A/N: Irony can sometimes be cruel and other times hilarious.
I.
Hogarth felt himself suspended at unknown heights, the distant sounds of whooshing and whishing were the only things that came to his ears. He saw thin flashes on the fringes of his closed eyes, whirling around as if to signal him out of his oddly peace-filled slumber.
It was odd because there had been many a night Hogarth hadn't slept well at all, all those long nights thinking his friends were gone and his family was back in the past. Suddenly a great urge to understand his surroundings invaded his need for comfort, naturally drawn to wanting to explain the unknown; Hogarth opened his eyes and scanned a black, empty space of nothingness with only flickers of white light dodging fleetingly around the boy.
Boy.
He looked down at his square-fingered hands and saw that they weren't as manly as he'd remembered. A bit dazed, Hogarth traced the shape of his face to re-discover the boy-ish roundness had returned. If that weren't enough of a shocker, he found himself standing in the center of a white disk of light not unlike those that were zipping around him in haste.
"Hogarth." A soft voice accosted him some distance away. The familiarity lit a spark of hope in him and Hogarth turned to see his mother standing over a ways. She looked just like she had before he left for the future, bunchy brown hair loose with tired, calm eyes.
"Mom." He spoke a little eagerly, dashing over to where she was only to have his hands smack into a clear panel of glass. Sorrow etched in Hogarth's face. "Are you all right?"
The maternal kindness never faltered on her heart-shaped face. "Yes, I've told you that once before." She made no move to touch him. "Honey, I want you to know your father and I are very proud of you. You're brave, compassionate and intelligent. We love you."
"Will we ever be together again?" He asked, surprised by how young his voice sounded.
"One day yes. Honey, accept yourself." Annie's image began to fade away and Hogarth, panicked at loosing her, began banging futilely against the glass while calling out for her.
"That's a good way to skin your knuckles, kiddo." Dean's voice said, half-joking.
"Dean?" Hogarth turned his head and through his shaggy bangs saw half the man before him to his left. He strained to see the rest of him in the shadowy cover. "I can't see you."
"Hoggie." Julie's voice inquired softly from behind. "I miss you."
A shudder went through him as he looked over his shoulder and saw she was just barely visible to him too, that's when he slowly realized that by coming here he had alienated himself from his family in the process. "Julies," he reached around for her. "I'm sorry."
"Come home, Hogarth." Dean instructed him. "I don't care when, just come home."
Their images faded.
Hogarth felt a menagerie of confusion, sadness and desertion well up in his small-framed chest, but what struck him with bewilderment was the fact that he was levitating right up into the air now away from the large ivory pool of light that he had been standing on. The feeling of gravity didn't leave him, but he struggled to arm-stroke his way back to it. He was struggling to keep from wigging out when the flashing white lights suddenly pulled together with an invisible suctioning force, outlining a large being ten-times his own size.
"Giant." He said uncertainly. The smoky white masses of swirling energy solidified and sparkled like pinpricks of diamonds. Hogarth swallowed hard as the giant white circle he had been standing on rotated in a blink before speaking his name, not in question but in a statement. Slowly, Hogarth held out both his arms and drifted down to the gigantic robot.
"Hogarth." He repeated solemnly and held out one of his huge hands.
They gravitated over towards each other. "Giant," Hogarth said, his voice wavering a bit. "Don't leave again, okay? Not like last time…" he couldn't control his tone. "Don't go."
The look in the metal monolith's gaze was regretful for the pain in his friend's own, but didn't appear promising to hold to Hogarth's request. A thin translucent line blocked the few inches they had before making contact, and Hogarth could feel that though this was the rawest root of their separation there was a hope lingering in front of them. He felt it.
"Don't go." He whispered this in a near command and felt back in control. The surface of the clear wall broke with the two making contact. Hogarth's brief moment of control was gone when he noticed that his skin was turning translucent as well, outlined and dotted in white. He panicked and withdrew from his friend's touch. "Giant, no, I'm not ready yet!"
"I had to be ready." This was the Giant's calm, accepting reply. "So will you."
Hogarth's body reverted back to flesh and skin. "B-but-" he saw his friend fade. "No!"
In drenching sweat, the young man shot up and dug his hands into his sopping wet hair. A fear rattled him and he frantically patted his cheeks (they were smooth and devoid of any baby fat), he looked at his hands (they were big, tough and callous-covered) and he had no metal skin as he thought he had seen forming. It had all been just a crazy dream.
Hogarth grimaced at the thought of being anything but flesh and blood, with a quiet gulp he turned to see that the Giant's detached hand was still sprawled out and the robot was himself passed out. At that reassurance, Hogarth smiled and felt his body relax. He then decided to do some morning stretches and go out to see if the storm had cleared. If that turned out to be successful, Hogarth would spend the early morning gathering supplies.
II.
December 16th of the same morning…
The verge of winter was clear in the golden-brown foliage as Dean careened his huge, dark motorcycle with Julie in the passenger attachment around to the front of the park.
"You know how I spoke with the mayor a few days ago." He mentioned to his daughter.
"Right." Julianne said without much enthusiasm.
"And you know the statue in the park…" Dean sent her a crafty look. She raised a brow.
"Daddy, you know I think it's the best you ever did."
"Well." His mood sobered a bit, but he didn't allow his spirits to become depressed. "I'd like to do something to make this Christmas a memorable one." Dean didn't use anything like 'special' or 'unique' as he parked along the sidewalk curb and boosted the young girl up into his arms. "Did you know this park was created seven years ago this very month?"
"Along with the Iron Giant statue." Julie added.
"Sometimes tradiges are the makings for new beginnings," He told her. Two people who had been there for much of what had gone on waved them over, Dean waved back. "And I know how much you want your brother home, so we're doing something for him dear."
"What?" She asked with curiosity aroused in her voice.
"It's called a time capsule."
III.
Two yellow-suited men peered around a craggy wall to take in the plentiful gathering of white-headed, brown wing birds living in the desert-like valley. They had managed to use their Iron Giant clones to their advantage so as to avoid climbing, and now bared witness to vast sandstone cliffs that held large, oval eggs in them. The grandeur of seeing the big, repopulated bald eagles was lost on the hungry duo, waiting for the opportunity to get in.
"As clever as Garth Hughes is." Drick informed his partner with a devious grin, pulling a rod out to stun the once rare birds. "He isn't equipped to face these conditions as we are."
Drock, the more sensible of the two, only rolled his eyes and turned away with his arms crossed to see the droids were out scavenging the sandy landscape for half-buried scrap metal. It was at times like this he wished he could trade in his complicated life for theirs.
One can only dream.
After having marveled at the fact that the bald eagle was no longer endangered, Hogarth set the pair of eggs he had found abandoned by a sandstone outcropping and peered over it at the slumbering Giant as he lay on his back in a dream-filled rest. He let a clever grin cross his face as he sized up his friend, and tossed a rock up and down in his palm readily as he prepared to strike. Creeping out in a crouch, Hogarth reared back and gave a throw.
In a matter of one second, the obtuse-shaped stone was caught betwixt two of the Giant's fingers and handed back to a surprised-looking Hogarth. He narrowed his eyes and gave a hop up on the Giant's hand as it went to lace back with the other atop the robot's paneled chest. Hogarth stepped off of them and up to where his friend's tube-ringed throat started.
"All right, pal." He said patiently, folding his arms. "Time to get up."
No response.
Hogarth walked back a few yards, and then made a leap up onto the Giant's jutting metal chin to stare down into his face. "Wake up, wake up. Hash browns and ketchup." He said in a sing-song voice. Still no response. "Come on, now…" he turned around and made an attempt to pry open the Giant's shuttered eyelids. "Open up those giant metal peepers and greet the day… huh. All right. Well, play possum then. I guess Kina will just defeat you."
With a chunt, both white eyes popped open.
Half-amused, half-surprised, Hogarth backed up. "Well, that woke you - up!"
He landed in the Giant's open palm as he sat up. "You're right, what was I thinking?" he said hurriedly, preparing to rise to his feet. "We need to find the others and head out as-."
"Whoa, Giant, relax." Hogarth laughed a little as he hopped the two hands back onto the sandstone ledge. "We've got to at least eat breakfast first." He made his way over to take one of the eggs and gestured at it. "Think you could crack this one? It's halfway spoiled."
"Hogarth," The Giant said hastily. "We don't have the time for this." He began scanning the granular clumped area, in search of the items that they had lost. "All of those things-."
"Found." Hogarth intermeddled briskly, gesturing over at all the sand-stained items. Even the large metal liquid processor, which the Giant eyed queasily, was there. "Well, most of everything. I still have the coordinates module, clothes and things like that." He admitted.
"We need to find the others." The Giant insisted, still trying to appear dutiful.
"You don't even want to eat first?" Hogarth eyed him skeptically, his arms folded. "We need to refuel, Giant. Come on, back in the day you weren't above eating a power plant."
"There's time to eat later." He argued.
The young man glanced over with a sly grin at the liquidizer. "A metal milkshake, yum."
"Where would we find the metal?" His gurgling stomach betrayed him.
Hogarth took pity on his friend. "On the other side of this gorge."
The Giant gave him an interested look and peered over to find a collection of metal that was scattered about. "Nice work." He remarked, impressed. "But how did you get it all?"
"Oh, you know. Brains, brawn." Hogarth pulled up a sleeve and flexed his biceps, giving the egg a small twirl on a flat stone. "A big birdie contributed too. Say, would you mind taking a crack at breaking this open?" He held the egg up and the Giant took it hesitantly.
His stomach lurched again and he sighed. "All right, all right. But right after this we go."
"And find Hick and Hock." Hogarth muttered to himself.
"They're part of our team." The Giant insisted, but not without a displeased look.
"I wonder how they're faring." He thought aloud, secretly hoping they were okay.
"Drock!" The frantic man screamed as he rushed down the winding sandstone walls with an egg in his arms, his eyes wide and his pace erratic as he tried to make it to the end of the path. A coup of thirty angry birds was after him. Drock leaned casually against the base of the canyon ridge walls, biting down on a half-buried tofu sandwich he had found.
"Drick." He tried not to let the smirk show on his face as he stepped up on the shoulder of his stationed droid. The two quickly transmuted the side-by-side Giant clones and headed out into the sky, having great difficulty maneuvering away from the frenzy of mom birds.
"Just try giving it a small crack." Hogarth explained as it were that easy. The Giant gave his friend another unsure look, braced himself and tried tapping it on his large shoulder. It gave a little crack. "Giant, no," Hogarth quickened to say. "Doing that will just make it-."
Splat!
He glanced down at himself as the dribble of yolk slid down his chest. Hogarth frowned at this and slipped off his jacket, offering it up to the Giant who gladly took it and wiped the syrupy spittle as he reached his abdomen. A greasy smear still looped around though.
"I guess this makes you my apprentice," Hogarth kidded. "The Iron Egghead Chef."
"Oh, does it, young ward?" He took up a little yolk on his pinkie and stuck the end of it in Hogarth's ear. "Or would you prefer to be Iron Chef Lad." The Giant carefully wrung all gooey contents from the blue, red-lapel-and-cuff blazer and brought it back down to him.
"Let's try one more time." Hogarth offered. "This time, give it a try on this rock."
Not one to give up easily, the Giant carefully lowered the white oval over the rock, took a pause to consider the life that was once inside it and gave a few gentle taps. "You're sure about this?" he inquired as the lathery substance spewed to every edge. Hogarth nodded.
"Watch," He explained as he adjusted a makeshift concave glass structure, the baking sun was well over-head by now in the deep blue sky. "The intense heat concentrated inside of this glass will focus primarily on the target, namely, an uncooked omelet. These rays act as…" Hogarth noticed the Giant tried to pay attention, but his eyes were drifting sideway.
"You wouldn't mind if I started…?"
"The sooner the better." He laughed.
IV.
"These have all the signatures of Rockwell citizens on them, Julianne." Dean explained to his daughter as he held up a parcel of light brown paper with decorative trim. "This is for your mother." His voice caught with a little emotion, but he licked the surface of his mouth. "This is for how brave she was, how strong and how resilient Annetta Hughes was."
"She still is, Daddy." Julie told him softly, touching his bottom eye-lid before tears could trickle down his cheek. Dean smiled at her, her own blue eyes watering up. "Go on now."
He looked over to a solemn Gorden and Bethany Rhinestien. "The point of this, Julie, is to bury it and dig it up in the future as a reminder of what once was and what is going to be." Dean carefully rolled it up in scroll-form and placed it in a tubular container. Gorden came over to Julianne's side, winked at her and let the girl grasp onto his mother's spade.
"We're gonna remember what happened this year, Peaches." He promised her.
She looked up at the statue of the Iron Giant and smiled, imagining seeing Hogarth again. Julianne imagined the stories he was going to tell her, the memories of their mom and her daddy they could share. When Hogarth came back, she was sure he would not leave Julie.
V.
Hogarth lay against the giant flat rock, clutching at his stomach. "Dear god…" he tried to contain a cramp stitching up in his gut. "I should've known that half-spoiled is still bad."
The Giant eyed him curiously from lounging against the giant sandstone wall, picking out a long, large twine of metal from his iron teeth. "Maybe we should've found a sandwich."
"How can you not have a stomach ache?" Hogarth shook his head incredulously, rubbing his well-toned abdomen as the food settled. "You eat enough for fifteen garbage trucks."
"And if they're lucky, they don't get eaten themselves." The Giant kidded pointedly.
"Well," Hogarth stood up with a slight grin, dusting off his clothes. "I suppose eating too much for you is just eating enough." He picked up a dust-sprinkled, paper-thin and black rimmed scanner. "According to this do-hickey, the others aren't far from where we are."
"That's… good to know they're all right." The Giant offered as he picked the large cerise and azure suit of conforming armor. "Thanks for the scrap metal, too. You know," he let some doubt show as the suit contorted fittingly. "Maybe we could look at your designs."
"Oh," Hogarth gave him a lofty look. "So much for playing by the rules, eh?"
Before the Giant could say anything, and before Hogarth could gather up his supplies, a purple, corrugated item fell from the Giant's armor. The two looked at one another as it seemed to fall in slow motion; Hogarth was surprised to see total shock hit his ivory eyes.
"Giant," He picked up the device, instantly suspicious as he picked up on his friend's dismay. Oddly enough, Hogarth caught on that the Giant felt that he'd been found out. "Take it easy, pal." he assured him. "Looks like you dropped something important…"
"It was something you weren't supposed to know about until the end."
Knowing the Giant wasn't one for secrecy, Hogarth eyed him with a slight smile.
"This isn't something to smile about."
The expression faded. "Something's wrong." He said plainly. Something was wrong.
"I really don't want to talk about this." The Giant said with a deep heaviness that befell to his mood, the white of his eyes wavered to a slight azure. "If you want to know, I'll tell."
"There's nothing you can't tell me, pal." Hogarth tried encouraging. "I won't get angry."
"You will." He retaliated in a composed voice, his true, straight-forward nature showed.
"What is it called?"
"A cognitive condenser."
Hogarth worked the words around in his mind. Cognition - awareness, perception. Then condense - minimize to the smallest degree possible. Cognitive; mind. Condenser; gone.
"It evaporates minds?" He said in total disbelief. How many B-movies had this been in?
What the Giant said next hardly put his mind at ease. "It erases memories."
To be continued…