Arcane Rain Fell

::: subchapter All winds carried a sense of loss. Air would flow into any free space it could --- so every gust that moved did so to fill an emptiness. Above Serial Designation N, the spire swayed. Little drafts sometimes snuck in through long, winding cracks. Compressed plastic and sludged semi-liquid filled the walls, but not completely. Between those walls, their lair yawned vast enough that some spots could get perceptibly hotter or colder, and so the air circulated. Weather on Copper-9 could get extreme, but the corpse spire kept them sheltered. So sure, N was used to the occasional breeze, gust, or even a zephyr. When N listened --- audials still tuned to a high sensitivity --- he was used to hearing air outside at times whistling, whooshing, even wuthering. Right now, the spire swayed, and the winds howled. Storms put N on edge, so he snuggled closer to V. This close, he heard the sound of her exhaust cycling in and out, almost as loud as the air battering their walls. Vents still a bit rough, even now. She was hurt, damaged enough her vents wheezed faintly. But at least she breathed. Her oil levels left her temperature feverish, and N slipped off his jacket, letting exposed metal radiate heat. A reminder of his own reserves --- not the highest, unfortunately! He hadn't drunk from any of the WDF drones himself, instead feeding one whole body and head's worth of another to V. The rest went into their poor, ransacked mess pit. But one look at V --- even J, earlier --- and he'd known he'd gotten off easy tonight. Thump... Clack. Crash! The spire's movements grew more intense high above them. Fragments came dislodged. Like this, the windstorm yielded rain: dust and debris fell upon them. A whole severed hand plunged down, aimed right for V's visor, but N reached out to catch it before it hit her. V smirked. "Heh. Up already, N?" "Hard to sleep when everything's falling apart," he said. "Err, that sounds dramatic. Things'll be okay. It's just..." "Nah, you've got it right. Pile's bending like crazy. It better not fall." N scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure the corpse wall thingy will hold. J built it, and she's good at what she does." "No, we built this spire." The roughness in her voice wasn't just from injury. "All J did is push around some numbers and take credit." N frowned. "...Come to think of it, where is J?" "How am I suppose to know? Last I saw she was running of to fight some Doll." "Yeah, that kinda spooky worker drone attacked us. We murdered her, and then she kind of came back to life? So J and her worker chased after her. I'm still a bit sad about it," he said. "But Doll seemed to really have it out for you specifically. Do you know why?" "I killed her parents or something." V shrugged underneath him. "She'll have to get in line." N nodded slowly. "That explains it. And... I get it. I kinda wanted to fight workers for the same reason," he said, leveling a significant look at V before glancing away. "What? Am I your mommy, then?" V smirked. N reeled back. "Not what I meant!" She just wheeze-laughed at him. That lasted until the spire groaned, and a whole body dropped from above, landing not far from them. N sat up, looking around. "The timing of this is... worrisome, isn't it?" "What's got you so worried about it? Did the toaster cult figure out weather control while I was out?" "No, but... it's gotta be tricky to fly in weather like this, and J still isn't back." "If she was as smart as she thinks she is, she wouldn't be cutting a mission this close two nights in a row. Now lay back down, I need a body shield." Golden eyes looked back unamused, but N shrugged and complied. V didn't put her arms around him, but he felt her body shifting to cradle him. Her core beat with steadier thumps than it had earlier, and his exhaust continued to cycle. Drones didn't need to breathe, and might go hours without cycling air --- especially once they winded down to recharge. Of course, V needed all the cooling she could get at the moment. But N couldn't focus on her breathing, not anymore. He listened to the winds howl. Storms put him on edge, and he'd rather take his mind off it --- but what about J? Where was she? Was she okay? Was there anything he could do? He listened to the wind. Vocalsynths could use air exhaust for amplification (that was how humans talked, right?), so it sometimes felt like every wind carried some vague tease of meaning. N had denoising algorithms, capable of speech recognition even at abominable bitrates. There was fun to be had in denoising even meaningless sounds. Not unlike tracing shapes in clouds. Like with cloudwatching, the meaning that came out of it mostly amounted to the thoughts already priming your neural network. If N listened to the wind and heard a voice, it's because words were already on his mind --- and had been ever since he woke up. And they weren't the words he'd exchanged with V. Things were falling down, and that troubled him. All winds carried a sense of loss. These were powerful winds, and something important was missing. N stood up. V hadn't put her arms around N, so there was no resistance. Well, not physical resistance. V frowned beneath locks of white hair. "N? Where are you going?" "I have to... I don't know." They had won, yet it felt like things were falling apart. What could he do? "I don't know where J is, and I'm worried. So I guess I want to..." "The sun's already rising. Nothing you can do now." "I know but... what if she needs help?" What if she's falling? "You have no idea where she went. Nearest toaster colony is a mile away. Nothing you can do, just... just let it go." N turned around, took a step forward. "I won't go far. I just want to..." fulfill a promise "...check. See if I can spot her flying back?" V narrowed her eyes. "You're risking your life. For J. She's not worth it." "She's our leader!" N was shooting a glance backward, arms thrown out in exasperation. "And she's a shitty leader. Did you forget that just yesterday she left you to die? She would straight up kill you herself if she thought the company would let her. That's a quote. She hates you, N. Not worth it." "She told me I did a good job today. Maybe she's been kinda mean to me in the past, but it doesn't have to always be that way." N took another step, then looked down and saw his bare torso. He forgot his jacket! So he turned around to see the other disassembler's gaze prickling with those familiar shades of is your name even worth remembering irritation. Rolling her eyes, V said, "Do you think one day is going to change what she's been like for years? She'll be riding your ass next week like nothing's changed. Bet on it." "Don't you care that she might be in danger?" If his expression so far had been imploring and considerate, now he frowned, now he narrowed his eyes. V blew a lock of hair out from her eyelights, and said nothing. It was an answer. His face fell as he crossed the distance. Reaching down to grab his jacket, N bounced with a realization. "Actually, wait, you're wrong! Yesterday you were offline---" "Her fault, by the way." V stabbed a claw-blade into his jacket, impatience still written on her face. Now if he pulled, it'd be ripped. "---the sun was going to kill you, but she did everything she could to carry you back safely. If you were right, why wouldn't she leave you to die?" "'Cause I'm better than you." Then V froze and eyes emptied. She removed her claw from the jacket. "That's not what I meant to say. I don't---" Grimacing, N broke eye contact. "No, J probably agrees. But still. She saved you. And you can't repay the favor, not right now, but maybe I can, for you. Shouldn't I?" Finally, N pulled his jacket back to him, slipping arms through it. "If you're going to do... whatever this is, you aren't doing it for me. I still want a mutiny." V crossed her arms. She leaned back on the pile of scrap, staring at the ceiling. N turned around and walked away. Behind, V wheezed a sigh. "What's this really about, N? You're convinced this is going to make a difference, somehow. Why?" Her voice sounded strained. And not just from strenuous amplification. Pausing his stride, N thought about it. What imagined voice had he caught on the wind? What had primed his neural network? "Because.... I made a promise. A long time ago. I remember that." "You... remember." V took a deep breath. Long enough N thought it was sarcasm, but she continued. "It was before, wasn't it? It's her, isn't it? Don't trust it, N. Please. You don't know what I've--- You don't know." V sat up halfway, peering into his golden eyelights. "V, If you know more than me, can't you just tell me? Maybe we each only have pieces, but we could figure it out together." "I..." Then a guilty cringe, and now V broke eye contact. N stood, waiting for more, but only heard the wind. He charted his path through the vast space of the spire, stepping over new bits of debris. Halfway to the archway, he heard a creaking, amplified voice. "All that thing tells you is what you want to hear. Whatever'll make you go along with it. You're being manipulated. And you don't care, do you?" "I do care, V. About all of us. Not... not just you." And then a shuddering sound. A sigh made rhythmic from blocked vents, or a laugh. Or more wind. But either way, air only flowed where there was something missing. He'd make it up to V soon. He wasn't mad --- frustrated, disappointed, maybe, but the only thing to blame here was whatever has V so scared, not her. N didn't know if she really liked hugs, or tolerated them for his sake, but he'd do something to make her smile again. ::: ::: subchapter Were the winds louder here? Well, he was getting closer to the exit, so the signal in his audials had greater amplitude, but did the spire s