The Events of Windchime Hill

[yutzen]

(Another non-main crew one, this one recycled from FAR older writings than usual in fact and used for the prompt, which was provided by Making Up Monsters on Cohost)

Monster who notices people on a railway track, and has a decision to make

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"Let me just paint you the picture, mm? Something of an outside picture, it seems proper, it does. Once upon a time, in a land of many Scarlet Chimneys, a train came bounding off its rails..."

"It was quite a lot of coincidences, it was. No train should've been there at that hour, for one, let alone one roaring in at such breakneck speeds. No mining charge should've been on the rails, either, rigged to go off soon as anything touched it. And most of all, the two that saw everything that followed, they should've never been there; why, they should've been locked in an old, old city over a thousand miles away, unable to even decide to get there and intervene."

"Yet there they all were, in the wrong place at the wrong time, for all the involved. And in the end, when you think about it, those who should've been there the least were the only ones to walk away."

"It all began, of course, with a distant blast. Sharp and echoing. And that was already cause for concern all by itself, definitely turned their heads. Yet the screeching, clanking cacophony of twisting metal that followed it, oh that was far, far worse, a sign of sure catastrophe..."

"And, to a couple of unliving beings, constructs that had long resorted to rebuilding themselves and each other with whatever they could find, why, it was also a grim opportunity. Anything aboard, even the very parts of the train itself, could be key to prolonging themselves just a little longer. Even the ravaged scrap metal of a hull could help, once taken apart and smelted... You have to get creative, and fairly callous too, when all you truly have is yourself. Well, yourselves, as the case would be, wouldn't it?"

"But for that, oh, they'd need to hurry. After all, it wasn't them that laid that charge on the rails. They hadn't fallen that low yet - much as scavenging the work of someone that had wasn't so much better. But it had happened nonetheless, and they were close enough to hear it, and be there, if they made things quick."

"And it was thus that two constructs, the ones you know well, marched on, thinking themselves ready to sort through a tragedy... oh, they couldn't have imagined."

"Sorry sight THAT was. Bloody armored trains like those, soon as they start derailing all that extra metal just becomes a part of the clusterf- the mess, another reason why it got so huge, and so damned bloody. But I'm getting ahead of myself there, because we're still talking about a DELIBERATE derailment and those are ALWAYS worse. The bomb on those rails was no firecracker, damn thing could've sent half a HILL tumbling down all by itself! Says something about the locomotive that there was anything LEFT from it. That was ANOTHER thing that shouldn't have been, you don't have armored wagons like that just roaming around like nothing, this was SPECIAL."

"But that's the thing with special. Someone ALWAYS takes a shot at it. And take it they did. Explosion, derailment, mess of crumbled metal, MORE explosions, and by the time all that was done not a lot was left alive. And still they got a train so loaded, JAM-PACKED with goods, that even with THAT much of a disaster they still had one hell of a payday with them. Lucky them! Except for the part they weren't alone. The part where someone else HEARD them, was coming to check, and had even MORE to gain. If you could call that a gain back then."

"...you have to wonder how it LOOKED to them. The fires going out, the outside sorted, everything's going smoother than they could've ever IMAGINED. Got the fanciest train they've seen in their lives, their biggest bomb well spent. And they're ready to go in, right until... guess one of them got a sick feeling or something, because that one turned around right before it started."

"And you have to wonder what he THOUGHT as soon as he saw... not just ANY two constructs. Not just the dull sweepers and haulers everyone knows from the Vaults. I know you wouldn't see it THAT way, but keep in mind these were raiders that never saw ANYTHING like this... You know one thing that amuses me? You and I know the truth, but I am VERY sure they found the big, hulking, BURNING mass of walking obsidian closing in to be the most TERRIFYING thing they ever saw! Kheheh~"

"Oh, I'm sure the whirring, blinding tangle of copper and silver terrified them just as much, no one is ever ready for such sparks, and the thrumming sound, and the wirework shooting towards them like snakes. But let us not get into such comparisons, shall we? That isn't the important part of the story, clearly. And, admittedly, neither are the bandits, past a certain point. Which would be the point we're in..."

"These were two battered, DESPERATE constructs that had nothing but each other right then, and had just found SOMETHING that could last them more than a week. With the only thing standing between that and them being BANDITS. The callous thought was no one would miss them. And the desperate thought was that if even ONE walked away and said even ONE thing about these two rogues? If that thing slipped to even ONE city? All those years HIDING in the wild would have been for NOTHING. Back then rogues had it even WORSE."

"Mm, yes, thank you for putting it that way, Kig, dear. And for playing along on this, I ought to say, but moving on. Moving on, because lingering upon the brief minute or so that followed isn't right for you or anyone, but especially you. What matters is, the ones that set that charge didn't get to enjoy the spoils, or anything else."

"Nevertheless, once they could get to the train itself, that's where it truly dawned on them how unusual it all was. Oh, the armor on the thing was only the start, there were strange and mangled mechanisms all over its interior; why, some of them were so unusual, so complex, even the two could hardly understand what they were looking at. They knew now this was clearly a train of terrible importance to someone, someone would very much care that it would never arrive. And this gave the constructs trouble, it did, putting a timer on all they needed to do. And that was before they even got to the passengers' luggage!"

"...ah, and the passengers themselves, of course. The outside had looked disastrous already, but the inside, why, it became clear none of the fancy things inside had been there for their safety. The more these two... fortunate constructs prowled, the more they found none of them had made it. And the more questions they had on who they all were. Most of them were Bannerbound, they were, but there was a little of every species. Every species, they even had a few from the most remote hives... Yet none of them had made it, none. And many of them had these odd bandages on them, like a Bannerbound Clan, like... one of the Clans in particular, I hardly remember which-"

"I'd say Clan Vesnor, Tee. Not that it HELPED them any when it came to ble- No, we're not going there. Not at this hour."

"Thank you, Kig, dear, though we might still need to touch lightly on that... Nonetheless, wagon by wagon they went, and they found more than enough parts to last them, to keep them ticking for much longer still. And many more that they didn't quite understand, at the time. They'd take those too, just in case; after all, when you are a construct, weight is hardly a limiting factor, isn't it? Much less than it would be for most. But they also found more... passengers. More and more, with little to be done. They tried to keep it off their minds, and they managed to, all this was necessity, and the fallen hardly needed it all anymore..."

"But then, at the back, there was... they found..."

"The thing about big tragedies is that they have layers. Sub-tragedies within them. And what they found THERE was one hell of a sub-tragedy. One that was NOT over yet. Among the casualties, there were two Q- two Troxi, both of them with the bandages. Inscribed, and dyed blue, they could see it even with the... mess inside. They had it BAD. Still had their luggage with them too. Scattered everywhere. Most of it for metalworking! Lucky them, they thought, and they almost jumped in to see what they could carry off, trying not to think about what this same heavy luggage had done to THEM."

"...then the two heard a whimper."

"There was a third Troxi in there. Hardly five years old, at a guess. And she was alive. Saved by her own size, is my guess, seeing she was the ONE kid and the ONE survivor to the whole thing... and even then, only barely. She was- her injuries... she was on the verge. Wouldn't last, if no one helped, you could SEE the life fading in her eye. And the little one was just clinging to the other two, staring straight ahead, with ragged breathing and with her tail around what back then LOOKED like just a fancy forge hammer. Slowly shutting down..."

"And the two that came upon THAT looked at each other. Suddenly it wasn't so simple. Suddenly there wasn't a lot they could tell themselves about this all. And suddenly, they were in an even BIGGER hurry than they could've imagined. And they knew it without trading even ONE word."

"They... knew each other well enough, they did. Even the most talkative of the lot couldn't find anything to say. Or that needed to be said, when faced with..."

"When faced with someone that had the WORST of luck, standing OR laying there that day. Like Tee said, of all that shouldn't have been there, this little girl should've been there the LEAST. OUTSIDE of whatever machinations were being set up in that train. AWAY from this deathtrap of a rail. AWAY from this TRAGEDY! But there she was. With NOTHING left... except for herself. And even that was sheared, and fading quickly."

"...when you are built, you worry more than anyone that breathes about how much of you is you. And how much is just WRITTEN in you. And so much of what those two did had them wondering, sometimes. Surviving is hard-coded. Violence, only SLIGHTLY less so, with the way the Vaults are. And even those two aiding one another? There is STILL the argument that this is just some linking protocol. Some drive to cover each other, TECHNICALLY on the same side that made them. And you worry with THAT, whether anything you do is actually a choice. But..."

"But, what those two thought, and decided that moment, well... they would never have to worry about it in such terms. They would never question it. And they never have."

"It would be arduous, and painful for all involved, unfortunately. Those two saved what they could; one arm, one leg, one eye, all outside their grasp, but they could save what mattered at least. They'd need to make space, leave some things behind to carry her out... with her little hammer, too, which she refused to leave behind, just kept tugging it along with her tail. So on it went, with spoils that suddenly didn't seem so important. They took what luggage of theirs they could, before making their exit someplace else. Anywhere else... because even their life on the run, away from much of the world and with no one but themselves, would be better than this. But, much as they didn't realize it fully then, now there were three."

"The rest was difficult, at first. They had much to learn that first day, and the first week, and the year that followed... and every year since. It's been quite a few since that day, hasn't it...? And still they haven't entirely figured it all out. But such is parenthood, it is, or so they say when one asks. All they could do was keep learning, keep figuring things out, and of course the occasional apology for those abundant mistakes..."

"Right now the apology we owe you is how much we blew THIS storytelling! Three sparks, I am GLAD this isn't your bedtime right now, Vi. Sorry about the nightmares, I TRIED to rein things in but the sheer MESS that was... everything, needed to be told. And maybe we should just DROP the third-person earlier."

"Kig, dear, I felt it was... necessary, at least at first, an objective look, objective as we could manage, mm?"

"Maybe, but being objective about THIS feels like we shouldn't even bother. The fact it WASN'T just the cold math we were running back then is the POINT!"

"...heh. It is, isn't it? It took me some time to figure that out, it did. But we did. Be proud of that, Virry dear, you went and melted hearts that weren't even there, mm?"

"Tee, it was- ...it's a crude way to put THAT one. But all the better that you did, Vi. Tee KEEPS joking about how hard it was, but this... it's better. It's just... better. And looking back at that day, and looking at you now... I'm glad we were there. I'm glad, and... I'm proud of you for making it, Vi. Then, and this far... with these two that can't even tell a STORY right, kheheh~"

"Kiggie, dear, don't push it so far, mm? Let's not ruin the moment... much as we'll need to split this hug soon, because I'm quite sure I heard a little growl down here."

"KHAH! Right, it IS dinner time! You're better than any clock, Vi! Let THAT be our apology then, let's make something GOOD!"

"Funny how cooking was one of the lessons we did learn quickly, mm~?"