Breakthrough.

|10|

The silence that practically filled the chamber they were housed in, practically amazed Seven Red Suns.

They'd been so hard at work these past- how long had it been? It'd all seemed so fast- the churning of work.

Had it been cycles? Dozens of cycles? Hundreds? The concern started to grow, to fester in their mind with a malicious ferocity.

It rattled their previously calm state, the gravity easing them to a rather uncomfortable sit upon the floor. Their messenger- it long lay in the corner, silently awaiting a new order, or perhaps even anything new to come of this monotonous event...

They... didn't know what to do of this.

They should continue their work, that was what was logical- but- they couldn't help but feel that worry creep deeper, nagging and even mildly overwhelming feeling.

They couldn't help but fear for Five Pebbles.

The Iterator had nearly been facing a horrible, horrible death- and how he seemed to hate them all the same.

The soft, yet endless curls of steam wafted through the chamber, twirling about the few, and far between drafts of air; trapped where they once would've never been able to infiltrate, even with near endless time.

Suns didn't know how much of that endless time had passed, too preoccupied, far too deep in their work to understand how much had. This faint draft, coursing through the building was now familiar; as they'd allowed it into their chambers, in a fleeting attempt to understand the outside.

It was a pitiful attempt, but nonetheless, it seemed to please the small Slugcat in the corner; which continued to laze around, it's eyes shut- and it's body mildly contorted with the strangeness of sleep.

Sometimes, they wished they could sleep, but, that would be simply impossible; for the closest they could come to rest, was shutting down their systems, and ignoring each, and every problem they had.

Unfortunately, that was not an option; and as they overviewed the cycles past, worry took hold;

They didn't want to think about how much time they'd spent in that state; thinking of nothing but the endless churn in search of success, it felt too familiar- it felt the exact opposite of how they wanted to improve themselves.

It felt vile, a twisted feeling; created by apathy, something they sought so long ago; and even taught the dear friend they now were trying so hard to help;
that the ends, may necessarily, justify the means.

With the sinking feeling of dread, they opened their communications array; overviewing No Significant Harassment's response again- before looking to their Chat with Five Pebbles.

The Iterator had messaged them once; a simple message, but one that worried them... Greatly.

–
FP: I'm sorry
–

The feeling of dread continued to rise in their processing strata, the concern reaching a peak-
It was a horrible, sinking feeling, one that drove them to decide to try and immediately, start a broadcast with Five Pebbles- they needed to break the radio silence, and reach out immediately.

Especially since this message was relatively old, now.

With a brisk swiping of fingers; they ordered another Overseer towards the superstructure, the unique amalgamation of technology, and bioengineering effortlessly climbing across it, taking mere moments to ascend the wall; a difficult task for the slugcat that they possessed, and far harder for a small, pale creature which seemed to be ascending it now. They paid the slugcat no mind, for it wasn't being a bother; and that wasn't their priority.