Of Blood and Oil

Heartbeat

You felt like you were floating. 

As generic and cliche it might have sounded, it was the only accurate way to describe your state right now. 

Your fingertips reached out to nothing and your feet touched no ground. Still, it was peaceful, a stark contrast to the constant banter the other drones made. V's manic laughter, N's self-deprecating jokes and J's never-ending complaints. Though, you remembered, that J was out of the picture, slain (or more like blown up) by Uzi's hand. 

But this place, as peaceful as it is, was almost suffocating to you. Not so hard that you would start overheating but it was uncomfortable and you longed for something to touch, to make contact with. 

Gradually, a faint light washed over you, revealing the giant screen that had been right in front of your eyes. Your body floated in the middle of it, the blue light hurting your eyes a bit as it flickered. Heaps of code sprawled onto the screen, running by just as fast as they came. And then there it was... 

The symbol that had been haunting you. 

It twirled, triangular shape floating apart before coming back together after a mere second. It had been plaguing your mind ever since it appeared on your ship's communications screen. There was also the slight spark with Uzi but you remembered you had been repressing that memory for the sake of you both since you didn't feel like jumping down that rabbit hole just yet. 

But alas, if it somehow managed to worm its way into your dreams, you might as well have just been shoved into the hole head-on. Now though, as you scanned the information in front of you, it had a name. 

"Absolute Solver..." 

Your fingertips tingled when you said it out loud. Almost crackling before it stopped. 

The name didn't give way to many possibilities as to what it was, other than the fact it was a solution.... for something. You had half a mind to investigate further, maybe randomly shout out a command or make a Google search but your whole being was alerted with danger signals, the whole room covered in a bright red. A prickly sensation could be felt all over your back, feeling as if something was reaching out to you from the darkness. 

"Finally.." Your fingers tensed when you heard that voice, that oh-so-familiar voice, and immediately closed your eyes again. 

"Hey..." It said in a low voice. You did not answer, refusing to even acknowledge it but that seemed to be the wrong move because you instantly felt something roughly grab your chin, sparking a shocking amount of electricity into you. You resisted, groaning as soon as it stopped but felt sharp claws grazing your cheeks. 

"Hey!" 

Still no answer, and that seemed to be the last straw. 

"Look at me WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" 

Your eyes flew open with a gasp and a blade immediately replaced your right arm, cutting off the hand that was holding you.