When Blood Meets Oil

ANGER / / / MURDER ON MY MIND

V1 was on a hunt, eliminating any stray workers foolish enough to venture beyond the safety of their walls. As he absorbed the oil from these lesser machines, he noticed new stains forming on his blue armor. "How unpleasant," V1 thought. His mind wandered briefly to the oil from the Firestarter Rocket Launcher. Why hadn’t it healed him?

The answer seemed obvious yet frustratingly unresolved. It was likely due to this strange new world and the different energies and materials within the endless pit he had fallen through. Another question lingered: "How and why was this place even here?" But now was not the time to unravel mysteries.

V1 continued walking through the snow, which was stained in parts by the remnants of oil from his defeated enemies. His moment of reflection was interrupted by the odd disappearance and shifting of his own weapons. He found himself left with only a few—his Piercer in its basic form, the alternate Marksman, the Sawed-Off Shotgun, the Overheat Nailgun, the Firestarter Rocket Launcher, and all his arms, including his new golden one.

Immediately, V1 snapped his attention toward the direction of his temporary base. Without hesitation, he rushed back, ignoring any low-level machines along the way that might otherwise have been easy prey for his aggression.

When he finally arrived, he noticed the first alarming change: the Terminal was gone, its previous location now a barren spot. V1 quickly deduced that ordinary workers wouldn’t be strong or brave enough to move it, much less venture out so far. It had to be the same drones he’d encountered before, the ones who had somehow survived and managed to get close enough to steal the Terminal—his most valuable asset.

Fueled by rage, V1 ran, jumped, dashed, and used every weapon in his arsenal to propel himself toward the spire. It was safe to say he was furious—whatever these drones thought they were doing, they had tampered with something they had no right to touch.

Upon reaching the spire, he caught a fleeting glimpse of the two drones as they fled, leaving trails in the sky. “They’re alive... for now,” V1 thought, his mind racing with the promise of retribution. He scanned the area and quickly located the Terminal, lying discarded on the ground as though it were a broken appliance. Fury radiated from him, his metal shell practically simmering with rage.

Without wasting a second, V1 locked onto the trail left by the drones, fixated on exterminating those who dared call themselves J, V, and N. His movements were swift and precise as he tracked them down, his only thought of vengeance.

Finally, the trails led him to a large, reinforced structure. Its entrance stood open, revealing a macabre scene: the bodies of dead workers littered the floor, while N’s twitching, malfunctioning form lay in the center, his visor flashing with a fatal error message. Nearby, a female worker with purple hair, injured and armed with a green railgun, caught his attention.

V1 spared a glance at N, who lay there helpless. "Pathetic," he thought, knowing that a coward like N wouldn’t have had the courage to steal the Terminal. Ignoring him, V1 approached the purple-haired drone, pointing his Piercer directly at her. In response, she shakily raised her railgun. He had no patience for this, so he simply demanded, “Where are the others?”

The purple-haired drone—Uzi—looked confused and scared, but eventually, she pointed to another door. Still clutching her railgun, she continued to watch him warily. Wasting no time, V1 moved to the door, forcing it open with his Knuckleblaster and pulling it apart with the Feedbacker.

Inside was a scene of utter chaos. V and J had caused a massacre, but at the sound of V1’s entrance, they froze, their faces twisting in horror. They recognized him instantly, and the memories of past suffering flooded back.

“No! NO! NO! NO!” V shrieked, her voice frantic, her body trembling. “YOU ARE NOT RUINING THIS! NOT WHEN WE’RE SO CLOSE!” But V1 ignored her ranting. In one fluid motion, he pulled out his Sawed-Off Shotgun and punched forward, the chainsaw attachment tearing into her chest, threatening to rip through her circuitry.

Desperately, V tried to pull it out with her claws, only to have them shredded as well. She barely had time to react before the chainsaw retreated and then struck again, this time slashing her shoulder and severing her arm. V collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony.

V1 then turned to J, who was just as shaken, her expression shifting from fury to panic. She opened fire, bullets bouncing off him to no effect. Realizing the futility of her attack, she hesitated, but it was already too late. V1 drew the Firestarter and shot a blast of oil over her.

“You idiot!” J mocked, trying to absorb the oil, but it provided her no benefit. Without warning, V1 switched weapons and ignited the oil, setting J ablaze from the inside. Flames erupted through her circuitry, melting metal and burning her from within.

As J fell to the ground, her body still alight, a blast of green energy suddenly shot from behind, vaporizing her head and silencing her for good. V1 turned to find the purple-haired drone, Uzi, standing there with N cowering behind her.

V1 aimed his shotgun at N, watching for any signs of aggression. N hid behind Uzi, who raised her hands. “Woah! Easy there... Uh...” She glanced at V1’s chest, spotting a nameplate on his right side. “V1? Well, I don’t know what you want, but we certainly don’t want any trouble.”

V1 took in the scene, observing the workers who were cautiously emerging from their hiding spots. They looked on with a mixture of horror and curiosity, glancing between V1 and the remains of J and V. Realizing they might be useful in repairing his Terminal, he holstered his shotgun and pointed at Uzi, saying only, “Follow.”

Uzi blinked in surprise but nodded, not wanting to provoke him. “Uh… okay. But I need to ‘talk’ to my dad first,” she said, throwing a sharp glare toward her father, who was watching from a distance, speechless.

If V1 could, he would have rolled his eyes, but he simply replied, “I’ll be waiting outside.” His voice rang out with a strange, metallic resonance as he stepped outside to wait, giving Uzi a moment to deal with whatever she needed to say to her father.