Shifting Gales!? W-what are you d-doing down there? Y-you! What did it do to my protégé!?
Approaching Sky trembled, and he felt his puppet vibrating. No. His entire body was shaking in agony. Warning messages shot into his consciousness, informing him of structural damage inside his Can. His unbound emotions nearing a self-induced earthquake. His mental vision grew red with danger reports. He dismissed all of them, uncaring about his systems screaming up in vile pain.
He slowly hovered closer to the Overseer screen, every centimetre a struggle, his expressionless face carrying the sorrow, the divine anger. Crooked antennas were trembling, his chin lowered, him staring at the vile beast over his non-existent brows. Fists clenched, one slamming in frustration against the edge of the solid vision screen, causing the projected frame to shake and simulate a crack.
The Scavenger on the other side of the broadcast trembled as well, nerves having overtaken him. His skittish persona told him to scoot. To escape the growing wrath of the two machine gods having interrupted him on his personal quest with Shifting Gales. But against his better judgment, he stayed.
He was adamant about finding out why the tears of that goddess began to hurt, each downpour causing permanent changes to the landscape. An uncontrolled acid storm raging outside of that monolith, the strange phenomenon having begun two cycles ago. He got chosen by the chieftain to investigate, probably even to find out why the rain burned in the first place. And he wouldn’t give up, being that close to a first solution.
…
And a decent payment of pearls to fund his high-reaching plans.
Enough to focus on, as he braced himself for the green machine god’s mental breakdown. And the pink one… that goddess appeared even more emotionally unstable than he was.
Breaker wishes he couldn’t understand. But Breaker can now. Opportunity?
“W-what kind of blasphemous action did you DARE to do!?” Approaching Sky was screaming at the screen, his antennas vibrating in a fit of rage. “YOU! Y-you have slain my b-best friend. I should have instead spread genomes to turn your kind into pitiful bugs. But NO! The great Approaching Sky just HAD to turn you maniacs into intelligent terrorists! Wonderful, bravo me!”
His anger briefly faded and only weakness remained, the usually emotionless Iterator breaking down into ugly crying. Tearless. He was not designed to cry.
“… I … will never hear her again. Gone… bastardized by m-my own hubris…”
The Scavenger froze in place, it looked down at the lifeless puppet in its malformed hands. Sky could have sworn that it reacted accordingly to his words, taken aback by what followed.
A firm shake of its head.
He froze shut. Had it a meaning?
But before he was able to process it, Void, were his capabilities compromised by these unknown emotions, his usually so cheerful and positive peer broke his state of stun. Her high-pitched metallic voice distorted into a barely comprehendible twisted cacophony of highs and lows, boosted by a commanding bass hurtful to Sky’s audio sensors.
“I will find you and I will make your existence a living hell! Pour liquid metal into your veins and watch as you suffer and seethe! You… you… YOU HAVE KILLED MY MOST DEAR! Planning to desecrate and scavenge her corpse, are you?! Of course you will, you are all the same! You unholy cretin! Death… would be far too gentle! I will track you down as you get cycled, torture you further and further down the food chain until you hit the very bottom. Capturing you at your lowest, denying you any chance of escaping that pitiful form you will be inevitably stuck in.”
She took a deep breath, her voice breaking down even further, now a mere agonizing crescendo of metallic sounds, her internal workings crying out in mercy.
“R-repenting for all etererer-ernity as my l-lab… thihihing!!!”
Approaching Sky heard these words of his friend, and couldn’t believe the amount of unbridled rage stored in her delicate frame. But he only half focused on what she said, his rational curiosity having gotten the better of him. His focus was on the Scavenger, on observing every muscle twitch. Every oh-so-little reaction to Whisper’s words.
…
Could it be?… Its reactions were odd. Not reacting to the disturbing tonal rollercoaster, but, much rather, to the context of the words spoken.
Indifference when she assumed it of having murdered Gales. It seemed not to possess guilt regarding that crime. Why was that the case?
A fit of anger when she started insulting his kind, followed by a blank stare as she began describing what she would do, ending in an expression of sheer horror as she laid out its final fate. It… did understand. But… that could mean only… he had to interrupt!
“(…) will not stop there! Your cursed kind was for the longest time a t-thorn in my sidide. D-don't you think I will stop with you, you sorry excucuse of a mutated purposed? Thithis action has... brought peril over your kiiiind. And you alone are t-t-t-o-to BLAME!!”
“That’s enough!”
Approaching Sky has had a hard time convincing his arm to do it, but he eventually overcame his numb state, terminating the chat connection to Far Whisper, cutting her out of it all. He would add her again once he got his answers.
Given your rage, you probably won’t even notice you shouting at an empty screen.
Sky took a deep breath, trying to level himself, attempting to stop the seismic torment his superstructure was enduring. He then looked at the Scavenger, who, surprisingly, neither scooted away nor eliminated his Overseer. Surely an odd behaviour. But Sky could tell just how shocked the being was from Whisper’s outbreak. He lowered his head, asking one concise question.
“D-did you understand what we said? Answer only with a nod or shake of your head.”
A reluctant nod. Sky folded his hands, pointing the fingertips at the Scavenger.
“Is the Iterator in your grasp responsible for you being able to understand us?”
A nod. Then a squint, it pointed at its eyes, its brain. Sky rose an imaginative brow, set back by that revelation. Gales gave it the ability to understand her? The mark of communication? But his protégé only complained about them before. She would never … would she?
“Has Shifting Gales spoken with you?” A nod. “Did she request something from you? If so, what did she request?”
No yes or no question. The Scavenger struggled to answer, then however pointed up, its finger touching Gales’ guide rail.
“She asked you to rip her umbilical from the wall?” Its head shook rapidly. “She… asked you to… attach her to the wall? How?”
The Scavenger decided to walk closer to the shimmering Overseer, holding up the motionless corpse of Shifting Gales. Pulling her back, it showed the end-section of the umbilical, its pointy finger touching a hidden button in between the two grapple-like arms. To Sky’s surprise, the grappler snapped forth and tried to grasp the air. Finding nothing, however, it immediately retracted, Gales’ screen face briefly showing an error sign.
What… am I looking at here? What kind of contraption is that, Gales?… What are you? Why can your umbilical detach from your structure? … Wait. This is an intended functionality. Probably installed by the Ancients to… put her into maintenance? Irritating.
If it is what I think it is, then… you might not be a goner after all? I wish… I hope… NO! I know this is true.
“What an unusual functionality. Unheard amongst my kind. But it seems to be intact, so I guess you detached her like that? Did Shifting Gales ask you to do that?” A stern nod; the Scavenger seemed determined to do it. Curious. “Then … by all means, fulfil your end of the bargain.”
Sky looked around the corridor on the lookout for further proof regarding the Scavenger’s actions. It didn’t take him long to find the exposed and corroded guard rail sparking in the distance. He assumed by that fact that Gales probably got cut off from her Can which resulted in the termination of her talk with Far Whisper.
Is she still cussing the purposed out?… Positive. Hasn’t even noticed that I muted her. Let’s see if I… we can bring back Gales before she runs out of munition. If she does… I don’t want her to worry Lives unnecessarily as well. Time is of the essence… Would also minimise damage to her body. I, myself, have already received heavy damage from my brief outbreak alone.
“Before you reattach her, Scavenger, step back. I have to test if the rail in this corridor is powered.”
A curious nod. The skittish creature stepped back, still holding his friend, surprisingly tenderly, even. Sky ordered his Overseer to zip into the guard rail and attempt to access Gales’ System Bus. But all it received was a dead signal. The Iterator sighed and reopened the screen, looking at his temporary assistant.
“Afraid this corridor is compromised. Please follow my Overseer. We have to move closer to the Memory Array.“
A firm nod, followed by it beginning to follow the zipping being of light. These nervous beasts understood a surprising amount of words. Sky was half-tempted to congratulate the creator of these smart beings, but Gales did tell him to stop praising himself. So, he cancelled the thought but kept the message. Should be enough to ‘not bolster his ego even further’.
Having given the Overseer the command to seek out the Memory Array, all that was left for Approaching Sky was to wait until they would arrive at their destination. He thought about trying to calm Far Whisper down, but one glimpse at her screen told him he shouldn’t disturb her any further without a graspable solution.
The unlikely duo passed a number of dim corridors before arriving in front of one of the larger pipes connecting the outer area to Gales’ figurative guts. Given she was currently … not there, Sky wasn’t worried about scaring the shaking primitive off with a sudden dip into zero gravity. He watched as the Overseer directed his new assistant into the pipe with a shining hologram arrow, before emerging after a brief zip on the other side of the shaft, a few moments prior to the Scavenger joining up with them. Sky let out a deep sigh, noticing the calming humming of the emergency system keeping Gales… alive?
I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised by now. If the Ancients decided to grant her the ability to be removed from her superstructure, then why should the structure not be powered with emergency reserves while she remains disconnected? An irritating state. To observe a part I, myself, possess as well, working without the Iterator being in control… A haunting image.
Ah, it finally squeezed itself through the pipe. Very well. Let us see if we can bring you back, my friend. I won’t accept your demise. I can’t.
“We have arrived, Scavenger.”
Sky’s face was projected once again by his Overseer, and he took a look around. The possibilities for Shifting Gales to move around in her brain were far more numerous than in the corridors leading to it. A brief scan illuminated him the unique properties of the ridged walls. They appeared to be oddly alive, as was the case with most of their bioengineered inner workings. But these walls felt different, as he requested his Overseer to interact with it. As the tendrils of it connected with the wall, the very same opened tiny holes to accept the prodding, sealing tight around the aethereal tendrils as they entered the wall. That would prove to be easier than he thought. It was all still working.
“Scavenger? This wall will be enough to fulfil your quest given by my friend. If you may? Place her umbilical against the wall and press the button. Keep it held until the wall has accepted both grapplers and opened holes to keep them in place. Then, remove your claws.”
Will that work? Probably? He was not at all familiar with Gales’ unique makeup. After all, his only knowledge was that he had seen her operating on this very wall once. He at least knew that this should be a compatible place … if it would work in the first place, that is.
IT WILL WORK! IT HAS TO WORK!
The Scavenger looked up at his projection and reluctantly nodded. Its expression behind the mask had hints of fear. Probably its first time seeing the Memory Array from within. Even without the swarming Neuron Flies, the massive area of Gales' brain was a daunting sight to behold. Likely way too much to handle for the pitiful lesser creature. But it had to persevere, at least for another meagre moment.
Sky mustered every fragment of patience he had left in his mangled body and allowed the Scavenger to carry out the orders in its own pace. He couldn’t allow himself to yell or be audibly impatient, or he could ruin the only chance he still had. He instead glimpsed back to Far Whisper’s screen, noticing the visual damage her chamber developed over the past short while, cracks and visual crevices showing the damage she had to endure by letting her hatred run wild. Sky kept her screen on standby, to allow her to witness Gales’ activation, or keep her in the dark if it was a dud after every hoop he had to jump through, every figment of pride he had to swallow.
Being dependent on the descendant of one he personally grew in his laboratory left a sour taste in his non-existent mouth. Not that he had a concept of ‘sour’ in the first place. But he imagined it like that;… or was it called a ‘bitter pill’? He never paid much attention to the phrases his scientists used back when they were still around. What a taste-based phrasing. Odd.
Approaching Sky refocused, noticing the reluctance in him to pay attention to what the Scavenger was doing. He was … scared. Doubting. He didn’t want to view Shifting Gales as dead once more. He desired to grasp the straw of hope, wanting nothing more than to get his protégé back. The Scavenger had now approached the wall, held up its right, having activated the grapple claw. About to jam the umbilical into the wall, reconnecting his most dear friend to her remaining body.
And the wall reacted, swallowing the claw, sealing tight the connection.
He could have sworn that the room got a bit brighter.
Approaching Sky’s emotional breakdown was the first thing in the little Slugcat’s life that truly scared her. What began as a series of sobbing tremors soon grew into a raging outcry in the entire hall her area was located in. With horror, she could see panels loosening up from the walls, and massive metal plates crashing down to the ground. Water worked itself through the walls and ran down the weird-looking technological arrays, which caused green sparks to flicker up.
A thunderous storm of sorrow washed over her protective glass ceiling. Yet all she was able to do was hope, that she would not end like the lizard cage only a few hundred meters away from her secluded position.
Buried underneath one of the dropped panels.
…
Then, the horror show came to an abrupt and decisive halt. The sounds of pain stopped; the trembles ceased. A ghostly silence wafted over the hall. The pup looked up, then to the handplants in her cell. She walked over to one of them, nudging it with her snout. It reacted, luckily, pulling her in and holding her close. The hand trembled, and only stopped vibrating after having stroked her fur for quite a while.
Just what upset you that much?
