Uzi Doorman panted as she ran with a limp through the destroyed city. Stupid sorta cute murder drone jabbing her in the foot with nanite acid (How she'd neutralised the nanite acid was being actively repressed). It was healing, but actively running on it, definitely wasn't helping the healing process. There was a thud behind her, but she didn't dare look back. Door 1 was just ahead, she could make... Her foot came down and found nothing beneath.
She fell.
She kept falling.
"What's happening---!" All around her was black; she twisted in the air, trying to spot something, anything else.
Suddenly, she felt herself slow her descent, her feet touching down on something solid.
"W-W-Whe-- Wh-- Where am I?" Uzi whispered, fear trickling into her voice.
"Uzi Doorman!" A voice boomed out of the darkness. "Welcome to This Is Your Reaction! My name is Rip. I'm your host, and I'm here to show you the most jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, mind-bending paraphernalia you've ever laid your optics upon. " There was a blast of trumpets, and music started to play.
"Hey," The beat continued.
"Hey!" The beat continued.
"HEEEYYY!"
The music cut off with a screech, a crash, and a clatter.
"Yes?"
"Where am I!? What's going on!? And why is it so dark!!?" Uzi yelled, looking, hoping to see anything but endless black but with no luck.
There was a pause.
"Wait.... you can't see anything?" The voice asked hesitantly.
"Of course not!" Uzi yelled back, the fear fading slightly as nothing bad had so far happened, just confusion.
"But the band, the marching number, the synchronised dancing, you didn't see any of that!"
"No!" Uzi yelled, exasperated, the fear getting replaced with a more familiar feeling, irritation.
"But we were working on that number for weeks, the band was looking forward to the reactions." The voice muttered before exclaiming loudly. "Probably was channelling Caine a bit too much there. Anyway, let there be Light!"
There was a clap, and light flared across her optics, blinding her briefly. When they came back into focus, an endless, empty white void greeted her.
"Where the hell am I!" Uzi screamed, looking around desperately in the hopes of seeing anything but white.
"Like I said before. I'm your host Rip, and This Is Your Reaction." Rip's voice echoed throughout the void, slightly exasperated.
Uzi's thoughts bounced around inside her processor before they latched on to something. [Genre Savvy] flashed across her face.
"Oh my Robo-Jesus, you're a ROB! Am I about to watch my future with a bunch of other people?" She exclaimed, somewhat excited. She could see how big a hero she would be in the future.
"Kinda exactly like that but with a twist." Rip answered.
Multiple ugh doors suddenly appeared, spreading throughout the white void.
"Behind these doors lie not only your future but many alternatives. Once chosen, not only will a small group of inhabitants from your world join to watch, but also inhabitants from the alternative world will join." Rip explained. "I can make suggestions, but the final choice of which door you walk through is yours."
Uzi glanced at the ugh doors, noticing that all of those within sight had various images, symbols, and words displayed on their surface. Most likely, some form of reference to the world beyond them, and it appeared that similar references were organised into groups.
The first group she studied appeared to be focused on lines of code, but it was hard to tell exactly what their worlds might be just from the bare details.
[CO%^EC!I0N TO @D&IN "C!n" INTERRUPTED] accompanied by a ⚡ symbol.
[APROVED [ADMIN CHANGE] BY USER "TESSA"] -> ADMIN "CYN" REPLACED BY ADMIN "N"]
--// ERROR: absoluteSolver_trn [like object non-interactive]
Were just some of the ugh doors that she pondered over for a while. One choice had π(θ) inscribed, followed by a ⚠. For some reason, Uzi felt that one was recursive.
Moving on, the next group represented the Murder Drones in various states. She recognised N in some of them, standing on his own, sometimes beside her and even... she blushed. Was that N hugging her while he was naked!? While Uzi was wearing his coat! She marched off, her face still glowing. Stupid sorta cute drone messing with her head. She caught something out of the corner of her optics and froze in mid-step. Three images side by side showing pretty much the same thing, Uzi Doorman being kissed by a Murder Drone. As embarrassing as it was to consider kissing N, the worst part was that the other two members of his squad had their individual kissing scenes, the other female Murder Drones.
"Stupid, weirdly hot robots!" Uzi groaned as she marched away quicker, passing by a singular ugh door covered in music notes. If her face was hot before, it was incandescent now. One positive outcome was that thanks to some of the images having name titles accompanying them, she now knew which of the Murder Drones was V and which was J. N's descriptions of them weren't particularly good for identifying them.
After calming down somewhat, she moved on to the next group. This seemed to represent her, but as one of the Murder Drones. Disturbing in concept, but she still snapped an image of one that showed her as a purple lit Murder Drone with pronounced attributes. It might be edgy, but she looked sick as hell!
The next grouping was arranged around the drones living beside her in Outpost 3. Her dad, the WDF, her classmates, Thad. Her mom... standing beside her, looking proud. Uzi definitely didn't shed any tears over those images or take multiple photos of her mom's alternatives. That one... was that her and Lizzy holding hands, while smiling!? Did the Uzi over there really have a mustache like her dad? Why were all her classmates dressed like Thad in that one? But even buried deep within Outpost 3 group the Murder Drones intruded. N having a tea party with Doll, V trying out dresses with Lizzy, her dad standing guard over a shackled J, which surely had to be a crack world. It was strange how most of the interactions shown between the Murder Drones and the Outpost Worker Drones seemed to suggest more positive interaction than the accepted reality of slaughter. The next ugh door followed that violent theme with Thad being viciously attacked by that monster J, the Murder Drone pinning him to the floor as she tried to remove his shirt... Ok, moving on!
Uzi tore her optics away from the possibilities, the many strange and embarrassing possibilities. There were so many unknown choices, and she had no clue which of these was her future.
"Hey Rip," She yelled at the non-existent ceiling
"Yes, Uzi Doorman?"
"Which of these is my future?"
"Here." One of the ugh doors glowed red. "But I wouldn't choose this one if I were you."
Uzi approached the ugh door, her optics widening when she took in its condition. It was broken, collapsed in on itself, and twisted into the frame. A warped ugh door to the extreme, and the fractured image on the door was her body lying in the snow.
"Why does my future look like that!?" Uzi demanded, shocked.
"Because your timeline is currently a dead-end timeline," Rip stated matter-of-factly. "With your leg damaged, N catches you before you reach the door. He won't be able to bring himself to kill you, but once J and V catch up, you won't survive. With access to the Master key, J will open the doors and send V on ahead into the bunker. J will then use N's hesitation with you as an excuse to offline him. After slaughtering the inhabitants of the bunker, V will discover what happened to N, kill J in revenge, before terminating herself in despair. You die, N dies, the outpost dies, the planet dies, the universe dies, everybody's dead, everybody is dead Dave! When the last drone on Copper 9 falls, there is no future. You will be unable to gather enough information from such a restricted timeline."
"What...?" Uzi collapsed on the floor, horror seeping into her frame. "That can't... Everyone?... This isn't what is supposed to happen. I was going to save the world, get everyone's respect, and get Dad to finally notice me. Not get everyone... killed..."
"All is not lost, Uzi Doorman." Rip offered some comfort to the despairing drone. "When you have finished your stint, you will be returned to your world in a safe location. As an added bonus, if both sides agree, a permanent connection can be made between your worlds, allowing for new alliances to be established."
"I won't let it happen!" Uzi dragged herself to her feet. She was physically unsteady, and her emotions were pinwheeling, but she knew what she wanted. "I'm not going to let them die, not Thad, not N, not Dad, not even Lizzy. I AM GOING TO SAVE EVERYONE!" She screamed from her soul, her visor flashing [YOU ARE DETERMINED].
"Well said, Uzi Doorman." Several of the doors glowed green before Rip continued. "These are some of the more successful timelines."
Uzi glared at the doors. Six choices, one chance to fix her future. One she had seen before earlier [CO%^EC!I0N TO @D&IN "C!n" INTERRUPTED], but the others were new. Multitudes of fortifications, a crossed hammer and torch framed by a gear, a one-eyed skull with the word Glitch beneath, her standing in her hab alongside Doll, and finally her sitting with a Toddler Drone in her lap, her visor flashing [Running ProtectiveOlderSib.exe]. No time to process that, she had a world to save
Uzi Doorman made her choice, stepped through the door, and it closed behind her. In the white void, silence fell.
"Reset!" Rip yelled, and with a clunk, the doors and light disappeared.
"Whooaaa!"
Another Uzi appeared, though instead of her foot being damaged, this one's leg was damaged
"Uzi Doorman!" Rip's voice boomed in the darkness, "Welcome to This Is Your Reaction!"
()
Uzi blinked at her new location. she was standing in what appeared to be a movie theatre, and opposite her were a crowd of familiar faces, some in duplicate.
"Godsfuckingdamnit, we're in a fucking react fic." An unfamiliar voice cried out.
"And you call me the genre-savvy weeb!" Her voice came from the other side of the room.
Uzi blinked. Well, someone seemed to be as Genre Savvy as her. Time to get this show on the road.
() JD Joe PoV
"And the guns that you made?"
"Obviously, but also, I literally named my bolt-pistol 'Friendship,' specifically for that joke. Friendship comes in many forms, and one of them is now 0.75 caliber mass reactive self-propelled micro rockets."
Uzi burst out laughing, and I joined her. There was a flicker, and suddenly I found myself elsewhere, surrounded by drones.
I overclocked immediately in a panic and studied my surroundings. Okay...okay... definitely not anywhere I immediately recognise. And the faces around me are familiar, too familiar. All of my friends (Uzi, Thad, Lizzy, Doll, Rebecca, Darren, Kelsey, Emily, Trevor, Penny), Khan, N, J and V. That's Uzi over there on the other side of the room, but my Uzi is also standing next to me as well. In fact, I can see doubles of Lizzy, Doll, Thad and Khan also spread around the room. If this isn't a hallucination or illusion, the other possibilities are time or dimension travel. If I add the fact that this room is a movie theatre and the answer to what's going on appears obvious. I raise my eyes and read the words displayed on the screen.
[Welcome to all participants to this viewing of possible future events of Universe MD-ADIPGTSMD-20250428. Once the viewing has finished, you will all be returned to a safe location in your respective universes, and as a bonus given the opportunity to create a permanent link between your worlds. We suggest that you all take advantage of any information you discover during this event.]
And if there was any doubt, that hammers the blow home. We're in a react fic, a viewing of our own show scenario, though it might be our alternative's world we're viewing rather than our own. Not enough information to tell.
[Due to the hazardous and violent nature of certain participants, a safe zone is in effect to prevent physical harm, and the more volatile individuals will be secured in their chairs. This imprisonment may be lifted in the future depending on the detainee's behaviour.]
I glanced over, and yes, J, N and V are sitting in seats in contrast to everyone else standing about. My core sank when I saw one of the Doll's also sitting in a seat.
[Please note that all communication devices and chat groups will be disabled during this event, and the show will start once everyone takes a seat.]
I opened the Unhinged Maniacs Plotting Thread just to confirm the final statement and received [SIGNAL BLOCKED].
Right things to do, confirm who's who, pretty sure I can tell straightaway which of the doubles are my friends, the Khans might be more of a struggle, I focused on the pair of moustaches, but since one of them is actively looking towards an Uzi with worried optics that's probably our Khan. Pity he's looking at the alternative Uzi. No telling if the Murder Drones are local or not.
FUCK.
V is in the same room as Doll. This won't help Doll's shaky mental stability.
DOUBLE FUCK!
V is in the same room as two traumatised Dolls and most of my friends, who she's orphaned.
Okay, step one! DO NOT PANIC! Step two, figure out the rest of the plan. Get to Doll and try and help her stay calm, calm my friends down, confirm that the Murder Drones are secure, and finally try to deal with the other Doll, who judging that she's been bound to a seat as well is seriously not in a good head place. Future plans can be made later.
I dropped the overclock and sighed. "Godsfuckingdamnit, we're in a fucking react fic." I cursed as I moved towards my Doll being held by what certainly appeared to be my Lizzy, the other Lizzy was still tapping away at her phone, getting irritated, I don't think either of them had noticed the Murder Drones yet.
"And you call me the genre-savvy weeb!" Uzi jeered as she followed me. Her face was serious in contrast to the humour in her voice. She whispered. "What's the plan?"
"Help Doll, help the rest of our friends, most likely I'll have to come clean on a lot of things." I sighed in distress before straightening.
As we approached Lizzy and Doll, I withdrew Doll's gift of an EDITED entrenching tool and placed myself between them and V. Even if physical violence was not permitted here, I refused to give up any reassurance Doll would need. Uzi walked up to Doll and wrapped her in a hug.
"Joe..." Doll, confused by our actions, whispered in Russian.
I overclocked and considered my words. I didn't want to tell like this, I wasn't ready to tell like this, I was scared to tell them like this. But... I switched off the overclock.
"Lizzy, Doll, what I'm about to say is going to sound insane, but I need you to listen carefully until I finish. No interruptions, please." I gazed at them seriously, and seeing my expression, they nodded. I breathed in deeply. This was it, no going back. "This is going to be hard to believe, but in my past life I was a human, in this life I was isekai'd into an anime titled Murder Drones." Doll's and Lizzy's optics widen, but they remain silent. "I've always planned to tell you both one day, I promise, I really was, I wasn't ready to, I'm still not ready to, but this needs to come out now." I plead with my hopefully still friends and gesture at the screen. "We're in a Watching Our Own Show Scenario. I'm sure you've noticed some of us have doubles. We're going to be watching events of either their or our past, present and future. Viewing those kinds of events will be bad and traumatic enough. But the immediate problem is that it's not just our friends and their alternatives who have been dragged into this event." I see a dawning, horrified realisation spark in Lizzy's optics, and she cranes her head round and freezes as she spots the three Murder Drones in their seats. Her arms tighten around Doll. Doll kept her confused optics focused on me. I stare back into her optics. "Doll, this is going to hurt, and I wish we could all be back home safely, but there's no way out right now. I promise everyone right now is safe, where we are right now will not allow anyone to come to harm, any dangerous individuals are not allowed to move, Uzi and I will not let anyone harm you or our friends. " Doll's optics start to grow alarmed. I don't want to tell her, I don't want her to see, I don't want to see her breakdown, but unless we're all returned home in the next few seconds, even Doll will notice the Murder Drones in the room, especially since judging from their angry expressions J and V are about to start swearing. "Doll, the Murder Drone that broke into the outpost is in the room," I say, and watch in dismay as Doll's optics hollow.
() JD Khan Pov
I brushed my moustache one last time and studied its condition one last time in the mirror. Yes, all the hairs were lying in a uniform downwards direction, there were no tangles or stray hairs, and it gleamed like polished wax. All in all, all the signs of a well-brushed moustache. There was a flicker, I blinked, I wasn't in my apartment; instead, I was standing opposite my reflection in a completely different room, surrounded by other drones. What was happening!? Panicking, I looked around, noting the lack of doors, before I tore my optics away from that to focus on Uzi walking nearby.
"Uzi!" I called out to my daughter, relieved to see her.
"Dad!" Uzi jumped slightly and looked at me nervously. My worried optics noticed that she was limping slightly.
"Uzi, are you ok? You're limping slightly." Uzi looked at me in confusion, like she never expected me to ask that question.
"Oh, that," Uzi attempted to wave off her injury nonchalantly, "I tripped over something while looking at the outside of Door 1."
My optics hollowed in fear. Door 1, that was the exterior door. Why was my daughter outside the Outpost?
"Outside? Why would you be outside? When were you outside?" I asked to my growing confusion, only to see a similar look in my daughter's face.
"But you were the one who let me out." She stated to me, bewildered.
"What?" I whispered in growing dread. What!?
"Hey, Dad! I'm over here. That's an alternative version of me you're talking to right now!" A familiar voice yelled, I turned and saw my daughter? Standing next to Lizzy and Doll, the former wrapped around the latter's shaking frame. If that was my daughter, then who was...? "We're interacting with a parallel world right now, similar people but with slightly different backstories. That's the alternative me and her dad." I glanced back at my reflection, realising that it wasn't a mirror image, but a Drone that looked like me. "We're involved in a crossover of some sorts and are going to watch events from one of our two worlds, isn't it awesome!" My daughter was enthusiastic as I struggled to understand her words. So the Uzi next to me, wasn't my daughter, but she was a Khan's daughter, and my daughter was over there with Lizzy and Doll. Doll, who I could see had collapsed into herself, trembling badly and was being held up by Lizzy.
"Uzi, is your cousin ok?" I hesitantly asked, gesturing towards Doll, guilt in my circuits. I had failed to pay attention to my daughter in the past, I had failed to pay attention to Yeva's daughter, I needed to be better.
"I have a cousin?" I heard the other Uzi whisper in shock. What!? How can she not know!?
My daughter continued to yell. "Me and Lizzy are looking after her. But, umm," Uzi hesitated before rushing her words out, "It's not just Drones from the Outpost here, the Murder Drones are here as well, including the one who broke into the Outpost." Shrieks came from the surrounding drones, and I froze as horror seeped into my frame. Yellow eyes, fanged grin, the sizzle of acid, a plead, a wrench raised. "Be quiet!" I heard my daughter yell, jolting me out of my spiral. I slapped my face, I needed to stay focused, I needed to stay here for Uzi. "The rules being enforced here mean they can't move from their chairs or attack anyone. They're secure, and Joe's keeping an optic on them."
"Who's Joe?" I heard the other Uzi whisper again as part of me inside relaxed at my daughter's words. Uzi seemed to have confidence in what was going on, I needed to trust her, and after knocking some sense into me and his warning about the vents, I had come to trust Joe's judgement for the most part. Around the room, I could see a lot of my daughter's friends relax at her words.
"Oh, and Joe's an Isekai Protagonist." My daughter announced to the room seemingly as an afterthought. Right... I don't know what that is. Is it important? Maybe, but first.
I turned towards the Uzi that wasn't my daughter. "I'm sorry for the confusion. I believed you were my daughter, and if I understand what my daughter said, you're the daughter of a Khan Doorman, just not me." Uzi stared at me with slight disbelief in her optics and nodded her head. My core sank at the look and recalled this Uzi's previous murmurs. Oh robo-god, was she not expecting me to apologise, or that I would actually listen to my daughter? And how did she not know about Doll?
I turned to stare at my double. He was looking around the room, muttering to himself, but wasn't paying attention to his daughter. I took a step forward.
"You're Khan Doorman, right?" I asked my double, a brittle smile on my face. I remembered how I acted before, how I hurt my daughter with those actions. I prayed that this wasn't the same, but judging from the looks this Uzi was giving me and my double, that wasn't the case.
"Yes, that's me." Khan doesn't appear to pay any attention to me, instead still looking around the room, and still not paying any attention to Uzi.
My hands trembled, clenching slightly. "What are you doing?" I asked, knowing the answer but wishing it were different.
"Well, this room doesn't appear to have any doors," Khan replied with a grin, "But I think with a bit of work we can have one quickly installed." My false smile fractured. I had never truly understood the depths of the human idiom 'take a long look at yourself in the mirror' until this moment, and now it had risen to reveal itself.
"Right.. You're Khan Doorman, your wife's name was..." I swallowed but pushed on, "Nori," I could see a look of pain appear on Uzi's face, "Your daughter's name is Uzi. Were Nori and Yeva sisters in all but code in your world as well?"
Khan actually focused on me after that. Confusion in his optics. "How did you- Why do you look like me?"
"Answer the question." I tapped my clenched fist against my leg. My irritated tone appeared to get through to my double.
"Well, yes, they were." Khan shrugged; he actually shrugged nonchalantly.
"What?" Uzi whispered in disbelieving shock.
"Can you name one of your daughters' friends?" Joe had asked me that same question, and I couldn't answer it. It had been a struggle for me to learn, but I could now name each of my daughters' friends.
"Well, that girl Lizzy." Khan answered confidently.
I might have accepted that answer, Lizzy was friends with my daughter, there was no reason not to believe that wasn't the same here, but I could see Uzi's face twist at that answer. Ever since Joe's intervention, painful though it was, I paid more attention to my daughter, I needed to not hurt her again, I needed to know when she was hurting, and despite my limited understanding, I could tell better when my daughter was actually in pain rather than brushing it off. This Uzi wasn't even trying to hide the hurt at her dad's answer. Inside, my circuits cracked a little at the sight of how this Uzi and Khan interacted, how Uzi's pain wasn't noticed by her dad, it felt too familiar.
I gave Uzi a fake a smile. "Uzi, it was very nice meeting you, but if you would excuse me, I think us two old men need to have a chat. Might I suggest you go and introduce yourself to my daughter and niece, I'm sure you'll both have a lot to talk about." I acknowledged Uzi's uncertain nod before turning to Khan, grabbing him by the arm, and dragging him forcefully into the nearest corner of the room.
"Hey, what's going on? What are you doing?" My double struggled against me, failing to prevent me from sequestering us both in the corner.
"I think Khan Doorman," I hissed in self-loathing, "That it's high time to take a look at how you act around your daughter."
"It's none of your business." Khan replied, "Who even are you?"
"I'm you, you fool. If you paid any attention to anything but doors, you would know that. My daughter announced it to the entire room." My fist was clenched, I fully understood now why Joe punched me, I wanted to re-enact that punch, but something prevented my body from following through, probably whatever rules my daughter mentioned that prevented the Murder Drones from killing us. Joe was right, I was a stupid, moronic, door-fucking bastard.
"Truth is, I might not understand everything my daughter is going on about, but I do know one terrible fact as solid as the seal on a IAD Model SL-501 automatic sliding door." That got my double's full attention. "I hurt my daughter, I did something unforgivable to my daughter, I refused to see her as her own person with her own likes and fears. FUCK! I made her cry, made her scared of me." I took a deep breath shakily, Khan stared at me, a sliver of dawning comprehension in his optics. "I'll never be good enough for Uzi, I'm a coward, I hid behind my responsibilities, focused on the doors, never paid her enough attention but despite all of that my daughter decided to give me a chance, one I'm still sure I don't deserve, but for her I will try to a better dad, a better person. So I want you to look over your life with your daughter and ask yourself honestly, if Nori were still around, what would she think? Because I think you've treated your daughter how I treated mine and I truly believe she would scrap us both!"
"I… I… oh robo-god, Nori…" Khan's optics hollowed in dawning horror, and he just stared past me, fingers twitching, hands shaking. Whatever catharsis his reactions generated within me was eaten by the guilt for my past actions, still gnawing away at me.
() JD Rebecca PoV
I strolled down the corridor, a warm smile on my face as I interwined my fingers with Darren's. After staying the night in the guest room at Darren's, I was looking forward to spending the rest of this school-free day hanging out with Darren and the rest of my friends.
There was a flicker, and I was no longer in the corridor. My hand was empty. I was in an unknown room. My hand was empty. I was surrounded by others. My hand was empty. Where was Darren! Shocked, I blankly stared at my empty hand. What...How...Wh-
"Becca!" I heard Darren yell my pet name, and my gaze tore across the room. Darren! I beheld my worried boyfriend making towards me and I leapt forwards. "Darren!" We collided, and our arms wrapped around each other, hugging tightly. I relaxed in Darren's arms and we stayed like that for a while before I felt able to talk.
"I thought you'd totes disappeared," I admitted in a small voice, meeting Darren's optics. I'd already lost my parents and survived, but losing Darren would destroy me.
"Me too," Darren whispered back, his arms tightening slightly. "That scared me." His internal fans whirred. "Any idea what's going on?"
I glanced away from Darren's optics and observed our surroundings. An unknown room filled with chairs and familiar-looking drones. Kelsey, Emily, Trevor. In some cases too familiar; were there two Thads standing over there? What was happening?
"No," I answered my boyfriend. My processors calming down in Darren's embrace, my mind starting to reach for possibilities. "All I know is that this is like weird, and who do we know that seems to always have a plan for weirdness?"
Darren and I shared a look, our minds as one momentarily. "Joe." We said in unison.
"Is he here? Can you see him anywhere?" I asked Darren as I searched the room for Joe.
"Over there." Darren gestured with a nod, his arms still holding me. I understood, I didn't want to let go either. "He's next to Uzi, Lizzy and Doll." Looking in the indicated direction, I could see our four friends. Joe and Uzi talking to each other, Doll trembling badly, and Lizzy supporting Doll in a tight hug. What was wrong!?
We reluctantly released from our hug in order to move, but remained close to each other, side by side. Each of us had had an arm tightly wrapped around the other's waist. As we approached, Joe reached over and hugged Lizzy and Doll, seemingly whispered something inaudible to them before releasing them and walking away from the group. Where was he going?
I prodded Darren, getting his attention. "We're following Joe."
"Ok." Daren agreed and we started to catch up to Joe.
"Hey, Dad! I'm over here." Uzi suddenly yelled, I twisted round to stare. Uzi was waving across the room towards... Was that two Mr Doormans? And another Uzi? Uzi continued to yell, "That's an alternative version of me you're talking to right now! We're interacting with a parallel world right now, similar people but with slightly different backstories. That's the alternative me and her dad.We're involved in a crossover of some sorts and are going to watch events from one of our two worlds, isn't it awesome!" I sighed, of course, Uzi was enjoying this; all of my friends were crazy. At least now I had some idea now of what was going on, no matter how insane or crazy it sounded. I turned back to chase after Joe, dragging Darren along.
"Uzi, is your cousin ok?" I heard Mr Doorman ask.
Uzi yelled back. "Me and Lizzy are looking after her. But, umm," I heard Uzi pause before the rest of hre words came out at speed. "It's not just Drones from the Outpost here, the Murder Drones are here as well, including the one who broke into the Outpost."
I froze in mid-stride, a shriek was wrenching from my vocaliser, memories tearing into my processor. My mother and father smiling at me. My family's home splattered with oil. Crying at a closed casket funeral, the caskets sealed to hide what was left after... I shuddered, and I felt Darren's arm tighten over me.
"I'm here," Darren murmured comfortingly, "I'm here with you."
"Be quiet!" Uzi yelled, the loudness jolting me out of my spiral. "The rules being enforced here mean they can't move from their chairs or attack anyone. They're secure, and Joe's keeping an optic on them." Joe was what!? Keeping watch over those monsters!? My internal fans whirred. Joe hopefully knew what he was doing. My friend was a weird one, a packaged combination of kindness and sarcasm. No matter what weirdness was thrown his way, his memory loss, Doll's powers, he always seemed to push past it and come up with a strategy. I had to trust my friend, lovable jackass that he was. I forcibly relaxed my frame
"Oh, and Joe's an Isekai Protagonist." Uzi yelled out to the world. What! My mind raced. Wait, his chat handle is Isekai_Protagonist. He tells jokes that are centuries out of date. He suggests isekai animes to watch with a grin. The smug jackass has been dropping hints the entire time; the only thing he hasn't done is bluntly tell us. The question is, is his Isekai like 'The Rising Of The Shield Hero' or more like 'My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!'. I needed more information. I started to head towards Joe, trying to pull Darren along with me, but Darren resisted.
I turned imploring optics towards my boyfriend. "Darren, come on. I want answers." I certainly didn't whine.
"But Rebecca," Darren said hesitantly, quietly, "the Murder Drones..."
I faltered in my steps. Joe was heading for the Murder Drones, if I followed Joe I would be heading towards the Murder Drones, me and Darren would be heading towards the Murder Drones. I'd be putting myself in danger, I'd be putting Darren in danger, and Joe was walking into that danger without hesitation for us. My internal fans spun, my thoughts swirling alongside them. Joe always seems to have a handle on whatever problems get thrown his way and looks out for us. For instance, I, like, definitely wouldn't have been able to follow through on punching Mr Doorman after the interview for making Uzi cry, or stopping Chad from hitting Lizzy. He looks after us, we need to be there for him and also.. I glanced around the room's walls, and the noticeable lack of any openings. If the Murder Drones can kill us all, being slightly further away from them won't change anything. I steeled myself.
"Darrren," My voice was serious as I stared into his cutely worried optics., "It doesn't make a difference where we're standing? I can't, like, see any exits to this room, which means there's nowhere to escape to if the worst happens." Darren's optics flickered around the room, realisation forming as he saw that fact as well. "I'm scared," I whispered, leaning into Darren, head resting on his shoulder, my arm tightening around his waist, "I'm terrified of those monsters. If the Murder Drones are free to kill us there's no difference being near or far. Joe's been on top of things and looking out for us this long, I want to totes believe he know what he doing. I want to find out what's going on, so I need to follow Joe." I turned pleading optics towards my boyfriend, tears held back from forming. "So can you please, like, stay with me?" Darren went silent, head bowed, and my core dropped.
"As you wish." Darren quoted, his head lifting to reveal a small brave smile, and my face glowed with cyan hash-marks as I threw both arms around him to hug him, a hug which he returned. I didn't deserve this stupid adorable boy.
"Thank you," I whispered gratefully. We held each other for a moment, then dropped our hug, staying connected by the interwined fingers of one of our hands.
I turned my focus on Joe, where he stood observing... I gulped despite the lack of fluid necessary, observing the Murder Drones, sat down in their chairs. Three in total. One female with silver twin pigtails, wearing a short-sleeved black blazer with a dark yellow shirt beneath. Another female with a silver bob-cut hairstyle, this one hauntingly familiar from survivors' stories, wearing a dark grey, short-sleeved crop coat with a golden fur collar and cuffs. The last was male medium, fluffy silver hair parted to the left, wearing a short-sleeved black winter coat with a golden fur collar. It's, like, kinda annoying that despite them being mass murderers, they look good. The girls were struggling to escape their seats, yelling at each other, the boy was still and quiet, staring at something golden in his lap. I braced myself and walked over to Joe, my tight grip on Darren's hand, matching the grip on my nerves.
"So Isekai Protagonist, whatcha doing?" My voice cheerfully asked, its tone the opposite of my squirming emotions. Joe flinched slightly and turned to look at us, opening his mouth. I interrupted. "And, like, another quick question, are you more Shield Hero or All Paths lead to Doom?"
Joe just stared at me, mouth ajar, his face blank. I internally smirked; it wasn't often I caught Joe off guard.
Joe's internal fans whirled, and a smile grew on his face. "Rebecca, Darren." He nodded to each of us in turn. "It's nice to see that you guys are coping with this so well."
"More or less." Darren shrugged.
"As well as we can be," I admitted.
"I'd offer a hug, but I think you two have that sorted already." Joe gestured to us, a smirk on his face. I huffed good-naturedly. Still the same sarcastic git, I thought fondly. "To answer your questions in reverse order, More All Paths lead to Doom, but while I know some key facts, a lot of my wider world lore is limited. At best, I have 208 minutes of canon material to work with, but we can talk that over more when we're back with the rest of the group. What I'm currently doing is working out how to handle J,V and N," Joe pointed to each in turn. Nice to know who's who., "and..." Joe hesitated and my optics narrowed, "the other problem." What other problem?
"Can we help?" Darren asked.
"Are you sure you want to stay?" Joe asked us seriously. "Uzi knows a lot about all this; you can ask her for more details without getting involved here. It's not going to be pleasant." Joe warned us. My core warmed at his words. Still trying to protect us, eh.
I stared at my possible parents' killer, Was she, like, actually trying to bite the chair?, firming my resolve. "This isn't going to go away quickly, is it? At some point, I'm going to have to face my fears."
"It's not the Murder Drones I'm worried about," Joe muttered, glancing beyond the Murder Drones where... Was that Doll!? Why was she also stuck in a chair!?
"Joe," I pointed at the restrained Doll, "What the hell!"
"Look," Joe waved his hands as he explained. "I don't know for sure, but if their world follows the baseline, their Doll has been stewing in her trauma for nearly a decade. Add in the Solver, the need for oil and the desire for vengeance, things have probably not gone well."
"What about us?" I asked emphatically as I gestured towards Darren and me. "What about the rest of her friends? What about Lizzy? Where even is Lizzy?" Seriously, where was this Doll's Lizzy. Like, it's unlikely to see our Doll and Lizzy apart nowadays, especially in an emotional situation which this defs counts as!
Joe pointed and I turned to see the yellow-dressed Lizzy, It sure was strange not to see her wearing pink, who was wandering the room with her phone raised. Was she trying to find a signal? And ignoring Doll completely!? "Have you heard of character development?" Joe said somberly. Wait..."Lizzy took my suggestion of fear and love to levels I'm seriously impressed by." Joe's interactions with me and friends.. "That Lizzy, most likely followed the original course of being a stereotypical blonde popular girl, she doesn't have friends; she has groupies. They wouldn't have happened here... "A traumatised Doll in the same room as the Murder Drone that killed her parents," Which means all of our relationships with each other... "and I don't trust her Lizzy to have enough empathy not to say something triggering."
"They might look like our friends, but they're different people," I said bleakly as my mind raced over the implications. Oh robo-god! Doll left on her own to suffer in silence. Uzi, we bullied her before, if we didn't stop, if we never stopped! Kelsey, Emily, Trevor, Penny, would any of them be my friends!? I buried into Darren's side. Would I even be with Darren!? I shivered and Darren, the wonderful person I didn't deserve, wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
"How bad could it be?" Darren asked bluntly.
"That doesn't mean everything would be different or bad," Joe rushed out in a panic, "I'm sure that their Darren and Rebecca would be just as cute a couple." I blushed cyan hash-marks, and glimpsed Darren's visor also glowing green. Joe grinned a little at that. "Their Thad's probably the same, seems to be an unwritten rule that all Thad's are cool." I giggled a little. Of course, Thad would remain the same cool guy everyone knew. Joe sighed, his voice turning melancholy, "Murder Drones first, traumatised alternative of our friend next, followed by the other alternatives."
I nodded in agreement. Dealing with the Murder Drones and the threat of being murdered seemed less nightmare-inducing than dealing with the What-Ifs of another timeline. I focused my attention on the Murder Drones, in time to hear V? I think that was the name Joe gave her. Yell at J?
"I told you J! I can't move!" V snarled, "Neither can you!"
"Then destroy the chair!" J ordered, struggling herself.
"We've already been over this," V growled back angrily. "I can't activate any weapon systems, you can't either! Heck, I even tried biting the damm chair and it didn't even scratch it and I can bite through metal!"
"How about the Synergistic Liability?" Who? J ceased her struggles. "Hey, N! Any progress towards breaking free?"
There was no reply to her yell, and my eyes drifted towards the male, N, before widening in shock.
"Hey, N! Are you even trying? Answer me!" J turned her head to glare at N. Her optics widened in disbelief. "Wait, N? Have you been free this whole time!?" My fear-filled optics stared at the unrestrained Murder Drone, who was free to slaughter us all and... was staying in their seat, not moving, silently looking at a golden object in their lap. What!? My optics snapped to a relaxed Joe, who seemed not at all surprised by the Murder Drone's inaction, though there was a curious look in their optics directed at the glimpse of gold. J snapped at N. "You idiot, get on your feet and do your job! N, are you listening to me?!"
N stared silently with awe at a golden blob lying in his lap. The little golden blob stretched and yawned cutely, lifting its head to look at N's face. "V!" N whispered excitedly, reaching out his hand slowly. "It's a golden retriever puppy." The puppy sniffed at the extended hand, then licked N's finger. "It has a gentle mouth!" N giggled when it kept licking his fingers. The sight slowly decreased the fear inside. Why is this cute? Murder Drones aren't supposed to be cute! But why does it feel like there's two puppies in the chair, not just one.
"Can I pet the puppy as well?" Joe asked N casually. Seriously, Joe! Everyone, Murder Drones included, bar N who replied with a cheerful "Ok!", gave Joe a disbelieving look "But it's a puppy," he petulantly protested, reaching out to rub the puppy's belly. The puppy squirmed adorably under his ablutions, and a quiet part of me wondered if it was truly as soft as it looked. "You're a cute little guy. Petting a nine-tailed Kurama fox kit is still top of the list, but you're definitely a cute fuzzball."
"I know right!" N nodded in agreement.
"It is cute," Darren agreed. "Can I pet it as well?" You as well, Darren? I sighed in bewilderment. I don't believe this. How did we go from Murder Drones to puppies? Where did the puppy even come from? Is there really a puppy living on Copper 9 somewhere? And more importantly, I want to have a turn as well.
"Me next, like, after Darren." I said firmly.
"N!" J barked. "Stop playing with that puppy and interacting with the corrupted Drones, and get up and do your job!"
N shifted slightly in his seat, making my body clench in fear. Then the puppy whined up at N. N stared back at the puppy, a heartbroken whine starting to emanate from him as well.
"Hey Moron Bot! Listen to me." J yelled again.
"Right, I think that's enough of that." Joe snapped his fingers, getting everyone's attention. "I'm disappointed in you J, tut tut tut." He waggled his finger at J. "Creating such a Hostile Work Environment with your co-workers. I heard rumours that Serial Designation J-10X111001 was a hard-working professional who followed the Company's rules. Seems that the rumours are false."
"What are you talking about!?" J demanded. "I am."
"Well, Miss Industrial Machinery," J showed no reaction to the name. Why did Joe call her that? "Even if we ignore your verbal harassment of your co-worker, which I'm sure is against Company guidelines. Right now, you're under contract to destroy us Worker Drones, but right now you can't. All of those present in this room are unable to inflict physical damage on each other. Hard to fulfil your quota when you're unable to attack us, right? To do your job." V twitched. Why? "So what are your standing orders for when unknowns interfere with Company operations?"
"I don't report to you." J stubbornly responded. "And there's no way the rest of your statement is true."
"How about some proof then?" Joe held out his hand to N. "N, can you attack my hand please."
N looked uneasily at Joe before nodding and starting to shift. He stopped in his tracks. "I can't." N's said with a wonder-filled tone.
"That's no proof," J refuted.
"Then prove it wrong." Joe walked up and stuck his hand in front of J's face. "Biting distance, nothing stopping you."
J glared at him obstinately.
"You can't can you. Let me guess, you don't know why or how you arrived here. So let me lay out some facts." Joe straightened up to stand at attention. "Serial Designation J-10X111001 has been contracted by the Company to destroy the Worker Drones on Copper 9. Part of the contract involves a quota of Drones that should be destroyed within set periods. In the current circumstances, through enforced inaction, J and the other members of her squad are unable to accomplish the terms of her contract and quota. If these circumstances continue and Head Office hears, J could be deemed an Agency Problem unless sufficient evidence is collected to disprove such claims." J's optics hollow, and she attempts to splutter out denials. Joe continues. "They might even believe you hold Company Cyn...icism," During Joe's pause mid-word, V twitched again, "towards the Company. A good employee would have these considerations in mind. Identifying the unknown agents, the damages caused to the operations by their interference and strong evidence to support any legal claim. If the Company intends to sue all those involved for Tortious Interference and Interference with Business Relations, they need to know exactly who to sue, what for and have clear evidence. So with all that in mind," Joe grins, showing teeth, "how about a Temporary Equity Partnership?"
"What?" J said flatly. Joe's grin stays fixed.
"We're all trapped here together, sure, we can continue to be at loggerheads, but you might miss recording a valuable piece of evidence. We have a temporary stay of hostilities; you get to gather information for your corporate reports without hindrance. Who knows, you might even get free from those chairs to search more thoroughly. So, it's a deal then?" At the last statement, Joe flamboyantly held out his right hand to J, his voice crackling with radio static for some reason.
There was a pause as J thought over Joe's words. "Yes." J spat grumpily, reaching out and shaking Joe's hand.
"Pleasure doing business with you, quite a pleasure," Joe's fixed grin was becoming creepy. "Now we have other engagements, so we'll take our leave for now."
Joe led me and Darren away towards Doll.
"That went well?" Darren asked uncertainly.
"As well as it could be expected." Joe agreed, his grin relaxing. "N was N, managed to get under V's skin a few times, and convinced J to play along with the situation for now. Though I'm fully expecting a breakdown from her when she finds out the truth behind the Company."
"What truth?" I asked Joe.
"That..." Joe paused for a moment, glancing back at the Murder Drones, "Can wait until we're back with our friends. I really don't want to explain it twice."
I stared at him, wanting to push for more answers, but saw the slight pleading in Joe's optics. I sighed in acceptance.
"When we're back with the others," I agreed.
"Same." Daren nodded
That settled, I turned my attention to the alternative version of my friend sitting in her chair. Their Doll had the same physical looks as ours, the same hair, the same coloured optics, but everything else was different. The most obvious difference was her clothing, for some reason, this Doll's attire resembled a cheerleader's uniform. A red and yellow off-shoulder crop top with a black shirt underneath, a skirt decorated with a yellow belt, and a matching red hard hat with a yellow band wrapping around. She also wore tall black winter boots. In fact, the outfit matched, I turned to spot the other Lizzy, phone still raised, closer to our friends off in the distance. Yep, exactly the same clothes as that Lizzy. Why? Don't they have a Penny? I remembered what Joe had said, 'she doesn't have friends; she has groupies' Is that why? Does their Lizzy just have everyone in her group wear the same clothing? Is my counterpart there wearing the same thing? I sighed despondently at the thought and turned back to gaze at the most disturbing thing about this Doll. Our Doll was still introverted and taciturn, but she engaged with people more, she smiled more. This Doll wasn't; her harsh gaze was filled with intense hatred as she stared towards the seated Murder Drones.
Joe sighed deeply and moved to stand between Doll and the Murder Drones. Doll didn't seem to register the change in her view for a while, but her optics eventually shifted up to stare at us. I shivered. My friend would stare at nothing, lost in the memories in her head, this Doll, though, she stared at us in the present like we were the nothing.
"Hey, Doll." Joe wore a gentle smile on his face. "I don't know if you know exactly what's going on. Thought we'd come over and explain while introducing ourselves. You might have noticed that there are a few doubles of people around the room; that's because we're dealing with a crossover event of sorts between two different realities. My friends here and I are from a different Copper 9." Joe paused in his speech as he gestured to me and Darren, and I took the opportunity to introduce ourselves.
"Hi, Doll," I waved in greeting, trying not to shrink under the intense deep red optics that turned to me, "I'm Rebecca, and this is my boyfriend Darren," I wrapped an arm around my boyfriend. "I assume you know our counterparts back at your home." I pointed at Joe. "This is Joe, he's our friend and an Isekai Protagonist."
In Doll's optics, the hate flickered away for a moment, replaced by confusion.
"Кто такой главный герой исекай? (What's a Isekai Protagonist?)" Doll asked uncertainly. She doesn't know what that is? Oh right, different timeline. If she doesn't interact with Uzi. No Uzi, no anime. I considered what differences that would cause. Did the other Rebecca even know about Weiss Schnee.
Joe took over the conversation again, Doll's optics returning to him, the red fire returning as well. "While I don't want to go into any major explanations on that right now. In simple terms, I was born in my current life with knowledge of certain future events," Joe explained, "Anyway, I can explain more about that later. In regards to our current situation, we've all been brought here forcibly to watch a video of future events, either of our world or yours, and we won't be able to return home until the viewing has finished."
Doll appeared to think over Joe's words, at least I think she was. Her stare didn't seem to change.
«Итак, вы являетесь альтернативой людям с Аванпоста, а мы заперты здесь. Тогда почему?» ("So you are the alternatives of people from the Outpost, and we are trapped here, Then why?") Doll gestured between herself and us. «Почему, если мы все здесь заключены, почему вы можете свободно разгуливать, а я заперт в этом кресле?» ("Why, if we're all imprisoned here, why do you get to walk around freely, while I am trapped in this chair?")
"Right, that." Joe paused, probably trying to find the right words, "As for why you're stuck in your chair right now, it's part of the rules here, no physical damage between the participants and the more..." Joe paused again, "aggressive individuals are secured until they calm down.
«Что!?» ("What!?") Doll spat angrily. «Значит, со мной будут обращаться так же, как с этими монстрами!?»("So I get treated the same way as those monsters!?")
"Umm, not exactly," Darren said tentatively, "Treated more like two of them, the third is, like, staying in his chair to pet the puppy."
«Что!?» ("What!?") Doll said incredulously, and I suppressed an awkward giggle at how lost she sounded. Yeah, I hadn't expected that at all either.
"Look," Joe's face was solemn, "We know about the Solver," Doll's optics hollow, "About the burden it places on you, I understand the mindset it inflicts on the user. I'm not gonna ask if you're okay, because the answer is a very obvious no. You have my condolences for the loss of your parents and the burden you've carried alone. I might not exactly understand what you're feeling, but I know enough to guess.
«Ты знаешь о Решателе? О его проклятии?» ("You know about the Solver? About it's curse?") Doll asked Joe questioningly.
Joe pointed to himself, "Isekai Protagonist, like Rebecca mentioned, I know a few things."
"Yep," I exclaimed perkily, "And our Doll confirmed, she has it too."
Doll jerked her gaze towards me. «И она только что раскрыла это всем вам!» ("And she just revealed that to all of you!") She exclaimed vehemently.
Darren winced, "Hard to keep it a secret when her first use of it was her publicly using it to save Lizzy from a serious fall." I winced as well, recalling that moment, seeing Lizzy fall like that, no one close enough to catch her in time, only for Doll's desperation to save her just before impact like a miracle.
«Ей не следовало этого делать», ("She shouldn't have done that,") Doll complained quietly.
What!? "What!?" I said out loud. She had better be talking about Doll revealing the Solver to us, not her saving Lizzy. "You had better be talking about Doll revealing the Solver to us, not her saving Lizzy."
«Лиззи не важна, важно сохранить Решателя в тайне». ("Lizzy isn't important; keeping the Solver secret is.") Doll bluntly stated. The world shifted under my feet, and I felt sick. Oh robo-god, I know Joe said things wouldn't be the same, that their Lizzy and Doll were different people, but to hear Doll talk like that about Lizzy.
"Are you hearing yourself right now!?" I demanded forcefully, returning Doll's sudden glare with my own, "How can you-"
Joe raised an arm in front of me, cutting me off, probably to keep the peace, and I huffed unhappily before falling silent. Darren squeezed my shoulder comfortingly. Joe lowered his arm and took a step towards Doll, his voice gentle, "Look, Doll didn't even know she had the Solver, all she knew about was her increasing need for oil. In fact, because of that event, we now have confirmation that Uzi has the Solver as well, though her's is dormant. Me, Doll, Uzi, all my friends. We're working together, trying to prepare for what's coming. You don't have to do everything alone. Holding yourself apart from everyone, burning your bridges, and treating those around you as obstacles will lead to the Solver's victory."
«Узи нужно держать подальше от этого. Она, как обычно, только всё испортит». ("Uzi should be kept out of this. She'll just mess things up as usual.") Doll claimed with conviction, and I gaped. «Что касается остальных, то они мне не нужны, мне вообще никто не нужен! Я могу сделать всё, что нужно, чтобы всё исправить самостоятельно!» ("As for anyone else, I don't need them, I don't need anyone! I can do whatever it takes to fix this on my own!") Doll spat angrily at Joe, as she slammed her clenched fist down onto an arm of the chair. No, you can't, your mother, Doll's mother, Uzi's mother, had the Solver, and they died. Going it alone means dying alone.
My hands start to tremble with emotion as my temper starts to rise, my irritation growing at the callousness of this Doll. She showed no care towards Lizzy being hurt, insulted Uzi, and spat at Joe's attempts at diplomacy. Why was the other Doll like this? Oh right, I realised, this Doll wasn't our friend, might have never been our friend even in her world, no friends, no trust, no kindness, no one around to knock some common sense into her when she starts acting stupid!
Doll continued to speak harshly at us. «Единственное, что важно, — это отомстить этой психопатке-убийце за то, что она сделала, за то, что все здесь такие самодовольные после всего, что она сделала, после всего, что они все сделали! Это монстры, которые пожирают рабочих! Похоже, я единственный, кто видит, какими монстрами они являются. Я потерял из-за них всё. Тебе не понять...» ("The only important thing is getting payback on that psychotic murder drone for what she did, the fact that everyone here seems so complacent after all she did, after everything they all did! They're monsters that eat Workers! I appear to be the only one to see them for the monsters they are. I lost everything to them. You wouldn't understand-")
I felt something crack inside me, and my vision turned red as I interrupted Doll's rant. "I wouldn't understand!? I wouldn't understand!?!" I screamed at Doll, "We've all lost someone. My parents were killed by V! I came home to find what was left of them spread over our home!" Tears started to fall down my visor, blurring my vision. Unable to see properly, I could only feel the two pairs of arms that wrapped around me in a hug, the two voices whispering assurances.
"Becca, I'm here." Darren whispered consolingly. Thanks for always being there.
"Rebecca, I'm so sorry." Joe apologised like it was his fault. It wasn't, it never was.
But despite their support, their comforting presence, the words kept coming. I couldn't stop; it all came flooding out. "Kelsey lost her parents, her best friend and had her vision damaged! Emily was used as a hostage by V, she witnessed everything that day. Braidon's dad was killed, and his mom committed suicide! Trevor's dad was cut in half! Uzi lost her mum! We've all suffered, all lost those important to us! Why is our loss, our pain, any less important than yours!? Why can't... Why can't you see tha-..." I collapsed against Darren, breathing heavily in and out, the internal flames that had been fueling my words burning out, leaving me feeling cold and drained of energy.
Darren continued to whisper assurances to me, but my head was too blurry to catch his words. Joe remained hugging me, but he was quiet and still. I lifted my head with effort, saw that his gaze was fixed intensely on Doll. My head cleared a little, and out of the corner of my optics, I caught sight of Doll's face, Doll's poleaxed expression. Joe released from the hug and shifted to stand a little in front of me and Darren, placing himself between us and Doll. I punchdrunk giggled at Joe's actions, like, ever the protector, eh.
Joe spoke, his voice was calm, very calm, but I could see his hands clenched tightly, trembling slightly. "You know Doll Matryoshka, people who live in glass houses shouldn't cast stones."
Doll blinked, her expression returning to anger. «Мне плевать на твоё...» ("I don't care about your-")
Joe interrupted her. "When's prom, Doll Matryoshka?" he asked, and Doll went silent, her face blank. "Not far away right? Angela Palmer, Dillan Hall, Kenzie Rivers, Lainey Gilmore, Kelsey Day? Have you crossed them off your list yet?" My head felt cotton-filled. List? What does he mean...
«Это было необходимо». ("It was necessary.") Doll retorted stubbornly.
"No, it wasn't. You could have kidnapped them, kept them imprisoned until after Prom, and siphoned some oil from each of them to keep yourself topped up."
Darren gasped next to me. Had he figured out what Joe was talking about? Yeah, Doll needs oil, that's why we started the collection for her, so she would have easy access. What's that got to do with crossing them off a lis... No, it can't... Did she kill them!? Kill Kelsey! She wouldn't!? Would she? I don't know any more...
"And all for what?" Joe asked Doll, "Some crazy plan to reenact the plot of Carrie and kill yourself a Murder Drone crowned as Prom Queen. Hate to break it to you, but Carrie was the one who walked away from that alive; Christine and Billy didn't."
My voice felt like it was coming from a long way away. "They were orphans like you, like me, V killed their parents as well, and you finished the job for her." I felt tired, so tired.
«Нет, я не... Это... Это...». ("No- I didn't- That- This-,") Doll stammered agitated, «Всё должно было пойти не так. Я покончу с этими монстрами раз и навсегда, наконец отомщу за своих родителей и спасу наш мир от уничтожения. Будь героем.» ("This isn't how things are meant to go, I'm going to end those monsters once and for all, finally avenge my parents, and save our world from destruction. Be the hero.") Doll whispered at the end, tears starting to roll down her visor.
Joe sighed, a sad look on his face, and spoke gently, "Doll, we're not the heroes in this story, we're the villains with oil on our hands. Those who see themselves as the tragic hero, despite everything they've willingly done, they're the true monsters. I don't think you're that lost yet. I believe that there is hope for you, but you have to let other people in. We'll leave you alone for now, but I'll be back later. I hope you're feeling better then."
Joe turned and started to walk away, gently manoeuvring me and Darren away as well. Darren kept an arm tightly wound around me.
«Джо!». ("Joe!") Doll's hesitant voice called from behind us. Joe twisted his head to look back. «Я не убивал Келси, меня сюда притащили раньше...». ("I didn't kill Kelsey, I was dragged here before...")
Joe's optics shifted slightly. "Thanks for the information, Doll. I'll come back later to talk."
We continued to walk away.
Darren grunted uncomfortably, "You were right," he said, his voice disturbed, "That was worse than talking with the Murder Drones."
"A monster that shows they can be more than just a monster, or a friend who is revealed to have monstrous depths; the latter is always going to be more disturbing," Joe muttered, his voice full of inward retrospection, his optics staring into nothing.
Tired, I may be, but I won't let this stand. I pulled away from Darren and tiredly pulled Joe into a hug. He froze in place. "You know you're not a villain, right?" I murmured as loudly as I could.
Joe gave me a sombre grin. "I've manipulated my friends, kept my secrets from all of you out of fear, and I'm preparing to maim the Solver's victims." What is he... Never mind, later
"To try and save us." I pointed out.
"But I-" Joe tried to say before I interrupted him.
"So you're a coward, so you're a liar, so you're not a hero, you're still a survivor, you're still my friend, so please," I tightened my hug, and I felt Darren join the hug, "Believe me when I say you're not a monster, I know I don't know everything you're done, but please believe that."
"Yeah," Darren's confidant voice said, "You might be a crazy asshole, but you're our crazy asshole. We won't accept anything different."
I felt Joe relax into the hug. One trauma down, how many left to go? But if we hold together, hopefully we'll all get through this.
() MD Uzi Pov
I strode confidently across the room in my search for the Alt-Me, I wasn't nervous, no way in hell! Whoever that unknown voice had belonged to, and the Alt-Me already seemed to know what was going on here, judging from their yells. Now I just had to find her. I glanced at the people around. Thad, Lizzy, ugh really! Another Thad, was one of them from my world, or was it possible that Thad of the other world had an identical twin? Who is that...
"Uzi!" I heard my Dad yell suddenly, drawing my attention. I definitely didn't jump in shock! And what! Dad's here as well! I turned confidently to look at him. I wasn't nervous at all.
Dad looked at me, then at my foot. "Uzi, are you ok? You're limping slightly." I blinked in confusion. What!? He noticed that!?
I glanced down, and through the puncture hole in my boot, saw the last of the damage to my foot finish repairing. I looked back up at my dad,
"Oh, that," I waved at my foot nonchalantly, I definitely didn't get stabbed in the foot by a Murder Drone. "I tripped over something while looking at the outside of Door 1."
My Dad's optics seemed to widen for some reason. "Outside? Why would you be outside? When were you outside?" What!? But...
"But you were the one who let me out." I bewilderly asserted to my... Dad? Wait... Is this the Alt-Me's Dad? Not mine?
"What?" The individual I was quickly coming to believe was an Alt-Dad or Alt-Khan quietly said.
"Hey, Dad! I'm over here." My voice came from across the room, and I spun to face it. "That's an alternative version of me you're talking to right now!" I caught sight of the Alt-Me yelling in our direction. Beside her stood an Alt-Lizzy, ugh, why two Lizzys! wearing a black leather coat and pink cat-ears, not yellow. Weird. The Alt-Lizzy was hugging a Soviet-dressed Doll. What was going on there? Why was the Alt-Me standing with them? "We're interacting with a parallel world right now, similar people but with slightly different backstories. That's the alternative me and her dad." Hearing that, I glanced around, and yes, there was a second Dad close by. "We're involved in a crossover of some sorts and are going to watch events from one of our two worlds, isn't it awesome!" Of course, my Alt would be up to speed, she's me, we're awesome.
"Uzi, is your cousin ok?" I heard Alt-Dad ask Alt-Me, and startled, I twisted round to stare at him. What!? Alt-Me has more family!?
"I have a cousin?" I whispered in shock. Alt-Me had a cousin! Who was it? My code ran cold. Please tell me it's not Lizzy!
"Me and Lizzy are looking after her." Alt-Doll is Alt-Me's cousin!?
"But, umm," Alt-Me paused a moment before rushing her words out. "It's not just Drones from the Outpost here, the Murder Drones are here as well, including the one who broke into the Outpost." The room was filled with the sounds of shrieking. Did that mean her N might be here, her world's N, not her's, of course. Not that she cared at all about that weirdly cute drone. The noise was broken by Alt-Me yelling over it. "Be quiet! The rules being enforced here mean they can't move from their chairs or attack anyone. They're secure, and Joe's keeping an optic on them."
"Who's Joe?" I asked myself out loud. Were there any Joes at school? I don't think so.
"Oh, and Joe's an Isekai Protagonist." Alt-Me finished with. Oh, that's so cool. I thought excitedly, I get a ROB, Alt-Me gets to partner with an Isekai Protagonist. We're both destined for incredible things.
"I'm sorry for the confusion," Alt-Dad said to me, and I turned towards him with slight confusion. Was he really apologising to me? "I believed you were my daughter, and if I understand what my daughter said, you're the daughter of a Khan Doorman, just not me." I stared blankly at him. What!? He listened to Alt-Me!? He actually understood that!? There was no mention of doors in that explanation at all!
Alt-Dad stared at me for a moment and slowly turned to stare at my Dad. Dad was looking around the room but didn't seem to notice me, or appeared to have even registered Alt-Me yelling. It didn't hurt not to be noticed. It didn't.
Alt-Dad took a step towards my Dad, a smile on his face. "You're Khan Doorman, right?"
"Yes, that's me," Dad replied, continuing to look around the room, blindly ignoring his identical self talking to him. Daaaad!
Alt-Dad, with that same smile on his face, asked. "What are you doing?" I shuffled uncomfortably. Please tell me they're not going to start talking about doors? I begged internally, considering slipping away to join Alt-Me.
My Dad continued to look around the room and grinned, "Well, this room doesn't appear to have any doors, but I think with a bit of work we can have one quickly installed." I did not want to be here for this. I started to shift away.
Alt-Dad's face lost its smile, and I froze in place at the sudden shift. What was happ-
"Right.. You're Khan Doorman, your wife's name was..." Alt-Dad swallowed, "Nori." I flinched at the name. Mom... "Your daughter's name is Uzi. Were Nori and Yeva sisters in all but code in your world as well?" Is that how Alt-Me and Alt-Doll ended up cousins?
"How did you-" Dad finally looked at Alt-Dad and realised something that wasn't related to doors. "Why do you look like me?"
Alt-Dad tapped a clenched fist against his leg, his voice harsh, and I realised that he was angry. "Answer the question."
My Dad shrugged. "Well, yes, they were." My processor froze in shock. What... Doll's actually my cousin?!?
"What?" I whispered, my mind reeling at the new information.
"Can you name one of your daughters' friends?" I heard Alt-Dad ask as I tried to come to grips with my new reality. I've had more family all this time!
"Well, that girl Lizzy." Dad confidently answered wrongly. My face twisted in disgust. I'd rather befriend the Murder Drones!
Alt-Dad turned back to me, a smile on his face. When was the last time my Dad smiled at me? I can't remember... "Uzi, it was very nice meeting you, but if you would excuse me, I think us two old men need to have a chat. Might I suggest you go and introduce yourself to my daughter and niece, I'm sure you'll both have a lot to talk about."
I nodded nervously towards him and watched, my mind still whirring, as he grabbed my Dad by the arm and dragged him into a corner, before stumbling off towards the Alt-Me, as the world seemed to shift under my feet.
After talking with Rip, I knew that I would be interacting with different versions of people from my reality, different outcomes, OCs, but I never expected this. Being shown a Dad who notices I'm damaged, who actually asks if I'm ok, a Dad who actually listens to what his daughter says. Is this what it's like having a parent who cares? But the greatest surprise hadn't come from the different reality but my own. I had a cousin, Doll was my cousin! Why hadn't I known? Why hadn't anyone told me!? I had family beyond my dad, I had a cousin! My racing thoughts hit a derailment. Doll, who ignores me. Doll, who just stands there while Lizzy bullies me. The growing sparks of excitement turned to ash. I had a cousin, and she was part of my bully's inner circle. And if she knew about our cousinship, she had never shown any sign of it mattering in any way. I suppressed an anxious scream and shunted those depressing thoughts deep into my processor before marching quickly towards the Alt-Me.
Approaching, I paused a moment to take in the sight of Alt-Me and Alt-Lizzy chatting calmly to each other, Alt Doll silently held in Alt-Lizzy's arms. How are Alt-Me and Alt-Lizzy getting along? Is this some sort of opposite's verse where Lizzy and Thad are swapped? I considered the concept of an evil Thad for a moment and shuddered.
"Lizzy, I think the only one who hasn't noticed is Doll." Alt-Me said to Alt-Lizzy.
Alt-Lizzy's face lit up pink. "So he knows?"
"Yes," Alt-Me said to Alt-Lizzy, throwing her hands in the air. "I know he acts like a blind idiot at times, but he does notice-" Alt-Me froze in the middle of her gestures as she caught sight of me and stared. Alt-Lizzy turned to look at me as well.
"Ummm, hi." I nervously waved at Alt-Me, suddenly feeling not as confident under their combined stares. "So you're the other me."
"And you're also the other me." Alt-Me grinned at me before gesturing toward the others. "I'm pretty sure you know their names already, but this is Lizzy and Doll."
"Sup," Alt-Lizzy said, Alt-Doll remaining silent.
Time to be awesome! I opened my mouth, and couldn't think of anything to say. Closing it again, I shuffled my feet. Uuuuuuuhhhhh! I internally groaned.
"Hey, what happened to your boot?" Alt-Lizzy asked me, pointing towards my damaged boot.
I grabbed at the opening, even if it was from an Lizzy, it was better than the uncomfortable silence. "Uh, fought a Murder Drone, blew his head off, but took a hit in the process." Totally sounded cool, right?
"Oh, so you've met N already?" Alt-Me asked, glancing at my foot, before looking back up at me. "We so have to exchange origin stories."
"N?" Alt-Lizzy asked Alt-Me, "They have names? You know their names?"
"Well, yeah." Alt-Me shrugged at Alt-Lizzy, "Know your enemy and all that. N is the one most likely to stab himself with his stinger though..." Alt-Me paused a moment before looking at my foot again. "Wait... that is a stinger hole! Did you get stabbed in the foot with the nanite acid!?" She knows about that already, huh?
"Uh, yeah." I nodded at Alt-Me. "Hurt a lot, but when the acid was neutralised, my foot started repairing itself as well."
"But the only way to neutralise the acid is..." Alt-Me trailed off, and my optics widened in horror. She knows! Aaaaaaah! I internally screamed. "If you were struck in the foot, how did you manage to... oh..." Alt-Me trailed off again. Stop talking! It didn't happen! I've repressed it! I did not have to stick my foot there! I did not momentarily consider a fetish!
"So," Alt-Lizzy drawled to the Alt-Me, "Are you, like, going to explain what you're talking about or-"
"Bite me!" I snapped at Alt-Lizzy. I was not giving any Lizzy ammunition!
"It's private, personal," Alt-Me said, staring into Alt-Lizzy's face.
Alt-Lizzy stared back at Alt-Me and then smirked, "So, Hot Topic, you have even more secrets hidden away!" Alt-Lizzy pointed at Alt-Me, her other arm remaining wrapped around Doll. "I'm so kinda gonna find out those secrets one day!"
I bristled at the threat and prepared to snap back, when the wind was knocked out of my sails by Alt-Me's reaction. Alt-Me just huffed and rolled her optics at Alt-Lizzy. I felt flat-footed. Were they bantering!? So it wasn't a threat? Alt-Lizzy gave up prodding at a weakness? Just like that?
"Soooo," I said to Alt-me. I really wanted to leave the previous topic buried deep under 20 tons of concrete. "You have an Isekai Protagonist here? Joe, I think you said their name was?"
"Yeah," Alt-Me pointed, "He's over there checking on the Murder Drone situation, looks like our Rebecca and Darren decided to join him."
I turned to look, my Genre Savvy self prepared to be on guard from the Isekai Protagonist's magical Rizz. The first to catch my optics were N, the cute- WEIRD!- weird Murder Drone, V and J. I didn't have to suppress a blush as a flash of the more risque door images flashed through my processor. Why were all the Murder Drones weirdly hot!? Stupid programmed hormones! Besides the Murder Drone trio stood Alt-Rebecca, Alt-Darren and a conventionally attractive male drone that must be the so-called Joe. No sudden attraction and feelings of love at first sight occurred, so I observed him a little closer. Black hair tied in a ponytail, their clothes covered in winter camo patterns. And I didn't kick myself thinking that sneaking up on the Corpse Spire might have been easier with that choice, rather than my usual black. Then again, black and purple were sick colours! And on their back, they were carrying a-
"What's with the shovel?" I asked Alt-Me.
"Entrenching Tool!" Alt-Me and Alt-Lizzy both chorused, a strange smirk on both their faces.
"Ok...," I said confused. Entrenching tool then. Still doesn't really explain why he's carrying it, though. But if Joe's the Isekai Protagonist, doesn't that mean? I glanced nervously at Alt-Me. "And you're ok being the sidekick?" I unsuredly asked.
"Oh robo-god," Alt-Lizzy sighed, face-palming with her free hand.
"Excuse us!" Alt-Me snarled at me, and I jerked backwards. "Bite me! We are NOT- I am NOT a side character!" Alt-Me took some deep breaths before continuing calmly. "I'm the Main Anime Protagonist here. Well, me and my cuz here," Alt-Me gestured to the still silent blank-faced Alt-Doll. Should I be worried about that?. "We're the Dual Anime Protagonists, and Joe's the Deuteragonist who's the Man With The Plan."
I thought over her words, calmly and carefully considering all the information and opened my mouth to ask for important details. "Is Doll really our cousin?" Really! I screamed at myself as those words dropped from my mouth.
Alt-Me's optics blinked, and Alt-Lizzy seemed to stare at me closer. I shuffled my feet. "Yes, isn't she yours in your world?" Alt-Me asked.