“Breaking news, we’re sorry for interrupting your latest program,” a female news anchor began her update, “Elvander has finally struck back against the terrorist group called Shadow Cannon. They managed to send in their troops to the individual cells and eliminated each leader in a swift, tactical attack. The large massive headquarters has been destroyed by Elvander’s offensive systems causing infrastructure damage that will give the country of Trinity a chance to rebuild their homes above the wreck of Shadow Cannon’s buildings and training grounds.”

“Thanks to a watchful eye, a massive cache of Elvander fuel cells were discovered before the destruction and are now on the way to being processed for their return to Elvander, ready to power up the country for decades to come. All while they figure out what they will be doing with the Golem army that Shadow Cannon had used for their attacks. The President of Elvander was in the press conference to address the people’s concerns.” The male anchor shifted his seat to allow the footage of the press conference to play.

“We are working with our allies to reconstruct the cities that were destroyed by Shadow Cannon’s heartless attacks. We have reprogrammed the Golems and they will be working closely with us to help bring life to the tragedies that happened. We will not be decommissioning them as we believe that they’re lack of free-will was not the cause of their actions, but instead followed the corrupted motives of Shadow Cannon and their leader. The culprit behind Shadow Cannon has not been found and we’re assuming he died in the attacks. When we have a body, we will update you all. In the meantime, you can all sleep well and no longer worry about the monsters that roamed our lovely planet. Sleep well that homes are being rebuilt, that lives will begin anew. Sleep well knowing that you have people willing to sacrifice their lives to make sure yours are unharmed. Elvander has your side.” The President fixed the microphone in front of him and prepared to leave, “Thank you for your questions and bless you all.”

“The President had stated that reconstruction for the countless countries that were affected has begun as of his exit of the press conference. If you are looking to volunteer, you can call the number below or visit the website to file an application to join Construction for Civilians as they begin in Pyru with the first batch of Golems landing in a few hours to unload the heavy materials.” The male anchor then passed the news to his co-anchor.

“Just as the President has said, sleep well knowing that you longer have to worry about that terror group that had haunted us for so long. Thank you and once again we apologize for interrupting your—”

“That is crazy!” Deacon’s female co-worker turned off the television, “How did they get so close to being defeated and then out of the blue they managed to give those terrorist bastards hell?!”

“Spies, it’s got to be spies!” Deacon’s manager jumped in with his own hypothesis. “How else did they manage to get their fuel cells back so quickly?!”

Deacon smirked a little bit while he continued unscrewing a phone’s faceplate to locate some repairs. His face was cut, bruised, and yet, he never felt better. The number of things he experienced in those few days satisfied him enough to avoid talking politics and conspiracies. He saved the world with his new friends.

“What do you think happened out there, Deacon?” His manager turned to him.

“I don’t know,” Deacon shrugged, “Maybe one of the Golems went rogue on them.”

His co-workers paused for a minute before breaking up into laughter.

“How can advanced machines like them break free of their basic orders?” Deacon’s other co-worker argued while he stocked some of the second-hand video games.

“Maybe you should ask one the next time you see one, Deacon.” His manager joked.

“Ha.” Deacon’s sarcasm emerged, “Maybe I will.”

Deacon shook his head with a smirk and continued removing bits and pieces from the phone he was working on. It felt weird to him. He just sat in the back room. He was satisfied with the disbelief. Maybe it was better that way and he wouldn’t have to be looked at as the hero and live up to other people’s standards.

Just his own.

#

Deacon sat in his routine bus waiting until he got to his stop and readied himself to call it a day. The other passengers in the bus kept a smile on their faces with the news of Shadow Cannon’s downfall. They whispered to themselves about their own opinions about how they felt the war was stupid, to begin with. They echoed Deacon’s original thoughts. The thoughts from before he knew the cost of being just a bystander.

“Why didn’t they just use their large cannons?” One of the riders said to her friend, “They didn’t have any emergency plans for this kind of thing?”

“I bet if Elvander had their own robots they wouldn’t have dragged this thing any further than it did.” Her friend added.

Deacon just tried to block the conversation out of his ears and reached for his earphones.

The small city of Tyur began to rain again. Nothing unusual, just the season. The whole thing made him feel like he never left. He just didn’t bring his poncho this time.

That was as much excitement his day was going to have as of this moment.

#

The bus reached his stop and he stepped down to a puddle of mud.

“Come on!” Deacon looked at his mud encased shoes with a loud sigh. He looked up the hill he had to walk to reach his home and with the rain beating down on the road, a hero’s welcome. His shoes squeaked with each step he made up the hill’s sidewalk.

After a few blocks up the hill, he finally reached his house where he saw a familiar figure hanging out on the porch smoking a cigarette.

“Isn’t the humidity killing you?” Deacon asked with a smile.

“Not really, it’s pretty fresh out here.” The figure revealed to be Ashe, returned a smile of her own, “It’s no Hazlan, but I think I’m going to like it out here.”

“That’s great to hear. Have you seen Ragnar?” Deacon walked up the stairs to his home.

“He’s been in the garage trying to fix up his little space.” She flicked the ash off her cigarette.

“Don’t tell me that!” Deacon rushed to the garage where Ragnar was last seen.

The garage to his surprise was empty. No sign of the Golem and his car looked in the same shape as before. Deacon decided to take a closer look and saw the engine still in its oil-covered state. He didn’t know if Ashe was playing a joke on him to get him riled up or Ragnar left him another unwelcoming surprise.

A few loud footsteps came from the outside of the garage.

Deacon turned to face Ragnar who was holding a large hammer.

“Told you!” Ashe’s voice yelled from the outside.

“Thank you!” Deacon said to Ashe while he approached his large friend. “What do you got there buddy?”

Ragnar replied with his message: Tired of being alone outside.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t exactly have the time to—” Deacon looked at Ragnar’s makeshift extension to his house with awe.

“I know. I made the same face.” Ashe walked into the garage flicking her cigarette outside.

Ragnar built its own living room to stay close to Ashe and Deacon. The walls were already up and secure. Ragnar was already in the process of installing the floor with something strong enough that wouldn’t crack whenever it walked into the new room.

“Is that what all that noise was about?” Deacon turned to Ragnar.

Ragnar nodded with a prideful whir.

“Well, I guess I can’t be mad at that. That’s pretty awesome.”

“Now we’re like a happy family!” Ashe jumped in joy, “All we need is a dog!”

“Let’s not push it that far.” Deacon patted Ragnar on the leg, “Good job, buddy. It’s looking great.”

“I’m going to give that dog a maybe.” Ashe pushed the topic.

“I’m just going to go inside and ignore you. Please tell me you bought more beer.” Deacon sighed.

“Don’t change the subject, Deacon!”

“You don’t even have a job!” Deacon continued.

Ragnar looked at the pair and shook its head then continued its construction projects.

“They sound like annoying dogs.” Ragnar walked into its new room.