Echoes of lost civilisations [sequel]

14

I'm dreading the path we're taking. There's no going around the iterator structure and we can't just simply turn around. what if something bad happens like with five pebbles? Will the iterator be evil or will they possibly be any help to us? I suppose we'll find out one way or another...

We enter through a pipe in one of the legs. We make sure one of the kids is holding our hand so nobody gets left behind. It's an obviously long way up. I take Maggie with me and hunter takes nightcat.

Eventually we make it up the long pipe and find ourselves on the roof of the structure. It's unrealistically hot despite the dark sky. Why is it dark anyway? 

After a moment of looking around and Maggie kicking rocks around out of boredom, hunter comes out the pipe with nightcat. In the distance are cities similar to the ones that were on pebbles' structure but these buildings had a more of an orange and red hue to them. "Hey." I hear hunter call and my ears immediately and I turn around to face him. "Hm?" I him.

Hunter gestures toward a small hill not too far in the distance with a pipe in its side. Its pretty self explanatory as that pipe most likely leads inside the structure. I nod and we start walking towards it. Not in a hurt at all.

It's been awkwardly quiet and I hate it. I wish hunter talked more. His voice is nice and I like to hear what he has to say.

Maggie and Nightcat start singing and hopping around. We eventually reach the pipe and go through, following the same drill with the hand holding. We pop into a tunnel that leads down. I panic for a moment as we start falling deeper inside but strangely enough the deeper we fall the less gravity there is. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

We're now floating through the tunnel. I turn around so I'm facing up and looking at Hunter and Nightcat. Nightcat is still singing her song. I know I kinda said I hated silence but she's kinda annoying so...

My back thumps against the ground and I realize we're already at the end of the tunnel. hunter lands a little more gracefully than me and holds on to my shoulder for support. I climb into a pipe next to where I bumped into as I take Hunter by the hand to get him through easier.

An that's when we fall into a chamber. The walls are softly padded with an orange color and multiple pearls bounce against the floors, the pearls lift up into the air and my gaze follows them to an orange iterator with a red sun on his forehead and a red poncho. he turns around and takes a close look at us before making a little excited noise. He picks me up as if he recognizes me.

"What?" Hunter asks while watching me get picked up by the oddly familiar iterator. I share the same puzzled expression as him. Maggie and Nightcat play hot potato with the pearls. "Survivor!" The iterator says with an excited voice. "Wha?" I answer back.

"It's been quite a long time," He says. "I'm your creator. Seven Red Suns that is. Have you successfully delivered the message?"

I watch him in awe. Monk isn't my biological brother...name elen was never my mother? And what message?

"Are these your friends?" He asks. I nod, still in awe.

I take a glance at Hunter and he seems rather intrigued by the whole thing rather than confused now.

"What... What message?" I ask SRS, turning to him. His expression quickly darkens. my heart sinks into my stomach, afraid of what he might say.

He scans my forehead, sort of like am X-ray as he checks for a pearl which is there.

"Oh." SRS sighs.

He gives me a look as if he can read my thoughts. "This isn't your fault." He begins. "However it does explain quite a lot... I should have given you directions. This is my fault... And now there are consequences." He starts muttering to himself and beating himself up. I zone out in my thoughts. This is... So disappointing.

"What consequences?" Hunter asks. SRS sets me down gently, patting our heads. he sits down as well, crossing his legs and brushing a few pearls out of the way.

"Would you two perhaps happen to know a slugcat named Leviathan?" He asks.

We shake our heads. 

"I have a friend named Four platinum moons. She creates many of your kind. A whole ago she created Leviathan as company for Windswept Spires. A very lonely iterator who seeks to know how to create life as well. But that's where you come in..."

He looks at the playing slugpups and back at us.

"I created you specially as a messenger to give Windswept Spires a pearl with clear instructions on how to create life.. but of course because I promised him this information which he never received..."

I feel a bit of confusion. This is all a little sudden. SRS trails off.

"I'm afraid he had a little bit of an outburst."