The Engineer was no medic. He wasn't sure what exactly he had been originally. He had standard mechanic function and a lot of skill packs on top of them. But he knew for certain he wasn't programmed for medicine. At least, that's what Snobol said in respect to his bedside manner.
"Owww!" Grace hissed as he fixed a scored line on her modified arm.
"Sit still! You almost made me sever a line!" He snapped
"Sorry boss" She attempted to go motionless. Then flinched again when he touched the same line.
He really preferred working on vehicles.
He finished his work, watching Grace flex her repaired arm. She smiled radiantly, far too brightly in his opinion.
"Thanks boss! You're the best" He coughed and cleared his intakes, turning away swiftly.
"Yeah, don't mention it. Now get the rest of the Mods up and running. We're short hands"
Snobol hustled up to his work bench at the back of the shop. Her worried face making his core drop even lower. Not that his mood could possibly get much worse after the cycle he'd already had.
"Boss! You're not gonna believe it!" She squeaked.
He flicked his goggles off and gave her a flat look. "Honestly Snobol, bad news is about all Im getting today. Lay it on me"
"Theres bugs! Lots of em invading the Rust District! I got Tizzy and Nilo's gangs on the way there. But it looks like our hunting party isnt gonna have the whole crew"
The Mod Boss sighed heavily "Fighting the bugs takes priority. We're not mounting a hunt for the outsiders until that horde is stomped. Those outsiders were monsters, but even they cant do as much damage as a swarm of Grid bugs"
Grace scoffed "You say that now. But those jokers held their own against superior numbers and abilities. I don't trust em to run wild in our city any more than I trust the bugs"
The Engineer ignored the pink lined Mod and focused on Snobol "Call in Tia's gang and get them on those bugs. Ive just about got all the Mods here in fighting shape. I want you two to keep some Mods around to guard the shop"
Griss, newly patched up from his loss to the outsiders, lumbered up. His two friends at his shoulders.
"Boss! When are we gonna go after those outsiders?" He demanded.
The Engineer opened his mouth but Snobol beat him to the punch.
"The Boss wants all available gangs on the swarm of Grid bugs invading the Rust District. Get yourself mounted on a rig and link with Tia on your way" She ordered. Griss snarled, stepping up to her, chest to chest. Even though he was at least a head taller she didn't flinch back from him, her modded arms had ice forming between the fingers.
"Youre telling me we're gonna let outsiders invade our city? What's General Tesler gonna think huh?"
"Tesler aint our boss! The Boss is our boss" Snobol growled right back at him.
"Yeah well the Boss aint in charge of Purgos. We cross Tesler and we all end up cubed!" He raised his hand to push her. But Snobol caught his hand, a sheen of ice circled his wrist. He tried to wrench his arm back but Snobol held it. Death in her eyes. His two friends squared up on either side of him, their modded limbs burning bright with energy.
The Engineer had enough "SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" They all froze, wide eyes pointed to him. He strode up and yanked Griss's arm out of Snobol's hold, shattering the ice and scoring the arm. Griss yelped. He pointed a finger at Griss's chest.
"You listen to me very closely. You work for me. And as long as you work for me you do as youre told when youre told to do it. Now, you and your friends are gonna go help Tia's gang repel those Grid bugs. No buts, no arguments, no comments required. Am I clear?"
Griss stepped back, rubbing his scored arm "Crystal", he said sullenly. His friends averted their gazes from their irate boss.
The Engineer rounded on Snobol "And you! Do not injure programs that I JUST fixed because you want to show off how tough you are. We depend on each other. In a city like this, we either band together or we fall separately. Your job is to help keep this shop together, not beat up your coworkers just because they've got attitude problems"
Snobol looked down, biting her lip "Yeah boss. I got it"
"Good" He looked back at Griss and company "You three get out of here. Go do something useful for a change" He watched them with a hard gaze as they jogged away.
"Boss, do you want me and Grace on those bugs?" Snobol asked in a much more subdued tone.
He exhaled heavily "No, I want Grace to keep helping the rest of the Mods get back on their feet. Weve still got a few laid up from that fight" He turned back to the two Mods. Grace was nodding along to his instructions. He caught Snobol's chastened gaze.
"Snobol, I need you to break the programs we have with us into two groups. One group guards the shop. The other group travels light and starts looking for those outsiders. Their job is gonna be to locate and report back. Under no circumstances will they engage. Once they locate the outsiders we'll pull in as much of the gang as we can and take care of the problem"
Snobol straightened under his instruction. She raised her chin "I wont let you down Boss"
"Good, get to it" They both scampered off.
He watched Snobol beeline her way out of the shop with a strange sadness settling into his core. He drew back his shoulders and marched towards the nearest rig. He had some work to do if it was gonna be battle ready within the cycle.
.....
He was elbow deep in the engine block of the rig when he heard a commotion on the other side of the shop. He sighed, probably another scuffle. Sometimes he wished Tesler wasn't so insistent that he give programs better ways to fight each other. Couldn't the Mod programs to be better at fixing things? It would certainly save him having to repair so much furniture.
He closed up the fused code of the rigs and rolled out from beneath it, flicking up his goggles to see a crowd of Mods around the main door. Shouts mixed with low murmurs as the crowd slowly inched towards him.
Snobol's aggrieved voice came over the din "Let me through! What is this a concert? Nothing to see here!"
The Engineer stalked forward, gearing up to shout his way to the center of whatever Snobol had done to cause the ruckus. He started elbowing his way between Mods.
"It's the Boss, make way" one muttered, then suddenly the Mods parted and the Engineer saw the source of the commotion.
He almost crashed there and then.
And he really wasn't sure why.
Three programs stood huddled next to each other in the crowd. Snobol waving her arms around to make sure they had space. It was definitely those two mechanics from the fight earlier. The female with yellow and white lines and the male with aqua. There was an additional male with green lines. But that wasnt the unsettling thing about them. They all had their helmets down and stared at him, mouths agape, frames frozen.
Their faces made data crash around his ears.
It wasn't memory files. He didn't have any of those from before Purgos. But his processes were overloading themselves with the strain of trying to call up files that no longer existed. A thousand files all opening at once only to be empty once they fought their way to the front, to be played. Blank nothingness flashing behind his eyes instead of a memory.
Unconsciously he grabbed the side of his head, trying to stem the tide. It hurt, and it scattered his attention so much he could hardly see, or hear, or even think.
The female had shot forward. Trying to get to him. He flinched back. The earnest pleading on her face somehow making the incoming tide of failing memory even worse.
She spoke, but he couldn't hear. Not with the hundreds of error messages flashing in his head from all the broken and missing files.
He closed his eyes, trying to stop the input. That just let him hear her voice. More memories, audio files this time, tried to yank themselves forward to be played. Nothing but static.
"Able! Its you! Its really you!" She said joyously.
"Who's Able?!" He snapped, the pain of overload putting more fire in his voice than intended. He opened his eyes to see she had shrunk back. As if he had slapped her.
The green-lined program ghosted forward to put a hand on the female's shoulder. He looked just as hurt "Able, its us! Mara, Zed, Beck. We're here, we found you"
Those names just made it worse. Designation specific files trying to wrestle their way forward.
ERROR ERROR ERROR
The murmuring, the voices, the pleas were all closing in on him.
"SHUT UP! EVERYONE QUIET!" He roared.
Silence.
He took a few unsteady intakes and turned away from the programs. He had to deal with this. Didn't want to deal with it.
Snobol moved up beside him and placed a cool hand on his shoulder.
"Boss? Are you alright? They said they knew you. They showed me a couple memory files. It was you from before you lost ya arm boss. Did I do bad?" She whispered desperately. The Engineer looked over to see Snobol's pleading gaze.
She was a good kid. Rash sometimes, but good to her core. He had to focus on her and his Mods. Make sure they were safe. If he focused on that and not the war in his head. Maybe he could handle it.
"Just, get them inside. Tesler's and Algol got people watching us. They cant see outsiders around the shop" He gasped out. Snobol nodded, patting his arm gently.
"Alright, stop standing around gawking you buncha lumps! Get to work. You three with me!" She commanded, spinning everyone into motion.
The Engineer practically ran to his office, closing the door with a whoosh. He just stood for a moment, allowing no memories or processes to run, trying to replenish after an overclock like that. He was old so it wasn't the fastest process.
Too soon a soft knock sounded before a head with pink hair and pink lines appeared around the door. Grace spoke in her deepest subdued voice.
'Hey boss, Snobol's got those outsiders here. Shes watching em, but she wants to know what you want to do with em"
He half-groaned. Whether he knew them or not, they were dangerous. He had to handle this. It was his job.
With a puff of air he shuffled to the desk and collapsed into the chair. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the slightly luminous top of his desk. He steepled his fingers, making one last stab at composing himself.
"Bring them in" He said.
Too soon the three programs filed in. They paused on the threshold, looking around with a strange amount of interest.
His office wasn't particularly awe-inspiring. Just a round desk and a few stands with some trinkets he had found. He liked old and unique things. They seemed to have memories attached, even if he didn't personally have any.
The aqua-lined male laughed once "This is a little surreal" He said, his eyes still scanning the room "It looks exactly like your old office"
The Engineer looked at them hard.
The nano they'd walked in, his banks had again attempted to call up an enormous number of memory files. But failed, and made error messages clutter his mind. He narrowed his eyes and focused on squashing the retrieval, blinking errors away rapidly.
With the initial shock over he was getting better at this. He just had to stay calm and focus. Information, find out what these outsiders wanted.
Protect the shop. Immediate needs and thoughts helped keep the empty memories from making him crash.
"What did you come here for?" He asked, making them all focus on him. Their expressions ranging from hurt to wary.
The female, again moved forward "We came to see you" her eyes were soulful and so incredibly sad. He felt a stab of hurt in his own core in response. He squashed the emotion.
"After I told you to get out of this city?" He raised an eyebrow.
The green lined program chuckled once "We've never been the best at following directions"
"You hurt my Mods you know. Why on the Grid would I want to talk to you?"
"You really don't remember us do you?" The blue-lined mechanic asked.
"fraid not" this was a lie and not. He didn't remember them per se. But he'd be a fool if he didn't admit that his system had about crashed in an effort to remember them.
The female reached back for her disc, making him tense. She froze for a moment.
"Please let me prove that we know you. That we're friends. That we don't need to fight" The female pleaded.
The Engineer flicked his fingers in a signal for her to continue.
He might be old but curiosity could still get the better of him. No matter how much looking at her saddened face seemed to hurt. Like her pain was his pain.
"Im Mara. As soon as I was out of Beta, I started work at your garage in Argon city" She pulled up a luminous memory on her disc. It showed the blue haired mechanic introducing herself to a crusty-looking old program. He couldn't stop his eyes from widening in surprise. That was him. With two arms and no scars. A slim smile on his face in greeting.
"You taught me so much. You trusted me, before I even trusted myself"
More memories flashed: him crouching next to her to guide her through disassembling a light bike, him walking beside her as she took notes, him placing a hand on her shoulder.
"From the looks of things I made the right decision with you" the old program in the memory said
"I thought you said you didnt have a choice?" The Mara in the memory responded doubtfully
"I didn't. I knew you could handle it. . My first and only choice"
The blue lined mechanic stepped forward with his own disc.
"Im Beck. I was probably the worst mechanic in your garage. But you never gave up on me. You looked out for me. Protected me"
The Engineer watched as his own image sternly commanded the young mechanic program "You are to stay in this garage WORKING"
Then there was a program dressed in white. Different from the one in the street before though. And he was about to die. Tesler of all people had the program by the throat, pouring red-hot energy into his frame. About to shatter him. Then in a blur, another program zoomed by on a light-cycle. Slicing off Tesler's arm with expert aim. Hitting between the energy arrays and slicing through cleanly. Saving the program in white armor.
Then, Beck and the older program sat in an office. Much like the one they sat in now.
"I was foolish to think that I could keep you here. To think that I could protect you"
The young program straightened in alarm at those words "It was you on the bike! You took out Tesler!"
Finally, the green-lined program elbowed his way forward.
"Well since we're reintroducing ourselves. Hi Im Zed. Im your best mechanic and your favorite. Ha ha" He laughed lamely. He slowly reached back and drew his disc. His face more conflicted than the others. He called up a memory file. But his face was troubled, like this was a memory he avoided.
"You saved us. And we never got to thank you"
The old program rushed into a cramped room. Mara and Zed were strapped to a pile of energy canisters with a clock counting down. A very large bomb if he had to guess. The young programs were practically frozen in fear. Yelling for help. He defused the bomb. He had saved them. Then, red energy coursed through the lines he still held. And the old program began to scream in agony.
"Run!" Was all he could spit out. Then the two mechanics rushed out and the memory ended. All three looked at him. He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth with the storm of failed memory files behind his eyes. He wanted to remember. But it hurt. To even try to call up his own version of these memories. His hands were claws on the desk.
"Stop. Please" He rasped. He couldnt take it anymore. It wasnt just the effort of trying to remember and failing. It was the sadness. He couldn't remember these programs. No matter how much he wanted to. Here was what he had never let himself dwell on. Programs that cared about him. A past and a home that he could miss.
He finally managed to look at them. Really search all three faces. They were older than the ones in the memories. Wiser. Sadder. They had lost things they cared about since then. Maybe he had been one of those things.
"Get out. You three have to leave the city" Surprise, hurt, flashed across their features in tandem.
"No!" The female practically shouted "You have to remember us! Please. Were not leaving until you do"
He stood.
He chewed on his words for a moment. Trying to explain why his desire to get them out of the city was now frantic. Before he wanted them gone to protect what little he had. Now though, now it was worse.
The males both leaned forward to argue, when Snobol charged into the room, placing her back against the door when it closed.
"Boss we might be kinda in trouble" she hissed.
He ghosted around the desk. His core dropping with fear.
"What is it?"
"Its Algol. Hes HERE. I don't know who it was that snitched but hes got his goons and hes tryin to tear the shop apart. Says we got outsiders that we're hiding. I told him hes fragged of course. On account of how good a liar I am"
"All three of you out. We have a back exit. You get to the alley and you run for it. Don't look back" The Engineer commanded.
He grabbed both males by the shoulders and shoved them towards the exit in his office. It was in a shadowed recess, between two stands for his trinkets. Hard to notice.
The males looked worried but didn't protest. But the female planted a hand on his chest, her gaze had gone from sad to enraged. Her eyes sparked with electricity.
"I SAID we're not leaving without you. Never again. I won't do it"
Without quite thinking about it he grabbed her by the shoulders "You have to"
She shook her head "No! We just found you! We finally have another chance. Im not leaving you behind again!"
He shook her once, words spilling out of him "Just listen! I miss people I don't remember alright!" she froze, eyes wide. He kept going, unable to stop the things he could never admit to himself before this moment,
"Sometimes Ill turn to look behind me to ask a question to someone who isnt there in a memory I dont even have. Sometimes ill walk in to my chop shop and long for a different place, but I don't even know what its called. I don't remember you. But I miss someone so much it hurts. You might be who Im missing, I don't know. But it seems like someone who used to exist cared about you a lot. So please! Just, go"
He let go of her shoulders, pushing her lightly towards the door.
"But I..." she seemed to be out of words.
"Go!" He snapped, then turned his back on her, striding towards the door to his office. He couldn't look back. He wouldn't. He heard the back exit slide open. Quiet footsteps clattered out of it. Then the office was silent.
They didn't mean anything to him. They meant everything to him.
Right now, it was all the same. But he'd be cubes before he let anyone touch them or any of his Mods. He leveled a fiery gaze on Snobol.
"Lets get these lunatics out of our shop"
"You got it boss"