What This World Has to Offer- Story

[Pokemaniac7000]

45 minutes ago, minespatch said:

Everything was going fine until the last chapter. I'll let it slide due to your interpretation but I'm shocked anyone would know a song from the 90s.

Well honestly I was actually planning on cutting that entire scene out but one of my friends (whom I met through this story) apparently really liked it so I decided not to anger her and kept it

Plus he hints at several musical references, including we didn't start the fire so I just had to reference one of those >w< (Fire Staff- "We Didn't Start the Fire!")

45 minutes ago, minespatch said:

This is a sweet fiction and I'm sorry it's taken me a while to catch up. Keep up the good work.

I'm glad you like it! I don't mind at all, I'm just super glad that you are still reading it! ^^

(The picture was drawn by Toxicdusk on Deviantart and she's the reason I kept that part lol)

Edited May 2, 2017 by Pokemaniac7000

[Pokemaniac7000]

Chapter 13: Divided We Fall Part 1

 

Wilson's POV

 

“YOU'RE A MORON. YOU TOOK US ONE STEP TOO CLOSE TO DEATH, HALF-BREED,” WX hissed to a defiant Webber.

 

“We're the moron!?” Webber shouted, sounding completely enraged. “We could've saved your life you ingrate! Besides! We tried to go away from the death-monster that wanted to eat us.”
 

A lone spark flew away from the robot's shoulder, but he didn't pay much attention to it. “YOU KNOW VERY WELL WATER COULD KILL ME FAR MORE PAINFULLY THAN ANY BEAST.”

 

“It's all about you, isn't it?”

 

WX sharply pointed at me. “HE NEARLY DROWNED.”

 

“You're so afraid of water,” Webber taunted. “when really if anything's gonna kill you painfully, it's us.” WX took a threatening step forward, his fist preparing for the punch.

 

“Stop it!” I barked, thrusting my way between them and holding them at arm's length away from me. “You two have been arguing since we got back and I'm sick of it!”

 

Two enraged pairs of eyes turned to glare at me- one pair white and the other pair non-existent. “Good point Wilson! You were the one that decided to go that way even though there was something clearly there that wanted to kill all of us!" Despite the fact neither Webber nor WX was my size- WX's height brought him to about my nose and Webber's barely above my waist- they were beyond intimidating when they were both glaring at me with such intensity either might attack at any second.

 

“It was none of our faults! It was a simple mistake anyone could have made! Perhaps a mistake that needed to be made to learn about this world!”
 

“YOU FORGET THIS IS THE SAME ONE THAT WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO RUN RIGHT INTO THE BEARGER,” WX sneered.

 

“And you two got attacked by a tree guard not three days after we came here,” I growled, my patience wearing thin. I took a deep breath, trying not to lash out. “It's winter. We can't keep arguing and fighting like this if we want to survive it.”

 

“WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS IF THE GENIUS ACTUALLY PLANNED SOMETHING.”

 

“Look here.” Finally snapping, I abandoned my stance to keep the two apart to shove my face into WX's. “We need each other to survive. We've made it this far together, and we can get through this together.”

 

“WE DON'T NEED YOU, SCIENTIST.” Before I could even respond or comprehend what was going on, I was flung backward, holding my nose as the world tilted and pain blossomed through my face. Something warm and sticky was dripping through my fingers, and it took me a second to realize exactly what happened and jumped forward instantly to return the punch. Before I could, however, I fell, still dizzy after the sudden trauma to my face. In the corner of my eye, I saw Webber lunge towards him, his knife gripped tightly in his hand as he apparently aimed to stab the robot in the chest with it. WX spotted the attack, though, and quickly grabbed Webber's dominant hand, apparently squeezing it a bit judging by the expression on the boy's face.

 

WX ignored him and instead glared down at me. “YOU ARE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE,” he spat, and it took me a second to realize he was still talking to me. “YOU AREN'T STRONG, YOU AREN'T FAST, YOU AREN'T EVEN SMART EVEN THOUGH THAT'S WHAT YOU APPARENTLY PRIDE YOURSELF ON. WE DON'T NEED YOU.”

 

“You're wrong! I'm the only one who knows anything about medicine and wounds!”
 

“We wouldn't need that if we never got hurt,” Webber answered, breaking away from WX's vice grip and rubbing his wrist with muffled growls.

 

“Oh? And you think you can fight beasts like that on your own?”
 

“WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO FIGHT THEM IF YOU WEREN'T ALWAYS GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY TO FIGHT THEM!”

 

I narrowed my eyes, switching the hand holding my nose and pulled myself to my feet. “You know what? Maybe you're right.” I grabbed my spear and grabbed it tightly until my knuckles popped. “And maybe I don't need you either.” With that final comment, I turned and marched away, and I could feel their gazes boring into my back. No more. They can go get themselves killed if they want, but I'm not going to be a part of it.

 

…

Earlier

...

“It's too cold,” Webber complained, his breath billowing out in a cloud. “We're gonna freeze to death.” He looked up at the frosty branches above us. Even though this place had been a beautiful place during the fall with its multi-colored leaves, seeing the birch forest in winter was an even more amazing sight. The firey leaves that had clung to their perches in the months before now carpeted the ground and shone with a certain sparkle only frost and snow could give.

 

“Nonsense!” I replied cheerfully. “You're just being dramatic.”

 

"I'M NOT PARTICULARLY ADVANCED IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF YOU MEATSACKS," WX mused. "BUT I'M PRETTY SURE COLD CAN KILL YOU QUITE EASILY."

 

“It's not that cold. Besides, we haven't all been exploring together since... well, I don't think we ever have, and I'd like to do that before it actually gets cold and we have to deal with that.” I crossed my arms as Webber rolled his eyes- which was quite impressive given he had no pupils.

 

“Fine. Have us catch our death of pneumonia, see if we care when you idiots get yourselves killed without us.” He shoved me in an almost affectionate manner. He was in a surprisingly good mood considering his recent bout of mild depression. I laughed a bit and continued walking, but Webber stopped suddenly, his whiskers twitching. “We shouldn't go there,” he said uneasily. WX and I just looked at him.

 

“Why not?”

 

“We've learned to use our gut feeling to figure out where to go.” He shook his head and pointed towards the path I was following. “That's not safe.”

 

“YOU'RE BEING RIDICULOUS,” WX scoffed. “THE ONLY THING THAT'S NOT SAFE IS STANDING AROUND IN THE COLD WAITING TO FREEZE TO THE GROUND.”

 

“It's not safe!” He insisted. “We know! We've survived out in the wild before. You have like- what- a couple of months of experience?”

 

"It doesn't matter. We're going to keep going." I scowled at the kid. He had to learn sooner or later that he wasn't the boss around here. Given his age, he shouldn't even be out there. For all we knew, he could've been lying about everything.

 

“You're going to regret that,” he hissed, but he followed anyway.

 

The path was actually better lit than the one we had been on previously. Bramble and brush had been shoved away as though it was a path often used by others. Maybe other humans! I thought hopefully, the idea bringing speed to my feet.

 

In hindsight, I couldn't have been more wrong.

 

Eventually, we reached a vantage point of the forest. You could look at it and see the entire wood, including a distant smudge I assumed was the savanna that separated the birch forest and the forest of evergreens that our base was hidden in. That wasn't what caught my attention though. Beside me, Webber stiffened with fear and even tough WX froze. For the longest moment, we weren't able to speak, and the silence felt unnatural before Webber finally broke it.

 

“That's a big deer,” he hissed.

 

As though the sound of his voice wasn't as quiet as it had been, the monstrous beast was obviously alerted to our presence. It was far below us and probably a mile away, and considering how steep the landscape fell away from where we stood, it shouldn't have been able to get us. The moment that single, vicious eye locked on me, a deep feeling of dread made its way into my chest.

 

It was a certain feeling I was about to die.

 

I knew I was about to die.

 

I tried to take a step back but my legs refused to listen. The Deerclops and I stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. It roared and took a step forward. The ground shook under its enormous weight. "Guys," I forced out, even though my throat felt like it was full of gravel. As though breaking them from a trance, they slowly turned to look at me. "Run."

 

The calmly give order conflicted with its urgency, but they picked it up. Behind us, I could hear the beast's heavily thumping feet as it gave chase. I was going to die.

 

I was going to die.

 

I risked a glance behind me only to have pure terror drive me to run faster as the Deerclops cleared the drop in a single bound, its eye red with anger. WX was just behind me, and Webber was ahead of me. I gritted my teeth and pushed my body to its limit. I was already running out of breath, and even if I could think of a way out of this I couldn't breathe well enough to tell the others.

 

I was trapped in this state until I ran out of breath and then? What would become of me? Well, I'd probably get eaten by that one-eyed monster, so that wasn't really an option. My sense of direction had long since fled me, and I just blindly followed Webber's lead. When he stopped I barely stopped in time to keep from crashing into him. "What are you doing? Move!” I shouted, but he shook his head stiffly. I looked beyond him to see greenish blue motion, sloshing endlessly around until it met the sky and most likely even further.

 

The ocean.

 

It was the end of the line. Just as WX skidded to a half beside me, Webber flipped around with a scowl. The Deerclops, as though it had realized its prey was cornered, seemed to grin as it slowed down, apparently content to literally scare us to death.

 

“Jump.” WX and I sharply glared at him.

 

“IMPOSSIBLE.”

 

“Is that all you've got?” Webber challenged the Deerclops, stepping a bit closer to it. Now that it was up close, I could see just how large it truly was. It was taller than three of the trees around us put together and then some. It terrified me. How Webber was able to walk towards it like that was far beyond me. “Chasing pathetic, starving, and weak humans to their death?” He bared his teeth. “That's just sad, even for such an oversized throw rug.” He spat the last two words.

 

“We have to jump.” Desperation began to sink in as WX shook his head. “He's going to get himself killed if we don't.”
 

“YOU'RE GOING TO GET ME KILLED IF WE DO!” He protested.

 

I frowned, trying to think quickly. The Deerclops took a step closer to us, nearly shaking me off of the cliff face. “Hold your breath.” I didn't even have times to register Webber's words before I had been shoved over the edge.

 

I was in free-fall, the waves rapidly coming closer. I took the deepest breath I could muster before I hit the water. I felt my legs being caught by the undertow, but the adrenaline rush and the frantic flight drained me of almost all of my energy. I just managed to look up, seeing that single eye one final time before it turned and stalked away, apparently satisfied with how dead we were.

 

…

 

I coughed up a lungful of water, the salt stinging my throat and making my eyes water. I rolled onto my side with a soft groan, coughing up somehow still more water. How much did I swallow? I wondered dazedly.

 

"You're alright," Webber breathed- the first sign that I wasn't alone. I squinted up at him, trying to blink away the blurriness to make our any details of his face. I tried to speak, but my throat was burning too much. "WX is okay too. He's back at camp. We waited for you for a bit but when you didn't appear we came back for you."

 

“How long was I out?” I croaked.

 

“A couple hours at most.”

 

I frowned and struggled into a sitting position.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“I'm fine.” That wasn't completely true. My limbs felt like they were made out of lead and my head felt like it was full of cotton.

 

“We'd better get back soon, then.”

 

…

 

I tossed my head to the side. It didn't matter. I didn't need them. My spear weighed heavily on my shoulder, but the I admittedly like the sensation that there was something other than me. Half of the forest was in between the other two and me before I was able to relax. I took a deep breath and pressed my back against a tree and slid to the ground. I clenched my fists. If they didn't want me, I didn't want them. It wasn't survival anymore, it was a contest.

 

A contest I didn't plan on losing.

[Pokemaniac7000]

Chapter 14: Divided We Fall Part 2

WX-78's POV

 

Admittedly, my entire outburst had only a single reason.

 

I was absolutely terrified. I could only think of one other occasion in my entire life I had ever been so scared, and I wasn't particularly fond of that subject. Slowly, as though any faster movement could alert that beast again, Webber bent down and picked up his knife, which had fallen when I grabbed his hand. He didn't meet my gaze, but I could hear him breathing heavily like he had been running. Neither of us said anything for a long moment. Both of us seemed to be trying to get used to the fact that Wilson had just walked off like that.

 

I wasn't sure how long we stood in silence and stillness, but eventually, Webber threw his knife towards the empty fire pit, the end sticking in the ground. Without a word, he picked up a handful of dying leaves and twigs and threw it into the ring of rocks. I just watched as he began to set up the fire.

 

Finally, the silence was broken. “You shouldn't have done that,” Webber said heavily. “Now what will we do?” Without pulling the knife out of the ground, he grabbed the hilt of it.

 

“JUST WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE.”

 

“Just without Wilson,” he added quietly.

 

For a moment, the only sounds were the crackling of the newborn fire.

 

“Why did you do that?” He asked, staring into the fire.

 

I had no reply. I had no idea why I went off at Wilson. I wasn't sure if I was just very mad or if it was a side effect of the temporary short-circuit or what. Not that I would let him know of my confusion. “HE WAS A BURDEN.”

 

“You're a burden,” he mumbled.

 

“I DON'T NEED YOU EITHER,” I informed him. “I COULD LIVE JUST FINE BY MYSELF.”

 

Webber finally looked up from the fire, a wry grin on his face. “Well, why don't you do that then? Oh wait, let us guess. Some pathetic excuse about you being super nice and awesome and looking after the little kid?” His voice hardened, as though his shock was gradually turning into anger, and he stood to face me. “Guess what, WX? We've survived on our own before. You haven't. You need us. We- however- don't need you.”

 

“I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE NOTICED YET BUT THIS ISN'T EXACTLY EARTH.”

 

“You guys keep saying that word. What does it even mean?” He crossed his arms.

 

I puzzled for a moment over what word he was talking about. “EARTH?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“YOU'RE AN IDIOT.”

 

He looked offended. "Look, it doesn't matter. See- see this?" He parted his fur around his knuckles and held it out for me to examine. A trio of long, deep scars was marked across them. "Those scars? Yeah. We got those from living out here. And this?" He showed off another scar on his shoulder. "This too. So yes, we are very serious about living out in this world by ourself. So, you can stay or you can prove your stupidity by leaving."

 

“IT'S NOT STUPIDITY. IT'S STRENGTH.”

 

“Is that what they're calling it now?” He sounded mockingly thoughtful. His clawed fingers twitched as though he was really in the mood to claw me in the face. I clenched my fist. If he lashed out at me, his claws would barely do anything against my metal skin. Plus, I'd be perfectly justified in punching him back. I almost wanted him to try. “Either way, paperweight, it's your choice.”

 

He looked so smug. It made me want to punch him even more. Refusing to satisfy him with a response, I walked past him and to the fire. Webber laughed in a way that sounded crueler than anything. "Coward! Afraid to deal with the big bad world all by your little lonesome?" I grabbed my bag and weapon, my 'eyes' closed. When I finally opened them again and looked back, I saw that his teeth were bared in a sneer.

 

I graced him with one final action. The hardest punch I could muster right in the lower jaw before stalking away, giving no final words. I assumed that the previous damage done to the boy's jaw had weakened it without much proper time to heal, and the renewed blunt force had broken open old wounds, mainly judging by the audible crack and the fact that the second I hit him he doubled over in pain. I didn't care anymore. He made his choices and I made mine.

 

Even if he wanted to he probably couldn't have shouted anything at me, and even though I refused to look back I could feel his ice cold glare burning into my back. He was so certain that he could survive on his own- so certain that he was the best of us three- I was desperate to prove him wrong.

 

Even if that meant leaving him for dead.

 

It was quite an amusing yet depressing though at the same time, the latter most likely due to the fact that that would mean I wouldn't be able to watch his certain demise. Whatever. It didn't matter I would probably stumble across his dead body anyway.

 

Somehow that didn't seem to help matters much.

 

Naturally, my first instinct was to try to find Wilson again, but my mind instantly shot that down. He was most likely still mad after I had driven him out, and he needed time to cool down before I tried to talk to him again. Which, of course, left only one viable course of action- trying to make it by myself. Which surely wouldn't be too hard for a robot of my build. I couldn't help but puff out my chest a little, feeling almost proud. No world was too strong for me to handle! I was a loner! I didn't need anyone else!

 

Of course, that would be the very time everything would go downhill.

 

There was a hill that Wilson had talked about going over when winter first started. It connected the pine forest and the rocky land beyond. I, in my high-and-mighty state of mind, made the very same mistake that Wilson had made that nearly landed him with a mangled leg.

 

I wasn't listening.

 

Instead of an obvious hollow thump that signified the arrival of a giant, it was a different kind of footstep- my own. I had noticed that the ground had felt slightly different but I thought little of it. If I had been paying attention, I would've noticed the way that my footsteps echoed instead of being absorbed into the ground. In barely a second I went from feeling like I was on top of the world to falling.

 

The ground caved in beneath me, unable to support my weight like it had Wilson's. For a moment I was certain I was about to die. The floor below me- if there was any at all- was hidden away in shadow, so hitting it was about as sudden and jarring as you could get. I was temporarily paralyzed by the impact, but slowly I regained sensation in my limbs. Sitting up was painful. I had just managed to lift my arm to try to stand when something caught my eye. I completely froze, hoping whatever it was would go away. Whatever it was shrunk and disappeared for a moment before reappearing, and I realized what they were.

 

Eyes.

 

Someone, or something, was watching me. Now determined to not show weakness to the strange monster, I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the pain and wobbliness and the fact that my knees refused to lock into a standing position. I glared in the direction of the eyes, and I got a better look at them. They were big and round, and a shade of red that looked closer to pink. After a moment of basically having a staring contest with them, another pair of eyes, a deeper red this time, appeared next to the first. This creature was holding a sort of berry in its mouth that glowed, showing its face and giving it an almost creepy glow. From what I saw, the creature was spider-like and white, but that's all I could really make out. The spider took a few steps closer to me before dropping the berry and scampering back into the darkness.

 

My gaze flicked to it and back at the eyes. They just seemed to be... waiting. For what? I couldn't tell, but I definitely was not eating that berry. I glanced up but it appeared that I wasn't going to be able to escape that way. The creature with the pink eyes hissed something at me, and I couldn't help but flinch. Apparently, both of the red-eyed creature and the pink-eyed creature were spiders. Interesting. I wasn't entirely sure of how much time had passed before the spiders retreated, never once attempting to get closer to me or try to communicate again. By now, the sun had been gone for quite some time and the only thing keeping me from getting slaughtered by the beast in the dark was the strangely glowing berry at my feet. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Cautiously, I bent down to hold the fruit.

 

I looked beyond the cave, my mind working hard as it tried to find a way out of this mess. Going back up from where I fell from was out of the question, considering that the entrance was far above my head. I wasn't too fond of exploring the cave by myself, so my train of thought went right to 'wait for a rescue'.

 

Ahh, nope. That probably wasn't going to work either. Most likely, Wilson thought I was still with Webber, and Webber probably thought that I went to find Wilson. I slowly lowered myself into a sitting position. Even if they didn't think that what would make them want to try to rescue me in the first place.

 

They would never look for me.

 

I brought my knees up, resting my chin on them. There was a strange feeling inching its way up my spine. Some sort of emotion that I could not properly comprehend. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew what it was, but some part of me wanted to deny it.

 

Guilt.

 

I felt bad.

 

Robots couldn't cry, that was a proven fact. It was scientifically impossible even if some sort of mechanism was implemented to allow it. But at that moment, that guilt pressing at me like that, I felt closer to tears than I had ever felt. Stop that. It's the darkness getting to you, I told myself furiously, but no matter how many times I told myself that, I knew it wasn't true. I hated being alone. I hated others but I hated being alone more. The lonely feeling of solitude... it wasn't something I could deal with for long.

 

“The biggest mistake I made in your creation I'm sure.” I nearly cried out at the venomous voice behind me. I jumped into a standing position, all of my aches gone as pure terror flooded my senses. No longer was I in a dark cave with no light, and no longer was I alone. The floor, ceilings, and walls were made of an eerily clean white tile, and the... the... thing in front of me brought back far too many memories. I quickly backed away, trying to escape but my back quickly connected with a wall. It (the monster was far too terrible to be referred to as he or she) chuckled softly as though noticing my sudden and intense fear. "I was right about you all along, wasn't I?"

 

“NO...” I managed to hiss. It looked faintly amused. “YOU'RE... YOU'RE NOT HERE. YOU CAN'T BE.”

 

“Oh good, you figured it out yourself. I was afraid I would have to explain the concept of a conscience to you as well.”

 

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?” I took advantage of a millisecond of bravery to take a step forward.

 

“The real question is, what do you want from me?” Its voice had a way of sticking into my head, tainting every thought with the fear of death or suffering. “After all, what more could I want?” There was a pause that I did not deem it necessary to say anything or talk back at all. Two massive metal claws descended from the ceiling. The panic instantly set in.

 

Those claws grabbing me and lifting me by the shoulders.

 

The sound of metal hitting metal as they crushed me, little by little

 

No!

 

But this time, they were not empty. They held no intent on smashing me or damaging me this time. In fact, they dropped two, fairly large objects on the floor in front of me before retreating. I stared at the two objects in a continued silence. One, the more disturbing one, appeared to be an eyeball, my size or even bigger, without an eyes socket to contain it. The other was a pale, rounded shape with tiny sparks of electricity jumping around on its surface. It- my creator- motioned to the two objects, and I slowly began to piece the clues together.

 

“THE... THE EYE OF THE DEERCLOPS AND EGG OF THE Goose? HOW...? WHY...?”

 

It fixed me with that glowing orange glare for so long I began to get uncomfortable. “You'll understand soon. But for now, you have something to do.”

 

I opened my mouth to ask what but before I could I had been thrown out of the strange vision. I looked down at my hands and saw them shaking like crazy. That was why I was here. Because anything was better than that place. I was more cared about here than I ever was there, no matter how much they hated me. Nothing could ever surpass the hatred it felt for me.

 

I had to live with being the biggest mistake ever created in its eyes.

 

I was a failure.

 

A flaw.

 

But that wasn't me anymore. I wasn't there anymore. I straightened myself. I was a survivor. No more were the days where death was constantly lurking over my head. No more were the moments when I feared that I would collapse and never boot up again.

 

But I had a job to do.

 

And it was time to do it.

[minespatch]

Little confused by the WX chapter. IS that a shadow of Wagstaff talking down to the machine or just Maxwell?

[Pokemaniac7000]

11 hours ago, minespatch said:

Little confused by the WX chapter. IS that a shadow of Wagstaff talking down to the machine or just Maxwell?

Okay, so *puts fingers to lips* I actually wrote this story long before I even learned who Wagstaff is, so I decided to keep this part of my cannon for rewriting it. I can't actually say who it was since it is brought up later on, and it'd be sort of a spoiler if I gave it away now >w>

[DragonMage156]

I just noticed Wilson has a black eye. Is he affected by shadows (or will be in the future)? Speaking of which, how is the next chapter coming along?

[Pokemaniac7000]

2 hours ago, DragonMage156 said:

I just noticed Wilson has a black eye. Is he affected by shadows (or will be in the future)? Speaking of which, how is the next chapter coming along?

1)

2) Actually I'm just wrapping it up now. I've been in a bit of a writer's block but I'm excited for this chapter to be honest. Truth be told I'm nowhere near as excited about this chapter as I am the much... MUCH later ones (Namely 35, 50, 98, and 100) So hopefully I'll be able to get around to rewriting them. If I ever think that I'll stop rewriting chapters, though, I'll start posting the crappy original chapters. As for now, though, hopefully I won't have to subject you guys to that sort of torment

[Pokemaniac7000]

Chapter 15: Divided We Fall Part 3

 

Webber's POV

 

Silence. Sweet, sweet silence. For the longest time, all that we ever wanted was someone else to talk to, but now that we had it we just wanted them to stop. We basked in the lack of noise for the first few minutes, but eventually, it got eerie. The chill of winter had driven insects and birds and animals away, so no noise drifted through the air at all. Our ears rang. Weariness began to set in. Usually, this was the point we would try to make some sort of small talk, but there was no one left to talk to. What we said about living in the wild by ourself for a time was very true, but the season of being near others had softened us.

 

We were pathetic now.

 

We shook our head, a soft growl rising in our throat. We had to prove we could survive without them. We could survive without them... right? Of course, the scoffing reply echoed through our mind. You're being ridiculous with your... self-doubt. You know very well you don't need them to survive. They need you. When they realize that... they'll come crawling back.

 

For a reason that had nothing to do with being cold, we shivered. Where the dark thoughts had come from was far beyond our knowledge. We thought briefly back to the memories of playing in the white, powdery snow and vaguely remembered being innocent. Time had been cruel to us, though, so by now, this innocence had long since fled us. Yes, but that innocence has given way to strength... and speed... your intelligence can use some work though.

 

Ah, gee, thanks, insulted by my own mind. Flattered.

 

Are you really so gullible?

 

We closed our eyes and laughed lightly, wryly. Alone for barely an hour and we had already resorted to arguing with ourself? What was the point? Eyes still closed, we bared our teeth. We just need to get our mind off of... things. Telling ourself this was no hardship, but for some reason standing up seemed a much harder task than it used to be.

 

Relax. Go out. Get a breath of fresh air. Clear your mind.

 

Relax, Webber.

 

Breathe.

 

We took a moment to recompose ourself, flexing and unflexing our claws in an attempt to relieve some of the tension built up in them. We couldn't stop working. We could hardly believe how cold it had suddenly gotten. We need fire- or warmth of some kind. We tried to keep from shivering as we slowly dragged our gaze across the snowy and barren landscape. Yes. Out. Out for supplies and... to clear your mind. We briefly thought of the tree guard followed by the bout of insanity, and we dropped our gaze to our feet. Were we really strong enough to stay out here ourself? It hadn't even been a week before we had been crippled by that blasted tree monster, and we didn't have any clue as to how long it took for insanity to kick in. But hadn't they taken care of us both of those times? Weren't they really the reason we were still alive?

 

Of course not, that slightly familiar voice scoffed. You survived by yourself... well, not quite by yourself.

 

What do you mean?

 

We had each other, didn't we?

 

A chill, more fierce than any other chill we had encountered, racked through our body. Is... is that who you are?

 

Proudly.

 

Oh. As though the realization drained us of our remaining energy, we completely gave up the idea of going out and opted to just let our knees buckle right there. The voice scoffed again.

 

You know, lying there isn't going to do anything, except for maybe get both of us killed. And it'd be a shame if that happened.

 

We slowly picked ourself up again, listening intently for the voice to speak up again but to no avail. It must have been a figment of our imagination. Again. Argh, we won't be able to do anything if we fell insane again.

 

We say as though it's a disease, which it might as well be now. Without thinking about it, we began to move forward, towards the forest. We need to build something to keep us warm and... our stomach growled. We need food too... can you help us with that?

 

Part of us wanted to see if that was all imagined, and judging by the lack of response, it probably was. We forced ourself to raise our chin and puff out our chest a little bit. As though if we convinced ourself that we were strong without them we would be.

 

We weren't sure exactly how long we had been walking before we had really started to freeze. Our fingers were numb, and the numbness was quickly spreading to our hands and legs. We paused for a moment to breathe warm air into our palms before squinting and looking around. Our mind had been so focused on the freezing air that we didn't even consider where we were going, and it was pretty safe to say we were totally lost. Confused, we turned on our heel to consider the surrounding area. Over there it appears the forest thins out... maybe we could figure out where we are better where we can see better. Deciding this was the best course of action- admittedly because it was the only one we could think of- we made our way towards the thinner trees.

 

Much like our encounter with the tree guard and Wilson's encounter with the Bearger, we didn't pay attention to the obvious signs ahead of us. The sudden stench, for one, should have been a clear sign not to go that way, but our mind was so much in the distance that we didn't comprehend it until we were face-to-face with one of the scariest things we had ever seen.

 

Skeletons.

 

Lots of skeletons.

 

Almost every single one a human skeleton.

 

We instantly recoiled, all previous thoughts fleeing our mind in favor of sheer terror. Those were obviously human skeletons, the bones stripped clean of any flesh but the stench of decay was still there. For some reason, though, the skeletons themselves were not what scared us the most. It was the idea that there had been others here, and they failed. We were frozen. Part of us wanted to run for the hills, get away from this horrid place as fast as possible. The other half of us- the... 'better half'... of us- was deeply curious as to what struck these other survivors down.

 

We edged closer to the sight. It appeared there were two full skeletons, both locked in positions of agony, and a scattering of bones that suggested at least another that had been smashed by something. Feeling a little sick, we forced ourself to examine the area even closer, and our eyes caught on something we hadn't seen previously. One of the mossy boulders on the forest floor was, in fact, not a boulder. It appeared that was due to its grayed out color and very mossy covering, but further inspection revealed it to be another skeleton, this one obviously not human. Just the head was thrice our size, and just the sight of it brought back a familiar pain of having a clouded mind and aching head.

 

No no no not doing this again. Panic was trying to settle in, but we forced ourself to back away. Our legs didn't want to move, partially from being paralyzed by fear and partially since the cold had stripped them of much sensation. It was almost unexpected when the terrified signals from our head finally reached the rest of our body and we fled as fast as our legs could possibly move. Trying to take shallow breaths while still getting enough air was difficult enough, let alone the added difficulty of keeping our vision straight ahead. We saw the land fall away in front of us just as our energy began to fail. Just over this hill... just over this hill and we can relax.

 

Turns out it wasn't a hill.

 

The second we reached the crest of it, we noticed our mistake and slowed to a halt. There was no land there. Just like every other time we had run as fast as possible, we had ended face-to-face with the ocean.

 

How are we supposed to run if there's always a cliff in the way!? We took a step back, our senses gradually slowing to normal speed. The waves crashing against the rocky cliff seemed to whisper our name, but before we could get any farther back when a hand rested against our back. We were in mid turn to see who it was- perhaps Wilson or WX came back for us!-

 

Only for that very hand to push us forward.

 

A shout had already erupted from our mouth and the rocks echoed with it by the time we figured out exactly what had happened.

 

The next second we hit the water belly-first.

 

It certainly wasn't the first time we had gone into the ocean- we thought of the Deerclops with a shiver- but it seemed much more shocking this time around, probably due to the fact that tiny sheets of ice had began to freeze bits of water and hitting them drove needle-sharp icicles into our skin. On our own for less than a day... the tiny voice in the back of our head chimed. And already the battle has been lost.

 

…

 

We weren't sure how long it had been before we felt something solid beneath us.

 

We weren't certain how we had survived, nor what those voices in the background were saying let alone who they belonged to...

 

It wasn't until a claw sat on our shoulder for a good minute until we realized we weren't dead.

 

Dripping and shivering violently as the water clinging to our fur began to freeze into clumps, we barely managed to open our eyes to glare at the creature that dare disturb our sleep.

 

It was a spider.

 

Just... an ordinary spider... that for some reason made the shivers even more violent and our breath catch in our throat. The spider graced us with a pleasantly vicious grin, and waited until we were fully aware again to speak.

 

“You've been out for quite awhile,” it said in a sneering tone. “Too much water for you?”
 

“Who... who are you?”

 

“A friend! An acquaintance! A-well, should I drop the act?” The spider slowly paced around us, examining every dripping fur, ever healed over scar across our body. “I'm part of you, my friend. I'm... sure, you haven't forgotten me.”

 

Our mind still wasn't working the best, and it rolled its eyes at our obviously clueless look. “Have you forgotten already?”

 

Oh.

 

Right.

 

Him.

 

“What do you want from me?” I rasped.

 

“A lot of things, but you don't understand. I'm here to help you.” Something tinted our senses, something strong and metallic and warm, but when we turned to look at it, it reached out its claw and pressed it against our cheek to stop us from doing so. “Your.... 'friends'... will be experiencing something similar, so don't be too scared, human.” It stepped away, silencing itself as it probably waited for us to turn and see the thing it stopped us from seeing the first time.

 

As if the day hadn't been terrifying enough, the sight was somehow even more unexpected and... horrible... then all of the others of that day.

 

Two items were on the ground in front of us: A bloody horn and a tooth sitting in a rivulet of some glowing orange liquid, possibly lava.

 

And there were two bodies beyond them.

 

Two.

 

A robot's and a scientist's.

 

No.

 

The claw rested on our back, digging slightly into our flesh as to appear as though it was offering comfort but truly hurting us, but we didn't even feel the pain. We were too busy staring at those two bodies.

 

The horn was in front of WX's. A large hole had been torn out of the robot's torso. If the wound had been any bigger, he would have been in danger of being split in half by the severity of it.

 

The tooth was in front of Wilson's. A set of three bloody claw marks had been ripped down his chest, his clothing stained an even darker red and blood still pulsed from it.

 

We held our head as tears threatened to spill into our vision. Stop it.. you're stronger than that. They mean nothing to you.

 

But we can't... no...

 

"They're not dead," I whispered, hoping to hear the spider agree to confirm it, but the claw simply withdrew and when we risked a glance at it, it appeared to simply shrug.

 

"I would know as much as you, human." It raised another one of its front claws, examining it just as blood from nowhere began to drip down it. "But you'd better find them quickly, or else... heh, well, I'm not completely sure. All I know..." It paused for a moment, as though trying to think or trying to create tension. "Is that either way, you and I will have fun together... forever."

 

[DragonMage156]

4 hours ago, Pokemaniac7000 said:

1)

2) Actually I'm just wrapping it up now. I've been in a bit of a writer's block but I'm excited for this chapter to be honest. Truth be told I'm nowhere near as excited about this chapter as I am the much... MUCH later ones (Namely 35, 50, 98, and 100) So hopefully I'll be able to get around to rewriting them. If I ever think that I'll stop rewriting chapters, though, I'll start posting the crappy original chapters. As for now, though, hopefully I won't have to subject you guys to that sort of torment

There's freakin 100 of these things XD

[Pokemaniac7000]

4 hours ago, DragonMage156 said:

There's freakin 100 of these things XD

109 to be precise in the original draft xDDD

I might.... you know, get rid of some chapters and add a few chapters here and there so there's no telling exactly how long it's gonna be this time

[DragonMage156]

9 hours ago, Pokemaniac7000 said:

109 to be precise in the original draft xDDD

I might.... you know, get rid of some chapters and add a few chapters here and there so there's no telling exactly how long it's gonna be this time

Well I guess it's just like a book. They can have over 100 chapters XD

[Pokemaniac7000]

So it turns out my good friend Toxaotic (Toxicdusk on DeviantART: AKA the person who drew the cover and a few pieces of fanart) has been planning on animating the first chapter of this story (voice acted and everything). She does really awesome frame-by-frame animation, and I'm so excited for it (hopefully she'll be able to and nothing comes up)

 

Just thought I'd share that, and let's see if we can get a bit of hype for her, shall we?  

[DragonMage156]

6 hours ago, Pokemaniac7000 said:

So it turns out my good friend Toxaotic (Toxicdusk on DeviantART: AKA the person who drew the cover and a few pieces of fanart) has been planning on animating the first chapter of this story (voice acted and everything). She does really awesome frame-by-frame animation, and I'm so excited for it (hopefully she'll be able to and nothing comes up)

 

Just thought I'd share that, and let's see if we can get a bit of hype for her, shall we?  

Omg HYPE! I gotta go over there with my hype emote and let her know! ^_^

[minespatch]

The twist with the spider companion is pretty interesting. Curious on that development.

 

Congrats on your friend's project! Good luck on the finished product.

[DragonMage156]

Any updates?

[Pokemaniac5000]

I'm so sorry it took me so long to reply! For some reason my profile is unlogin-able so I had to use this one? I didn't even make a new profile I just logged in and it erased everything I had and changed my name so... sorry.

My friend has been on vacation for awhile so I can't really talk to her about progress on the animation, but chapter-wise once again I'm about halfway through the next chapter. I'll work on it again sometime soon.

~Pokemaniac7000

[Pokemaniac7000]

All right! I finally got access to my profile again! For some reason when I tried to access it previously there was a mixup and it put me in a new file that didn't exist previously. That being said, there might be a message from this alt. file explaining the issue. In case not, I'll just explain that I haven't been able to reply due to this mess up, and the next chapter is about half-done. I will probably finish it soon, I'm just working on several other stories at once. My friend has been on vacation so progress on the animation is unknown. Toodles!

[Pokemaniac7000]

Chapter 16: Divided We Fall Part 4

Wilson's POV

 

Turns out, Winter was very cold.

 

It was even colder when you were alone away from a fire or any other source of warmth.

 

I blew heart into my already freezing hands and rubbed them together as I trudged along, trying to drive the shivers away from my vulnerable frame. Some part of me was greatly regretting leaving like that, but if I was honest with myself I wasn't completely certain Webber wasn't about to tackle me. And despite the fact he was almost half my size, he was also half spider with claws and teeth and I had nothing like that, so he probably would have had the upper hand.

 

Shivers of fear joined the pre-existing shivers on my arms, and I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep breath. I was imagining something that didn't happen- that would never happen. The fact I was imagining being mauled by a seven-year-old only cemented the fact that I was being completely ridiculous.

 

What I wasn't being ridiculous about was that I could very easily die out here. I squinted at the sky. I wasn't completely sure how long I had been wandering around, but it must have been long enough. The skyline on one horizon was orangish pink with the sunset. Even as I stood I could hear the sounds of birds and other animals becoming quieter and quieter. I slowly dropped my eyes to my feet. I wanted to go back so badly. I wanted to go back and sit next to the fire and watch Webber and WX argue and relax.

 

If I go back now, they'll team up on me, I thought wryly. Even if I could take on and defeat Webber by myself, there is no way I could defend myself against both him and WX.

 

And that'd be admitting defeat! They'll see that I don't need them!

 

But what if they need you? A tiny voice pointed out. Then it's their own fault for chasing me away, I thought back furiously. I nodded to myself and looked around the forest, searching for something to make a fire big enough to survive the long winter night and chase away the cold that had settled into my bones.

 

By the time night had fully fallen, I had managed to get a small fire going. It wasn't much, it probably wasn't enough, but it was something at least. I couldn't let myself fall asleep, the fire was just too weak to allow me to stop caring about it for a minute. It was admittedly hard though... mainly due to the fact it was so cold and being near the fire made me warm, and it was like a blanket, hiding me from the darkness, surrounding me, blanketing me, encouraging me to relax...

 

No! Stay awake, Wilson! Stay awake!

 

The sky happily obliged in helping and gentle flakes of snow began to drift down from the sky. They landed softly, without a sound, a silent killer hidden cheerfully behind a mask of frost. I frowned at the fire. Just a little longer. Just stay awake a little longer... if you fall asleep this fire will go out and you WILL freeze to death. Or get killed by the Night Monster. Or some other terrible fate I can't think of right now.

 

Daytime was a long time coming. A long, exhausting, time coming. But it finally did come, and when it did the fire was still alive. First thing's first, I need to find a way to keep myself awake.

 

My mind instantly turned my feet to the side, and I wondered for a moment why. Oh, right, the frog ponds.. maybe a little cold water would help.

 

I didn't want to waste the precious fire though. This was the only thing that stopped me from moving that very second. Hesitantly, I grabbed some fairly thick and sturdy branch from nearby and let it hover in the fire for a moment until it caught. I was careful not to move it too quickly as to kill the newly born flame, but the fire took to the wood much better than it took to the damp grass, and it stayed steady. I shoved the hand not holding the torch into a pocket and puffed my chest out.

 

I wasn't that easy to take out.

 

I wasn't that easy to take out!

 

Filled with rather forced determination, I set off towards the ponds. The snowfall from the night before had become heavier, and as I walked the heaviness only increased. I paused, squinting through the snow as it stung my eyes. I need to get to shelter first... the chill was enough to wake me up finally, but that was no longer something I cared about. The wind was picking up as the snowfall tried to turn into a full-on blizzard.

 

And yet... below the sound of the howling wind... below the sound of my panicked heartbeat...

 

Was that coughing?

 

I frowned and kept my gaze low, trying desperately to keep the snow out of my eyes. It didn't matter if that was someone coughing. They were probably going to die anyway, just as I was. The sound soon disappeared, and I assured myself it was just a figment of my sleep-deprived imagination. In the corners of my eyes, something black whizzed past my vision, and I glanced up.

 

Naturally, this was a mistake.

 

Along with the blast of ice-cold snow whipping me in the face, something suddenly wrapped itself around my ankles, and before I could struggle to get them off I tripped, hitting the ground awkwardly. It wasn't a hard landing, but it was a cold landing. The shadows around my feet retreated, and they swirled together vertically in a pillar for a moment.

 

Is this what dying is like? Is this me hallucinating? Will those shadows turn into something to escort me to the afterlife?

 

The figure, however, was not at all familiar. I could make it out as being tall and thin, but its silhouette didn't give any indication to any other features. The shadows drew away, just leaving me and the silhouette.

 

I didn't even notice that it had stopped snowing in a perfect circle around us, and the blizzard raged on around us.

 

It slowly walked towards me and offered a hand. I was still breathing heavily due to the exertion of pushing through the blizzard for so long, but I took it anyway and it pulled me to my feet.

 

Its hand was cold and slippery, almost slimy.

 

“You seemed to have fallen,” the figure commented. Its voice was impossible to describe or comprehend, but if I had to, I would explain it as 'feminine yet masculine, deep yet high-pitched, cheerful yet filled with hatred'.

 

“Yeah... thanks for helping me up.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to put out distinguishing features. “Who... are you?”

 

The figure shrugged a movement that sent ripples all down its incorporeal body. “No one important to you... yet.”

 

“Yet?”

 

“Let's just say we aren't supposed to meet until much, much later.”

 

“Wait...” I took a few panicked steps back, trying to put the pieces together. I wasn't even cold anymore... like the presence of the figure eliminated everything deadly. “Maxwell...?” I didn't even mean for my voice to sound so hostile, but the thought of that arrogant grin resting on me again made me want to punch the nearest living thing.

 

It laughed. “No, no. Maxwell is... the master.”

 

“Master? You're one of Maxwell's creations?”

 

“I existed long before the master,” it circled me, its body warping and shifting unnaturally. “You are lost?”

 

“I-I guess you could say that.”

 

“You are alone as well... I could have sworn you had more people.” It paused. “They are lost as well.”

 

“Lost? No, they're back at camp.” I frowned. “What do you want from me?”

 

“I want to assist you.” It waved its arm, a tuft of silver-black fur suddenly appearing in its palm. I cautiously reached out to grab it and shivered at the oily texture. “The fur of the beast mortals like yourself call the Bearger,” it announced. “One of the five items needed for your escape.”

 

“One of? What are the other four?”

 

“Your friends know the answer,” it replied simply. Behind the figure, more of the blizzard lifted to reveal a pathway... a clear pathway. “Go to them. They understand now that you need each other.”

 

I was left with my mouth half-open. “Wait! How would they understand!” I looked back at it, and it was gone. No! “What is your name!? Who are you!?”

 

The edges of my vision darkened as the same voice echoed through my mind, accompanied by the incredibly loud and piercing sound of tinnitus. “I am the demon that comes when you call its name...

 

I am your greatest Nightmare.”

 

 

A/N: Oh, Wilson, your confidence is adorable...

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by Pokemaniac7000

[minespatch]

I'm guessing that Charlie or one of the Thulians is the one toward the end. Love the sense of isolation this chapter provides.

 

Is... A/N you or a character not introduced yet?

[Pokemaniac7000]

A/N would just be an author's note, mostly because I wanted to say that but didn't want to post an entire reply of it. I'm glad I managed to get that feeling, because that's what I was shooting for  Yeah, prepare to see more of the figure, because I'm nowhere near done with it yet >=D Hope you enjoyed the chapter! ^-^

[Pokemaniac7000]

Chapter 17: Six Feet Under

Webber's POV

 

We could hear a storm raging above us. The sprawling cave system beneath the surface echoed with the gale winds, and every once in awhile we'd stumble across a snowdrift that had sneaked in from the surface. Naturally, we numbly ignored them, still partially frozen from the Ocean's icy water and still terribly shaken from the encounters with the skeleton and... him. Every time we closed our eyes we saw those two mangled corpses. Every time a drop of melted frost dripped from the ceiling and landed on us our mind instantly saw it as blood.

 

The guilt was by far the worst part.

 

The guilt of chasing them away because we were angry.

 

The guilt that we might cause their deaths.

 

Worst of all...

 

The guilt of making them think we didn't need them.

 

We needed them. We needed each other. We looked up at a crack of pale light from above, shining down on barren rock. We had been walking through a field of light-producing flowers for... most likely all day now. It hadn't gotten any warmer as the day progressed, but it hadn't gotten much colder either. In fact, it was probably safer down here than it was up there. It didn't really help our situation much considering but at least we knew it could've been worse. The light from the flowers kept us safe from the darkness, but it illuminated our poor condition all too well, namely the shards of ice frozen to our fur and whiskers. We almost unconsciously ran our claws through the clumps, as though trying to be presentable again. We allowed our eyelids to droop shut, walking without really looking where we were going. If we walked into the darkness who really would care? Nobody would even notice we were gone...

 

Perhaps it was pure luck? Or maybe there was some greater force watching over us that day, although that was something that, in our mind, had been debunked thousands and thousands of times. No matter the reason, destiny saw our predicament, our readiness to die.

 

And whatever the reason, destiny just wouldn't have it.

 

Maybe it had been hours, maybe days. Or maybe, it was only a few minutes, but after some time of walking alone in that field of glowing berries, we happened upon the greatest stroke of luck that we had ever had upon entering this part of the world.

 

We happened upon WX.

 

Which, perhaps, probably shouldn't have seemed like such good luck, but we saw each other from afar. We didn't question how he got here. We didn't question why we were so happy to see him. We didn't question anything. Before we even knew what we were doing he was right in front of us and we literally hugged him. He let out a faint noise of protest, perhaps a mixture of disgust and shock as well, and shoved us away, looking fierce.

 

Though... did we see our relief mirrored in his eyeless gaze?

 

“SO, YOU DID FAIL.”

 

Oh, right, now we remembered why we yelled at him in the first place. Feeling guilty again, we looked away.

 

“THAT'S SURPRISING, HONESTLY. YOU NOT DENYING THE FACT THAT YOU CAN'T SURVIVE WITHOUT US, THAT IS.”

 

“You don't have to berate us...” I responded quietly, still feeling faint with glee. “We know what we did was stupid, you don't have to tell us.”

 

How in the world did he manage to look even smugger?

 

“You're in the same situation, aren't you?!”

 

“WELL,” he spread his arms and motioned to the field, looking the slightest bit helpless. “IT APPEARS SO.”

 

“Were you really going to try to lecture us on something you did as well?”

 

For a moment he was silent, examining every inch of our frost-clumped fur and every ice-tipped hair. “AT LEAST I DIDN'T NEARLY FREEZE TO DEATH ON THE WAY DOWN,” he pointed out.

 

“You obviously didn't have such a graceful descent.” We looked pointedly at his shoulder, which looked like it had been smashed, most likely when he fell.

 

He narrowed his 'eyes'. “DID I NOT HIT YOU HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK YOUR JAW LAST TIME?”

 

“Already on the threats? Can't we wait to try to kill each other until we're, you know, not each other's only hopes of survival?”

 

He sighed, one of those 'that's a good point but I don't want to admit it' sighs.

 

“As soon as we get back you can make all of the scary faces you want,” I promised, smiling pleasantly.

 

“AND FIND WILSON,” he insisted.

 

We tipped our head. “Wilson won't want to come back,” I scoffed. “He's too confident in his own powers. Moron, he's going to get himself killed...” Our voice faded out as the 'know-it-all' look became more and more apparent on the robot's face. “Don't you-”

 

“YOU DO REALIZE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE DOING.” WX crossed his arms. “I DON'T THINK HE'LL BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT US. IT'D BE A PITY TO STUMBLE ACROSS HIS CORPSE.” Despite his fairly harsh words, actual hints of concern crept into his expression. He cares, he just really, really, really hates showing it.

 

We can understand that...

 

“Well anyway, standing around here doing nothing isn't going to help. What do you suggest?”

 

"THERE'S NOTHING THAT WAY," he started, pointing at where he came from. "EXCEPT FOR A HOLE VERY VERY VERY HIGH UP. AND UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY HAVE SOME USEFUL SPIDER TRAITS LIKE CLIMBING THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN GET UP THERE." He promptly grabbed the nearest light fruit from its plant and took a bite of it. "AND IF WE GO ANYWHERE ELSE THE FIELD ENDS." He was silent for a moment before adding quietly, "AND I AM NOT CERTAIN YOU CAN LAST MUCH LONGER WITHOUT A FIRE..."

 

“We'll be fine,” I insisted, suddenly worried that even he noticed that we were off. How bad is it really?

 

Another flash in our mind: crimson blood, loose bolts, crying, screaming.

 

“WHATEVER YOU SAY... BUT IF YOU SUDDENLY DROP I'M NOT COMING BACK FOR YOU.” We couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

 

“If you suddenly drop it'll be us holding the knife,” I quipped without even thinking about it. He looked almost amused for a moment before he started heading to our right, where the field seemed to go on.
 

“COME ON, LET'S FIND A WAY OUT OF HERE.”

 

We continued walking, just like before. Unlike before, though, we weren't alone, and although WX himself was as cold as the stone we walked on we didn't care. We didn't need him for warmth, we needed him because we felt weak without him. We lapsed into silence, neither of us having a reason to say anything and, at least for us, the concern of another cave-in was heavy on our mind.

 

Speaking of which, destiny decided that today wasn't fulfilling enough so it stepped in again. This time, it made itself known once more with a bang.

 

Or, a clatter more like. A clatter of rocks falling from the ceiling. Both of our gazes snapped to the roof at once, the idea of a cave-in suddenly becoming more of a reality. Fate was being nice this time around, though.

 

Only a small circular portion of the ceiling fell away, a giant heap of snow falling into the newly created hole as well.

 

In the meanwhile, we heard some sort of... grumbling noise in the distance.

 

In the circle of light produced by the hole, a shadow appeared. A very unbelievable and very familiar shadow. “WHAT...?”

 

“Heyyyy Wilson, we were just talking about you!” We called up to the man, who looked more confused than ever.

 

“The shadow creep was right!” He shouted back, beaming. WX had his face buried and was muttering something along the lines of 'this can't be happening'.

 

"Let us guess! Your friends are in danger and/or dying and/or dead!"

 

“And they're right here,” Wilson added sheepishly. “But yes, you're right as well. What are the odds!?”

 

We exchanged a glance with WX before returning his grin. “So, you know how you're up there and we're not?”

 

He laughed to himself, a sound that echoed through the caves almost endlessly. “I get it, you knuckleheads. I didn't realize it'd be so far down...it's too far for a vine or a branch or anything...”

 

We tipped our head, listening to that growling sound growing a bit louder.

 

“NO ROPE?”

 

“Too far.” He shook his head and disappeared for a moment, probably trying to wrack his brain.

 

Around that time is when the first worm attacked. It was so sudden, so uncalled for, that the enormous creature rising out of the ground was enough to send us flinching so hard we nearly fell over. Dark fur covered its entire, long body is purple and midnight-blue stripes, and jagged teeth were everywhere in its gaping maw as it roared to the ceiling and dove back underground.

 

We were getting very tired of panicking at this point.

 

There was a pause when everything was quiet again before the worm surged upward again, one of its dagger-like teeth scraping our abdomen as it moved just passed us. We growled. The wound already stung but it wasn't anything compared to some of the things we already had to deal with.

 

Wilson continued to watch from above, his gray eyes becoming more and more concerned with every passing moment. His eyes widened and he disappeared from view once more, but we were too busy trying to dodge the worm to really notice. When he reappeared, he had the 'I'm-about-to-do-something-really-stupid' expression. “Use the worm to get up here!” He called after a moment's consideration.

 

“What!? Are you insane!?”

 

“When it comes up grab the stem on its forehead!” He called back. “It might be the only way!”

 

“YOU'RE CRAZY!” WX protested, but before he could complain very long the hit him with its tail so hard he fell and slid a few feet.

 

He was right. That might be the only way.

 

Putting on a brave face, we narrowed our eyes. “Are you alright?”

 

"I'M FINE," WX insisted, getting back to his feet and looking angrier than ever.

 

“Then follow my lead.” Before he could protest again, the worm resurfaced. The very second its head rose from the ground we were moving, and then we were on its head, holding onto the plant stem sprouting from its head. And then, once again, before we knew it we were on the surface again with the help of Wilson. We were more than content to sit on our hands and knees and breathe.

 

Before we had even finished catching our breath WX had joined us on the surface, looking just as shaken as we felt. And of course, just like he always had been, Wilson was crouched at our side, concern etched into his face as he gently patted our back. We didn't say anything- we couldn't in fear of just collapsing right there, but we smiled at him. The most legitimate smile we could manage, and we could see it in his eyes. That's all he wanted. That's all he needed. Finally, we managed to get enough of our strength back to surprise hug him, and he didn't hesitate to hug us back. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you...”

 

A/N: Thanks to a bunch of time and inspiration here's another chapter before I go to bed

[minespatch]

They encountered a depth's worm. What are the odds? Well... They are in the ruins. Love the effort you put in showing WX's contradicting feelings.

 

[DragonMage156]

Whoops, forgot to read this when it was posted two days ago ^^;

Love how the story's progressing and new characters being introduced. I wonder who the shadow is if it wasn't Maxwell or Charlie. Well atleast the gang's back together now

Edited August 22, 2017 by DragonMage156

[Pokemaniac7000]

Thank you guys so much for your continued support ^-^ Let's just say you all have now met three of the most important non-main character characters. It's probably easy to tell who they are, but you'll be seeing LOTS of those guys later  I hope you guys continue to read and enjoy this work; it's my most proud accomplishment honestly.

 

[Pokemaniac7000]

Chapter 18: Eye Can See For Miles and Miles

 

 

Webber's POV

 

The bitter cold of winter seemed far away now. The muffled chirps of snowy blue birds that lived in the barren landscape were the only thing that broken the uncomfortable silence.

 

Well, that and the sound of the fire crackling nearby. It was strange how much the sound came as a relief to us. It didn't even occur to us before that we didn't have any hope to hear it again. Gradually, our senses returned, and we became acutely aware of how, despite the heat that was heavy in our fur, there was an underlying chill we could not shake off. We stretched, uncurling from the ball we didn't know we had curled into. Wilson, disturbed by the movement, glanced down at us and smiled. We instantly felt our cheeks flush with embarrassment, but the fact that we had essentially cuddled up to him all night for warmth was not brought up at all. A moment of silence passed before he turned back to the fire. We stifled a sneeze and blinked up at him, even though he wasn't looking at us anymore. Finally, we couldn't hold it in anymore and sneezed anyway, a small and childish sound which definitely did not help our pride in this situation at all.

 

“You just can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you?” Wilson chuckled. “I've never know anyone more prone to the elements than you are.”

 

We looked away, burning with shame.

 

“It's... not hypothermia, right?”

 

He shrugged. “I'm pretty sure you just got a cold. Which isn't surprising, considering you were soaking wet in the middle of winter away from the sun for who-knows-how-long. What did you even do to get so wet? Take a swim?”

 

“That's... closer to the truth than you'd probably think,” I admitted ruefully.

 

He quickly gave us an alarmed look.

 

“We were pushed,” I added quickly, not wanting to seem even stupider than we already did. “by a shadow.” Should've left that out...

 

Instead of laughing or making fun of us for believing a shadow could do such a thing, a deep frown replaced his smile. He opened his mouth to say something when one of the frozen bushes crackled and WX pushed his way out of the undergrowth, wearing a similar stern expression. “WE WEREN'T FOLLOWED,” he said. He looked a bit worse for wear but considering the circumstances, it could've have ended much worse. For any of us.

 

Wilson nodded, his gaze remote for a moment before clearing. “I saw a shadow,” he murmured after a moment.

 

WX scoffed as he sat beside the fire.

 

“It wasn't an ordinary shadow though. It...” he took a deep breath. “It talked to me.”

 

WX perked up at this, as did we. “WHAT DID IT SAY?” WX pressed warily.

 

Wilson looked back at the fire. “It's... probably nothing. Just imagining stuff...”

 

An uncomfortable silence settled over us. We took a deep breath- making a sniffing sound due to congestion from the cold- and sat up a little straighter, bringing our knees to our face and resting our chin on them. “I saw my spider,” I said after a minute. Two shocked gazes turned on us, and we shrank in our own fur.

 

WX tore his gaze away and concentrated on the fire as though some secret message was written in it. “I... I SAW MY CREATOR,” he murmured in a tired tone. We were almost certain we didn't imagine the quiver in his voice.

 

“Okay, wow, I thought my vision was the craziest. What are you talking about, seeing your spider? Like, the one that supposedly ate you?”

We nodded miserably.

 

“I ASSUME THIS MEANS WE ALL SAW THE SAME THING, EXCEPT BEING HAUNTED BY OUR WORST NIGHTMARES,” WX said breezily. How horrible must that be? Being afraid of your only parent? We couldn't... we couldn't bear to hate our parents...

 

“That was what he told me,” I confirmed. “The... seeing the same thing part...”

 

“So is that what we're supposed to do? Kill the abomination that is the Bearger?” Wilson tipped his head.

 

“The Bearger? No, we saw...” our voice faltered. “the tooth of the Dragonfly and the horn of the Ancient Guardian...”

 

There was a pause, before WX added his own. “EGG OF THE Goose AND EYE OF THE DEERCLOPS.”

 

Wilson groaned and put his head in his hands. “Are you serious??? We have to kill all five???”

 

“We couldn't even take on the Deerclops...” We hunched our shoulders sadly. “Guess that means we're stuck here...”

 

“Don't be that way! We can do this!” Wilson looked from us to WX, then back again. His determined expression fell slightly. “Guys?”

 

“IT'S A SUICIDE MISSION,” WX pointed out.

 

“It's not something we have to do right now.” Wilson protested. “We all just got done with a pretty big scare.... but we gotta know if we're going to try or not.”

 

“Why would we? It's suicide either way.”

 

“Maybe? But at least if we go for this it's suicide with a purpose.”

 

“I WOULDN'T MIND NOT HAVING TO ENDURE ONE OF THESE STUPID WINTERS AGAIN,” WX murmured thoughtfully. He motioned towards us. “HE PROBABLY WON'T EVEN LAST UNTIL THE END OF THIS ONE.”

 

We scowled, and judging by the look on Wilson's face, he agreed with WX. “We're stronger than you think we are.”

“TREE GUARD, INSANITY, NEARLY FREEZING TO DEATH...”

 

“Alright, alright, we get it. But we're still alive, aren't we?”

 

“BECAUSE WE'RE PULLING YOUR WEIGHT. DIDN'T YOUR TIME ALONE TEACH YOU THAT?” A spark of tension shot between us as we bunched our muscles, preparing to finish his beating.

 

“That's enough!” Wilson snapped. “The last thing we need is for you guys to fight again or science forbid break us apart again.”

 

We growled softly but sat back again, our claws itching to wipe that smug grin off of WX's face.

 

Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “So are we going to do this or not? Do you guys want to take our chances against the world or do you guys want to take out these beasts?”

 

There was a pause as we considered the options. “I think we should go for the giants.”

 

“I THINK YOU'RE BOTH NUTS,” WX grumbled.

 

Wilson looked between us and sighed again. “I have to be the tiebreaker, don't I? Alright.” He flipped his book over- which he had previously beside him- and flipped through its pages. He stopped on the Goose. “Since we've already run into the Deerclops this winter, I don't think we will again. This is our best bet for the first giant. We need to separate her from her nest before we fight her.”

 

“IT'S THE EGG WE NEED,” WX pointed out.

 

“Yeah, but I don't want to fight her and the moslings at the same time.” He paused as though waiting for another question to be asked, but when none was he nodded once and went on: “She's the spring giant, but it's fairly easy to find the remnants of her nest during the other seasons.” He snapped the book shut and stood again, tucking it away under his arm. “So let's go find that nest.”

 

“...now?”

 

“Now.”

 

We growled softly as we forced ourself to stand. Now us and Wilson stood over WX, who leaned back and made a motion that looked oddly like he'd be rolling his eyes if he had any. “NEITHER OF YOU WILL EVER UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I HATE YOU,” he muttered as he stood up as well.

 

“Great!” Wilson exclaimed as though WX hadn't said anything. “All three of us! Back together again! Beating the elements and soon to be beating the giants!” He turned on his heel and hummed quietly as he marched towards the savanna.

 

We smiled, angling our face downward so they couldn't see or hear as we hummed along to the familiar tune. The blizzard had died sometime before we woke up again, but the snowdrifts left over from it were well over our head. Where it wasn't a snowdrift, it went about as high as our knees. We dropped behind a little, due to being the smallest of the group, but we took it to our advantage. As soon as we knew we were out of their peripheral vision, we slowly grabbed a handful of the snow, which crunched and compacted satisfyingly under our grip. We spent a few more seconds rolling it in our hands a few times before throwing it at Wilson and diving beneath the snow before he could catch us, hyper-aware that our black fur would stand out against the snow like a sore thumb but for once not caring.

 

Wilson jumped at the impact of the snowball and turned quickly as though expecting something terrible to be there. “Webber!” He exclaimed, sounding actually a bit shocked. We peeked over our little hiding place only to get hit in the forehead with a similar snowball. We fell back dramatically, trying hide our laughter under a fit of sneezing. “Has anyone ever told you that you sneeze like a kitten!?” He teased.

 

“We'll show you who sneezes like a kitten!” We lunged forward and threw a handful of loose snow over his head. He quickly stepped back and sneezed as well due to the snowflakes.

 

“ENOUGH FOOLING AROUND,” WX, who had stopped to watch the miniature snowball fight, said sternly. “WE HAVE ACTUAL WORK TO DO.”

 

Wilson simply looked at him for a second before throwing the snowball he had prepared at him.

 

WX backed away a little, trying to brush the sticky snow off of his chest.

 

It's amazing how something as little as snow can make us feel... myself again...

 

We playfully tackled the robot, not any real force behind the action but enough to send him down. Anger flashed in his eyeless gaze and he kicked us away, driving the air from our lungs as he kicked our stomach to send us off of him. We hit the ground on our side, not actually getting hurt but getting the breath knocked out instead. We looked up, our eyes wide with shock at the sudden change of atmosphere. His 'eyes' were wide too as he shakily forced himself to his feet again. “DON'T. DO. THAT.” He growled.

 

We looked down and nodded, not wanting to get into a fight after feeling like a child like that again.

 

Beneath us was a smudge of blood.

 

We took a sharp breath and jumped back. Did he actually hurt us???

 

It wasn't on our fur though, and we weren't hurt as far as we could tell...

 

Wilson frowned and made his way through the snow to look at it. He hesitated, then carefully dug around it. Our heart began to slow as his digging revealed that it was not blood, but it was the color of blood.

 

He pulled the object away from the snow and brushed remaining flakes off of it, turning it over in his hands a few times. “What... is this thing?”

 

“SMART. FIND A WEIRD THING IN THE SNOW AND PICK IT UP. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT BEING OUT HERE THIS LONG TAUGHT US,” WX huffed, his arms crossed.

 

It appeared to be a small bone with tiny horns coming out of the red bulb on top. The red bulb rested on a patch of brownish fur. He shrugged and made a motion to throw it away.

 

The bulb suddenly parted in half to reveal an eye.

 

“YOU IDIOT!” WX shouted before he seemed to be able to stop himself. At the same time, Wilson threw it as hard as he could. All three of us held our breath, paralyzed in fear of what Wilson may or may not have summoned.

 

We're gonna die, aren't we?

 

We quickly glanced to the side as footsteps crunched in the snow. We were the first to hear it due to our superior hearing, but soon they turned too.

 

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

 

The creature made itself shown.

 

Our first reaction was fear, but it was quickly shoved down. It bounced above the snow, its orange skin standing out against the snow just as bad as our fur did. Two white horns protruded out of its head, and four, sturdy, red legs were keeping its body just below the snow's top.

 

There was a moment of awkward silence as we tried to figure out if we had to be scared of this creature or not. It was still as well, a pink tongue rolling out of its mouth as it panted like a dog. It licked its chops, looking around (although it could barely be considered that due to its apparent lack of eyes) before stopping, facing the bone. It bounced over to it and picked it up in its mouth, before bounding to Wilson's feet and dropping it.

 

“Is it... hostile?”

 

Wilson seemed lost for words as he picked up the eye bone. “I... I think it's a friend...”

 

“Have you seen it in your book?”

 

“I... have no idea...”

 

More silence.

 

“Can.... can we keep it? We've always wanted a dog.”

 

“NO!”

 

“I... don't see why not if it's not hostile...”

 

“ARE YOU BOTH IDIOTS?”
 

“Probably,” I snickered, bending over the creature and patting its head. It panted with joy and licked our hand.

 

“Don't worry,” Wilson scoffed. “I'll make sure he's not some sort of vicious creature. Just in case, though, don't get too attached to him, Webber.”

 

“We won't!” I lied as the creature tackled us in into the snow. A spark of warmth lit in our chest. It's been a long time since we've been able to laugh like this.

 

We sighed happily, hugging the creature we just met.

 

It's been a long time...