Chapter Text
Seem, her turn to present her project, walks up to the front of the class, remote in hand, all eyes on her.
// BOOTING UP: EXPOSITION.
The screen flickers to life, showing a panning view of a barren, snowy wasteland under two moons. Snow drifts along, piling up on the tattered, abandoned buildings. The screen then shifts to a line of Worker Drones all standing in tandem. Each one wearing a hard hat and an orange jacket, all with single, light-blue-hued eyes.
Doll begins, with a tone serious and unwavering.
"We are Worker Drones: autonomous robots helping humans mine exoplanets for our Interstellar Parent Company-"
She clicks the remote, as the screen transitions to a company logo, materializing dramatically.
"JCJenson... IN SPAAAACE!" Doll finished, emphasizing the last part as if she was savoring the drama. She paces around, clicking the remote as she speaks. The screen switches to clips showing Worker Drones being kicked, mocked, even destroyed by humans, purely for entertainment.
"We were mistreated by these people... and for what? The name of Windex?" Doll continued, her tone rising in indignation.
"Treated like trash, kicked around and made fun of, we were nothing to these idiots."
She pauses, then shrugs with a slightly sinister grin. "But, it's not like we revolted and killed all humans or anything. Mostly because they killed themselves just fine on their own. And with them gone, we Worker Drones finally had a chance. Our chance."
Her grin falters as her expression darkens.
"Unfortunately..." She rolls her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "The bastards didn't stay dead."
She stops pacing around and clicks the remote once more. The screen shifts to display grainy images of Murder Drones, barely visible in the act of killing.
"They sent these things, Murder Drones! to kill us off the face of this planet!"
Her grip on the remote tightens, as she presses it with barely restrained fury.
"And what has our parents done since then? Nothing! They've cowered away, hiding under the ice while those things built a spire of corpses!?" She jabs a finger at the screen, where a towering, grisly image of bodies stacked like a nightmarish sculpture appears. The screen littered with crude captions and poorly framed shots.
She glares at the crowd, most of whom seem unfazed, some even bored.
The screen shifts again, this time showing the bunker they're currently inside. Specifically, the three thick doors standing between them and the angels of death.
"Hiding behind these stupid doors?! It's as if they're waiting for something bad to happen."
Doll groans in exasperation, before breaking into a mischievous smile.
"Anyway~ That's why my project is this cool-as-hell coil gun!" She pulls out a long-barreled weapon, aiming it at her classmates with a gleeful laugh.
Everyone suddenly snaps to attention, staring in abject horror as she swings the weapon around as if it were a toy.
"Relax, you idiots, it doesn't work yet." Doll smirks, putting a sarcastic emphasis on 'yet.'
The class gives her a collective judging gaze. One student opens their mouth to speak, but-
The teacher, who's been watching with a growing concern, had spoken. "Doll? The assignment was a math problem about... oranges."
Doll turns to face him, with a mock innocence "Oh. And this electromagnetic-coil powered mass-driver doesn't count..?" She runs her finger along its barrels.
The teacher sighs. "No, Doll... Please refrain from presenting any dangerous objects moving forward. I'm afraid I'll have to talk to you after class." He gave Doll a thoughtful look. He knew all too well she's going through something. All troubled children are.
Doll groans dramatically, throwing the teacher a glare before sauntering back to her seat,
"Ugh, whatever."
Adding an extra hint of sass to her walk.
The eyes on her watched disapprovingly.
"...But, you are aware that repressed emotional baggage is only worth two points in the rubric?" The teacher delivered, with an underlying hint of care.
"Whatever, get bent!" Doll yells, slumping into her seat before putting her legs up on the desk.
"Please watch your language, Doll. Or there'll be further repercussions."
The teacher, used to her outbursts simply sighed, before resuming the class. Calling someone else to present their work.
Doll with an expression of disdain, not wanting to waste her time watching a poorly executed slideshow about oranges and math...
Had chosen to fall asleep.
Her visor soon flashed: "SLEEP MODE."
--- --- --- --- ---
...The bell rings, but it fails to wake her up. As her classmates began to gather around their peers, Doll remains, headfirst on her desk.
Trouble brewing, Rebecca, a student with large cyan bow resembling cat ears, catches sight of her and walks over, her quiet friend Uzi in tow.
Rebecca giggles, leaning close. "Look, nobody wanted to talk to her again!" Uzi snickers in agreement
The noise wakes up Doll, recognizing that annoying tone. Even dazed off having just woken up, she snaps up with a glare. "Get bent, you whore!" She slams a hand on her desk. "You better-!"
Rebecca, in response, rolls her eyes, scoffing smugly. "Come on Uzi, let's leave this weirdo alone." Uzi meets Doll's eyes briefly before following Rebecca.
Doll clenches her fists, then sighs. "Stupid idiots..."
Noticing the empty seats that surrounded her. She began to head outside. If there was one thing she'd disliked more than most, it was school.
To further reciprocate to her feelings, she'd made sure to bump into other students on her way.
"Get out of my way." She delivered without uttering a word. A message many others have taken, and so, gave their own.
Hostile gazes, unhidden indignation. She stuck out like a sore thumb.
But, this was by design.
She finally reached her room. She paused momentarily infront of the door. Her eyes bore into them.
She took a deep breath,
And the door swings open. To reveal a shrouded darkness.
She flicks on the light switch, a red-tinted bulb buzzes on, barely illuminating the overwhelming mess. Trash scattered, cockroaches swarm in clusters, oil littered the floor.
Doll walks to a table, a cloth placed above something...
There was a reason she had left everything untouched.
"I'm back, Mom and Dad."
She mutters, but silence is her only response. The cockroaches squirm, the only sound in the room. An unbearable stillness lay hang on the air.
Moving past the table, she walks to her room. Her steps light, finally relaxed. Closing, and locking the door.
Unlike the disaster outside, Doll's room was relatively organized. Posters, sticky notes, and dim red LEDs lighting up the place. On her desk laid blueprints and acrostic designs for the coil gun, taped in a precise arrangement, with the necessary materials piled up in a corner.
This was her space. Only here did she ever feel in control.
Not that she'd ever admit that.
As she prepares to start her daily rumination, the doorbell rings.
"Ugh! Who is it?" She would exclaim. Rising up the chair with a dramatic flair. Open, walk, barging the door a good few seconds before remembering it was locked...
Mumbling about stupid doors, she finally opened them.
Uzi stands there, much to Doll's surprise. Slipping inside as soon as given the chance. "What's up, freak?"
Doll crosses her arms, unimpressed. "Wh-What's your problem!?" as she got up close and personal. Both to enact dominance and to hide the rotting corpses of her parents hidden nearly under a thin cloth.
"Why're you here?!"
Uzi doesn't flinch. "You're called to the office, remember?" She points a thumb behind her, her voice dismissive.
"Ughh i know! I just didn't wanna go." She answers in a similar tone of voice, before brushing pass her.
Uzi shrugs, following close by.
As the door to Doll's room shuts, they would then begin their way towards the office, granted it was far away, being on the complete other side of Doll's place.
The two would spend some time just walking besides each other. Doll increasingly getting more uncomfortable by the second, people were gathered here and there, she would eventually notice some of them giving Uzi side-glances, she sighs in annoyance.
"...Ugh. Seriously why're you still here; I know the way go away already."
"I'm also called to the office." Uzi answers almost immediately. Her eyes fixated straight ahead.
Doll rolls her eyes, grinning. "Pfft, probably for something stupid. What, you get caught making out wi-"
"I was called in by my father." Uzi's response is curt, catching Doll off guard.
Doll stops walking and glances to a nearby poster of Khan Doorman, head of the Worker Defense Force.
"You mean your coward of a father? The idiot who keeps us locked up behind doors? You call that protection!?" Doll would then narrow her eyes at Uzi.
Uzi turns, meeting her gaze. "Maybe don't say that to his face." Her voice turns serious. "He takes his doors very seriously."
Droll shrugs, looking away. "So? I don't care! He's making us sit here in this place just like future target practice for the Murder Drones!"
Uzi stared for a few seconds, before making a U-turn, walking without warning. "You are very stupid." She would shake her head.
Doll, offended, puts a hand to her chest. "What? You can't just- Come back here!" She jogs to reach Uzi's side. "What do you mean IM stupid??"
"Father has been doing the most. As much as I hate to say it you'd all be dead without him."
Doll cringes in her words, "Pfft- Really? Maybe you idiots but I'll be just fine!"
Uzi turns her head with a look of uncertainty. "We're here." before turning left, ignoring her and heading leeway towards a door, "Office" written cleanly above it.
As Uzi takes it upon herself to enter first. She was met with the eyes of her strict father and the teacher, having their conversation ended early.
Khan, Uzi's father. Would turn to her with crossed arms. "Вот ты где, Узи. Ты ее привез?" He spoke in the Russian dialect.
Uzi turns around to look at Doll. Signaling her to come on in-
//LOCATION: COMPROMISED.
//LOCATED: LANGUAGE BARRIER.
//BOOTING UP: Adaptive MT
Khan, Uzi's father. Would turn to her with crossed arms. "There you are, Uzi. Did you bring her?" He spoke in the Russian dialect.
Uzi turns around to look at Doll. Signaling her to come on in. Doll would do so, but not before waving her hand in dismissal.
Doll pushes Uzi aside, flashing her an expression of interjection. Walking up to Khan Doorman
"I knew I recognized that stupid mustache of yours!" She would flash her a condescending gaze. A accusatory finger pointed right at him.
Khan would narrow his eyes. "I've heard alot about you."
This "Doll" supposedly displayed a working coil-gun at a presentations prior to this evening.
"So have I! You and your stupid- mustache!"
"You're quite the rebel, are you not?" He mused, tilting his head slightly.
Doll, furious. Had then gritted her teeth. Her hard-earned reputation will not be treated lightly! She opened her mouth, sure to deliver her arguments.
"Doll."
Before Uzi appeared beside her. Putting a stop to her advances.
Her blank purple eyes... She'd always thought there was something inherently wrong with Uzi(Not that she didn't believe there was something wrong with everyone).
"Tch. Sure" Doll glanced elsewhere, avoiding her gaze. "Whatever. Didn't wanna talk to this stuck up idiot anyway." She mumbled.
The motion of which reaches Uzi's ears. But she let if go. There was something else that needed her attention.
"Father."
"I've told you time and time again to speak in our language. Didn't I?" He responded. Too fast, too sudden. As if this was a reoccurring topic.
"..."
She doesn't give him a response.
Khan looked through her. Adhering to the reminiscent memories of his wife, Nori.
He'd noticed something within her had changed after the passing of her mother. She wore the same eyes Nori had always given him back then.
Eyes as if they knew something he didn't. And that had caught his attention.
He sighed, now glancing at the problem child beside his daughter.
"Introduce to me this classmate of yours."
Uzi nodded respectfully.
"This is Doll. She's the school's black sheep."
"Hey!" Doll snapped. The audacity of this drone.
"Rebellious, loud, obnoxious. Her reputation is well-deserved." Uzi smiled subtly. As if enjoying the view of the fuming Doll.
"Now that's just-!"
"Interesting."
"That is all. We'll talk more at home."
He got up to leave, the teacher, whom was smiling all throughout let out an awkward chuckle as he followed.
"It was a pleasure, Mr. Doorman."
"Likewise."
...
He sighed. A breath of relied.
"Teacher?"
Until a ghastly voice shot a shiver through his spine. He turned around, shocked.
Noticing it was Uzi.
"Y-Yes?"
He adjusted his glasses.
"I'll be going now."
"Of course, Uzi. Don't forget to do today's homework."
He smiled. She was quiet, but hard working. She'd never missed a deadline.
'...There was homework...?' Doll shuddered.
Unlike the other one present in this very room...
"Of course, teacher."
She made her exit. Latching the door close gently.
Walking back to his desk. He finally was back at the main problem at hand.
"Doll, why don't you take a seat?"
He extended a hand to the chair placed at the front of his table. Not forgetting to give her a kind smile.
Of which Doll found absolutely wretching. She felt a nerve struck.
"Just say your inspirational bullshit already and I'll be on my way."
"That's no way to talk to anyone—let alone your teacher, Uzi." He frowned slightly.
"I'll talk to you whatever way I want to." She doubles down.
He fought the urge to shake his head. He'd get her suspended for a while. But that didn't do anything but worsen her attitude.
He only wanted to help out this troubled child. Find out what's wrong, and give the guidance she needed.
But of course, this was nothing easy.
"Bringing dangerous weapons to class is strictly prohibited. Why have you done so, Doll? Your talent at making-"
"It was so I can wake you sheep up from the oppression that heinous Khan was secretly putting you all into!"
She blurted out, stabbing a finger at his desk with renewed vigor.
"Look, we stay holed up here and it won't be long before we'll get thrown into the towering pile of goddamn corpses outside the bunker!"
A sharp grin escape her, passionately revering her grand plan!
"We can take action before that happens! I-"
But, all she saw was the rising look of worry and disapproval. The energy in her tone died down.
"I can make a difference, we can fight back!"
A look she was very familliar with.
This shut her up. As she was keenly reminded of the state the drones of this bunker were in.
Her expression scrounged.
"Tch, forget it. Why'd I even come here? Ugh!"
"Like you idiot's will ever understand!"
She turned around, kicking the chair, skittering to the side. Before barging the door open, and equally, close.
"Doll, wait!"
But there was no response.
He couldn't get to her this time too after all...
Well there's more work to do. So he got up and simply decided to try again the next time.