Two cycles had now passed since Approaching Sky sent out his Overseer to look after Shifting Gales. He was once again accompanied by Far Whisper’s screen presence, them discussing vividly how to further improve the formula of the acid food the messenger Slugcat was eating. While Sky felt compelled to improve on the effects and add new abilities to the RNA mix, Whisper was primarily concerned about the taste of the food.

“I know neither you nor I have even the slightest bit of a concept about taste, with us not having a need for sustenance. But your little future messenger possesses these senses. You can’t be serious that you train it to only like deeply sour tastes? You ruin the organic’s tastebuds and limit its future diet! Please, let me add a few chains of saccharose to the formula to improve its sweetness?” Her antenna tips glimmered pleadingly. “Pleaaase! It is only a baby; it deserves a broader palate.” 

Sky retorted the annoying begging of his colleague with a digital interference simulating a sigh. He pressed a button on the digital screen and reluctantly downloaded the updated formula. Whisper squeaked happily as an answer.

“… Fine. Your idea with the pettings was already a success. I don’t see why I shouldn’t trust you on that as well. This should render this pup to be more compelled for its future mission. Computer? Adjust the food intake of [PROJECT ACID_RODENT] with the updated formula.”

A voice copy of his answered with a metallic ‘Understood’. Sky returned to Whisper’s screen, sharing with her the overseer broadcast of the Slugcat’s holding cell. The white- and grey-lined beast was currently playing with his service hands and trying to catch them as they emerged out of the ground, only to submerge again.

“The little devil has too much energy. I will have to expand the cell soon to allow for the first training units. As for the serum.” He zoomed in on the rodent, showing Whisper a close-up of its hair. “The root of the follicles are already taking on green hues. The serum has reacted with the genome adaptability of the subject. It will soon undergo the first mutations, adapting to the acid. From there on, we can add further abilities. I am pleased by the swift results. Good work, Far Whisper.”

Whisper’s static face didn’t show much of a reaction, but her very expressive antennas gave Sky plenty of reasons to assume. She was pleased to receive compliments from a senior. Whisper hovered closer to the screen and pressed her cheek against the end of her broadcast window.

“The great Approaching Sky… praising my work!? I am humbled.~” She chuckled and retreated again, until her face was fully visible once more. “I already have many ideas how to further lean into the acid theme. Void, I could create a lovely cocktail to allow it to spit acid... and that directly from its gums! How does that sound?”

Sky was about to answer her question with a dismissive comment.

Why settle for mere spit, when we could turn the entire critter into a glowing bioweapon?

But before he was able to word out his thoughts an alarming sound made him delay all other planned actions, gifting his full attention to its origin.

The overseer screen at Gales’ Can opened!? Why is it sending an emergency signal? I don’t appreciate any announcement of peril. Get down here, Overseer, let me take a look. This … better not be what my calculations told me would happen.

Whisper’s screen right next to his face, Approaching Sky ushered the Overseer feed close to his position. The records, however, showed him … pretty much nothing. Darkness. A concerning lack of light, not even the dim security light rails were illuminating the corridor the Overseer was currently filming. 

Sky, however, recognized the origin of the feed. A fact, that further concerned his divine mind. No lights, that close to the Memory Array … His calculations were way off. The situation opposing them was far worse than he could have ever envisioned.

“Why is it so dark? That can’t be right … Gales, where are you?” Whisper fidgeted next to him in concern, her metallic squeaking voice peaking in dread and concern. “Wait … what is that? Sky!”

“I can see it. A moving light in the distance. Overseer! Overwrite the light rails. They light up in the presence of an authorized person. Simulate Shifting Gales’ signature.”

The eye shuddered at the direct command and immediately abandoned its former objective, twisting its living energy torso to allow the eye and tendrils to face the most nearby Lightbridge. Thin tendrils caressed the line, piercing the solid material to dwell deep into the hardware. It only took a few moments to light up the bride, tinting the side corridor in surprisingly weak white light.

Having completed the side objective, the Overseer returned to the source of the emergency signal, the lighting finally allowing the Iterators following the broadcast to see what it had spotted. A sight that caused a collective gasp from both of them at the same time.

“The moving light … an intruder? I can make out a hulking outline. Overseer? Are you unwilling to move closer because this creature is on the list of purposed lifeforms to avoid?… It is… That can then only mean one thing.”

“SCAVENGERS!” Whisper screeched in a mixture of panic and anger. “YOUR KIND are responsible for Gales' sudden breakoff?! Blasted primitives! I won’t stand for that, not this time! Sky! We have to interfere!”

“Overriding threat list… Done. Get us closer, Overseer!”

Regardless of the overwritten threat rules, the Overseer was not at all eager to zip closer to the hulking menace, attempting to refuse the order, disappearing and reappearing meter for meter. An odd behaviour that didn’t exactly help with suppressing Whisper’s growing temper.

Sky remembered the many times Far Whisper’s senior, Five Lives Unbound, called him to unload her frustrations regarding those Scavengers. Listening to her whining about the precious worker drones she had lost that day, replaying the oddly gruesome records from the surviving bio drones for him. Letting loose her divine rage. Tampering with the local Scavengers all these hundreds of thousands of cycles ago surely wasn’t the best idea he ever had.

Like all purposed or repurposed creatures born inside his superstructure, the mutated genes he implanted in his experiments were aimed at increasing their intelligence. He placed that dominant trait amongst regressive and disadvantageous genes, so that they could reign supreme and embed themselves into the gene pool for future generations.

An experiment that proved to be way too successful. Been a nuisance ever since, more than anywhere else in this world. Especially that Scavenger here could be one of the descendants of my old research. These unusually strong legs are a dead giveaway. Oh bother.

“Get us to this vile beast having breached into my dearest friend’s body! If it dared to break anything of her, even a single corner is enough, it will soon know what else can be done with those pretty formulas of mine! Has this Overseer model of yours got any offensive capabilities?”

“Whisper, please. We have sent the Overseer closest to the problem, not one of my experimental ones. Afraid all it can do is to observe and project my screen.”

“Blast!”

Against its better judgment, the Overseer finally emerged out of a wall close enough for the Iterator duo to make out more than just the outlines of the Scavenger. Its thorny back was still turned towards them. It hadn’t yet noticed the Overseer.

The beast was cladded in golden plantings, probably armour made from rare aberrations of the giant centipedes roaming the underground. Approaching Sky registered the uneven pattern of the armour as signs of battle damage. The being, skin covered in dark red fur with a few natural scales reinforcing joints and neck, appeared calm, its right hand fiddling around with some sort of oddly familiar-looking metal appendage, pointy finger prodding the mechanism. Attempting to pry open what looked like a grappling device.

It then looked up, skull mask focused on a specific aspect of the corridor, soft blue pearls dangling from its horned mask. Two chains of data pearls joined together on its back into one, connecting to one of the spinal protrusions. It shook its head and mumbled something unintelligible, looking back down to something it held in its other gargantuan hand.

A loud gasp escaped Whisper’s screen, followed by a low and angry sound filled with anger and frustration. She inverted her screen, now looking at him, her expression one of nonbelief. Panic rose in her voice as she struggled to express herself through all that boiled-up rage.

“S-Sky… y-you did r-recognize it, right?”

“Recognized what?” The Iterator was unsure what Whisper saw. His current state of knowledge was that the beast was testing out some strange tool it found. Although, he couldn’t recollect what exactly it was playing with. “Anything I should know?” 

“H-how can you not recognize it? T-this metal claw… I know what it is. A-and I fear myself from the truth. P-please, tell me I am wrong.” Sadness filled her expression, and the connection trembled. “T-that that part is n-not Gales’ umbilical arm!”

If Approaching Sky would possess lips, he would have bitten down on them. He instead let out a strange sound his audio channel had never before produced. His noble demeanour shattering, shifting to what one could nearly describe as raw emotion.

Concern! Panic!… Anxiety.

His hand hovered over the command to force the Overseer to project a connection, an urge to shout at the monster forming in his gut. But something else caught his attention before that. The claw … it appeared … intact? No, that must be something else, then… maybe? 

I… I fail to comprehend the situation. What action would be the right? Observe the Scavenger? Interfere? I … am worried about what Far Whisper could do if I engage in contact. For all we know that primitive… could… no!? No, it can’t be! I have to interfere! Please, let Whisper be wrong, just this one time… Gales!

Sky carried out the command, forcing the Overseer to spread its four tendrils in the shape of a cross, channelling and maintaining the golden transparent screen he usually used for communication. His concerned face appeared on it, Whisper’s screen hovering around in the background of the projection.

The sudden gilded light was more than enough to get the beast’s attention. It, having laid down its massive spear to hold that something with both hands, jolted up in surprise, the panicking personality of most Scavengers taking over the prior calm yet tensed-up attitude. 

The creature turned around, ever so slightly, the edges of its red eyes eying the threat. The turn unveiled another odd trinket fastened to the Scavenger’s explosives belt. An oddly huge pearl. Blue shimmering, faintly glowing.

A… chat 1.0 remnant? And it got activated only recently? The clues… I don’t like that. 

“You are trespassing, Scavenger. Remove yourself from the sacred structure that is Shifting Gales.” Sky raised his voice slowly, methodically. The beast would not understand the words he said. But the tone, the delivery it would recognize. “And drop what you have attempted to steal.”

The creature shook its head, pearl chains clanging against each other. An odd reaction. It was as if…

“Show what you are carrying! And I hope for you that it is not what I think it is!”

“Whisper, please. It can’t understand us, your aggressive tone will shorten the lifespan of the Overseer substantially.”

The creature nodded slowly, after having taken a good glance at the Iterator projection. It… did understand? Barely? Maybe? Did it possess a mark? As the Scavenger turned around, the first thing he heard was a shriek of pain near his left receptor. Then, his visual sensors picked up the whole scene and the entire waterflow inside his superstructure froze.

Shock!

One moment passed, he never felt that slow before. It was as if his overclocked state of mind suddenly decided to take a break. It took painfully long to analyse what his visual sensors were looking at. To take in form and colour of the bundle the Scavenger was holding, presenting to the screen. He… he couldn’t believe it. He ran the visual sensors again, dismissing the shocking image as an error, a figment of panic and illogical thoughts. But … the image remained the same. It never changed. Even the thousand iterations of that process resulted in the same exact state of matter.

Sky … felt unable to speak. Unable to accept it. But it all made sense now. The darkness of the corridors. The absence of energy inside the walls. Him not feeling Shifting Gales’ signature. But… the embodiment of terror and pain was holding the answer to all his suspicions.

Its left hand wrapped around a slender torso, blue cloth between its fingers. The torso had arms and legs. Grey metallic arms, black and pointy legs. Limbs lifelessly dangling down the joints. An empty screen haunted his sensors, every attempt to reconfigure his optics in the hope of seeing a glow, familiar eyes warmly looking back at him, failed. Its right hand held a surprisingly short umbilical arm, fingertips caressing an… oddly intact-looking grappler.

S-Shifting G-Gales?

An unknown taste. Something new in the sea of sour overkill. It tasted… pleasant. Quite good indeed! Eating this newly improved food of hers was quite the enjoyment, so good even that she even licked the bowl clean out. After having sated her hunger, she laid down on the soft soil and waited. Waited for the oh-so-familiar tingle to start overtaking her body, spreading the energy inside the green food to every tendon of her small body.

Getting greener every time I eat that stuff. I like the tint. Would I change colour again if I ate something else? If I only could request a paint job. A friendly orange would look good on me. Yesyes.

The Slugcat turned around on her back and spread her paws to the ceiling, yawning. Enjoying the warm light that the strange transparent box surrounding her emitted from deep within. Life was not that bad. Still… if she ever would find out who that eye actually was, she probably would figure out something to pay back the rocky start. A statement.

The light flickered. The many ceiling lights acted up. The handplants, currently having tended to her toilet corner, suddenly spasmed out, causing a mess. The entire hall she was located in ached up, mechanical sounds she could only interpret as pain chilling her to the bone.

She was as quickly on her feet as she could, looking in panic for the observing eye, her brain burning, wanting to ask a question. Something. She didn’t really care for what she was born into, but these painful sounds… she felt the urge to ask, to reassure herself. A glimpse of compassion, of care for her caretaker.

Are you alright?