Wilson's POV

Webber acted strangely for the next few days. He seemed to be quieter, more reserved, and more clingy to me. I chose not to question it. In fact, I was rather glad. Was the child finally learning to relax more around us? If so, the timing was perfect, as the battle we had been fearing was just around the corner. I spent much of my time studying the book's pages and trying to figure out the best plan of attack. The Dragonfly not only lived in the heat of summer- she was the heat of summer. She was a being of pure heat energy which was not afraid to use it in defense of her nest.

But I knew we could be victorious. When I looked around at our strange little group, I could only feel my heart swell in pride. Many people might have failed before, but I knew we would be the ones to win.

It was after a day's hunting. Most of the summer consisted of us working to keep cool and keep our food stocks up. After the day where WX returned to camp badly damaged, I had enforced the idea that none of us were to go out alone. Together, we had managed to keep from starving, but none of us ever had full bellies. I rested against a tree, trying, and failing, to drift off. Webber was asleep, his faithful ice hound curled on his lap. He hadn't said anything before sleeping. He had silently walked up to where I was resting and curled up as close to me as he could manage. Now that he had officially forgotten that he used to hate his personal space being intruded, he had tucked his way under one arm and had his head resting on my side. He had one leg over mine. In an attempt to keep from disturbing him, I silently flipped through the pages of the book. I was trying to find something- anything- that could further aid us in the battle ahead.

I looked up as WX came to stand in front of me. His expression was dark but softened very slightly as he lay eyes on the sleeping boy. He quickly shook his head as he looked back at me. "DO YOU TRULY THINK THAT WE HAVE ANY CHANCE IN THE BATTLE AHEAD?" His voice was quiet as if he were actively trying not to disturb Webber.

"What?" I frowned slightly. "We made a deal, WX, there's no backing out of it now."

"I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM SAYING." He looked down. "YOU CANNOT IGNORE YOUR DREAMS. OR OURS, FOR THAT MATTER."

"Dreams?" I frowned. "I don't have any dreams."

WX sighed. "WHY DO YOU TRY TO HIDE IT? I DO NOT SLEEP, WILSON. I HAVE HEARD YOU BOTH CRY OUT IN YOUR SLEEP FROM THE NIGHTMARES THAT HAUNT YOU. YOU ARE WELL AWARE THAT THIS BATTLE AHEAD COULD SPELL DOOM FOR US ALL, AND YET YOU STILL PLAN ON CHARGING INTO IT WITHOUT QUESTION?"

"Of course." I shrugged, allowing a smile on my face. "I wish you two would stop worrying about it. It's going to be fine!"

"...IF YOU SUPPOSE SO."

"Come on, we should do something to get our minds off of things." I drummed my fingers against the page of the book. "How about tomorrow, we all try to do something fun? It's been quite a while since we had fun doing anything."

"'FUN' NEVER GOT US ANYWHERE, WILSON."

"I know you have some hobbies of your own, WX." The robot crossed his arms and looked at me skeptically. "I've found your chess pieces."

"IT IS A MENTALLY STIMULATING TRAINING STRATEGY," WX replied hotly.

"Then you can hunt while I have Webber and I do something fun. What about the frog ponds? You can stretch out a bit on killing some frogs, and I can try to remind Webber what it feels like to be a kid again."

"I WOULD NOT MIND DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE. BUT..." WX sighed again. "WHY DO YOU STRUGGLE SO HARD TO RESTORE HIS INNOCENCE? IT IS NOT DOING ANYONE ANY FAVORS."

"You know why. Don't even act like you don't see him as your closest friend. Probably the only friend you've ever had. In fact, I'm almost certain you would willingly kill me to protect him. So the question is," I tipped my chin. "Why do you hide your emotions so much?"

"I AM NOTHING BUT AN AUTOMATON. AUTOMATONS ARE NOT BUILT TO HAVE EMOTIONS. WE ARE BUILT TO GET A JOB DONE."

"Then, why do you exist?"

He was silent for a long, long moment. So long that I was sure that he had decided to abandon the question altogether. Finally, he said: "I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO." WX turned away to look to the sky. "WAKE THE KID UP. WE HAVE WORK TO DO, AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO HAVE ANYONE SLACK. NOT EVEN HIM."

He was right, but I hated to admit it. I closed my eyes, longingly thinking of a full night's sleep again, then gently shook Webber's shoulder. "It's time to get up, Webber. The summer isn't going to last forever, and we still have business to do."

He blinked awake, confusion dawning in his gaze as if he forgot where he was. He looked up at me, then at Popsicle, then stretched. He looked at my arm and jumped away, his eyes wide. "What- what were you doing?!"

"Being your pillow, apparently," I responded with a chortle. "It's time to start getting ready. I think I know where the Dragonfly is, but we're all going to need to be at our prime. Today, however." I stood up and offered my hand. "I think we deserve to cool off a bit, don't you think?"

"What are you suggesting?"

I smiled. "I dunno. I was thinking a day of relaxing by the ponds. WX wants an excuse to hunt the frogs anyway."

Webber perked up a bit but still seemed wary. "No pressuring for training? Or searching?"

"Like I said. We need to be at our best for this fight."

"It sounds fun." He smiled back, almost shyly. "Can Popsicle and Chester join us?"

"Of course," I said with a laugh. "Come on, you two."

Popsicle barked and jumped off of his owner's lap. Chester lazily stood, his tongue rolling out of his mouth as he panted from the heat. Together, as a group, we began the trek towards the ponds.

…

Me, Webber, and WX-78 walked through the desert. The sun had become even more blistering with the lack of tree cover. I could feel the places in my arm that would likely be sunburnt after the end of the day. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I heard panting behind me from Webber, and static pricked the air from WX.

I wiped my forehead and pointed forward. "The den of the beast," I said softly.

The sun reflected off of WX's frame, blindingly bright against his tan exterior. I could see him waver slightly, and his fist clench.

Webber let out a small sound that could've been from fear or from excitement. His fur was standing on end, his whiskers twitching. His teeth bared in a snarl, but he was shaking.

I kept my gaze forward. I reached out and took Webber's hand and squeezed it, just a little. WX looked down at his feet, and he seemed as if he were taking in a shaky breath. I could feel Webber's heart pounding.

"The Dragonfly," the child whispered.

"THE BEAST OF SUMMER."

"Guys?" I started softly. Webber and WX both turned to look at me. They both looked as if they were desperately hoping for words of encouragement. "I... I just wanted to say that... I'm glad to have fought alongside you. You two are the best allies a person could hope for. I will do everything to make sure that all of us make it out alive... but if I fail, and if we lose one of us..." I shook my head. "Well... let's just hope that we make it out alright, okay?"

"IT... IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR."

"We will die before we let this group get torn apart," Webber growled. "We can do this as a team."

"No." I pressed my spear to my chest, trying to relax my pounding heart. "No, not a team. We're more than a team now." I closed my eyes. "We will do this as a family."

I felt their gazes boring into me once more. I put my hand out.

"Yes," Webber said softly. "A family." I felt his small hand rest on mine.

"...I DESPISE THAT TERM." A dripping wet, cold metallic hand joined. "BUT IT WILL HAVE TO DO FOR NOW."

"Ready? On the count of three, we shout victory. One, two, three-" Our hands all went into the air simultaneously.

"Victory!"

Our spirits were lifted. Together, we finished the journey that we had started.

It was finally time.