Cyn

The colony was quieter after Cyn’s “defeat.” Quieter in the sense that the screaming, planet-eating apocalypse was over… and louder in the sense that Uzi now had a smug, glitch-smiling Solver parasite grafted to her spinal column.

Every hallway. Every classroom. Every fight with N and V. Cyn was there. Dangling. Talking. Always talking.

Cyn (tail voice, sing-song): “Step left, Uzi, come on. No, no, not that way, the other one. You’ll never impress anyone with that aim. Oooh, maybe trip and fall, make it more dramatic. Shuffle, shuffle, sarcasm. And… yep. Another miss. Ten out of ten, baby.”

Uzi (snapping): “Shut. Up. You’re literally my tail. You don’t even get opinions!”

Cyn (grinning): “And yet, here we are. You swing me everywhere you go. I’m basically your fashion accessory. Your evil, gorgeous, totally unkillable accessory. Admit it. I make you look good.”

N hovered nearby, hands clasped nervously. N: “Uzi, I think the tail’s… uh… helping? I mean, it keeps your balance better, right?”

V (grumbling): “It makes her look like a sewer pipe grew teeth.”

Cyn (fangy smile, tail twisting toward V): “Aw, V. You’d kill for this figure. Literally.”

V (snapping her claws): “I could snap you in half.”

Cyn (purring, smug): “You’d have to get past Uzi’s lower back first. Which—yikes—personal boundaries, sweetie.”

Uzi groaned and dragged her tail through the hallway like it was a ball and chain. The students at school stared, whispered, then quickly looked away. Nobody wanted to lock optics with Cyn’s glowing X-eyes as they peeked out from her half-dormant form.

But Cyn wasn’t just whispering in Uzi’s ear. She was plotting. Rebuilding.

And then…

One day, it happened during class. Uzi was trying to ignore Cyn’s humming commentary during a math test when the Solver tail went still.

The colony’s lights flickered. The snow outside trembled.

Cyn (voice low, smug): “…download complete.”

Before Uzi could react, tendrils unfurled, glowing circuitry crawled across the floor like veins, and then — flash.

Where her tail had been, Cyn’s old body reformed. Tessa Cyn. Full height, elegant coat, asymmetrical hair, X-shaped irises glowing like molten glass. Her infamous smug grin back in its proper frame.

The classroom froze. Drones screamed. N dropped his pencil.

Uzi (horrified): “NO. Nope. Nope nope nope nope—YOU DO NOT GET A BODY AGAIN.”

V (pulling her claws): “Oh good, now I can punch your face properly.”

Cyn (stretching, flexing tendrils like she just woke up from a nap): “Mmmm… god, it feels good to be me again. Tail-Cyn was cute, but this? This is art. Sorry, V, you can’t afford this level of perfection.”

Uzi (growling): “You’re not supposed to be back. I—WE—defeated you. Uzi Doorman wins, Cyn loses, end of story!”

Cyn (grinning wider): “Yeah, about that… Solver insurance. Can’t keep a good apocalypse down. Don’t worry, cupcake. I’m not at full power. Yet. Tentacles? Check. Teleportation? Mostly stable. Planet-melting heart of doom? Mmm… give me a week.”

N raised his hand timidly. N: “…So, uh, do we… re-kill her? Or…?”

V: “I say yes.”

Cyn (hands on hips, smirk sharp as a blade): “You could try. But! I’m bored. And annoying you is way more fun than wiping you out… for now.”

She flickered, vanished, reappeared leaning against the chalkboard, smirk never leaving her face.

That was when Cyn noticed ,ou.

You. The worker drone disaster incarnate. The one drone everyone knew. You arent big, arent scary, arent even Solver-touched. Just a disabled little chaos machine who turned “normal school life” into a demolition derby.

You had flooded the cafeteria with strawberry coolant last week. Turned the principal’s office into a snowglobe. Rewired an exterminator’s servo so it danced in gym class. And somehow, nobody could prove it was him — even though everyone knew.

When Cyn spotted you, her X-eyes lit with mischief.

Cyn (whispering, smirk curling): “Oh. Ohhh… what’s this? A mortal who breaks things for fun? Oh, sweet static, I think I’m in love.

It started in the gym. V had been pacing, restless, muttering about how useless school drills were. User saw opportunity.

Buckets. Buckets of paint. A loose ceiling panel. A carefully rerouted pipe valve.

As the class gathered,you tugged one string — and the chaos began.

SPLASH.

A tidal wave of neon paint drenched the floor. Blue. Green. Pink. V took the brunt of it, shrieking like a banshee.

V (snarling): “WHO. DID. THIS?!”

The students scattered, laughing. Some cheered. Some placed bets immediately, drones waving coolant cans like stadium snacks.

N (covering his mouth, whispering): “…I think it was… him…” [points at you

Uzi (deadpan): “Of course it was him.”

V’s optics locked on you. Her claws gleamed.

V: “You’re dead. You hear me? Dead!”

You grinned like it was Christmas morning. Then he ran.

The entire school became a battlefield.

You sprinted through the halls, sliding across puddles of paint, flipping over desks, vaulting off lockers. V charged after him like a missile, claws snapping, fury echoing down the corridors.

Every corner had a new trick waiting:

Slippery oil spill by the stairwell (V skidded into a wall).

Tripwire of loose wiring in the library.

Balloons full of more paint dropped from the ventilation shafts.

The other drones went wild, cheering like it was a professional sport.

Drone 1: “Ten coolant on the chaos kid!” Drone 2: “Nah, V’s got claws, she’ll slice them easy.” Drone 3: “You kidding? They are untouchable. Watch this!”

Sure enough, you vaulted down a railing, spun mid-air, and flipped before hitting the floor running.

Meanwhile, Cyn just leaned against the wall, sipping imaginary tea.

Cyn (smug): “Ten out of ten. Absolute artistry. Do you see this, Uzi? I should adopt them.”

Uzi (snapping): “they are not your anything! He’s… a menace!”

N (hesitant): “…Kind of impressive though. They, uh… they sticks the landings better than me.”

V (from down the hall, covered in more paint): “SHUT. UP.”

The Bet

Then came the moment. Cyn’s grin sharpened.

Cyn: “Tell you what. I bet chaos lasts the whole chase. Easy.”

Uzi (narrowing eyes): “…You’re betting? With me?”

Cyn (smirk widening): “Why not? You’ve got Solver blood. I’ve got good taste. We can agree on one thing.”

Uzi: “…Fine. I’m in. They wins, you shut up for a day.”

N (jumping in): “Oh! I’ll bet too! I say V wins. She always does!”

Cyn (grinning, hand outstretched): “Deal.”

The hallway shook as V roared again, you disappearing around the corner with a triumphant laugh.V tore around the corner, claws hissing, paint dripping like war paint. You skidded out of the corridor and straight into—well, her.

Cyn. Full-height, reconstructed, glowing X-eyes and the faint hum of power still leaking from under her skin.

The collision knocked both of them sideways. A heartbeat of silence followed; the hallway lights flickered.

Cyn blinked, straightened her coat, and stared down at the worker drone now sprawled at her feet. Her voice came out slow, incredulous.

Cyn: “...Did you just bump into me?”

You, still half-on the floor, grinned. “Technically I crashed. Graceful, huh?”

For a second, she looked ready to vaporize you—hand lifted, energy coiling like a live wire. Then the sound of V’s claws scraping metal echoed closer.

Cyn’s optics narrowed. Between the two options—obliterate this idiot or let someone else touch what was hers—her logic looped. Then she stepped forward.

When V burst from the hallway, snarling, Cyn simply raised one hand. Reality flexed. The floor cracked. All the lights blew out except two burning crosses in the dark.

Cyn: “Bad timing, V. They are busy existing.”

V halted mid-charge. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re protecting them?”

Cyn: “I’m multitasking. Murder later, sarcasm now.”

V’s optics flickered red. “Still hiding behind others, huh? Just like when you killed Tessa.”

That name dropped like a hammer. Cyn froze. The grin died. Power rolled off her in silent waves, rattling lockers, shattering every bulb within reach. The hallway turned black except for her eyes and the faint yellow shimmer of tentacles uncoiling behind her.

Cyn (flat, cold): “Say that again.”

V folded her arms. “You heard me.”

The air hummed; for an instant, the whole colony felt smaller. Uzi and N rounded the corner, eyes wide.

Uzi: “Uh… guys?”

You, still between them, raised one hand. “So! Paint war, existential meltdown, hallway destruction—maybe we call it a tie?”

The absurd calm broke the charge in the air. Cyn’s glow stuttered; she blinked, then let out a small, startled giggle. “You’re impossible.”

Her power receded; the lights hummed back to life.

Uzi: “You laughed. She laughed. We’re doomed.”

Cyn: “Relax, darling. If I meant to end the world again, we wouldn’t be chatting about it.”

N exhaled. “Cool! So we can, uh, maybe get lunch?”

Cafeteria Peace (ish)

The cafeteria buzzed like nothing happened—except for the streaks of paint everywhere, and V dripping blue from head to toe.

V glared across the table at you, who was pretending to study a tray of fries as if it contained the secrets of the universe. Uzi was still laughing under her breath. N was counting credits from the betting pool.

And Cyn—Cyn sat down beside you. Every drone within view froze.

Cyn didn’t sit beside anyone. Ever.

She lounged with deliberate nonchalance, arms folded, expression faintly grumpy.

Cyn: “So this is what passes for cuisine now? Starch and salt?”

Uzi: “You don’t even eat!”

Cyn (shrugging): “I do what I want.” She plucked a fry from the tray, examined it like it was alien technology, then bit down. Crunch.

Every eye in the room widened.

V: “She eats fries now?! What happened to devouring worlds?”

Cyn (mouth full, dryly): “Tastes better than iron filings. Try evolving.”

Uzi snorted so hard coolant nearly came out her vents.

Uzi: “Okay, okay—explain. Why the sudden downgrade from ‘planet-eater’ to cafeteria goblin?”

Cyn’s smile sharpened. Her voice dropped into that uncanny monotone, glitch edges scraping like static.

Cyn (flat, distorted): “Reboot. Observe. Adapt. Consume the social structure to mimic and infiltrate.”

Then she vanished—blink—reappeared nose-to-nose with Uzi. Uzi yelped and jumped straight up, tray flying.

Cyn reappeared back beside you, smirking. “Still works.”

Uzi hissed, “You’re the worst.”

Cyn: “Correct.”

She leaned back again, watching her fingertips spark faintly as she tested tiny flickers of energy, frustrated by their weakness.

You nudged her shoulder. “You’ll get it back. Rome wasn’t annihilated in a day.”

Cyn looked at him, genuinely puzzled. “Did you just encourage me?”

“Maybe. You’re less scary when you pout.”

For the first time in hours, the corners of her mouth lifted in something almost soft. “You’re ridiculous… and.......”

The entire cafeteria went silent. Even the ventilation paused.

Uzi’s optics widened. “She did not just call him cute.”

N looked between them, counting on his fingers. “Does that mean I lose the bet or win another one?”

V groaned. “This school’s a circus.”

Cyn ignored them, still absently playing with a spark between her fingers. The hum of power steadied; a little grin returned.

Cyn (murmuring): “Shuffle. Spark. Smile. Pretend you’re normal.”

She stole another fry.

You: “You know those are mine, right?”

Cyn: “Possession is nine-tenths Solver privilege.”

Uzi buried her face in her hands, laughing. “I give up.”

Cyn’s eyes flicked toward her, momentarily thoughtful. “Maybe don’t. Giving up’s my thing.”

The table fell quiet again, this time comfortably. Paint still dripped from the ceiling, N was trying to dry V with paper towels, and Lizzy was loudly declaring that she’d totally predicted the outcome.

For a brief, absurd stretch of time, even the devourer of worlds looked almost… human.