Ice slowly followed the automatons as they climbed a mound of rubble to get into the city.

"Raven, what happened here? I know Francis said there was a battle and evacuation but why are there no people here now?"

"Sorry Ice, I don't know. All of the AIs were kept isolated in quantum vaults until we were needed. I didn't have more than a trickle of power until I met you."

Ice yelped as he slipped on a loose stone and slid a few feet. His prosthetic really didn't help much in this situation. The automatons had difficulty as well but due to how tough their bodies were it didn’t matter if they fell off the mound or climbed down. By the time he had made it to the cobblestone streets he was bruised and scratched. He watched the D.O.G and the C.A.T effortlessly descend the mount. "Show offs." He muttered as he glared at them.

Ice looked around at the buildings and bodies surrounding him and shivered. Whatever happened here it happened fast and gruesome. He looked to the automatons to lead him through the partially destroyed buildings. He was fastidious about not stepping on any of the bodies filling the roads. The automatons did not have as much care where they walked. Ice flinched every time he heard the heavy crunch of their brass feet crushing bone. The group passed the broken automatons; some were frozen, locked in eternal combat. They moved at a steady pace through the town, stopping only once for Ice to eat and rest.

They stopped at a dilapidated restaurant, if all the chairs and tables were anything to go by Ice took his backpack off and set down the Nano Devourer leaning it against a nearby wall. He attempted to brush off a bench seat only to have the upholstery crumble to dust, only leaving bare metal behind.

"Fuck, I guess I can sit on the floor." He bent down to clear a spot reaching out with his right... Left arm to move a small pile leaves out of the way. Afterwards he gestured for one of the automatons to help him sit down. He quickly learned sitting and standing with the prosthetic was an extremely difficult task to accomplish on his own..

"Raven, Francis said we're going to the Gesium Facility right? I wonder how much farther into the city that is?"

"I believe he said and I quote, "we would know it when we see it as long as that bastard fucking theriope monstrosity left any part of it standing."

"Yeah that sounds about right." Ice chuckled a bit as Leroy settled in on the floor next to him. He reached down to pet the drone. "I really hope Francis was right and this thing can fix my limbs. The prosthetic he gave me is cool but damn is it impractical and heavy!" Leroy protested as Ice switched from petting him to massaging the area above the prosthetic. The artificial leg put a lot of pressure on the muscles and it hurt.

"Nano technology is good for a lot of things. I'm sure it will be able to provide acceptable prosthetics."

Ice scratched at the stump of his arm. The healing pads had sealed the skin over the nub but it itched constantly. Sometimes he swore he could still feel his hand bump stuff.

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He bought another free black bread and water from the store. There were other options, but they all cost points. Points he had sure, but why spend them on something he could get for free… for now. There had been steak on the menu. His mouth watered thinking of a nice juicy steak.

He took a slow, reluctant bite out of his loaf of bread. . Ice somehow managed to knock over the globe of water since he couldn't hold it. It spilled all over the floor and seeped into the cracks.He cursed as he ordered another one. He carefully set the black bread in his lap not wanting to get it dirty, just because it was free doesn't mean he should waste food. Sighing, he looked around the destroyed restaurant. It looked like a small sandwich shop he frequented back home. Thinking about the reuben sandwich he would order every day made his stomach growl. He took another savage bite of the bread trying to pretend it was a reuben.

"Ice, are you okay?"

"No Raven I'm not fucking okay!" Ice took a deep breath to steady himself. "I'm sorry Raven you didn't deserve that but I'm on a strange planet, fighting strange things, and I don't think I'm ever going home. So, no I am not ok, but I am trying to cope."

They lapsed into silence until Ice motioned to an automaton to help him up. He gathered his things up. Putting the backpack on was a struggle with one arm but he managed it. As they left, he kicked at the leaves near the door revealing a skull. Ice sighed. He was somewhat horrified he was getting used to the carnagey. Francis had explained that one of the functions of the AI was to dull the sense of horror, trauma, and loss; Not eliminate it. It made the reality much less debilitating.

He followed the automaton captain as the others spread out around him. After a couple of uneventful hours they came to a large open area with a locked gate. The nearby fence was full of holes and they climbed through one of them easily. As they began to walk across the large grassy field, Ice thought he saw movement ahead of them. He slowed to watch carefully but after a few minutes he concluded it was just the wind.

Shortly after they came to a building with a sign on it in the shape of a shooting star. The group walked through the shattered glass door, crunching on broken shards and debris with every heavy step. A few hallways and two doors later they were behind the building staring at a field with a brand new looking spaceship. On the side of the large craft was a painted duck holding a knife in its beak.

Ice stopped and just stared at it. Wasn't that a meme?

It was at that very moment the meme became very real as he felt a knife stab into his one remaining leg. As he fell to the ground, he saw a duck… with a knife clutched in its beak… fighting four automatons. The strange part? It was winning.Ice stared at the duck as it moved between the automatons, darting in to leave gouges in their metal legs. He couldn't believe it.

"Raven get the D.O.G to hold that little fucker down but don't kill it. Something is weird." Ice reached down with his hand to put pressure on the hole in his calf. For some reason it barely hurt nor seemed to be bleeding much.What it did ,was itch. A lot. Ice had to actively resist scratching at the wound.

The D.O.G bounded in and landed on top of the duck. The waterfowl dissolved as the drone made contact. The duck was now standing on top of the D.O.G. and stabbing with its little prison shank …. Wait, it had a butcher knife a second ago??…

The automatons were slowing down, as the duck bobbed and weaved between them. Almost like the clockwork gears were being gummed up. The automatons came grinding to a halt. The D.O.G hasn't moved since the duck had stabbed it and now the duck was standing in front of Ice. It slowly reached out with a single wing and touched his foot before it broke down crying.