|| Neurosis (Part 2) ||

|| Chapter 13.5: Neurosis ||

The night sky was its usual obsidian black colour with its two moons illuminating the abandoned planet, creating a picturesque scene as the harsh snowy winds of the blizzard howled. The moonlight was occasionally blocked when three figures zipped through the night sky with inhumane speed. At the front, N was leading the ravenette and V to where the frozen camping site was located. Occasionally, N glanced over his shoulder at the ravenette. 

The ravenette's gigantic black titanium-bladed wings sliced through the cold air, some of the thick golden-black liquid hardened at its tips from the cold. He would send N a confused expression, wondering why the drone kept glancing at him. In the back, V rolled her eyes at N's actions and scoffed, feeling annoyed. It wasn't long before they could see several frozen cabin rooftops in the distance. They also noticed that a large yellow school bus arrived at the campsite and stopped in front of one of the cabins. 

Once the students were out of the bus, they gathered in front of the cabin, looking utterly confused and bored. They seemed to be asking why they were there while their teacher climbed onto the cabin's rooftop to moonbathe on a tanning chair. All the students were startled when three figures landed in front of them, causing a large snow cloud to erupt from the ground. The said cloud blocked their vision for a couple of seconds.

As the cloud dispersed, they stared wide-eyed at the three figures in fear and shock. Both V and N had their usual maniac smirks on their faces when they turned around to face the scared students and their wings retracted into their backs. Behind them, the ravenette rubbed his nape before cracking its joint as his wings retreated into his backside. Fearing for the worst, the students took a step back, ready to run away if needed. However, before they could run away, N suddenly saluted them with a big friendly smile on his face.

"Welcome, campers!" He greeted them, holding a clipboard in his other hand. Next to him, V slouched slightly when she leaned to the side, her left leg supporting her weight as she placed her claws on her hips. A bright pink bubblegum bubble appeared from between her lips before she boredly popped it. From behind them, Siwoo walked towards N's side and stood there with his arms folded over his chest. The students noticed that he was the only one who wore brown trousers, a black baseball cap, and a brown short-sleeved shirt.

The shirt revealed his tattooed arms and when he folded his arms over his chest, the shirt grew tighter, showing off his muscles. His uninterested gaze slowly flickered over the students' pale faces, oblivious to the various 'woah' and stares he was receiving from them. The rim of the baseball cap hid his bangs, casting a faint shadow over his dark charcoal-coloured irises. "Let's sound off!" N cheerily announced, startling the students and forcing them to place their attention on him again.

They watched how he tossed the clipboard into the air before skillfully catching it with a smile. "One, two..." He started counting in a sing-song manner as he used his index finger to point at some students. He was counting from the left side before stopping on one teen, who was in the middle. He was expecting the teen to continue, however, he didn't. The teen and his classmates were staring at him with petrified eyes, trembling in fear. Before N could say anything, a loud gunshot was heard from next to him.

They all watched how the bullet zipped through the air, heading towards the teen. When it reached its target, the bullet penetrated his forehead and exited the back of his skull. Immediately, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as oil gushed out of the bullet wound. The corpse staggered a bit before tumbling to the ground with a loud thud. A heavy silence filled the air as everyone watched the corpse twitch a few times before looking at the culprit. V had a displeased scowl as she lowered her rifle with a huff. 

She sent them a nasty glare, wordlessly ordering them to play along with N's tactics. Almost instantly, the rest of the students blurted out their numbers simultaneously as they saluted him. "That's everyone!" N happily exclaimed with a pleased smile, writing down the number of students on the clipboard. Meanwhile, V casually blew away the smoke from her rifle's barrel, secretly proud of herself. However, she was taken aback when N suddenly covered his face from the students to scowl at her.

"Minus one..." He quietly snarled at her with a displeased scowl, sending her a glare. However, he lowered his clipboard as he faced the students and announced with a wide smile, "We've got so many distracting activities planned!" He slightly covered his mouth again with the clipboard when he sarcastically warned them, sneakily glancing at a certain someone amongst the students, "So, no sneaking off to investigate stuff." His warning was aimed at Uzi, who flinched with wide eyes when she realized that it was meant for her. For a second, she seemed flustered before awkwardly scratching her cheek with her index finger, avoiding his stern gaze. 

Seeing that she understood his warning, N lowered the clipboard again. "Fixer will be keeping a close eye on you guys so that no one sneaks off," N explained as he gestured to the tall man beside him, who sent them a small nonchalant wave as a greeting. Almost all the students seemed speechless at his words and stared at the ravenette with wide eyes. "There will be punishment for anyone who dares to disobey N's words and sneak off," The ravenette warned them with a playful yet taunting smirk. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how Uzi sent him a displeased glare when she heard his words. 

At that moment, he was oblivious to how some of the teens misunderstood his warning and grew flustered as they created scenarios in their heads. Noticing their dazed expressions, N excitedly exclaimed as he pointed to the sky before twirling around towards where the other cabins were, "To the bunks!" He walked towards that direction with a small hop in his steps as he kept pointing at it. However, he stopped when he noticed that no one was following him. Confused, he looked back at them with furrowed brows. When he saw their terrified yet pale expressions, he started feeling guilty. 

Uzi frowned when she saw how guilty N looked and was about to say something, however, she was interrupted. "Sounds good, N," Thad stated as he shrugged with a friendly smile and approached N. "Anything for my bestie," Lizzy mused while casually looting the corpse of its valuables with a cocky smirk. As she approached them, she tossed the golden watch towards V, who casually caught it with an amused scoff. Once Lizzy stood next to V, they gave each other a fist bump. Lizzy and Thad raised a brow at the other students, wondering when they were going to join in. 

Seeing that their two classmates weren't dead after interacting with them, they seemed to relax and glanced at each other with relieved smiles. "Uh... y-yeah..." Uzi awkwardly agreed, unknowingly disrupting the atmosphere. The sound of her unexpected voice caused the other students to turn around and look at her with startled expressions. "They're, like, my friends, too," She sheepishly mentioned while rubbing her nape with a crooked smile, "So, it's cool..." In the background, Siwoo visibly got secondhand embarrassment from her words, his face was painfully cringing.

She sent N and the others a thumbs up with a small grin, however, her brows furrowed when the other students didn't react to her words at all. She flinched when she saw that her classmates were looking at her with dramatically scared expressions before running away, screaming. Unexpectedly, the students started surrounding N, V, and Siwoo. N seemed confused when they started attempting to comfort him by saying that he could be their friend while others tried to become buddy-buddy with Siwoo and V. 

As one of the male drones continuously poked V's cheek, he mentioned that she might be defective since she wasn't reacting to his annoying actions. Irked, a low growl escaped her lips when she grabbed the drone's wrist, earning a surprised yet frightened yelp from him. Worried, N glanced at V when she might overdo it again like a few minutes ago. V, however, sent Uzi a glance. Uzi seemed slightly hurt at the turn of events and frowned with a bitter look in her eyes. "Hmph," V huffed out of amusement and slowly released the male drone's wrist.

"Nah," She stated as she made heart shapes with her claws and stinger towards the male drone while rolling her eyes, "Just full of love." Taken aback, the male drone leaned back with wide eyes and seemed slightly flustered at her unexpected gestures. Meanwhile, the ravenette's brows twitched in annoyance when he heard her obvious sarcastic taunts and sighed, ignoring how she revealed that N was a pilot, causing some girls to flock around him. "And who would've thought that a mechanical doctor like Fixer could look like that?" V teasingly added, gesturing to his muscular arms and torso. 

He immediately sent her a displeased glare and was about to curse at her, however, some students approached him to ask whether they could feel his biceps. He looked extremely uncomfortable for several seconds before giving in to their endless pestering. Wordlessly, he unfolded his arms over his chest and held them out to anyone interested in touching them. He flinched when he felt dozens of smaller hands starting to grope his arms and hands, examining them with excitement. 

While many teens were comparing their smaller hands to his larger hands, he noticed in the corner of his eyes how Uzi silently gestured to N that she was going to leave so that she could investigate for any clues. N hesitated for a second before glancing at Siwoo, pondering what to do. With a heavy sigh, the ravenette sent him a small nod, wordlessly saying that he should allow her. Just like that, N sent her a crooked smile, hinting that she may go. Once she was gone, he and the two murder drones slowly started taking the students towards the frozen lake to distract them. 

When they got there, N told the students to look for the canoe boats and paddles. On the edge of the frozen lake, the ravenette plopped down onto a fallen tree log and shoved his hands into his back pockets. Casually, he pulled out a pair of ice-skating blades from his back pockets - both blades were covered in a protective casing. After removing the casings, he attached the blades to the soles of his boots. Once he checked that they were securely on his soles, he carefully raised to his feet and waddled slightly towards the frozen lake.

He earned a few entertained giggles and jokes from the students, who were watching him. However, their reactions changed when he got onto the frozen lake. The moment the blades touched the ice, he skillfully glided across the large lake. His face was stoic when he folded his gloved hands behind his lower back as he casually glided, ignoring the stares he was gaining from the onlooking students. His movements were fluid, each stride carved a delicate pattern on the smooth icy surface. 

The gust of snowy wind swept his bangs under his cap slightly, revealing his dark irises. The two dual moons hovered in the night sky, illuminating the snowy terrain as snowflakes fluttered down from the sky. The ice beneath his ice skates shimmered in the faint moonlight as he left a trail of perfectly etched lines on the surface. Each delicate snowflake that fluttered down from the sky sparkled whenever it caught a glimpse of the moonlight, creating a cinematic scene for onlookers. The small puff of hot air that escaped the ravenette's parted lips formed fleeting clouds in the frosty air.

A glint of relaxation and nostalgia glimmered in his eyes yet there was some unknown sorrow mixed in between. As he continued to glide across the lake, he noticed the students had finally started the canoeing activities. Some of them carried a canoe with V and Lizzy inside it, it was as if they were royalty sitting on a throne. Others were paddling across the frozen lake, enjoying themselves. He sweatdropped when V tried to sabotage the canoe that N was in, however, she caught herself before hitting the frozen lake. Those with her weren't so lucky, groaning in pain as they lay on the frozen surface. 

"Was that really necessary?" He asked as he glided past them before stopping, causing some ice to spurt into the sky before landing on the icy surface. "Duh, obliviously," She retorted at him with a scoff, rolling her eyes at him as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Am I not allowed to have some fun around here?" He deadpanned at her answer before shaking his head at her in disbelief. When he turned around to go check up on N and the other victims, he was unaware of how V slipped away to a certain cabin that peered over the lake. 

"You guys alright?" He asked N and the students when he noticed him helping a female student balance on her feet after the sabotage. "Y-Yeah," N answered him, sending him a crooked smile as he chuckled, "We're fine." N's gaze flickered towards the ice skating blades under the ravenette's soles before looking up at his face. He noticed that the tip of his nose and cheeks were a rosy pink shade, showing that he was getting cold from the icy air. A small puff of hot air occasionally slipped from his parted lips, creating a cloud before disappearing with the passing breeze. 

"U-Um... Excuse me," The female student stuttered out, catching their attention. She flinched under their gazes and grew a bit flustered, peering up at Siwoo as she asked, "C-Can you teach me how to i-ice-skate please?" The ravenette was caught off guard by her question and stared down at her with wide eyes. "Oh... uh..." He mumbled as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his nape, glancing to the side with uncertainty. "That's a bit dangerous," N told her with a strained smile, stepping in between them with his back facing the ravenette.

Startled, both of them stared at him. "So, I think I should try it out first before you and the others do it," N explained innocently, hiding his true intentions from them. "...I don't mind," Siwoo reassured him with furrowed brows, confused yet grateful for his actions. Disappointed, the female student nodded with a sulky pout and went to join her classmates. As she walked away, N turned around to face him. "Thanks," The ravenette thanked him with a small smile, chuckling, "I appreciate it."

N stared at him for a moment before shaking his head with a low chuckle. "Were you serious about wanting to ice skate though?" He tilted his head at N as he raised a brow at him, feeling unsure about it. "Of course," N admitted with a smile, placing his hands on his hips, "It looked really fun when you did it so..." Amused, the ravenette huffed and glanced down at his boots. "Well," He hummed and gestured to his boots, "Since you're a drone, can you create some blades under your boots?"

With a nod, blades appeared under N's soles. Immediately, N's eyes widened when he started losing balance. The ravenette quickly caught him by the bicep and hooked his arm with his own. "Careful now," He teased him before carefully teaching him how to balance. It wasn't long before N got the hang of ice skating and started gliding across the ice. As the ravenette continued to glide casually, he kept an eye on N, who was zooming around the lake with a huge smile on his lips. 

After they were done, they got off the frozen lake. As N went to tell the students what their next activity was going to be, the ravenette held his cap when a gust of wind passed him. He blinked a few times to regain his vision and looked at the source of the wind - it was V. She looked extremely smug and proud of herself, making him feel uneasy. "Where were you?" He asked with a raised brow, not recalling when she left his side. "Hmmm..." She hummed before answering him with a triumphant smirk, "I just went to check up on a certain brat."

The corner of his lips twitched downwards at her words and tore his gaze away from her. "Let's go before N destroys something," He mentioned, changing the subject as he shoved the blades back into his pocket and sauntered to where the students were. Her gaze was pinned on his retreating backside for a second and she clicked her tongue before following him. Needless to say, archery was a mess - N kept shooting bullseye and V aimed a bow and arrow at the students so that they applauded him. 

Siwoo was utterly bored as he kept shooting arrows at the butt (yes, this is what is called) and aimed for a bullseye. He was oblivious to how some students kept watching him. He flinched when N suddenly exclaimed with a smile, waving towards a tree in the distance, "Uzi, get on out here! This troupe's a team!" Unconsciously, he released the string of the bow, causing the arrow to hit a perfect bullseye. He lowered the bow to look at N in disbelief before glancing around to see where Uzi was hiding.

Upon realizing what he did, N gasped in horror and clenched his hands in front of his chest, scolding himself, "Wait, no! Inclusive reflexes!" He covered his mouth in terror and slowly glanced over his shoulder at V, who was aiming an arrow at the students. V furrowed her brows at him for a second before noticing Uzi hiding behind a tree with a cockroach in her hand - a blue text bar with ':0' hovered next to her head. 

When Uzi figured out that V spotted her, the screen showed 'D:!!' before disappearing, hinting that the cockroach scurried into her sleeves to hide. "Uh..." Uzi trailed off with an awkward laugh as she stepped out from behind the tree and folded her hands behind her back, avoiding the stares she was receiving. "Hey, everyone," She greeted her remaining classmates in a strained friendly tone, sending them a finger-gun gesture. They yelped when they saw her and one student turned to them, confused.

"Ah!" He groaned when he accidentally released the string, causing the arrow to fly straight towards Uzi. However, just as the arrow was about to hit her, a purple triangular-shaped symbol appeared in front of her when she aimed her hand at it. Fortunately, the symbol stopped the arrow in midair. However, Siwoo's shoulders tensed up when he saw the symbol flicker golden and an 'Overheating!' message flashed in her irises, causing her to gasp in horror and pain. His blood ran cold when he witnessed how the arrow started to mutate into thick ink. The mass landed on the ground with a loud squelching sound before a demented organic mass-like creature started chittering, flailing around inside the goo. 

Uzi peered down at the organic mass with pure terror and disgust, her hands trembling in front of her. Immediately, he dropped the bow and was about to approach her, however, V stopped him without looking at him. Annoyed, he looked at her for an explanation and paused when he noticed the look of realization and horror on her face. "U-Um... I-Ignore all of this," Uzi stammered out as she walked backwards while covering her symbolized eye with her right hand and waving her other hand at them dismissively, "Uh..."

A determined yet hostile expression appeared on V's face and she walked towards Uzi while two students clung to N's sides in fear and shock. "Don't," The ravenette sneered, grabbing V by her wrist and stopping her. Harshly, she shook his hand off her and her hands transformed into a pair of blades, glaring at Uzi. "I..." Uzi started hyperventilating, her heart thundering inside her chest as her gaze flickered across their faces, "I was just..." She looked around before gesturing behind her with her thumb, "...going..."

However, she froze when her gaze landed on a fresh student corpse next to her classmates. Oil gushed out of the corpse's head like a fountain. Her eyes widened and she started hyperventilating even more before blurting out, "I live in the woods now!" Without another word, she turned around and sprinted into the woods. One of her classmates asked who she was and the ravenette grew irked at his behaviour but ignored it. "I'm going after her," He coldly announced, tossing his cap to the ground as he started walking in the direction she ran away,

"I'm coming with you," V added, earning a quick side glance from him. "No!" N yelled at them, rushing towards them and attempting to push them back to prevent them from going after her, "You guys can't hurt Uzi." The ravenette sent him an infuriated glare and pushed forward, forcing N to slide back as he refused to let go of them. "We do our jobs and that thing leaves us alone," V sneered at him with a scowl, copying the ravenette's actions. "I don't know what you're talking about because you won't tell me!" N loudly argued back with anger lacing his voice, his eyes burning with frustration and fury. 

Suddenly, his hand turned into a blade and slashed at them. Siwoo merely missed the attack while he and V got pushed back. The ravenette clutched his side when he felt a burning sensation and he glanced down, noticing the small gash that N's blade accidentally created. "Huh?" V uttered with wide eyes, she was shocked at his actions. "You..." The ravenette hissed at him, feeling his hand get soaked in his crimson blood. "What are you so afraid of?" N asked V with a frustrated yet confused scowl, waving his blade in the air.

"I'm not afraid," She corrected him with a venomous glare as she aimed the tip of her blade towards his face. "I am!" He admitted, swatting her blade away from his face and taking a step forward, "Uzi is!" He gestured to himself and her when he added, "She's a kid! Like us, V!" At this point, the ravenette took a step back to give them space. 'Looks like he's finally releasing those pent-up emotions of his for once,' He internally noted, ignoring how Lizzy and the others whispered to him about his wound, 'Maybe this is for the best...'

"What is wrong with you?!" N yelled, slamming his foot against the floor as he demanded answers. Slowly, V pursed her lips into a frown and her eyes gleamed with guilt when she was unable to answer him. He clenched his fist tighter when he saw her expression before heavily sighing. "Look after the campers," He told her as he turned around, tossing her the clipboard. Silently, she watched how he sprouted his wings from his shoulder blades and left. She didn't even react when the clipboard hit her head. 

"Hot?" Lizzy asked with a raised brow while approaching V. She looked at her with displeasure when she heard her words. "Not hot?" Lizzy corrected herself with wide eyes and sighed, "You're too good for him." Out of nowhere, she gestured towards where Siwoo was. "But, Fixer might be good," She mused with a chuckle, causing V to glance where he was. He was sitting on the deck with his shirt pulled up to his collarbones, revealing his muscular yet toned torso and stomach. He was busy patching up the small gash while reassuring the students that he was fine since he would heal in fifteen minutes or so. 

Feeling an intense gaze on him, he lifted his head with a raised brow and looked in the direction of where it came from. His shoulders grew stiff when he saw that the gaze belonged to V, who was scowling at him, or more specifically, at his body. She ignored Lizzy and approached the other students before stopping on top of the fallen clipboard. "Do whatever you want," She snarled at them before glancing at the ravenette, "And you. Hurry up. We have things to do." He sent her a slow nod, furrowing his brows at her behaviour.

Once he was done, he lowered his shirt and he watched how she walked away, leaving him with the students. "I'll be right back so stay here," He told them, glancing at them as his wings sprouted from his upper back. They watched how he bent his knees before leaping into the sky, leaving a snow cloud in his wake. The sounds of his wings flapping through the air grew distant and muffled, causing them all to glance at each other with mischievous expressions. Meanwhile, he zipped through the night sky, searching for any sign of N or Uzi. Several minutes had passed yet there were no signs of either of them.

With a sigh, he landed on top of a tree, ignoring how it creaked under his weight. He tightly wrapped his fingers around the tip of the tree as he leaned to the side, his gaze flickering across the area. Suddenly, a distant agonizing scream alerted him, causing him to snap his attention in the direction it came from. He immediately leapt into the sky again and headed towards the area it came from. Once he was close, he carefully landed on the ground and looked around. 

"F-Fixer?" A familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him, causing him to turn around with a flinch. It was Lizzy. She looked traumatized and scared as she stared at him. "Lizzy?" He furrowed his brows at her before jogging towards her. "What are you doing here?" He asked in anger and grabbed her by the biceps when he was in front of her, "I told you and the others to stay at the cabins! So why..." He didn't even finish his sentence when the realization hit him. "Where are the others?" He demanded with a desperate gleam in his eyes and he clenched his jaw when her eyes started to get glossy. 

"What happened, Lizzy? Are they okay?" He kneeled in front of her while holding her hands, reassuringly squeezing them, "Can you tell me who did it?" She could only stare down at him blankly, her lips were slightly parted yet no words left them. Out of nowhere, the faint sound of snow crunching under a person's weight caught their attention. Immediately, he turned to look in that direction as he rose to his feet. He narrowed his eyes when he saw a silhouette of someone waving at them.

"Oh, thank robo-jesus!" Lizzy unexpectedly exclaimed in relief when she recognised the figure as one of her classmates, "Final girl!" However, a sinister giggle made his blood run cold and his concern was proven correct when the student suddenly got dismembered, revealing it was their corpse. The culprit behind the corpse was Uzi, however, her appearance was more sinister and concerning than before. Her eyes weren't visible at all - they were replaced with a large 'X' symbol. She had several jagged teeth and large organic yet tattered bat-like wings that clawed hands on the wings' shoulder joints. 

A long organic tail - which had an animal-yet-reptile-like mouth - swished around behind her. "Shit," He cursed with a strained chuckle, feeling his heartbeat thunder against his ribcage as a forced smile nervously appeared on his lips. Suddenly, a large triangular symbol wrapped itself around Lizzy's throat and pulled her up into the air, earning a loud gasp from her. He unconsciously looked at her and tried to save her. However, since he was distracted, he was unaware of how Uzi was skittering towards them with inhumane speed. 

"Fuck!" He cursed when he realized his mistake and hurriedly glanced over his shoulder, noticing that she was a few feet away from them. With gritted teeth, he leapt towards Lizzy and wrapped his arms around her while his wings spread open, covering them both from any possible attack. Just before Uzi could land an attack on them, V appeared and shielded them both with her wings, surprising her. Seeing an opening, V slashed her claws towards Uzi, hurling her backwards. 

The moment Uzi hit a tree and got knocked to the side, hidden by thick branches, the triangular symbol glitched and released Lizzy. She coughed repeatedly as she clung onto Siwoo's torso, trying her best to get air back into her burning lungs. "V!" The ravenette called out to her in surprise, looking at her with wide eyes before crookedly smiling in relief, "You're here..." She glared at him before correcting him, "Killing her. Not saving you two." Lizzy rolled her eyes at her words and peeked at her over Siwoo's shoulders, sarcastically retorting, "Okay, Mom." 

They both watched how she stalked towards where Uzi was lying while switching her claws with blades, ready to deal with the finishing blow. "V, please..." Uzi helplessly begged for mercy as she panted, reaching out to her with her hand that was regenerating like a murder drone. "New body, same horrors," V nonchalantly sneered with a strained smirk, glaring at where she lay, "Huh, Cyn?" Confused and in pain, Uzi responded with a trembling frown, begging, "I... I don't know... who that is... Can I... talk to N... or Siwoo... please?" 

Hearing his name being mentioned, he flinched and looked where Uzi was. Uzi made eye contact with his dark charcoal irises that showed no remorse nor pity for her - they looked dull, ready to accept her fate as if it was nothing to him. "I'll make sure you can't," V scoffed, refusing to show any sympathy towards her situation. For a second, she glanced at the ravenette and watched how he looked away from Uzi, blocking his view with his wing. Uzi refused to accept this outcome, making her furious that they were acting like this to her. 

Just as V was about to strike her, a giggle was heard and Uzi's organic tail appeared beside her, catching her off guard. Upon seeing that she was caught off guard, the tail opened its mouth wide and sunk its teeth into her arm, ripping it off as it tossed her to the side. The ravenette witnessed the situation and turned around, blocking Lizzy with his backside as he sent V a concerned glance before warifully glaring at Uzi. Uzi was maniacally giggling with a wide smile as she broke V's blade off from her severed arm and threw it back at her.

Fortunately, before it could reach her, V deflected it with her other arm. She watched how the blade whipped to the side before coughing when Uzi pinned her up against a tree. Quickly, she attempted to shoot Uzi with a missile, alas, Uzi grabbed the flying blade with a symbol and stabbed the side of her head with her blade, forcing her to miss. The ravenette's eyes widened when the missile was hurling itself towards him and Lizzy. Just as he was about to protect her, Lizzy pushed him to the side, causing the missile to land next to her and blow her away. 

Uzi threw V onto the ground and pinned her down. V immediately attempted to stab her with her nanites, alas, Uzi's organic tail severed her syringe from her stinger and was about to slam it down into her chest. However, before she did that, a long rough sword-blade tail swung at her, knocking her off V's trapped body. "Argh!" She coughed when she rolled away before getting back on her feet, staggering slightly. Siwoo's tail whipped at her again, forcing her to take a few steps back to create distance between them. 

"Take another step and I won't hesitate to kill you, Uzi," He warned her as his eyes flickered into a bright sunset colour and he crouched in front of V with his backside facing her. He used his wings to block Uzi's view of V lying behind him. Loud mechanical creaks were heard as his stinger moved around in the air, attempting to intimidate her further. The corners of Uzi's smiling lips twitched downwards at his words and felt jealous that he was protecting V and not her.

Just as she was about to lunge at him, a warm hand suddenly grabbed her by the back of her hoodie and hoisted her up like a kitten. "Whoops!" N exclaimed with wide eyes as he stared at Uzi with a crooked smile, causing her to look at him with confused yet innocent eyes, "Easy there, buddy." Swiftly, she attempted to slam the severed syringe into N's head, which he merely blocked with his hand. "Oh!" He exclaimed when the syringe penetrated his palm. "Ow," He laughed with a bright smile, unaware that Uzi snapped out of her frenzy when she tried to attack him.

"Up we go!" He announced and tossed her into the sky, earning a scream from her. Siwoo took that as a chance to move to the side, allowing V to sit upright. While Uzi was still going upwards in the sky, N pulled V's syringe out of his hand and flicked it over to her before shoving his entire injured hand into his mouth. "What did I say about antagonizing her?" He scolded V with a disapproving glare, his voice slightly muffled due to his hand inside his mouth. "Ugh!" She rolled her eyes at his scolding and complained, folding her arms over her chest with a pout, "You always take her side!" 

He pondered about what she said before leaping into the air to meet Uzi. Irked, V glared at N's retreating figure before pulling out the blade that impaled her hand with her teeth. "Well, this was eventful," The ravenette's voice made her flinch as he sat next to her on the ground, staring up at the sky. "You alright now?" He asked with a raised brow, sending her a quick side glance. She didn't respond to him; she gripped her arms tighter as a sour frown appeared on her lips. 

A gentle sigh escaped his lips and he gave her shoulder a soft yet reassuring pat. He was expecting her to slap his hand away, but she didn't. Out of nowhere, Uzi and N fell from the sky, creating a massive snow cloud when they reached the ground. Almost instantly, V raised to her feet and stood ready with her blades, just in case N couldn't calm Uzi down. As the cloud dispersed, they could see N carrying Uzi, who was back to normal. The ravenette could hear Uzi apologize to N for what she did tonight and N laughed it off, reassuring her that they'll both stick together from now on and take baby steps to get her under control. 

Siwoo rolled his eyes when Uzi hugged N while Lizzy looked disgusted at the scene and V merely looked annoyed. "Alright, you two," The ravenette growled at them and ripped Uzi out of N's arms, sending him a cold glare as he carried Uzi like a sack of potatoes, "Let's go find the remaining kids so that we can get the hell out of here." Uzi punched him in the side and glared at him, but he ignored her actions. "And you," He sneered down at her and harshly rubbed her head with his knuckles, "Stop causing trouble, kid!"

"Owwww!" She whined and tried to push his arm away from her head, earning a genuine laugh from him. "You two should start looking for any survivors," He mentioned to N and V as he gestured to Lizzy, who pointed at herself, "I'll take Lizzy and Uzi back to the bus." They all got to an agreement and went their separate ways. As he glided with his wings flapping through the air, Lizzy stared at him as she balanced on his forearm while holding onto his shoulder. "Why does she get to be carried like that?" Uzi complained with a jealous frown, clicking her tongue.

"Because she didn't try to massacre anyone tonight," He blurted out without looking at her as a cocky smirk appeared on his lips. "Urk," Uzi uttered in an offended tone, knowing that he wasn't wrong. Soon, they landed next to the bus and he noticed the survivors rushing towards them. V and N joined as well after they got everyone. Once they were inside and got seated, the teacher mentioned after clearing his throat, "So... Missing some campers here." He showed V the empty slots for the said campers on the clipboard with a bored expression.

Nonchalantly, V glanced at Lizzy, who was on her phone, before glancing at where Uzi and N were sitting at the back of the bus. Finally, her gaze landed on the ravenette, who sitting next to Thad, who was asking him about something. The ravenette noticed her stare and raised a brow, wondering if there was something wrong. With a sigh, she turned to face the teacher again and sarcastically lied, "Yo, I get hungry, idiot." She sent him a cocky smirk, showing off her canine-like teeth. 

"No name-calling," He told her with a shrug and faced the front again, "Just a question." She was surprised that he easily accepted her lie without checking whether it was the truth or not. She was a bit upset that it ended like that and folded her arms over her chest, lowering her head with a bitter yet uncertain frown. "I'll take the blame next time," The ravenette's sudden hushed voice startled her from behind, causing her to whip around to look at him wide-eyed. His folded arms were leaning against her backrest and his chin was propped on top of them. 

"But well done," He praised her with a cheeky smile, showing off his vampire-like teeth, "You did well." She stared at him for a second and her lips parted, ready to tell him something. However, Lizzy cut in without looking up from her phone, surprising them both, "At this point, people are going to start shipping you two together if you keep flirting with her like that, Fixer." He burst out laughing, startling the students near him while V stared at Lizzy in pure disbelief.