HOME | DD

Description

With a sudden roar, the engines of the probe ship flared back to life, and the ship lifted off, leaving a cloud of dust, a plume of superheated air, and a second localized earthquake in its wake. Wall.e screamed again, and dug herself into the ground once more. The Slugcats followed suit, leaving only a pile of rocks visible at the surface. Wall.e poked her head back above ground a moment later, then clambered back out of the hole, shaking off dust. As the soot cleared, Wall.e looked up to see something astonishing. AX 001 was now floating above the ground, spiraling upwards with her arms outstretched, and her tail hanging down. Her wings, previously hidden within her chest armor, were now spread, and trailing behind her like a pair of fleshy, membranous ribbons. This strange image reminded Wall.e of the Saint, especially when AX 001 began spiraling straight up, getting higher and higher off the ground. Wall.e could almost hear the sound of a chorus of violins- or was that her imagination? Nearby, the Spearmaster began to sarcastically play the exact same tune through the pores in his tail. The Rivulet sat and watched in awe as her owner flew still higher, clearly thinking that she was now alone. AX 001s overseer seemed to think so, too- it was now hovering a few feet above a large rock, and facing away from Wall.e, the Spearmaster, and the Rivulet.

Suddenly, AX 001 took off as if she'd heard a gunshot, and started flying with incredible speed. Wall.e exclaimed, "Woah!", as AX 001 dropped into a dive bomb and zipped past her at what must have been hundreds of miles per hour, all with her eyes closed. She then pivoted and dropped into a nearby valley, racing through the narrow straights like a jet engine on turbocharge. Wall.e sent her own overseer barreling after AX 001 as she pulled out of the ravine and back up into the sky. The overseer was practically left in the dust as AX 001 did an aerial summersault, then started flying loops. AX 001 then tumbled into an aerial deathdrop, her wings and tail trailing above her as she fell. She fell almost to the ground before pulling up, and righting herself, now accelerating to the point of breaking the sound barrier. The sonic boom rang in Wall.es ears, and she exclaimed again, "Wow!", as AX 001 raced around a massive Iterator superstructure with a single large red blotch on the outside, expertly weaving through the interlaced piping, external support skeleton, and the veritable forest of antennae dotting the superstructure. The Rivulet was now jumping up and down, enthusiastically waving her arms and shouting something. Wall.e barely heard her and the Spearmaster, for she now felt like a full symphony was playing even though there was no symphony to be found. Wall.e hooted with excitement as AX 001 crested the top of the Iterator Superstructure, and settled into a lazy glide. Then, she took off again, diving back down around the outside. The superstructure whirred to life on its own, as if it were acknowledging her presence. AX 001 then shot off across the plains and into the metropolis beyond, and Wall.e took off after her.

AX 001 expertly wove through the tops of the skyscrapers, leaving Wall.e to eat her dust as she relearned how to fly. As Wall.e wobbled, climbed, and glided at random, she watched AX 001 race upwards into the clouds. She also noticed an overseer clinging to one edge of AX 001s armor. Shortly thereafter, the overseer plummeted out of the clouds, and Wall.e felt confident enough to fly up into them. She leveled out several dozen feet behind AX 001, who was now peacefully soaring with a thunder of Nightfuries. Wall.e could swear that- on comparison with the Night Furies- AX 001 looked a bit like them, and the resemblance made her seem even more familiar somehow. Wall.e still couldn't pinpoint an exact relationship, but she was sure that she was starting to develop feelings for AX 001. She figured only time would tell if those feelings would be returned. If they didn't, Wall.e was happy to let AX 001 be happy, and move on with her own life.

AX 001 then dove with the thunder, and Wall.e dove after them, the whole group dissolving into a playful flurry amongst the seastacks and the rising tide of the Hudson river estuary. Then, they raced out to sea, interweaving with a friendly pod of Thunderdrums. Wall.e now felt as if she were a part of something bigger than herself- if only for the briefest moment. She then watched in interest as AX 001 and the Nightfuries did an assortment of aerial tricks together. Wall.e herself then tried some of the tricks. She nearly fell out of the sky barrel rolling for too long, but managed to right herself- only to end up almost crashing into the ocean flying upside down. It was only now that AX 001 noticed, and she slowed to a hover and gave off an amused smirk as Wall.e climbed up too steeply and stalled, falling back into the ocean. Undeterred, Wall.e popped back up and began sea skimming back to the shoreline, diving in and out of the water like an oversized hyperactive Salmon. AX 001 then peeled off the thunder and, curious, shadowed Wall.e back to the desolate wastes where they had first met.

Wall.e shook the water off of her, then scratched an itch on a convenient rock. She didn't notice AX 001 gliding overhead, and settling into a hover on the other side of the rock. Wall.e then tried to step out from behind the rock as AX 001 descended into a landing. Wall.e accidentally knocked a few chunks off the rock, and AX 001 suddenly turned hostile. She whipped out a jet black, scary looking arm cannon. Wall.e gasped in horror when she saw the arm cannon. She barely had time to duck behind the rock before AX 001 fired. The blast exploded against the rock, leaving only molten lava, a cloud of finely charred dust, and Wall.e, who was now shivering uncontrollably against one of the few surviving splinters of solid rock. AX 001, assuming that the threat had been eliminated, retracted her arm cannon, and surveyed the damage.

Description

With a sudden roar, the engines of the probe ship flared back to life, and the ship lifted off, leaving a cloud of dust, a plume of superheated air, and a second localized earthquake in its wake. Wall.e screamed again, and dug herself into the ground once more. The Slugcats followed suit, leaving only a pile of rocks visible at the surface. Wall.e poked her head back above ground a moment later, then clambered back out of the hole, shaking off dust. As the soot cleared, Wall.e looked up to see something astonishing. AX 001 was now floating above the ground, spiraling upwards with her arms outstretched, and her tail hanging down. Her wings, previously hidden within her chest armor, were now spread, and trailing behind her like a pair of fleshy, membranous ribbons. This strange image reminded Wall.e of the Saint, especially when AX 001 began spiraling straight up, getting higher and higher off the ground. Wall.e could almost hear the sound of a chorus of violins- or was that her imagination? Nearby, the Spearmaster began to sarcastically play the exact same tune through the pores in his tail. The Rivulet sat and watched in awe as her owner flew still higher, clearly thinking that she was now alone. AX 001s overseer seemed to think so, too- it was now hovering a few feet above a large rock, and facing away from Wall.e, the Spearmaster, and the Rivulet.

Suddenly, AX 001 took off as if she'd heard a gunshot, and started flying with incredible speed. Wall.e exclaimed, "Woah!", as AX 001 dropped into a dive bomb and zipped past her at what must have been hundreds of miles per hour, all with her eyes closed. She then pivoted and dropped into a nearby valley, racing through the narrow straights like a jet engine on turbocharge. Wall.e sent her own overseer barreling after AX 001 as she pulled out of the ravine and back up into the sky. The overseer was practically left in the dust as AX 001 did an aerial summersault, then started flying loops. AX 001 then tumbled into an aerial deathdrop, her wings and tail trailing above her as she fell. She fell almost to the ground before pulling up, and righting herself, now accelerating to the point of breaking the sound barrier. The sonic boom rang in Wall.es ears, and she exclaimed again, "Wow!", as AX 001 raced around a massive Iterator superstructure with a single large red blotch on the outside, expertly weaving through the interlaced piping, external support skeleton, and the veritable forest of antennae dotting the superstructure. The Rivulet was now jumping up and down, enthusiastically waving her arms and shouting something. Wall.e barely heard her and the Spearmaster, for she now felt like a full symphony was playing even though there was no symphony to be found. Wall.e hooted with excitement as AX 001 crested the top of the Iterator Superstructure, and settled into a lazy glide. Then, she took off again, diving back down around the outside. The superstructure whirred to life on its own, as if it were acknowledging her presence. AX 001 then shot off across the plains and into the metropolis beyond, and Wall.e took off after her.

AX 001 expertly wove through the tops of the skyscrapers, leaving Wall.e to eat her dust as she relearned how to fly. As Wall.e wobbled, climbed, and glided at random, she watched AX 001 race upwards into the clouds. She also noticed an overseer clinging to one edge of AX 001s armor. Shortly thereafter, the overseer plummeted out of the clouds, and Wall.e felt confident enough to fly up into them. She leveled out several dozen feet behind AX 001, who was now peacefully soaring with a thunder of Nightfuries. Wall.e could swear that- on comparison with the Night Furies- AX 001 looked a bit like them, and the resemblance made her seem even more familiar somehow. Wall.e still couldn't pinpoint an exact relationship, but she was sure that she was starting to develop feelings for AX 001. She figured only time would tell if those feelings would be returned. If they didn't, Wall.e was happy to let AX 001 be happy, and move on with her own life.

AX 001 then dove with the thunder, and Wall.e dove after them, the whole group dissolving into a playful flurry amongst the seastacks and the rising tide of the Hudson river estuary. Then, they raced out to sea, interweaving with a friendly pod of Thunderdrums. Wall.e now felt as if she were a part of something bigger than herself- if only for the briefest moment. She then watched in interest as AX 001 and the Nightfuries did an assortment of aerial tricks together. Wall.e herself then tried some of the tricks. She nearly fell out of the sky barrel rolling for too long, but managed to right herself- only to end up almost crashing into the ocean flying upside down. It was only now that AX 001 noticed, and she slowed to a hover and gave off an amused smirk as Wall.e climbed up too steeply and stalled, falling back into the ocean. Undeterred, Wall.e popped back up and began sea skimming back to the shoreline, diving in and out of the water like an oversized hyperactive Salmon. AX 001 then peeled off the thunder and, curious, shadowed Wall.e back to the desolate wastes where they had first met.

Wall.e shook the water off of her, then scratched an itch on a convenient rock. She didn't notice AX 001 gliding overhead, and settling into a hover on the other side of the rock. Wall.e then tried to step out from behind the rock as AX 001 descended into a landing. Wall.e accidentally knocked a few chunks off the rock, and AX 001 suddenly turned hostile. She whipped out a jet black, scary looking arm cannon. Wall.e gasped in horror when she saw the arm cannon. She barely had time to duck behind the rock before AX 001 fired. The blast exploded against the rock, leaving only molten lava, a cloud of finely charred dust, and Wall.e, who was now shivering uncontrollably against one of the few surviving splinters of solid rock. AX 001, assuming that the threat had been eliminated, retracted her arm cannon, and surveyed the damage.