Decker's shop wasn't terribly popular, with his main shack being situated on the very outskirts of Zynima. It was almost ominous sitting outside of the grand city's walls with nothing to look at but an arid desert landscape dotted with small rock formations and the occasional plateau off in the distance. There had been a few instances when he'd seen machines pointlessly meandering in his general vicinity, though it wasn't a frequent event.

But he didn't mind it so much. He was a simple robot leading a simple life.

Almost every day so far had been comparable to the others: he'd get a few of the regular bots showing up and buying their usual items – energy capsules, tool kits, scrap metal, you name it – before going on their way. On rare occasion, machines would show up in need of repairs, which was a nice break in the monotony of Decker's static lifestyle.

Today was a bit different, though. Zynima's sun had been out all day so far, and it was nowhere near nighttime. Yet, the sky was growing darker. It was something he'd never seen before – not even once.

~~~

"Decker." A cold voice stated the shop owner's name from the other side of the shack's service window. Of course, they were wearing the same fancy getup they always wore.

"None." An older voice replied in a tone of mutual respect. "I gotcha covered. I know what ya want." Decker went to grab his most reliable customer some energy packets from the overly crowded and disorganized space.

"No. Not this time."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean not this time?" He turned and faced window, completely thrown off beat.

None leaned on the window ledge separating the two. "Have you ever witnessed hell, my dear companion?"

Sheesh, not these dang riddles again. Decker, at times, wasn't a fan of how None spoke.

"Have you ever seen death fall from heaven like lightning?"

"Cut to the chase, ya big whack." His tone wasn't as benevolent as before.

None simply laughed. "I would hate for my little darling to be consumed by the approaching beast. Stay indoors." They solemnly walked out of sight without another gesture or word.

Decker always appreciated a good customer, but None was something else. He loved their business, but he wished they would drop the mind games.

Minute by minute, the sky darkened further; it was almost disconcerting. He had nothing spectacularly pressing that needed to be done, so Decker laid back in his hammock and stared outside.

Tink. A tiny sound, like a small pebble hitting the ground. It came from the ceiling. Tink, tink, tink. The sound began picking up in frequency until it was a barrage of tiny ploink sounds.

What in the Sam Hill's goin' on up there?

His hammock relaxation session was short lived as he hopped up and opened the side door to get a better look at the roof. He stepped just outside the entrance and wheeled around to check on his shack, but was immediately interrupted by a quick zap from his head. Decker acted instinctively and quickly hopped back inside, facing the doorway in preparation for an attack.

But no one was there. The only thing he could see outside was drops of water falling from the sky.

Water was a scarce resource on Zynima. Decker had only encountered it once before, and he was most certainly not designed with water resistance in mind. He figured it was a fair assumption to say it was a drop of water that zapped him, and he planned on complying with None's suggestion with this in mind.

"Raaaiiin!" A robot shouted in the distance. Similar shouts followed soon after.

Decker slammed the door. Before he knew it, rain was pouring down from the sky in torrential quantities. He went and closed the service window as tightly as possible, leaving the interior of his home safe from the lethal downpour.

But the robots outside weren't so lucky. Cries of terror combined with loud electrical bangs and cracks managed to seep into his shack, reminding Decker of how fortunate he was.

Now that he thought about it, None's riddle made sense after all. Death was literally falling from the sky, and he could only imagine the hell the vulnerable machines were going through.

"Help! Heeelp!" The screams of a nearby robot were rapidly approaching. Decker didn't have a lot of compassion to share, but he realized the severity of the situation. Sudden boisterous pounds on the side door rattled the entire shop, prompting Decker to open up, albeit reluctantly.

Before he could open the door all the way, a robot almost as short as him plowed into the house, clearly quite panicked. It stumbled around and bumped into a few shelves and hanging items before regaining its balance and composure.

"Thank you! Thank you so-" he paused as he experienced a brief electric shock, "much!"

"Mmyep," Decker replied, inspecting the new robot. "Keep yer claws offa my goods, ya hear?"

"Y-yes, of course!"

"I ain't no murderer, but if you start roughin' about in 'ere, I'll kick yer ass back where it came from."

"I understand. I won't touch anything, promise."

The two lingered around inside in an almost awkward silence for quite some time. Decker wasn't particularly fond of letting a stranger into his only home, but his morality forbade him from leaving someone out in the rain to die. As the other robot had sworn, he hadn't touched anything and had barely moved from where he was when he had rebalanced himself.

"Do you... know what's happening out there?" The bot curiously asked.

"Rain, I reckon. Fry yer circuits lickety-split unless yer one of those fancy waterproof bots."

"I've never seen it before." He went through another small jolt after speaking.

"Me neither. Knew of it, but never seen it myself."

"I guess I got lucky. Thanks again."

"Yep."

More pained noises from outside halted their conversation momentarily. It was practically impossible to ignore the terrible sounds of suffering machines, however, after a few long minutes passed, most of the noises stopped. Decker wasn't sure if those robots were now defunct or had made it to safety, but at least the worst of it seemed to be over.

~~~

"So, what's your name? If it's okay for me to ask, that is."

"Decker's the name. I run this here junk shop. You? What's yer name, son?"

"I'm Tano," the bot enthusiastically responded, "nice to meet you!"

"...Yeah. Likewise."

After time dragged on for what seemed like an hour, the sudden rainstorm appeared to be subsiding. The constant rainfall on the roof was decreasing in intensity, and Tano seemed to be drying off nicely.

Heh, wouldn't have minded a repair job on my hands here. Oh well, Decker sarcastically thought to himself. He wouldn't be one to admit it, but he was glad Tano seemed to have made it okay.

"Strange as hell. Never ever seen rain on a planet as dry as this. Bet them medics are gonna be hootin' and hollerin'.

"Yeah, I guess they're going to be busy... but I hope everyone is all right out there."

"You heard them noises out there, ay? Don't sound to me like everyone's okay."

Tano didn't reply, but he lowered his head a bit.

As unpredictably as weather phenomenons happened on other planets, the rain had come to a halt. The storm clouds had passed by, allowing the evening sun to shine through once again. Decker rolled off of his hammock and carefully peered out the door, confirming that the outdoors were once again safe. Water was still dripping off of many structures and roofs, and he had to react quickly to avoid the drops falling off of the entrance's small awning.

"Well, looks like yer good to go, Tano. No more rain."

"Whew... that was all really scary. Thank you so much again-"

"Yeah, yeah. Off ya go, now."

Tano seemed a bit hesitant about leaving so soon after the storm, but Decker's insistence was enough to make him leave.

"Okay, bye!" Tano waved back at Decker before closing the door behind him. A small yelp was heard moments later; Decker knew it was the droplets on the awning and he gave out a short chuckle.

He wasn't too bad, I reckon. Maybe he'll be around again.