They had made it outside the laboratory. It had taken some time and a few more fights with those strange creatures that lurked in the hallways, but they had eventually made it out.

  War stepped outside. Yes, you heard correctly stepped, into the bright sunlight through a final set of double doors which marked the end of the dark abandoned place of science. During the rest of the time, she had spent there, War had finally cracked the code which was the human body and was now able to freely use its form as she saw fit. While she found that she liked its appearance, she felt that its internal structure left her too vulnerable and as such she opted to simply remove the whole thing and replace it entirely with Red Wailers’ muscle.

  The Red Wailers were simply what the duo had decided to call the strange creatures which lumbered throughout the laboratory. War found it interesting that their physiological structure resembled that of humans without their weaknesses whereas Galis kept mumbling about ‘Illegal experimentation’ and ‘the dark side of science.’

  She had just taken a few more steps forward when she looked down to feel a numbing cold penetrate her bare feet as a soft, white powder covered the entire surrounding area. Her mind quickly fed her the answer and she realised that she was standing on very thick and compacted snow. Unwilling to bear the cold for long, she turned off the pain receptors in her skin and immediately felt much better.

  Galis wandered up behind her a minute later staring out into the distance. “I know I’ve said this before but where the hell am I?”

  “We must be very far up north, or maybe south?” War replied, tapping her chin lightly. Her voice had originally just been a replica of Galis’ but as she grew more comfortable with human genes, it shifted and changed to one that was distinct and melodious. Similarly, her appearance resembled his, being only slightly shorter and more feminine. Something she had debated changing but hadn’t yet. She also wore a large lab coat and a white pair of trousers that Galis had insisted she take after she began to look more human.

  War had protested initially as it would have diminished her combat effectiveness but then agreed once she realised that she may have to interact with other humans and needed clothes to do so.

  “I guess.” He replied despondently. “Let’s just try to get down from here for now.”

  The exit to the laboratory had been extremely high up, dug into a small hole in what appeared to be a giant mountain. Looking outward all that War could see were valleys of the same snow-capped mountains that dominated the horizon. The only change in scenery was the initial rays of the sun which lit up every inch she could see as dawn broke.

  She gave a mock salute to his words and started walking off to her left, hoping to find some sort of path.

  “Hey, War!” Galis called out to her, having to run to catch up to her pace. “You can’t just pick a direction and walk, we’re on a mountain! You might fall into an avalanche if you’re not careful.”

  “But I found a path?” She replied with a frown. Pointing downward where not too far ahead of her a stone staircase had been cut into the rock. It stretched extremely far down and was together up by a cross pattern of steel beams. Large glass panes were embedded on the right showcasing the stunning view outside like a row of identical, painted masterpieces.

  He stared at her and then down at the staircase, “Ah, um, good job then.”

  She nodded her head at him, “Thank you, I figured that the scientists who worked here had to have a way to get back to civilisation, so I followed the signs and hoped that the path was still there.”

  “Signs?” He asked.

  War walked over to the side of the laboratory and rubbed away a thin curtain of snow, revealing a metal plaque which had been drilled into the wall. In faint letters, it read, <- TO LAB 05, and -> TO STAIRS.

  “Damn, I can’t believe I didn’t see that,” Galis said, scratching his cheek sheepishly.

  “Of course, you didn’t, you haven’t reinforced your eyes.” She replied while rolling hers at him.

  Galis gave her a very flat look which she recognised as him debating whether to give a response or not. In the end, he just silently shook his head and gestured for her to begin walking again.

  They climbed down the staircase together, with the only audible sound being the quiet taps of the bioweapon’s steps as she walked downward.

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” War said amidst the silence “Are you still thinking of an answer?”

  “Your question?” Galis replied, looking out of the small windows that were built into the passageway.

  “When I first spoke to you, remember?”

  “Oh right, that question…No, I don’t have an answer.”

  “Why not?”

  Galis finally turned his head to find that War was staring at him intently. But it was for good reason. If she didn’t get an answer, then how was she supposed to move forward? What purpose did she serve?

  “It’s a tough question and not one most people can even answer.” He tried to explain, but she was having none of it.

  “How about you? Do you know why you exist?”

  “I don’t, no…But I’m sure I’ll find out one day.”

  “You’ll find out?” she echoed back to him, tilting her head in confusion.

  “Yeah, I’ll find out. Most people don’t find a purpose until quite late in life, only an extremely lucky few are sure what they want to do with themselves from a young age.”

  War looked down at herself and twiddled her thumbs.

  “But then…what do they do while they're waiting?”

  Galis flashed her a sad smile, as a stray ray of sun fell across his face. “Just live without regret, try your best to lead your life in a way that leaves you happy and fulfilled when you die.”

  “Is that what you’re doing?”

  Galis fell silent at her words and didn’t respond for some time after that.

  *

  They had almost reached the bottom of the stairwell when a large crash shook the entire passageway. War leaned against the stone walls to steady herself while Galis simply hovered in place, unbothered.

  What was going on? Eager to know more she bounded down the last remaining stairs and exited at the base of the mountain just in time to see something both awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time.

  In the distance, two gigantic hulking metal colossi were fighting in the centre of an empty snowfield. They dwarfed anything that the bioweapon had ever seen, and she had just witnessed sky-scraping mountains not too long ago. The heads of these monstrosities were so high up that they almost disappeared whenever clouds passed overhead. Every collision of each fist sent visible shockwaves rippling through the air as they beat each other in what looked like a slow-motion slugfest.

  “What are those.” She mumbled, dumbstruck by their sheer might and capability.

  Galis rolled up next to her and answered her question, “Their what we call Scarecrows.” He said next to her watching the spectacle alongside her, “They used to just exist everywhere around the world completely motionless, never making a move or doing anything. Then all of a sudden five years ago they began to act up, they started to wander around aimlessly, picking fights with whatever came across their paths. It wouldn’t be a problem considering that they're not exactly sentient, but there are so many of them and just one is enough to wipe out most normal cities.”

  “They can destroy a whole city?” War felt sweat bead on her forehead. “Should we be running?”

  “We’ll be fine.” Galis shrugged nonchalantly in response. “I’ve spent enough time around these guys to know when the Scarecrows are close enough to be a danger, I used to work on the battlefield every day and a sight like this was normally a blessing rather than a curse. See, if they were too busy fighting each other then they wouldn’t bother to squish all the ants scurrying around under them.”

  “Can they be killed?” She asked, attracting an odd look from her companion.

  “Not to my knowledge, no, but since most cities are at war with the damned things I’m sure somebody will figure something out eventually.”

  “Sounds lazy.”

  “Sounds efficient.” He corrected her, “Why pour resources into solving a problem when somebody else can do it for you? Or at least that’s what the higher-ups say, most folk just think that our army generals don’t have a proper plan.”

  The bioweapon’s curiosity was perked at his words. Galis had never told her where he was from, but from the sounds of it, his people were fighting those giants every day. Her heart thrummed in the anticipation of fighting something that powerful. After all, if the humans could do it there was no reason why she couldn’t. She opened her mouth to ask him more only to be rudely interrupted by a loud popping noise.

  “I agree with, Galis, little miss. Think smarter, not harder.” The voice of Phutho called out from behind the pair.

  War quickly whipped around to see the same ageing figure that was there when she first woke up.

  “Who are you?” She asked cautiously whereas Galis had the complete opposite reaction.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Took you long enough.” He muttered carelessly.

  “Yes, I apologise for the delay, I had a slight holdup.” Phutho slowly made his way over to the pair, “War’s files were a lot worse than I thought, and recovering her data may be impossible with how much they have deteriorated.”

  “Is it really that important?” Galis asked.

  “Not particularly. But I am responsible for delivering a working product and basic information on your avatar is part of the package. Honestly, it’s incredibly strange how many problems I’ve encountered just trying to set up a basic interface for you.

  “Is that going to be a problem?”

  “Shouldn’t be, it should fix itself after enough use.”

  “What makes you so sure?” Galis asked.

  Phutho rubbed his nose and sniffled.

  “It is because the likeliest culprit is age. I mentioned when we first spoke how old this particular device is which took me by surprise. I would have expected external tampering before assuming neglect, but even with extensive searches, I couldn’t find any evidence other than the fact that it simply hadn’t been properly taken care of. Therefore, it should be a non-issue as long as we’re careful.”

  “Hey!”

  War interjected into their conversation, standing in front of Galis and glaring at Phutho.

  “I asked who you are. Answer me.”

  The older man simply phased through her and leaned down to whisper to Galis, still loud enough for her to hear him.

  “Teaching your avatar to talk? I didn’t take you for the eccentric type, were you lonely or something?”

  Galis pulled a face, pushing Phutho away from himself.

  “What are you talking about old man, she learned how to do that on her own I didn’t do anything.”

  “…She did?”

  Galis raised a brow. “Yeah, she did, why are you surprised? Didn’t you make these things?”

  The older man turned back to face her with a blank stare.

  War was furious after being blatantly ignored twice. She couldn’t exactly grab the translucent Phutho but she did shake her fist angrily at him, prompting Galis to fall into guffaw in the background.

  “Don’t shake your fist, you're not that old.” Her companion said between chuckles.

  “But he refuses to answer me,” War grumbled, not having an answer was one thing but refusing to give one was another matter entirely. “Therefore, I must physically show my annoyance.”

  “Where did you learn to do that anyway?”

  “From you, when you were talking about market prices and some person called Marina earlier.”

  Galis looked away from her, embarrassed.

  “Damn, I forgot about that…”

  War stroked her chin in thought.

  “Does this mean you’re also old then? Because you do this gesture?”

  “Hell no!” Galis shot back, offended, “I’m still in my prime, thank you very much.”

  The bioweapon silently raised a brow at him but didn’t press the issue. She would have time to question her companion's strange mannerisms after she had dealt with the old man. Speaking of Phutho, he had been frozen like a statue staring at a wall opposite her for some time now. War and shared a look with the younger man before waving her hand in front of Phutho’s face.

  The old man quickly snapped out of his reverie and turned to face her companion.

  “Galis how long has your avatar been acting this way?” Phutho asked in a quiet, shaken tone. “Was this a recent development?”

  “No, I think she’s been like this since the beginning. Or at least since she started talking.”

  “…I see,” The old man stared at her and narrowed his eyes, “I must go.”

  “Aren’t you going to give us another task?”

  “Yes...Of course the tasks…For now, get to the settlement nearby, it should be a few hours northward. We’ll talk again once you arrive.”

  Galis’ eyes widened.

  “What about the reward you promised?”

  Phutho took a moment to register what he said and then laughed heartily at him.

  “For simply leaving a laboratory of half-formed rejects? No, you’ll get what you want after completing a real challenge. But don’t look so down, you’ll have nothing but opportunities to help me out.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “I think It’s a bit too late to be saying that, Galis.” The old man grinned maniacally at the pair, and then with a swish of his robe vanished once more.

  Galis stared at the empty spot where Phutho had disappeared. Rapidly clenching and unclenching his fist. War was also extremely upset at the supposed guide but upon looking at the man who had accompanied her thus far, her anger slowly dissipated, replaced with slight concern.

  “I’m starting to hate his guts,” Galis said, with a slow exhale. “Whatever, let’s walk.”

  War remained silent for a few moments, before following Galis who had begun to march ahead. She was lost in her own thoughts and idly pinching at the hem of her coat as she walked. Galis had told her that she would find her purpose by simply living, yet every second that passed with the question still unanswered left her in turmoil and the encounter with Phutho did nothing to soothe her worries.

  …Might as well ask about it.

  “Was my creation a mistake?” She questioned Galis, who stopped to turn around after hearing her words.

  “What?”

  “I asked if my creation was unintentional, Phutho didn’t seem very happy when you told him I had been walking around and asking questions while we were still down in the lab…”

  “Of course not, Phutho’s just an ass,” Galis scoffed, “He tries to make it sound like we all want the same thing but, in the end, he’s just strong-arming people into doing what ends up best for himself.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “I’m not exactly sure myself.” Galis grimaced, “But I doubt it’s anything good. Just based on the experimentation we saw not too long ago my already low opinion of this damned AI is falling fast.”

  War nodded her head in agreement.

  The pair spent the next few moments engaging in idle conversation. The bioweapon was extremely interested in human mannerisms and speech, she had even asked if it was a justifiable reaction to be upset at getting ignored, like she had been earlier. To which Galis quickly confirmed. When asked why she was asking this, she had initially said that it was to prepare for any future interactions with other people. But after some talking, War realised that it was simply interesting just hearing about how they operated.

  They had been wandering silently in the tunnel for a while when she asked another question.

  “Where did you come from?” She asked him. Remembering their conversation prior to when they had been interrupted.

  “Hmm? Oh, I’m from Megacity called Valtsomu, it’s pretty widely known for being both a military powerhouse and a terrible place to live.”

  The unfamiliar words clicked into her head like jigsaw puzzles, where definitions sprung to the forefront of her mind.

  “I understand.” War stroked her chin in thought, “Then… are you going back there soon?”

  “I don’t know,” He muttered, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. “I’m in a not-so-insignificant level of trouble, and while Phutho promised me a way out…It doesn’t look like he’ll be giving up any useful information any time soon.”

  War huffed at the mention of the old man. “Glasses is useless, I could help you much better than he can.”

  “…Glasses?” Galis gave her a sidelong glance.

  “It’s a nickname. You told me it was a social convention to give those to people whom you interact with a lot.” War straightened her coat, “Phutho is the only person I’ve seen wear glasses, and so he will be called that.”

  Galis scratched the back of his head, “But aren’t nicknames supposed to shorten what you call somebody, as opposed to lengthening it?”

  “It is also supposed to make it more memorable.” She replied.

  “But that’s only because they’re terms of endearment. I thought you didn’t like Phutho? Why give a relatively nice nickname to somebody you don’t like?”

  “It’s nice?” War looked at him astonished, “I thought it made him sound ridiculous.”

  Galis smiled slightly.

  “Well, I suppose it’s demeaning to some extent, but it sounds more childish than ridiculous.”

  “Then name a better one.”

  Galis said nothing, which she took as an answer.

  “My point is concluded; I have won the argument.”

  “You didn’t even give me a chance to respond!”

  “Oh, did you think of a nickname?”

  “No, but-”

  “Then I am victorious.”

  Galis ran a hand through his hair and sighed, clearly jealous of her superior intellect.

  After another hour of walking the tunnel slowly fell apart around them, giving way to an open plain covered in snow. The sun shone down brightly on the pair, illuminating the lush, dew-covered grass, poking out of the thick blankets of snow. After an unfortunate step forward, War accidentally fell several feet into the snow and floundered around for a few moments having to partially turn back into her original form to pull herself out. Her companion had been staring at the sun instead of helping her and making strange gestures with his hands.

  “...Rises in the east, sets in the west…” Galis mumbled, “Which means north is…”

  He lifted a finger towards a set of distant mountains after a moment.

  “…That way.”

  War waddled up to him, taking lighter steps to avoid sinking into the snow.

  “We have to go that way? Are you certain?” she asked.

  “Positive.”

  War looked into the distance, her keener eyes spotting something that the young man either couldn’t see or had already forgotten about.

  “Galis, that’s where the Scarecrow’s were fighting earlier.” She said, turning to look at him, “Are you still sure that’s where we have to go?”

  Despite the blue hue covering his body, she saw his face rapidly pale.

  “That direction is north exactly… But there’s no way that Phutho would force us past those things. Are you sure you're not just tired from all the fighting and trekking?”

  She shook her head.

  “No, that is definitely where they are.” She squinted past the sun’s rays. One of the titans had the other held by the neck and was repeatedly slamming it into the mountainside, causing faint tremors under her feet.

  Galis let out a pained groan.

  “Roma above…” He whispered, cradling his head in his hands. “How the hell does he expect us to get through?”

  War didn’t respond, still staring at the fight. Strangely she felt no fear, just like when she had been fighting the red wailers. There was no mounting anxiety or concern for consequence only a small thrill that fluttered in her chest growing with a surprising speed.

  “We don’t have another choice.” She stated, “We will simply have to overcome them.”

  “Overcome them!? Why don’t we just take a longer path around the damned things?”

  “I would rather not risk getting lost.” War replied calmly, “I may be a biological weapon, but I am still feeling the pangs of hunger. If we get lost through a detour, I am likely to starve to death.”

  Galis gritted his teeth.

  “Better that than a guaranteed death after a Scarecrow turns you into a pancake! I’ve seen those things murder thousands of people just by waving their hands!” he said in exasperation.

  She shook her head lightly

  “Please don’t worry, Galis.” She smiled at him, “I am certain that I can handle myself and get through without issue.”

  “War, I promise you that you can’t. Those aren’t walking corpses that are just physically powerful like what you’ve fought before. They are: Weapons. Of. Mass. Destruction. Think about this carefully.” He pleaded.

  The bioweapon brushed him off, “I will be fine.” She repeated.

  War lightly raised her legs and proceeded to bound off into the distance. Her companion's cries of protest slowly began to be drowned out by the wind roaring in her ears as she hurtled towards the hulking figures. She ran fast enough that her body didn’t even sink into the snow, only lightly gliding atop it while she crossed the distance.

  After few minutes into the run, she turned around to check on Galis only to find him flailing his arms around some distance behind her as if being dragged by an invisible rope. Every so often he would try to steady himself only to begin spinning through the air uncontrollably.

  War finally slowed down after they had gotten close enough to the Scarecrows to see them clearly, while still being what she felt was a safe distance away.

  “Please don’t ever do that again.” Galis groaned in pain, lying down in the snow. “All that spinning…I’d throw up if I could.”

  “We should come up with a plan.” She turned to face him, crossing her arms.

  “Oh, that’s a great Idea.” Galis muttered, slowly wobbling to his feet, “I got one, lets turn around and head in the opposite direction.”

  War shook her head.

  “…Fine, I will think of one myself.”

  “War this is suicidally stupid. I know you don’t have much reference for how dangerous this is but take it from me, this will only end badly.”

  War clicked her teeth and turned her back to him. Looking up, she could see and more importantly, feel the impact of the two titans as they continued to throw themselves at each other with reckless abandon. Now that she was closer, War could see just how rusted each of the figures was: they creaked and trembled with every movement giving the appearance that one foul wind could dismantle them entirely and yet they kept eating ground-breaking punches from the other as if it were nothing but a pleasant breeze.

  The leftmost Scarecrow was painted in a faded blue colour, its parts were slim and closely compacted with each metal plate tightly knit together. Whereas the rightmost Scarecrow was almost entirely grey, save for a long red spear embedded through the centre of its chest. It felt chunkier and larger than the first but still maintained that elongated humanoid form. Out of the two, the blue Scarecrow had been fighting more aggressively even with the self-destructive fighting they seemed to be locked in a stalemate.

  “Did you at least come up with a plan?” Galis raised a brow at the bioweapon.

  “You think too little of me, of course I did.”

  Galis looked up at the towering Scarecrows right as another shockwave cut through the air.

  “Well, I hope it’s a good one because only an idiot would be caught anywhere near these things.”

  “Then it is a good thing that I’m not that dumb.” War nodded to Galis and ran forward.

  She heard her companion audibly slap his forehead.

  “Oh, for crying out loud.” Galis sighed.