Webber's POV

Alyvia left Erika and me to do whatever we wanted to. After a few moments of enthusiastic talking from my sister, she decided that the best course of action would be to visit the hunting grounds. As per usual, I followed her while keeping to my own thoughts. Pepper kept wriggling in Erika's grasp as if she were uncomfortable, but Popsicle was heavy and comfortable in my arms. His fur was chilly and slightly frosted to the touch, as what I learned to be typical of ice hound fur from my own Popsicle. She led with confidence, which allowed me to look at the scenery around and try to recognize it.

Finally, we passed into a savanna. Orange-tinted grass crunched beneath our feet, just loud enough to slightly rouse Popsicle. Pepper started to struggle once more, making slight noises in protest as if trying to get free. Erika quickly hushed her, and she grabbed my shoulder to shove me down. As soon as she did, I heard a familiar screaming sound. Popsicle, instead of struggling like Pepper was, simply became incredibly still. His triangular little ears perked straight up as if he were listening intensely. A hunter, I thought proudly.

A rabbit shot past beneath me, and as it did, Popsicle broke free of my arms. I shouted in shock as I tried to grab him before he could hit the ground, but the pup landed square on his target. Even before I could blink, he landed directly on the rabbit's back and his jaws locked around its neck. The rabbit was dead instantly. As soon as he was sure that his prey was dead, he dropped it, then looked back at me. He looked so... happy, so pleased with himself.

"Would you look at that?" Startled, I glanced over my shoulder. This face was new, but it held the same familiarity as Erika and Alyvia did. A fire hound stopped beside him and sat down, its red fur glittering in the sun. He had a thin face and black hair, but his eyes- they were the same as Erika's, the same as Alyvia's.

The same... as my own.

"Dad," I whispered. He looked down at me and smiled, then his gaze turned down to Popsicle. "I see you two have been chosen by your future hunting companions," the man... my father, said. "And... did your hound catch that rabbit, Tyler?"

I nodded. "He did." Noticing the attention, Popsicle's tail began to pound the earth, and he seemed to smile.

"Well, I don't think I've ever seen a hound pup catch a rabbit on his first time away from his mother." He then turned to squint at us. "Speaking of which, where is your mother?"

Erika grinned guiltily. "Um... we just came straight here after the choosing. I wanted to see a real hunting hound in action!"

"Well, it looks like you saw just that," our father with a laugh. "Rose, would you mind grabbing that rabbit so that the pup doesn't have to carry that all the way home?"

He looked at me, and he looked... he looked so proud. That look, it hurt me so much. But... it was... familiar.

Pride...

The dream, their faces, they were fading. Everything around me was fading, and being replaced with a different scenario.

Wilson was proud of me. I don't remember when or why or how, but he was. He was giving me the same look that my father had given me when Popsicle killed his first rabbit.

Does... does Wilson see me in the same way that my father saw me?

Does he see me as... as a son?

No, no, that can't be possible. He never knew me before I became a monster. He never knew me when I was still someone worth loving.

But... why do I still feel like I'm not really waking from a dream where I'm surrounded by family? Why do I feel like I'm just going into a different version of it?

"You choose not to remember what happens next?"

I took a deep breath. The world was white now, surrounding us both in a blank world. I turned. "Webber," I whispered.

"Tyler," the spider replied scathingly. "Doesn't it feel odd to be called by that name again?"

"Why are you here? Why do you still follow me around?" I clenched my fist. "Leave me alone! Leave my mind alone!" I gritted my teeth. "Leave my family alone!"

"I haven't done anything to harm your ragtag group of misfits," he responded, his eyes widening. "Why would you even blame me for anything that you've done to them?"

"You know as well as I do that that... isn't me." I looked away, breathing heavily. "What do you want from me?"

"Am I not allowed to speak to my other half?"

"Why did you give me that dream?" I demanded.

He let out a deep sigh. "I didn't do much. I simply tap tap tapped the lock on your memories, and they all came undone like that. Come on." He took another step forward. "Tell me what happened next, Tyler."

"We went home." My voice fell to a whisper. The scenes formed in my head as they stumbled out of my mouth. "And... the ground caved in. The darkness ate us up."

"Go on."

"Spiders. They came out of nowhere. They hissed and spat at us, but I couldn't understand them. Not yet. And they..."

"They...?"

"They killed us," I said the words so plainly, so emptily, that it scared me. I stared at the ground, then looked back up. "Why did you want me to remember this, Webber?"

"Our minds are connected. Your confusion turns into my confusion. And doesn't it feel nice to know your own name again? Tyler," he repeated. "Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Stop saying that name!" I shouted. "Stop saying that name! You're not allowed to say it!"

"Oh?" He took a few steps closer to me, then paused. "Ohh, then who can say it? WX-78? Wilson?"

"Don't bring them into this," I growled.

"You will never understand. The robot can feel nothing. Everything he knows and feels is just numbers. Ones and zeroes. And Wilson? Why does he matter to you? What has he ever done for you? He is a useless human being. He may as well not even have emotions."

"Don't talk about my friends like that!"

"Friends?!" Webber barked. "Don't kid me like that! They aren't your friends! Your survival together has nothing to do with friendship. You have to work together because you will die without it! You're just as weak as that lousy scientist!"

"Take that back!" I lunged forward and raised my fist. He simply stepped aside. "Why do you stay with me if you're only here to hurt me!"

The light went out. In its place was darkness. The only thing I could distinguish from the blackness was myself. Claws dug into my shoulders, and his voice was in my ear. "Because, Tyler," he whispered. "I want to take back what's mine. It's almost time, Tyler." He was in front of me again, almost hovering in front of my face as a single claw brushed against my cheek. "It's time to fight against more than the Dragonfly.

"It's time to fight against everything you've ever known."