Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A thousand equations pulsed simultaneously. Hundreds of markings, projections, and symbols danced across machinery, some making noise and others silent. Dim orange lights shone across sterile floor and walls. From a raised steel arm, a figure hung upside-down, nonchalant. The being was fiddling with a few interfaces, their fingers moving quick and almost automatic. Thin rays of light sparked and bounced off the projected holograms. 

Five Pebbles preferred to work quietly, giving full focus to his work. A few incoming messages went ignored. There was…. There was no reason anyone should need him urgently. They could afford to wait a few cycles. He was simply too busy.

Five Pebbles felt his left eye receptor twitch as he felt a small prick of feeling. As he was symbiotic with essentially his entire can, he could feel the movements of the various biomechanical organisms residing within him. Usually, however, his systems automatically suppressed them, as they would only serve as distractions. This feeling, though, meant that whatever was crawling through his systems was near, and rapidly approaching– 

“GAHHHH!”

A blur of maroon fur suddenly crashed down from above, nearly torpedoing straight into him. The chamber lights flicked on as his concentration burst like a bubble. A stack of meticulously organized, hovering pearls dropped to the ground. Pebbles didn’t want to admit it, but that high-pitched yelp may have come from him…

As Five Pebbles recovered from the initial shock, he spun downwards, about to reprimand whatever unholy beast had dared to break into his chamber and disrupt him — until his eyes locked with a certain scarred slugcat. Artificer stood on his floor, an impatient look on her face. To her side, a small yellow drone hovered in place. The shaft of a spear rested in her mouth, some sort of nasty blue gunk dripping off its tip. The sight alone nearly made Pebbles nauseous. 

A distant neuron fly beamed as Pebbles let the frustration transform into realization.

“Oh. Little Ruffian, you’re finally back.” Of course, he had sent her on a task again. He should have been expecting her return. He honestly thought she’d take a bit longer, though…

Artificer nodded, then began to make brief gestures with her paws and tail. Pebbles had concocted a makeshift sign language for the slugcat, in order to facilitate conversation. It involved a blend of the old Ancient sign language as well as the body language of the Slugcat species. Although it’d been many cycles since, the language was still rudimentary and a bit crude.

It did mean their conversations would no longer be so one-sided, however, and Artificer had fortunately picked up on it quickly.

“Dead. I kill again.” She flipped the tip of the spear towards Pebbles, nearly planting the disgusting remains of the Rot close to his head. His puppet recoiled instinctively, his arms shielding his face.

“Ugh..!” 

He backed away, lowering his arms as his ventilators exhaled. “Please, refrain from putting that… thing anywhere near me, regardless of whether it is dead or not. That being said… I appreciate your assistance once again, Citizen.” 

With a wave of his arm, he summoned an overseer to his side. The small thing displayed a screen, rapidly flipping between captured screenshots of the interior and exterior of his can. A corpse of a once-mobile tumor lay dead, their once vibrant and fleshy blue reduced to nothing but a decaying lump was displayed onscreen.

Thanks to countless cycles of research and effort, Pebbles had found a way to systemically ‘deal’ with the rot. He’d shut down sectors of his system, slow the rot’s progression with a handful of chemical components, and then flush them out of himself after Artificer destroyed them. 

It was a laborious solution, however, and not a permanent one. 

He didn’t have a true cure for the rot.

Not yet. 

The origin site of his unfortunate development was still far too infected, and completely inaccessible for his citizen. The rot continued to regrow, and had even resorted to consuming its destroyed bits. His citizen’s assistance was buying him enough time and peace of mind to inch closer and closer to a permanent solution, however.

Artificer tapped her tail against the ground, something he took as a reminder of her impatience. “Right. I’ve got these two pearls for you to pick from, this time. Both contain a few old documentaries my citizens used to watch to pass the time. They have no use to me, of course, but DO remember that this is valuable history here.” 

After she had first agreed to help him deal with the rot issue, he felt it necessary to give his Ruffian a reward every now and then for her efforts. 

Granted, she had helped him without expecting anything in return, but… he felt a bit guilty just using her for his own benefit. 

He had reconfigured his citizen’s ID drone to use an old program his creators once employed–reading the contents of data pearls. It was useful for playing films or songs on the go.

He had no clue if the function was even useful to his citizen, or if she even understood what was being played. Regardless, she still collected his gifts, taking them to void knows where.

“Thank you.” She reached for one of the two pearls hovering before her, a bright pink with a small blue dot in its middle. Artificer then stuffed the sphere into her throat, barely making a sound as it disappeared from view.

“Ugh… I still don’t know why you can’t just carry it in your hands.”

Ruffian flicked her tail, and he swore he saw her roll her good eye. “Easier. ”

“Whatever. You should head out now. I have some critical work to return to.”

The slugcat nodded, then gazed up towards the ceiling pipe of his chamber. Pebbles guided her upward with his gravity system, bringing her to the same exit she had popped out of. His- no, her citizen drone followed her ascent. Artificer made one last “mrrrl” before disappearing from sight.

Now, with that good news out of the way, he could return to his work. 

Hm… but after he cracked this case, he would need something new to do. Perhaps he should check on where Little Ruffian was headed? He knew she occasionally ventured beyond his can, though he had no idea of where. A twinge of curiosity pecked at him.

Did he really care about what his citizen was getting up to? She was probably just off to massacre another tribe of scavengers.

Though… he couldn’t deny the curiosity. And, as her iterator, he had an obligation to keep an eye on his citizenry.

He dispatched a single overseer to go follow the ruffian. That should do. Lifting his data pearls off the floor and dimming the lights, it was time to get back to work.

Chapter Text

“C’mon! I’m telling you, sis! There’s a buncha ‘em growing in this secret spot I found!” Survivor felt themselves being tugged forward by their energetic and much more lively yellow sibling. 

Monk had claimed she’d found a large stash of food hidden somewhere in the expanse. Although the siblings frequently went out on small foraging expeditions, food was rarely bunched together. They had to spread out a good distance to bring back more than just a handful of food. The menu usually consisted of blue berries, batflies, small centipedes, and anything else they could get their paws on. Survivor knew the risks, though, and rarely ventured too far. 

They remained on high alert as their younger sister eagerly dragged their hand through a thick cropping of plantlife. They held a spear in one hand and carried a small bag made of lizard hide across their back.

“I’m telling the truth!” Monk whined, pointing to a path ahead of them. “You know I’m not lying! I swear, it’s just ahead!”

Survivor gave their sister an empathetic look. “I know… but it just sounds too good to be true, Monk. Are you sure you didn’t… overestimate how many you saw?”

“Nuh uh! Just c’mon!” She let go of Survivor’s hand and dashed forward. Monk led them to the base of a small hill, before pushing a dead log that’d fallen over aside. With a light grunt, she uncovered a small hole in the ground, just big enough for a slugcat their size to crawl into. Monk plunged herself straight in, leaving an exasperated Survivor behind.

“Wait, Monk! Don’t jus–” Survivor glanced around, and with no present dangers, jumped in after her. 

The hole was actually a fully fledged tunnel, and Survivor trudged through the narrow space, struggling to keep up with the smaller slugcat. After a minute or two of crawling, they reached the end of the tunnel. Swiping at a baby centipede impeding their vision, they popped out into a small cavern.

“What..?” Hanging from the ceiling were several rows of berry stems, and a great number of those berries hung alluringly. It was like they’d stumbled into a treasure trove! Survivor counted at least 30 or so. “Wow… you weren’t kidding, Monk!”

Their sister laughed, nudging their sibling with an elbow. “See? I told ya! Lookit this! Gourmand’s gonna be super proud!” Her sister smiled, opening their bag with a tug and leaping to grab some of the blue fruit. Monk soon followed suit, and the siblings stuffed as many fruit as they could. Survivor slung the now-full bag against their shoulder, holding it closed with one hand. They’d need to ask Spearmaster how to tie knots later.

The siblings soon squeezed back outside, their small forms making the matter easy. Survivor readjusted the bag on their back, before giving Monk a thumbs-up. “All set. Let’s get back!”

Monk nodded, her eyes scanning the jungle growth around them. She’d always found the plant life around here fascinating. While the flora closer to the superstructure was sparse in quantity, the natural life around the Outer Expanse was so much more vibrant and… alive. Especially the ones that moved, such as that cream-colored face.

Wait…

Monk’s eyes widened, and she let out a gasp, throwing both paws onto her mouth. Survivor, confused, followed her gaze and saw the beast fast approaching. A caramel lizard! And by the looks of it, it was going to make the pair its next meal.

“Run!” Survivor yelled, though Monk needed no command as she leapt on all fours and scurried towards the path they’d come from. Survivor followed, though the bag filled with fruit was weighing them down. “Hurry!”

Despite its bulk, the lizard was no slacker, and gave chase to the fleeing slugcats. Its mouth drew open, and spit flew out at the speed of a fastball, striking both siblings in the back. Though only painful for a split second, the spit clung to their skin and hampered their progress. 

“Ack- get it off!!” Monk cried as she swiped the salivating projectiles off her body. But the damage was done. The yellow slugcat tripped over a rock and came crashing down onto the floor. The caramel lizard lunged forward, its jaw opening wide as it prepared to deal a killing blow.

“MONK!” Survivor screamed, ramming themselves straight into the large lizard’s size. Although Survivor was nowhere near the rampaging reptile’s size, they made up for it in force. Survivor’s push was just enough to spare Monk, who wasted no time in diving sideways for safety. The lizard, however, hissed in anger. Its long and fuzzed tail spun around, knocking Survivor onto the ground. 

The white slugcat groaned from the impact, rubbing their head slightly as they scrambled in the thick grass. The lizard, slow but relentless, pounced once more, aiming to finish off its catch. But Survivor was ready, reflexes sharpened thanks to cycles of surviving the violent ecosystem they all inhabited. They spun to the side, rolling like a cylinder and leaving the lizard to slam its face against the dirt.

“Leave them alone!” shouted a voice. Monk spun her arm, a stone hurling straight into the head of the beast. The lizard growled, clearly irritated, turning to face the defiant slugcat. Survivor wasted no time in scrambling back on two feet. Their black eyes darted around – but there wasn’t a spear in sight. They realized their folly quickly, having failed to bring a spear on the expedition. 

But Survivor had to act quickly. Monk stood her ground, but her face betrayed her stance; she stared in fear as the caramel lizard raised its jaws, cornering her between a raised mound of ground. Survivor dove, grabbing their sisters limbs before sending the both of them rolling and tumbling into the mud. The reptile hissed once more, clearly frustrated at its constant nipping of loose soil and air. But now it had the sisters cornered, and off their feet. The lizard stomped over, its tail squirming and its gait preparing for another charge. Survivor held their arms in front of their sister, gritting their teeth as the pair struggled to get back up. They’d splashed into a muddy puddle, and the grime and dirt was impeding their slightly-slick bodies.

Crack!

A loud crackle reverberated in the distance. Monk and Survivor felt their ears raise. Even the lizard had paused. Another boom, closer. A red blur shot through the air. A fist raised, a spear in hand. Within the span of three seconds, the spear found itself lodged in the howling lizard’s flank. The newcomer threw itself off the lizard's side as its tail swung in a great arc.

“Artificer!” cried Monk, a smile planting itself on her face. There was no time for pleasantries, however, and Survivor was quick to toss another rock at the lizard’s head. The throw knocked the reptile off balance, giving the maroon slugcat the perfect window. She tore the spear off its side and plunged it into the beast’s neck. Blood gushed from the wound, the lizard taking one last feeble bite towards Survivor’s way before dropping on the ground, defeated.

Artificer wasted no time in joining the siblings as soon as it was clear the caramel lizard wasn’t getting back up. “Are you all alright? You’re not hurt, are you??” She asked, her voice slightly low and raspy. The larger slugcat gave the two a concerned inspection, giving their foreheads a quick and affectionate lick when it was clear they were unscathed.

“No, we’re fine, thankfully.” Survivor responded, wiping some mud off their arms and chest. They could feel their heart beating in their chest.

“Yeah,” Monk began, pausing for a moment to glance at the dead lizard, “Good thing you showed up when ya did!”

Artificer frowned. Her citizen drone drooped down to her side. “What if I hadn’t arrived in time? What were you two thinking, going out here without even a spear?” Survivor and Monk looked down, their ears dropping as the pair were scolded. She was right. Survivor knew very well the risks of the wilderness. Not just to themself, but their sister too…

“Sorry, Arti… I was so excited to show Surv this neat spot, I didn’t think about th–”

Survivor cut her off. “Monk! Please don’t take all the blame for yourself, it was my fault too.”

Artificer felt her gaze soften. How quick these two jumped to the defense of the other, it was endearing. “I know you’re both very capable,” she spoke, recalling how the sisters had been separated from their family, wandering the entire world alone in search of the other. To say they were a capable pair was an understatement, in fact. The journey to Five Pebbles and the shoreline wasn’t anything but a dangerous journey. “Just try to be more careful next time.”

“You got it!” Monk exclaimed, her signature smile returning almost as quickly as it left. “Check it, sis, the bag’s still here!” She lifted the discarded bag off the ground, shoving a stray fruit back inside.

“Oh, good!” Survivor had honestly forgotten about it. Their scuffle with that lizard was far more important.

Artificer glanced up towards the sky, past the thick trees that towered above them. “Come on, we should head out. I was just on my way back to the Colony.”

Survivor nodded, pulling the bloodied spear out of the lizard’s head before following the larger slugcat. Although Survivor was essentially at the peak of their growth, Artificer was around double their height.

If Monk was shaken by their close encounter, she didn’t show it. Though she kept close to the two of them, she happily shared the discovery of her secret cave with Artificer.

Survivor kept a much more focused eye this time. They did not need another lizard getting the jump on them. The path back home was rather straightforward: follow the bloom of the flowers. The closer they got, the more beautiful and plentiful the flora became.

“So Arti!” Monk shouted, “How was your encounter with the tall guy?”

“Five Pebbles was grumpy. Like always. I helped him as usual.”

Survivor tilted their head. “I don’t get how you deal with the things inside of him. They’re… so disgusting. And huge.”

Artificer huffed, raising her chest slightly. “They’re tough, but not invincible. Explosives definitely are a big help.”

“But aren’t you worried you’re damaging him too?” Monk asked, jumping upward to climb a pole. Survivor climbed behind, helping her lift the bag up.

“Nah. Not like I can do any worse than the things inside him.”

As the trio made their way up a crumbling pillar, they came across a large flowerbed of blooming green and blue flowers. Monk jumped ahead, quickly zooming to approach them. Survivor looked on with wide eyes, quickly calling after her.

“Wait, Monk! What if there’s worm grass?!”

Artificer let out a short laugh.

Monk plucked out a flower, giving it a quick inspection before carefully placing it between her left ear. “I know what worm grass is. Duh!” She stuck her tongue out to Survivor, who just rolled their eyes.

“Whatever. Don’t complain next time you get your hind legs grabbed by those things.”

“Hey! That only happened once and you know it!!” Monk tapped a finger on Surv’s shoulder.

Artificer put herself between the two quarreling siblings, bringing their attention to the path forward. “Kids, please, you can argue back home. We shouldn’t dilly-dally in a place like this.” To set an example, the maroon slugcat pressed onward. The siblings glanced at each other and followed. Survivor had just felt the graze of a sole droplet of water against their leg, after all.

But Monk wasn’t one to let things die down. “We’re not kids anymore, Arti!”

As if they’d heard this one a thousand times before, Survivor replied instantly with a smirk. “But you sure are acting like one!”

“Hey, she was talking about you too, dummy!”

“I know. But I don’t act like a slugpup!”

“You do too!”

Artificer just rolled her eye, smiling softly. They sure knew how to liven up an evening, that much was true.

Along the way they came across a group of Yeeks, the rodent-like creatures hopping up and down endlessly. The slugcats paid them little mind as they approached a familiar stream of water. Up ahead, they could see the large trees that made up the home of Slugcats. From uptop a tree, came the glint of a spear. Monk paused, and the others followed suit.

A red being leapt out from the leaves, landing gracefully on the dirt before them, spear in hand. Two rough eyes, one marked with a scar, gazed at them. Not with animosity, but with relief.

“Survivor! Monk! I was startin’ to feel like you two were taking too long! And it looks like you guys found Arti with you!” Hunter exclaimed, withdrawing her spear to her back.

“Hey Hunter!” Monk yelled, running up to greet the red slugcat, followed by Survivor and Artificer. Hunter was on guard duty, ensuring no hostile creatures walking into the slugcat domain.The position rotated each day with the other fighters of the colony.

“Hunter. It’s good to see you.” Artificer remarked, giving the hunter a nod.

“Likewise! How’s the trip? Five Pebbles still got rebar up his ass?”

Artificer snorted. “Watch how you talk about him.”

Survivor shook their head. “He IS a bit rude, Arti.”

“I know, but he’s not a total dickhead. As much as he tries to be.”

Hunter shrugged. “Guess he did help me out a while ago, so fair’s fair.” She shook her head. “But enough about him, why don’t you guys go on ahead? I still gotta stay here for a bit longer.” She spoke as she climbed back up to her spot, perched uptop a tree.

“Cya Hunter!” Monk waved. They made their way further, large and colorful trees entering view. A few slugcats were present in the wide, open area. They were enjoying the fresh air, taking a stroll, or conversing. A pair of slugpups played in the grass.

Artificer turned to the two younger slugcat siblings. “I’ll see you later, ok? I have to drop this pearl off.”

“Of course, Arti!” 

“See ya, Arti.”

She gave them one last look before heading off. Monk immediately pulled on Survivor’s shoulder. “C’mon, Surv! Let’s go show Gourmand what we found!”

The white slugcat nearly tripped over, their legs stumbling before finding their composure. Thankfully, the bag didn’t fall with them.

“Alright, alright! Think he’ll be impressed?”

“Absolutely!”

The siblings strolled away, laughing.

From a distance, Arti watched them. She felt a tug at her heart. Smiling softly, she continued on, spitting the pearl out of her throat. She would occasionally bring out pearls to be read and displayed by her citizen ID drone. A few of the residents in the colony enjoyed seeing them, even if they lacked the Mark of Communication.

Giving them one last look, she finally turned and carried on.

Chapter Text

It seemed like Five Pebbles could never reach the end of a cycle without some sort of interruption. He groaned as yet another overseer entered his chamber. Around six of the things were bothering him, each one practically begging for his attention. He sighed, pinching between his eyes.

Better see what pointless object of interest they’ve picked up now.

He paused the simulations he was running, directing the data pearls he had been using to float neatly in the upper corner of his chamber. The overseers began projecting holograms. The first one had a… Five Pebbsi commercial. He hated that thing, as it was a terrible product (assumedly, for he can’t taste) and his creators had decided–against his wishes–to name it after himself. He immediately dismissed the overseer.

Five Pebbles was about to return to his work when the second overseer’s projection caught his visual intake. He hovered closer to take a better look.

Huh. Were those Scavengers? Two other overseers confirmed his suspicions. They flipped through various images, displaying a large number of the beasts crawling throughout his facility grounds.

While his local area was no stranger to the scavengers, its population never migrated in numbers like these. Only small squadrons were usually mobile. The only exception were the ones who used to reside within his metropolis.

Little ruffian had handled them, however.

He chuckled, softly. His citizen might get a kick out of this. Of course, by kick he meant straight up rurhless bloodlust, but that was all semantics.

…Here he was, humoring the notion that she was any more than an animalistic beast. Sure, she understood his words beyond what the Mark of Communication offered.

And she learned to communicate with him…

And the rest of her kind were clearly more adept then he initially believed…

…Ok, well, back to the matter at hand.

He noticed a screenshot of a group of scavengers climbing his leg. That was slightly alarming. Did they intend on reclaiming his city? He cared little for their meddlings, particularly when they pretended they were worth anything more than simple beasts, driven by a hunger for all the wrong things. He did, however, greatly dislike the way they tore his upper structures apart for scrap and parts. 

Clearly they lacked the intuition to learn. She would simply destroy them all again.

The issue was… concerning, but not pressing. He would simply notify his citizen next time she returned.

Speaking of, his fifth overseer gave a report on the dispatch following Ruffian. It was a live feed this time, giving him a glimpse into the outer world. The footage was… spotty, at best. Although Overseers could project their own signals independently, they did not have the frequency or the range that sophisticated communication arrays boasted.

One work-around was to chain multiple overseers along a path, building a sort of connection chain. Still, signals varied and were mildly unstable.

He saw Little Ruffian walking amongst an enormous jungle. This must be the area just on the outskirts of his retaining wall.

He… was glad to see her okay, even if he knew that she was practically the most dangerous living thing in any room she occupied. And he definitely didn’t care about the wellbeing of pipe cleaners…

But what caught his surprise was the other two creatures that entered focus. His citizen was conversing with a white beast and a yellow beast, both from her kind. 

He recognized them…

His fist curled into a ball. So they had rejected his advice–no, his guidance to ascension? Were they this unaware of their predicament? His citizen had no chance, but they were given the opportunity, and ignored it?! 

While he sat here, locked in his chamber, trying to prevent his own decay. He bestowed them the path to salvation, but here they were, hopping around or whatever it is those little beasts did. Five Pebbles felt his ventilators steam. It wouldn’t help him to get worked up over this. He hadn’t seen either of them ever since they first stumbled into his chamber, much to his great annoyance.

Actually… he vaguely recalled one of them — the yellow one perhaps? — headed to his sister Moon’s collapsed facility. But he had had no care or intention to observe at the time.

Regardless, there the three of them were, conversing in their strange language. He had no idea his citizen knew the two of them. Or was this their first encounter? Now that he thought about it, she was on the very edge of his facility grounds.

And it’s only been a few cycles since she left my chamber .

As he watched them head out of view, he ordered the overseer to follow them. He made sure to keep it at a distance, however. No need to make his presence known.

The overseer zipped ahead, passing through a small, decaying pipe. When it emerged, the sight startled him.

Straight ahead were a series of large, massive trees. A large, bright orb sat at the top of each. But it wasn’t the trees that shocked him.

Despite the limited visibility and mild foliage, he could see a–no, many of them .

Slugcats, of all colors and sizes. The overseer’s eyes darted around, and Pebbles caught sight of at least a dozen of them.

So this was their home .

He was aware that the beasts had originally been purposed organisms, with the function of cleaning the very pipes that made up his insides.

He knew they had some semblance of intelligence, even if he did not believe so at first. After all, they continually made their way into his chamber, even the ones who weren’t sent by his neighbors No Significant Harassment and Seven Red Suns.

And he had a suspicion they were localized someplace not far off from his local group.

But he hadn’t thought they’d be… right there. And the amount of them? There must be even more inside those trees, or perhaps underground? He didn’t know what constituted a slugcat habitat.

His aforementioned neighbors probably had a better clue. They had spent more time investigating the beasts, even designing some of their own.

He… didn’t want to talk to either of them right now. Or anyone, for that matter. Especially not to inquire about these little slimebleachers. He’d sound ridiculous.

Pebbles flipped around, moving back to the displaying footage. But he caught something, a flash of… light pink??

He blinked.

Glaring at the sixth and final overseer, it peeped straight back at him. Unlike the rest, it wasn’t trying to garner his attention, nor was it even displaying any information. It just… stared. Suddenly, its cyan hue shifted slightly into pink. The overseer blinked, as if realizing its error, before it morphed back into Pebbles’ signature color.

It was brief, barely even a second long, but Pebbles had caught the slight.

What… WHAT?

He suddenly lashed out with an arm, gravity systems compressing the overseer until its eye burst from its socket, killing the organism.

The overseer eye rolled on the floor, towards his feet. Like a lost animal picking up a strange pearl, he picked it up. It was faintly pink. Not blue, not cyan. Not his .

His puppet hands trembled. He frantically opened, no, threw his system settings open. His lockdown was still in place, untouched except for the very brief moments he had opened it since Moon’s partial reboot. Everything was the exact way he had left it. No one else's overseers were allowed within his structure unless he specifically (and quite rarely) allowed it.

So how…?

It suddenly felt like a thousand eyes were watching him. A hundred different visions boring holes into his puppet. His own chamber’s sanctity, violated! His systems across his superstructure stuttered and he felt his exterior vents exuding heat as his internals spiked in temperature. A few sparks shot around his puppet, the halo on his walls spiking in intensity as his whole body felt as if it were being overcharged. The other overseers quickly escaped his chamber. Whether it was their own self-preservation or a disparate command was unknown to even him. He could barely focus on anything at the moment.

The sudden, perceived loss of control left Pebbles overwhelmed. He… he told them to leave him alone ! He was doing nothing malicious, so how dare they just… scrutinize it like it meant nothing!

How long…?

His puppet had fallen onto the floor at some point. Five Pebbles felt his body slowly ease, the heightened activity of his systems returning to normalcy. It took him a minute or two to get back up on two feet. Even his umbilical arm felt foreign behind him, and his cords seemed to itch.

It was while Pebbles was calming down when he finally realized a surge of incoming pings. There was ongoing activity in the local group.

His eyes narrowed. There was DEFINITELY a connection here.

With a twinge of unease, he opened up the live broadcast.

[LIVE BROADCAST] — Public Group [LOCALGROUP]

UI: You guys won’t believe what I just saw!

CW: Another two-headed vulture?

NSH: Oh, I still can’t believe you accidentally created one of those! You should send me the blueprint just in case. It’d make for a fascinating case-study!

CW: What would be so fascinating about a failed experiment?

NSH: That’s exactly it!

UI: No, no. Not that!

UI: Besides… that’s old news!

BSM: What do you have to show us then, Innocence?

UI: It’s better if you see for yourselves… here.

UI: <Unparalleled Innocence uploaded file attachment: 63782ab-HB.bpng>

CW: Huh?

NSH: Oh? Five Pebbles, directly observing a group of pipe cleaners? This I gotta see!

UI: He was totally clonked out, staring at the hologram! It was hard to make the image out, but there were like 3 of them?

NSH: Oh? I wonder if one of them was my own messenger? Seems like Pebbles does have an interest in those creatures after all~

UI: Maybe he’s gonna make his own? OH, I should totally do that too! Would be sooo cute!

CW: I think you are glossing over the fact that you have an image of inside Five Pebbles’ chamber.

CW: How did you get that? Did he send it to you?

NSH: I seriously doubt our Pebbles would ever willingly send somebody a screenshot from his chamber, let alone one at all!

UI: Nope! He didn’t send me anything!

BSM: Please don’t tell me you–

UI: Got my own overseer in there! Pretty neat, huh?

BSM: Unparalleled Innocence .

NSH: Ooh, you got Moon using full names. You’re in trouble.

BSM: Sig! This is serious.

CW: An overseer in one’s chamber is a huge violation of privacy, Innocence.

Five Pebbles had his suspicions basically confirmed outright. But he didn’t feel any better about it. In fact, he felt worse . It felt like bugs were crawling all over his hull plates, an itch impossible to satisfy.

He wanted to just block the rest of the broadcast out entirely, but he… he needed answers .

FP: What is the meaning of this.

NSH: Look who just emerged from hibernation! I was starting to think you’d isolated us again, Pebbles!

UI: Ooh, speak of the ancients! Hi Pebbles!

FP: What the fuck is your problem.

BSM: Language, Pebbles…

CW: I hate to say it, Moon, but his response is justified here.

BSM: Well…

FP: Why were you spying on me?!

UI: Spying? Nonono! Don’t take it that way, Pebbs! Someone around here has to check up on you, since Moon won’t do it. 

BSM: I am simply respecting his wishes to be left alone.

NSH: But he’s been nothing but alone! How are we supposed to know how he’s doing if he won’t tell us anything? What if he’s hurting himself again, or worse–killing Moon again?

BSM: That’s enough, Sig.

FP: None of that is happening. And it is none of your concern.

He wished the text could highlight how much venom was in his voice right now.

NSH: Frankly, it is!

NSH: Look, I absolutely admit Innocence went too far in probing an overseer directly into your chamber.

UI: Hey! :(

NSH: But you won’t tell us anything . You barely respond to any of our communications, not even those of your sister!

BSM: Everyone! Please, calm down. Let’s be rational about this.

FP: There is nothing rational about breaking through my lockdown and spying on me.

CW: He makes a fair point here.

BSM: I know. Innocence, don’t spy on Five Pebbles again. That was completely unwarranted of you. I won’t allow it.

UI: D:<

NSH: Regardless, Pebbles, you need to be more open with all of us. Despite what you think, we all do care about each other here.

NSH: And, you owe it to Moon, after what you did–

CW: Now is not the time for that.

BSM: Pebbles doesn’t owe me anything, Sig! He’s given me more than enough.

BSM: Pebbles, I do wish you communicated more often with us. With me. But if you wish to remain in private, I respect that decision.

FP: Thank you.

NSH: You’re too nice, Moon. For your own good! But someone has to do it, I suppose.

NSH: Fine, if Pebbles wants to stay a shut in, there’s nothing any of us can do about it. This argument isn’t about me anyways.

NSH: But– know this, Pebbles. If you were more open with us, a lot of things might have been avoided. Just keep that in mind.

Pebbles grimaced. No Significant Harassment was… right in the end, he knew that much. But it made him feel nauseous all the same. This whole discussion, he hated every bit of it. They couldn’t just ever leave him to his own devices. There was a horrendous pit in his torso, and he just wanted it to be over.

BSM: Innocence, you aren’t off the hook. Explain yourself!

UI: I already did! I sent an overseer into his can to check on Pebbs!

FP: Don’t call me that.

UI: Plus, you’ll be happy to know he’s lookin’ way better! You find a cure for the Rot, yet, Pebbs?

FP: You…

Was her existence solely to torment him? Of course Innocence had probed through his superstructure. He should have expected as much. Just like when she had leaked the initial outbreak of the Rot festering inside him to the wider iterator populace.

The only reason he was still conversing at all was that his desire for answers briefly outmatched the disgust and dread he was currently feeling.

BSM: Innocence, come on.

UI: Jeez, alright! I’m sorry, Pebbs.

That apology wasn’t genuine and he knew it.

FP: How did you get past my lockdown?

UI: Psh, it’s easier than you think! Just shift an overseer’s appearance to your color, mess with the encryption keys a bit… and voilá!

FP: …

FP: I would appreciate it if you never did that again.

FP: Or more importantly, never spoke to me again.

UI: :(

BSM: Pebbles, I know what she did was extreme, but there’s no need to completely cut off Innocence!

He looked away. There were more incoming messages in the group, but Pebbles had had enough. He shut the broadcast down.

Moon’s nagging requests for a private broadcast could wait.