“Alright!” Rhyder yelled across the desert plain. Three vehicles stood behind the group of rebels, wheeled out to the west end of the village, where the cracked sandstone creeped in much faster. Aside from Rhyder's white truck and brown low-rider, Leon had recruited her rounded buggy to their convoy. Taking up most of the leg room where the passenger seat would be, stacked radios and a wired-in laptop made it mostly impossible to sit a second person, as there was no backseat, save for the small platform just outside the back window. The front was essentially the engine itself, another tempting flat box, had the pistons and machinery not made it incredibly hot.

Aeolus sat on the flat trunk of the low-rider, Scotty dangling her feet off just beside him. Rhyder still stood above on the docks, though it was only a few feet from flat ground. Romilly stood against the white truck, his similarly colored clothes blending in, had it not been for his darker skin revealing his outline.

“The Forge is still silent, so we're the first-responder of sorts for this lead." Rhyder yelled out.

"Forge?" Aeolus muttered to himself. Scotty heard him and bumped his side with her shoulder.

"Big rover?" She sounded annoyed, but quickly moved on. Aeolus nodded his head, turning his attention back to Rhyder.

Rhyder turned his focus to Romilly. "I hear you got your own intel."

Romilly shrugged his shoulders a bit, kicking the damp sand in front of him. "The Forge is heading to Nuvyron, at least." He turned his head around to the others, and stopped at Leon. "Not sure if Beck made it out, but he mentioned a cold-zone."

Leon let out a sarcastic chuckle. "It's a death-zone, hot or cold."

Romilly curled his mouth, nodding his head. "Well, he didn't seem to think that." He turned to Aeolus, nodding his head with a bit of a grin.

Leon narrowed her eyes, darting back and forth between the two. "Wait, what did he do?" She gestured her head towards Aeolus.

Rhyder interrupted. "We had the chip for long enough, and at least Beck made it worthwhile.

"Which means..." Romilly adjusted his position, raising his arms behind his head and leaning back onto the truck doors. "FEA didn't detect the chip, they detected the techno-signature we shot out from it."

Rhyder snapped his finger and pointed at Romilly. "Which only double confirms that we won't get an unpleasant surprise."

Leon raised her eyebrow, yelling out. "Oh really?"

Scotty giggled to herself as Leon shook her head. Finally, Aeolus cleared his throat, filtering out his thoughts. "So, where exactly is Nuvyron?"

"You see, that's just it..." Rhyder jumped down from the docks, approaching his truck. "We're not going to Nuvyron." A smile was growing on his face.

Romilly stood up straight, tensing up from his lean. "Then why is The Forge going there?"

Rhyder subtly nodded his head. "Because, it's close by." He chuckled. "We found the signal just outside." He walked up to Romilly, checking out his truck as he did.

"And you're just telling me this..." Romilly squinted and curled his eyes. "Now?"

Leon interjected. "Could have been a dud, we had to make sure."

"And the making-sure was about, mmm..." Rhyder dipped his head left and right. "10 minutes ago."

Aeolus took a deep breath in, scanning all the rebels around him. For how grand it seemed the task was, there was an awful lack of manpower. He turned his head around during Rhyder and Romilly's conversation, checking out the low-rider again. Since he last rode inside, the back seat was full of metal tools and plastic wrappers, several small boxes land throughout the leg space. One of the boxes was open, revealing a brown mass that seemed to squishy to fit the theme of the rest of the backseat junk. Scotty turned out to see what he was looking at, and spotted the open box. She cleared her throat, and Aeolus turned his eyes to her.

"You want some?" She asked him.

"I, uh..." Aeolus stuttered a bit, though in a whisper.

"It's really good." She giggled.

"Oh, well-"

Rhyder snapped his fingers, bringing Scotty and Aeolus whipping their heads around to attention. He was staring as both of them with wide eyes, but eventually turned his gaze sharply to Scotty. "You with me then?"

"Why can't I go with Aunty Leon?" Scotty yelled out. Rhyder attempted to grab the words, only nervously laughing. He turned around the Leon, who only nodded her head.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. She can fit in." Leon said, looking between Rhyder and Scotty.

Rhyder sighed, looking back at the two, his eyes rolling around to Aeolus. "Alright, you're going with Rom then. Take the truck, too." He swung his head back Romilly who was just about to open the drivers door. "Hey Rom!" Romilly turned around. "Can he handle keys?" Rhyder tried to hold back another chuckle. Romilly peers over Rhyder shoulder to Aeolus, scanning him for a moment. Finally, Romilly shook his head and headed around the passenger side seat. Rhyder turned around, smiling at Aeolus. "Alright then, come on now."

Aeolus and Scotty jumped off the trunk, Scotty running to Leon and Aeolus walking over to Romilly. Rhyder raised his hand up as Aeolus approached. Aeolus stopped, running his eyes across Rhyder's face.

"Yeah?" Aeolus whispered out.

"Aeolus. I need to know..." Rhyder put his hand on Aeolus' shoulder, exposing his Constructor. He glanced his eye to it for a split second, before staring down Aeolus. "You know FEA. You saw what they can do. Do you still think we can 'work something out'?"

"I don't. At least, I think I don't" Aeolus almost nodded his head, but it came out more as shaking.

"I don't care what you think. I want to know how you feel." He sighed. "Do you miss it?"

"You mean-" Aeolus stopped himself, finding it hard to swallow down the thought. "I hope not."

"FEA is never going let you back like some prodigal son."

Aeolus paused for a moment, looking down at Rhyder's feet. "I know." Rhyder slipped his hand back down, but Aeolus still stood eye-to-eye. "So what are we going to find outside Nuvyron?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"A recruit; guy named Delaine. I'll let Romilly fill you in." He swung his hands and gave Aeolus a slap of the back. As it bounced off, he placed his hand back on Aeolus as gently pushed him towards the truck.

Romilly reached over from the passenger side and cranked open the drivers door. He gestured his hand to the steering wheel, before jumping back into his upright position. Aeolus had always been in the passenger seat, and even more confusing, this steering wheel seemed to be where the open space was for the low-rider. Aeolus took a deep breath and he climbed in the seat, his feet jumping as he touched the solid metal of the gas pedals below his feet. But it was only a twitch, and he quickly shook his head in confidence and he gripped the steering wheel with both hands. Romilly stared over at him, then looked ahead of him. Aeolus was confused for a moment, but then quickly closed the drivers door, nervously laughing to himself.

The low-rider roared as Rhyder ignited the engine, and a manic laugh could be heard from his window. He navigated around the two others, stopping beside the truck. He peered out the window, leaning forward to see Romilly behind Aeolus. "Alright, should be 3 or 4 hours to the drop." He yelled out the window, his voice mixing with the fierce engine. "We tent about 30 kilo's out from the city. If you see me kill my engines any time before, hit the turn and get off the main road." Rhyder nodded his head to everyone, sticking his head out the window to check with Leon. She was already reclining back in her buggy, Scotty with one hand out the window and one hand tapping on the equipment in front of her.

Rhyder spurred up the dust and headed eastward, shortly followed by Leon. In a few minutes, they would meet up with a pressed makeshift path in the sands, used as cargo and convoy routes by FEA. Though recently, the roads seemed to be empty, but the rebels took advantage of the smoother terrain for faster travel times. That is, when confirmed that the way would be clear of any threats.

The Buggy and the Low Rider sped out from the convoy, as Aeolus turned the truck engine on. The sounds of it awakening seemed to crawl from the back to the front, as the engine seemed to fight itself for conciousness. For being bigger, it much quieter than Rhyder's other vehicle's. Romilly gave Aeolus a smile as he glanced over at him.

"Alright, let's give them a few minutes ahead." Romilly said. They both looked out the left-side window, as the cloud of dust rose high. The two others gained surprising distance in a short time, before Romilly patted the dashboard and they headed off. "Ok, just give a little pressure on the-" Romilly shot forward and Aeolus aggressively stepped on the gas before letting off a bit. "Ok! We're off then!"

Aeolus turned the nose towards the direction of the sandy signal, then picked up the speed. He let out a few joyous screams as he tamed the shifting wheel. There was a bit of strength required to keep the silent beast lined up. Eventually, they merged with the road, and the handling became much easier. Unlike the Low-rider, Leon's buggy and Rhyder's truck had full glass windows, save for the shot out back-window Leon lost during the Vol incident. Suffice to say, it was a much quieter ride for them. Rhyder didn't seem to mind letting the ambience of his surroundings play. Out of everyone, the busy environment actually helped him think better.

About an hour in, the top of the massive megastructure that was Nuvyron peaked out from the horizon. The FEA convoy from prior seemed one-off, as no other signs of activity could be seen by the daylight. Romilly, sure of his driver's capabilities, leaned back into his chair. The first hour was a bit rough, slowly explaining about parts and functions, as well as a few drifting. Ultimately, the stuttering from Aeolus' shaky foot rested comfortably on the accelerator, and Romilly considered his teaching over.

"No red yet?" Romilly relaxingly spat out as he exhaled his body into the passenger seat. The cushion-like surface absorbed him by an inch or two. Aeolus turned over to Romilly, keeping straight with the road. Romilly reached his hand up and grabbed the red scarf around his neck, resting on his shoulder plates. He lifted the end up, presenting and flailing it around. "Every Strider has one."

"I don't know if I'm a Strider yet." Aeolus said, turning his eyes back onto the road, readjusting his grip on the wheel.

Romilly let out a quick laugh. "You've already gone against FEA, may as well align with someone."

Aeolus spoke back, eyes still in front of them. "Why do I have to align with anyone?" His question was part genuine, part joking. It quickly turned more genuine as Romilly paused to think on his response.

"I joined Rhyder because he got things done, not because I agreed with him on everything." He nodded his head out the window. "The other options weren't in my favor."

Aeolus turned over to him. "What about Leon?" He turned his head back.

"They're the quieter of the bunch. Call themselves 'Ool'."

"You seem 'quieter'."

"Well..." Romilly pushed himself up from this drooping position, sitting up straight. "Among them, I'd be very loud. I prefer to take direct action." He turned towards Aeolus. "What do you prefer?"

Aeolus thought about it for a moment, occasionally glancing between the road and Romilly. He took a deep breath in, holding it as he thought of his answer. "Honestly?" He began shaking his head a bit, maybe a bit from nervousness. He had never been asked the question before. Even outside of Vol, the events of the past two days didn't lend well to what his personal preferences were, if he had any at all. "I just want to know what happened to..." He turned his head out the driver's window, though confident in keeping them straight.

The sun was directly above them, no glare to blind the view. The solid blue skies were short of an ocean, not that Aeolus was familiar with one though. He looked across the empty landscape, reflecting on the parts of his mind he felt empty. Though he rarely spoke with other's at Vol, he found his mind filling with visions of his fellow workers. He can remember a few of them laughing, whispering in secret as the masses returned home. Yet, even through that, they seemed incomplete. Aeolus felt aged in his body, but the majority of his experiences were new. Even Vol, for the drudge and drag it was, felt fresh in his mind. Certainly, at least, his preference were not the wooden floors of that old housing unit. Aeolus chuckled to himself a bit, thinking how much he did hate that cold floor.

"... What happened at Vol. There were masses. How does everyone just-" Aeolus started to drift off into thought again with his speech, but Romilly interjected before Aeolus got too lost in his mind.

"You need to figure that out for yourself."

"What does that even mean? I'm not dumb." Aeolus turned his head. "I know you guys know something." He looked at Romilly. "I can't align with anyone until someone tells me what happened. FEA might not be in my best interest, but why are all of you?"

Romilly sighed a bit, clicking his tongue. "You really want to know? While you're operating a heavy vehicle?"

Aeolus puffed his breath out. "I-..." He shook his head. "I know I want to know, but I don't want to know."

"No, I get that." Romilly's tone turned soft.

The silence grew greater as both faded off into thought. The sand around them started consistently building up, as the dust built up closer to the center of The Aleutian. The wind began picking it up, and their windows darkened, as the front windshield became to only fully visible screen. Romilly broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Ok." He sighed, eyes seeming to lock forward, as they danced across his face for control of his mouth. "We had a bomb, of sorts." Aeolus turned his head slowly towards Romilly again. "Not an explosive one, a field of sorts. Sends out a shockwave that cancels out tech." Aeolus slowly nodded his head along. Romilly turned to look at his, darting his eyes to his forehead. "That thing we took out of your head? Every other drone in Vol had one too." He turned back to push himself into the cushions again. "Even those Glassmasks of yours."

Aeolus ran one hand off the wheel and up to his head. Again, feeling the metal gap in his head. With a longer feel, it seemed to be shutters of sorts, a window into a hole driving right into his skull; His Brain. The concept was slowly making more sense to him. "So, how do those things connect?" Aeolus asked, as he returned his hand to the steering wheel.

"Well," Romilly laughed a bit, though seemed to regret it as his tone fell flat. "That thing was tech. This field I'm talking about scrambles tech."

Aeolus eyes widened, his heart beat a little harder, as he tapped his fingers nervously. He wanted to ask the question, though one he was sure he knew. Of course, he was afraid that the answer he knew was wholly true. "What did this..." He rolled his eyes up to his head, taking another breath, the difficulty of asking it was getting to him. "Chip do to everyone?"

"As far as we can tell, it's some sort of washer."

"Washer?"

"Washes your brain clean. Not clean of every filth, just what they consider filth."

The ride became a bit bumpier, as the road seemed to disappear. Though, the cloud pillar in front of them kept their bearings in order. Aeolus' focus shot between maintaining their ride, and the theories in his head. He had so many possibilities of what Romilly could say next, and much like before, he felt like he knew exactly what he was going to say. Yet, he still fought it, excusing it in his mind.

Romilly sighed. "Some of the chips fried when we let the bomb off. We didn't even realize that's how..." He turned to Aeolus, gesturing towards him. "You all operated. There were theories you might have just been robots." Aeolus laughed at this, as they may as well have been.

"So, what, they all left?" Aeolus laughed a bit in response, but turned to see Romilly's somber face. He looked like he was trying to hold off a scream, a stark oddity to his stoic look.

"Aeolus..." Romilly turned his head away from Aeolus, and looked out the window. After a brief moment, he turned back to him. Aeolus froze, his eye's locked on Romilly. The truck was bumping to begin with, but some became greater with the lack of focus and grip on the steering wheel. Finally, Romilly spoke out, confirming the deepest idea stuffed down into Aeolus' mind.

"There was no way to know chips were fried and which still worked. So-"

"Just..." Aeolus felt his mind go fuzzy. "I don't want to know." He turned his head back to the road, gripping the steering wheel tightly for the rest of the ride.

"'Right then." Romilly shook his head, reclining back into his seat. He closed his eyes to get some rest, having driven through the night from Vol already. The next two hours of their trip were mostly silent, only filled with slight control hiccups as Aeolus' adapted to the changing terrains.