A machine's guide to Divinity

VENGEANCE /// ACT 1 CRESCENDO: The Dancing Dead

"No. you don't-" A worker drone uttered before being silenced by V. Laughing manically, she disemboweled him. Next to him, a female worker drone stood. Holding up a knife, she opened her solver program to send it straight to V.

"You shouldn't have done that."

A ring of objects floated around the female worker as she multiplied it with the solver. V dodged as pencils and scissors flew at her. Sighing, the worker raised her hand, and V was held in place.

"Hold still. I'm trying to focus."

She slowly strangled V as she mocked her. V desperately tried to cut the worker in half, But she was out of reach, and the worker was restraining her with her powers. "Damn you witches!" V shouted as she lashed out her nanite tail. It scraped against the drone's hand. Recoiling in pain, the worker made a fatal mistake by releasing V. In an instant, V fired a pistol from her hands. Shot in the head, the worker fell, lifeless.

"Yeva? What have you done to her ?!" A worker yelled at V. Turning around, V felt an invisible force anchoring her down. Unable to move, she watched in horror as the worker drew out a knife, multiplied by the solver. They were all aimed at V, hovering in the air. "Bite on this," She yelled as the knives came spiraling onto V. V closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come.

"Nori, huh? Can't have you killing my friend like that." A familiar voice sounded, and V opened her eyes to see the knives clatter to the floor. In the distance, V saw the worker doubled over, coughing up oil. On her chest was a burning puncture wound.

"You could've come earlier," V spoke, stretching her sore neck. Little did she know, a pair of watchful red eyes were staring at her.

***

At the spire, V1 sat on a pile made from worker drones' legs. He thought that he was incapable of feeling any emotions that were useless for combat, yet here he was. He thought of the dreadful version of V2, scorning V1 for rejecting him only to open up to the drones. Then he thought of himself 'killing' V2 back in Greed. He had been ground into a red pulp, but there he was, rebuilt only to be tormented again. Trying to figure out what this droning feeling was, he sat, thinking. He could detect nuances of emotions, but was he actively feeling them right now? Did his sentient mind break the safeguards around it?

He got up and climbed down from the spire, walking back to the pod. He saw V, fighting with Uzi. "If he wasn't here, you'd all be piles of scrap!" V spoke, tackling Uzi to the ground. "Say that to my little friend here, how about that?" Uzi retorted, pushing V with her railgun.

"I thought we had a truce?" V1 spoke, pointing his shotgun at the drones. V and Uzi stopped. They saw V1 pointing a shotgun at them. "Yeah, She just came and tackled me out of nowhere," Uzi spoke as she got up. "What? You called me a psychotic anime girl!" V retorted, equipping a sword. V1 slammed down his knuckleblaster on the blade, tarnishing the edge to a degree that it was no sharper than a metal pipe.

"If you want to challenge us, do it after the solver is gone for good. Or you could just be disassembled here. As for you, Uzi..." V1 turned around, facing Uzi. "We're trying to get along here, and you know V has tendencies to speak with her fists. Better control your tongue, at least in front of her." He said while Uzi turned her head away as V rolled her eyes. "Do you understand or do I have to send you two the Cyber Grind?" He spoke, emphasizing the 'Cyber Grind.' "What is a Cyber Grind?" Uzi asked, turning around.

"You know how it felt being stabbed by a knife, right?" V1 spoke, drawing out the duplicate that V0 had wielded. The edge glowed a simmering red as V1 held it up. "It's like that, but you feel it again and again and again. The pain of death in an unending loop, while being covered in innards of your enemies. Blood, and gore." He spoke, striking fear into the drones. "And I won't be there to help you." He concluded.