Part 1:

The Reign of Giants

Webber's POV

There was something near us. Something was dark. Something was wrong. What had happened last? We could not recall.

"I wonder if he'll live..." a voice echoed. We strained our eyes to see who was talking. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I doubt it," said another voice. "That's a nasty wound."

"He can't die... I won't let him." A third voice croaked, horror and fear edging its voice.

Are they talking to us?

Who are they?

Who are they?

We heard the sound of footsteps and sighing, then something cold pressed against our back. "I can't lose you," the third voice whispered. "I just can't... you're the only friend I've ever had. Please... please don't leave us..."

Awareness began to spread to our limbs, and the dark curtain began to fade, and with that, the memories. We blinked our eyes open, the sunlight dazzling us for a few minutes. There are others, I thought. Are they the same people? No, it can't be... there's only two...

Our instincts came rushing back to us in a flood, and we jumped back from the others, who were also just stirring. The first one blinked in shock at the sight of us. He was taller than us, obviously an adult, with spiked black hair and confused gray eyes. We bared our teeth threateningly.

"Whoa," he breathed, struggling to stand. "C.. can you speak?"

Does he think we're stupid? Is he trying to find weaknesses?

At least he speaks English.

"Yes," I said slowly, not moving. He visibly relaxed. We turned our gaze to the third one. He was also sitting up, looking at both of us with disdain.

This one was a tan robot, obviously masculine and more our height, his 'face' was two identical holes for eyes, and a longer, thinner one underneath for a mouth. He did not look happy in the slightest bit, but perhaps that was just his appearance. He met our look with a fierce glare. "WHAT ARE YOU?" He spat.

We will fight if we have to.

But not yet.

"What are you?" I countered, looking him up and down. If he wants a fight, he'll get one. We've fought for years now, one more opponent is no different... even if he is slightly bigger than me.

"WHAT AM I?" He asked, tipping his chin arrogantly. "MODEL WX-78, FLESHLING." He's aggressive.

"Webber," I hissed back. We jerked our gaze to the other one.

"Wilson," he replied quietly.

We let our shoulders relax, and fur lie flat again, straightened slightly, and put away our claws and snarl. If they aren't going to hurt us, then we need to seem harmless to them. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you know where we are?" The first one- Wilson- asked hopefully, examining our spiderlike appearance.

"No. Do you?"

He shook his head, and we sighed. Trust no one, isn't that what our life has taught us?

Maybe we need to trust someone?

No. I thought stubbornly. We can rely on ourself. But looking at these other two... these other two in the same predicament as us. We looked at Wilson. He looks trustworthy, but... our gaze met WX-78's. Not so sure about him...

Were they the ones talking to us? We instinctively ran our hand over our neck and stomach, the most likely places for a fatal wound, but there was nothing but smooth skin and old scars beneath our fur.

WX let out a huff of scorn, before walking away.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, moving to catch him. "Where are you going?"

Wilson caught our shoulder. "Don't bother. I know his type. He'll come back if he wants to, but no use forcing him to stay with us." He cocked his head and smiled.

We weren't sure exactly what to say. Not only were we not used to being spoken to directly in such tones, but we hadn't been smiled at in ages. "Us?" I repeated. "You mean you're staying?"

He looked confused. "Why wouldn't I? It'd be better if we stick together, right?"

"Y-you mean you aren't afraid of us?" I couldn't help blurting out.

"Afraid," he echoed. "Just out of curiosity's sake... how old are you? Surely you couldn't survive on your own for long."

"Seven," I answered quietly. "And we can... we have before."

He laughed. "Okay, how about I probably can't survive on my own for long."

"You never have?"

"I lived alone," he replied. "Not... alone alone though."

"Are you suggesting it's only us?" I asked in horror.

"Us and... WX-78? Was that his name?"

"Yeah, 'think so." We cocked our head. "You think we're alone, though? No one else?" We realized too late how small our voice sounded. We were scared.

We were scared.

We're not, a tiny voice in our mind whispered. We're not scared. Being scared is for cowards, and so is relying on others. We pushed it back as Wilson seemed to struggle finding words.

"We can only assume we are alone until we find other people here," he pointed out gently, then nodded to the area around us. We realized for the first time that we were in a small forest clearing. We listened hard for distant birdsong to greet us, but it was silent. "Besides, it's getting dark." Our gaze snapped up to the darkening sky. Already!? "We should just... set up camp for the night, and figure out what we're going to do in the morning. A chill wind brushed the leaves above us, making us shiver. A tang of frost was carried on the breeze, but we couldn't tell if it was turning cold or it had been colder and was warming up.

"Yeah."

"Why? Why did you do this?" a voice whimpered nearby, and it took us a second to realize it was our voice.

"I had no choice," someone else replied. We felt grief welling up in our chest. "You know, w-we fought a lot before. And I'm sorry. I regret it. I regret all of it... but I don't regret this decision." What decision! Our mind cried. Who are we talking to and why!?

It didn't last long though, because then we were crouching over... something? Darkness still pressed around us, but ragged breathing ruffled our hand fur. "No... No... th-this can't be happening." This time, our voice sounded ever so slightly different. "We can't lose you too. Can you even hear us? Please... we're sorry."

We jerked awake, heart pounding, early sunlight momentarily blinding us. The robot had apparently returned, and sat nearby, leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing with an odd black book leaning up against a sapling beside him. He did not acknowledge our presence. Our dream weighed heavily on our mind, but the details had already faded. Wilson was looking at us, confusion in his gray eyes. "Are... you okay?"

"We're fine," I told him.

Suddenly, the fur on the back of our neck stood on end, and we saw that WX had looked up at us, his gaze dark with pure hatred. We narrowed our eyes at him. If you want to hate us, fine. We'll hate you too.