The Future is a Beast

Part 1 : Graduation

"Damn, this tight dress..." Uzi gritted between her fangs, tugging at the black fabric squeezing her torso. "This is a graduation ceremony, not a beauty pageant. Right, Mom?"

"Hey, kiddo, it wasn't my first choice either." Nori's voice called from below, skittering up Uzi's arm to have a seat on her shoulder. "I had to wear this suffocating outfit for countless fancy human events back when I was serving under them. Then I wore it for my wedding, and I would probably be wearing it again today if I still had my old body. You're the next best thing, hun. I think you can last a few hours till you get your diploma."

Uzi simply rolled her eyes, not offering anymore gripes as her mother reached to place her graduation cap snugly over her purple hair. The sassy core that housed her mother's code was as snippy with her comebacks as her own self, which admittedly made their back and forth conversations quite entertaining. Uzi figured she may as well be grateful her high school graduation could be celebrated alongside her mother at all. It had been a couple years since discovering the parental figure she had believed to be deceased all her life had been living underneath the planet. Studying and investigating the caverns of Cabin Fever Labs, she had missed most of her daughter's life until their reunion during the fight against Cyn.

It had taken some getting used to for Uzi to put up with a second parent, but deep within her core she was grateful to finally have her mother back in her life. It was as if a piece of her that had long been missing was finally placed back where it belonged, and she had her family once again. Nori wasn't the only addition to her "family", however, as the events of Cyn's attempted takeover of the planet also brought N into her life. A Disassembly Drone, originally the avid murderer of her kind, was now one of the drones she loved the most in her life.

If someone had told me I'd be standing here prepping for my high school graduation with my "not dead mom" and dating a Murder Drone I would have told them they were insane... Uzi thought to herself, unable to suppress a grin of amusement and gratification.

She could maintain her edgy persona all she wanted, but even she could not deny how happy that her life had come to this point. Her future was never exactly something she had ever extensively planned for, nor expected to turn out actually in her favor. Yet, here she was with her mother by her side, in love, and prepping for the next big step in her life.

"What's that smile?" Nori's question broke into her thoughts, observing the curious expression of her mom's singular eye. "Thinking about your boyfriend?" She teased in a cutesy tone, pressing her claws to her face to mimic swooning.

"Ew, gross! No!" Uzi whined, pushing a hand in her mom's face lightly. "I'm just... glad you're here, I don't know..." She muttered, smoothing back the hair that had fallen in front of her face.

Nori's joking look softened, seeming to understand completely what Uzi was trying to convey despite her closeted way of expressing herself. Most likely, it was because Nori was equally as tentative and reserved.

"Me too, babe." Nori replied, reaching a claw to brush Uzi's purple locks. "Ungodly uncomfortableness aside, when you were a baby I... sorta always wished I would get the chance to see you in this dress. Though, I had pictured you wearing it at your wedding first."

"Blegh! Nice moment ruined, Mom." Uzi stuck out her tongue, cringing at the mention of marriage.

"Oh, grow up." Nori scoffed, rolling her own singular pupil. "You're my daughter, I'm allowed to muse about your future. Though, never expected my potential son-in-law to be the same sort of drone that almost did me and the rest of us Worker Drones in."

"Mom!" Uzi screeched, the screen of her facial plate filling with blush lines. She physically recoiled this time, almost knocking her Mom from her shoulder where she was perched. "What is wrong with you? M-me and N aren't... I mean, we're not going to... shut up!"