Chapter Text
High up on the spires of Metropolis, Artificer was on vulture watch. Scanning the ancient skyline for a glimpse or even a shadow. She was… not successful, as of late. The slugcat needed to eat soon. Food was growing increasingly scarce. Her carnivorous diet was handy, providing lots of protein and energy, as well as giving her a better chance of survival because of the traits that came with it. Unfortunately, it didn’t work too well when there were no creatures around for miles. Plants simply didn’t provide enough.
If nothing showed up soon, she would have to go to bed starving. Not like she wasn't used to it.
Resting her hand on an explosive spear, she hid a grenade beneath her body. A coating of dust camouflages her, blending her into the painting that is the thin spire she rests upon. Seeing the lack of prey for hours at this point, she somewhat relaxed. Never fully. Can’t afford to be caught off guard again. Sitting up, she looks down at the ground, thinking of the city.
She always thought the ancients were a little odd, with all their “karmic urges” and whatnot. Why build such a great place to live if you were just gonna leave it behind? Seemed pretty great to her. There was no rain, plenty of supplies and tools and odd little trinkets for decoration, tons of shelter, etc.
Why not stay? She didn’t know a thing about that void or whatever they keep talking about, but from what she knows, the city is a hell of a lot better than it.
So did the scavengers, apparently. The sea of scav tolls washed across the cityscape like a plague. Each one adorned with the skull of a baby rain deer, carved and marked with red paint. Their pearls glinting in the midday sun. Like the one back then.
A little blue pup. Her pup, grabbing at the shiny pearls. Her pup-
Now is not the time for reminiscing. Focus on the hunt, she internally berated herself. Getting caught off guard would spell the end of her.
Did something pass by just now? Breaking out of her trance, she discreetly glanced around. Just gusts of wind through abandoned towers. Nothing, then. It’s going to be dark soon. Chances of finding food plummet past nightfall. Without the sun, it was freezing.
A swoop, a shadow. A hiss signalled exactly what she was looking for. A king vulture flapped its mighty wings, scanning for prey. Finally, food!
Not wanting to lose the upper hand provided by her stillness, Artificer waited. A little centiwing crawled out of a tunnel, and the king noticed immediately.
The bird lurched forward into the small crevice, hunting with no success. Still waiting. Upon such, she realized that the vulture did not shoot its harpoons at its meager meal. The infant centiwing skittered inside.
Were they malfunctioning, or did it just decide to lunge instead? What a stupid bird! Centipedes were more dangerous in close quarters. Why risk it for no reason? As her prey perched its wings upon a pole, and idled just a moment too long, the real predator leapt into action.
Practically galloping down the ledge, she jumped off with an explosion that crackled the air. The vulture reacted with a loud hiss of its engine as she prepared to throw her spear. The king vulture jabbed at her wildly with its sharp beak. The explosive spear hit a wing, sparking and hissing for a moment before — BOOM! — knocking down the vulture and temporarily stunning it. The heat of the blast tickled her charred fur.
The king recovered, and pointed a harpoon in her direction, attempting to crawl up on its wings. With a rapid beeping, the harpoon shot off, and she narrowly avoided the tusk with a roll. Scrambling to her feet, she tossed a bomb at the beast right as the second tusk shot out, colliding in the air and parrying the blast.
Shit! she thought, as she looked for a weapon. Locating a spear some feet away, she lunged for it and attempted to coat it with explosive spit. Before she could, the bird dove at the Artificer and tried grasping her within its jaws.
“Back off, you braindead asshole!” she yelled, and in haste lobbed the sharpened rebar directly at the vulture’s face.
As Artificer’s spear landed directly into the head of the lumbering beast, the vulture jerked backwards in pain. The combination of injury and movement jostled the mask and let it tumble to the dusty ground with a rattle. A king now stripped of its crown bit back with rage, as it would surely be a laughingstock to fellow vultures now! The tusks retracted into the sides of its great head as it readied another harpoon.
The maroon slugcat took the opportunity to yank out the spear again, and popped it in her mouth to turn it into a better weapon. The now red-tipped piece of scrap was ready for launch just as lasers locked onto her location and shot out a harpoon. The aerial predator attempted to shoot her and simultaneously lunge into her to snatch up its meal midair.
Unfortunately for it, Artificer had a different plan.
Rolling out of the way of the projectile, she gripped the explosive spear tightly, and slid under the now-vulnerable vulture. She backflipped and threw the spear straight upwards into the underbelly of the beast, and skittered from beneath it.
A crackle, a moment.
Then a large explosion,
BOOM!
and a now dead bird.
Bouncing towards her kill, she began to dig into her well-deserved catch. Tearing into the stringy, cartilaginous meat of the vulture, she savoured the metallic taste of the fizzy, bitter blood, carbonated by the existence of the propulsion engines.
Finishing up her meal, she wiped her chin and shook the dust off her fur. She’d have to do a bit more grooming when she arrived back home at her den. It was dusk now, the sun disappearing over the horizon. The air was growing colder, almost tingly. Standing upright, she was about to march back to her den, where she would clean up, and sleep the night away.
…or she would’ve, if the sky didn’t rip apart.
Cracking filled the air, loud and thunderous like the lightning storms that line the walls of an Iterator can.
A rift tore open the darkening horizon, leaving a gaping hole where the buildings once stood. Like a mouth taking a bite out of the world. She could feel the pull of the black spot, yanking at her fur like a greedy child, begging for more than already taken.
The rippling effect across the lands spread like cracks in the very fabric of reality. Waves crashing out in colors of pink, blue and green, purple, cyan and red. It would be beautiful, if not so destructive. As it happened, the abnormal and utterly alien phenomena was merely a block or two away from where she stood.
Little objects fell from the center of the rings. Rocks, spears, maybe a tiny bug, until they suddenly increased in size, spewing out some noodlefly eggs, and eventually, a small, dark, unrecognizable blob.
And as suddenly as it had occurred, the hole sealed itself up. The world seemed to hiccup for a moment. Eventually even the wisps faded, and everything returned to normal, except for the pile that lay on the street. Cautiously creeping forward, she decided it was noteworthy enough to investigate.
The cracks did appear to linger ever so slightly when in closer proximity. Looking closely at the object that fell out of the mouth, she found it was not an object at all. A fuzzy little lump lay on the ground, stirring. An animal? But it looks so strange! The fur almost seemed to ripple, a navy blue as dark as the night with little flecks of white and blue. It began sitting up, placing little three-fingered hands upon the worn pavement and moving its thick tail ever so slightly.
The realization was shocking. A slugpup! All the way up here? Does this have something to do with the weird warping thing? Blinking its large white eyes that gave the illusion of glowing, the pup turned around and made eye contact. A brief stare-off occurred.
Upon further inspection, it was… not quite a pup. A little older but not by much, still well within the juvenile range. Their fur was medium length, and not well groomed, cluttered with little leaves and dirt. They did not seem particularly fast or strong, and their ribs jutted out ever so slightly. All signs seem to indicate that this kid was abandoned or otherwise orphaned.
Yet the question remained. How did they get here? And what the hell was that rippling thing!?
The pup themself seemed almost in shock, before deciding to speak up, at last.
“H-hello there miss… uhm, do you know where I am?” the child’s meek voice seemed almost non-existent, barely louder than the winds.
Artificer awkwardly sputtered out “Oh! Ah, well, this is the city of Metropolis, which sits upon Five Pebbles’ structure.” She had not talked to one of her kind in so, so long. Much less a child.
“I don’t know what that is…” The pup looked around nervously before continuing “...Do you know where to find some food? I did not eat before coming here.”
The Artificer straightened her resolve. Yes, food. All children need food. Everything else can wait. With a grin she told the pup, “Of course! follow me, little one.” She began walking down the road before remembering something else. “Do you have a name?”
A stumble from the child as he tripped over a small rock. “Oh.” He looked inquisitive, “I am…” Another pause. “…the Watcher. But my mama just calls me Nighty.”
Artificer almost did a double take when she glanced back and realized the ripples were following them, and again when she realized they seemed localized to the child beside her. What a strange creature. But he’s still a pup… treat him as such.
“Your mama calls you Nighty? That’s a cute nickname.” Artificer replied, “Does she live far away from here?”
No reply. The Watcher did not look at her, seemingly not registering the question at all. Artificer did not press further.
She continued “My name is Artificer. I am from a tribe not far from here. I have a den in this city, however, and I would be glad to take you there before nightfall.”
A glance from the little slugcat and he opened up his mouth to say something, before closing it and looking away again. Finally, he muttered “That sounds fine.” And that was that.
…
Coming up on a patch of blue danglefruit, she reached up and pulled one down before handing it off to Watcher, who snatched it up and ate like he’s never eaten in his life. Concerning… and I still don’t know what’s up with that odd haze. Maybe I should take him to Pebbles. He’ll know what’s wrong.
The Watcher continued to eat up bluefruit while she thought. Once finished, he cleaned his sticky hands on his pelt. After a moment of hesitation, he asked “S-so, miss Artificer… where’s your shelter?” Artificer noticed how he avoided eye contact with her.
“It’s on a lower level from here, but it’s not difficult to get there. Come along now.” She gently grabbed his hand but was caught off guard when he violently yanked it free. Silence, if only for a second. “...Sorry. I should’ve asked you first.” She tried to not let her disappointment show.
As they continued to walk towards their location, she felt the air grow colder and the sky turn darker. Nighttime was almost here. Tentatively, she decided to ask a question, “So… Watcher, how did you get here?”
Watcher, for once, looked somewhat happy. “My friend sent me here! We’re playing hide and seek. She always gives herself away when she laughs, though!” He paused and glanced at the sky for a brief moment, before continuing to walk. “I think I might know where she is now, too.”
His… friend? What? The Artificer was very confused now. So many questions about this strange kiddo. Oh well. It’s too late to deal with all this right now. “Well, she sounds lovely.” she chittered back at him.
“Yeah, but she’s always cryptic and weird!” the Watcher said. “I’m really tired now, how much further is it?” He asked.
Luckily, it was only a few rooms away now, and she told him as such. “Oh, t-that’s good, that’s perfect.” He replied. She led him to where a large gap stood. She could cross it just fine, but for an average slugcat, they might be out of luck.
Shit.
She was gonna have to carry him across, and judging by his refusal to hold her hand earlier, it was gonna take a lot of convincing. She heard some shuffling behind her.
"Hey... So uhh, Watcher, kiddo, I have to ask you a favor.” And just as she turned around, the Watcher was gone. “Kiddo?” her voice rang out in the empty chasm, echoing throughout.
Gone. Just like that. The only sound that greeted her was the howling wind.
Gone. Just like her pups.
Maybe he was never there. Maybe this old hag is finally going senile. Voids below, I thought I had another chance! All of this sky ripping nonsense… She was being foolish. There was no pup. There never was.
“Well, that’s just great. Now I’m hallucinating!” she yelled out to the empty expanse of husks. “How convenient, love it when I imagine kids running around in places they couldn’t possibly be…” Artificer snarked sarcastically to no one in particular.
The air whistled.
…Well, stop ruminating on it! The den was just over there. Crouching down to wind up the powerful muscles in her legs, she pounced with force before crackling and singeing her tail to blast off. An air of brutal grace surrounded her as she leapt; only the most watchful eye could see the tired weariness of someone who has had their heart broken yet again.
Landing along the edge, she could swear she could feel the phantom tug of a child on her back. Can't believe I fell for that! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She chastised herself. What are the odds of a pup actually appearing? There's no way they could scale the wall by themself; much less open the gate!
Why do I-
-”Miss? Are you alright?" A voice threw her out of her spiral.
She rapidly spun around. Watcher stood there, looking mildly disturbed. Oh. Artificer felt her cheeks grow red— well, redder than usual. She just embarrassed herself in front of this already distrusting pup. She probably looked crazy —not that she wasn’t deranged in some way, of course but-
Wait.
…How did he get over here? The maroon slugcat glanced at the opposite ledge. No vines. No poles. Not even a spear. Just some rocks. Still absolutely zero way across, aside from her peculiar ability.
“Oh, it was nothing. Sorry, I got a little confused there…” she sheepishly replied “Although I must ask, how did you get across?” Artificer asked the small navy slugcat. He looked surprised, then giggled a little, and a rare smile was present on his face.
Snickering at her, he chirped “My friend gave me something! B-But it’s a secret, so I won’t tell you! Hehe…” A moment of pondering and the whimsical look faded slightly “...at least, not yet.” he murmured.
Well, this is certainly a weird, weird kid, The Artificer thought as she crawled up the pipe, glancing back one last time to make sure the slugpup followed. Popping her head out the other side, she slid out and onto the floor of the interior. Soon enough, a smaller, darker head emerged from the pipe as well. She crawled up a pole, with Watcher scrambling up behind her, who… also had a spear now. Must’ve picked it up on the floor.
Reaching the top of the pole greeted her with a ledge that she speedily jumped off. Her little shadow was still following her, mimicking her actions. Artificer then strode down the abandoned hallway; broken windows overgrown with flora, before turning a corner and stopping. A simple apartment door sat in front of them.
Introducing the place, the older slugcat told him “Well, this is it. Make yourself at home.” It’s probably the only one you have now, if your physical condition is to say anything… She pushed open the door, holding it open for the small one, who was now dragging the spear across the floor, creating a scraping sound.
“Woah!” He marvelled at the interior. Trophies from all sorts of creatures lined the walls, skulls and bones and masks. The old furniture was mostly disused, shoved to the sides and corners. The sink still seemed functional, however, and some salvaged pottery pieces lay to the side. A large stockpile of explosives, spears, and other tools sat in a sideroom.
Gently guiding him along, she led him to the main room in the back. It was darker in here, with the windows covered with draped cloth, and lanterns to illuminate it. In the center sat a large nest composed of fabric scraps, hides, and rain deer wool. Watcher didn’t even notice she had grabbed his hand, too engrossed in staring at the comfortable bed. It looked very cozy…
… Asides from the ominous red marked mask, with long curling antlers adorned with shiny pearls — which seemed to loom over the whole room, creating an air of unease. The Watcher did not like the feeling.
The Artificer curled up in the center, already looking drowsy. Watcher decided to sit further away, intimidated by both the mask, and the older slugcat. He yawned, and curled up on the soft wool beneath. He fell asleep quickly as the night continued. Artificer nodded off not long after.
Both slept better than they usually did, mood brightened by meeting another of their kind.