#floodworld

Original art by Fablepatron found here

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When she was young and not yet Loop, barely even L-i18, she dreamed of the sky. What was a horizon? A distant line? Somehow the biggest thing in the world and yet too mundane or secret that the handlers never spoke of it. Maybe they missed it too. Maybe it was in their dreams as they slept hundreds of meters below the sea and the sky and the horizon.

Not-Loop kept most of her curiosity bottled up. Questions were rarely tolerated. Could she miss something she cannot remember? Or maybe she hadn't seen it at all. Not-Loop, little L-i18, didn't remember a time when looking up didn't treat her to the same view of gray reinforced metal or the darkest, deepest blue.

The sky was a far away thing; a fairy tale, like family and friends. And safety.

This was back when Indie was Indie, before L-i18 killed her. Indie used to be alive and the sky was a dream and even if most nights were met with bruises and bloody knees, little L-i18 had a friend and someone to share her questions with. What if they saw the sky together someday?

Now Loop was Loop and she had seen so many skies. Different dimensions had different elements which meant different resources which meant color combinations her childhood imagination couldn't even begin to conceive.

Seeing the sky always felt like a half-step. Moving forward, but always that moment of hesitation. That urge to look to her side, where Indie was supposed to be.

They were supposed to see it, together.

But L-i18 had killed I-i12. She would never see the sky and Loop sees too many. Indie is dead and Loop is alive and that means she must work. Indie is dead and Deep Blue needs maintenance and Loop is alive so she must perform it. Deep Blue killed her handlers and now Loop is the one left to do the work.