Divine Singularity || Reader x Murder Drones

VI

By the time you left the ballroom, the group of worker drones V had slipped into was already splintering off to carry out their assigned tasks, and the glasses wearing robot was nowhere to be seen. It was as though she'd evaporated into thin air, leaving not even the faintest trace for you to follow. You found yourself grudgingly impressed by her ability to disappear.

You scanned the dispersing groups, your optics flickering in faint irritation as the group containing N and J began to make their move. N, of course, spotted you immediately and rushed ove. J followed at a much more deliberate pace. While N was worried, optics constantly darting around for any sign of V, you noticed that J was... not really concerned. She was looking at you, but she was much more... curious, if you had to put it into terms. She'd been looking at you like that for a while now, ever since she had caught wind you were the one fixing up any wounds on Tessa. You ignored her for the time being, with your attention more on N as he nervously sputtered words.

"What happened with V?" he asked you, fingers nervously toying with his sleeves.

"She overheard something she didn't like," you said simply. You didn't want to delve into specifics, not yet.

N's fidgeting intensified, his hands wringing together now. "How bad was it for her to be so upset?"

You hesitated. You could feel J's gaze boring into the side of your head, somewhat akin to Cyn's gaze when she found out something new about you. It was a bit off putting, to say the least. "It's... complicated," you admitted, carefully choosing your words. "She overheard a conversation that wasn't meant for her. I didn't realize she was nearby."

That wasn't untrue, though it wasn't exactly the full story either. N seemed to accept it, his posture sagging slightly as he nodded. "She doesn't handle things very well," he muttered, more to himself than to you. "We have to find her. She looked like she was crying..."

The image of V's visor damp with digital tears refused to leave you. It replayed in your mind, just as haunting as your dreams, each sob a sharp needle that jabbed at something you couldn't quite name. Guilt, perhaps, or maybe a deeper sense of failure. You'd seen her fragility firsthand, the way her confidence crumbled under even the faintest of weight. She was like glass—a delicate veneer that could only take so much before it shattered. And you? You'd been the hammer, however unwittingly.

Intent didn't matter now. Only action.

"She can't have gone far," you said aloud.

Your optics shifted to J, who stood slightly apart from you and N, her arms crossed and her expression unreadable. She was statuesque in her stillness, a counterbalance to the frantic energy radiating from N. For someone so often vocal about her opinions, her silence had more of an effect on you than any words she might have chosen.

"Will you be helping?" you asked her.

J met your gaze, her own eyes narrowing slightly as if weighing the pros and cons of fixing your mistake against her own priorities. The two of you stood there in a quiet standoff that stretched longer than you cared for. Finally, she sighed.

"No," she said, breaking eye contact as she turned away. "I have to get to work and prepare for the Gala. And if you two don't want to be punished, you should hurry up and do the same."

Her tone was dismissive, but there was something else underneath—an edge of bitterness, or maybe disappointment. You weren't sure if it was aimed at you or the situation, but the effect was the same. With a flick of her pigtails, she disappeared into the corridor.

You turned your focus back to N, who was visibly struggling to keep himself together. His optics shaky, his hands twitching at his sides like he wasn't sure what to do with them. He really did care for V a lot, huh?