It was morning by the time the storm had finally calmed. There were still some pockets of dark clouds here and there in the sky, but they were spread out far from each other just enough for rays of sunlight to shine through. There was also still a chill in the air. But it wasn't as unpleasant as it was yesterday, however. And it blended nicely with the warmth of the sun.
I shifted in my spot so that the sunlight was covering my lower body, while everything waist up was covered in the shade from the balcony overhead. Folding and resting my hands on my stomach, I leaned back, taking a deep breath.
Sunlight also reflected off the stream of water sitting in front of the building. The water was coming from a runoff on a raised part of the terrain. It went on for quite a distance on a damaged old paved road and funneled off into a large river just a few blocks away.
Additionally, some fish were moving around in it too. Most of them seemed to be following the current down to the river or were just doing their own thing. I had briefly considered maybe trying to catch a few of them to cook them up later. But I just don't really have it in me at the moment to try.
A yawn suddenly left me, my body emphasizing just how tired I felt. I smothered it with a grumble and rubbed my eyes as I leaned deeper against the building. I had gotten a small amount of sleep last night, and not for a lack of trying on my part either. But attempting to sleep on a concrete slab has proven not to be the best choice for a mattress, who would have thought?
The android seemed to have slept like a rock though, so at least one of us probably got some good sleep. She deserved it at the very least.
Still wasn't really sure exactly how 'sleep' works for androids. Was it like turning off your computer or putting it in rest mode? They didn't need it from what I could tell, at least not the same way a human or animal does. And they seemed to only do it either for maintenance or just for rest when they felt like it. And I couldn't exactly just walk up to someone and ask them 'Hey, how do you sleep?' I'd probably get dragged off to a maintenance android.
I sat up a bit, wincing from the soreness that came from my back, and reached down behind me to grab the canteen attached to my belt. Twisting the lid off, I brought it up to my lips, taking a drink of the cold water.
I then heard the familiar gear-like sound of a machine walking, followed by a voice. "Brother... Brother, Where are you?" Tilting my head over to the right at the sound of a tinny voice, I saw a stubby walking alongside the stream heading my way. Its ball-like head turning constantly, looking down into alleyways and up at the buildings.
"Hmph, looking for a sibling? That's new." I mumbled tiredly, taking another swig from my canteen as the machine got closer. Holding its hands close to its chest in what seemed to be a nervous gesture. It stopped in front of another alleyway, peeking inside.
Its arm reached out towards an old damaged metal trash can and grasped the lid handle. "...Brother?" It asked, lifting off the lid of the trash can, while it took a peek inside.
I couldn't stop myself and I snorted in amusement while in mid-drink. Causing the water I was in the middle of swallowing to go up into my nose and make me start coughing.
"Ack, damn it!" I sputtered quietly, wincing while holding a hand over my mouth and nose as a burning sensation passed through the latter.
There was then an abrupt and loud clang that reverberated off the buildings. Jumping slightly at the sound, I looked over to see the stubby had turned its head my way, Its yellow eyes blinking on and off as it stared right back at me. Its arm was still outstretched in front of it, the lid it had been holding clattering on the concrete before coming to a stop.
I coughed up a bit more water and spat it out before wiping my mouth with a grimace. Turning my full attention back to the machine, it slowly retracted its arm and took a few steps back from the alleyway. Keeping its eyes locked on me, while I did the same.
"A-Android..." The stubby stuttered, holding its hands up in front of it. While taking slow careful steps away from me.
My lip curled up into a sneer as I leaned forward. A feeling of disdain welled up inside me as I stared into its yellow eyes. "The hell are you looking at, you walking pile of junk" I muttered quietly. My fingers tightened around my canteen.
It took another step back, its head looking all around at the buildings again. "A-Ah, scary android. B-Brother, please... I'm scared." The machine said to itself before turning around and quickly hopping away towards the river.
The sneer on my face slowly shifted into a frown as I watched the machine hop out of my sight behind the buildings. Leaving me with the quiet city again. Closing my eyes and leaning back, I took a deep breath through my nose. Holding it in for a moment, before exhaling. My body eased from the tense posture it had gotten into.
I moved my jaw around before shooting my right hand up, smacking myself upside the head, hard.
Wincing at the stinging sensation now coming from the right side of my face, I rubbed it while grumbling to myself. "Freaking grade a moron is what you are, what the hell were you thinking trying to square up to a machine while unarmed?" I scolded myself. Rubbing the sore spot before plopping my arm down on my leg with a sigh.
"Hnn," I grimaced. "Must be more tired than I thought if I did something as stupid as... that..." I trailed off when I noticed the blood rushing through my ears, and how heavily I was breathing.
Opening my eyes, I looked down and blinked in confusion when I also noticed the rapid thumping coming from my chest. Right where my heart was. Pressing my hand against my chest, I took a deep shuddering breath to help calm my racing heart, which slowly began to come down from the apparent adrenaline rush.
A weary sigh left me. Guess I'm still not used to those bastards.
"Well... that's certainly one way to wake up." I mumbled, feeling a lot more alert than I did before.
(-)
(-)
A few minutes later after my little encounter with the odd machine. Some shuffling noises and the sound of something falling inside the building caught my attention before I heard footsteps approaching from the doorway. Glancing over, I saw the android, or Lilac I suppose I should call her now, come stumbling out. Her shoulders slumped and her hair an absolute wild mess of curls, giving her a haggard look.
Yikes, so much for beauty sleep. "Mornin Lilac." I mumbled, just loud enough to get her attention.
She stopped and slowly turned in my direction. Her head tilting to the side, so that most of her hair was blocking her eyes. In a relatively sluggish manner, she raised her arm up and brushed the hair away from her face to reveal her frown and partly closed eyes.
Her eyes blinked as her mind probably caught up with her. "Oh, hey." She greeted me in a dead tone before taking a look around us. "What are you doing out here?"
I shrugged my shoulders. Swirling the water in my canteen around. "Eh, I decided to come out here to get some fresh air." I then gave her a tired lopsided smile and raised my canteen, gesturing out towards the ruined city. "And to enjoy the sights!" I exclaimed with exaggeration.
She blinked slowly at me before letting out a snort and straightening up. "Fair enough." She said before she shambled over to me and plopped down on the ground on her knees, shifting onto her behind and resting her head against the wall with a sigh.
Reaching up, she massaged her cheeks with her hands, a weird groaning sound filled static coming from as she did.
I lowered my canteen and glanced at her. "You good there?"
"Hnn, yeah I'm fine." She groaned out. Letting her arms plop down on her lap. "I just woke up, so some programs are taking a bit to start up."
Well, that doesn't sound good. I squinted my eyes as I scrutinized her. "That uh, that sounds like something you should get checked out."
Her eyes narrowed and she looked at me with a tired scowl. "Ooh, don't you start!" She growled. "I already get enough of that from Iris, and she's constantly on my butt about that stuff." She idly picked up a rock next to her and chucked it into the stream with a splash. Causing the fish to scatter as she threw another. "Stupid maintenance freak."
I quirked a brow at the name. "Iris?"
She turned her head and looked at me. "Hmm? Oh right," She rubbed her eyes. "Iris is one of my friends. She works as an assistant for the maintenance tent at the camp." She explained before glancing at the ground and picking up a flat stone.
"Though she's on the fast track of not being my friend with how much she keeps hounding me." She muttered. The stone went flying, with much more force in it, causing it to slam into the dirt on the other side of the stream and stay there.
Her face then took up a mocking expression. "Lilac, you need to do more maintenance checks or else your joints might lock up or your intake valves might stop working." She said suddenly in a mocking voice, causing me to smile a bit while taking a sip of water.
"Lilac, have you run a system diagnostic lately? You remember what I said happened to that last guy who didn't don't you?" She huffed and broke apart a large rock in her hand. "Pfft, yeah right. Like I'm going to explode like a bomb if I don't do a system diagnostic. That's ridiculous!"
My eyes widened while my canteen almost slipped from my fingers. What!? Slowly lowering my canteen with wide eyes I looked at her. "Is that something that can happen?" Could an android just suddenly blow up out of nowhere!?
She shrugged and bounced a piece of rock off the dirt and into the stream. "Eh, maybe, though I've never heard of that happening. I tried asking others about it, but no one really gave me a clear answer. So she probably just made that up to scare me."
It's likely she didn't. "Uh yeah, probably." I told her before turning my head away and placing my hand on my chin as I tried to see if I could recall any memories of an android suddenly exploding. Though nothing really cropped up. And something like that would definitely stay with me if I witnessed it.
A loud hum came from her, bringing my attention back to her. "Now that I think about it. The only time I can think of one of us exploding is when the lady who runs our storage facilities snagged a corpse and stuffed it full of her own explosives."
"She then handed it off to a new guy and told him to drag it somewhere where there were a lot of machines. So he tried to go to the industrial district." A sigh left her. "Unfortunately, the bombs went off prematurely after he had accidentally dropped the body over a ledge. The explosion had been massive too, it probably shook the entire city."
A rock went skipping across the water and hit a hub cap with a clang. "Then he somehow managed to drag himself all the way back to camp, missing his entire left leg and a bit of his waist. With some of his synthetic skin melted off." She shuddered.
She then grinned and looked at me. "Hoo man, you should have seen the commander's face when he told her what happened! I don't think I've seen her so angry before! And when she stormed off to confront our storage manager. I swear you could hear her yelling for miles." She chuckled.
I blinked owlishly at her when she finished her little story, feeling a bit uneasy. Just what the hell is going over here?
She sighed tiredly. Her shoulders sagging. "Anyways, I get it, maintenance is important. But I don't need to be doing it every three weeks like she wants me to!" A huff left her. "It's not like we'll just drop dead if we don't." She threw her arms up. "Heck! We had a guy who went without maintenance for three years! Sure he had some glitches here and there, and that probably just had something to do with his model. But he was fine for the most part!"
She shrugged and picked up a small rock. "Besides, the last time I did the standard routine check for my model was…" She trailed off and rubbed the rock between her fingers as she thought about it. "Seven months ago…" Her fingers loosening up a bit and letting it slip from her grasp. "Oh, that's probably why she's been so insistent lately." She mumbled quietly, her eyes opening a bit more as the realization dawned in them.
I couldn't stop myself from laughing quietly, before turning away to hide a yawn. While she gave me an unamused look. "Well, it seems you found your answer to your friend 'hounding you' as you say. She's just trying to make sure you don't, ah... explode." I told her with a grin.
She crossed her arms up with a huff. "Okay, okay. Fine, so I'm forgetful, sheesh." She pouted and kicked away a pebble. "I'll do it when I get back to camp. The last thing I need is for you and her to gang up on me."
Closing my eyes, I rested my head against the wall and smiled. "I'll hold you to it."
"...Jerk." I heard her grumble. Making my smile widen a bit.
(-)
(-)
There was a lull in our conversation afterwards. In which I took my time taking in the peaceful atmosphere of the city for the moment. I kept my eyes closed and immersed myself in the sounds being emitted in the city. It was... calming. Helped in taking my mind off things.
There was the familiar sound of a rock sailing through the air, followed by a loud splash of water. After a while, I found myself slowly beginning to nod off as I listened to the sound of the running water and the occasional idle sounds produced by the Machines that were nearby.
However, before I almost fell asleep, I noted how much quieter it sounded all of a sudden.
It hit me and I realized that Lilac had stopped throwing her rocks. I thought nothing of it at first and just kept my eyes closed. But, eventually, the silence started to get me. So I opened my eyes a bit and glanced to the side to see what she was doing.
She was still sitting next to me, her legs sprawled out in front of her like mine. Her gaze was locked onto her chest rig while she quietly fiddled with one of the pouches before pulling out what looked to be a bracelet. Attached to it were orange colored gems, along with a worn looking dog tag, with the shape of a flower engraved on its back.
Light glinted off the dog tag, which swayed gently from the small breeze that was passing through, as she held it aloft in front of her. I kept silent as she brought it close and ran her thumb over the flower, a wistful expression on her face.
I grunted quietly and looked away while shifting a bit, causing her eyes to snap over to me, her body tense as she looked at me. Her eyes moved over me as she held the bracelet between her hands protectively before she relaxed with a quiet sigh when I didn't move again. Probably thinking I was still resting.
Furrowing my brow, I closed my eyes and waited for about a minute before breathing out through my nose and slowly sliding down the wall a bit. My hands interlocked together over my chest, as I basked in the small bit of warm sunlight that was shining down on our spot for a brief moment.
There was the sound of a pouch being opened and closed, followed by a bit of shuffling next to me. Only then for something to gently poke me in the cheek, repeatedly. "Hey… Are you still awake?" Lilac's voice asked quietly, the poking still continuing.
Grumbling quietly, I opened just my left eye and glanced over to see that she had scooted closer to me and decided to poke my face with her finger. Which was still prodding my face despite the fact she could see that my eye was open and looking at her. Much to my annoyance.
"Yeah, I'm awake." I groaned, rubbing my right eye while swatting her hand away from my face. Which she pulled back. "You need something?"
She nodded and scratched her arm. "Ah… Is it okay if I could have some of your water?" She asked while gesturing towards my canteen, which was resting on my lap.
Did you really have to poke me for that? I thought in annoyance. "Yeah sure. Here." I picked it up and held it out to her. She took it with a grateful nod before sitting back and tipping her head back. Taking large gulps before pulling it away with a gasp. "Thank you." She rasped, wiping some water from her chin before holding it back out for me to grab.
Wrapping my hand around it, I immediately noticed how much lighter it felt in my hand, than when I had handed it to her, making me slightly frown. Sighing in quiet irritation, I brought it up and drank what was left, before putting the cap back on reattaching it to my belt. "Hmm, you're welcome." I rumbled tiredly. Crossing my arms and looked up to stare at a cloud passing overhead. Gonna need to remember to get more water later.
"Heh, sorry," Lilac said while scratching her cheek, seemingly noticing my minor displeasure. "I would drink from the stream if I had to. But if I do that too many times, then I'd have to go to the maintenance to clean up any built up residue in my filters, and that whole process is a pain to deal with." She explained while grabbing a large rock.
I waved off her worry. "It's fine kid, just…" Raising my left arm, I waved it around before letting it flop back down onto my stomach. "Ah, I'm just tired, is all." I murmured.
She hummed and fiddled with the rock, running her fingers over the smooth surface. "Hey, are… are you okay?" She whispered. Her eyes looked at me through her hair. "I know yesterday was…" She trailed off, her tongue poked at her cheek as she tried to think of what to say.
A weary chuckle left me as I sat up and slid a hand down the side of my face while folding a leg underneath me and sitting the other one up to rest my arm on it. "I'm fine kid." I reassured her, before frowning and tilting my head towards her. Giving her a look. "Though, I feel like I should be asking you that question. That was your friend back there after all."
She stiffened, sucking in a sharp breath. Fumbling with the rock slightly and almost dropping it. "Mm fine." She murmured, her eyes avoiding my gaze. "And we just knew each other, that's all." She said quickly, an anxious look on her face as her fingers tightened around the rock, small cracks appearing along its surface.
My frown deepened and I heaved a sigh as I started to reach out to her. "Look, Lilac- Shit!" I cut myself off with a swear and pulled my arm back to try and shield my face as I was showered in small pieces of rock and dust.
"I said I'm fine!" Lilac snapped, before she suddenly closed her mouth shut with a click and lowered her gaze down to her hands. The rock she was holding had been completely pulverized and turned into dust. "O-Oh…" Pulling her hands apart, what was left of the rock spilled down onto her lap. Creating a small mound.
Lowering my arm slowly, I saw her looking down at the dust pile. Her shoulders trembled slightly while she clenched her fist. Her eyes shadowed by her hair, as she gritted her teeth.
My gaze softened. "Ah kid…" I mumbled.
She took in a shuddering breath, her chin shaking as she did. Her body slowly curling in on itself. I said nothing. My frown was still in place as she looked away and cupped her face with her hands. "I'm sorry…" She whimpered. "I didn't mean to." Her knees drew closer to each other. "You shouldn't have to see... this!" She gestured at herself with one hand and let it flop down onto the ground next to her.
Sighing, I scooted myself over, turning my body towards her. "It's alright kid, this," Pinching my brow I took a deep breath. "This isn't the first time I've seen something like this." I told her gently.
"Heh, you ah," She sucked in a deep breath as she hugged her stomach with her left arm while her right hand still covered her face. "You dealt with this kind of thing before?"
"Hmph, yeah, I have." I leaned my head back and let out a quiet laugh. "And at this rate, I might as well become a therapist. I'd make a real killing." I muttered sardonically to myself. I had lost count of how many androids I've witnessed break down emotionally into a… mess, to put it lightly. The sight had always tore at me.
She sucked in another breath. "W-What's a Therapist?" Lilac asked, tilting her head towards me.
I rubbed a bit of dust out of my eye. "Hmm, a therapist is someone who um…" Scooting both my legs up, I rested my arms on top of my knees. "Basically they're someone who helps others with emotions and psychological stuff. Y'know, just tell them all your problems and whatever else is bothering you. Open up to them."
"Huh…" Lilac pinched some of the dust between her fingers. "Well that job sounds like it would suck." She muttered before she let out a chuckle. "And I hope you weren't expecting me to do just that. You seem like an okay person." She lowered her hand from her face, showing me the soft smile she held. "But I'm not gonna open up to just anyone. I rather like having my privacy y'know." She stated in a deadpan tone. Causing me to bark out a sharp laugh.
"Hah! You and me both, kid." I mumbled, drumming my fingers on my knees as I turned my gaze back to the stream. "You and me both." I breathed out before standing up with a groan. I hissed a bit in pain and shook my legs a bit to try to get rid of the pins and needles feeling in them.
"Time to go?" Lilac asked quietly. With her head still hanging low and her hand playing with the pile of dust on her lap. She would scoop up a bit between her fingers and raise her hand a bit, before opening her fingers. Letting it all fall back down onto her lap and then repeating.
"Yep," I answered while dusting off my pants and jacket. "Because I, for one, want to get home and just relax." And get some damn sleep. I quietly added. I then pointed at her, not that she could see me doing it. "And you need to get back to camp before anyone realizes you're not there. So come on." I walked over and stood in front of her as she grabbed a fistful of the rock dust and let it all cascade onto the ground. When she didn't show any sign of moving I sighed and leaned down, grabbing from under her armpits and lifting her up like one would a child.
A child that weighed almost three hundred pounds.
She remained silent as I proceeded to wipe the dust and dirt off her clothes. Leaning back to look her over. I paused when I saw a red smudge on her chin, where her hand had been. Glancing down, I saw a bit of the red coolant dripping down and off her finger.
Damn it kid. My brow furrowed as I sighed quietly. Lifting my hand up, I licked my thumb before gently pressing against the spot on her chin, wiping the 'blood' away. She let out a grunt and jolted when my thumb touched her skin before relaxing and letting me finish wiping it off without a fuss. Besides the small frown on her face.
And… there! I pulled my hand away when the smear was mostly gone. There was still a bit there, but it wasn't as noticeable at a glance. Nodding to myself, I patted her on the shoulder and walked past her to the doorway.
"...Thank you." Lilac said suddenly, making me stop mid-step. Raising a brow in confusion, I looked over my shoulder at her.
"For what?" I asked, turning my body towards her.
She turned around and looked up at me, brushing her still messy hair away, revealing the tired look on her face. "For what you did yesterday. With the woman I mean." She sighed and let her hair fall back down. "I probably would have never found her there and... anyone else in your position would have just left her there in that ditch."
She looked down at her hands, her eyes locked onto the small cuts in the synthetic flesh. "The standard protocol for android bodies is to retrieve them if you are able. If you can do that, then you can use them for spare parts for repairs on others or just melt them down for the materials." Her hands opened and closed, while she ran a thumb over one of the cuts. "If you can't, just mark their location for collection later on and leave them there. And hope someone will have the time to go get them." She said with a hint of a bitter tone.
I kept my eyes on her as she released a heavy sigh. Her arms fell down to her side, a weary frown on her face. "I guess… I guess, what I'm trying to say is," She flapped her arms out, and let them hit against her thighs. "Thank you, for caring." She said softly.
An odd feeling wormed its way into my chest as a sharp exhale left me through my nose. Glancing off to the side, I idly scratched at the old horizontal scar along my left cheek while placing my other hand on my hip.
"Ah well…" I trailed off slightly, before looking back at the girl and giving her a smile. "It was the least I could do." I admitted.
She stared at me, her eyes looking at me searchingly. I don't know what she was trying to find, but whatever it was, she seemed to have found it, as she gave me a soft smile. "I see…" Her hands folded together in front of her as she stepped towards me.
She then hesitated, her smile being replaced by an unsure look on her face. "If… If you don't mind me asking? Where did you learn that? The whole burial thing I mean?" She asked in a somber tone. Her eyes glanced up at me. "I take it that it wasn't something you were programmed to know, was it?"
I stared back, working my jaw and pursing my lips. No, no it wasn't. My shoulders sagged and I gave her a tired lopsided smile. Placing my hand on her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. "Just something I picked up during my travels, kid, that's all." I told her, before letting go and walking inside the building.
Her quiet footsteps followed me soon after.
(-)
(-)
Oof! Finally finished this bastard of a chapter. To be honest, it only took this long to release this chapter because I was having a hard time trying to make it flow. And because I kept rewriting a lot of scenes over and over. (Because I don't want to release absolute garbage.)
There was gonna be more to this chapter, but I decided to move that stuff on over for the next chapter. And basically expanded on what I had here. Which seemed to have helped.
I also want to thank SainQ for the verbal kick in the pants, which really got me into gear in figuring what the hell to do with this chapter. So again, thank you.
Also, if there are any typos or just words straight up missing let me know. My brain sometimes glosses over that stuff.
And to answer the guest review about the dragons. I'm not too sure myself when they were first introduced into the lore. The first time I think I had heard about them was when I saw someone mention a crossover between NieR Automata and a game called SINoALICE and mentioned them. The timeline on the ark website also says that in 6230 the AoH began deploying them.
And one last thing… Holy hell! There's a lot of you!
/ Fixed some typos and errors. Along with a few changes, nothing major, but just switching out some words or adding more details that I felt were lacking. And thank you all for reading!