Murder Drones **"After the Fall: Love in the Ruins"**

**Chapter 2: Project Ascension**

The air filled with the whine of servos and the sharp clatter of metal against rock as the new drones closed in. Uzi steadied herself, her railgun humming as it charged up. Beside her, N hovered, his wings twitching anxiously.

“They’re fast,” Uzi muttered under her breath, eyes darting between the approaching enemies. “Too fast.”

N didn’t lose his grin, though the tension in his voice betrayed his unease. “It’s fine! We’ve been through worse, right? Like that time with—”

“Focus, N!”

The first of the drones lunged forward, its sleek, black frame almost a blur as it cut through the air. Uzi fired, the crack of her railgun splitting the silence, but the drone swerved at the last second. It moved with precision, like it had anticipated her attack.

“Great,” Uzi hissed, sidestepping just in time to avoid its blade-like arm. “They’re not just faster, they’re smarter.”

N swung into action, his wings slicing through the air with a familiar hum. “Well, if they’re smarter, we just have to be smarter-er!”

He charged forward, slamming into the drone with a burst of force, sending it crashing into the side of the comms tower. The impact made the structure groan, dust cascading from its rusted beams. Uzi took the opening, firing another shot that hit the drone square in the chest. It convulsed, sparks flying, before collapsing into a pile of broken metal.

“One down,” she said, her voice steady but her pulse racing. “A hundred more to go.”

More drones poured out of the fissure, their red visors glowing ominously in the dim light. Uzi gritted her teeth, aiming at the next closest target. She fired, this time leading her shot, but the drone dodged with inhuman precision, weaving through the air like a shadow.

“Uzi!” N shouted, his wings flashing as he blocked an incoming attack from behind her. “They’re learning! Like, *really* fast!”

Uzi’s railgun sparked as she tried to recalibrate it, her mind racing. This wasn’t like fighting Cyn’s drones—these were different, more advanced. And it was clear that whoever was behind *Project Ascension* had designed them specifically to take down drones like her and N.

“Fall back!” she shouted, already moving toward the ruins of the comms tower. “We need to rethink this!”

N followed her, his wings buzzing frantically as he shot down another drone that had gotten too close. “Good plan, good plan! Rethinking sounds *great* right about now!”

They ducked into the shadow of the tower, the sound of the drones’ relentless pursuit ringing in their ears. Uzi crouched behind a crumbling wall, trying to catch her breath as she adjusted the settings on her railgun.

“Any bright ideas, Uzi?” N asked, hovering nearby with a worried look. “Because ‘run away and hide’ isn’t usually in your playbook.”

Uzi scowled at him, though there was no real heat behind it. “I’m thinking, okay? These things… they’re not like anything we’ve faced before.”

She glanced at the pile of metal that was once a drone. It was sleek and efficient, a far cry from the clunky, scavenged parts they were used to. There were no markings, no insignia to indicate who built them. But one thing was clear—they were designed for one purpose: hunting and eliminating drones like them.

“Project Ascension…” she murmured, the words of the lead drone echoing in her mind. “Whatever this is, it’s targeting us specifically. But why?”

N, leaning on his usual optimism, shrugged. “Maybe we’re just too cool? Can’t blame them for being a little jealous.”

“Or,” Uzi said, ignoring his sarcasm, “someone out there is trying to finish what Cyn started.”

N’s smile faltered. “But Cyn’s gone. We took her out, remember? So who’s behind this?”

Before Uzi could respond, a loud, metallic *clank* sounded above them. Her eyes shot upward, and she barely had time to react as a drone dropped from the tower’s broken beams, aiming straight for her. She rolled to the side, the drone’s sharp appendages digging into the ground where she had been moments before.

“Uzi!” N shouted, diving toward the drone to intercept. His wings slashed through the air, knocking it off balance, but two more drones appeared out of the dust, closing in on Uzi from either side.

“Get down!” Uzi yelled, firing a shot that tore through one of the drones, but the second one was already on her. Its arm extended, a blade forming from its wrist, ready to strike.

Just before it could land the blow, a high-pitched screech cut through the air. The drones paused, their red visors flickering. Uzi blinked, confused, as the drones seemed to hesitate, like they were receiving new instructions.

“What the hell…?” she muttered, her heart still racing.

Without warning, the drones pulled back, retreating toward the fissure they had come from. Uzi and N watched in stunned silence as they disappeared into the ground, the crack sealing shut behind them.

“Well, that was… weird,” N said, landing beside her. His usual cheerfulness had been replaced with confusion. “Why’d they just leave like that?”

Uzi stood up, brushing dust from her jacket, her mind still spinning. “I don’t know. But we need to find out.”

She walked over to the remains of the drone they had taken down earlier, crouching beside it to examine its frame. There was something strange about the design—too advanced, too calculated. Whoever was behind these drones knew exactly what they were doing.

Her wristband beeped again, and Uzi glanced at the screen. The corrupted signal was still there, but now it was broadcasting something new.

Coordinates.

“I think we’ve got a lead,” Uzi said, standing up and showing N the data. “It’s coming from Sector E7. That’s where the signal is strongest.”

N looked at the coordinates, then back at Uzi. “Sector E7? Isn’t that…”

“Yeah,” Uzi nodded grimly. “The old manufacturing district.”

It had been abandoned for years, a ghost town of forgotten factories and assembly lines. No one went there anymore—mostly because it was too dangerous. But if these drones were coming from there, it was their best shot at figuring out what was going on.

“You in?” Uzi asked, already knowing the answer.

N gave her a thumbs-up, his grin returning. “Of course! Let’s go poke around some creepy, abandoned factories and fight off more murder machines. Sounds like a great time!”

Uzi smirked despite herself. “You’re an idiot.”

“And yet, you keep me around.”

With that, they took off toward Sector E7, the mystery of *Project Ascension* weighing heavily on their minds. Whatever they were walking into, Uzi knew one thing for sure—they weren’t going to stop until they found out who was pulling the strings.

And if this new villain thought they could take down Uzi Doorman and N, they were about to learn a hard lesson