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Legend wakes with a start. He inhales sharply, letting out a soft huff of breath. The ship is relatively silent— the only noises are those of metal creaking and the quiet snores of the rest of the crew.
He sits up, cracking his neck. There’s no chance of him falling back asleep, so he gets up, yawning. Legend stretches his arms briefly before getting onto the computer terminal. The lack of available credits stops him from visiting the store page, so he searches for moons to visit instead.
41-Experimentation (Flooded)
220-Assurance
56-Vow (Stormy)
21-Offense
61-March
20-Adamance (Foggy)
He hums lowly. Not quite as many weather conditions as he expected, and yet Legend still hesitates about the choice. Somewhere with mild weather is the best option, knowing the lack of experience this crew has, but it’s a tough decision. Moon 21-Offense is definitely out (Legend’s pretty sure another day on Offense would give Hyrule a heart attack), but 220-Assurance and 61-March are both good options.
He turns back, glancing over the sleeping forms of their crew. Assurance went well for them, he recalls, but they haven’t been to March yet. Legend may be biased, but as far as he’s concerned, 61-March is the best free moon they can go to.
That settles it. He reroutes the ship, leaving orbit around 21-Offense and entering orbit around 61-March. The gentle shift is enough to rouse a few more of the crew.
Time sniffs loudly, the sound crackling in his throat. “Good morning, Veteran,” he greets, clearing his throat.
“Where did you take us?” Four wonders, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Like this, he almost looks like a child— even if Legend knows he isn’t.
He sighs. “March,” he states quietly. He directs his gaze toward Time, raising an eyebrow. “Have you been, Old Man?”
Time chuckles, pushing himself into a comfortable sitting position. “I have,” he replies. “Can’t say it’s a favorite of mine, but it’s certainly not the worst place to be.”
From the corner, Hyrule exhales slowly, controlling his breath. His arms are crossed.
“It’s got mild weather,” Legend adds, eyeing Hyrule. The timid employee refuses to meet his eyes. “We could always go back to Offense, if you’d prefer.”
Hyrule’s gaze snaps up to meet his. His soft brown eyes swirl with dread, and that’s enough of an answer for Legend.
“I’d rather not go back there,” Four decides. A light shiver runs through his body at the thought. “Plus, it’d be nice to see a new moon.”
“Hm?” Twilight shifts, voice low and rumbly with sleep. He rubs his eyes. “New moon?”
Time nods curtly. “Veteran has chosen moon 61-March for today. Clear weather.”
The rest of the crew is stirring now, stretching and yawning as the remaining employees sit up from their various sleeping spots. “61-March?” Wars echoes, humming. “Can’t say I’ve been.”
“Well, it’s the best moon we can go to,” Legend explains. “There’s three fire exits— four entrances total. One for each team to explore.”
Twilight and Wild exchange glances. Wild’s eyebrows are raised nearly to his hairline, but his eyes are full of excitement, not fear. Twilight’s expression is more dubious, but he returns Wild’s smile.
Wind snaps his fingers. “Hey, I’ve been there before!” he exclaims, nodding. “Yeah! There’s a fire exit to the side of the main entrance!” He squints, rubbing his chin in thought. “...Didn’t know there were three fire exits, though.”
“Yeah.” Legend waves a hand. “As far as these low-level moons go, March is one of the best. The fire exits alone make it a good place to make a lot of money without needing to explore far.”
Time grunts, pushing himself to his feet. “Since there are four entrances, each team will take one,” he explains, rolling his shoulders. “Sailor, since you’ve been to the fire exit to the side of the main entrance, you can take Captain there.”
Wind salutes playfully. “Aye aye!”
“Veteran,” Time continues. His gaze meets Legend’s. “You and Hyrule can take the fire exit behind the ship. Twilight and Wild will go to the main entrance.”
Legend nods seriously, expression determined. “Heard.”
“I’ll go to the side fire exit.” Time’s gaze drifts for a moment before focusing on Sky. “Sky, you’ll come with me. I’ll give you directions to the other entrances once we land.”
Sky’s ears stand up straight as he nods. He briefly catches Four’s eye, and the shiphand gives him a reassuring smile. Four different entrances to remember is a lot, but Sky can handle it.
Legend’s hand rests over the control lever, fingers tapping impatiently against the metal surface. “Are we ready yet?” Annoyance seeps into his tone, but none of the other employees bat an eye. After all this time together, they’re beginning to grow accustomed to Legend’s behavior.
“You may take us down,” Time allows, sighing. He rolls his shoulders again, wrinkling his nose at how the joints crack and crunch. He’s getting too old for this line of work.
The control lever is shifted forward, and the ship starts to descend to the surface of moon 61-March. The doors open, revealing a lush forest surrounding a deep, watery pit.
Wind, Hyrule, and Twilight grab flashlights, each ensuring theirs is charged. Wars picks up a shovel.
Wind snorts. “Are you sure you want to take a shovel?” he asks, teasing. “We all know your track record of dying in ways where we can’t get your stuff back.”
“I’m not going to die this time,” Wars replies, voice tight. His knuckles whiten around the length of the shovel. “And there’s going to be monsters in there. At least I’m thinking about our safety.”
Wind puts a hand on his hip. “Bitch, that’s why I grabbed a flashlight!”
“Hey!” Wild waves a hand from the ship door. They’re nearly landed by now. “What’s that?”
Legend pokes his head out the door, expression unamused. “What?”
Wild points at a circular object. The surface appears to be moving, and a light buzzing can be heard, even at the distance between the ship and the object. “That!”
“Oh.” Legend sighs as if the question is below him. “That’s a beehive.”
Wild leaps over the safety railing as they land, walking up to the bees.
New creature data sent to terminal!
“Circuit bees,” Wild reads, nodding. “They’re worth…” he giggles. “...sixty-nine credits.”
Wind giggles as well. “Nice.”
“Kinda odd that scrap is outside, ain’t it?” Twilight muses. “I mean, that seems too easy.”
Time steps out of the ship door, shaking his head. “That hive is protected by the circuit bees. If you get too close, they’ll go after you.”
“They pack quite a punch,” Wars adds. “You’ll need to be careful if you want to get them on the ship.”
Time closes his eye. He exhales slowly, shaking his head.
Wild grins. “I want to get them on the ship!”
“You should only go for it if you’re absolutely certain you can manage it,” Time suggests, brows furrowed. He glares briefly at Wars. “And don’t bring them in the ship— drop the hive back there.” He points toward the opposite side of the ship.
Four frowns. “What happens if he brings them on the ship?”
Time’s gaze is serious as he meets Four’s eyes. “You die, he dies, anyone who tries to get in the ship dies,” he explains. Time turns back toward Wild. “Do you understand?”
Wild swallows thickly, nodding. “Yessir.”
Tense silence falls over the group. Legend grabs Hyrule by the elbow, dragging him off the ship and away from Wild and the others. Wars does the same with Wind, the two of them sneaking off to head to their fire exit. Four turns his attention to the computer terminal, swapping between screens to keep an eye on both pairs.
“Make good choices,” Time warns, but there’s no real bite to his words. He sounds more tired than anything. Sky sets a hand on the eldest employee’s shoulder, offering a kind smile and a silent invitation to head out. Time sighs, but nods, and he and Sky set off as well.
Only Wild and Twilight remain.
“A’ight, you ready to-?”
“I want to get the bees,” Wild interrupts. His eyes sparkle dangerously.
Twilight frowns. “Wild… I ain’t too sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Wild puts his hands on his hips, tilting his head. “It’s worth a good amount. And it’s right here!” He waves a hand. “It’s like free money!”
Twilight looks at the beehive dubiously. As much as he agrees with Wild, Time’s warning was serious. Even with the experience he and Wild have (which, let’s be honest, isn’t much), neither of them have handled anything like this before. He sighs, shaking his head. “...Give it a try.”
Wild’s face lights up. He nods with determination, shining blue eyes focused on the beehive. “Don’t worry, I got this.”
Twilight steps back, watching cautiously. Wild gets close to the hive, and the bees buzz angrily. They swarm, electricity zapping as they go after him. Wild dodges, getting only a light zap as he picks up the hive. Twilight gasps, eyes wide, as the younger employee sprints away with the hive, jumping up to the ship. He drops the hive on the back, cursing suddenly.
“Wild?!” Twilight steps forward, then hesitates. The bees are still roaming near the hive, pissed off and ready to electrocute anyone who dares get close to them.
“I’m okay!” Wild’s voice sounds. Twilight turns, letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Wild’s still alive, looking quite proud of himself (if not a little fried). “Sorry, I tripped over the railing. All good, though!”
Twilight sighs. “Please be careful. We haven’t even been inside yet.”
Wild waves a hand, grinning. “You worry too much, Twi. I’m fine! I barely even got zapped!”
Four pokes his head out from the ship’s entrance, glancing around nervously. “Wild, are you sure those bees are safe to have around?” he questions, expression hesitant. “They’re buzzing a lot— it sounds like they might try and attack someone.”
“Nah.” Wild shrugs, shaking his head. “They’re outside the ship, you’ll be fine!” he insists. He turns his head, coughing lightly. “...Probably.”
Four sighs. “Fine,” he relents, pointing a finger at Wild. “But if they attack me or Sky, it’s your problem.”
Wild holds his hands up in surrender, laughing. “It’ll be fine, Four. Just don’t bother them.” He elbows Twilight in the side, making the rancher wince. “C’mon, Twi, we’re wasting daylight.”
Twilight exhales, waving a weary hand at Four as Wild tugs at his arm. The shiphand nods in response before heading back inside the ship, leaving Twilight and Wild to their own devices.
“The main entrance is straight up ahead,” Wild explains, pointing to a distant building. Between all the trees and fog, it’s hard to see anything, and Twilight finds himself squinting. “...It’s better to scan for it, I think. At least then you can clearly see where it is.”
He nods, scanning. Sure enough, the main entrance lights up with a blue marker, clearly visible despite the thick blanket of fog coating the ground. Twilight and Wild exchange glances, nodding to each other.
“Let’s do this.”
Sky follows behind Time, gaze wandering. “Is it always this hard to see here?” he wonders, brows furrowing.
“Sometimes it’s worse,” Time replies. “This is clear weather. When it’s foggy, it’s nearly impossible to navigate. You have to know this moon like the back of your hand if you want even a chance at survival.”
Sky holds his hand out, frowning at it. “...Sounds difficult.”
Time chuckles. “It sure is.” He leads Sky down an incline, turning to face a fire door embedded in a chunk of concrete. “Here’s the side fire exit. There’s another straight off the back of the ship. The third one is in that direction, closer to the main entrance.” He points toward the steep cliff to the side of the fire door. “You’ll have to go around, but look for the concrete building— those will always lead to a fire exit.”
Sky nods, determination set in his eyes. “Got it.”
“Good. We’ll find you a few items to carry back, then you might want to try a different entrance.” Time places a hand on the fire exit door. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
Time enters the facility first, but Sky isn’t far behind. They’re on a switchback staircase with a door directly opposite them and two doors below them.
Sky quickly grabs a small, black and yellow object. It honks goofily from the pressure of his fingers, making him jump a little. The surprise is short-lived, however, and a chuckle escapes his throat.
“Clown horn?” Time questions, an amused quirk gracing his lips. Sky nods. “That’s a good item. Worth a decent number of credits.”
Sky drops the horn, scanning it. “Sixty-one credits,” he murmurs, humming. “That is good.”
Time chuckles, pushing open the door directly opposite the fire exit. The hinges squeak, echoing in the dark, sewer-like hallway that lies behind it. “Ah- here, come grab this.”
Sky pads across the top of the stairs, poking his head past the gray facility door. Time stands just beyond, nearly disappearing into the darkness. A quick scan reveals the object the elder employee was referring to, and Sky bends down to pick up a small, brightly colored egg. “Forty-six credits,” he states, shaking his head. “There’s some good stuff here!”
“Be careful with that,” Time warns, squinting. “I’ve heard it can be a dangerous item.”
Sky tilts his head, frowning. “Dangerous how?”
“I don’t know,” Time admits. He shrugs, sighing. “Still, be cautious.”
Sky nods. He glances uneasily at the small egg in his hand, distrustful of what it might do. “Alright…”
“Ah.” Time steps forward, nearly disappearing in the shadowed hallway. Just before he does, however, the eldest employee bends down, picks up an item, and carries it back to Sky. “Here. Bring this back to the ship.”
Sky scans the object, nodding. It’s a V-type engine, worth a solid thirty-six credits. That, together with the clown horn and easter egg, would turn a decent profit. Not quite enough for the day, but certainly a good start. He picks up the engine and turns back toward the fire exit door, leaving Time to his own defenses.
“I don’t like March,” Hyrule mumbles, clutching his flashlight in both hands.
“Would you rather go back to Offense?” Legend retorts. They weave back and forth between trees, heading toward the fire exit behind the ship. Hyrule shivers. “And we’re not even inside yet,” Legend continues, waving a hand. “It won’t be that bad.”
“Says you,” Hyrule whispers. He shakes his head, turning up the small hill to the base of the fire exit. He and Legend exchange glances and head inside.
They find themselves in a long room, shelves lining the walls. Landmines flash and beep on the floor— two of them, to be exact— but those are avoidable.
More importantly, the room is full of scrap for them to collect. They work silently, gathering two big bolts, a tattered metal sheet, a large axle, and-
“Bottles!” Legend exclaims, carrying the large red crate to the fire door. The bottles clink against each other as he moves, bringing out the bottles, the metal sheet, and one of the bolts. Hyrule follows close behind with the other bolt and the large axle.
He chuckles, dropping both items in the grass outside. “Bottles,” he echoes, grinning.
Legend puts his hands on his hips, scanning the small pile of items. “One hundred and sixty-one credits,” he announces with a nod of approval. He and Hyrule make eye contact. “We’re making money today!”
Hyrule grins, nodding. “It’s pretty good,” he agrees quietly.
“Let’s keep going.” Legend pushes open the fire door, eyes sparkling. “I bet we can do even better.”
Hyrule nods, following behind. He clicks his flashlight on, shining it around the room. There’s no scrap left in there, but there are two doorways leading deeper into the facility. Legend leads the way to inspect each doorway.
“Stop!” Hyrule hisses, voice high and panicked. Legend freezes immediately, then glances down. Directly in front of him, where his next step would’ve taken him, is a landmine. It beeps, the sound echoing in the silent facility.
Legend lets out a slow breath. He steps away from the landmine. “...Good catch,” he mumbles, finding a new route around it.
Hyrule just nods, clutching his flashlight tighter. He and Legend make it to the first doorway, finding a dark hallway. Hyrule shivers.
“Ew,” Legend grumbles, shaking his head at the shadowed hall. “Let’s go the other way.” They move to the second doorway, which promptly leads them to a dead end.
Hyrule and Legend exchange glances. The latter sighs. “Dark, ominous hallway it is, then.”
"Twi, look!"
"Hm?" Twilight turns, tilting his head. Wild is running toward what looks like another beehive. As Twilight approaches, the furious buzzing gets louder. Circuit bees swarm around this hive, never stopping their frantic loops around the circumference of it. Twilight wrinkles his nose. "Wild-"
"I'm gonna get them!"
Twilight shakes his head. "I ain't too sure that's a good idea," he warns. "Yer gonna get stung."
"Pshhh." Wild waves a hand dismissively. "No I won't! I was able to get the last hive just fine!"
"Yeah, but-"
"Here I go!" Wild sprints toward the bees, turning harshly when they try attacking him. He grabs the hive in one swift motion, running with it cradled in his arms as the angry circuit bees follow close behind.
To Wild's credit, he makes it quite far. He's nearly at the ship when he slows down, hunching over as he takes heavy puffs of breath. Without his consistent speed from earlier, the bees catch up easily, swarming around him. Electricity sparks between the bees, zapping poor Wild until he falls to the ground, limp.
Twilight slowly approaches, his brow furrowed. "Wild?" he calls, frowning. No response. He gets closer until his scanner finally manages to ping Wild's suit.
Employee Codename: Wild
Cause of Death: Electrocution
A sharp gasp escapes Twilight's throat. He stares at Wild's body, unblinking. The bees killed him? That fast?
The hive that cost Wild his life sits near the body, once again housing the circuit bees. Whatever the hive is worth, it couldn't have been worth it. Hopefully Wild's learned his lesson, but Twilight's spent a good amount of time working with him by now, and in his heart he knows that, no, Wild won't have learned anything from this.
He sighs. Now he's down a partner, and they haven't even been inside the building yet. Twilight shudders— who knows what kind of horrors await him in there?
Time walks down a dark hallway, barely able to see even three feet ahead of him. Shadows seem to dance on the walls, creating the illusion of movement, but there's nothing there.
…Not that he's seen, anyway.
The worst thing Time's encountered today was a couple of hoarding bugs guarding one measly key. But that's not the most comforting knowledge— March isn't exactly known for being uninhabited, after all, and there were surely some horrors lurking in these pitch-black halls.
In fact, Time can hear something. It's faint, but it's not far. It sounds like metal, rattling as something bends it to its limits. Something is crawling nearby, and it's getting louder, louder, louder-
Time turns the corner, finding, finally, a lit section of hallway. His relief is short-lived, however, as a large, meaty creature escapes one of the vents, stomping noisily as it gets its bearings.
The eldest employee holds his breath. He hasn't encountered many of these, but he'd recognize them anywhere. A thumper.
New creature data sent to terminal!
As if the beast heard his thoughts, it turns, facing Time. A bellowing roar escapes it, the creature's meaty jaw unhinging to reveal rows of sharp teeth. Two thick, stubby limbs carry it forward, the back half dragging along the floor without care.
It's fast. Time sprints around a corner just as it reaches him, and the thumper runs past, smacking into the wall with a grunt. That'll only slow it down for a moment, though, so he starts running.
The beast builds up speed quickly in long, straight areas, and Time's only hope for escape is to lose it around corners. But it's dark— he can hardly see the ground below him. Still, Time runs, brows furrowed in concentration as he picks paths at random, already too lost to navigate in this darkness.
The thumper roars behind him, but Time won't go down without a fight. He turns another corner, hearing the disgruntled thwap! of the thumper hitting the wall. The beast huffs, turning back to follow down the hall. Time keeps running— surely a side path will branch off somewhere-
He stops in his tracks, panting heavily. It's a dead end. He's backed himself into a corner, with the thumper barreling toward him from the only direction he can go. Time clenches his fists, taking a deep breath. This might be it for him.
Sky hums to himself, carrying the large engine in his arms. It's heavy, but not obnoxiously so, and he's making good time back to the ship.
Pale lights appear in the distance, and he smiles. Despite the poor visibility on this moon, he's managed to find his way back to the ship rather quickly. Sky jumps up onto the ship's railing, carrying his three items into the ship.
Four glances at him briefly, nodding. "Wild's dead," he states, sighing. Sky frowns, dropping the engine and clown horn onto the floor. "There's bees on the ship. Make sure you stay away fr-"
Sky tosses the easter egg toward Four. The second it hits the floor, it pops in an explosion of confetti and black smoke, killing Four instantly and blowing Sky into, well, the sky.
For a moment, as he flies through the air, Sky remembers Time's warning. Be careful with that, I've heard it can be a dangerous item.
He winces, knowing he caused Four's death. And, with the amount of time he's spent in the air, likely his own, too.
Sky barely has the time to feel afraid as he falls, landing squarely in a deep pit of water. With the company-mandated equipment on him, he's too heavy to swim, and he sinks slowly to the bottom, oxygen running low.
Now he's got time to be scared.
It's agony, the waiting. The slow, painful burn, creeping up his lungs and settling deep in his chest. Every second without air is worse than the last, and there, deep at the bottom of a lake, Sky knows he won't be coming back from this one.
"I thought you knew where you were going!"
Wind huffs, glaring at the captain. "I do, now stop distracting me!" he exclaims. He pauses, glancing around at their surroundings. Everything looks the same— just endless hills and trees. No notable landmarks. Wind's not entirely sure which direction they came from.
"It really seems like you don't know," Wars argues. "You got us lost!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Ugh!" Wind throws his hands up, scoffing. "If you're so sure I don't know what I'm doing, then you navigate, genius!"
Wars puts his hands on his hips. "Fine! I will!" He turns, looking all around them. Still, the environment is the same— just trees, grass, and-
"Wait!" Wind holds up a hand, eyes sparkling. "I know where we are. It's this way… I think."
Wars balks. "You think?!"
Wind crosses his arms. "You got anything better?" The captain just sighs in response. Wind nods. "That's what I thought. Know your place."
"Oh, you little-"
"Look!" Wind points ahead, deeper in a valley. Sure enough, a bright red fire door sits embedded in a block of concrete. The youngest employee grins proudly, smirking at his companion. "See? I told you I knew what I was doing!"
Wars sneers at him. "Yeah, it only took you four hours to find the stupid door. Unmatched navigation skills."
Wind sticks out his tongue, pushing forward to get to the fire exit. Wars rolls his eyes, but follows, both of them stopping just outside the door.
Near activity detected!
Wind and Wars exchange glances, then both look back at the door. The warning doesn't go away.
"I'll check it out," Wars offers.
Wind shrugs, nodding. "You have ten seconds. If you're not back by then, I'm leaving your sorry ass."
"Shut the fuck up."
Wars opens the door, heading inside alone. He looks left, then right. It's silent, and there's no sign of anything anywhere. With a shrug, he goes back outside, shaking his head.
"So?" Wind asks curiously.
Wars shrugs. "Nothing," he states. "It looks completely empty in there."
Wind's eyes narrow. "Are you sure?"
"Sure as I can be."
Wind watches him for a few seconds before sighing. "Good enough for me," he decides, pushing the door open. "C'mon. We're wasting daylight."
"So bossy," Wars teases, following Wind inside. The youngest employee makes it two steps forward before a piercing screech! hits their ears. A fleshy, segmented bug drops from the ceiling, landing squarely onto Wind's face.
A snare flea.
He screams, high pitched and terrified, as it curls around his head and throat, constricting his airway and muffling the few noises he manages to get out. Wind runs in panicked circles, blind and slowly suffocating to death as Wars stands dumbly to the side.
It takes a moment, but he snaps out of it, reeling back with his shovel to smack the bug off Wind's face. Wind gasps for air as the snare flea cries out, falling to the ground. It crawls away, the unsettling sound of hundred of legs clacking against the facility floor.
"Get back here!" Wars shouts, chasing after it with a shovel. The snare flea is fast, but not faster than an angry employee, and two more smacks from the shovel make short work of the oversized bug.
Wars stands over its corpse, sniffing loudly before nodding once. He heads back to Wind with a proud grin, ready to report the creature's death. However, Wind has other plans.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he snaps, red in the face. It's not just from the snare flea's grip. "You said it was safe! Did you even look?!"
Wars' smile drops. "You're the one who walked underneath it!" he argues, pointing an accusing finger. "Plus, I killed it! If it weren't for me, you'd be dead!"
"Uh, no!" Wind retorts, scoffing. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't've walked underneath it in the first place! I only wasn't looking because you said it was safe!"
"What's the big deal? You're fine, the snare flea is dead, and now there's nothing else here!" Wars exclaims, waving his hands in frustration.
"What's the big deal?" Wind repeats, shaking his head. "The 'big deal' is that now I'm very injured, and it's all your fault!"
"It was an honest mistake! And I helped get it off!"
"Not fast enough! How long did you sit there, staring like an idiot, while I was being strangled?!"
"I didn't just stare at you, I was-"
An ear-piercing scream interrupts their argument. Wind and Wars shut up immediately, eyes wide as they stare at each other. The scream was distant, but close enough to be fully audible. Not only that, but the facility had returned to being eerily silent.
Wind shivers. "Was that-?"
"Twilight," Wars confirms, expression grim.
Wind grimaces. "Do you think he's…"
"Dead?" Wars finishes, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah. Definitely."
With Wild now dead, Twilight's on his own. Still, he's dedicated, and they need to make money somehow, so he heads to the main entrance. Entering is a challenge, mostly due to the lack of partner by his side, but he manages regardless.
Inside, he chooses a random path, and wanders aimlessly. There's no real rhyme or reason to his navigation, but if it works, it works. Twilight stumbles across one item— a cookie mold pan worth a dismal twenty-six credits— and drops it off outside.
It's jarring, being here without Wild by his side, and it's ominously quiet. Without Wild's chattering (or even just his footsteps), the facility is dead silent. It's unnerving.
But Twilight pushes on. One item was hardly enough to call it a day, no matter how much dread was sinking in his stomach. He had to push forward— if not for himself, then for Wild.
So he keeps going. He wanders the other direction from the main entrance, once again choosing random paths to take. He doesn't find much in terms of valuables, but Twilight does stumble across a spider web. And then another spider web. And another.
All of a sudden, he's surrounded by spider webs, placed precariously across hallways, creating a rather inconvenient path for him to traverse.
Despite the screaming in his gut, Twilight moves on. He's careful, avoiding all of the webs to not get trapped in them, and he successfully makes it past a large number of them. To escape the hallway, there's only one web remaining, and it's not nearly as difficult to get around as some of the others.
Twilight grins. Maybe he's not so bad at this after all.
He steps forward, and that's his fatal mistake. A large, angry spider crawls down from the wall, cornering Twilight with the webs he had just managed to get around. But he's not thinking about that— his mind is solely focused on the massive arachnid chasing after him.
As soon as his heel sinks into the webs, Twilight's heart sinks. The sticky webbing is pulling him in, preventing his escape as the spider lumbers closer, closer, closer…
He screams. It's embarrassing, and he hates that he does, but it's the only reaction that feels appropriate for his terrified mind. The spider lunges for the kill, and suddenly, Twilight's no longer screaming.
Time steels himself as the thumper gets closer, cornering him. Just as it's about to chew on him, he jumps, barely clearing the beast but clearing it nonetheless. He doesn't waste any time. As soon as he lands, Time is back to running, turning around corners until the thumper no longer follows.
He lets out a relieved sigh. Thumpers, as intimidating as they are, are just dumb monsters in the end. He can hear it, pacing back and forth nearby, but it hasn't found him yet.
Time can't hide forever, though. Sooner or later, the thumper will find him, and then it's just a matter of time. He peeks his head around the corner, glancing both directions. The thumper is nowhere to be seen.
Now or never.
Time dashes into the hallway. He's nearly at the turn when the thumper roars behind him, continuing its chase. It picks up speed, just barely clipping Time as he turns. It was brief, but that brief moment was all it took for the beast to land a gruesome bite to his leg. He groans, but keeps moving— he can't afford to slow down, no matter how much it hurts.
So he continues his mad dash, turning corners wherever he can. The thumper is fast, but Time is smarter, and with a little bit of luck on his side, he spots the dim, distant red glow of the fire exit.
Salvation at last. All he needs to do is make it there.
Easier said than done, though. The hallway is long, dark, and there's no safe corners for him to turn around. But he can't waste time deliberating when the beast is already hot on his trail.
Time runs. He runs down the hallway, fire exit in his sights. The thumper roars again, furious, and charges after him. The distance between them closes, each of Time's steps unable to match the killer pace of the thumper. He doesn't dare turn around, but the unmistakable THUMP THUMP THUMP of the beast gets ever closer.
He's so close. He can make it, he can. The thumper is right behind him now, nearly nipping at his calves. But the fire exit is right there too, and-
The thumper catches up. A large bite is taken out of Time's leg.
He cries out, grimacing as the injury slows him down. The thumper takes another bite. No, no, no! The fire exit is right there, it's so close if he stretched he might be able to reach it.
The thumper bites again. Blood drips in steady quantities, staining the ground crimson. He's limping now, slow and barely able to move. The fire exit is within reach. Time grabs the door, trying to push it open, but the thumper is still there. It's desperate, but it's all in vain. The thumper takes a last bite, and Time hits the floor.
Legend leads the way despite Hyrule carrying the flashlight. The pair heads down the dark hallway, keeping close to each other. The facility is quiet, too quiet, and it brings a shiver to both employees.
"I don't like this," Hyrule mumbles, clutching his flashlight tighter. He's constantly turning around, checking behind them for any sign of monsters. Still, every time he looks, there's nothing. It's more unsettling than it should be.
"It could be worse," Legend replies, but even he sounds uncertain. The darkness, combined with the distinct lack of noise, leaves their minds reeling. What could be in here?
"It could be better," Hyrule adds, turning around to check behind them. Nothing. Same as the last time, and the time before that.
Legend stops at an intersection, glancing each way. "Oh!" He turns down a path, grabbing Hyrule by the arm to drag him along. The quietest employee yelps, but doesn't fight as Legend leads him out of the dark tunnels and into a new, larger room. It's dimly lit, but light is light, and they can't afford to be picky.
This room is familiar, too. The warehouse. Legend lets him go, and they both head up the path to the upper platform. Here, it's well-lit, and Hyrule breathes a sigh of relief. From the platform, he can see further, and there's no monsters around. It's more comforting than he'd like to admit.
Legend, too, is letting out a breath. He wouldn't ever admit it, but the endless dark hallways had him on edge as well. But now, the space is lit, and there are plenty of scrap items for them to gather.
"Here, Hyrule, do you remember the way back to the fire exit?" Legend asks, piling up the items he finds. There's a plastic fish, worth thirty-six credits, a stop sign, worth thirty-eight (which Legend swings like a shovel, nodding in approval at the hitting power), and a case of bottles, worth a solid forty-eight credits. The three items are a full load with Hyrule's flashlight in hand, and there's more to explore here.
Hyrule picks up a magnifying glass. "Forty-six," he murmurs, holding it up with a small smile. "Um, I remember the way. It's not too far, but…" His gaze sweeps across the various items, and he shakes his head. "I can't carry all of this. We should go together…"
Legend picks up the stop sign and bottles, nodding. "You take the plastic fish, then." Hyrule grabs it with a short nod. Legend gestures with his head, arms full with the crate of bottles. "Lead the way."
"It's not far," Hyrule repeats. He takes them back down to the lower level of the warehouse and through the door to the dark tunnels. "It was this way…" He walks to the intersection, cautiously sweeping the area with his flashlight. Nothing. "And then it was just down this way." He turns, and sure enough, at the end of the hallway, the fire door is illuminated in pale red light. It's comforting, but Hyrule still makes sure to check behind them every few seconds.
They make it out. The fire door slams shut behind them as both Hyrule and Legend drop their stuff outside in the growing pile of items.
Legend puts his hands on his hips. "Sky hasn't come to get any of our things yet," he notes.
Hyrule frowns. Legend's right— all the items they found in the first room are still here, piled outside. Still, he doesn't want to catastrophize, even if his brain is screaming at him that something is wrong. "Maybe he got lost?"
Legend hums, and it's not encouraging. "Maybe." They both stand for a minute, frowning at the pile of items, until Legend finally speaks up. "Well, guess we should keep going."
"Guess so…"
They head back inside, taking the path to the warehouse. Hyrule keeps checking behind him frantically, getting more and more paranoid by the second. The lack of anything is somehow worse than actually seeing the monsters.
Legend, on the other hand, is trying his best not to care. He's managed to keep his aloof, uncaring demeanor fairly consistent today, and he wants to keep it that way. If not for his reputation, then for Hyrule's sake— the poor employee looked as if he would fall to pieces if something actually came after them.
Hyrule stops dead in his tracks, frowning. They've only just made it back to the warehouse, and they aren't quite on the upper level yet. It's still dark down here.
Legend squints at him. "What is it?"
Hyrule shakes his head. His breath hitches, and he turns, shining the flashlight onto a darkened area.
Legend yelps, stumbling backward, and Hyrule gasps. His light is illuminating… a spore lizard. It hisses at them, rattling its tail before running off.
Legend's face is red when Hyrule looks at him. He huffs, dusting himself off. "…Not a word of this. Got it?"
Hyrule giggles, covering his mouth with a shy hand. Legend's clear shame is quite funny. Out of all the things to be scared by, a spore lizard is probably one of the most embarrassing.
"Hey! Not a word!" he insists, scowling. Hyrule nods, still giggling softly. Legend rolls his eyes. "Shut up."
Despite Twilight's distant, terrified scream, Wind and Wars don't leave the facility. They've managed to find fuck-all, mostly due to their four hour trek to the building and the constant arguing between the pair.
Twilight's likely death, however, seems to have put them into gear. The two work silently, wandering through the dark hallways of the facility. They don't find much of anything, unfortunately, but their wandering eventually leads them to the main entrance— where Twilight and Wild had been sent to investigate.
Wind and Wars exchange glances. "Think Wild's still alive?" Wars asks.
"Beats me." Wind shrugs, shaking his head. "Maybe they left stuff outside?"
Wars nods. "Good thinking."
They push open the large front doors, finding themselves face-to-face with a large, green thing. It squawks at them, spreading its wings wide in some sort of intimidating tactic. Cradled near the monster's chest is a rectangular silver object.
New creature data sent to terminal!
"Baboon hawk," Wars reads, squinting. "And it's got an item!"
"Hey!" Wind steps forward. The baboon hawk steps back. "Give us that!"
Wars follows them, shovel held firmly in his grip. They move forward, pushing the baboon hawk back. It squawks and chitters at them, but refuses to drop the item.
"I bet it stole that from Twi!" Wind suggests, baring his teeth at the creature. It's not very intimidating. "Give it back, you stupid bird… thing!"
As they push it further back, more baboon hawks show up. Wind and Wars quickly become outnumbered, three of the beasts now squawking and laughing at them.
"Fuck ass bird!" Wind shouts.
"Stupid idiots!" Wars adds.
"Dumb shits!"
"Ugly motherfuckers!"
Wind and Wars push the hawks back all the way to a strange spot. Three sharp posts stick out of the ground, a long-dead employee's head impaled on the end of one of them. Another baboon hawk sits in the center, but joins in as they get closer. The first hawk, the one with the item, drops it off in the middle of the three posts.
"Wind!" Wars points at the item. "Here, I'll distract them— go get the item and run for it!"
The youngest employee nods, backing off to sneak around the baboon hawks. Wars waves his arms, swinging the shovel around. "Hey! Stupid fucks! Over here, dumb birds!"
Wind comes up from behind the nest. The baboon hawks don't notice him.
"Yeah! Come and get me!" Wars taunts. One of the larger baboon hawks jumps forward, pecking him harshly before jumping back and squawking. "Ow! Shit!"
Wind glances up at Wars. The baboons are attacking the captain now, three of them all pecking him.
Wait, three?
Wind turns around. The fourth baboon hawk squawks at him, and pecks. With his earlier injuries from the snare flea, Wind doesn't stand a chance. Wars, surrounded, falls as well, the shovel clattering to the ground. Both Wind and Wars, along with the shovel, are dragged into the baboon hawk nest, finally joining the cookie sheet Twilight had found. It's not exactly how they imagined it, but neither Wind nor Wars can do anything about it now. The baboons laugh and squawk, stomping on their bodies. Truly unfortunate.
Hyrule and Legend head up from the top platform in the warehouse, walking along the metal grate path to a door. It swings open with ease, and both employees walk through— not before Hyrule checks behind them first, though. Still nothing…
"Jackpot!" Legend exclaims, grinning. A quick scan of the room reveals four items— a toy cube, thirty-four credits; a yield sign, twenty-two credits; a remote, thirty-eight credits; and a garbage lid worth twenty-seven. Legend grabs the yield sign and garbage lid while Hyrule claims the toy cube and remote, clicking the buttons with a small smile.
They start walking back to the fire exit, Hyrule still checking behind them every so often. He's less on edge now, so late in the day and still not encountering anything particularly scary. It's a nice change of pace.
When they make it outside, the same pile of items greets them. Not a single one has been taken back to the ship. Hyrule and Legend exchange glances— not a word needs to be said. Sky isn't coming.
Silently, they each grab a handful of items. Hyrule even drops his precious flashlight, instead choosing to grab a stop sign. Legend leaves the garbage lid behind in favor of one of the crates of bottles.
The walk back to the ship is quiet, but only between them. Distant stomping, squawking, and growls fill the night air in a horrible symphony. The dread pools in Hyrule's gut as they get closer to the ship. Something is wrong, very wrong.
Legend and Hyrule hide behind a tree as a forest giant lumbers past. They make it to the ship, thankfully unharmed, but the sight inside the ship wasn't one they were prepared for.
Four's body lies dead on the ground, the floor black around him. Hyrule shivers, but drops his items off, stepping around Four's corpse to check the monitors.
He switches between views, getting more and more frantic. Wild? Dead. Sky? Dead. Four? Dead, obviously. Time? Dead. Twilight? Dead. Wind?
Hyrule watches with raised eyebrows. Wind and Wars are near each other, still moving. However, they're surrounded by enemies, and soon enough, they're as still as the rest. Hyrule turns to look at Legend, eyes wide with horror.
Legend frowns at him. "What? What's wrong?"
"They…" Hyrule shakes his head, voice barely a whisper. "They're all dead."
"All of them?" Legend asks incredulously. Hyrule nods. "Shit…"
"What do we do?"
Legend takes a breath. "There's five more items we left. I can get four of them," he decides, frowning. "I'll leave the garbage lid behind, I guess."
"Lege," Hyrule whispers, shaking his head. "It's too dangerous. There's giants out there."
Legend nods. "That's why you stay here. If anything happens to me, you take off the ship, okay?" Hyrule just stares at him. "Hyrule. Okay?"
"Okay."
A dog growls outside the ship. Legend places a finger over his lips, nodding to Hyrule. The quietest employee nods, settling into the corner as Legend sneaks out the door. He needs to be silent, with the dogs around, but he can't risk being seen by the giant. They're fast— if he gets seen and can't find cover, it's over.
He's quick, though, and the fire exit isn't far. The dog doesn't hear him, and once Legend makes it far enough away, he breaks into a sprint. He makes it to the fire exit without incident, quickly gathering up as much as he can carry. The garbage lid, unfortunately, has to be left behind.
With items in hand, Legend begins his trek back to the ship. It's riskier now— he's heavy, infuriatingly so, with all the scrap metal in his arms, and a second dog wanders around the ship. But he can do this— he's an experienced employee, after all, and he can handle a few dogs.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him starts to rumble. Legend inhales sharply, dropping his items just as dirt begins to spit up around him. He dives out of the way in the nick of time— an earth leviathan bursts from the ground, just barely missing him.
Legend picks his items back up with a shaky exhale, continuing back to the ship. The giant is further away, but he knows better than to trust the distance— they had impossibly good eyesight. Being spotted now would likely spell death, especially with the eyeless dogs around.
He won't go down that easily, though. Legend is quick and quiet with his movements, sneaking through the forest and weaving in between trees. If the giant looks his way, he ducks behind a tree trunk. Simple, but not easy. The dogs are always listening, and a single frantic footstep could spell his doom.
He's lucky, though. Baboon hawks come from the opposite side, squawking and making noise. The dogs growl, and loud roars fill the air as they attack the hawks, knocking two of the bird monsters down easily. The remaining baboon hawks kill one of the dogs, and by then, Legend's made it safely inside the ship.
He closes the ship doors, dropping the heavy scrap metal on the ground. Hyrule turns to face him, eyes wide and fearful. "Don't worry about it," Legend whispers, shaking his head. "Go, now. Before they find us."
Hyrule nods, reaching for the control lever. He pushes it forward, gears clicking as the ship's engine hums to life. They take off, and Hyrule runs out the door, looping around the ship's outer railing to grab the bee hive. He carries it inside, and they escape moon 61-March with a dismal two survivors (and Four's body).
Reaching orbit is like a breath of fresh air. Nothing can hurt them up here. Legend steps over Four's body awkwardly, getting on the computer terminal to view their daily report. Hyrule carefully pulls Four to the side, sitting his limp form up against the ship wall. If he doesn't think too hard about it, he can almost pretend the shiphand is just sleeping.
Legend clears his throat. "We made 589 out of 648," he states, nodding approvingly. "That's an 'A'."
Hyrule grins. They cleaned up pretty good, especially considering the majority of that was things the two of them had found.
The others are brought back to the ship, and the quiet, successful atmosphere immediately dissipates. Everyone is yelling and talking over each other, arguing about this and that.
Legend coughs loudly. Most of the arguing dies down. "As I was saying…" he grumbles, shaking his head. "I was the most profitable. Hyrule was the most paranoid." He scrolls through, nodding. "Four was the laziest. And Wind sustained the most injuries."
The youngest employee glares at Wars. "Wonder who's fault that is?"
Wars sighs.
Four taps Legend on the shoulder, pointing at the terminal. Legend nods, stepping back to let him take over. "There's been three new bestiary entries," he explains, typing away at the computer. "Circuit bees, which I'm sure we all saw."
Wild chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah… be careful around those."
Four nods. "Thumper." The computer loads further, and the shiphand lets out a grunt. "Oh, ew. That's… horrifying."
"They aren't pretty, no," Time agrees.
"They chase after anything they see, but they can't track you by sound," Four explains, scanning through the information page. "They can't turn corners very well." He shakes his head, grimacing. "And the last one is… baboon hawks."
"Fuck those stupid fucking birds!" Wind huffs, shaking his head.
"Language," Time warns.
Four sighs. "They like to collect things, so don't leave items around them. They're stronger in a pack or nearby their nest."
Wind points an accusing finger at Wars. "You got me killed!"
"How is it my fault!?" Wars exclaims, waving his arms. "And I got killed too, remember?"
Wind crosses his arms, huffing. "Stupid ass… motherfuckers…" he mumbles under his breath. Time sighs deeply, but doesn't call him out on it.
Legend clears his throat. "Okay, so those idiots died being stupid, but what happened to the rest of you?"
"Spider," Twilight explains, wrinkling his nose. "I didn't see it."
"Thumper got me," Time sighs.
Wind throws up the middle finger at Wars. The captain returns the gesture.
Wild chuckles. "The bees got me."
"Hubris got you," Twilight corrects, snorting. Wild laughs and nods his agreement.
Hyrule glances at Four. "What got you?" he asks quietly. His voice his barely more than a whisper, but it's a whole lot more than they've heard from him before.
"Good question." Four turns toward Sky. "Sky, what killed me?" His expression is unimpressed, but a hint of amusement dwells beneath the surface.
"Ah…" Sky chuckles nervously. "I threw an easter egg and it exploded…"
Four nods. "It killed me instantly."
"And I was launched into the lake, so I drowned," Sky finishes. He grimaces a little at the memory.
Legend nods, humming. "Okay, so five of you died to stupidity. Great job."
Hyrule giggles. Twilight grins. Even Time lets out a small snort.
Wars shakes his head. "Alright, alright. Ha-ha. We need to focus on what's more important."
Four pulls up the list of moons. "Out of all the moons we can visit for free, there's only one we've missed," he explains. "Moon 20-Adamance."
Time nods. "Has anyone been there before?" Nobody says a word. Hyrule scrunches his nose, avoiding eye contact.
"It might be worth checking out," Four adds. "Assuming the weather isn't terrible tomorrow."
Twilight rubs his chin. "I'd be interested in visiting," he decides, nodding. "As long as it ain't too bad a place."
"We can discuss it more in the morning, when we know what the weather is." Time sits against the wall, sighing. "But we need to get some rest. We don't want another repeat of today— so please, think about your actions and play it safe."
Nobody argues. Employees settle down quickly, the exhaustion of the day easily lulling them to sleep. Time switches off the lights, sighing softly. Tomorrow would be better.