Breakthrough.

|8|

Echoes upon an empty space that were all that surrounded that endless churning of work, the quiet hum of machinery filling the chasm; practically the only empty space within this boundless containment.


Seven Red Suns was... frustrated.

Their messenger was stuck at the Underhang of Pebbles' superstructure, and it seemed that the other Iterator had created a complete abombination of a lizard.With a whisk of hands, they cut their footage once again to the creature- a bloated, unnatural thing- with unwieldy bursts of speed which could carry it along the entire underhang, if it so desired. It was... a horrible, horrible creation, and it cause them to worry about Pebbles' state of mind.

If he was creating abombinations of lizards, and using them to bother his Messenger- what was to come next? Vultures to slowly shred through his structure? A destructive force sent upon Moon?

They could hardly think of much but harm- as the Lizard, once again sailed towards their messenger, and engaged in an endless dance of violence with it.Both neatly dodged and wove- a delicate dance of pattern after pattern. The Messenger could not land but a single hit, but regardless- this Lizard could not match the Battle Mastery it possessed.

And so, this feud continued, Suns frequently checking on their messenger- while also attending to their work. At this rate, Pebbles hadn't contacted them in cycles- and now? They were significantly more worried about the smaller Iterator.

With another sweeping of refreshed screens, they continued on with their project. At this point? They'd lost hope in trying to cure Pebbles of the rot... but... they had another idea.That project they'd brought to No Significant Harassment's attention wasn't just for personal reasons, but for Five Pebbles' sake.

While the small Iterator had always been more comfortable inside his chambers, even protesting against the possibility of mobile puppets- Suns knew, that now? They would have no choice but to try, and coerce him out.

Even stranger, however, was how their Messenger seemed to slowly be easing- this Lizard... not truly snapping at them anymore, jaws having gone slack...That was till they noticed the spear notched in it's jaw- penetrating the bone and breaking the plates apart from the muscle- a very, very impressive move from the agile, and dangerous creature by far...

But the Lizard seemed to finally grow docile, a glaze setting in upon it's eyes- and that's when Suns seemed to finally realize the nature of this creature-Five Pebbles had created his OWN messenger... a Lizard, a lowly creature- but one with the strength to survive nearly anything- and with partial control over it.Well, it would've seemed that Five Pebbles didn't have malicious intent... if the Lizard didn't immediately lurch forward, and snatch their messenger in it's jaws, faster than the Slugcat could even process.

Watching with keen eyes- and a fearful expression- their attention immediately shifted to the screen displaying the messenger- before opening a console, to Five Pebbles' chat with them._SRS: What're you doing with my messenger? Answer now.–They immediately sent out a message, watching the Lizard carry the Slugcat through the superstructure with an expression of worry- the lizard seemed to barely seize the Slugcat just hard enough, to not end it's fragile life.


There was no response from Five Pebbles, seemingly- They'd been muted! The audacity!Their overseer diligently followed the creature- having to duck away as it abruptly would get towards the overseer- and then try and scratch at it... All attempts were unsuccessful.

And so, Seven Red Suns directed their overseer towards Five Pebbles Chambers- trailing the lizard which was carrying their Messenger like a precious, precious cargo.The small iterator floated down to the creature- the gravity in their chambers manifesting into existence as his systems churned- seemingly unbothered by the overseer barely peering into the room... or unaware of it.

And so, he gently retrieves the messenger from the Reptile's jaws, the lizard soonafter vanishing out've his chambers, and likely, back towards the Underhang of his superstructure.

Finally, the iterator swept their hands over a series of panels- seeming to... actually check their message. That was mildly relieving- that they hadn't been cut off. Shortly afterward, the chat announced a response with a soft pinging noise._FP: Getting it here faster.– Seven Red Suns couldn't help but grumble irritably, their vents releasing steam with the same connotation. They merely watched the overseer now following into the chamber. Their messenger had flopped onto the ground, mildly rattled, and a bit confused.

Finally, the creature seemed to remember why it was here- and shuffled it's way out've the bag attached to it- a much more convenient carrying method. It then... dropped a collection of candy. It's completely and utterly useless, because Suns, for once, forgot one important thing;Five Pebbles completely lacked a mouth, tongue, or even a stomach to digest candy.


Stupid, stupid! Why did they decide to send the actual material!? Last time it'd been a pearl-based simulation... Suns, unable to not focus on the fact they'd been a complete idiot for two seconds, shuffled off into the corner of their chamber, muttering to themselves...

Five Pebbles, meanwhile, was trying to decipher the purpose of sending him Ancient Candy in the first place, especially since not even the Messenger could eat it...Was this some kind've weird gift? What was he meant to do with it?

He ended up... bringing the wrapped object to his face, and merely glowering at it.While he'd certainly been frustrated with Suns, it seemed that the absolute buffoon was even stupider than he could've ever anticipated.

What made this even more ridiculous, was that Suns didn't have a mouth either.What the actual hell, would an Iterator need candy for!?He continues to glower at it, twisting it each way and that... was it some kind've secret pearl? A transmission device? What the hell was canola oil...?

He didn't know exactly what to think of Suns sending him... practically ancient garbage, whether to be mildly flattered by the gift, or to just be... confused. It's very, very irritating of a problem.

He did remember an occurrence where the other iterator had sent him a simulation of the experience of 'eating candy', but it seemed that now, Suns had decided to send him something, completely useless... and once again risk the life of their messenger.


He couldn't help the mild feeling of amusement which seized his sensors, easing his mind from the current stressors at hand... just a temporary relief from the constant assault of his mistakes, ripping away at his very core- literally, and figuratively.


The gravity in the chamber ceased, a gradual- but still, rather swift change. The Messenger simply floated about, enjoying the familiar, and surprising comfort of weightlessness.Sometimes, Five Pebbles wondered how the creatures lived- doing their silly dances, sometimes not all too different to the very Ancients who'd created his kind, even being so lowly on the foodchain.


He gave a sigh-like noise, steam ventilating from the various vents, filling the room with a faint smog, if only for a few moments. He then simply examined the... candy bar, examining everything for a proper... recreation. Perhaps this thing had purpose after all?

That's when he heard a familiar crackle- over by his maintenance shaft, and immediately decided to re-enable the gravity in the chamber, and shovel all of this candy-mess into a nearby corner.

Seeing as he had no idea how the- rather aggressive citizen would react to a very strange slugcat in his chambers- he decided to let the creatures fight if they so chose- rising to the nearby, top left corner of his 'Can'.About two seconds later, he did not regret this decision- The Citizen bursting into the room with it's usual ferocity- and practically hurling a spear at The Messenger with instinct alone.

Fortunately, The Messenger managed to duck- narrowly avoiding the weapon as it whizzed overhead- The Citizen seemed to ease after a moment, realizing it wasn't a scavenger in here, and instead- another member of... well, it wasn't really quite it's species.


With a few chirping noises and gestures- The Slugcats began socializing.Five Pebbles had no idea what the two could be communicating, but it seemed they didn't wish death upon eachother, even after that first contact.


He merely observed the creature's strange behavior for a moment longer, before descending over towards the two of them, and removing the spear from his 'Can' wall. He offers it back to The Citizen- which took it right out've his hands with a chirp.He merely stared at both creatures, before deciding to speak.

"So, Noble Citizen- and Sun's Messenger... Why is it that I have the... pleasure of speaking to both of you?"His tone took a few shifts as he spoke, but he retained his... formality, and decency.Both slugcats immediately began gesturing wildly at eachother, and Five Pebbles understood exactly none of it.


"Well, little creatures- it seems you both enjoy socializing in my chambers... Messenger, should I update Suns of your condition?"He continued, his arms crossed over his vibrant, orange robes.The Messenger began to nod, slipping the backpack over it's shoulders once more. At least Suns had taught it one useful method of communication...

And so, he decided to accept one of many, many calls Suns had requested. It seemed the Iterator was more worried than... He'd anticipated. He hadn't exactly been having too many issues with Suns' behavior, but damn, did he hate being Pitied.It brought such a feeling of distaste, and rage- that he hardly could avoid yelling at Suns when he'd felt disrespected, but that time had passed.

Suns, had immediately transferred their Overseer inside- now broadcasting their rather grumpy, but nonetheless, concerned face.

"Five Pebbles- what in the name of the Void have you been up to!? Do you have any idea how worried I was-!?"


They nearly shouted, gesturing mildly with their hands, their messenger seemingly mildly startled by the collection of movements. However, it was all incoherent babbling, if it tried to decipher them.


"Will you calm down? I've just been working on a small project- nothing all too significant."He responded, his tone calm. He can't help but instinctively itch at the panel upon his head- it having been in a state of mild discomfort for a while now.


Suns seemed to prepare to say something, but instead- winced, before speaking again."Look, Pebbles. You need to be more careful- I know we contained the... Rot, but it's still spreading, and i've had no progress in finding a way to kill it, at least while it's in your superstructure..."


They remark, now only faintly gesturing with their hands- arms crossed as they stood upon their chamber's floor.

Five Pebbles seemed to freeze for a moment, before their scowl took on both of a more frustrated- and fearful expression."What?"

It was more of a question of disbelief, and it seemed to take a moment for Five Pebbles to even process the fact this was considered unfixable.

The abrupt peril that ensued mere moments was terrifying, a sudden shift- a sudden pain, coursing throughout Five Pebbles' superstructure again. He jolted- suddenly upright, and clawing at the panel upon his head.

Shit, it was at it again- a flare up, right as Suns had called...This was the worst one yet.


He had been experiencing these flareups for cycles- sudden jolts of pain down his entire body, and now- he could feel it, again. Writhing in his superstructure, trying to get free, and into his systems. He panicked, if he had to admit it.

He whizzed his hands about- checking the Overseer feed, disabling extra electric functions- all while Suns watched in bewilderment.

The worst part, was watching the feed- while accidentally, Suns saw something they didn't think was plausible.


It was out, and it was out to kill Pebbles as fast as possible.