Fixing What Was Broken

"-And if we ever see your face again, next time you won't be so lucky!" One of the townsfolk yelled as they brandished torches and pitchforks. Andrias scooped Athena up and placed her on his shoulder as he hurried down the road out of town. He cursed inwardly at putting her in danger once more as he felt the stones thrown by the angered frogs hitting his back.

"Andrias-" Athena frowned as the townsfolk continued to hurl objects and insults at them.

"I'm sorry little Master." Andrias panted as he struggled to pick up the pace. He didn't want to risk one of the small projectiles meant for him to hit her.

"Stop it!" Athena yelled back at the frogs as angry tears ran down her face.

"It's alright Master Athena, it's-" Andrias tried to explain.

"No! It's not alright! They're being mean to you again!" She said glowering at them. Andrias sighed. There was no point arguing with her. He knew her strong sense of justice came from her mother and there was nothing he could do to sway her skewed opinion of him. He stumbled slightly as his foot sunk into a hole on the road.

"Master Athena, if you wouldn't mind, could you be my eyes again?" He asked as he righted himself. Athena huffed and wiped her eyes and turned her attention back to the road.

"There's another pothole to your left." She said, scanning the way before them.

"Thank you." Andrias said gratefully as he carefully stepped around it.

They continued down the road mostly in silence other than Athena voicing obstacles to avoid. Andrias was lost in thought as he grappled with himself and tried to plan their next move. This had been the third town they had been chased out of since they had fled New Newtopia. He was too large and recognizable to set foot near town and Athena was too shy and easily overwhelmed to enter town alone.

Andrias exhaled slowly. If only they could find one of Marcy's old friends. Any one of them could help Athena and her siblings better than he could, Adrias thought gloomily. What use was he to anyone? He was an old broken newt with the reputation of being a former despot king. No one in their right mind would want anything to do with him.

"Your left!" Athena shouted as she tugged on Andrias's tunic.

"Oh!" Andrias blinked as his foot collided with a large boulder. He shook his head to clear it. He didn't have time to wallow in pity and self loathing. He needed to pay attention. "Sorry." He apologized to Athena as he tapped the boulder with Barrel's hammer. "What's this doing in the road?" He wondered aloud.

"Doesn't your foot hurt?" Athena asked worryingly. Andrias blinked. What didn't hurt at his age?

"Not much." He said dismissively. "Say, we've been walking for a while, why don't we take a break and have lunch?" He suggested as he tried to navigate himself off the road.

"Okay." Athena agreed. They found a spot and Andrias carefully lowered Athena back onto the ground. "What do we have leftover?"

"Let's see…" Andrias sat down and rifled blindly through his bag. "Ah, we still have beetle bread, beetle jerky, and cheese." He said as he pulled them out.

"We could make sandwiches!" Athena said excitedly as she set to work. Andrias smiled softly and closed his eyes. He appreciated her optimism. He stretched and then winced, grabbing his stump where his arm used to be. "Andrias?" Athena asked.

"It's nothing." He groaned. "I just pulled something." Athena looked him up and down.

"Why don't you get a new arm and leg?" She asked.

"Oh, well…" Andrias cleared his throat.

"You're part android right?" Athena continued.

"I was." Andrias said, putting a hand to his side. "I suppose I still am." He could feel the gears slowly grinding along. As things had broken he hadn't bothered replacing them. He felt he didn't deserve to. None of his former citizens had been given the same privilege to live as long as he had.

"So why don't you get fixed?" She asked again. Andrias stroked his long beard absently as he thought of how best to respond.

"…I don't want to." He said honestly. "And I doubt anyone would want to fix me."

"Why?" Athena asked as she handed him a sandwich.

"Because I've done terrible things." He said, accepting the food.

"But doesn't it make it hard to do stuff?" She continued.

"It does." Andrias shrugged. He couldn't see her but he could already picture the confused look on her face. It was probably just like Marcy's. "And I don't mind." He said then frowned. "Well, I didn't before anyway." He threw the whole sandwich in his mouth.

"And now you do?" Athena scratched her head. "Then why don't you fix yourself?" Andrias swallowed and went back to stroking his beard.

"I still stand by what I said. I don't want to be fixed."

"But it's bothering you."

"Only because it means I can't protect you." He said finally.

"You could protect yourself too if you were fixed." Athena added as she dug into her sandwich.

"I don't need protection…" Andrias grunted. "I need to hurry up and rust."

"You… you want to… die?" Athena said in a frightened whisper. Andrias blanched.

"No! No no! That's not what I meant little Master!" He tried to do damage control. How could he say something so careless in front of her?

"My mom talks to people who want to die. She says they don't really want to die, they're just sick and need help." Athena shifted uncomfortably. "Do you need help?" She asked, looking up at him.

"I… Perhaps I do." Andrias admitted. "But I promise you that I am fine. I'm sorry for worrying you unnecessarily."

"I don't want you to die." Athena said, placing her hand on his. Andrias sniffed. This was certainly Marcy's child alright.

"Thank you." He said softly.

"I don't know a lot about robotics but I could help you make a new arm and leg." Athena said, looking out over the grassy plains. Andrias closed his eyes. It couldn't hurt to build something temporary. Plus he could probably teach her some valuable skills.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Master Athena." He said, opening his eyes again. New eyes wouldn't hurt either. "We're in the plains, right?"

"Yup!"

"Do you see any frog head shaped domes?"

"Uh…" Athena stood up and looked around. All she could see was an endless sea of grass and the occasional mound. "No." Andrias scratched his chin.

"Any hills that seem out of place?" He asked. He remembered the factories being half buried after all.

"There's a couple, I think." Athena said slowly.

"You finished your lunch?"

"Yup!"

"Let's go to the closest hill then." Andrias said, as he grabbed Barrel's hammer to help himself up.

"What's supposed to be in the frog head domes?" Athena asked as she grabbed the hem of Andrias's cloak and led the way.

"Well, a long time ago they used to be factories."

"What'd they make?"

"Frobots. Armies of frobots." Andrias sighed. "They were used in invasions so as not to put frogs or toads or newts at risk."

"Were they ever used not for war?" Athena asked. Andrias blinked as he thought about it.

"Occasionally, yes. They would help with simple tasks, like repairing roads, building homes, and helping with any sort of general infrastructure."

"Did they like doing that?"

"…I haven't really thought about it." Andrias mused. "I think they did."

"Maybe when we free those other frobots they can do that stuff too." Athena said cheerfully. "We're at one of the hills." Andrias reached out and placed his hand on it. There appeared to only be a thin layer of dirt. He started scraping it away.

"There's something underneath!" Athena exclaimed. Andrias smiled. "I'll help!" She said as she started digging.

"We're going to want to look for anything bronze. That will be the door." He said, blindly feeling his way around the hill. "Ah, I think it should be here." He said as he resumed scraping away at the dirt.