For One More Day With You 12

"Thank you! We'll see you later!" Their host waved to them along with some small green children (green-greens, as Thomas had come to call them) as they left the cave out into the incredible, bright mountainside. Guy-Manuel led Thomas and they headed down to the small town surrounding the mountain.

"There's something I wanna check out before we go see the water." He explained.

"Sure thing." Thomas said, a spring in his step. The interesting old looking structures were fascinating eye candy for them both as they went. There were street signs every now and then and their written language looked as lovely and strange as it sounded. Guy-Manuel pointed.

"There it is." He said. "We saw those three Crescendoans going in their earlier." Just as he said this the doors opened and said three Crescendoans stepped out.

"Come along you two, we can't stay out here we need to get to the shelter." The mother was saying. Then she noticed the two robots approaching. "Oh, hello again tourists." She said. They waved.

"Voo oo sehn, clar!" Thomas bleated happily. She smiled and nodded to them as she and her children passed by. Then they realized what was different. Her son had a brand new pair of robot arms and her little daughter had two bionic eyes in her head! She'd taken her children down to get their bodies supplemented!

The two walked into the building and immediately realized other robots were present. Several young children were sitting up on tables, robots patiently taking measurements of their legs or arms if they had any to build those that they were missing. Thomas nodded.

"So that's what this building is for." He mused.

"Yeah, fascinating." Guy-Man tapped him. "Didn't the fellow on the train mention this?"

"That's right, he'd said his friend made limbs! I was wondering what that meant. Remind me to ask Lan-yoo why they all have these strange medical problems when we see her next."

"…Thomas do you think that's a good idea? What if that's rude?" Guy-Manuel said in a hushed tone.

"I don't think she'll be insulted. She expects us to be curious after all." The two looked around for a little longer before leaving to head over to the "folds."

The trees around this area higher up in the mountain beyond the shelter were much larger and thicker than they'd seen before. Thick green tapers wisped around in the wind, gently hanging off of them. The ground was much softer and more pliant beneath their feet. Finally, they stumbled upon what their host had told them about. The dirt wrapped around small bodies of water in little pods. Like pores in the ground, the still reflective pools laid out before them. Thomas approached one and knelt down, tapping it with his hand. He and Guy-Manuel marveled at the sparkling and ripples. They weren't overly familiar with the properties of water, the only use for it in robot society was to be redirected or used to maintain the environment. Robots had little use for water themselves.

"Wait Thomas…" Guy-Manuel pulled him back and held up a tube of the formula they would need to avoid water damage. He dispensed some of the thick, foul substance into his hand, wondering how badly the stuff would stain his synthetic covering. "The synthetic covering will help even out the spreading of it…" He reached out tentatively and began touching his hands to Thomas's mask, spreading the stuff evenly along where there might be cracks to his circuitry. He continued, slowly, with spreading the stuff all along Thomas's body.

"Thank you, Guy-Man! Let me do you…" Guy-Man's helmet flickered awkwardly at that but he gave Thomas the tube and let the other robot prepare him for their swim.

Now that the two were ready it was time to actually enter the water. Guy-Manuel was more hesitant but Thomas readily stuck one of his feet into the water, watching it disappear under the surface.

"Be careful." Guy-Man said as Thomas trudged into the little lake. Thomas lifted the water up in his hands, amused by it constantly running through his fingers. After a moment, Guy-Man very slowly began to make his way into the water as well. It wasn't so bad, being nearly waist up in the strange substance. He began to walk toward Thomas, who was walking further in, when his friend just completely disappeared under the surface. Guy-Man froze, his helmet flickering wildly.

"Thomas!? Thomas, where did you go!?" He called, not moving. He looked about and wrapped his arms around himself, fearing the worst for his friend. Then he saw one of Thomas's hands break the surface. Quickly, Thomas's helmet rose up out of the water as he walked towards Guy-Man. Guy-Man watched, relieved and transfixed, as the water streamed down and off of Thomas's round helmet.

"THAT was weird." Thomas said. "Did you see that? What happened?" He asked.

"You disappeared!" Guy-Man said, finally rushing over to his friend.

"Disappeared? No, I was just submerged. It was incredible! The water obscures your visual receptors and everything sounds different. Try it with me!" He said, taking Guy-Man's hand. The taller robot led his friend forward and the two immediately fell, descending beneath the water. Guy-Man's helmet flickered again and the light played strangely before them, illuminating the water. He looked to Thomas but could only sort of see the outline of his helmet and the red lights coming from his visor displaying the word "WATER!" Guy-Manuel jumped up but he couldn't stay above the surface.

Then the two were treated with an incredible sight. A Crescendoan, another female, approached them in the water. Her skin was shiny and teal under the water, her thick emerald strands floated about in an almost supernatural way, framing her face beautifully. What must've been air bubbles rose from her nose and she pointed upward towards the two, swimming past them towards the shallower end. They followed her above the surface.

"Hello tourists! Are you enjoying the water?" She asked them. The two robots marveled at how the water trailed down her smooth body, glistening much more so than with them.

"It's fascinating." Guy-Manuel said. "But we keep sinking. We can't swim so nicely like you can." He told her.

"It is because you are metal, friends! You're bodies are not buoyant so you sink. Be careful, if you get stuck underneath you could damage yourselves." She threw the large flat strands hanging off her head behind her shoulders and looked up. "I'm going back to the shelter now, the suns are getting more intense by the minute! Be careful!" She said as she got out.

"Thank you, ma'am." Guy-Man called after her. Then he looked to Thomas, his visor displaying some scratches. "So, metal sinks!" He said, his voice box twittering out a few sheepish laughs. Then Thomas threw himself back into the water, making a huge splash and surprising Guy-Manuel. When Thomas came back up Guy-Manuel flung water at him and the two played about, enjoying the fascinating new substance.

Later the two were sitting on the bank, admiring the fascinating natural beauty that were these folds of water tucked away in the mountain side. Guy-Manuel looked down the see Thomas's hand comfortably overlapping his own. He flashed low blues and reds from his helmet's screen briefly.

"We should probably head back now." He said. Thomas nodded and stood slowly, waiting for Guy-Man to stand as well. Not long after the two started back Thomas realized he was alone on the trail.

"Guy-Man?" He looked about before looking behind himself to see Guy-Manuel laying front forward flat on the ground. "Guy-Man?!"