"Also, now I can do THIS!"

Wings burst from Uzi’s back with a sharp, wet sound, jagged and fleshy—far too organic for a drone. A trio of twitching tendrils slithered outward, swaying like serpents as they coiled in the air. From her lower back extended a thin, whip-like tail tipped with an eel-like mouth, tiny glass-needle teeth clicking with excitement. Her eyes glowed an unstable violet, and in each hand she conjured the infamous glowing sigils of the Absolute Solver—one a searing yellow, the other a deep, pulsing purple. With a wild grin that practically screamed 'unhinged', she raised both arms like a performer on a twisted stage.

Her classmates shrieked and scattered in terror, chairs scraping against the metal floor as the classroom descended into chaos. Screams echoed, someone fainted dramatically, and someone else bolted straight through a wall panel in their panic.

"Boo~!" Uzi cackled, reveling in the panic.

Well, almost everyone was terrified—You and Lizzy, perched casually on a pair of overturned desks like you owned the place, gave a synchronized thumbs-down. You both booed in perfect harmony.

"Seriously? Does she have to keep showing off her... her creepy little tentacle party trick every other class?" Lizzy groaned, leaning back with theatrical exhaustion. She gestured lazily toward Uzi with her phone, her neon pink eyes narrowing. "Gross. Uck." She crossed one sleek, metallic leg over the other with a satisfying click, then promptly returned to furiously tapping away on her holo-screen. "Honestly, she’s one unhinged Solver tantrum away from becoming DroneTok cringe compilation material."

The aftermath of Copper 9's almost-apocalypse was still fresh in everyone’s memory. You, Uzi, N—and yes, even Lizzy—had played your parts in saving the planet from annihilation. Lizzy tended to exaggerate her contributions (read: claimed she ‘coordinated everything’ while trapped under a vending machine), but honestly? That was just classic hot girl-bot behavior. Now, with the Cyn crisis behind you, you were officially your own Disassembly Drone. Not just a mindless weapon—you were you.

And somehow, out of all the Worker Drones on the planet, you had become 'besties' with Lizzy. Go figure.

It all started back during prom night: you tricked her into letting you in so you could sabotage the party and execute every drone in the building… but then she double-crossed you. Then you double-double-crossed her, only for her to immediately double-cross herself by accidentally blowing up the punch bowl (and the DJ). The rest was history.

"—Hey," Lizzy nudged you with her elbow, snapping you out of your flashback. When you glanced over, she was already flashing a peace sign with her tongue out, the soft click of her camera sounding a moment later as another selfie was added to her ever-growing stream. “Ugh. This one’s cute—gonna post it.”

Typical Lizzy.

"Let’s ditch already," she said, not even glancing back at the still-recovering classroom chaos. She slung her arm through yours with practiced ease as the two of you sauntered out into the hallway, hips swaying in sync. "I had N and Thad take Doll back to my garage. Don’t worry, I gave them a snack coupon and told them not to touch the body bags. And frankly, I've had enough of the purple freak for one day. You could probably use a break from the ‘Solver Show’ too, right bestie?"

She gave you a wink, resting her head briefly on your shoulder as her wings gave a content little flutter. And just like that, you were back in the chaos, arm-in-arm with the most unhinged cheerleader on the planet.