desperate need of oil both inside and out. It was a strange feeling. N was a stranger to pain. In the ecosystem that was Copper-9, N was an apex predator; the epitome of the food chain. He need not worry about being hurt as no worker would ever dare try to fight a disassembly drone. And despite what J said, he wasn't as clumsy as he seemed.

This was a different pain from the electrical shock he suffered earlier. Whereas that was a quick, stinging jolt, this was an aching sensation that spread through his body and weighed him down like he was an anchor in the ocean.

The male drone groaned through his teeth, struggling to lift himself up. The storm he had beared witness to seconds ago before everything went black had calmed to a strong breeze that soothed his pain ever so slightly. With great difficulty, he pulled himself from the snow mound that buried him, and stumbled to his feet.

The wind blew through his silver locks, tickling the top of his forehead. He leant down and picked up his captain's hat that had been buried beside him, placing it in its rightful place before admiring the view. The moon was still out, casting its rays on the surrounding area. He recognized this place; it was formerly a metal works factory before the core explosion. Now it was just a wasteland of broken memories and death. He had flown through the area a couple of times in the past, in search of trinkets for his collection. This place was a treasure trove of interesting items.

He looked into the distance, eyeing the horizon and the large shadow on it. He was a lot closer to the spire than he originally had been. His gaze traced over the looming figure of the tower of bodies. Home was so close now, yet he didn't think he had the strength to reach it-

...zzzzzzzz....

N whipped around as fast as he could, scanning the area for danger. His eyes were wide with panic. He tried to transform his hand into any weapon he could use, but the mechanisms in his arm didn't respond. He felt his body drop a few degrees till it matched the freezing temperature of the world around him. Currently, his movements were restricted with the chains of phantom pain, and his weapons refused to obey his command-he was defenceless. If something were to find him in this state, then...

...He didn't want to imagine what could happen.

...zzzz...

There it was again, that buzzing sound. N's mind briefly flashed back to the computer from his patrol, but then quickly shook his head. The sound from that computer was different. This buzzing was a lot more...glitched.

N debated his options. He couldn't run (his body couldn't make large movements at the moment) and he couldn't fight. His best option was to hide, bury himself back into the ground and pray that whatever was out there didn't find him. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

N leaned down, hands pawing at the ground when he suddenly felt a tug in his chest. A pull. N gasped, his limbs moving on their own towards the origin of the sound. He grit his teeth, trying to take control of his body, but to no avail. Fear ran down his metallic spine as his body marched towards the source against his will, crackles of red electricity dancing down his frame.

It was only when N finally saw something poking up from the snow-the cause of the buzzing-did he stop fighting against the mysterious force that controlled his body and let a horrified expression cross his face.