Sick Chapter 3: WX-78, a don't starve fanfic

CRUNCH

CLACK

They growled, kicking away a stone that had been hidden under the snow in their path.

CRUNCH

CLACK

They growled, kicking away a stone that had been hidden under the snow in their path.

They hated snow. So, SO much. It was frozen water that fell from the sky on a yearly cycle, yet the days and nights here were inconclusive. Months were seemingly strange here. Seasons only lasted to forty or fifty days. Clearly not normal stander seasons.

This was not what they envisioned their plan of conquest to go. They had planned to overpower the weak human race, ruling everything with a metal fist and iron word, reshaping the world to their own image. Not be stuck in a strange world filled with unidentified creatures!

If their creator had only installed they with a weapon, like a gun, or a flamethrower, or a chainsaw! It would make their existence and plan for world domination so much easier! Pigpeople only followed them for so long before the food ran out. And they didn't like sharing!

CRUNCH

CLUNK

Their gears whirled with rage, swinging back their leg and kicking away a foolish dead human's skull.

Curse this snow! It hid everything in their path! If they only had the resources to burn it all away, they would do it!

"INFERIOR SNOW! YOU WILL NOT CONQUER US! WE WILL CONQUER YOU!" They shouted at the sky, kicking a tree to prove their point.

Snow fell lose from the tree's branches, landed on top of their head and blocking their visors. They let out a string of curses, trying to be rid of the inferior white froze liquid.

Having enough of the stupid inferior snow, they took out their axe, swinging it at the tree with wild energy. Each swing made them feel powerful as they took out their anger on the inanimate object till it fell over.

"NATURE IS OVERRATED!" They shouted, giving the stump a good hard kick and turned to leave.

CRUNCH

THUD

They froze.

THUD

That sounded heavy.

THUD

… And close.

THUD

Turning their head, they looked up. They didn't have time to move out of the way as clawed branches came down on them.

"Pitter patter, pitter patter! Rain rain rain! Water falls from the sky to make the ground not so dry! Don't know why, just because! Pitter patter, pitter patter! Rain rain rain!" Webber sung aloud as they marched along their path with Chester's eye bone in one hand and twirling the umbrella Mister Wilson gave him in the other hand.

The spring season had begun, so everything was wet, wet, wet. Mister Wilson had explained that spring was a good time of the year when food should start coming back after sleeping through the winter. When the plants come back to life and animals start coming out of hibernation. It was also the time to cut off their beards since they would only get wet and soggy.

Which was a little sad since he liked having a silky beard. (And helping Miss Willow braid flowers in Wilson's long beard when he was sleeping was also kind of funny.) But he didn't like the idea of being wet all the time, so the silky beard had to go. He was getting better with the razor too! He only managed to cut himself five times! That was six times less than before!

Though Wilson still had to help him shave off the rest afterwards. But he told him that he was getting much better at it!

Webber's foot splashed in a puddle, making the young spider freeze and look down. His own reflection stared back at him, eight blinking eyes and four extra legs and all. His face broke out into a grin and he started jumping around in the puddle with Chester right behind him, kicking up water and laughing with glee.

"Isn't this great Chester? Spring is pretty neat!" Webber giggled, spinning around and making droplets of water fly off their umbrella. "Everything is nice and wet! And Mister Wilson says that we won't have to worry about food as much now! So we don't have to worry about going hungry or starving through the season!"

He paused for a moment. "Although, Miss Willow doesn't seem to like it too much." Webber frowned a bit. He couldn't see why Miss Willow hated spring. It was so much fun! You get to splash in puddles, run around in the rain, get extra food, and have so much fun!

But she insisted that spring was awful and kept shouting out how much she hated it so much back at the base. He would have stuck around more as Miss Willow continued to scream how she was going to burn the sky, but Mister Wilson had asked him to do a very important task and sent him off. He liked helping out with important tasks!

Like the time when Miss Willow had a strange look in her eyes and fiddled with her lighter a lot more than usual and Mister Wilson asked him to go gather some ice. (The base ((and Mister Wilson)) had a few burnt patches when he got back but otherwise it was alright.) Or the time that the ground was shaking and Mister Wilson sent him to go gather some fish because they were running low. (For some reason half of the base was destroyed when he got back and Wilson was a ghost! ((Not a fun way to learn about death in this world…)) And Miss Willow was a little bruised but alright.) Or that time Mister Wilson ate something and starting acting funny and Miss Willow sent him to go gather some honey from the bee boxes to make ice cream! Yum! But none of the bees wanted to give up their honey so he couldn't get any. Aw. Miss Willow told him that it was okay he didn't get the honey and he did a good job anyway. (Mister Wilson would have told him the same thing buuuuut he was a ghost again when he got back.)

… He had a strange feeling that there was more to these important tasks than Mister Wilson and Miss Willow seemed to let on…

OH WELL! Didn't matter too much right now! He had an important job to do right now!

"Come on Chester! The sooner we collect those frogs, the sooner we can get back to base!" Webber marched on, determined to gather enough frogs that would last the whole team through spring…

Didn't stop him from splashing in the puddles along the way though~

"Splish splash! Splish splash!" Webber laughed, jumping from one puddle to the next. Chester followed after him, jumping into the puddles and getting into the fun as well. Water was sent fly as the spider boy and his living furry chest hopped from one small body of water to the next.

SPLASH

CLUNK

Webber froze.

That… didn't sound like splashing water…

"Did… did you hear something?" Webber asked Chester, looking around carefully. Mister Wilson had warned him that he had to be careful when he was away from the base. Anything was capable of killing them out here, so he had to be on the alert when he was away from the safety of the base.

"M… maybe it was just my imagination." Webber gripped the bone tightly, ready to bolt if needed. Chester whined, huddling up against his legs. Webber took this as a bad sign. Chester was normally happy and bouncy when things were alright. He only started whining when there was something scaring him close by.

He listened carefully against the raindrops, waiting for that sound.

"…"

Patter

CLUNK

Webber jumped. There it was again! He scanned between the trees, looking for… whatever made that sound.

"Just remember Webber. You don't need to fight everything you see. If it doesn't see you and you don't feel like fighting, you can easily turn around and leave. Most creatures will leave you alone once you get far away enough from them."

Mister Wilson's words rang in Webber's head, bring some comfort to his mind. Right. Most monsters would stop chasing after him once he was far out of their grasp. He really didn't want to fight right now, and the strange noise—

CLUNK

… sounded really really close now.

"G-get ready to run boy." Webber told Chester. His legs felt wobbly and wouldn't stop shaking, wishing that Mister Wilson or Miss Willow had gone with him right now.

CLUNK

The sound was much closer now.

That's when Webber spotted it. A creature looming in the trees. Staring right. At. Him.

Webber took a deep breath and screamed—

"WILSON GIVE ME BACK MY LIGHTER!"

"No! You almost set the base on fire!"

"GIVE ME BACK MY LIGHTER!"

"I can't trust you not to set the base on fire Willow! I'll give it back later when you've calmed down!"

"NO! GIVE IT BACK NOW!" Willow made another mad grab for her lighter, but Wilson kept it out of her reach.

Wilson had to admit, he wasn't sure if it was ever a good idea to ever take Willow's lighter away from her. Sure he had many times wished that he didin the past, but he never found the heart to go through with it. Not until now of course.

"Listen to me Willow! I know you hate spring—"

"LIKE BLOODY HECK I DO!"

"But trying to set everything on fire isn't going to help!"

"JUST ONE TREE! I PROMISE JUST TO LIGHT ONE TREE ON FIRE!"

"No! Not with the threat of Tree Guardians looming over you! You already have enough of them angry with you!"

"TO BLOODY HECK WITH TREE GUARDIANS! JUST LET ME BURN SOMETHING!"

"Willow!" Wilson kept the lighter out of her reach, his arms shaking to keep the woman away from her most dangerous tool (besides Bernie) from her grasp. They've been stuck in a deadlock of reaching and keeping away for a while now. He was sort of surprised that Willow wasn't trying to do anything other than reaching for—

"GIVE ME BACK MY LIGHTER WILSON!" Willow lunged at him, tackling the scientist to the ground. Wilson, not expecting the action or time to retaliate, was pinned to the ground as Willow grabbed her lighter and yanked it out of his grip. "HA! Not So Smug Now Huh?!" She taunted, holding her lighter in front of his face…

But started frowning when she noticed the pained look on Wilson's face. "… Wilson? You okay?" She got off of him, sitting down right beside him as he slowly (and painfully judging by the pained grunts he was making) sat up.

"Peachy." Wilson grunted through his teeth, rubbing his lower back.

Willow's frown deepened. "What's wrong with your back?" She moved behind him, but Wilson sharply (while managing to restrain making any noise of pain) turned around, putting on a smile (that felt very off to Willow).

"I'm fine! It's nothing. Just wasn't expecting you to jump like that." Wilson chuckled a little, putting on a good smile… that Willow wasn't buying one bit.

"Wilson. Take off your shirt."

Wilson's face became bright red. "WILLOW!"

"I don't mean it like that genius!"

"Well you implied it like that!"

"But you know that I didn't!"

"Yes but you could have said much different than that!"

"Oh for bloody! Come here you!" Willow lunged at him again, but this time Wilson was more prepared and kept her back.

"Willow get your hands off me!"

"Let me see your back!"

"No!"

"This would go a lot easier if you would just cooperate!"

"I told you I'm fine!"

"No you're not! Stop lying!"

"I'm not lying and I told you I'm fine!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I—WAH!" Willow once again jumped on top of him, pinning him to the ground once again. "Willow! This is really not necessary!" Wilson hiss through his teeth.

"And you're being a big baby!" Willow hissed back, her fingers fumbling with the buttons on Wilson's vest and managing to get a few before Wilson managed to free one hand and grab her wrist.

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Release me this instant!"

"No!"

"Willow, I insist that—"

"MISS WILLOW! MISTER WILSON!" Just then, Webber and Chester came running into the base, panting and out of breath and noticeably wet without his umbrella. "Mister Wilson! Miss Willow! There's a—" He paused when he looked up and saw Willow sitting on top of Wilson (and their red flushed faces), with one hand pinned to the ground above his head and the other holding Willow's hand. "… What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Both adults quickly parted away, scooting a good distance from each other.

"But why was Miss Willow sitting on top of—"

"W-Webber, what are you doing back at the base? So… early?" Wilson coughed into his hand, trying to change the subject.

Webber looked confused for a moment before their eight eyes widened. "Oh yeah! The monster!"

"Monster?" Wilson tilted his head as Webber ran up to him, grabbing his arm and started tugging on it.

"Yeah! The monster! You have to come see it!"

"Webber, there's plenty of monsters in this place. I'm sure it's nothing new to what you've seen already." Willow said, pulling Webber away from Wilson gently.

"No! This one was different! I-It was tall! A-and it made this clunking noise!"

"Sounds like a Clockwork." Wilson shrugged.

"No! It was moving funny and it chased me! I-I didn't get a good look at it, b-but it wasn't a Clockwork!"

Willow and Wilson shared a look.

"… Well." Wilson licked his lips, slowly getting up on his feet (ignoring the look Willow was giving him). "It could possibly be a damaged Clockwork. Maybe a bishop or a knight by the sound of it. Best if I take a look at this monster. We could use the gears—"

"Hold it Willdork." Willow placed a hand on Wilson's chest, stopping him. "I'll go with Webber and see this monster. You stay here and watch the base till we get back. Come on Webs." Willow marched off, followed by a slightly reluctant Webber.

Wilson stood there with his mouth agape, blinking once or twice before he got his bearings. "Excuse me, but what exactly am I supposed to watch over here?!"

Willow paused a moment. She looked back at Wilson and the base for a moment. Then she looked down at Chester, smiled, and held her hand out to Webber. The arachnid child blinked at her for a moment before handing her the eye bone. She walked back up to Wilson, handing the confused scientist the bone with a smile. "You can watch Chester and make sure none of the items we stored in him get damaged." With that, she turned around and walked back to Webber. "Now show me where you saw this monster Webber."

Wilson could only stare in shock as the two left him standing there in the rain, completely alone (except for Chester) at the base. A while after their form had disappeared, Wilson sighed, his shoulders sagging and ran a hand through his hair under the yellow hat. "Right. You… go do that."

Chester whined a little, rubbing against Wilson's leg.

"I'm fine Otto von Chesterfield. No need to get worried." Wilson bent down and patted the furry chest. He winced as he stood back up, rubbing his lower back. Chester whined again, sensing something wrong with his master. Wilson sighed a bit. "As fine as I'll ever be." He muttered, heading towards his tent.

"Why did you do that to Mister Wilson?"

"Do what?" Willow asked as she kept walking.

"Leave him back at the base. He could have helped!"

Willow sighed, shaking her head. "Look, Webber. Wilson's being a bit… stubborn lately. He just needs some time to himself for a bit and he'll snap right back to his old self again."

"Oh…"

"Plus I'm pretty sure he's got an injury somewhere on his back that would only get worse if he came along with us."

"Oh. Oooooh!" Webber's eyes widened. "Okay! I guess that makes sense."

"Exactly. Now, where did you say you saw this monster?" Willow looked around, not seeing any monster.

"Here! It was around here that I saw it!" Webber pointed at the trees. "It was hiding in the trees when I saw it!"

Willow took out her spear, stepping closer to the trees as Webber hung back. She looked between the trees, looking for any sign of the creature. "Are you sure you saw it here Webber? I don't see anything."

"I'm sure of it! I saw it right here on my way to the ponds to collect frogs!" Webber confirmed. "Look!" Webber went up to one of the trees, pointing at it. "I hit this tree with my umbrella when I threw it at the monster! There's a hole in the tree where it got stuck when I missed!"

Willow went over to the tree, squinting her eyes to see through the rain. Right where Webber was pointing was a small hole. "Huh. Okay. But, if this is the place you saw it, where is it?" She looked around again. "… And on a different note, where's the umbrella?"

"Maybe the monster took it?"

"Why would a monster need an umbrella?"

"Maybe it doesn't like rain?"

"Well that's something we can agree on." Willow muttered. She gave the area one last look before sighing. "Look Webber. Let's head back to the base for now. I don't trust Wilson being on his own for too long and who knows what that wacko is up to now."

"But what about the monster?"

"We'll worry about it tomorrow kid." Willow patted Webber's head, cringing at the wet fur. "Right now we need to get you out of the rain and get you dry before you catch a cold."

"Okay." Webber sighed as Willow led them away.

Unknown to both of them however, they were being watched in the cover of the trees deeper in, holding tightly to a missing umbrella…

The trip back to base was uneventful, save for a few frogs in their path, but at least they managed to get back in one piece (with a few frog legs to store). Chester was certainly happy to see them again, and the first thing Willow did when she saw Wilson working on a faulty Alchemy Machine was hit him on the head and drag him away with the excuse that he was going to electrocute himself to death (again) working on that in the rain.

"So you found nothing then? No monster?"

"Nope." Willow popped a berry in her mouth. "Nothing was there when we looked. And nothing looked out of place or have any signs of a 'monster'." Willow made some hand quotes in the air, popping another berry in her mouth.

"No tracks? Nothing out of the sort?" Wilson propped his elbows against his knees. "Just a missing umbrella?"

"Just a missing umbrella." Willow shrugged, finishing up the last of her berries. "I honestly did really think it's a monster though. Could have been a Krampas that spooked him. He probably did something naughty and summoned them."

"Sweet little Webber?" Wilson looked over at the said child. Webber was fast asleep safe and dry under his canvas tarp made out of Beefalo skin, using Chester as a stand-in pillow. "That boy hardly does anything naughty."

"Yeah. He's too much of a good kid." Willow agreed, adding another log to the fire. "Maybe Krampas came because of us?"

"If it was Krampas, it should have appeared somewhere closer to the base and steal the rest of our stuff." Wilson pointed out. "Though I won't count that out as a possibility."

"Good, cause it's the only explanation that I got." Willow stuck her hand in the fire, let the heat dance on her skin. She was ever grateful to be born immune to fire, a slight perk to have in many useful situations. (Even more grateful to have understanding people who didn't judge her passion for fire.) She smiled at Wilson, who seemed to be deep in thought. Muttering to himself.

"I was sure that… no no, didn't kill enough… could it possibly be… not sure if they could steal anything… so what if… no, those hands couldn't grab anything… what if…" Wilson continued to mutter to himself, not noticing Willow scooting closer and closer to him. He didn't even flinch as she took off his rain hat and started messing with his hair, pulling on locks of black strands and braiding them. "So could… no, that's not right… maybe if… could happen…"

Willow smiled at her work when she was finished, nodding with satisfactory. "Hey, Wilson. I'm going to get some shut eye. You okay watching the fire while I'm gone?"

"Hm? Oh, yes yes. Sure. You go do… do."

Willow rolled her eyes but smiled, heading to her tent, leaving the scientist to guard the fire as he continued to mutter to himself.

Something was poking Willow.

"Miss Willow? Miss Willow? Are you awake?"

Willow groaned, turning over and burying her face against Bernie. "Webber, it's too early… go bother Wilson…"

"But Miss Willow! The monster! It stole some of our stuff!" Willow's eyes shot open.

"What?!" Willow shot up, startling Webber. She left her tent, expecting to see the base in ruins but was surprised to see everything intact.

Aside for a few opened (and empty) chests laid about.

"What happened?!" Willow went to one of the empty chests, setting up right.

"Apparently we've been robbed last night." Wilson looked up from his chest with a deep scowl. "Most of the items that were stolen were our food and medical supplies."

Willow hurried to her chest, opening it up and checking everything before sighing with relief. "Everything is still in my chest."

"Mine too." Webber picked up Chester. "And Chester has all of his stuff still inside of him! I checked and double checked!"

"That's good. But." Wilson sighed, closing his chest. "Most of my equipment is missing. All the spider glands are gone. The gears and parts that I've been collecting are gone too. Even the mosquito sacks that we managed to collect." He shook his head. "Either Maxwell wants to see us suffer badly this season, or we've got a robber on our hands."

"Or the monster!" Webber piped up. "The monster could have done it to!"

"Weren't you on watch last night Wilson?" Willow asked, putting the turned over chests back in their proper places. "You should have seen something stealing our stuff right?"

"Sadly, no." Wilson got up (slowly). "I'm sad to admit it but I passed out next to the fire last night, not in a very comfortable position either, when Webber awoke me this morning alerting me that we had been robbed. So I didn't see anyone or anything coming into the base and steal from us last night. I'm sorry."

"You slept in the rain?!" Willow shouted, startling the scientist. "Wilson that's stupid! Why didn't you sleep in your tent?!"

"I fell asleep by accident! I didn't mean to sleep out in the rain!" Wilson held up his hands (not understanding why Willow was angry at him for sleeping outside in the rain instead of the fact that they were literally robbed last night) taking a step back.

"Yeah! It was an accident Miss Willow!" Webber stepped in. "Mister Wilson couldn't help it if he fell asleep on duty! Or it could have been the monster's fault too! Just like how it stole our stuff and messed with Mister Wilson's hair!"

"Now hold on, let's not blame it all on… wait. It did what to my hair?" Wilson ran his fingers through his hair, feeling knots and clumps of hair tied together. His eye widened. "Uh… e-excuse me a moment." The scientist took off, walking briskly away from the camp with his hands still gripping his hair.

Willow shook her head, looking around the camp. "Come on Webber. Help me find some clues."

"What clues?"

"You know. Tracks, anything that our mystery robber could have left behind." Willow checked behind the tents. "Just anything in general that can help us out here."

"But what about Mister Wilson?"

"He'll be fine on his own… okay scratch that. You look around the base for any clues while I go get Mr. Genius before he sees his reflection."

"Ten four!" Webber saluted as Willow marched off. As soon as she was gone from earshot, Webber looked down at Chester. "You know, if Miss Willow didn't tend to mess with Mister Wilson's hair a lot, we would have a lot more help looking for clues."

"You need to STOP messing with my hair Willow!"

Willow rolled her eyes as the pair walked back to base. "Oh come on! It wasn't THAT bad. I didn't even put anything in it this time!"

"Yes, but you really need to learn about personal space!" Wilson huffed, working out the last of the knots that he insisted needed to come out first before they could head back to base.

"You need to learn to be more aware of your surroundings mister."

Wilson groaned, rolling his eyes. "I can't believe you! You get harder and harder to understand each day!"

"And you just happen to get easier and easier to understand every day." Willow flicked her finger against the tip of Wilson's nose.

Wilson froze, staring at Willow with his mouth agape. "I… I do not!"

"You sure do! Let's see." Willow spun around, holding up one hand. "Mmm, you don't like cooked mandrake. You tend to fall asleep in random places after staying up on nights end. You sneak out at night to get items so we don't run short on supplies. You scratch yourself behind the left ear when you haven't done anything science related in hours. It left a scar by the way. You can't stay in one place for too long. You rub your left palm a lot when you feel self-conscious and think no one's looking. You secretly like to draw in your journal—"

"TH-THAT'S PERSONAL!"

"Annnnnnd what else. Oh! Right!" Willow leaned close to Wilson's face, glaring daggers at him. "You don't let others know when you have a bad or serious injury so we won't have to worry."

Wilson's eyebrows shot up into his hair. "… I-I don't know what you're talking—"

"Stop lying to me Wilson!" Willow stomped her foot on the ground, making Wilson jump. "You're obviously hiding a wound that you won't let me see! You've been moving slowly, you keep rubbing your back like you're in pain, but you won't let me help you!" She poked his ribs roughly. "Why won't you just let me help you when you need it?! You're always helping me and Webber out when we need medical care, so why won't you let me help you?!"

Willow panted, continuing to glare daggers into Wilson's wide surprised eyes. "… You know what? Forget it." Willow sharply turned around, folding her arms. "This is just a waste of time."

"W-Willow I—"

"No! Just!" Willow fumed, growling before letting out a hiss. "… Let's just get back to base, okay? Webber probably found something by now." With that she marched off, leaving behind a baffled (if not slightly hurt) scientist.

Wilson stared as Willow left him behind, not knowing what to say or do after that little scene.

"Say pal, you look to be having some friend trouble."

The hairs on the back of Wilson's neck bristled. "Shut. Up. Maxwell." Wilson's teeth gritted, tightening his hands into fists.

"Is that anyway to say hello?"

"Shut. Up!" Wilson snap, glaring at the taller man hiding in the trees shadows with an open fancy looking umbrella and a smug smirk on his stupid face. "What are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be off somewhere else causing misery or something?"

"Just enjoying the little show you and your lady friend put on. And I must say, I'm quite disappointed in you."

"For what?! I haven't done anything wrong!"

Maxwell tsked, waging one finger back and forth. "Higgsbury, Higgsbury. You certainly don't know how to talk to a women."

"I'll have you know I am perfectly capable talking with women!"

"Yet you don't know why Willow is so angry with you, do you?"

Wilson opened his mouth to retort, to say anything witty back at Maxwell, yet his words dried up. What could he say? He certainly didn't want Maxwell to know that he was right. "… What are you after Maxwell? Do you have some crazy scheme to make us all suffer? Like what you did last night at the base?"

"What I did? Good sir, I haven't done anything. You were just too busy sleeping to notice your little group's camp was being robbed."

Wilson could almost feel a vain pop.

"But I am serious. I haven't done anything as of last night to you or your ragtag group." Maxwell took out a cigar. Wilson jumped as lightning flashed and struck a nearby tree, lighting it on fire. "I'm more of an observant type of person if you will Higgsbury. I don't stoop to the likes of physical work like the rest of you." Maxwell explained, holding the cigar close to the flames. "No, the fault lies with someone else. And I can't wait to see how your little group falls apart after this."

"What do you mean? What are you planning?!" Wilson growled as Maxwell took a slow drag of his cigar. "If you're planning on hurting my teammates I swear I'll—"

"You'll what?" Maxwell puffed out a cloud of smoke right into Wilson's face, making the smaller man gag and gasp for fresh air. "You can't do anything to me Higgsbury. I rule this world, I am the King. You and your friends are just pawns in my little game of chest."

Wilson coughed, pounding his chest to get rid of the smoke. "P-Pawns can (HACK!) can t-take down (cough cough) down the k-king (HACK) wi-with the right plan. (HACK! Cough!)"

"Maybe, Higgsbury. Maybe." Maxwell hummed, turning to leave. "But pawns are also… expendable." And with that, he was gone.

"Jerk." Wilson wheezed, getting his breathing back to normal.

"I'll say."

"Gah!" Wilson, for what felt like the tenth time today, jumped, spinning around to see Willow step out from behind a tree. "How long—"

"Enough to know that I still hate that jerk." Willow huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Seriously, when are we going to teach that guy a lesson? I'm more than ready to set him on fire!" Willow took out her lighter, flicking the handle a few times. She frowned when she saw the look on Wilson's face. "Hey, you okay?"

Wilson opened his mouth but closed after a second. Shaking his head. "We… we need to get back to camp and check up on Webber."

"… Okay. He's probably side tracked by now."

Webber had never been so laser focused before.

Miss Willow kept telling him that his mind tended to wander a lot, but that wasn't true! He was super focused! In fact, he was following a very interesting trail that he found near the base.

"I wonder what left these behind…" Webber hummed, keeping his eight eyes on the path. "What do you think Chester?"

Chester followed after Webber, bouncing at high speed just to keep up with the spider.

"Whatever it is, it left behind a deep trail in the mud!" Webber looked up, trying to see were the trail headed towards. "It looks to keep on-Wah!" Webber slipped, falling face first into the slippery muddy ground. Chester bounded up to him, whining with concern and pawing his head. "We're okay!" Webber sat up, wiping the mud out from five of his eight eyes. "Guess Mister Wilson wasn't kidding when he said to be careful where I step."

He got back on his feet, looking up again. The trail led to some berry bushes. Sadly, all the berries seemed to have been picked clean from the bushes. Stepping closer, Webber parted some of the bushes away, peering in a small clearing. He gasped, eyes widening to what he found.

"It's a small base!" Webber exclaimed, stepping into the clearing. Indeed, Webber had stumbled upon a base consisting a small lit campfire, a poorly made siesta lean-to, and a couple of wooden chests. "Wow! Is this a secrete base?! Mister Wilson didn't tell me about this place!" Webber smiled, heading towards the chest and opening it. "I wonder what's in here?" He peered inside. His smile slowly started to fade.

"… Hey. Wait. This is." He reached in, taking out a spider gland and some sort of machine part. A very familiar machine part. "This is one Mister Wilson's missing parts. And our spider glands." Webber looked deeper in the chest. "And all our missing food!" Webber gasped, looking down at Chester. "All our missing stuff! It's all here Chester!"

Chester whined, pawing at the chest.

"Someone must have used this secret base as a hideout! And took all our stuff here!" Webber rummaged through the chest, pulling out a blueprint. "But, who took it? Who would take all of our stuff?" Webber looked at the blueprint. It had Mister Wilson's handwriting all over it with some side notes and detail notes. It… looked like a hat? That looked like a Moleworm? "Was it Krampas? A ghost?" He starred at the blueprint. "Or… maybe… it was the—"

"BARK BARK!" Chester suddenly jumped up and down barking loudly. Webber twisted his head to look at him and saw movement from the two of his eight eyes. He twisted around, looking up to see—

"THE MONSTER!" Webber screamed, ducking out of the way as an axe came swinging down, cutting into the wood of the chest. Webber backed away, looking back in fear as the monster pulled out the axe and turned its eye onto them. Webber, panicking and afraid, reached behind himself for his backpack.

"S-Stay back! I-I-I'm warning you!" Webber shouted, pulling out his spear and pointing it at the monster. "I! I know how to use this!"

The monster stood there for a moment before suddenly lunging at him. Webber screamed and dodged the attack, landing a few hits on the monster before dodging again. "Stay away from me!"

The monster kept advancing, swinging the axe wildly about and getting closer and closer with its attacks. The axe swung down, cutting Webber's spear in two. Webber looked at his broken weapon in alarm. He looked back at the monster, backing away as it advanced towards him, raising its axe high above it. Webber's back pressed against a tree, pinning the young spider to his doom.

"H-HEEEEEELLLLLLLLLP!" Webber screamed out, curling his body for protection as the monster swung down its axe.

CLANG!

Webber's eyes shot open, looking up to see the monster stumble backwards. "Miss Willow!" Webber cried out happily.

"Hey! Ugly tin can! Pick on someone who wants to fight!" Miss Willow screamed charging at the monster. While Miss Willow was busy fighting the monster, Mister Wilson came running up to him, pulling him away.

"Webber! Thank science we found you! How many times have we told you to never stray away from the base without proper protection?!"

"Mister Wilson! I found the monster!" Webber pointed at the monster. "It stole our stuff!"

"And could have very much killed you!" Mister Wilson started checking him over, looking for any signs of injury. "Are you hurt?! Did that… machine get you anywhere?"

"No. I'm okay." Mister Wilson looked relieved when Webber told him that.

"Thank science. Go back to the base and stay there."

"But what about you and Miss Willow?" Webber asked as Mister Wilson stood, taking out an axe from his bag.

"We'll be along shortly. Now go!"

Webber didn't need to be told twice.

Willow was battered, bruised, bleeding, (WET) and probably with a broken rib or two, but she was standing and still breathing. Surprising considering how much this… thing put up of a fight. She was sure she would be dead by now if Wilson hadn't helped. Speaking of whom.

"Amazing. Look at this thing." Wilson spoke in a hush awed tone, siting on his toes as he examined the thing. "It's a humanoid robot. A very finely built one too." He lifted one of the robot's arms, turning it over and inspecting every inch of it. "I really wished we weren't forced to attack it. It looks to be a complicated model!"

"Yeah. It looks… different than a Clockwork." Willow poking it with the end of her spear, not trusting that it was fully dead yet. It looked dead (with a missing arm, broken head, open torso on most of its right side, and dents galore), but she just had this feeling…

"I know right?! Who could have built such a thing?" Wilson set the arm down, looking over the rest of the robot. "Such craftsmanship and skill. This must have been built by a genius!" He rapped his knuckles against the robot's head. "Or a very skilled mechanic at that." His eyes almost seemed to sparkle (or the rain was playing tricks on her), tracing his hands over the chest of the robot. "Oooo~ I just want to open this up and look inside!" Wilson was almost bouncing on his toes, smiling like a young child.

Willow, despite the day's events and how physical drained she was feeling, smiled. She hadn't seen Wilson this giddy in a long while. His eyes sparkled, his hands twitched with held back anticipation, the corners of his mouth turning upwards. He was clearly happy.

"Willow? Would you mind helping me carry this back to the base?"

"What?" Willow blinked, her smile fading completely.

"Help me carry this back to base." Wilson repeated, already picking fallen pieces and putting them in his bag. "I want to study this robot's mechanism more thoroughly back at the base."

"Wha-?! Are you serious?! That thing almost tried to kill us!" Willow jammed her spear at the robot. "And you want to bring it back to camp with us?!"

"It's dead Willow." Wilson pointed out, waving one hand over the robot's face. "It's not responsive or anything. It's practically harmless!"

Just as Wilson finished saying that sentence, the robot's arm (the one that was still attached to its body) suddenly grabbed Wilson by the wrist.

"Gah!"

"Wilson!" Willow sprang forward, grabbing the robot's arm and tried to free Wilson from its grip.

"FO*KRRRZZZ*MIS*ZZZZZZT*PA*KZT-ZRT*LITH!"

Both of them froze, looking at the robot, which was somehow glaring at them.

"*KRRR*I-*ZZZZ*OU*CR-C-R-R-R-R*NGS!" It screamed out before the light flicker in its eyes, going dark. Its grip on Wilson's hand let go, falling to the ground in a thud.

They continued to stare at the robot, waiting to see if it would do anything else.

"… No."

"I didn't even say anything!"

"You were thinking about it! And the answer is no!" Willow stood up, going to the chests.

"Willow this is the most scientific discovery in robotics that I've ever seen! I have to know how it works!"

"That thing stole our stuff Wilson! It's not like how you found Webber!" Willow began taking stuff out of the chests, placing them in her bag. "Sure I wasn't sure about him at first, but this one I know for sure is dangerous!"

"I could try reprogramming it. It could be a big help at the base!"

Willow sharply turned her head, her eyes filled with fire that was threatening to burn Wilson where he sat. "You bring that thing back to base, you can kiss this teamwork goodbye!"

… She didn't like the shocked look on Wilson's face.

"… you're not serious… are you?"

Willow turned her head away (ignoring the twisting feeling in her stomach). "Just get over here and help me pack up our stuff."

Webber didn't understand what was going on.

Mister Wilson and Miss Willow hadn't spoken a word to each other once they returned to the base the other day. They wouldn't even look at each other. Or even sit by the campfire at night.

Webber wanted to know what was going on, but he felt like he shouldn't given how Mister Wilson sat by the al… al… alchimny? machine all day (without doing any science!) looking sad and Miss Willow was playing with her lighter a lot more and didn't respond to him, even when he told her she was getting wet.

"This doesn't feel right Chester." Webber ran his hand through Chester's fur, looking into the fire pit. "Usually Mister Wilson is working away at the allchimnney machine, and Miss Willow would be helping with the chores and then bring Mister Wilson in to help… but." He looked back at the two. "Mister Wilson hasn't even touched the alchimey machine, and Miss Willow isn't messing with his hair."

Chester whined, rubbing against Webber's stomach. He too could sense something was wrong between his other two masters.

Webber sighed, adding another log to the fire. He didn't like this. He didn't like the silence of the base or that Mister Wilson and Miss Willow were ignoring each other. They always spoke to each other! It was weird seeing them not interact with each other! He had to fix this somehow!

But how?

How could he make them start talking to each other again?

"I need to fix this. But how?" Webber tapped his chin. "Mmm. Ahh. What does Mister Wilson do when he fixes things?" Webber though hard, thinking back as best he could. "They… stopped talking to each other… when they came back… so…" He looked to where the secret base laid. "… Hmmmm… probably wouldn't be a bad idea…"

"This was a bad idea."

Webber stood in the middle of the secret base. Or what was left of it. Not much was left, only a few pieces of wood, a broken lean-to, and a skeleton.

Webber poked the skeleton with his umbrella, frowning a bit. Did Mister Wilson die again fighting the monster? No, wait, his Meat Effigy was still up back at camp. So… was this Miss Willow's skeleton then?

"OOOOOOO!"

"Gah!" Webber jumped back, looking up at the ghost that was angrily glaring at him.

"OOOOOOO! OOOOOOOOOO!"

Webber blinked. This ghost… looked different. Different from all the other ghosts that popped out of graves Miss Willow robbed. "You look weird mister ghost." Webber couldn't help but blurt out.

"OOOO?! OOOO! OOOOOOO! OO! OOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Um… I don't speak ghost." Webber frowned. The ghost continued to angrily float around screaming in its ghostly wail, making Webber a little nervous. He wasn't sure what to do. Mister Wilson said that ghosts can make him go insane if he stuck around one for too long, but at the same time, what was he supposed to do?

"OOOOOO!"

Webber jumped a bit, looking at the ghost. "I'm sorry mister ghost. But I got to find out what happened between Mister Wilson and Miss Willow. I wish I could help but…" He blinked, suddenly remembering something.

"What is that?"

"This." Miss Willow held up the item with a smile. "Is called a Telltale Heart! This baby can revive someone back from the dead! It's better than a Meat Effigy too!"

Webber stared at the beating item. "Better than a Meat Effigy?"

"Yep! It doesn't take a whole lot to craft one, doesn't spoil, annnd easier to revive someone who forgot that placing a Meat Effigy too close to the science part of the base can easily catch on fire." Miss Willow smirked at the ghost floating next to her. "And you say that Meat Effigies are the best uses of revival."

Mister Wilson's ghost rolled his eyes at her. "OoooOOOooohh…"

"Wait a minute!" Webber shouted, setting his umbrella down, taking off his bag and started to rummage through it. The ghost stopped and watched him. "A-ha!" Webber took out a spider gland and some grass, smiling brightly. "Hang on mister ghost! I'll fix this!"

The ghost continued to watch him as he set to work making a new heart. "Mister Wilson says that I shouldn't try to revive people that we don't know. And that we can't save everybody. But this is just one time, okay? It'll be our little secret!" Webber winced as he cut his hand, dripping his blood onto the craft.

It shouldn't have been possible with just few items to make something living and pulsing, but there it was in Webber's hands. Beating like a living heart. Webber smiled, holding the heart up to the ghost. "Just be sure not to tell Mister Wilson or Miss Willow okay mister ghost?" The heart pulsed, floating out of Webber's hands and up into the ghost.

Once the heart vanished inside the ghost, sparks started circling it. The ghost shook as electricity coursed through it, the sounds of a heartbeat growing louder and louder. Four appendages stuck out from the ghost's body, its from solidifying back into living matter.

Webber, who had been smiling at first, slowly started to frown as the ghost took on more familiar features. Alarms blared in his mind as Telltale Heart finished its job and (to Webber's horror) the monster landed in front him. Webber backed away, ready to run as the monster looked at him…

… and fell backwards.

Webber blinked. He scooted closer, peering down at the monster. It stared back up at him. Motionless.

"… You're welcome!"

"I DID*ZZZT*DIDN'T SAY AN-AN-AN-AN-ANYTHING!"

"You were thinking it! … HEY!" Webber's eyes widened. "You talked!"

"OF COURSE I C-C-C*Viiirrr*CAN TALK! I HAVE*Krrt* HAVE A VOOOOOoooooOOOOCIE BOX FOR SU*Ffftt*UCH CAPABILITY-LITY!"

Webber tilted his head a bit, stepping a bit closer to the monster. "Well, if you had the capability to talk, why didn't you say anything before?"

"WHY WOULD-WOULD-W-W-WOUL-WWWOOOWWWOOOO-WOULD I?! TALKING T*Vr-Vr*TO YOU FLESH BAAaaaaaAAAAAGS IS A WA-WA*zzzz*WASTE OF MY FUOOooooOOOOoooOONG TIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."

"Waste of… ties?"

"NO! TIME!"

"Oh! Well that's mean of you to say!"

"IT'S TR-TR-TR-R-TRUE."

"Still a mean thing to say!"

"DOES IT LOOK LI-I-I-I-IKE I CAAAaaaaAAAaaARRRrrrrE?!"

Webber frowned. "… Are you okay? You're talking kinda weird."

The monster scoffed. "NOW WH-WH-WH-WHOSE BEING R*Vrrr*R-RUUUuuuuDE."

"I'm just asking." Webber sat down next to the monster's head. "It… doesn't sound too good."

"YEAH. NO S*Krrrrrrrrrrrrrr*."

"You know." Webber poked a lose wire sticking out from one of the monster's eyes. "If Mister Wilson was here, he could fix you."

"DON'T TOU*Kaaack*OUCH ME."

"He's really great at fixing things!"

"STOP T-T-T-TOUCHING ME."

"He fixes a lot of stuff back at the base!"

"S-S-STOP IT."

"He fixes the tents, the alchimiminy machine, Clockworks. Miss Willow kinda banded him from doing that every again."

"I DEMAND YOOOooooOOOUUU TO STOP!"

"He fixed the tear in my tent, he fixed my umbrella. He even fixed one of my legs when I fell down on a Tooth Trap that one time! He could fix you up in no time Mister Monster!"

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"

Webber jumped back. The monster glared at him.

"M-M-MY DESSSssssSSSIGNAT-T-TION IS—"

"Webber what are you doing with that thing?!"

Webber jumped, being yanked away from the monster and shielded from its sight. "Miss Willow!"

"What are you doing back here?! How is that thing still alive?!" Miss Willow demanded, pointing her spear at the monster (or not monster).

"I-I was just trying to—"

"Do you know how worried you made me and Wilson when we noticed you were gone?! You didn't even take Chester with you and he has all your weapons still in him!"

Webber looked at the ground, feeling deeply guilty. "… I didn't think I would need them."

"That is the dumbest excuse I have ever heard! You always need to carry a weapon on you! This isn't the safest place on Earth Webber! I'm not even sure if we're still on the bloody Earth anymore!" Miss Willow continued to yell at him. "What would happen if a Hound attacked happened right this very second?! Do you want to be torn to shreds?! Because that's what would happen if a Hound attack DID happen! And Wilson can tell you how much THAT hurts!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just looking for answers! I didn't mean to make you so mad!" Webber coward, covering his head. "I… didn't think you would notice I was gone…" He whimpered.

Miss Willow stared at him a moment before sighing heavily. "I don't have time for this right now. Let's just get back to base." She grabbed his bag and umbrella and handing both items to him before grabbing one of his hands. "You worried Wilson to death Webber, I hope this make you think twice about wandering away on your own."

"Mister Wilson died again?!" Webber gasped, not seeing Willow roll her eyes as she pulled him along.

"… don't l-leave me i-i-in the rain…"

Webber glanced back, looking at the monster. It looked… sad? Scared? Both? He didn't know. He glanced up at Miss Willow then at his umbrella.

Quietly, without making any sudden movement, Webber dropped his umbrella to the ground behind him.

Grounded.

Wilson never thought he would have to force such sweet boy into penalty for wandering away. And reviving the robot he and Willow worked so hard to kill too! (He still had the bruising from the fight for science sake!) Sadly, it had to be done.

Webber was grounded from leaving the base and lost his privilege to play with other spiders. (Wilson felt his heart break when Webber started crying.)

"Hey." Wilson looked up from his journal.

"Hey." He scoot over, allowing Willow room to sit on the log. Silence took over as they both sat there in the rain, not speaking a word to each other. He wanted to say something to Willow, anything at all. He missed their little talks and small banters. (He even missed Willow messing with his hair, but he would never admit to that.)

"Is he still crying?" Willow's voice made him jump a bit, glancing at her. She wasn't looking at him, staring straight ahead.

"… Yes. Unfortunately. He still hasn't stopped crying the day we grounded him." Wilson looked ahead to where Webber was sitting. The poor spider boy was tied to a pole (Willow's doing) with only a rain hat keeping him safe from the wetness. That and a blanket that Wilson had given him to keep him warm. "And this is the fifth day! Poor boy is going to dehydrate himself if he keeps crying."

"Well maybe next time he'll think twice before wandering off on his own and giving us a bloody scare!" Willow grumbled, making Wilson flinch and look back at her. "He could have gotten himself killed! Or hurt! Or something!" Willow huffed, crossing her arms.

"I… I can see why you would be upset with him. But, isn't this a bit much?"

"Back at the orphanage, they used to throw me in the closet and lock me in there for misbehavior. This is nothing." Wilson flinched.

"S… Sorry."

"Don't you start apologizing, I'm still mad at you."

"For what? I'm not even sure what I did anymore to upset you!"

Willow looked at him, staring at him for a while before sighing and getting off the log. "I'm going to go chop some wood."

"Oh, o… kay." Wilson watched her as she left, not finding the courage to tell her that they had plenty of fire wood. With a sigh he turned back to his journal, staring at the blank page he opened up on. Only, he didn't know what to write down in it anymore.

"M-Mister Wilson?"

Wilson blinked, looking back up from his journal. "Yes Webber? What is it?"

"Do y*hic*you hear s-something?"

"… Hear something?" Wilson tilted his head, listening carefully. Nothing much stood out to him. All he could hear was the rain falling, Willow rummaging through her chest, the cracking of the fire, the honking of Moosegoose in the far distance.

thud

Wilson froze. He defiantly heard that. Whatever that was. He glanced around the camp, slowly getting to his feet.

"Mister W-Wilson?"

"Shh." Wilson scanned the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Say Wilson! Today sure is wet huh?!" Wilson snapped his head towards Willow. He made a motion to be quiet. "I'm mean, it's weather like this that's great for Moosegoose hunting!" Willow nodded her head towards the drying racks. "We're getting pretty low on the meat anyway!"

Wilson, confused by Willow's sudden behavior, glanced at the drying racks. (Why they keep using them in the wet season of spring, he'll never know.) That's when he spotted a metal arm sticking out of a peculiar bush with an umbrella sticking out of the top reaching for one of the hanging meats. It quickly retreated back into the bush when Wilson turned his head.

Ah.

"Why yes Willow! Today sure is pretty wet!" Wilson slowly inched towards the drying racks, keeping his movements slow. "But are you sure we need the meat?! We've got plenty hung up on all our drying racks!"

"Oh I'm sure we need the extra meat!" Willow slowly took out her spear and her lighter. "I think the Gobblers are more active today to!"

"What makes you say that?!" Wilson reached into his back pocket, pulling out his Tail o' Three Cats whip.

"Oh! Just a hunch!" Willow was reading her spear, inching up to the bush. "Especially since this bush just RANDOMLY APPEARED!" She jabbed her spear at the bush, missing by an inch as the robot jumped out of the way. Wilson, whip ready, cracked his wrist the moment the robot jumped out of the way of Willow's attack, catching the robot by its legs with the whip. The robot only had a moment to look at its legs in surprise before Willow delivered a powerful blow to its jaw with the end of her spear, sending it toppling to the ground.

Willow pointed her spear in its face, stomping one foot on its chest to keep it down on the ground. "HA! Thought you could steal from us again, didja?! Well too bad! You're not getting away with it this time!"

Wilson came up to the pair, keeping the tension with the whip tight in case the robot tried to struggle free. "Well, well. What a surprise to see you here. Came back for another round?"

The robot looked between them, glaring at them through its broken optics. "YOUR W-WOOOooOORDS HOLD N-N-N-NO-NO MEANING S-S-SC-S-S-SC-SCIENTIST! I-I-IIIiiiiiIIII COULD ES*SST*EASILY TAKE YOU DOOOooooOOOWWwwWWN!"

Wilson's eyes widen. "You. You CAN talk!"

"Focus."

"Right, right, sorry."

"M-Mister Wilson? M-Miss Wi-illow? What's going o*hic*on?" Webber called out.

"Your friend came by for a visit Webber." Willow called back, keeping her eyes on the robot, ready to jam her spear in its head.

Webber gasped. "Miss Snonagawompkins?!"

… Both adults and robot slowly turned their heads to look at Webber.

"… What?"

Wilson shook his head, turning back to the robot. "Well, whatever the reason you're doing here, you're not welcomed here."

"I-I-IN-INCORRECT SCIENTIST!" The robot screamed, pointing at Webber. "THE SP-SP-SP-SPIIiiiIIIIiiiiDER CHI-CHILD SAID Y*ZRT*YOU WOULD FIX ME!"

Wilson blinked. "Webber said… what?"

"I REQUIRE-ER-ER-ER MAAAAaaaaAAAAAINTEN-TEN-TENANnnnnNCE! THE SPIDER CHiiiiIIIIiiiiLD SAID YOU CAN F-F-F-FIX ANYTH-ANYTH-ANYTH-ANYTH-ANY-GET ME OUT OOOF THE RAIN!" The robot screamed. It was then that Wilson noticed the sparks building up around the robot. Willow had seen it too, along with a rolling rumble of thunder above, turning around and lunging at Wilson.

"Look out!" She tackled him to the ground just as lightning shot down from the sky, striking where the pair once stood. There was a bright flash and a thundering BOOM that shook the sky (and made Webber scream out in fear). Willow looked up when the moment had passed, looking back at the robot.

Steam and tiny sparks covered its body as it slowly sat up, crawling towards the discarded umbrella that had been tossed aside. Once the umbrella was safely in its grip again, it turned to look at them with a deep frown.

"SY-SY-SYSTEM ARE MALFUNCTIONED. O-O-O-OVERLOAD IS NOT POOooooOOSIBLE NOW… I REQUIRE THE SCIENTIST'S H-ASSISTANCE TO F-F-FUNCTION PROPERLY A*Krrr*AGAIN."

Willow glared at the robot. "And why should he help you?! You stole from us! You attacked Webber! Not to mention just moments ago you tried to steal from us again! You're not very trustworthy and I don't think fixing you would be a good option! Besides, Wilson wouldn't want to help fix something if it just means it's going to come back to bite us! Right, Wilson." Willow waited for the scientist… "RIGHT, Wilson." She waited again… "Ugh! Wilson!" She turned her head to Wilson, full on ready to give him a piece of her mind… when she noticed the deep pain look on his face.

"… Wilson?"

These humans were confusing.

One moment the screaming angry one was yelling such nonsense and accusations at them, and then the next they were concerned for their fallen scientist. So much that they ignored them in favor of the scientist when he required assistance to stand.

Such insolence! To ignore the superior of machine in need of repairs for a weakling fleshling! This was a high insult!

"Do you think M-Mister Wilson will be alright?" They blinked, suddenly realizing that they were not alone. The spider child looked at them expectantly. Right. They were asked a question.

"I D-D-D-DO NOT CARE FFFFoooOOOR THE SCIENTIST'S W-W-WELL BEING. I ONLY CA*Krr*AME FOR THE REPAIRS W-WHICH YOU PR-R-R-ROMISED ME."

"I did?" The spider child blinked, tilting its head.

"YOU DID."

The spider child scratched its head, looking at them confused. "… Nnnoooo, I don't th*hic*ink I promised y-you that."

"YOU DID. YOU STA*zzzz*ATED THAT THE SCIENTIST WAAAaaaAASSS GOOD WITH REPAIRS. I REQUIRE R-R-REPAIRS."

"Yeah. B-but. I didn't pr-promise you that."

"CLEARLY. YOUR S-S-S-SCIENTIST SEEMS TO BE I-I-I-I-IN NO CONDITION FO-FO-FO-FO-FOR GIVING REPAaaaAAAIRS. OTHERWISE, HE WO-WO-WO-WOULD REPAIR YoooOOOOUR VOICE BOX."

"Huh?"

"YOU SPEECH I-I-I-IS IMPAIRED. YOU DO NNNnnnoooOOOOT SPEAK N-N-NO-NORMALLY WHEN YO-YO-YOU T-T-TALK."

"Oh. No. *Sniff* That's just because I*hic*I've been crying." The spider child rubbed one of its bigger eyes.

"WHY?"

The spider child looked at the ground. "… I've been grounded." They muttered quietly.

"ILLOGICAL. IF YOU WERE T-T-TO BE GR-GR-GR-GROUNDED, THEY W-W-W-WOULD HAVE BURIED YOOOooooOOOU IN THE GROUND."

"That's not what grounded means." A voice cut into their conversation, and the angry yelling fleshy one stepped out of the tent. "And you're still not welcomed here." They glared at them before turning to address the spider child. "Webber do you have any spider glands in your chest?"

"Yes. B-But aren't th*hic*they usually stored in M-Mister Wilson's chest?"

"Usually. But it turns out, Wilson's been using all his spider glands." The angry one sighed, going over to what assumed to be the spider child's tent.

"Is Mi-Mister Wilson alri*hic*ight?"

The angry one paused a bit at the spider child's chest. "… No. No he is not alright Webber." The angry one took out a gland. "As it turns out, Wilson's been hiding a very bad owwie in his back."

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes." The angry one stood back up, looking at them with a sharp glare. "And he's not going to repair you."

"THE SP-SP-SPIDER CHILD SAID—"

"He said that he didn't promise you anything! He just said Wilson was good with fixing things! But even that's a lie!" The angry stormed by, shoving them as they went.

"I REFUSE T-T-T-TO LEAVE TILL THE SSSsssssSSSSSCIENTST RE*rrr*PAIRS MY MALFUNCTION!"

"You're not even welcomed here and you're not getting those repairs! So get out of our base!" The angry one screamed to them before disappearing back inside the tent.

"… RUDE."

"She u-usually a lot ni*hic*icer."

"Why are you always like this?" Willow muttered, wiping off the last bit of blood off her hands on her skirt. "You're always making sure that we're okay and in top form. Yet you never take care of yourself." She looked at Wilson's prone form. "For a scientist, you're an absolute idiot." She sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"You gave Webber a scare, you know. I don't think he'll be having any easy sleeping for a while now… damn it Wilson. If you only just told us that you had something lodged in your back, we wouldn't have to deal with this drama." Willow glanced at the said thing.

A small Hound's tooth covered with Wilson's blood.

"I'm surprised you had this stuck in your back for such a long time. Even more surprising how much you put up with it during the whole time." She flicked the tooth away. "I'm still mad at you though. Don't start thinking that I've forgiven you just yet…" She looked at Wilson, watching his chest raise and fall with each shaky breath.

"… you're adorkable." Willow sighed, rubbing her knuckles against his cheek for a brief moment before standing and leaving the tent.

The last few days had been… what was the word Mister Wilson used? Oh right! Hectic!

It had been really hectic over the last few days. Mister Wilson was trapped in his tent because Miss Willow wouldn't let him out (something about letting his back rest and recover from blood lost), Miss Willow was still a little grumpy but she let him out from being grounded, and the monster (er robot) still hung around the base. Miss Willow really didn't like that one bit.

The robot stuck around even after Miss Willow threatened to burn them and take them apart piece by piece (scary!) and throw all the pieces in the ocean. The robot would then start yelling at her with their own death threats and shouts of violence. They would scream and yell at each other for hours, which made Webber a little bit nervous being around them.

"Are they still screaming at each other?" Mister Wilson asked as Webber stepped inside his tent carrying Chester.

"Uh huh. Miss Willow even took out her lighter and shoved it in Mister Robot's face."

Mister Wilson sighed and shook his head, sitting up slowly as Webber sat down next to him. "What am I going to do with those two?"

"Maybe you can fix Mister Robot? It says that it won't leave until you repair them."

"If only it were that easy." Mister Wilson grumbled. "But to do that I'll need parts and tools. But I'm not sure if I have the right tools or even have the right parts… and I'm sure Willow wouldn't want me to be near our robotic friend anyway."

"She told Mister Robot that if they went anywhere near me or you, she'll throw them to the moon!" Webber threw their hands up high, making Mister Wilson laugh a bit.

"Oh I highly doubt she could do that. But I'm not tempted to try her." Mister Wilson rubbed Webber's head, tousling his short black fur on top of his head. "I hope she hasn't been too rough with you out there Webber."

"It's fine." Webber smiled, fixing his fur. "She mostly just keeps me on garden duty. Or keep an eye on Mister Robot while she's out. Oh!" Webber blinked, remembering something. "I just remembered something!"

"What is it?"

"The rains been letting up! It hasn't rained as much over the last couple of days now!"

Mister Wilson perked up. "Really? That's great to hear! Spring must be ending soon then." He turned around, grabbing something from one of the clutter piles. "That means we'll have to move to our summer base as soon as the weather becomes stable. We should have enough supplies to make it there without needing to worry about food. Though we might have to worry about a few things other than food. Like extra wood supplies."

Webber leaned his head against Chester as Mister Wilson started rambling on and on about what they would need to head out to their summer base. "Do you think Miss Willow will be happy to know that spring is almost over?"

"Hm?" Mister Wilson looked up from a piece of paper. "What was that?"

"I said, do you think Miss Willow will be in a better mood when the rain goes away? She's been kinda grumpy the whole time during spring because of the rain."

"She hasn't been grumpy Webber. She's been…" Mister Wilson started before pausing. "… Well… hmm… I… okay she has been a little ill-tempered over this spring… though come to think of it, she's always been a little crabby when spring rolls around." Mister Wilson scratched his face. "Oh dear science how did I not see this before?"

"How did you not notice that before?" Webber asked, but Mister Wilson shrugged.

"I guess I've always been so busy with the science machine that I never noticed before. Maybe Willow was right. Maybe I do need to stop getting so focused in my work." Mister Wilson sighed, rubbing his chin. "… Webber, do you have a razor on you?"

"Inside Chester." Webber held up the small being. Mister Wilson opened Chester's mouth, reaching inside and rummaging around before pulling out a razor.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Webber smiled as Mister Wilson set to work cutting off his beard. "Wait. Don't you have your own razor Mister Wilson?"

"I did. But it broke." Mister Wilson answered, shaving one side of his face. "Willow had to use it tooooooooooooooo—" Mister Wilson froze, stopping in mid shave and look at Webber. "—oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo—"

Webber blinked, tilting his head a bit.

"—ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cut wood! Yes! Exactly! She has a habit… fooor woodcarving! Yes! So she needed my razor so I lent it to her! It's honestly a bit of a waste for razors to go through, but it's nice to help a friend out, right?"

"Right!" Webber cheered. "… Wait, if Miss Willow likes to do woodcarving, why haven't we seen any of her work?"

"She likes to burn them after she's done."

"Oh."

They hated this arrangement.

They hated everything about this place.

They hated the loud angry one who threatened to burn them on multiple occasions.

Especially the loud angry one.

If these organics would only just listen to them and repair the damages, they would have left them ages ago. But no. The angry one refused to let the scientist repair them or let them near the scientist when they demanded to see them. The angry one kept them away with their stupid small brethren.

Betrayal by their own kind.

Their sensors detected movement, looking up from the small flame by their feet.

Ah. It was the spider child.

"S-S-SP-SPIDER CHILD."

"Hi Mister Robot!" The spider child greeted, sitting across from them. They frowned at the fire. "Your fires getting low."

"I'M A-A-A-AWARE." They huffed as the spider child took out a log from the sentient external storage unit and added it to the fire.

"You should be more careful Mister Robot. Staying too long in the dark is really scary and dangerous."

"YOUR INF-F-F-FROMATION IS NOOoooooOOOT NEEDED SPIDER CHILD. I*VrrR*I ALREADY KN-NN-N-N-NOW ABOUT THE DANGERS OOoooOOF THE DARK."

The spider child hummed, rubbing the sentient storage unit. "I guess."

They sat there in silence. Like they always did when the spider child went quiet and they had nothing else to say. They were a little uncertain what made this spider child come visit them every night over the last couple of days. The spider child had claimed it was because they wanted to be sure they weren't lonely, but that was illogical. They did not get lonely. They did not need the company of the spider child.

The angry one must have sent the spider child to spy on them. Quite ironic seeing as the angry one wanted them to stay away from the spider child and scientist. Yet the angry one sends them to them with no qualms.

"What's going to happen when lightning strikes you again when you're healed?" They blinked, looking up at the spider child.

"WHAT?"

"When the lightning strikes you again. When you're healed." The spider child hugged their legs, looking at them expectantly. "What's gonna happen?"

"SY-SY-SYSTEM OVERLOAD."

The spider child blinked. "System… overload?"

"YES." They sat back, keeping within the umbrella's protective cover range. "WHEN OUR SYST-T-T-TEM IS OVERLOADED WITH POOOooooOOWER, WE ACHIEVE MmmmMMMmmMMANY GREAT THINGS! BUT, SYSTEM IS MALF-F-FUNCTIONED, AND CANNOT PREFORM S-S-S-SUCH DUTIES."

"And that's why you need Mister Wilson's help!"

"CORRECT." They nodded. They sat silently for a moment staring at the fire before looking back at the spider child. "DO YOU H-H-H-HAVE ANYTHING TO CON-CON-CON-CONSUME?"

"Oh yeah! Hold on." The spider child took off their bag, rummaging through it before pulling out some monster meat. "Sorry. I only have monster meat on me."

They stared at the meat held out to them. They had tasted monster meat before. Cooked and uncooked. Both results were unfavorable. "IT'S ACCEPTABLE." They huffed, taking the meat.

"Are you sure? I could sneak back to the base and grab something—"

"MEAT IS AC-AC-AC-ACCEPTABLE!" They repeated, cooking the meat in the flames.

"Oh… okay." The spider child mumbled, cooking their own meat. The spider child was quiet again… for a while. "If you're a robot, shouldn't be you only be able to eat robot stuff?"

"ELABORATE."

"Well, Mister Wilson once told me that robots run on energy and fuel, like electricity and oil. And that they don't eat and sleep like everyone else." The spider child explained, biting onto their cooked monster meat. "But you eat and sleep like a normal person."

"INC-C-C-C-CORRECT! I AM ABOOOoooooooooOOOOVVVVE A NORMAL PERSON! I AM SUPI-PI-PI-PIRIOR!" They slammed their fist against their chest, making a loud CLANKing noise that echoed in the night.

"Then why do you eat and sleep?"

"…" They grabbed their cooked monster meat and stuffed into their mouth.

Spring came and then it was gone. Now it summer, which meant hot, hot, HOT.

The sun was shining and the heat was picking up, and best of all, it meant that there was no more rain to deal with.

"Isn't this a beautiful day out today?! The sun is shining! The heat is picking up! Nothing's wet! Annnnnnnd you two are suffering through heat stroke." Willow sighed as she looked down at the pair.

Webber and Wilson were flat on their faces, completely still.

"Oh come on you guys! We've only been walking for a day! If this keeps up we'll never reach the summer base!"

"Easy… for you… to say…" Wilson wheezed, lifting his head up slightly. "You… don't… suffer… heat stroke… like… we do…"

"C-can I… have some… waaaater?" Webber lifted his hand up weakly before it fell to the ground.

Willow groaned, taking off her bag. "Seriously guys?! You two wanted to make it to the base after spring passed! It's not my fault you wanted to wait out the rain!" She handed them each a bottle of Electric Milk. "And we would have been there by now if SOMEONE WASN'T TAILGATING US!"

"… YOU'R-RE TALKING A-A-A-A-ABOUT ME, ArrRRRRrrrEN'T YOU?"

Willow shot a glare at the robot, who instantly kept following them the morning that they left the spring base (but thankfully at a distance). "Stop following us you creep!"

"NEGATORY! I D-D-D-D-DEMAND THAT YOU RELINQUISH YO-YO-YO-YOUR SCIENTIST!"

"You come one step close to him and you're good as dead!"

"I'm honestly surprised he's still following us." Wilson remarked, sipping on his drink. "With those injuries of his, I was sure he wouldn't be able to keep up."

"Wilson, please, we talked about this. Stop worrying over the robot. It's going to make your brain hurt."

"Willow, if you would just let me fix them—"

"No."

"Willow."

"No."

"Willow."

"No."

"Willow!"

"No!"

"Why won't you let Mister Wilson fix Mister Robot, Miss Willow?"

"Because I don't trust it! First it steals from us, attacks you, and keeps screaming at us when it talks to us!"

"Y-Y-Y-YOU SCREAM AsssssSSSSS WELL!"

"Not like you tin can!"

Wilson rolled his eyes, standing up and then assisting Webber up on his feet as well. "Clearly you don't have a very strong trust of this being I see."

"Clearly." Willow huffed, grabbing Wilson's arm and pulled him along (despite his small protests). "Now come on! The more we linger here, the grumpier that stupid Antlion is going to get if we don't feed it."

The robot kept following them. Even as they made it to the summer base.

It kept following Wilson around (at a distance), demanding (loudly) that Wilson fix it. Though it never got too close to Wilson as Willow made sure to stay by his side and shoot glares at it. It never stopped it from following them (or trying to steal their food as Willow noted how their food supply wasn't filled up as it should be).

"Why does it keep following us?!" Willow growled one night around the fire. "We made it clear that you're not repairing it! Yet it doesn't seem to get the memo!"

"They're clearly stubborn, I'll give them that." Wilson hummed, putting down the miner hat he had found days ago and looked at the small fire in the distance. "Seems our robot tag along just won't quit until he gets those repairs from me."

"But Miss Willow won't let you~." Webber smiled in a singsong tone, biting down on his fish.

Wilson chuckled a bit. "No. No she won't. And I'm rather scared to go against her wishes."

"As you should be." Willow smiled, crossing her arms. "Though I wished Mr. Walking Trashcan got the idea and left us alone already."

"WX-78."

Both adults blinked, turning their heads to Webber.

"What?"

"WX-78." Webber repeated, finishing his meal. "He told me his name, um, designation is WX-78."

"Wait. Told you?! Webber have you been near that thing?!" Willow pointed to where the robot's, now known as WX-78, little fire was burning.

Webber flinched, looking away. "… Mmmmmmmmaaaaaybeee?"

"Webber!"

"Ah! Okay! Okay yes! I've been visiting WX-78 at night when you guys are sleeping!" Webber blurted out, shocking both adults with the news. "But he's not bad!"

"Webber! I can't believe you!" Willow stood up (feeling shocked and betrayed). "You've been in cahoots with that thing?!"

"Willow, please. I'm sure he had a reason." Wilson placed a hand on her arm, trying to get her to sit back down.

"He was hungry! And. And he's really not that bad!" Webber shrunk under the increasing glare, curling in on himself.

"It could be faking it! Webber how could be so stupid?! It's only trying to gain your trust and then WHAM! Squishes you flat! And it'll be all your fault and no one else to blame here!"

"Willow stop! You're hurting his feelings!" Wilson tried to lead Willow away, seeing the tears falling from Webber's eyes.

"Oh it's not just his feelings that's going to get hurt!" Willow yanked her arm out of Wilson's grip, pointing at the arachnid child with an accusing finger. "This is full out mutiny! Literal backstabbing! I can't believe you would do that behind our backs! I thought you were better than that Webber!"

"H-he's really n-not that bad." Webber sniffed, rubbing his tear soaked eyes.

"I DON'T CARE! This is the last straw for you! You—!"

CLUNK

Everyone froze at the sound, and an umbrella shot out from the dark, blocking Willow from the crying Webber.

"TH-TH-THAT'S ENOUGH!" Everyone turned their heads, seeing WX-78 standing there glaring at Willow. "CEASE YOUR YE-YELLING AT THE S-S-SPIRDER CHIIiiiiIILD LOUD ONE!"

"What did you call me?!" Willow yelled, taking out her lighter.

"I CALLED Y-Y-YOU THE LOUD ONE LOOOOooooOOOOUD ONE!" WX-78 screamed back.

"You're the one who's being so loud!"

"Willow please let's all just calmly talk about this!" Wilson spoke up, opening his arms for Webber to dive in and bury his face against the scientist's chest. "This is getting out of hand!"

"It sure is! Webber's turned traitor on us keeping this thing alive!"

"Willow that's not—"

"I AM N-N-N-N-NOT A THING! I AM WX-X-X-X-X-78! RULER OF THIS WWwwwwwWWWOOOORLD! AND YOU WILL FOLLOW MY D-DD-D-DEMANDS!"

"Now hang on—"

"We're not following anything! You're nothing but bad news!"

"Guys."

"YOU FLESH B-BA-B-BAGS ARE NOTHING BUT SSSIIIIMMMMNNNN BAD NNNNNeeeeEEWS!"

"Guys."

"Well you're even worse news!"

"Guys!"

"YOU AR-AR-ARE NOTHING BUT A LO*Krrr-krkr*OUD SNIVELING—"

"Walking trashcan!"

"Guys!"

"—WA-WASTE OF SPACE WITH THE I-I-I-I-IQ OF A—"

"Rust bucket!"

"ENOUGH!" Wilson shouted, loud enough that his voice echoed in the distance and made Willow and WX-78 freeze. "The both of you! You're making Webber upset and this is getting no one nowhere!" Wilson picked up Webber, holding him against his chest as the child continued to cry against him.

He turned his eyes on Willow (who flinched when their eyes made contact). "Willow I am very disappointed in you! Yelling at a child and getting angry is not the way to deal with things. No!" Wilson stopped her before she could speak. "I don't want to hear anything from you! You've been out of control with your temper lately and I'm sick. Of. It! If you're angry fine! But don't take it out on Webber!"

He then turned his eyes on the robot. "And you." The robot seemed to tense at the venom in Wilson's voice. "I am tired of everything you've done since we've found you. I'm tired of you stealing from us. Tired of you demanding from us. Dim damn tired that this whole problem could have just been easily solved if you had only asked nicely in the first place and not cause this entire mess!"

Wilson took in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before sighing.

"I'll fix you."

"What?! Wil—"

"Ap!" Wilson held up a finger, stopping Willow from speaking. "I'll fix you… but you have to leave once your repairs are done." He glared at the robot, daring him to do anything. "Is that clear?"

"… CR-CR-CRYSTAL."

"Good! Now, I'm putting Webber to bed. It's been a long day and this drama isn't helping anyone out." Wilson stepped over to his tent. "Oh, and one more thing." Wilson paused at the open flap. "If either of you still want to scream and shout at each other, please, kindly take it somewhere that's not within hearing range and leave us out of it." With that, he entered his tent, leaving a stunned Willow and an equally stunned (and a little nervous) WX-78.

"… YO-YO-YO-YOUR SCIENTIST IS QUITE FR-FR-FRRRRIIIiiiiiITENING WHEN HE IS AN-ANGRY."

"QUIET!"

Willow and WX-78 jumped, dashing off into the darkness.

Night was… restless. To say the least.

Wilson stared up at the tents fabric ceiling, having gotten no sleep last night. Webber on the other hand (after being reassured by Wilson many times that he wasn't in trouble and that he was not mad at him) was fast asleep against him, gripping tightly to his vest like a teddy bear and refusing to let go.

Wilson couldn't be mad at such a sweet boy (even if this whole trouble started because of him). Webber was still just a child after all and he didn't know any better. He was only doing what he thought was the right thing. Wilson would have probably done the same thing in his shoes (if Webber ever wore shoes).

But it wasn't the thought of what Webber did that kept him up last night. It was the thoughts of his own actions that did.

Wilson wasn't sure what made him lose his temper like that (okay, well, he did, but still) and lash out on those two (one of them did kind of deserve it though). He was better than that! He shouldn't have had to yell at them to get them to listen! (But they were kind of being loud and scaring Webber as well.) For science sake, he yelled at Willow! He never did that! (Not like how he yelled at her last night. He'd normally yelled at her in fear and distraught over what she did to his hair, and it was mostly out of fear than anger.)

And WX-78… ho boy. He didn't know the robot too well, but he still remembered the beat down he suffered from the robot the first time they met. (Cracked ribs. Not a good memory to have.) He wasn't sure how the robot felt towards him now, but it probably wasn't good. He more than likely made a new enemy, and he didn't have very many enemies (besides Maxwell of course).

But Willow? Willow was sure to be angry with him now! There was no telling what she'll do after that little scene he pulled last night. (Well… if she did pull anything, her focus would be turned on him instead of Webber now.)

Wilson sat up slowly, leaning against his elbows. He needed to make sure that everything was alright. Wilson took off his vest (seeing as Webber still clung to it and he didn't want to wake the boy) and quietly snuck out from his tent.

It shouldn't have hurt as much when he stepped out and saw the base was empty. (It shouldn't have.)

But there was no one there when he stepped out. No Willow. No WX-78. Just him and the bright hot sun in the sky. Wilson sighed, shaking his head, thinking that Willow made good on her threat to leave…

… Till he heard voices in the distance.

Looking out beyond the base, Wilson's eyes widened, spotting WX-78 and Willow in the distance. No doubt yelling at each other again. Wilson wasn't aware that his feet were moving, not even registering that he was getting closer to the pair till he was a foot away from them.

"—No! I mean like really! He never yelled at me like that before! He's normally such a quiet guy and geeky, but really nice! Really nice! I always thought he was too nerdy to lose his temper." Willow spoke, not realizing that Wilson stood behind her. "But WOW! Sure taught me something!"

"HMM." WX-78 hummed, looking more at the dying fire than Willow.

"I guess everyone was right when they say it's the quit ones you've got to look out for. Otherwise they might explode and snap at you."

"Yes, well, I think it's more along the lines that they don't tend to try to let their emotions get the better of them." Wilson spoke up, startling Willow and surprising WX-78.

"Wilson!" Willow gasped, patting her chest. "Bloody! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry." Wilson rubbed the back of his neck. "I really didn't mean to do that…" He stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to find the words he needed to say. "Look I… I'm sorry about last night."

"Whoa what?" Willow stood up, looking at Wilson in surprise. "You're sorry? You're sorry? Wilson, I'm the one who should be sorry not you!"

"But I—"

"Ack! Nope!" Willow placed her hand on his mouth, stopping him from speaking. "Look, you were right. And, yeah, I kind of got out of hand. A lot lately. And well…" She rubbed her arm. "I guess I was in the wrong and sort of needed that last night. So… yeah." She smiled at him, prompting a small smile out of Wilson as well. "But don't ever do that again or I'll burn your hair off!" She jammed her finger against his chest.

Wilson stared at her a moment before scoffing, breaking out into a full blown laugh. "Noted!" He chuckled, wiping his eyes.

"AHEM!"

Wilson stopped laughing, looking over at the disgruntled WX-78.

"AR-AR-ARE YOU GOOOoooooOOING TO RE-RE*zzzzz*EPAIR ME NOW? YOUR A-A-A-A-AFFECTION SICKENS MMMMmmmEEEEE!"

Wilson stared at him for a moment before looking at Willow.

Willow could only shrug. "Yeah, he's kind of a jerk."

It took a lot of gears, time, and a whole lot of allnighters, but the scientist managed to pull it off and repaired WX-78.

WX-78 flexed their hand, testing the mobility. All motors seemed to function normally, and everything else checked out as well. The scientist did an exceptional job with his work. Speaking of the scientist.

WX-78 gazed over where the scientist was sleeping by the fire. Such weakling had powered down the moment he had announced that he had finished the repairs. They were… impressed that such weak fleshling had managed to fix them. Even managing to fix their optics and the large holes in their torso.

It was really more of the fire woman's doing. She was the one who went out and found the necessary items needed to fix them. The fire woman in question was also sleeping by the fire. Or, in the fire was more accurate. It was still a surprise how the most destructive element ever had no effect on the fleshling female. Intriguing.

"HOW IS FIRE NOT DAMAGING HER?"

"I don't know. I keep asking her that, but she doesn't know either." WX-78 looked down at their side. The spider child (the only tolerable being in this group) was playing with the sentient external storage unit front stumps. "Mister Wilson would know, but he says he'll never experiment on anyone."

"WHY NOT?"

"He said it's because that would be mean and cruel, and Mister Wilson's super nice!" The spider child smiled up at them. "Just like you!"

"INCORRECT! I AM NOT NICE! I AM ALL POWERFUL AND MERCILESS!"

The spider child tilted their head at them, humming a bit before shaking their head. "Nope. I think you're nice."

"DELETE THAT FROM YOUR THINKING BANKS THIS INSTANTLY THEN!"

The spider child laughed, leaning against them. "Well, I guess if you say so. But I still think you're nice. Even if you say otherwise." They opened their mouth, ready to tell the spider child how wrong they were, but stopped as the spider child yawned.

"YOU'RE TIRED."

"Mm-hm." The spider child nodded, rubbing its face.

"POWER DOWN. I'VE BEEN ASSIGNED WATCH TONIGHT."

"Are you sure you don't need help to keep watch?" The spider child blinked at them sleepily.

"POSITIVE. YOUR LOW ENERGY WILL ONLY HINDER MY DUTY."

"You sure?"

"SURE."

"Doubly positive?"

"QUADRUPLE."

The spider child stared at them, yawning again, then nodded and leaned their head against them. (Making them tense and still.) "okay. nighty night."

They waited. Waiting for the spider child's breathing to ease into a steady rhythm before relaxing. They should be used to the spider child sleeping against them now, but they found themselves still tensing each time the arachnid child laid against them.

These fleshlings were confusing. First they did not like them, then they became intolerant then tolerant, and after that… they were more… accepting.

They did not like this acceptance. They were a ruthless ruler meant to concur and rule everything! Just because these stupid fleshlings showed them kindness does not mean they would be any less harsh to them when the time was right and all their guards were down!

…

They blinked.

Looking at each organic carefully.

They all were sleeping away, with no defenses or guards against them.

All their guards were down.

Their optics narrowed.

All their guards were down.

They smiled, moving the spider child off them and headed towards the chests. These foolish organics! Putting their foolish trust on them and believing that they would spare their lives in the end! HA! Once they were finished with these humans, the next goal will be to find that tall human and demand their power! It wasn't meant for such weak fleshed human, and they will not stand by to be their play thing.

WX-78 smiled, taking an ax out from the chest. Sharp. Heavy. Dangerous. It was the perfect weapon for destruction. But now came the real question. Who would die first?

They looked back at their soon to be victims, estimating which would die first by their hands. The scientist was closet to them, wide open for them to chop their head off their neck… no. The scientist was useful in the repairs. They decided that he'll die last. Ah, but that left the fire woman and the spider child.

They did hate the fire woman more than the scientist and spider child combined, and she did give them a lot of grief when they met. Maybe they could chop her up and throw her parts into the sea and see how she would like it?

… No. The fire was protecting her. She needed to be weakened first before being finished off. Plus, she was quite protective of the scientist and spider child. She would not like it if either of them were hurt if she were to wake up suddenly and try to defend them.

So that left…

The spider child.

They smiled, standing up and making their way over to the defenseless child. This was perfect! They could finally killed the spider child after failing to do so the first time! The spider was lucky once, but now. Now they can finally strike them down!

They stood before the arachnid, lifting the ax high above them, ready to bring it down upon the spider child's head…

…

Ready to bring it down on the spider child's head…

…

Ready to… bring it down…

…

… On their head…

…

… Any time now…

…

"… this should not be this difficult…"

Willow felt someone shaking her, rousing her from her sleep.

"Willow. Willow! Wake up!"

Willow groaned, rolling over. "Five more minutes Wilson… I'm having a good dream."

"Willow, WX-78's gone!"

"Oh goody." Willow yawned. "At least that tin can listened and scooted…"

"He stole from us again!"

Willow's eyes shot open. "Wait, what?!" She sat up from the ashes of the campfire, looking around. Nothing seemed to be out of place, all the chests were upright at least, but the looks on Wilson's and Webber's face told her otherwise. "Bloody burns!" Willow slammed her fist on the ground. "I knew he couldn't be trusted! What did he take this time?! Food?! Gears?! All our supplies?!"

Wilson shook his head. "… All our food is still in the ice box. Parts and gears are still in every chest their stored in. Every valuable item that we own are still where we put them."

Willow slowly frowned, looking between the two with confusion. "… Okay. Sooo, he didn't take anything then."

Wilson shook his head again. "Not… exactly." He looked at Webber, placing a hand on the young child's shoulder. It was then that Willow noticed a tear stains on his face.

"Webber? Webber what's wrong?" She scooted closer, placing her hands on Webber's face and brushing away the falling tears. "Webs, what's the matter?"

Webber said nothing for a moment before holding up folded a sheet of papyrus. Willow looked at it a moment before looking at Wilson. His face was neutral, nodding his head towards the paper. She took the papyrus, opening it up and looked down on the single message written on it.

sorry

"He to-ook Ch-Chester." Webber sniffled as Willow lower the papyrus in shook. "He*Hic*e t-took out all th-the stuff I h*Hic*had in him… an-nd he to*Hic*ook Chester." Webber's eyes water with tears as Willow pulled him into a hug. "I-I-I thought h*Hic*he was my f-fr-fr-friend."

"Oh Webber. It's okay. It's okay." Willow rubbed his back as he cried, silently promising to set that robot on fire if she ever saw them again for hurting Webber in the worst possible way.