"Let's avoid that city. You two don't have an implanted chip to use as an ID, so it's impossible for you to hide. Not to mention, they most likely hate animals as well, so we can't enter."
After hearing what D-45 said, Mariah frowned, knowing they were going to sleep outside as usual.
With no other alternatives, they decided to camp for the night.
Everyone sat in a circle around the campfire.
Dogmeat was resting near the geckos because he couldn't bear the smell of Agni and Mariah.
Oddly, he now seemed to hate being near Mariah as well. Before, it was only Agni, but slowly he began to dislike Mariah's scent too.
D-45 sat on the other side of the campfire from Mariah and Agni.
The unit simply stared at the two humans in silence.
Mariah — a redheaded woman likely in her late 20s, with skin almost as pale as snow — had green eyes that seemed to sparkle if you looked at them long enough. Her right hand was missing and had been replaced multiple times with a synthetic robotic arm, one of which once belonged to D-45. Despite this, she hadn't grown heavily reliant on it, and her right arm remained surprisingly muscular.
Next to her was Agni. The boy seemed no older than 10, with dark brown eyes, platinum hair, and brown skin. He also had the odd ability to conduct electricity from his hands.
Thinking about it, D-45 realized the unit didn't really know Mariah or Agni that well—only some surface-level information. So, the unit decided to ask.
"How old are you two?"
After hearing D-45's question, both humans were intrigued by why the unit would ask something so random.
"I'm 28."
"I'm 9."
After they answered, the unit fell back into silence.
"Why even bother asking if ya gonna go quiet right after?"
"What?"
D-45 was confused by what Mariah meant. The unit wasn't fully used to being around humans and often acted in ways they found irritating or odd without realizing it.
"Am I being a bother?"
"Nah, it's just odd ya ask a question outta nowhere and don't say nothin' afterwards."
"What topic?"
"Were ya even payin' attention to what we were talkin' about before?"
"We were talking about what we were going to do tomorrow."
Mariah continued talking.
D-45 realized these humans were going to be traveling with the unit for an indefinite amount of time, so it might as well get to know them well, like the back of its hand, and become true friends.
Agni was someone the unit would have to figure out how to handle later.
The next morning, the group packed their belongings and prepared to sail.
Once everything was set up, they were ready to head out. Everyone took their usual positions: Dogmeat and Agni sat at opposite ends, Mariah controlled the sand glider and the geckos, and D-45 sat next to her, ready to lend a hand at a moment's notice.
"How far away is your base, Mr. D-45?"
"It's not far from San Fran City. It's by a mountainside. Also, don't call me Mr. D-45 — just D-45 is fine."
Agni nodded in agreement after hearing that.
The geckos and sand sailor took off.
Everything was steady. The weather was nice.
No bandits or replicons attacked.
There was even some grass poking out of the dirt.
After a while, the group couldn't continue any further.
The sand sailors stopped operating; since they were now on dirt instead of sand, the weight became too much for the geckos.
So they decided to ditch the sailor and continue on foot. The base wasn't too far from their current location, so walking the rest of the way wouldn't hurt.
D-45 crafted a small saddle from the sails of the sand sailor for Agni to ride on one of the geckos.
Mariah led both geckos, as the unit refused to interact any further with the lizards.
After an hour or two of walking, they reached a valley.
Seeing the view, both humans were shocked. Mariah was the most surprised.
"What the hell? Were we on a mountain this entire time?"
"Technically, everything is a mountain on this planet."
"What do we do now? How are we supposed to cross the valley?"
"Watch what I'm about to do, kid."
After saying that, D-45 jumped off.
The instant fear that swept over everyone was indescribable. Both Mariah and Agni rushed to the cliff's edge to see what had happened.
"WOLF! WOLF!"
It took them a second to realize what was going on: D-45 was floating.
"WHAT?!"
Mariah was panicking, screaming, not understanding what was happening.
Agni, on the other hand, tried to stay calm and comprehend how D-45 was floating.
"How are you floating?"
Mariah obviously wanted to know too.
"Gravity deceleration."
Neither Mariah nor Agni had ever heard of such technology. They didn't even know gravity could be controlled — they had believed it impossible.
"It may seem like I'm floating, but in truth, I am falling — just at a very, very slow speed."
Mariah found this kind of tech to be millions of years ahead of them — maybe only a hundred thousand years if the war hadn't happened over a hundred years ago.
"How?"
"Long story. To keep it short: long trial and error."
After things calmed down, a new thought popped into both Mariah and Agni's heads:
Where is D-45's base?
As if on cue, they saw a cloaking system begin to deactivate.
A massive city was built into the side of the valley — and upside down, no less.
The city was enormous. Its architecture looked like something from another world.
No city today could even come close to comparing. Even the cities from before the war couldn't hold a candle to it.
The city also seemed fully automated. Every system moved by itself. Any part needing repairs was fixed automatically.
It was as if the city itself was alive.
Everything was happening so fast that neither of them could keep up. And without giving them a moment to process, they heard D-45 speak.
"Jump."
The unit's words made sense, but at the same time, they didn't.
"The gravity deceleration will prevent you from falling."
As expected, neither of them jumped.
Even knowing they'd survive, both Agni and Mariah froze.
It was natural for a 9-year-old not to jump off a valley cliff, no matter how mature he tried to act — he was still just a kid.
For Mariah, the reason was simple: she was too scared.
Every part of her body screamed at her not to jump — her heart, her brain, even her instincts.
Seeing their hesitation, D-45 understood.
The unit climbed back up to the cliff, grabbed Agni in one hand and Dogmeat in the other.
Forced to jump against his will, Agni shut his eyes, curled into a ball, and braced for the worst — which never came.
Dogmeat, equally terrified, squirmed and barked wildly in the air. He was scared out of his wits — after all, he was just a dog, and this was well outside anything he could handle.
"Mariah, bring the lizards down with you."
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BRING THEM DOWN?!"
Mariah was panic-stricken — left with the impossible task of pushing two sand lizards off a cliff and jumping after them.
Ignoring Mariah's helpless situation, D-45 slowly floated down toward the city with Dogmeat and Agni.