There was slow moving water about him. Ice cold, biting at his paws. It was the only place Piers could focus, his paws shoved deep into an ice cold puddle and his wide, wide ocean blues focused on it. Focus, he said to himself, time and time again. But the ringing in his ears didn't leave, the shock, the standard hyperventilation causing him to definitely not focus. There was a clock, ticking inside of him. Time, time slipping through his freezing toes.

BANG. BANG.

The dull thuds of the battle between Aurum and his father made his jaw clench. He cried out, his paw slapping the water. He pushed away suddenly, running further away. Snap, tick, tock. Constant, in his mind, like a driving force. A hum of a heartbeat, the working joints of a machine, pounding at their task, driven by a constant and supplied power. His paws, drumming on the ground. He didn't bother to open his eyes until the dull crashes of the forest battle was far, far away. He slid in the dust, right in front of the crater in the territory.

Warning bells rang in his head, chiming and humming in time with the machine. Something tasted bitter in his mouth. Indiana's words- "Don't go to the crater.". Everyone knew this. Yet, Piers' paws touched at the earth just over the edge of the crater, and he waded down into it. The rough ground, rocks sticking up here and there. His breathing tightened, skin crisping and burning. It felt like he was touching acid, paws twisting and bones cracking. It would be dark before Piers managed to claw his way back out of the pit.

His left paw, slamming down on the edge and hauling most of his body up, wasn't flesh. Most of his back, his tail, his ribs on his left side- it was all metal. Not smooth. It was scarred, twisted. Painted here, chipped there. It wasn't a good sight. A mutation more then an added useful tool. His breathing was rough, body shaking. His blue eyes seemed to have the color drained from them. They were barely blue anymore, a stone grey facing whoever spoke to him.

Was this even Piers, they had to ask?

// tl:dr; he went to the crater and now he's PHASE TWO

His ears swiveled. His body pushed to it's paws, eyes swinging dully towards Roy as he spoke. He was distant in his gaze, not quite there. His face was still, as if he was asleep, but his active dull eyes showed this was far more then just sleep walking. He started to approach Roy, stiffly. He moved like a machine, staggering his steps, and pausing after each step. It was alien-esque, not quite of humanity but also not quite.. alien. He ground his teeth together. His eyes flickered, like LED's blinking to light.

His head cocked as he was three steps, exactly three steps away from Roy. A science, it appeared, was churning in his mind. Was he a tool, now? Thinking for nothing but the subject before him, returning nothing but protocol from his maw. The flesh was no longer true- synthetic, perhaps. "Piers is fine." He responded, staring. He didn't exactly seem to be focused on Roy, either. Was he really there? Was it an echo of a memory, staring through Roy like he wasn't truly there.

"Require something?" He asked, his tone slow and monotone.

New subject approaching. Process.

His haunting eyes swung towards his mother and Brynn. He stared at them for a long while, as if he had no instructions. No orders in which to comply upon, no movement in his heart, soul, brain. His mind chugging for an answer, once which he could not find. Emotion didn't spark there, no joy to be found at the sight of his family, finally out and about to spend time with him.

Except it was too late.

Come here. His body shifted, the metal on his back clacking together as he took his steps towards Indie. Two steps apart, exactly, his greyed out blue eyes lifting up towards Indie's face. His ears swiveled, like gears whirring. The scent of them made his nose twitch, his body stiffen up a bit. Analyze. Don't feel. Answer, where is the answer. Return. He lifted his chin a bit. "Good afternoon Mother.