Another day passes. Silver, Clover, Zero, and I remain hard at work, still deep in our routines. Zero points out everything we need to know, I handle the people, and Silver and sometimes Clover handles anything that requires a more heavy hand.

The radio is constantly alight, listening on every frequency. For the most part I keep it tuned out, idly checking transcripts of what I missed every few minutes. A message I've been waiting for, desperately hoping for, catches my mind.

"Arc City, this is Lance, part of a caravan looking to stop in. Do you read?"

"Lance!" My body jumps with excitement, startling Cassie. "Lance is here! Can you go tell Vince and Ivy?" I fill her in before sending out a message. "Lance! It's so good to hear from you!"

"Glad to see the city's in one piece still. Not sure how safe it'll be for us to head through the streets. Mind giving us an escort?"

"You won't need one." I stare through the cameras atop the tower, looking out to the horizon. A caravan of a dozen vehicles, two of which are very familiar, crests a large dune. Each of them are already networked together. "I'm opening an entrance a mile to the west of the city. Enter, and it'll lead you to a garage beneath the tower. Are you just picking people up and heading home? Or are you staying?" a small portion of the desert begins to bulge before giving way to a metal tube breaking the surface. The entrance is almost identical to the entrances to the grand canyon. An extendable, hollow rectangle whose door opens only after it is clear of the sand.

"Our plan is to stay until the next storm ends, if that's alright with you. We don't want to rush anyone into making a decision."

"Yeah, of course that's alright. If you don't want to stay in the garage, however, I'll need help clearing out some of the floors."

"We're more than happy to help. If you don't need anything else, we'll see you in a minute."

"Are you and Robin going to be staying after the caravan leaves?" I can't stop myself from asking, hoping for an answer I already know isn't going to come true.

"Only for a week, sorry. Someone has to make sure this caravan stays safe."

"Right." Even if I already knew the answer, I can't stop myself from being disappointed. "It'll be nice to see you two again anyway."

"Agreed. And hopefully it won't be a one time visit. But that can wait for us to discuss it in person."

"Right, ok. I can see you through my cameras, and I'll be able to keep you safe for the remainder of your drive." Ivy on the roof and Corax with bombs is maybe the best protection possible. And if somehow they're not enough, C-1 had a thousand armed drones on standby, ready to be used at any moment. I don't think they'd do as much as the two of them would, but they might come close.

"Appreciate it. See you in a minute, signing off." The radio channel goes quiet.

I send one body to the new entrance into the city, one of the ones modified to look similar to my own. There's no telling how many of them remember how the enforcers look, or at least have heard stories of them. They're already giving up so much just being here, I want to make things as easy as possible.

It takes far too long for them to reach the city, each moment dragging out into eternity while I wait for my relief to arrive. However, no matter how long it takes, they do eventually make it here. Lance leads the convoy, entirely ignoring the wheel and keeping a pistol in his hand, and his shield at his side. Robin sits next to him, equally prepared.

The convoy slows to a simultaneous stop as the first car approaches my body. The window rolls down, and Lance leans his head out.

"Need a ride?" He asks.

"Well I wouldn't say no." The rear door opens up on its own, and I climb inside. "This tunnel leads directly to the parking garage."

"Understood. Is there any problem with us transmitting everything to the rest of the convoy?"

"No, of course not. I can plug myself in and talk to them directly if you think it would help."

"I think it'd be better to keep a degree of separation for now." Lance says, his voice thick with a silent apology. "Not that they don't trust you, it's just…" He goes silent, searching for the correct words.

"I understand. I suddenly have a lot of processing power, and I'm sure I didn't get a chance to introduce myself while we were in the city to many of the people who came. I'm not going to assume they're just going to trust me right away."

"Appreciate it." Lance nods. "And many of them do too."

Every car in the convoy begins to move at the exact same moment, descending into the tunnel. It's as plain as possible, concrete floors and metal walls, with lights in the ceiling at regular intervals.

"How are you holding up?" Lance breaks the silence.

"I'm doing my best." Ah, shit. I'm going to have to explain to them that Silver has been working with me. "Does everyone know who's been helping me?" There's no way Kismet would send everyone all the way here if they would have a problem with Silver, right?

"Everyone's been told, although I'm not sure if the fact that we're relying on Silver of all humans has really settled in for everyone. Not to mention Zero. Robin and I stayed in Vegas for long enough to not be comfortable with that."

"I'm hoping that now that everyone is here, both of them can go back to living their own lives. I know Zero wants nothing more than to turn their attention back to Vegas, and I'm sure Silver has been neglecting their gang."

"I'm sure we'll be able to fill any gaps you need. Kismet was very particular with the skillsets they decided to send."

"Is there anyone I know?" I ask.

"At least one I'm sure you know, although I'm not sure who all you made friends with during your stays."

"I'm still not sure how you even know if you're friends with someone. Cassie said it's not that serious, but I'm not sure who I made friends with either."

"Well, I think we count." Robin says, nodding at his brother.

"Yeah, I guess so." I can't help but smile. It feels nice to do it again, it's been so rare the past few days.

"Once you get someone to risk their life for you? It's pretty safe to call them a friend." Lance laughs. "Anything less than that and it's a case by case basis."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I don't think I'd call Nimda a friend." One again, the criteria can't be that simple.

"Pretty sure she put her life on the line for the job, not for you and your family specifically. Speaking of which, how's everyone holding up?"

"They've stayed busy helping Mary, which I think is helping them. More importantly though, Kismet said you would hold a vote about her?"

"We did, and it's been a long time since I saw a vote go that long. If she lets us, we'll be taking her with us."

A guilty relief washes over my mind.

"Do you think you'll be able to convince her?" I ask.

"Kismet seems to think so, and you've already got a quantum volunteering to act as a conduit for them for that discussion. So I guess we'll see."

"I do?" I ask.

"Saccharine and Zenith? They volunteered to be Kismet's primary connection to the city."

"So they're staying?"

"I feel like you should be the one telling me that, not the other way around." He lets out a small laugh. "Yes, they're staying in the city."

"I haven't had time to ask anyone about their plans beyond knowing a lot of people want to leave." I say sheepishly. I don't even know why I'm embarrassed to share the truth.

"Well, sorry to ruin the surprise."

The tunnel lets out into a larger room, although it's no more decorated than the tunnels. Just an open floor with an elevator built into the wall. The convoy files into two perfect rows, giving each car more than enough space to easily unload anything they brought.

A dozen people step out of the cars, and a few have birds on their shoulders! Part of Corax's flock came! I recognize a few of the humanoid AI, alongside a few of the humans, although I never had many conversations with them. Except for one, a robot body with a human arm grafted onto his torso.

"Frankenstein?" I ask.

"In the flesh." He nods. "And to answer the question you undoubtedly are about to ask, Zenith relayed that your city's healthcare system is woefully inadequate and your citizens are suffering. I imagine I will stay for a few years, at least until I can train a suitable replacement. If you have a location we can turn into a hospital, I would appreciate it. I've already brought enough tools to get a rudimentary practice started, and I will get a manufacturing request submitted for the rest."

Well, there are a lot of unused penthouses as of today, but it wouldn't make any sense to put a hospital all the way up there. The elevator rides alone would inconvenience everyone who lives in the building at best, and the delay of getting injured people all the way up there could cost lives.

"You can have floor four of the tower. I'll need help clearing it out though. It's an old lab Simon used for years, and C-1 never touched it after he died."

"That's perfect, thank you. Just to confirm, is Ivy experiencing any pain?"

"She's not said anything about it, and I haven't noticed her limping or anything." Or at least haven't noticed her limping before I took over, and haven't had the chance to check since.

"Good. In that case I'll delay my followup until we help those who need it most." He reaches into his car and hefts out a large container. "Ah, by the way, your new internals are in the trunk. We took the liberty of bringing a complete upgrade, not just your coolant system. Please let me know if you require help installing them."

"Oh! Thank you! I'll take care of that when I can. And I'll bring down a few bodies to help unload the cars." I take a step back, facing the small crowd. "Sorry in advance everyone! I haven't had the opportunity to modify most of C-1's bodies. I just want to warn all of you, in case you have any bad memories."

"We wouldn't be here if we couldn't handle a few bad memories." An armed man steps forward, thick body armor covering his metal body. He holds out a hand, and I shake it. "Major Ray, ex U.S. Army, human mind rip. I've been sent to be your security advisor."

His introductions dredge up memories that I haven't thought about in forty years. What even was his name? Monroe? Ray had better not act the same way.

"I was born in an army lab. Did you know a Colonel Monroe?" I ask.

"I didn't. And based on your voice I will take that as a lucky break." He folds both his hands behind his back. "I don't expect you to run this city like a military operation, and I won't force you to do so. I am here to give advice, and help when asked to. You are above me in the chain of command, and I hold that sacred."

"I want to make one thing clear. I want to help as many people as possible, save as many lives as we can. I don't want you to harm a single person without my permission, is that going to be a problem?"

"No ma'am." He says professionally.

"Don't mind him." A human woman walks up to me. She's old. Not nearly as old as Mary, but she seems close to Vince's age. Her blonde hair is nearly half gray, although she doesn't try to hide that fact like Ivy does. "Ray means well, but he can be a bit much. I'm not sure he's left a serious emotion in years. I'm Emma, E-1's close friend. I've spent the last decade studying psychology and sociology. If you need help understanding people or yourself, that's what I specialize in."

If E-1 trusts her, I should too.

"I'd definitely appreciate another therapy session, if that's ok."

"Of course! E-1 sent a letter along with me, detailing everything the two of you were working on. If you give me permission to read that, we can get started soon."

"Sure, go for it." I shrug. What does it matter if one more person knows everything that's happened to me? What happened to the world isn't my fault. Even if I don't fully believe that, E-1 does, and she will too. It isn't worth worrying about what she'll think about what I did.

"Hi! I'm Sprout!" A cheery voice calls out. What looks like a thin tree trunk rolls up to me, with a drone with a camera hovering just above their body. The trunk spins, and an arm folds out from their seamless body, reaching forward for a handshake. "I was told you have plants that need taking care of!"

"Oh! Thank you!" Oh crap, I haven't paid attention to the hydroponics in the tower at all, there just hasn't been enough time. I check through the cameras and find plants overflowing their basins, heavy fruits and vegetables draped all the way to the floor. "Just a warning. Nobody has touched the plants since I took over, sorry the farm is such a mess."

"Oh it's ok! I'm looking forward to the challenge!" She says happily.

"I'm your last helper." A person rolls up, their humanoid torso morphing into a square base, rolling on large sets of treads. "Call me Monary, just another software AI. My primary interest is in architecture, and from what Zenith reported, this city is endlessly fascinating. In addition, I'm more than qualified to replace Zero and watch the cameras."

"The blueprints for the city are accessible whenever you're ready. Connect to the wireless network whenever you feel comfortable doing so, and I'll give you access to everything."

Monary is the first to connect. Their digital self is nearly non-existent, just endless code swirling in a roughly circular shape.

"Is that yours?" They nod to the cold heart, still sitting chained to the wider city.

"No. That was C-1, I think. I just never had the time to clean up. It's not bad as long as you don't look at it."

"Uh-huh." Monary spreads out through the server, their code taking in every sight, filling in every crack.

Zero backs out of any cameras Monary takes care of, and a near-instant conversation between the two of them sends a wave through the server. Zero turns their attention back to me.

"Expect no help when they betray you. I will not lie and say it was a pleasure. My caravan will be arriving in ten hours. I wish you luck." Zero vanishes from the server without waiting for a response.

Ray connects just a moment later, a few milliseconds of a delay causing him to miss the entire interaction.

"Silver?" I interrupt them from a conversation they're having. A moment later half their brain manifests in front of us. "Ray is your replacement, can you bring him up to speed?"

"I would love nothing more." Even in the Digital they sound exhausted.

"Thank you." I return my focus to the Physical once again. "Everyone, the AI that used to live in the city are on floors eight through twelve, although the bulk of them are on eight. If you want to do introductions, just please go slow. Saccharine and Zenith are acting as leaders of sorts, please contact them about the best way to go about things. Emma, Mary is up in her room, in the penthouse, can you take care of her? Vince and Ivy have been doing shifts with her for days."

"I'll go have a conversation with her." Emma promises.

"Thank you. If any of you have any questions, please just send me a message. And if you need any extra bodies, just take any that aren't being used. You don't need to ask or check with me."

I turn my focus back to my original body, and clutch Cassie tight.

"I might be able to finally take a short break."

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