The group was now at a distance away from the plaza. They ducked through alleyways barely lit by dim neon signs. Street cats on trash cans on railings were frozen in place. They crossed buildings from overhangs and bridges that connected many of them together.
"Miss RL, I firmly believe that it would be in your best interest to make your way towards the City Command Center posthaste. It appears that following Mister AJ has led you in the opposite direction, hindering our current objective."
This damn bot doesn't know when to shut up.
Owen had expressed his dissatisfaction with the current situation for the fourth time. The two had been following AJ for the past half hour, tailing behind him by a few meters.
AJ said that traveling by rooftop would reduce the number of D-Buggs come across. And from the looks of it, he's right.
"Owen, shush. He's going to the Command Center as well. It's just a detour."
Owen's eye turned red, "That's what he tells you, but his true intentions could be vile. He could plan to wear you down by you dragging halfway across the city only to bring about your demise in some abandoned building."
RL raised her eyebrows, "Why would he do that? Isn't he a Doomsday Unit as well? With the same objective?"
"Well, it is possible he is off the mission." Owen seemed to by grasping at straws trying to convince even himself of the notion.
She ignored his fatuous attempts to change her mind. Noticing his words were falling on deaf ears, he buzzed away from her and hovered over to AJ's Orbital Warden, ready to argue with it instead.
"You! As his Orbital Warden, it is imperative that you stay on task. Why are you going along with his inane antics? The Command Center should be your course."
The Warden's eye transitioned to green, "Certainly, but is it not our role as warden to aid the Doomsday Units in whatever endeavors they undertake?"
Their back and forth continued in circular arguments. Ever since they joined forces with AJ, RL grew more suspicious of Owen. His overzealous desire to arrive at the Command Center and his hesitation to answer certain questions she posed, especially about anything that pertains to her past, were a bit concerning.
I thought after seeing D-Bugg, that safety was the reason he was in such a rush. But now that we're with someone who can handle them, his motives seem to be something else entirely. No matter how helpful he has been so far, I must keep that in mind.
"I think you forget that despite our physical abilities, we're still human, Orbital Warden." AJ chimed.
"I fail to see your logic," Owen said, his sides turning slowly. "What do you—"
AJ raised a finger up at Owen as he crouched down in his defensive stance.
"You don't control me–"
"Shut the hell up. We're at our destination. Do you hear that?" The unchanging inflection in AJ's voice and the attentive stare toward the building in front of him immediately quieted Owen.
RL followed his eyes. The building he observed was a convenience store named Highlander's General Store, as shown by a giant LED billboard that hung just above the entrance. Looking inside through the windows, RL could see people frozen in place, searching for items down the aisles. Compared to many other buildings, especially those that rise into the sky, this convenience store seemed relatively intact.
It's funny. We're in Paris, but the name of the store is in a language I can understand. Actually, mostly everything I've seen has been readable.
Something was moving around inside the store.
RL looked at AJ, "I heard something moving around in there."
He nodded to himself. Affirming the situation.
"Another D-Bugg, most likely. Warden, check what's inside the store."
AJ's Warden's eye went yellow and its sides twirled, hovering side to side in the air. After a couple of seconds, its movements stopped.
RL gave Owen a look that clearly expressed how AJ's warden was outplaying him in almost every way. Owen's eye turned pink.
"There's a scanner type in there." The Warden said, "It's marking the frozen humans."
AJ kneeled, resting his elbow on his knee. "Scanner type. That's new. By the name, it could be a problem if it marks us. We'll need to drag it out somehow."
"...Somehow. Without it noticing us..." AJ scanned his surroundings, looking at the buildings and floating debris and sucked his teeth when realizing it wouldn't be of any use. He rested his eyes on RL.
"I can help." She said.
"Sure, once your waist completely heals."
RL looked down and touched her side. The bruise still hurt a lot. However, compared to the amount of force she took from the hit, the damage felt minuscule and healed rather swiftly.
Another benefit of being a Doomsday Unit. I guess.
He turned toward Owen and his warden, his eyes lighting up.
"Of Course. My Warden, head over to the entrance and make enough noise to draw the D-Bugg's attention."
"Are you sure? It may mark me."
He shook his head, his yellow hair waving delayed behind him, "It won't come to that. And even if it did. I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't consider you a 'bug'."
His warden agreed to his demands and floated over to the sliding doors of the convenience store. Suddenly, a high-pitched noise encapsulated the area, ringing in the back of RL's ears.
Damn. That's loud.
"You sure this is a good idea, AJ? You might attract other D-Buggs." RL said anxiously.
"It's fine; we would have already had some company if there were any, given how loud your Warden was arguing with us."
Owen's eyes turned red.
Sound erupted from inside the store. Some rows of items tumbled off their perches, falling, only to be stopped in their flow midway through the air. Crashing through the door, the D-Bugg appeared.
A grenade of glass sprayed in every direction. Some of it raced down toward AJ and RL's position. She ducked behind AJ, hiding herself from the sharp fragments. Her quick movement reminded her that her waist was heavily bruised, wincing.
AJ was hit by a thin piece of glass, which sliced through the skin on his cheek, and blood immediately spilled down.
"AJ!" RL said.
AJ didn't wince at the impact of the glass shards. His face remained unchanged despite the harm done.
Peering over his shoulder, she could get a good look at the metal machine. It floated through the air as easily as the Orbital Wardens did, able to move omni directionally whenever it wanted. Whatever anti-gravity system it boasted, it had to be very elaborate. In fact, the similarities did not end there. Like the D-Bugg AJ killed earlier, this one had one eye, except no outer shell protected it. What was like the Orbital Warden was the way its eye constantly shifted in hue and exposure, shining it brightly and dulling it in rapid succession.
Protruding behind this D-Bugg was a flexible tail that swayed in the air. They hosted several cylindrical parts that had fin-like extensions. It grew smaller as it approached the end of the tail and rotated circularly as though detecting something.
AJ turned to Owen, whose steely form protected him from the onslaught. "RL's Warden! Use the flash from earlier to blind the target! Now!"
"Like I said, you don't control me!" Even though he expressed his reluctance, Owen still complied and rushed the flying D-Bugg, spinning his ends as fast as possible.
The D-Bugg turned toward Owen, trying to process the speeding towards it.
"Flash activated."
Owen ignited into a ball of searing light, washing away the shadow of The Falling Sky and letting hints of the sun that poked around the corner of the building that smothered it. After a few seconds, the shadow returned, and the sky darkened, but Owen's flash had done its part. The D-Bugg reeled back, its eye shifting to a different collar every half second trying to recalibrate its visual inputs.
AJ made no hesitation and rose from his position. Inhaling as much still air as possible, he expanded his chest to its maximum. He dug his right foot deep into the gravel and dragged his leg back in half a circle. Extending his arm just before his limit, he pulled his machete behind his head, the sharp edge facing the D-Bugg. With a snap of extreme motion, AJ pitched the blade out of his hand. It cut through the air without pause, whizzing just by Owen and landing with perfect aim right into the D-Bugg's eye.
"BUG. LOCA-" The- D-Bugg's auditory inputs shut down before it could complete the scan.
There was so much force in the impact that the blade cut cleanly through the machine before it lost all momentum and twirled onto the pavement, kicking up a light amount of dust to freeze in the air.
The D-Bugg had been felled.
"Holy shit… You just did that." RL said, her eyes as wide as they could ever be, staring at the twitching D-Bugg.
She chuckled at the sight.
Despite calling us the bugs, in death, they look more like insects.
AJ let his breath go, pushing the air he held back out into the atmosphere to be halted by time once more.
"It was a hurried and risky plan, but the only way I could think of killing that thing was with one precise move. We're lucky it wasn't as heavily armored as the last one." He reached his arm down toward RL.
"Still," she took his arm and pulled herself up to her feet, "That was mighty impressive."
The two walked over to the shut-down D-Bugg. Its eye still flickered on and off. AJ kicked the now-hunk of metal parts over to reveal the designation.
[CSSX8]
AJ frowned, "C-tier again. But the second S must mean Scanner. The one before was an R… Ranger, maybe?"
RL tilts her head, "You keep saying that... C-tier."
"A designation for the D-Buggs. The Orbital Warden says it indicates strength somehow. And the higher the letter, the better materials you can scavenge."
Immediately AJ started picking apart the D-Bugg. A few minutes pass of RL simply watching AJ scour the machine for parts and then put those parts into his Warden's storage.
"It's unfortunate that I ruined the eye, which seemed to be an acceptable part. But the tail might be useful for something."
"Say, AJ…" RL spoke up, her curiosity getting the best of her, "Why do you scavenge the D-Bugg for parts?"
"Oh, didn't your Warden tell you? I'll tell you anyway."
RL mentally sent a thousand daggers towards Owen.
"D-Buggs are very similar to Orbital Wardens in their technological make-up. They probably have some kind of artificial intelligence as well, given the way they function. Which means they're like AD's and their parts can be synthesized together to make an Auxiliary Device."
"Huh," She thought aloud, "...so it's like a "create your character" kind of thing."
AJ paused and laughed a little.
It's odd seeing him laugh like that.
"I guess you're right." He placed the tail in front of his Warden who began the storage process, "Though I couldn't tell you how you actually synthesize them. That's still unknown. But I'm gathering the parts now so that when we know how, I can easily make a weapon at an okay LvL from the get-go."
"That's a lot of information to know. How long have you been awake?"
"Judging only by my internal clock, I woke up from that lab almost a day ago. I was told by my Orbital Warden that I was the second one awake. Another was up long before even me."
I wonder what they're up to... Probably at the Command Center by now.
RL was surprised by how much AJ had already learned… or known. He might still have his memories, unlike her. It made her feel a bit left out. This entire time since her awakening, she had done nothing but ask questions the whole time. And while she needed to learn more about the situation she was in, with time being nonexistent and giant mechanized abominations roaming around killing people, she wanted to contribute more.
In the same thought, AJ's somewhat extensive knowledge made RL cautious of his intentions. Owen was rubbing off on her and was at the very least keeping it in the back of her head that he might have strayed from the task of saving the world.
Something to keep in mind as I stay in close proximity to him.
"Is that why you came here? To search for parts from these scanner bots?"
"No," he said. A sound rumbled in his stomach area that made him blush slightly, "I came here for something to eat."
The sound of his stomach made her rest a hand on her own, laughing shyly. "Good idea. So much has happened that I forgot we need that to survive."
AJ looked at Owen, "Despite everything, we're still human."
With that, RL walks into the convenience store with AJ and the Wardens.
RL walked down the aisles of the convenience store, searching for items on the shelves that caught her eye. Candy bars, peanut butter crackers and many other assortments of branded snacks filled up the store. She had already found a few bags of salted pretzels and chocolate chip cookies for her to eat.
She used Owen's storage capabilities to free up her hands. Stuffing him with enough food to last a month. He was becoming somewhat annoyed that he was being used as a storage unit, but he complied with her desires.
The people inside, stuck in time, were alive, which gave her reprieve. Seeing that there was a D-Bugg in the store just moments earlier made her worry that many of them would be dead.
So, if the scanner types can't attack us, then why do they mark us? To alert the other types of D-Buggs where we are?
RL spun her head in thought as she perused the shelves. The different functions of the D-Buggs appear to depend on their looks. Their movements, despite being mechanical and telegraphed, also seemed to be done with intent.
There had to have been a sophisticated process in their creation and, even deeper, in their motive, however detestable it may be. Their design suggested a designer, and ultimately, involvement of human thought.
Wait. They come from The Falling Sky, or even beyond it. Then it probably isn't humans, but another lifeform. Could it be that the end of the world is some alien invasion of our planet and the dying sky and mechanical beasts are a means to accomplish their conquest?
She looked at Owen, deliberating on whether she should ask him about her crack theory but decided against it. She had asked him so many questions already that she felt like she needed to piece this together on her own. Besides that, Owen was being tight-lipped with the information he was giving to her.
They had quite a different relationship than what AJ had with his Orbital Warden. His seemed to answer him with complete honesty and aid in his plans with little pushback. It also wasn't as expressive. Owen had much the same capabilities but had more of a personality, and one that could be impassioned. They were very much different.
RL found a sandwich aisle with packaged ham and cheese sandwiches that drew her eyes in. She picked up the meal and flipped it over, finding the expiry date on the back. It said June 2, 2245. Next month.
"I wonder if this date really matters anymore."
Owen's eye went yellow, "Time must pass for such food to go bad and start accruing mold, so that moisture and alterations in temperature can affect its properties."
"Hmm, I guess I'll grab a few more for later then."
She took a couple of different foods and drifted her way back to the entrance where AJ was waiting for her. With the machete balancing under his forearm; he munched on some sunflower seeds, tossing a few in his mouth and spitting them out when he was done.
He noticed RL approaching her, "Got everything you need, RL?"
She nodded, "Everything for the next couple of… I don't know if days is the right word to say."
"Just say it; I know what you mean."
She scratched the back of her head, "So, what now? Are we heading to the City Command Center?"
He shook his head. "No. Speaking of days, I've been up for almost an entire one. I need some rest."
He observed RL's exhaustion, "You must be tired too. There's a hotel a few blocks across from here. Let's eat there and get some rest in the lobby. Besides, this place has been marked, other D-Buggs might come here."
Despite how unsettling his last notion was to her, she agreed it was the best course of action.
…
The hotel was bright, with a chandelier filled with hundreds of powerful lights blasting the room with whiteness. It seemed to be a fancy hotel. Marble spires spun towards the ceiling, contrasting heavily with the dull atmosphere of every other building RL had been inside of so far, which weren't many.
Many people were frozen in the lobby, a snapshot of their experience in a hotel. One customer appeared to be angry with the AI attendant at the front office, the reason for their anger completely unknown. A middle-aged man slouched on the main couch, sleeping peacefully with a magazine covering his eyes. Carts filled with luggage were being pulled toward an elevator by robots. The elevators seemed to be separated into the ones that people use and the ones where the luggage goes.
AJ briskly scanned the area, " All right. The Orbital Wardens don't need to eat, so let's have them stay here and keep a lookout."
Owen's sides started to spin, "I strongly contest that."
RL waved him down, "Owen, alert us if any D-Buggs come our way."
As much as he wanted to argue, he reminded himself that he was her Orbital Warden and swiftly followed AJ's Warden to the entrance.
The remaining two made their way to the second floor. Safer than the lobby, as a D-Bugg would have to travel upstairs to get to them. However, fighting one could also prove dangerous if space is limited.
They found a small, dimly lit lounge area at the corner of the hallway. It had the same chairs from the lobby, a small leather couch, a holographic TV and a motion-detected window that was currently closed. The window obviously didn't work because it was stuck in time.
The ability to Time-tread has been more annoying than anything else.
AJ took his seat on the chair and rested his sword on the back of it. It squeaked lightly under his weight.
RL went to the couch, splaying herself on the cushions and perching her head upright on the arm.
Tossing the empty bag of sunflower seeds, AJ pulled out a chicken sandwich for his meal. RL did the same, biting into her ham and cheese. A rush of elation spilled over her. Her tongue danced as it contacted the conglomeration of textures and flavors that the sandwich produced, providing sustenance for her body tired from all that had happened.
She wore a beaming smile, "This is amazing!"
AJ joined in her excitement ...if excitement means his lips curling upward ever so slightly.
"Mine as well, the smell is alluring."
What? Smell?
RL was confused by the word 'smell'. A sense unknown to her.
She opened her mouth to ask what he meant by smell, but AJ had already moved on with a question of his own.
"So you named your Orbital Warden. Owen, was it?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I think it's easier to remember than its designation. Too many numbers in those."
"He seems to be... energetic for a robot."
"You didn't name yours?"
He shook his head, "Names give way to attachment. I don't fully trust them, so calling mine Warden gets the job done.
He noticed RL's bashful movement of the fact that she named her Orbital Warden.
"N-not that I disapprove of you naming your Orbit–Owen. It's just a preference of an untrusting man."
Some time passed, and they finished their food. A silence entered that made them both squirm in their minds. It felt like they should have a conversation. But what would they talk about? Their memories only extended so far, and their common talking points were how good food is and the D-Buggs they fought. Not very good topics for long-form conversation.
AJ finally broke the silence.
"RL, your Orbital Warden, uh, Owen, he might be right."
"Right about what?"
"That I might be 'off mission'."
RL tilted her head, confused.
"I mean... doesn't this all feel odd to you? Not the fact that the world is frozen and that it's ending — that's already incomprehensible. I'm talking about what we were told to do."
RL pieced together what he was trying to get across.
"About us saving the world? You don't want to do it?"
"…I don't know. As much as I would like to think that. The truth is hidden from us. All we know is what the Wardens want to tell us. Who knows what they could be hiding."
So it's not just Owen; AJ's warden has been secretive as well. Good to know he is open to talking about that with me.
AJ continued, "I asked my Warden earlier before we met about how I became a Doomsday Unit. It said we were put in this position by scientists in hopes of 'saving the world from certain doom'. In other words, people made us Time-treaders. People made us Doomsday Units. And people have agendas, no matter how pure their intentions may seem."
RL shifted on the couch, letting AJ continue.
"They say we were made to 'save the world,' but what the hell does that even mean? They keep dragging us along by the leash, pushing us to go to the Command Center to learn more. Is it even true we're saving the world, or are we being lied to?"
RL sat up and leaned in, nodding in agreement, "There's a lot to this world that we don't know. I've realized that going to our Wardens for answers only takes us so far. And you're probably right. I may have been too cordial with mine. They too were made by people, programmed to say whatever they desire with no true will of their own."
Still, Owen seemed so humanlike in the way he spoke and interacted that I forgot he even was an AI.
AJ smiled, elated that RL had been thinking the same thing, "That's why I can't help but hesitate when I know so little. We're vulnerable; anything that's said to us could be lies."
He pulled his hand up next to his head. "And I feel like my mind is fucked up. I try to gather my thoughts, thinking back to when there was time. But all I get is darkness. Nothing. "
His hand roughly swept up through his bangs, "Even though I know I have a past, I can't grasp a hold of it."
"Yeah," RL agreed, "There are things I faintly remember. Like the names of things and terms that just suddenly pop into my head. Like the food we just ate, I knew that was a ham and cheese sandwich, but I can't ever remember seeing what it looked like, let alone what a pig is."
And it didn't just end there for them. AJ and RL both have the knowledge of how to fight as though they've done it all their lives. AJ can wield a sword at near perfect mastery, but none of them can remember the training that got them to that level, or if they even did train. They know a lot of things, but don't remember that they learned them.
AJ's face twisted in frustration, "What's worse than that is the things I know but don't know. What I mean is that I know I'm forgetting something like my name or some term. Those things are knocking at the back of my head, screaming at the top of their lungs behind a sealed door. And I can't let them in."
AJ squeezed his hand tight, "I know I have them, but I can't get them. So I have to accept this fake name."
He met RL's dark eyes, who had been intently watching him, "Before I decide anything, I want to remember who I am, who we are. I want to know why the world is ending. Did we bring about the end of ourselves? Are we truly removed from fault in this situation? It's never so black and white, is it?"
AJ burrowed his eyebrows, his face renewed with a confident countenance, "The truth will set me on the path I need to go on, whether it is to 'save the world' as our Wardens say, or… to let it die, as depressing as that sounds."
He stood and walked over to RL, resting his arm on her shoulder, "I still intend to go to the Command Center tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get clearer answers, and hopefully, the other Units will be there. The only ones we can trust right now are ourselves, not our Wardens. We are in this situation together."
He smiled softly at her, "I'm going to get some rest; best you get some too."
He walked away, picking up the machete and leaving down into the hallway.