Chapter Text
Hills of robot bodies rose above the dark mud, scrap and mechanical limbs dotted the muck and grime that mixed with oil and cooling liquid. Old tires draped across legs and arms, every light broken or too old to work anymore. Some stray, warped sheets and blocks of metal lay strewn about, rejected from the factory, and crushed more bots below them.
Soft light blue bulbs flashed on. Ripped and stained fabric blanketed the lower half of an older Medic-bot made around the beginning of the preparation for the war. Quiet clicking followed the movement of its head turning to assess its body condition. No UI was telling it anything, no power, damage, directives, nothing. It was quiet.
There was never quiet.
A Heavy-bot and a solid block of metal, both covered in mud and crisp dead leaves, were crushing its wheel and the limb that held it. Even if nothing was flashing that it was no longer functioning, it was obvious to tell without. The tire was torn to shreds and the length of the leg was crinkled and beyond repair. A replacement was needed.
Unfortunately, a majority of the other models did not have compatibility with the hip socket that it would need to be connected to, and close to no Medic-bots were around it, any that were, couldn’t be used due to extreme damage. The UI could be manually brought up apparently, which made scanning the bodies easier. Soldier-bots, a couple of Engineer-bots, many Scout-bots and Heavy-bots all laid completely still among the grime with varying levels of unfinished frames and circuits or outright destroyed in increasingly creative ways, much like, a Sniper-bot with a half-melted chest and face that stared lifelessly into its own from far away. The legs were mostly untouched and indeed compatible with itself.
Now to remove the wheel limb and make its way up to the other bot that was on a hill of other mostly destroyed bots and parts.
Servos and gears struggled to move precisely as it lifted its arms to remove the limb. Left hand, hip, right hand, limb joint, scooch closer to the limb for leverage, and…PULL. Metal screeching and a loud snap pierced the otherwise silent atmosphere, the limb was out of the socket. Wires were ripped apart and fizzled in a small puddle of rain that pooled under the bot.
Need to crawl to the Sniper-bot.
Release the limb, left hand forward, grip, pull, right hand, grip, pull, repeat. Wet mud and rainwater streaked the outer shell, stripping away already chipped paint and getting more mud inside its mechanisms.
Getting steeper, luckily, the Sniper-bot was in front of it now. It sat beside the bot, no way this poor thing could activate again. Left hand to the lower torso, right hand to hip, get ready and…PULL. The legs were already fairly loose, a soft clunk and falling scraps were all that came from the sudden movement. It hesitated for a moment and waited for things to settle. Blocky fingers did their best to be delicate and plugged various, colored wires into their proper places, the legs were ready to attach. Left hand, hip, right hand, foreleg, and last…PULL.
A couple of bright orange sparks flew away from the conflicting metal, the bot looked down and brought up different menus, user preferences…Accessibility…Gyroscopic balance. It gave a set of instructions to reset the gyroscope settings to fit a new wheel, unfortunately, every other Medic-bot’s wheel was torn, deflated, shredded, or melted, so hopefully, this worked with legs. It worked through the instructions, rotating the feet around, making sure they had full mobility, working up to the knees, and finally to the hip, it was then told to stand up to set the default standing height and make sure the gyroscope could balance the body. The Medic-bot shakily planted its feet under its body and pushed up to stand.
A loose piece of metal slipped out from under the right foot and sent the bot sliding down the hill on its back. More of its coattail was torn and stained with motor oil while every spot of blue and white paint was ripped from its back by all the bot parts grinding against it. The instructional menu was flashing and telling it to not move, it was reminded of its normal blaring and constant instructions that usually occupied the screen. A puddle of water splashed over old dead leaves when it hit the ground and finally stopped careening down the hill of decimated bots. Its head twirled around and looked up to where it last stood, it was a long fall. Mud squished under metal feet and the bot tried standing again. Its stance was wide, something most Sniper-bots tended to do, but it could stand, albeit shakily while it tried to find the best foot placement.
Whirs and clicks echoed off of the surrounding metal as the Medic-bot adjusted its stance to one it preferred and absently stared around the piles of discarded metal. Gyroscope reset. It was safe to walk now…
Walk, just one foot in front of the other right?
It hesitated, so much dirt and muck were already in it, more could jam gears and get caught in belts or boards could get damaged, more than they already were. When did it start to worry? Doesn't matter, it's going to walk and that's final. It brushed off the old leaves and mud from its chest plate in affirmation.
It shook its head and lead that into momentum to force it to start walking and learn as it went. A disgusting squish emanated from its left foot when it was swung forward. But, despite its sudden strange worrying and all the mud and dangers, it had to keep going, the bot needed to leave this broken, muddy atmosphere. It was dreary and bleak. Piles and piles of metal bodies towered over the lone living one, soft blue lights illuminated every dent and scratch on the metal scrap and casings as the source of the blue continued. Each step was emphasized with a wet squelch or an occasional clunk. Whirs and grinding noises slowly quieted as dirt and foliage were worked out of its joints, pistons and other moving parts, letting the bot work through what menus were where and what each one did without the help of automation.
Red and yellow hues broke through the grey and blue monotony, even the sky cleared up from dark gloomy clouds that had seemingly covered every inch of the sky. UIs were closed in favor of examining the new terrain that was getting ever closer with each step, every one more confident than the last. It pushed off with more strength and began to run, browns, blues, and greys blurred together. It slipped but managed to catch itself and didn’t stop. A crude archway made of shards of metal rose and got nearer marking the end of the scrap yard.
The Medic-bot drove its feet into the ground, now covered in fine, dry dirt, and halted to a full stop. A blue hand gently touched the arch and looked back. Engine idling quietly, it gazed at the bots that may never activate again, what made it special? To reactivate among all these others? A question it may never solve. A Scout-bot laid next to it, partially buried in dirt and sand.
What now? Find a sustainable fuel source. To do what? A problem for later. For now, it ran on money, a poor decision really but one it must endure until either it or someone it could find and trust to replace it would solve that. The Scout-bot had its compartment for storing such things broken and bills were spilling out and were submerged with it in the dirt. It took a good handful and judged that it’d last for a week with what was already running through it. The old dollars crumpled in its hand as it looked back over the desert, a map was pulled up and marked the current location. For later, if need be. Sand crunched under it and the sun dried up stray mud still caked onto its back and poor ruined coattail, hopefully, it could fix it or make a new one. For now, it’d have to stay like that, swaying behind it, torn and covered in old mud.
For a long time, it walked. More red sand always stretched onward and made its feet sink and fill with sand before streaming out when it lifted the foot back up. It passed the time by continuing its exploration of menus and figuring itself out. Just sand and a putting engine to listen to as hours passed. It grew dark and blue, and beautiful stars and colors were revealed in the night. It paused for the first time in a while and just watched the sky. Taking in every light and color it had to offer. It would have never seen this in the scrap yard. Or in the ever increasing war preparation. No more doubts, this was worth all that trouble. Cacti and small shrubs had appeared around it, small signs of life, like itself. Perhaps it should stay for the night, give its new legs a rest, it had been a long day with a lot of walking and strange things happening. The sky was beautiful tonight and thorough documentation was in order, excuses to do something were very welcome right now.
A small red dot appeared on the top right corner of the screen showing that it was recording, for later review. And a good way to date the beginning of this journey that would hopefully last a good while. Looking down at the sand and cacti around its legs it was made apparent that small lights were shining on the edge of the sand's horizon.