'Nah, no, it can't be, his mom probably has the same name... But, it does line up with the body mod story...'

"So, " the angel asked. "do you know her?"

"I- uh, don't think so?"

"Oh... Okay then!" the winged boy went back to jumping around the uneven ground.

'Nha, I gotta look this up.' the survivor signaled for the drone to land in this hand.

"Hm, " Angelo turned. "whatchu doing?" he innocently asked.

"Uh, I- guh- wanted to... look at... something." Duncan's eyes danced all over the place.

"Hmmm, okay!" the winged boy answered as he kept trying to peek over from time to time.

'EEK! He definitely thinks I'm onto something! Better be careful...' the boy held the phone slightly tilted to the side with a hunched back.

'The archives I downloaded should contain this, it was a pretty big deal...' he rapidly pressed all over the screen on the bottom of the drone.

'Ah, here it is. She has an entry it seems.' he skimmed the content.

'Well, this Tatiana person WAS in charge of the body mods for the eimav, so that lines up. Doesn't say anything about her having kids tho. I can't see if they look alike, didn't download the pictures.'

'Aaaaa! I'm so confused! Why did he mention all that in the first place?! What's his game here???' Duncan threw the drone back in the air.

'Aww, I wanna know what he was looking at! Mm, but it'd be rude to pry...' Angelo tried and failed to not peek at Duncan.

'Oh! Maybe it was about my mommy?'

"You don't have to worry about my mommy, by the way!" he said with a cheerful smile.

"She's really strong and smart, I'm sure she's fine! I only want to find her because I miss her. And I'm sure she'll find me if I don't find her!"

"Oh, I-I see..." Duncan replied, his head down.

"Ah!" the angelic boy yelled out and ran ahead. "Let's race down to the bottom!" he pointed beyond.

The survivor lifted his head and saw the flat terrain give way to a downwards slope. The sparse forest of metallic trees grew downward along the gentle incline smoothly covered with the lumpy moss.

In the far distance, a wall of towering gray reaching far into the sky and transitioning into green was visible.

'Are those the tall trees? They're even more massive than I thought. And there's so many...' the boy looked over to Angelo.

"I, uh- dunno-" Duncan got cutoff.

"Haha, too slow!" the angelic boy leapt and his wings unfolded like drapes. He effortlessly glided down to the flat terrain beyond the slope.

"Come on!" he waved from below with glee.

'Ugh.' Duncan reached the edge. '... These things are already slippery enough, but now I gotta walk downhill on them?' he glanced towards Duke. 'He's a combat grade, he'll be fine.'

He took a step forward and descended down the small hill. After a few steps he lost control and was speeding down the slope, unable to get a footing.

"AHHH!" he yelled, pushing himself backwards and landing on his behind. He slid down the slippery slope.

"You're okay, right?" Angelo, amused, walked over and extended a hand.

'I'm so pathetic...' the boy thought. "Yeap!" he took the hand and was pulled up.

The drone fluidly positioned itself behind Duncan while Duke stood atop the slope.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

[I shall surpass my creator.] the machine announced and took a step forward.

Its leg fell short of the terrain and it slipped, spinning and flailing as it drifted down.

[Mission successfully completed.] it used its arm to push itself back up to its feet.

'... I hate that thing.'

"Oh? Creator?" Angelo asked.

[Correct. The unadorned,] the machine shifted its eye lens to Duncan. [is unfortunately my creator.]

"Whaa! That's so cool!" the winged boy turned to Duncan. "You made a whole robot?!"

"Well- uh, I, didn't really... I only made t-the part that can talk..." he fidgeted.

[True. One that lacks the required facilities and is plagued by ineptitude cannot create in whole a mechanical miracle such as myself.]

"Ehhh... I still think that's awesome!" Angelo assured.

"Anyway, let's go!" the angel sped for the gray wall that was now obstructed by the thick dark green crowns of the silver trees.

'Maybe I should flash his firmware... Sigh, I need a drink.' he stopped and took out his dark green backpack.

Angelo noticed and stopped too. He intently watched the boy.

The survivor pulled out a water bottle, uncapped it and drank.

'Guh!' he spat out the water, causing the bumpy moss on which it fell to jiggle.

'This tastes horrible!' he dreadfully looked at the plastic bottle in his hand. 'There's no way this is safe to drink...'

"If you're thirsty, you can drink from these!" Angelo pointed at the plants on the ground. "I call them water bugs!"

"What?" the boy asked gently and in disbelief.

"I'll show you!" the winged boy left his staff on the forest floor.

He leaned down and grabbed a bump by the moss from both sides and pulled.

"Hurk!" as he struggled, the sounds of shifting dirt and snapping fibers filled the air.

Soon he held up an uprooted mossy plant in his spread out hands. The plant was a circular shape a little wider than his chest. The bottom side had a rough brown texture where along the circumference many short white convulsing roots protruded.

"EEE!" Duncan backed off.

"Don't worry! It's harmless!" the winged boy's head peeked from above the water bug he struggled to hold still.

'What in the world is he doing?!'

The angelic boy reached for the center of the water bug's underside with one hand and smacked it hard. The wild shaking of the roots ended and they laid limp.

He turned the plant and held it like a plate with the cyan bump on top.

"And now, you make a hole!" he lifted the moss up and took a chomp at the rubbery skin covering the cyan lump.

He chewed roughly and pulled up with his neck, his mouth holding a transparent rubbery flap that he then spat out.

'Brutal...'

Water slowly oozed from the bite mark on the creature. The angel dug his head in and sucked at the liquid.

"Ah, refreshing!" he lifted his head. "Now you try!" he handed over the water bug.

"..." Duncan blankly stared.

"Oh! You had a knife! You can try using that, if you want."

"..." the survivor pulled out the blade from his backpack, his mind blank.

He gently stabbed at the bump, the knife didn't go in. He used more force and it pierced. Then he dragged the blade across and made a small incision from which water sprang.

"Woah! Quickly! Before it runs out!" Angelo tried to pass over the cyan flora.

'Ahhhh!!! I HATE being under pressure!' the boy grabbed the creature from underneath, the weight of which was bigger than he expected.

He suddenly tilted the plant up and took a sip.

'!' he held the water in his mouth. 'It tastes good? Kinda like mineral water.' he swallowed and continued to gulp down.

After the boy had his fill, he threw the creature to the ground.

'There's no way that was hygienic...' he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

The angelic boy kicked the creature back into the hole it was pulled out of.

"Don't worry about the water bug. It's still alive and it'll heal in no time!" he tapped it into place.

'Water bug... What did I just do...' he looked around the forest. 'Well, at least there's plenty of seemingly clean water to go around...'

The boy sighed. "I-I need a... break." he leaned on one of the silver trees and organized his inventory.

"Okie!" the angelic boy exclaimed as he tapped in place.

The winged boy looked up and searched along the sky. His expression lightened once he saw a bright green cloud overhead.

"Ah! You wait here!" the angel turned to the survivor. "I'll be right back, I'll go get some food." with a loud woosh Angelo turned into a blur speeding across the sky.

'... How is that even physically possible? Wasn't it that people can't fly, even if they did have wings?' he looked around.

'Wait... This is a perfect opportunity to escape! He even left his stick thing.' he stood straight.

'... But what if I do escape? There's no way I can hide, and there's no way I can outrun him... And how do I explain myself after I get caught? I had to go potty?'

'Gah! Fine! I'll stay. Who knows? Maybe he isn't a bad guy. I'll see what he does next, and then I'll make a decision.' he leaned back on the tree trunk.

'But man, I wanted to explore this place solo...'

***

A flapping sound from above opened the boy's eyes. The angelic boy landed, his wings blowing a small wind as his legs tried to align with the ground. Two tall fibrous neon green clumps rested in the angel's hands.

"Sky candy!" he yelled with delight as he ran up to the survivor.

"Here! Take some" he pushed his hands forward.

"Uhh, what's... this?" Duncan suspiciously eyed the clumps.

"Sky candy!" Angelo repeated, as he took a bite from one of the clumps. "They're really sweet!" he slurped up the thin fibers like spaghetti.

"W-what...?" he stared with his mouth slightly open.

"Oh come on! Just try it!" he chewed. "I promise you, it's good! I've been eating this every day!" he swallowed and took another bite.

'Aargh, damn it.' with an uncertain frown the survivor slowly broke off a small clump.

The clump was light and soft with the individual coarse fibers waving in the air. He carefully put the small clump in his mouth and chewed, making his eyes light up.