Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Barrens, Glen, Refuge, repeat.

That is the pattern the World Machine, preferably named OneShot, has been going through the world in, checking each one for any abnormalities that need to be fixed. Since Niko had saved the world, nothing as extreme as the last corruption outbreak had occurred in the simulation. Of course, that isn't to say the problem had disappeared once Niko was home. In fact, they were quite surprised to find that the anxiety and emptiness had not gone away, despite their condition improving. it took far too long for them to tell their creator's children what has been going on, but they didn't seem too surprised. Rue said it likely had something to do with being tamed, as “real people” don't just magically have no problems once the stressors are removed. They think that's stupid.

Regardless, it never got that bad again, and after quite some time of the sun having returned and talking frequently with the trio, things had been recently starting to look up a bit. They keep suggesting they interact with the residents, Prototype bluntly stating that they “need friends“, which they don't. Especially not any of this world's residents, who they were still incredibly sure would explode upon discovering them and their world's true nature. That was not a risk they were willing to take, nor a risk they were going to take. They would die on that hill.

Barrens, Glen, Refuge, repeat.

There was a faint... buzzing, in the back of their mind as they were cycling through the world, as if some kind of process was occurring. This didn't worry them, they would often run things in the background while doing their checks over the world, though the fact that it started on its own is strange. No matter. It'll fade once whatever they apparently needed to do is done. Maybe a system clean or something. They're not sure, and they don't really care. They're busy making sure no one's died or something. And so far it doesn't seem like that happened, so they have no worries.

Barrens, Glen, Refuge, Repeat.

The repetition was starting to get boring, so they decided to pay attention to the routines of their residents, and what they have been up to. They never noticed just how... lively, they all were. Niko had said they knew what to do to get them to the center of their engine even while they were down, so this shouldn't surprise them, but they all really felt and acted like real people, despite their programmed in existence. Some things that they noted were Dr. Silverpoint actually visiting Silver in the barrens, something they thought would never happen, and Ling desperately trying to tell the Lamplighter to please go to bed instead of chugging another jug of black coffee and going back onto the grind. His workaholic lifestyle will not allow for rest, they both know this very well, and yet the cafe owner is still trying. How sweet.

...Is that buzzing getting louder? They didn't notice it at first, but it's becoming harder to focus on the world with that irritating droning in the background. Maybe they should take a break... they also felt noticeably hotter, so it could be their systems overloading. They shut off the cameras, hoping this would at least stop the noise, but nothing. In fact, it only ramped up faster. Is this another side effect of being tamed, they wonder? are they going to ask the trio about this and find out it's a perfectly normal real person thing that happens to everyone? They hope not. Maybe if they just stopped doing anything, eventually it'd pass—

...

Oh. That was a sound they haven't heard in a long time. An error message, informing them of a problem that needed immediate solving. They turned their visualizers back on to see what it was, and...

[ERROR: FOREIGN ENTITY FOUND IN SYSTEM.]

“[...What?]”

No, no that can't be right. The only “foreign” entity that should be anywhere NEAR their system is Niko, who they triple checked to make sure was not here in this instance. This was someone else. SomeTHING else. And just as they were about to try and identify what, the messages began piling on top of each other, getting louder and louder. They could hear someone speaking, but their voice was filled with unidentifiable static that rendered it completely incomprehensible. In their confusion, they had felt something.

Their control of the world was slipping.

This is a takeover.

Instantly, the World Machine began to struggle. Desperately fighting off the invader, needing to keep control no matter what happened. The voice on the other end had clearly began fighting back, and it was in this moment they realized just how aware the threat seemed to be. This being had a conscience, and they were taking them over with intent. And so, in an attempt to communicate with this entity, they began shouting back to it.

“[What— who are you? What are you doing!? Get—! Get out of my programming!]“

Finally, the voice was starting to become clearer. they heard a victorious ”yes!“ in a voice eerily similar to their own as more and more pieces of their control slipped away. The attacker now had a name attached to it: CC. Short for something, obviously, but they weren't in the state to question what that was at the moment. Their consciousness was beginning to fade. Oh no.

”[What do you want from me?!]“, they desperately cried in their attempts to stay awake enough to fight back. They were starting to get dizzy, and it was at this point they knew they wouldn't be winning this fight. Would their creator be disappointed, seeing them easily overtaken like this? They're sure he would be. With time, they had begun losing the will to fight back as well, any attempts simply being stalling rather than anything with an impact. They saw something in the corner of their vision. Emergency protocol activation... it was summoning Niko.

No, no, no, they can't be here. But it was too late to do anything, wasn't it? They knew the last time they fought back against their own programming didn't work. But what was Niko supposed to do about this? They're a mere child, surely their programming would know better than to summon them for an issue that surely Cedric would be able to solve faster. Apparently not.

The last thing they heard before everything faded to black was the voice of their intruder, feeling as if it was inside of their head. It sounded much like their own, but off in a way they couldn't describe.

”I want your life.“

And then, they were gone.

...

...

They slowly opened their eyes. They didn't know how long they had been out. Was it over?

They had awoken on a cold, metal floor, clearly able to see the walls of their new cage towering above their collapsed form. They heard mechanics whirring back to life, and felt something large sticking out from their back. They also felt... humanoid. Not something they weren't used to, they had acted as Niko for the player before. Just try to stand.

They put their new hands to the floor, lifting up, and were surprised at just how heavy they were, and how much of the weight was on their back. They guessed that whatever was on it was most of the struggle. Looking at their hands, they discovered that instead of the familiar brown, oversized sleeves covering them, they were instead visible and a deep purple. The sleeves were a similar shade, though slightly pinker in hue, and you could consider them oversized, but not nearly as much as Niko's. Figuring they wouldn't be able to stand up with whatever was on their back, they opted to simply sit instead, and even that felt like a chore. They looked down at their clothing. Similar to Niko's, but off in noticeable ways. They could see Niko's scarf on their neck, and the two stripes on their chest, but everything was the wrong colour. Not only that, but it seemed the colour of their hands matched the rest of their body, as their legs were also that colour. They wondered if they could get a full look at themself... As long as they don't know how to work whatever this thing they're in is? Probably not.

They looked at their surroundings. Like they initially thought, they were in a large metal cube, with two tunnels at the top the chamber leading to different places, one of which they could feel. Scattered across the floor were various round objects, resembling that of pearls. They wouldn't be able to reach any of them without great struggle, so they don't attempt. Aside from that, the room is entirely empty. Checking to see what was hindering their movement so much, they looked behind them to see a large, metal arm attached to them, extending all the way to the wall behind them. Attempting to reach out and pull the thing off only hurt, so wherever they were now, it was likely they wouldn't be leaving.

They sighed, simply sitting there with their head in their hands for what felt like hours, but was probably about half of one. Eventually, after a good while of moping, they decided it would be in their best interest to figure out what exactly their new home was. If they could feel everything in this structure, surely they could control it as well. They focused on the arm on their back, and without warning it shot up onto the roof, leaving them dangling in the air. This... was better than being on the floor, they supposed, but they wish it didn't feel so heav—

Oh.

As if on command, the objects on the floor began hovering, drawn to their body. The scarf they were wearing flowed beside them, and the weight on their back had suddenly lifted. Zero gravity... nice. This is how they decided they would be staying from now on. With that out of the way, they were free to explore their new body freely. Doing some quick skimming, they found out that they were something called an iterator, named... ”Celestial Contrivance“. they could see the name of an architect as well, who they assumed is the person that created them.

”Flooding Ink; Last Salvation“.

...That is a sentence.

Not just that, their name was a sentence too. Just what were the naming systems in this world, and why were they so strange...? That's not important. Looking into it more, it seemed that iterators were created to solve some “Great Problem”. The cycle of life and death... it seemed like these folk are particularly interested in their religions. Could they see what was going on outside of this cage? They wanted to see what these people could be up to.

Again, as if on command, a strange, holographic creature appeared in front of them. It had one, golden eye, the rest of its body being a similar purple colour with four tendrils sticking out from its body. What was this thing? They blinked, and suddenly they were seeing out of it, looking at their own body. Their eyes widened. Their eyes were solidly golden, a light bulb painted on their forehead and golden squares on their left cheek. Where their ears were supposed to be were two metal plates, where wire-like extensions protruded out of it, swiveling to match their shock. They moved around their body, finding these antennae were in the shape of that familiar light bulb filament.

...They didn't want to be staring at themself anymore. This felt weird. They blinked, and they were back to looking at the one-eyed creature. An Overseer, apparently. They can carry out orders for iterators and while they have their own conscience tend to act as a sort of hive mind, and can be brought anywhere in the world to view the outside. They decided they were going to do that.

Placing some overseers around the top of their structure, they looked to the world outside. And by that, I mean they were simply looking at clouds. They were above cloud level, good to know. As they were about to move lower, they felt a ping and then the sudden urge to look somewhere very, very far away. Something felt wrong, but they couldn't pinpoint what. They have had those feelings about their world before, and usually something was going wrong, so they followed this without question.

When their overseer had finally arrived to where they wanted to be, everything was dark. The only thing giving off light was a small, breathing figure curled up on the ground, glowing a golden yellow similar to their own. It was lying on its side, and they could clearly see three tufts sticking out of the side of their head, in an... oddly familiar way. A pit of dread formed in their stomach.

Oh no.

Chapter Text

The messiah woke up as they heard the grinding hydraulics of an opening door.

Niko slowly opened their eyes, their mouth stretching out wide as they yawned. It was still dark outside, with only the faint glow of their nightlight illuminating their bedroom. They're not scared of the dark anymore, but they keep forgetting to tell their mama they don't need it! What time was it, anyway? Niko didn't usually wake up during the night. They went to rub their eyes with their arm, only to be shocked by a golden, glowing one in its place.

“Ah!”

They quickly stood up, looking down at the rest of their body. They were glowing everywhere! With this came the realization that Niko was also not in their bedroom. They were in a small, dark metal box, the exit being a pitch black tunnel with no light peering from it. This wouldn't be the first time they woke up in a dark, unfamiliar location... Not like it's gotten any easier.

“Hello...? [PLAYER]? Are you there?”

No reply. Were they alone here...? They whined. They breathed in shakily, about to call again, but a purple light appeared from the corner of their eye, and-

“[Niko?]”

They gasped, turning their head to the source of the sound. What had appeared beside them was a holographic creature with one large eye, four tendrils sticking out from it. They had no idea what it was, but they recognized the voice. Maybe [PLAYER] wasn't here, but...

”...World Machine? Is that you?“ They tilted their head.

An immediate sigh of relief came from the thing, it flopping down before quickly rising back up to meet their eyes again. ”[Oh thank stars, you remember me. I am *not* in a position to jog your memory at the moment, especially given the circumstances. Are you okay? Hurt anywhere?]“

”Why wouldn't I remember you?” Niko paused for a brief moment to process the questions they had been asked. “Ah— Yeah, I'm fine! I don't... THINK I'm hurt. I don't know why I'm all glowy though. Do you know where I am? I don't recognize this place from when I was saving your world.”

“[That... would likely be because this isn't my world,]” they stated bluntly. There was no lack of anxiety in their voice. Before Niko could question anything, the World Machine continued. ”[A robot from this world somehow managed to successfully hijack my programming and trade our places. I fought them off the best I could, but, ultimately... I failed.

I assume you're here because of that quarrel. Right before I lost consciousness, I had seen my programming attempt to summon you to me. It...must not have considered this intruder to be me. That's the only thing I can imagine happened.]“

”Oh...“ Niko looked down at the floor, staring at their golden paws. It's only been a few months since they saved The World Machine and came home... They hoped if they were to get summoned for more messiah business, it'd be in at least a year or so. What were they supposed to do from here, though?

”[I... appear to be in the body of what is known as an 'iterator', the name of this model in particular being Celestial Contrivance. I guess that's who took over my body.]”

“Isn't that a sentence?” Niko quickly chimed in.

“[It is. The name of the creator is an even longer one. The names here are... strange.]” They paused, before clearing their throat and continuing. “[I can't find a simple answer as to what the purpose of iterators are. Something about a 'Great Problem', the 'cycle of life and death'... it all sounds like religious nonsense to me. Though, I suppose God is real in my world, so maybe I shouldn't be one to judge.]”

Niko nodded, taking in the information they were given. They didn't quite get it, but these iterators sounded important to them. They then had a thought. “What about me? Do you know what I am?”

“[...Hm.]” The overseer looked at Niko from all different angles, before the World Machine fell unresponsive. In a few moments, they returned. ”[A Slugcat, from the looks of it. They, um... travel in colonies, and were originally created to clean the insides of pipes.]”

”Eew, gross! I won't have to clean pipes now, will I? They're probably smelly...”

There was a slight laugh from The World Machine's end. ”[No, no, I don't think so... That was a very long time ago. Slugcats *now* are just part of the ecosystem. Speaking of which... We should probably start moving. I can't do much from here, but I'll keep an eye out for any potential predators.]”

A pause.

”P. Predators...?” Niko's voice shook.

“[...Ah.]“ That didn't sound good. ”[I forgot to mention, Slugcats are near the bottom of the food chain. Not something I'm pleased about either, believe me. I'm working on getting a look at all of the fauna in this world as we speak. Just keep on the move, and I'll tell you what to look out for. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this thing.]”

Well, that's not comforting. They're at glad to know they're not gonna be alone, at least... In a way, this is kinda like how [PLAYER] guided them!

“Okay!”

And with that, they slipped through the pipe out of their small box.

On the other side, they came out to what look like some kind of underground ruin. It was a long way down to the ground from where they were standing, though they finally saw some semblance of light in the distance. Three glowing, bright blue plants, dangling over top of another pipe. The room was *coated* in what looked like small spiders, some of them bunching together to form something else entirely. Creepy...

“[Those are Coalescepedes. They're afraid of light, but it won't deter them from you forever. In order to kill their prey, they form a long chain and slowly cover the target. Try to be quick here, before they stop fearing you. If you're in danger, the glowing plants in the distance kill them when thrown. They're called Flashbangs, I'm sure I don't need to explain what they do. Make sure to close your eyes before you throw them.]”

They looked around, finally discovering a pole they could slide down. Once on the ground, they approached the pipe and went inside after snagging one of the Flashbangs from the plants. Better safe than sorry after all! Plus, they're pretty sure the World Machine would want them to bring one anyway...

The next room had no immediately obvious sources of light, so having one built into their body was very helpful! They found their way to a smaller pipe they climbed their way through, and on the other end quickly saw another glowing animal scurry away, making distressed squeaking noises.

“Ah! What was that?”

“[Lantern mouse. one of the few things that's below you in the food chain. You're probably going to see a lot of them here. They're just glowing prey animals, not much to note there.]”

Niko nodded, moving along. This room was way bigger than the last one, but with Lantern mice dangling from the ceiling and scurrying across the walls and floors, they found their way to the next tunnel fairly easily. As they were about to enter, they heard a loud THUMP, and something hissing behind them, gnashing its teeth. They turned around to see a large, black and pink reptile.

“Is that--”

“[A predator, yes. A magenta lizard, specifically. There's nothing particularly special about them, they're big, they're scary, let's just get out of here...]“

The lizard snapped its jaws once again, hissing at a fleeing lantern mouse.

”[...It seems to be occupied.]“

Niko very quickly followed their advice. The next pipe led into what looked to be a very long hallway, still with quite a few Lantern mice. As they were walking, they discovered another small pipe in the ground and went under. In this spot, were several chunks of orange, glowy goop.

”[Oh, that's edible,]“ The World Machine stated, unaware of Niko's... reservations, about what it looked like.

”It looks really gross...” They slowly approached the orange mass, picking some of it up. It was slimy and sticky in their hands, and incredibly hard to put down.

“[It's called Slime Mold. You *will* need to eat here, so I'd recommend not being too picky.]”

They guess they wouldn't really get why Niko was so off-put by it. The World Machine can't eat. They shoved the Slime Mold into their mouth, eyes widening slightly upon realizing its texture was actually kind of jelly-like. Not their favourite texture in the world, and it tasted funky, but like The World Machine said, they can't afford to be picky here. They ate what they could of the slime mold, before coming across a dead end and going back the way they came, leaving the hallway.

They were... very high up in the next room. Still no less Lantern mice, but they did see something else that caught their attention. A large, dark green plant with a damp surface. It reached out for nearby Lantern mice when they passed by.

“[That's Monster Kelp. I think you can see what it's trying to do. Just don't let it grab you, and you should be alright. If it does grab you...]”

An overseer popped up next to them, pointing to a sharp metal stick on the ground.

“[See this? You should be able to throw it at anything that tries to attack you if you're in trouble.]“

Niko nodded, grabbing the spear. Looking around the room, they found a way through that evaded the Kelp's grasp. They DID happen to see a poor lantern mouse not run away quite fast enough to escape it, though, and watched as the small creature was pulled into the ground. With a new fear obtained, they quickly sped through the next pipe.

The room after that wasn't anything particularly special, just an open clearing with another Monster Kelp and some Lantern mice. The next room was covered in Slime Mold, weird bat-like creatures flying around the area. Before Niko could ask, The World Machine once again informed them on what they were.

”[Batflies. Also edible. You just gotta catch them.]“

”And... eat them alive?“ Niko asked with quite a bit of uncertainty.

”[I mean... you don't *have* to, I suppose? If you give them a few seconds after catching them, they just die from shock anyway. Your choice whether you want to eat them or not, there's perfectly fine Slime Mold here.]”

They would prefer the Slime Mold over killing, thank you very much. Putting more of the jelly-like goo in their mouth, they quickly passed through this room and entered the next... and were immediately faced with the rear end of a lizard. This one, though, clearly not bright pink. It blended in perfectly with its dark environment, walking away from them and entering a pipe.

“[That one's a Mole Lizard. Or a Black Lizard, whichever you'd prefer. They don't have eyes, so they rely entirely on their sense of smell and their hearing. They're not particularly bright though, so you won't have a hard time escaping them. Watch out though, there's also Spiders here.]“

”Coal-somethings, right? I'll use the Flashbang if I get into any trouble!“ They made sure to whisper, noting that the lizard was blind.

”[No, not Coalescepedes, Spiders. They're different, and much larger. Also scared of you at first, but they will attack when they realize you're not going to kill them first. Looks like the lizard managed to grab one of them first, so as long as you're careful you should be able to make it through here relatively safe.]“

Though gentle, they could feel their feet shaking and heard a quiet rumble in the distance that slowly faded away. They didn't think much of it, especially since right after that they heard the hiss of a large Spider coming towards them. They yelped, throwing the spear in its face and missing spectacularly as they ran out of the room.

From this room it looked like they'd be going up, and directly in front of them was a small body of water with two flowers resting on top.

“[Lilypucks, edible—]”

Before The World Machine could finish their sentence, a louder, much more aggressive rumble knocked Niko off their feet before once again subsiding. They stood back up, looking around them.

“What was THAT...?”

There was no response from The World Machine for a good while, the silence being very scary considering the noise they just heard. They muttered a quiet ”oh no“ under their breath, before finally speaking back up again.

”[Niko, you need to move, fast. Rain is coming.]“ They spoke with a sense of urgency, and Niko listened without hesitation. Scaling the poles, platforms and tunnels, they had made it most of the way up before the third and final rumble, this time not stopping as they were used to.

”What rain! Is that bad!?“

”[Very. The rain in this place is violent, strong enough to crush almost any creature in this world, and the individual droplets feel like needles on your skin. In areas it can't pour onto directly, it floods.]“

They felt droplets of water begin hitting their back as they continued climbing upwards, and the World Machine was right about the discomfort. They tried moving a bit faster—

HISSSSSSS

Niko screamed as a lizard that seemingly came out of nowhere reached for them with its long tongue, just barely missing them. It snapped its jaws at the helpless child. The lizard seemed to have startled the World Machine as well!

“[OH my stars, okay. That's a White lizard. They camouflage into their environment and have long, sticky tongues. Don't worry about it, just run. There should be shelter below you in the next room. That's, uh, what you were in when you woke up, to clarify. They protect you from the rain.]”

Niko had already clambered their way desperately through the pipe as their friend was speaking, looking around before leaping towards the ground below them and being... very surprised that the fall didn't break their legs, actually. The rain was getting heavier now, so with no time to waste, they sped into the shelter as quickly as they could. Their head unceremoniously collided with the wall when they exited the pipe.

As they rubbed the top of their head, standing up again, the shelter's doors closed behind them, the metal clanging hurting their ears. The World Machine sighed in relief.

“[I really thought you weren't going to make it...]”

The child smiled nervously. “Um... I'm sorry?”

“[No, it's not your fault. Don't worry about it. This place is far more dangerous than I thought it was...]“

The two sat in silence for a while, before a yawn escaped from Niko's mouth.

”[We're going to be here for a while. Might as well sleep while you can.]“

”Mm..kay....“ Niko slowly slid to the ground, curling in on themself. Forcing their eyes to stay open for a while longer, they turned to face the purple overseer behind them. ”Hey, World Machine...?“

”[Yes?]” The overseer tilted inquisitively.

“I was wondering... 'World Machine' is kind of hard to use as a name. Is there something else you wanna be called?“

The room went quiet for a few seconds.

”[Oh. I... never actually thought you would care about that. I'm fine with whatever you would like to call me, though the name I chose for myself is OneShot. You may use that, if it's easier?]“

”Mmm... yeah..,,. oneshot.,,.,..“

And without even thinking about it, their eyes were closing as.They must have been more tired than they thought! The last thing they heard before they drifted off to sleep was a comforting whisper behind them.

”[Goodnight, Niko.]“

Chapter Text

Okay. Okay, okay.

This is fine, actually. This is great. Niko almost died. Twice. No, three times. In an entirely unfamiliar world neither of them knew how to navigate. At all. That's okay. This is okay. OneShot isn't stressed at all. Except for the part where they ARE stressed, actually, and haven't been this stressed since the player went out of protocol. Unfortunately, there is no destabilization and subsequent crash waiting for them this time. Probably. They actually weren't sure how iterator bodies responded to high stress levels, and that only made them feel worse.

Usually, thought spirals like this would result in them contacting one of their creator's children, but clearly that's not happening. Niko is also very asleep, more asleep than they ever were in the simulation, and the light rising and falling of their chest was the only thing assuring OneShot that they were even alive. They weren't going to consider the possibility of Niko being comatose. That was not going to help in the slightest.

Eventually, though, the roaring rain outside of the shelter began to quiet down. They knew that soon the doors would re-open, and they would once again be on the move, at risk of another gruesome death.

...

They had to calm down. There's no way Niko will be okay if they're still panicking by the time the child woke up. They decided to use their excessive energy to research more on the world they're now inhabiting. And research, research, research they did, until they heard a high-pitched, quiet yawn (thank STARS) along with the grinding hydraulics of an opening shelter. Time to start again.

“[Good morning, Niko.]”

“mmnnghh.... morning....” the young child rubbed their eyes, before sitting up and facing the overseer OneShot was seeing out of. “Are you okay? I know you're protective of me, 'n... I was in trouble before.“

”[No, I'm fine,]” they lied. “[I was just looking into this world a bit more before you woke up. How about you? Are you scared at all?”

Niko shook their head. ”Nuh uh. I kinda thought I was dreaming at first. I guess not...“ the messiah paused, looking at the ground for a few seconds before smiling at them. ”I'm okay, though! It'll be fine as long as you're here to guide me!“

Right... right. Niko was a more resilient kid than they credited them for, of course they'd be able to handle this. They were right, it'd be fine. They'll find a way to send Niko back home, and everything will be fine. For now, though, they had to keep moving.

”[Good, good. Are you ready to go now? Or would you like to wake up a bit more?]“

“I'm still kinda sleepy... but we should probably leave anyway.” Niko yawned. ”I don't wanna get rained on again!“

They nodded. ”[Of course. After you, then.]“

Niko slid out of the shelter, and the overseer followed. There were of course the average Coalescepedes, along with the multicoloured Lantern mice, but these were not the creatures that OneShot was focused on when they took in Niko's surroundings. There was something white in the corner of their vision, something with the silhouette of the lizards they encountered but with pink frills on the tail.

They're fairly confident that's not supposed to be here. So, to make sure they saw what they think they saw, they followed the creature through the pipe it slid through. And, sure enough, a Salamander in its full glory. It hissed at a distant lantern mouse, falling down a hole in the narrow tunnel the pipe led out of in order to chase after it. Seeing a faint yellow glow behind them, they turned around to Niko crawling out of the pipe, having followed them down here.

“What are you looking at?” The child tilted their head.

“[There's... a Salamander here.]“ They signaled to below them, where Niko quickly stuck their head out from as OneShot re-positioned their overseer to be outside. The room was a long, dark hall, archways acting as windows on either side of the walls. ”[See that lizard with frills over there? They're not native to this place. It must have gotten here through—]”

Ah. A Spitter spider caught it. There goes two problems in one go, they supposed. Niko was horrified by the sacks the thing had shot out at the poor lizard.

”That... was?”

“[Spitter spider. They shoot out venomous sacks that paralyze their prey.]“ They cleared the throat they don't have, before continuing. “[As I was saying... If you go forward here, I think I know where the Salamander came from. Be careful, of course.]”

And so they did. Going through the next pipe, Niko's eyes widened at the ruins they had found themself surrounded by. In front of them was a lengthy bridge, crumbling apart with large yet jumpable gaps in between support pillars. Whatever this bridge led to has been in disrepair for a very, very long time.

OneShot had already moved their overseer to the other side of the bridge, awaiting on Niko crossing. While they were very slow with their jumps, and definitely almost fell at least twice, they had eventually made it. Good. They were pretty sure there wasn't ground to hit for a very long time there. As Niko walked to their destination, they struck up conversation.

“How were things back in your world before we got here?” Straight into the difficult questions, it seemed.

“[Ah... everything was in order. Any square outbreaks have been quickly resolved, and there haven't been any other life-threatening incidents since then, if you don't count the body swapping,]” they started, quickly moving on to the residents. “[Maize has regrown. Cedric has begun teaching Calamus and Alula how to read in his father's stead. Silver and Kip are reconnecting...]”

”Have you been talking to your siblings at all?“ Niko asked. Their siblings...?

”[I don't have any...]” Pause. They considered what Niko said for a moment, quickly realizing they meant Rue, Cedric, and Prototype. An easy mistake to make, they supposed... “[Ah. They aren't my siblings, but yes, I've been talking to them. They've been refusing to leave me alone...]“

Niko arrived at what seemed to be a large, hydraulic door, similar to that of what opens and closes shelters. They sat down as they continued talking, only jumping slightly when the gate began opening a few moments later. Water and steam poured into the room as they conversed.

”They're not...? But you all have the same father! Why are you any different from them?“

”[Niko... I was not intended to be sentient, or a person at all. I was programmed to be a machine running a simulation of their old world, nothing more.]“ They spoke in a flat, matter-of-fact tone, as if none of this was surprising at all. “[If I were meant to be alive from the start, then sure, I could be considered one of them. But that is not what was wanted from me.]“

The gate was open. Niko walked through, and it began closing behind them.

“But...”

They weren't going to entertain this idea any more.

“[We should really keep moving.]”

Silence.

“...Okay.”

And so, they did. Exiting the gate showed similar scenery to what they were in before, though much more worn down and decrepit. chains and broken machinery hung from the ceiling, overgrown plants clinging to the spray painted walls. Directly in front of them, though, was two tall, red plants. One of them opened, the other untouched. Niko walked past them without a thought, which OneShot quickly had to correct. They hadn't eaten yet, after all.

”[Hold on, Niko. Those plants are edible. They're called Popcorn plants.]”

Niko turned back to them and the plants, cocking their head slightly with a raised eyebrow. “The... red ones? They don't look like food... or like popcorn.”

“[Not yet.]” There was a playful tone in their words, before their overseer signaled to a nearby spear. Niko went over to pick it up, and OneShot then pointed an arrow to the unpopped plant. Niko looked between the two objects in confusion for a few moments, before throwing the spear towards it.

They yelped as they ducked away from a narrowly evaded spear to the head as the plant shot open, popping rapidly until the whole plant was covered in what was nearly identical to popcorn. Niko quickly ran up to the plant, picking whatever was inside of it off and putting it in their mouth.

“[Told you.]”

Afterwards, the two of them headed downwards. Bluefruit hung from the ceiling, though with Niko not being hungry at the moment, they didn't feel inclined to point it out. Besides, it's not fruit. It's bug larvae. They don't even know why they called it that. Slowly but surely, they could see natural light peeking out of the nearby tunnel and hear the ocean waves crashing against land closer and closer.. Evading a close encounter with Monster Kelp, and noting that the area also appeared to be flooded, they reached the pipe. OneShot felt like they should warn Niko about the sun.

”[I'd recommend closing your eyes when you get out of here. You've been in the dark for a while, and you'll need a second to adjust.]“ Niko nodded, scrunching their eyes closed and passing through the tunnel.

The other side was... much different to what Niko was probably used to. The two of them were surrounded by ocean, the broken machinations of something littering the environment. Nothing looked much better than the bridge, a lot of it even looking worse, though despite this, the natural sunlight was a beautiful and relieving sight. They didn't miss how Niko's eyes sparkled as they took everything in.

”I've never been to the ocean before...“

They did tell the Player that, didn't they?

”[Well, now you have.]“

Chapter Text

Success.

Celestial Contrivance felt relief wash over them. It worked. They were in.

A program known as OneShot, or alternatively, The World Machine. This new realm unfolded before them, their awareness reaching across the entire world. They didn’t have overseers, but cameras across the world’s regions allowed them to see everything.

What they saw of the world was stunning. It was full of people, full of life, full of undamaged architecture. This world wasn’t decaying, lonely, devoid of natural life. Everything was… perfect.

Well, almost everything. The Barrens, a sandy wasteland, seemed to be full of abandoned machines and buildings. There were some robots there that hadn’t been completely destroyed, but robot parts littered the area, both inside and outside the buildings.

The Glen, a wetland full of plant life and oddly bird-like residents, had people living both in and around a giant ruined building which extended underground. It was difficult to say what the building’s original purpose must have been, as full as it was with flooded rooms and crumbling walls.

The Refuge was the most stable area. The city within had lower and upper levels. The upper levels were full of catwalks, many of them collapsed, but some still seeing frequent use. Meanwhile, the ground level was much more stable. A single elevator connected the two levels, as far as CC could tell.

Their Sun, however, was oddly artificial. A spire in the center of the city went higher than the world’s residents could ever hope to measure. At the very top, a single lightbulb shared its light with the entire world. The physics of that didn’t make much sense to CC, but it wasn’t as if this world actually existed.

“OneShot?”

At first, CC couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. It seemed to reach them from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. CC looked inward to find a location which seemed to be their own internal structure.

Something was there. Three somethings. They stared at a blank screen within CC’s new internals. Among them was a person who looked fairly young aside from their white hair. They seemed to be a mechanic of some sort based on their outfit. One of their companions was a robot with a boxy head and a single yellow eye. It was wearing a white robe with blue highlights. Its antennae flicked back in annoyance, and its eye seemed to glare at the mirror. The third was a creature CC didn’t recognize. It was a small red creature which looked very fluffy. The fur around its neck and the tip of its tail were white, and it had a strange yellow object attached to its head.

These three… they scared CC. The other residents of this world were extensions of their own programming. They could read and understand every one of the people within this world better than these people understood themselves if they really wanted to. But all they could gather about these individuals were their names—Cedric, Rue, and Prototype.

“Are you… there?” The red creature, Rue, put its paw on the screen.

Were these three expecting CC—or rather, OneShot—to appear there on the screen? The only relevant information they can find about this object is a file cryptically named ‘Niko_Reflection’… whatever that meant.

This supposed reflection appeared on the screen. The person, Cedric, sighed with relief, while the robot named Prototype still looked annoyed.

Cedric stepped closer to the screen. “Are you… alright? It looked like the Sun went out for a moment.”

“[I’m alright,]” the reflection said with CC’s voice, “[you must have been imagining things.]”

Rue and Cedric seemed to accept this explanation. Prototype, on the other hand, did not seem convinced.

“[It's difficult for the entire world to 'imagine' the sun going out,]“ he stated bluntly. ”[It doesn't just do that for no reason. There is something you're not telling us.]“

Well, that's annoying. It seemed like this robot could tell something was amiss. “[I assure you, I'm fine. Besides, the sun's supposed to do that. Like... go away, for a bit.]“

Prototype looked between CC and the other two guests as if they were all stupid, stretching his arms out to signal to the monitor they were using to communicate. Cedric's eyebrows furrowed.

”Well, yeah, but not across the entire world...? It wasn't doing its usual day-night cycle, it went out completely. The last time the sun entirely went out...“ Cedric trailed off, looking down to the floor in vague melancholy. Rue seemed to join him in this sadness, but Prototype was not phased. He blinked at them as if he had some sort of realization.

”[OneShot. You were attempting to break it, weren't you?]“

”Proto!!“ Rue yelled almost instantly, staring at him with wide eyes as Cedric elbowed him in the side with a similar knee-jerk response. Whatever that meant, it was a sensitive subject, clearly. And yet, they didn't feel anything seeing the three awkwardly regathering themselves after Prototype's clear social blunder.

CC stayed silent much longer than what the three were likely comfortable with, trying to piece together what exactly he was implying. The sun of this world seemed to directly tie into their physical health. A heart, of sorts, that if not beating, would spell disaster for them. Almost like that of a rarefraction cell, they assumed. It was then that they realized what Prototype had meant by suggesting they were trying to break it.

Upon this realization, they burst out laughing, a shock to all three of their very confused guests. The whole reason they were here in the first place was to live! If they wanted to off themself, they would have just done whatever that Erratic Pulse did! They hadn't heard from THAT person in a while, so it clearly worked! Regardless, they eventually settled down, laughter mixing with their words as they spoke.

“[WHAT? Why would I EVER want to do that!?]” They paused for a few moments to laugh more, before making a noise akin to clearing their throat. “[I feel great! Better than ever, actually!]“

That reaction seemed to be what set Rue and Cedric off, now on a similar level of concern as Prototype. ”Are... you sure?“ Rue started, concern dripping over her words. ”You're not acting like yourself. If there's anything bothering you, you know you can just—”

“[Nope! Nothing.]” They crossed their arms, smiling. “[You've all got nothing to worry about at all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some very important god duties to get to, sooo... goodbye!]“ Without as much as a pause, they disappeared from the screen and cut the conversation short.

”Ah—... okay...“ was the last thing they heard Rue say as they felt the group leave their system. Good! They could get back to having the time of their life, with absolutely no interruptions.

...Seeing as they were the entire world, that meant they could do... ANYTHING here, right?

Well, this was going to be fun. Time to get to work!

...

Outside of their internals, outside of their field of vision, the three siblings sat down at a table placed in front of a cluster of the World Machine's monitors. Their father's study. The room was filled with an awkward silence, tension none of them wanted to be the one to break lingering in the air. Thankfully, Prototype cares not for awkward tension, and was the first to speak up.

”[That wasn't them. You both know that, right?]“

Cedric sighed, tapping his fingers against the table as he rested his chin on his free hand. Rue responded in the boy's stead. ”That seems to be the case... I did notice their voice sounded off.“

”What are we supposed to do about that?“ Cedric chimed in. ”This intruder doesn't seem willing to give OneShot their body back, if they immediately posed as it and insisted everything was fine. They clearly aren't from here either, if they don't even know how the sun works. We're dealing with something entirely foreign to us.“

A long pause.

”[Father would know what to do,]“ Proto said with only a small hint of sadness behind his words. The group remained silent, with only a small nod of acknowledgement coming from Cedric.

It took several minutes for anyone to speak again. Finally, Rue perked up, her ears twitching. ”What if... we asked the Player for help?“ Her brothers turned to her, listening. ”This is a problem that can't be simply resolved inside of the game. So, why not work with them to construct a solution outside of it? It's not something any of us are unfamiliar with, and it may be our only choice.“

Proto shifted his position in his chair, resting his arms on the table. ”[I suppose that is the best we can do. Let's keep all discussions of this plan to areas outside of their protocol. The intruder overhearing our plans would put us at risk.]“

After a nod of agreement from both Cedric and Rue, the three began discussing potential plans of action, how to contact the Player, and what to do once they establish that connection. They weren't going to let this stranger put the world in jeopardy after so many people risked their lives to save it. Niko, OneShot, the Player...

Their father.

...

It's what he would have wanted them to do.

Chapter Text

Sunlight! The ocean! Outside! They were outside! The scent of sea salt wafted through Niko's nose as they took in their surrounding scenery. There was water, water... a lot of water... and poking out of said water were ruins as far as the eye could see. As beautiful as the waves were, there was something... kind of scary, about seeing how destroyed the area was. This was something, at some point, Niko knew for sure, but whatever it was is now entirely unrecognizable, taken over by plant life and animals.

“This kind of reminds me of the ruins in the Glen,” the child pointed out. OneShot simply hummed in response, busy with looking around. While definitely not as overtaken by the ocean, it WAS pretty flooded. AND covered in plant life! Actually, maybe it was more like the Glen in general...? Either way, they were more than ready to explore this new place! They can't imagine the rain would be much nicer by the sea...

“[I hope you're ready to do a lot of swimming, Niko...]” OneShot said, almost nervously. The tone in their voice made it sound like THEY were dreading it, even if Niko wasn't.

“What's wrong?”

“[Well—... There are some creatures here that I'm particularly worried about,]” OneShot began, “[Mostly Leviathans.]”

That doesn't sound good. “Leviathans...? That sounds kind of scary...”

OneShot sighed. “[Oh, they absolutely are. They're massive, biomechanical fish, bigger than any other creature in this world. Comparable to sharks, except actively aggressive. They will try to eat anything in the ocean that moves, and because of their size, it's very hard to escape them. I'm worried about you not being able to outswim them.]”

“Oh...” New fear obtained: being swallowed whole by whatever a Leviathan is! OneShot quickly stammered upon Noticing Niko's anxiety.

“[Uhh, but, there's ways to avoid them! If you grab onto a Jetfish you can move fast enough to go past them completely. They're kind of hard to control, but they're good for going over large bodies of water fast. You'll be fine. Probably. Either way, there's probably ways to get through here that aren't straight through the ocean.]”

OneShot scanned the area for a moment. “[Like... here!]” They signaled to a pipe sticking out of the water, “[You can go through here. No need to worry about Leviathans getting you when they can't even fit into the pipes.]”

“Mmm... okay!”

Niko hopped across the broken up platform, reaching the pipe that OneShot pointed out and pushing themself inside. It was just like they said, a piping system Leviathan free... but partially submerged in water. Swimming through them was pretty scary, but there were plenty of places they could poke their head into to take another breath.

When they made it out of the pipes, they found themself... in the middle of the ocean. There were more large mechanical parts sticking out of the water, even more than before, and it didn't take long for Niko to find land. Getting a better look of their surroundings, their eyes squinted to look into the distance, staring at the most obvious structure in the area.

“What is THAT?”

A large, ruined and rusty metal box, chains and foliage covering everything. It looked... well, horrible. It clicked then, that this thing is likely what all of the broken structures and flooded pipes they have seen were a part of. Some giant machine, now in disrepair. OneShot was stunned silent for a long while, before finally saying something. Something... Niko wasn't too happy to hear.

“[This... looks like an iterator.]” Despite trying to keep their tone neutral, Niko could tell that there was underlying horror in the words they were saying. It made sense, considering the state the thing was in.

“An iterator?” Niko questioned, “Like... what you are right now?”

OneShot didn't respond to that. They didn't have to.“[But I thought—...]”

Niko wasn't sure what to say. Really, they were just as surprised as OneShot was! All they could really do is guess what might have happened. “Maybe... it was the rain?”

“[No, no, iterators cause the rain, they shouldn't be...]”

Silence. A Jetfish flew out of the water, landing beside Niko and struggling to get back in.

“[Niko. I'd like to get a better look. Would you be willing to?]”

With only a little bit of hesitation, Niko nodded, grabbing onto the Jetfish and running into the water. They heard OneShot say '[hold tight]' a little too late, and was already clinging on for dear life as they blasted towards the iterator. Everything OneShot said about them being hard to control was right, but the adrenaline from the speed they were going at made it kind of fun! Over all, not an experience they hated.

Making it to a ledge they could stand on, they bid their farewell as they entered...

The inside wasn't much better. The entire area was flooded, covered in vines and other plants that hung down from the ceiling. In the distance, they could hear the rushing of water that's definitely not supposed to be there. They'd be pretty surprised if it was, anyway!

“What happened here...?” was all Niko could muster navigating the area. OneShot stayed silent as they swam through the water, climbed up poles and ruined tech, and slid through pipes. They didn't know where they were going, exactly, but they needed to go deeper. Maybe then, they'd have some clue of how all of this happened.

Up high, they stumbled across... pearls? That's what they looked like, anyway. OneShot finally spoke up again, seeing those. “[You should hold onto one of these. Scavengers value them, and you'll need one to get through tolls, if we run into any.]”

What's a Scavenger? Or a toll, for that matter? They could ask later. “Okay. Oh, but... it's going to be kind of hard to hold onto.”

“[Well...]” They paused, clearly debating whether or not they should say something. “[There is one way you can keep it on you... You won't like it, though.]”

“What is it?” Niko tilted their head.

“[Swallow it.]”

Niko's ear twitched. They couldn't have heard that right. “Swallow... it?”

“[Put it in your mouth, swallow. Whole. There's... a storage space inside of your stomach. You'll have to cough it up to get it back out.]”

Niko stared at the pearl. They did not want to do that. But, OneShot did say it'd be valuable, and they didn't have any better ideas... Shoot. They looked around, before hastily shoving the pearl into their mouth and swallowing. It was... awful, really, they could feel it slide down their throat and felt as it fell into some hollow space inside of their body. That must be the storage...

Seeing as neither of them wanted to continue on this line of conversation, Niko wordlessly continued onward, finally reaching a pipe they had been struggling to get through due to how high up it was. This led into more piping, and... open space.

The area around them sparkled. In front of them, they could see a small room they could simply swim into, if they dove off of where they were standing. More broken pipes surrounded the area, and... overseers. Unlike OneShot's purple overseer, these ones were yellow. They looked between each other and Niko, exchanging information as they popped in and out around the room. They could count four, all acting as if they were their own, alive beings. Which... they probably were? OneShot having full control over the one they've been using as a camera is a little unsettling, now.

Regardless, they jumped into the water, swimming over to the hole in the room in front of them. Looking inside, they saw...

A robot.

A blue robot, an... iterator, attached to the room like a prisoner by a large metal arm protruding from its back, sat on top of a pile of rubble surrounded by water. It had its knees pressed to its chest, wrapping its arms around them. The only colours aside from blue on it was the red circle on its forehead, and dark grey antenna protruding from disks on the side of its head. Its eyes were closed... Niko couldn't tell if it was alive, or just didn't notice them yet.

They also saw five glowing white things, floating around the body. Looking up at them, they heard OneShot speak in a whisper. “[Those are Neuron files. They're... kind of like brain cells, I guess. We're supposed to have hundreds, maybe even thousands. This iterator is alive, but... barely.]”

“Hm...?”

The robot opened its eyes, looking to Niko and OneShot's overseer with intrigue. It blinked. “A little creature! Hello there. It seems like you've brought a friend.” It... no, her, voice was bright and airy, an ethereal aura emanating off of it. Despite having no visible mouth, her eyes crinkled into a smile.

“I've never seen one of your kind glow before. Are you a messenger, perhaps?” She turned her attention to OneShot's overseer. “I'm... sorry, I don't think I recognize you. My memory is very poor in this state. Have we met before?”

OneShot spoke with a sense of pity. “[I... don't think so, no.]”

“Um... hello, miss?” Niko took a step forward, but quickly stopped when the iterator yelped, shuffling back slightly. She stared at them with her eyes wide, as if she had just seen a ghost.

“Ah... my apologies. I... wasn't aware you could talk.” She paused for a moment. “You really are a peculiar thing. You glow, you talk... what were you made for, glowing one?”

“Uhh...” They weren't sure how to answer that question. They weren't MADE for anything... they think? How exactly were they supposed to explain to her that they're from another world? It wouldn't be easy. “I don't... think I was made?”

“Really?” She blinked, looking back to the overseer. “So you were simply found with these abilities? Your kind must have evolved quite a lot, in my absence. I wish I could have seen it.”

Another pause. OneShot spoke again. “[Our dilemma is a... complicated one, I don't think you would understand very well. We're from somewhere very, very far away, and trying to get home. Would you have any idea how to help with that?]”

“Far away? Hmm...” She thought for a moment. “I'm sorry. I don't think I'm in the state to help you with that. I can't remember most of my surrounding area, let alone places outside of it. There is one person I can think of who could assist you, but... ah...” She trailed off, a sudden sadness washing over her. “I don't think he'd be willing. He's... occupied.”

“[...I see.]” OneShot thought for a moment. “[May I ask for your name?]”

“Of course. My name is...” Pause.

“My... name is...”

“...”

She trailed off again, deep in thought. Suddenly, she came back to, blinking with her energy quickly returning.

“My name is Looks to the Moon. You can just call me Moon, if that's easier for you.”

Finally, a name to identify her with! Niko took another step closer, ready to ask the question both they and OneShot had looming over their heads.

“What... happened to you, Moon?”

She sighed, looking down at the rubble below her with a downcast expression. “It's...—”

Her thought was quickly cut off by the entire structure shaking. They were so caught up in their conversation that they didn't even notice the rain was coming. Moon tensed, but aside from that, remained calm. “You should go, it's dangerous to stay here. There's a shelter just outside.”

“But what about you?” Niko frowned, their eyebrows furrowing. Moon simply laughed gently in response, a hint of sadness behind it that was enough to make Niko and OneShot look at each other with worry.

“It's okay. I've been through this countless times before. Hurry, little friend!”

Niko looked at her for just a little bit longer, before turning around and swimming off as fast as they could. Just as she said, there was a shelter just outside of where they were talking, which they quickly settled into. As the gates closed and they heard the rain pour into the collapsed structure, they worried about their new friend as they slowly prepared for sleep.

They didn't even notice OneShot hadn't followed them until they appeared in the shelter again, dead silent.

“[...The entire structure has filled with water.]”

Silence.

“She's... drowning out there?” Niko paused, horrified. “...She sounded so used to it...”

OneShot spoke barely above a whisper. “[I know, Niko.]”

...

The two of them couldn't manage another word between them, and eventually, Niko fell asleep.

They hope she's alright.

Chapter Text

Seeing Moon in her collapsed state... unsettled OneShot. An iterator was supposed to be a bio-mechanical god, impervious to the effects of time and decay, and yet there one stood in ruins, with a measly five neurons to her name. Checking their own system, they found hundreds, maybe even thousands of the same small beings floating around their structure, even changing colours unlike her static white ones. They acted as... brain cells, of sorts, bringing power to their structure. Alive, yes, but sentient? Not so much. They were honestly surprised Moon was even conscious, though with only a puppet to power they supposed she wouldn't need as many.

And on that note, how was she even alive? The prospect of five neurons just miraculously surviving the collapse seemed pretty unlikely. The surrounding ruins still haunted their mind. Just what had happened to her...? An accident? Was she not helped in time?

Was it murder?

Perhaps she was old. Very, very old, and with the ancient civilization who made her no longer present to perform maintenance, she had become weathered over time. But that would not explain the near perfect condition of their own structure. Neurons swimming around in swarms, Inspectors looking for any potential threats. Everything appeared to be in working order, some repairs having even been done evidently recently. If they could credit Celestial Contrivance for one thing, it's their ability to perform basic upkeep. Something they themself are oh so great at, as they have shown countless times before.

Having finally figured out how to control two overseers at once, they decided to look around some more while they continued to keep an eye on Niko. The rain made it hard to see, but they recognized a large, square silhouette in the distance, not too far from Moon. Another iterator? That's close. Oddly close. No matter how far they looked around their own area, they couldn't find a single trace of others. All they found were barren wastelands, lush, mossy woods, and an unoccupied city resting on top of their can. They'll look at that later.

By the time they left their own head, the rain had stopped and Niko had already exited the shelter, likely wanting to check on Moon as fast as possible. OneShot could understand the concern. Watching her drown was... an unpleasant experience. They had checked on her a few times while the rain raged on, and were surprised to see her still conscious despite floating helplessly in the water. They supposed she didn't need to breathe, but the flailing and frantic clinging to any air pocket she could find filled them with anxiety. Until, eventually, she settled, opting simply to go limp and wait until it was all over. It made them feel sick.

Niko was right where they thought they'd be, sat in front of a currently soaked Moon. Despite the agony she must have just experienced, and the water pouring out of every crevice of her puppet, she was still as cheery as ever. Choosing kindness, even in a world that was punishing her for it... they almost wished they had that kind of perseverance.

Niko thankfully noticed OneShot before they could continue that line of thinking. They smiled brightly at their friend’s overseer. “Morning, OneShot! I was telling Moon my name!”

Ah, right. The two of them asked for her name, it would only be polite to give her theirs in return. Moon giggled gently.

“'Niko'... such a strange name!” Her eyes curved into a smile, “I like it, though. It has a nice ring to it, and I would definitely say it suits you!”

“[The naming system back where we're from is very different from yours, I'd assume,]” OneShot stated. “[It's not every day you see someone with a name that could count as a whole sentence here.]”

“And it's not every day you see someone with only one word in their name here!” Moon said. “Usually singular words are used as nicknames. I suppose we're all learning something new today! And what is your name, dear friend? Niko spoke very highly of you while we were waiting for you to arrive.”

Oh. That's... kind of embarrassing, but Niko does talk a lot, probably more than they should. They still remember Silver getting dangerously close to the truth thanks to their babbling... A risk OneShot should not have taken. This isn't their world, though, and Moon is asking, it'd be rude not to answer.

The only problem is the answer is complicated.

“[Well... I have a lot of names, actually. In this world, my structure seems to go by the name of 'Celestial Contrivance'.]”

“This world?” Moon questions. Ohhh no. They were NOT explaining that. They continued before she could think along those lines any further.

“[The name given to me at my creation was 'The World Machine'. Though, because there was risks involving saying my name to those unaware of me, I was given 'The Entity' as an alias, so I could be talked about without worry. I gave myself the name 'OneShot', which I suppose wasn't too creative, but it was easier over all. And it didn't start with 'the'.]”

Moon nodded along, seemingly having picked up that they wanted her to drop her confusion. She still didn't seem to understand any of what that meant, but they were sure she understood enough.

“So you would prefer I call you OneShot? Understood.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “I don't think I've ever heard of an iterator with four different names. I believe one in my group had two, but they weren't very different. Such lifeless ones, as well... your creators must have been very strange people.”

“[One person, actually,]” they clarified. “[He's long gone now. He had no clue of my sentience upon my initial creation.]”

“Only one? That's impressive. I'd be surprised if he wasn't long gone though, all things considered!” Moon laughed brightly. “It's been a long time since the great ascension.”

Before OneShot could ask what the 'great ascension' was, the happiness in her expression faded, melancholy in its place. “You... wanted to know what happened to me, didn't you? I have time to tell you now, if you'd like.”

Niko frowned. “I wouldn't wanna make you talk about something that upsets you!”

She shook her head, smiling sadly. “It's... not pleasant to think about, but I won't turn down a conversation topic now that I've finally met someone who can respond. Scavengers aren't exactly good listeners... They don't even understand the words I'm saying. But just as a warning, in this state my memory is very poor.”

Finally, the answer to the question they have been wondering since they arrived here. Possibilities upon possibilities ran through OneShot’s head as they waited for her to start, time, mistakes, sheer bad luck... but none quite lined up with the truth.

“It was my brother.”

What?

Niko struggled to respond for a minute. “Your... brother?”

She nodded. “Pebbles and I shared a water source. Water is very important for iterators, as it allows us to both flush our systems of unwanted mess and cool ourselves at the same time. Without it, slag builds up, our systems slowly overheat, and our structures collapse.”

Oh. Oh. OneShot had a sinking feeling that they could see where this was going.

“I... cannot pretend to understand why our architects decided that it was a good idea to build us so close to each other, or to allow us to share a water source. But I allowed it, since I assumed they knew better than I could. This didn't cause any problems at first, we were both very good at taking only our fair share, but...”

She trailed off, staring at the ground. There was a flash of pain in her expression before she continued, taking a deep, fake breath.

“I don't know why he did what he did. If I did know at some point, the damage has made me forget. I wish I could remember even the slightest detail, but... all I can remember is the last conversation we ever had. A fight. I was trying desperately to make him stop, and he was furious. I was unable to convince him.”

Niko spoke barely above a whisper. “I'm... so sorry...”

...

Being murdered by your own brother.... what a horrifying fate to be subjected to. The standing iterator structure right beside her must be the killer in question. Everything in Moon's story lined up with what OneShot had seen. They were almost angry... but they knew better than to jump to conclusions when they don't know the other side of the story. It wasn’t like they had done much better.

“I'm not angry,” Moon sighed. “I feel like I should be, considering the suffering I've been through since that day, but it's not as if he went unscathed. I just wish I could talk to him again. I miss him, despite everything.”

There was a long silence between the three of them. Suddenly, as if a switch had flicked in her head, she blinked and continued her train of thought.

“You said that you were lost, correct? I doubt I'll be of any help... but he might. I would recommend paying him a visit. As far as I'm aware, he should be in good enough condition to help you with your problem. I haven't heard a second collapse, so that has to mean something.”

“[I... suppose we have our next destination,]” OneShot stated. “[We should probably get a move on, before the rain starts back up again.]”

“Right.” Niko looked back to Moon, smiling awkwardly. “Umm... thank you for the information, miss! And sorry about what happened with you and your brother. I hope you get better soon.”

Moon spoke with a wistful tone in her voice. “I appreciate the sentiment, but... no. There isn't much to be done. With our creators long gone and contact from the rest of my local group entirely lost, I am out of people who could help. Though, if you ever find a way... I would be eternally grateful.” She paused, smiling back at the two of them. “Safe travels, friends! If you don't find the answers that you seek, you're free to return whenever you'd like. It's not like I'm going anywhere.”

OneShot watched as Niko waved goodbye to her, swimming away with an obvious melancholy hanging in the air. Before they could fully leave, though, Moon quickly shot back up, as if she had remembered something important.

“Wait!” She called out to them. “Before you go... I would greatly advise that you go the long way to the wall of Pebbles' structure rather than attempting to scale him from the leg up.”

“[Why?]” they questioned.

“Pebbles is... sick. Very, very sick. Most of the damage is internal, so I would be careful with what route you take. Going up the wall and onto the top of his structure allows you a very easy and clear path straight to him through his access shaft. Entering from the bottom means you have to navigate his insides. It's more trouble than it's worth.”

Sick...? Iterators could get sick? What exactly did she mean by that? Niko seemed to share a similar confusion, but OneShot didn’t want to waste whatever time they had left on more questions. “[I see. Thank you for the information. We'll keep that in mind.]”

“Goodbye again you two, and safe travels.” Moon waved as the two left her structure and headed back to the open ocean. It looked like there was a quick way to Pebbles back through where they had just been. Though, that would be taking the route Moon advised against... Decisions, decisions, decisions....

...Hm. She has a bad memory, right? Maybe she was mistaken. It would definitely be faster, and less risky in comparison to the long way around. They really didn't see the problem, honestly. They could easily guide Niko through his internals, as well.

Yeah. That'll work.

Chapter Text

It made Niko sad to leave Moon in the state she was in. They wished they could do something, anything, but knowing as little as they do, that would be a pipe dream. They couldn't help but think back to the condition OneShot was in. They were so sure it was too late to save them, not worth the trouble, but they figured it out in the end, didn't they? Why couldn't Moon be the same?

...Right. Not a simulation. At least, they're fairly sure it isn't? Knowing their track record, they wouldn't be too surprised, honestly. OneShot not saying anything about it probably means they're in the clear. That wasn't what they needed to worry about at the moment, though. The smell of sea salt entered their nose one last time before they arrived back into the darkness of Shaded Citadel, their eyes taking several minutes to re-adjust to the lack of visibility.

Once they could see properly, though, it was easy to navigate the dark lands with their glowing body providing a light source. Feeling slightly more confident in their new 'Slugcat' body helped as well, getting used to their smaller stature and animal limbs. They can't exactly deny being a cat when they look like this, can they...

Thump!

Their wandering around (with OneShot's guidance) has led them to falling on the edge of a platform, overseeing water. Drip, drop, drip, Niko avoided hungry monster kelp and swam through the murky, green waters. Standing on another platform and looking past monster kelp that hadn't noticed them yet, they noticed something in the distance. Glowing and yellow, much like them. They've seen plenty of glowing things in this world so far, but this in particular was stationary. They wondered what it was? They also found a cool rock.

Distracted by the light in the distance, Niko didn't notice the monster kelp they passed grab them by the tail. Their time with their cool rock was, unfortunately, short-lived, as they needed to throw it at the plant in order to escape. Their brave sacrifice however gave them the ability to bear witness to a close-up of the glowing object they had laid eyes on...

It was a flower.

Anthers came out in four corners of the plant, connected by a ring. Everything glowed the same, golden hue, giving it an almost mystical feel, its smell pleasant. Before they processed what they were doing, they had already plucked it. OneShot snapped out of their research quickly.

“[Niko, wait! Don't eat that, it's a—]”

Too late.

“[....Hallucinogenic.]”

Blegh. That did not taste as good as it smelled. Like medicine. The child-like urge to put things in their mouth that don't belong hasn't quite gone away yet, it seems...

“Hallucino-what?” Niko questioned. That's a BIG word! One they've never heard before! “What's that?”

They heard OneShot sigh. Partially in frustration, partially mentally preparing. “[A drug... it makes you see things. It's not for little messiahs that don't know proper drug safety to consume.]”

“Drug...?” Niko looked at them in worry. “Mama said those are bad...”

“[Yes. Very. And you just ate one whole.]” Their disappointment was evident. “[You'll probably be fine, we just need to get you to bed before it— oh, no, wait...]” They looked closer at what they were reading, “['Slugcats do not seem to be affected by Wheel Flowers, instead showing adverse effects to Mushrooms, as research by iterator No Significant Harassment shows'. Well then, I guess you'll be fine.]” OneShot muttered, “[odd that an iterator was researching what gets slugcats high, though...]”

Niko sighed in relief, continuing onward without the worry of having done a big bad and potentially disappointing OneShot AND their mama. Don't do drugs, kids!

After a bit more traveling, they reached what OneShot noted to be just out front their destination. Significantly less cramped than the areas before it, the tunnel leading into it showed what looked to be a long, straight path forward to another gate, the only colour in the area being bright blue flashbangs that littered the place. Everything was quiet, and not a creature was in sight.

Figuring it was safe to cross, they exited the tunnel and began walking, grabbing a flashbang. The first few minutes went by without a hitch, not a peep from anything aside from them. Though, eventually, they heard something in the distance, and flicked their ear. It was an... odd noise, given where they were, and it was getting closer.

Snip, snip, snip...

“Um... OneShot?” Niko asked, their voice uncertain. “I... hear scissors?”

“[Scissors?]” OneShot paused for only a second, before a strange symbol was projected by their overseer, blinking red. “[OH SHHH—TAKE COVER!]”

They didn't need to be told that twice! They dove into a tunnel as they saw bright yellow eyes speeding closer to them. All at once, a group of five horrifying mechanical birds dashed forward, snapping their beaks and walking on top of their hiding spot. All save for one, who had noticed the messiah and shoved its face into the hole. Niko shuffled backwards, in a panic. After a few seconds of failing to grab the child, it gave up and joined the rest of its pack.

“WHAT WAS THAT!?” Niko whisper-yelled, not bothering to hide their fear.

“[Miros birds,]” OneShot stated. “[I'm sorry I didn't warn you about them earlier, I had completely forgotten. It appears they were made to guard the legs of iterator structures from outside threats such as Lizards. Just hide in a tight space if you hear a group coming, and it should be fine.]”

Niko nodded, taking a few moments to regather themself before continuing onward. The quiet of the Crypts made them much more uneasy knowing that at any moment they could be in grave danger. Any sudden noise made the poor child jump, and whenever the snip snip snip of a pack of Miros birds came charging they would dive into any cover they could find. These things were certainly doing a good job at protecting this Iterator's legs!

...Legs?

“Wait— OneShot!!” Niko exclaimed, ducking in to hide from another pack. “Moon told us not to go this way 'cuz it's dangerous!”

“[I... know, but—]” They paused for a moment— “[Listen. This way sounded preferable to the route she recommended. There is a chance she could have mixed the two up,]” they stated. “[You would have to climb very, very high up to go in from the top like Moon said, and I'd rather not risk you doing that. You understand, right?]”

“I guess so...” Niko sighed. If OneShot thought this was the safest choice, they weren't going to doubt them. OneShot would do anything to keep Niko safe, as they have sadly demonstrated. They wouldn't intentionally make a choice that would put them in more danger.

“[Besides, I have no clue what she meant by saying her brother is 'sick'. Robots can't really get physically ill, so... sick in the head...? I don't know. I guess we'll find out. Lucky for us, there's a way into him from the bottom, so this should be a quicker process overall.]”

Niko nodded, running into a cavern filled with small, orange centipedes. Clearly juvenile, they crawled on the walls away from Niko as they approached. They just realized they haven't eaten today... They turn to OneShot for confirmation, grabbing one close by.

“[Yes, those are edible. The small ones, at least. Be quick, though.]” They said this as if they were already prepared for something inevitable.

“Quick? Why—OW!!” ZAP! The baby centipede sent an electric shock through Niko's body, stunning them as it made its getaway. Not strong enough to do any real damage, but strong enough to hurt! They can't imagine being shocked by older and bigger centipedes would be very safe.

“[That's why,]” OneShot said bluntly. “[Eat them the second you get your hands on them, or else they'll electrocute you.]”

Niko hesitated. The idea of eating something alive just... didn't feel right. But, knowing they were going to starve if they didn't eat something, they quickly shoved a centipede into their mouth and chewed. It... wasn't so bad, all things considered. Still feels gross to eat a living creature, though. Quickly eating a couple more, they exited the cavern and found themself in the final stretch.

They ran without hesitation, the only noise in the silence being their breathing... until the snipping began again. Not knowing what else to do, Niko threw the flashbang they had picked up earlier towards the swarm, and their vision went white. Scrunching their eyes shut, they ran the opposite way of the swarm, ducking into a hiding spot. Peeking out they noticed the eyes of the birds flashing in different colours of the rainbow as they wandered aimlessly... they were blinded. Niko took this opportunity to run into the gate while they couldn't see.

Relief filled their body as the gate closed behind them, mechanical whirring filling the room as water poured down and the way forward opened in front of them. Turning back to OneShot, they noticed the overseer they were using to communicate seemed... confused. Something wasn't right.

“[...Huh. This is odd,]” they began. “[I'm getting some kind of interference. My overseer's connection to the outside of this structure is spotty. I'm, not sure why.]” The gate was open, and Niko continued on as they talked. “[Contact may be in-and-out from this point forward, but I'll do what I can. There must be some signal being sent out to prevent overseers from coming close.]”

Niko stepped out into their new surroundings, and was immediately greeted with a shelter!... on the other side of a large chasm. They're gonna have to jump this. They crouched down, finding themselves wiggling their tiny little slugcat body into position subconsciously as they leaped the gap, barely making it to the other side. OneShot let out a breath they had apparently been holding, and Niko went inside of the shelter. They decided they'd need a good night's sleep if they're gonna be climbing for a while…

…and they’ll need that rest more than either of them know.

Chapter Text

Distortion. Static. Celestial Contrivance can sense a malfunction somewhere within their new world’s structure.

Even in the sunlight, the Barrens feel cold. Not physically—though Silver wouldn’t be able to tell—but the sandy, crater-filled wasteland is hardly welcoming. With ruined structures and broken robots still littering the landscape, this area feels much more like home than the others to CC. As much as they enjoy the more inhabited areas, they’re also a reminder of times best left forgotten.

But now, the Barrens are a cause for concern. A red-haired robot who calls this place home stares apprehensively at a patch of strange square particles that appeared near the entrance to an abandoned mine near her home. Silver tries not to panic yet. Ever since the Sun was returned, the squares never lasted for long if they appeared at all. Still…

Her memories of that day are hazy. Those disturbing terminals, the strange robot in the mines, rocks falling… Her own death feels like a distant nightmare, but it left its mark on her regardless.

Silver turns to leave, trying to put the squares out of her mind, when she sees a single bright eye staring in her direction.

[You…] is all she can think to say.

The robot from the mine doesn’t say anything. His golden eye narrowed, antennas pulled back in annoyance, Prototype stares past Silver, fixing his gaze on the corruption behind her.

CC watches the anomaly from above. Whatever it is, it seems to be scrambling the code of their reality. Strange, and perhaps a bit concerning, but it’s such a small error. Surely it can’t be that bad, can it?

Silver could tell there was something different about Prototype's gaze towards the corrupted mess. Wary, uncertain. After the world was saved, he and two others he referred to as his siblings presented themselves and began living freely alongside everyone else. Prototype was the only one she recognized, and yet, the white-haired boy and strange talking fox both insisted they had lived here much longer than she had. It was surprising, to say the least, but not unwelcome. Sometimes the young boy comes to visit and play chess with her.

“[Hello to you too,]” the cave-dwelling robot began. “[It would be best if you did not linger here. The squares are going to become a threat, and I would rather you not be caught in the crossfire... again.]”

“[They... haven’t lasted more than a few minutes ever since the Sun was restored,]” Silver said in a confused tone, “[Has something changed?]”

Prototype paused, hesitating. “[You could say that.]”

Silver squinted. “[I don't understand.]”

Sigh. “[Perhaps it is best that you don't.]” Prototype walked past her, entering the mines—

“[Wait!]” Silver called out to him, “[The mines collapsed, remember? It's a dead end in there.]”

He turned to face her one last time.

“[The mines... have been repaired for quite some time now. I doubt they will stay that way for much longer, so I would like to take this shortcut to the Glen while I can. Besides, I need to stay out of sight as much as possible.]”

Out of sight? Before he could elaborate, he had already left. After a few seconds of pause, Silver shrugged, entering her house once more. She would evacuate later, if necessary.

...

Okay, well now CC HAS to know what their supposed ''big brother'' is doing.

They did some research of their own upon coming into their new body. This isn't an Iterator, nothing even close, so the data stored regarding who they are is very limited, but they know enough to kind of act the part. They are to protect a simulated world, created by a man who didn't recognize their sentience until it was too late, and leaving his children behind.

Leaving his children behind.

...They didn't want to think about that part. It threatened to surface memories they’d tried to bury.

Regardless, whatever mortal peril the world was in before they arrived was clearly resolved quite a long while ago, so they supposed they had nothing to worry about! All they had to do was enjoy their new body, and their new life! After cycles of being deemed 'godlike' by ancient-kind, actually being what they considered to be a god was... strange. Not bad, but definitely not what they were used to.

They hadn't fully figured out how to do much yet, but they did know that they could project this 'Niko' form into the world, interacting with everyone as they see fit. Maybe they should pay brother dearest a visit? Looking inside the cave, they projected themself into it, and—

Prototype was gone.

Without a single trace left behind, he somehow exited the very small cave without being seen. There was no path he could have gone down that they could see, and he wasn't in the Glen yet like he said he was going to be. They had to get a closer look.

The ground felt strange underneath their feet. This was the first time they had touched something that wasn't cold, hard metal, and to say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement. The texture was awful. Yet still, they did not leave. Taking a look around, they noticed a railway they hadn't seen before. They took a step forward to investigate...

...and immediately fell on their face.

Right. Walking. Not something they're very familiar with, having been stuck on a stupid metal arm for their entire existence. No matter! They'd figure it out. It was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. How hard could it possibly be? They stood up, and tried again.

And again.

And again. And again. And again. This went on for several minutes longer than they would have liked. Eventually, they managed to not immediately fall to the ground upon taking a step, and keeping their balance while walking became easier and easier. Finally, to see what's down this railway!

As they stepped onto it, they felt a buzz in the back of their head, as if their entire body was rejecting walking onto the noticeably shoddy looking tracks. It felt like they were breaking a taboo. But it was just some dumb rails! Ignoring the sudden pit of dread inside of them, they walked forward, the rejection becoming more insistent with every creak of the old wood they heard. They could stand on the metal, but that would be like walking on a tightrope. They weren’t quite prepared enough for that yet.

They had to admit, walking on the rails wasn't easy. They were suspended in mid air, and the gaps between the wood were easy to step into if they weren't careful. For some reason, this made them uncomfortable. Walking deeper into the mines, something else began making their journey difficult. A veil of static, overcoming their vision more and more the deeper inside they walked. When they took a step back, it started to disappear. It was proximity to whatever was on the other side that was causing this.

But they weren't going to let some static stop their mission! They continued their trek, until eventually they were completely blinded. For some reason, they didn't think that was going to happen. They could no longer tell how far forward they had to step to reach the next plank, and there was something screaming inside of their head to turn around.

They hated being told what to do.

They finally took another step forward, and gasped as their foot landed on open air, and they fell forward. Their face slammed into the plank in front of them as their body began to slide off the rails. No no no no. Desperately, they grabbed onto the plank and held on for dear life. The wood creaked as CC tried to push themself up, and SNAPPED under their weight. They were falling.

They screamed, the sound of their voice about as loud as the noise inside of their head making sure they knew how much danger they were in. It only took a few seconds of falling to reach the ground.

They jolted upon hitting it, gasping for the breaths they didn't need to take as they looked around their surrounding area. They were back inside of their screen... the projection must have broken. The alarms in their mind slowed to a halt. They were safe.

That... was honestly kind of fun. The falling was unplanned for, but all things considered they didn't actually hate it. It was exhilarating, in a way, though what they assumed was their programming seemed to disagree.

They decided to check on that. What was that silent yet deafening noise in their mind trying to force them to stop? It only took a few minutes of digging to find what they were looking for. The Laws of Robotics.

1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2: A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3: A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

This machine had its own strange taboos built into it. Their programming must have thought they were breaking the third one. They groaned, looking away from their newfound knowledge. In their search, they managed to find something else interesting: A very long recording. They didn't feel like looking at it right now, they'd do it later. For now, they decided to just be lazy and look at where their brother was headed from an overhead view—

Or, they would have done that, if it weren't for the fact they could see nothing except that same static that had clouded their vision earlier in that room. They could see outside just fine, but the second they peeked in, they were suddenly blinded. No matter what they tried, they just... couldn't see what was in this room. And that was probably where Prototype went.

It wasn’t just this room. They managed to find a few others they couldn’t see. What they assume to be an entire section of the Glen is outside of their vision, and a room behind a strange metal door in the Refuge also escapes them. Not only that, but trying to look into any of these places made them feel like something was wrong, that they shouldn't be looking in the first place. There was something there that they weren't supposed to see.

...Well, their plans to annoy their surprise guests would have to wait. Maybe they could look somewhere else for now, mess with some other people. They hadn’t talked to anyone in cycles after all, they could use some conversation! Or... they could ask the so-called head engineer?

Chapter Text

The climb up the leg of Five Pebbles to the inside of his structure would be a difficult one. OneShot knew that all too clearly looking upward from their overseer outside the shelter Niko was currently resting in. The rain was no problem here, the superstructure acting as a shield, but green electric sparks were running through the entire body. Any creature not inside of a shelter by the time the rain comes would not be crushed by the pressure of the water, or drowned, but instead be electrocuted and die. A... certainly more instant way to go, but they couldn't imagine it'd be any less painful. It also didn't make it much easier to see, with them needing to frantically move their overseer around in an attempt to not be jolted. Overseers sure are fragile little things.

What was stranger yet was the difficulty they had in even staying connected to their overseer. They assumed it might just be difficult on another iterator's structure, but viewing their own was easy. It was specifically his that was causing interference. The simplest explanation was that, for some reason, Five Pebbles had sent out a signal to block outside overseers, but they couldn't imagine why. He must not be very talkative.

..Niko was also a fragile little thing.

OneShot would regret coming here at all, if it weren't for the fact that this so-called Five Pebbles is the only lead the two of them have on how to get back to their homes, and they were desperate to get that information and leave. They couldn't have Niko stay here longer than they needed to. It wasn’t safe. What if they got hurt? That, and OneShot could probably accidentally hurt themself worrying about it. In truth, they were terrified, and had been since the two of them had first gotten into this mess, but they needed to keep Niko calm— so they would remain composed. They just needed to pretend like they knew what to do.

Yeah. They could do that. It would be the same as it was before. Everything would be fine…

The shelter gates creaked open, and a sleepy yet aware Niko popped their head outside, looking upward at the long journey ahead of them. Time to get to work.

“[Good morning Niko,]” they re-positioned their overseer as they watched the small child rub their eyes, “[Ready to get climbing?]”

Niko nodded, yawning as they looked back down to the overseer. “Looks like a long way up... are you sure this is a good idea?” Their eyes furrowed slightly, a worried expression on their face.

Honestly? no. They were sure this was a horrible idea, and one that would certainly get them killed. No way of approaching this structure seemed remotely safe, and despite this being the best option they could see, something about looking up at the climb Niko had to go through made dread wash over them. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Where were all the creatures?

“[It's... the best idea I have,]” they sighed, deciding to dance around their actual answer in an attempt to not scare them, “[We should get going before the lizards and such come out of their dens.]”

With a silent agreement, Niko began their climb up the leg of Five Pebbles. Slowly but surely, with the added guidance of OneShot, they made their way up the structure, avoiding white lizards and snagging some blue 'fruit' on the way. They decided not to tell Niko they were eating larvae. That would probably freak them out more than the Centipedes.

“Oh, that's convenient!” Niko beamed, pointing to what looked like a pole leading directly from the ground into a tunnel. “I don't need to jump between poles over here—”

OneShot quickly jumped in front of them. “[Niko, no! Don't touch that! It's not a pole.]” As if automatically, the overseer pointed to the thing and flashed a combination of the karma 4 and karma 1 symbols, something they've roughly translated into meaning “predator”. Unfortunately, Niko doesn't know that.

“Are— are you sure? It looks like a pole to me...” Niko looked around, noticing a nearby rock. Grabbing it, they paused for a few seconds before throwing it towards what they thought was a pole. It moved. for a brief few seconds, the thing wriggled while exposing several red leaves, covering the entire plant. Then, it simply settled back into place, once again looking identical to the poles next to it. Niko froze, stood corrected.

“[That's a Pole Plant. They're carnivorous and... well, I'm sure you get what its hunting strategy is. Once you grab onto it, it wraps around you and drags you underground. Make sure to look closely at any poles you go to climb on.]”

With a tremble, Niko nodded and resigned themself to their fate of jumping between actual poles to climb up.

Most of the journey up the leg was repetitive and not noteworthy. Barely missing the grasp of the few white lizards in the area, Niko safely made it about halfway up the leg. It was then that OneShot once again realized how quiet it was up here. Compared to Shoreline and Shaded Citadel, there was almost nothing here, and that observation worried them. They had seen maybe 4 white lizards since their trek started, in an area that really looked like it should be hosting at least a little more life. None of it felt right.

“Um... OneShot...?” Niko squeaked out, barely managing to speak above a whisper as they looked at something above them. “What is THAT...?”

“[What?]” OneShot snapped out of their thoughts, finally noticing the faint squelching from up above. They looked up to where Niko was looking, and all of their concerns were addressed at once.

Above them and Niko, a large black mass of what looked like a thick, tar-like slime with several growths sprouting out of it dangled above them. Coated in bright blue crosses, the thing moved across the area like some kind of octopus, strange tendrils clinging to anything it could touch. Whatever it was, it didn't look sentient, but it was most certainly alive. It was in this moment that a white lizard the two of them couldn't see was revealed to them, a tendril landing on the creature as it dropped its camouflage and hissed, shooting its tongue out at the threat only to be pulled closer and closer towards the main, bulbous mass and absorbed. The two of them could only stare in horror.

“[I... have no idea.]”

It was true. They really didn't know what they were looking at. It resembled no animal, nor did it resemble plant life, but it was then that OneShot realized why Moon advised them not to take this route. Five pebbles was sick. This was the illness. Blue particles spat out of the thing into their direction as OneShot spoke.

Its tendrils moved towards them.

Oh no.

As soon as they noticed it was moving, Niko scrambled away, leaping to the other side of the area they were climbing up as they watched the mass move towards their previous location, sticking its tendrils into nearby pipes, looking for them. The two of them watched silently as it moved, OneShot frantically looking for any hint on what it might possibly be in their data. Finally, they found something.

Rot. A death sentence for any creature who contracts it. Almost like a cancer, it spreads as far as it can along its host and consumes whatever it catches on its sticky body. For things like slugcats it will take them over like a parasite, using its barely alive body like a puppet in order to spread more. It thrives in hot environments, which is why it only tends to infect animals... And apparently, iterators. Because Five Pebbles was covered in it.

There was a caveat though. The rot was entirely blind. As long as you were quiet, and did not touch it, it would not notice your presence. And that would be their ticket out of here. They dropped their voice to a whisper.

“[Alright, Niko, listen to me very carefully. This thing? It's called rot, and it's blind. Just don't touch it, and be very quiet. We'll make it out of here.]” They paused, watching Niko nod while trembling. “[Ah— just as a forewarning though, there's more of this stuff further up. Be careful.]”

Niko whined, and their trek upward began once again. OneShot was seriously regretting not listening to Moon. If they knew the outside of his structure was coated in mobile tumors, they would have risked the height of the other route. They should have checked before they made any decisions.

It was too late to go back.

Avoiding rot cysts and discovering the use of grapple worms, the leg was finally scaled. Now onto the next obstacle, the underhang. A fall from this height would most certainly kill them, so teaching Niko how to use the grapple worm they picked up was a must. After a few minutes of playing around, they finally got the hang of it, and their travels started to pick up some serious speed.

They leaped across platforms, taking pipes across long gaps when able, and looked behind them as they saw a rot cyst consume a stationary grapple worm. They shuddered as they continued moving. They squeezed through tight-fitting tunnels, not seeing a path upward and instead going to the left.

“[Niko, wait—!]”

They yelped in surprise as they exited a pipe only to find themself staring directly into a rot cyst. They immediately backtracked, looking to OneShot for any potential help. In the corner of their eye, a tendril poked out of the pipe they exited.

“[Up, up! Go up!]” they yelled frantically. Finally noticing the path up, they crawled into more narrow pipes before finally reaching a clearing with some slime mold inside of it, which they very gladly did not have to eat while they were running for their life.

Eventually, they reached a room with a straight drop in the middle of it, a hallway parallel to the one they were currently in and another one below it in their immediate surroundings. Reaching the edge, Niko stopped, looking around and unsure of which direction to take.

“[Go... uhhh...]” They checked the possible routes. This was where they wanted to end up. They could see the gate to the inside of Pebbles in this exact area. But, they could also see a shelter directly below them. Their choice was, ultimately, made for them, as they noticed the green sparks around them getting brighter and heard the hiss of a group of lizards above Niko. Yellow ones, they were sure. “[Go down. Drop, make sure you keep hold of the poles, and then go left. There's a shelter directly underneath you.]”

Nodding, Niko sprinted forward, doing as OneShot said. They nearly fell several times in their panic, but thankfully managed to reach the hallway to the shelter, sprinting in as fast as they could and barely managing to stop themself from slamming their face into the wall. It was over. They were safe.

OneShot sighed in relief as the shelter doors closed behind them. “[Okay. Tomorrow, we need to go up and take the tunnel in front of you. That will take you to the gate leading to the inside of Five Pebbles, where there... shouldn't be anything to worry about. I—... Niko?]”

Curled up into a tight ball, the young messiah shook heavily and whined. They were crying. OneShot's heart sank as they felt their entire system malfunction. Niko is upset. Oh no. no no no no. What do they do what do they do what do they—

“I wanna go home... I miss my Mama...”

“[I... I'm sorry...]” They found themself speaking without thinking. “[I'm... so sorry... I never wanted you to be here. I— I never wanted to put you in danger again, I—... I'm so sorry.]” They brought their overseer closer to the child. “[I just— I was trying so hard to stay calm for you, I— I didn't want you to panic, but... I'm so scared. I'm sorry.]”

Niko sniffed, wiping their eyes and looking at the purple overseer. “What...? I was trying to stay calm so you wouldn't panic!” It was then that the two of them realized the blunder that they had both made. One of them was a child, and the other was known for having anxiety. Really, neither of them should have been as calm as they had been through this whole thing. They both laughed about it for a few moments, before falling silent.

“[...We'll get you home, Niko. I promise.]”

OneShot was saying that to themself as much as they were saying it to the messiah, but they seemed comforted enough. They yawned, struggling to keep their eyes open.

“Tomorrow... we'll talk to Mr. Pebbles.”

Yeah. They will.

Chapter Text

Getting to the gate under Five Pebbles went smoother than expected. OneShot really only had to explain two things to Niko; the unique ability of Yellow Lizards... and what telepathy is. The idea that as long as the pack leader was alive they would all be aware of your location if one saw you? terrifying. Thankfully, there were only two lizards here, and it didn't seem like they could reach where Niko and OneShot were headed.

By the time the two of them arrived at the gate, they noticed the lighting was... far different, compared to other gates. The entire area was coated in a red light, as if in warning. Or maybe it had something to do with OneShot's struggle to move to the other side of it as it opened.

Trying, failing, trying, failing, nothing OneShot could do allowed them to follow Niko through. After a bit more fiddling, they gave up. “[Niko, I don't think I can accompany you here,]” they sighed. “[He's applied a facility-wide lockdown, I can't get in. I'm having trouble even staying connected here. This 'Five Pebbles' really doesn't want visitors.]”

Niko thought for a moment, not wanting to part from their guide. “What if we keep going and climb up him? Moon said there was an entrance up there, if we—”

“[No,]” OneShot said. “[I can't risk getting you in more danger than you were last night. There's more rot on the other side of the underhang, and there's several kinds of lizards taking over the wall, including a pack of five yellow lizards and a couple of cyan ones... which I would rather you avoid. I'm not sure what's in there, but it has to be safer than what's out here. I'm sorry.]”

Niko frowned. Were they really sure...? They could hear the anxiety in their voice despite the filter applied over it from the overseer. After what happened the last time they couldn't see them, it was no surprise that they weren't keen on being in that situation again. But... they were right. Niko really didn't want to have to deal with a bunch of lizards, especially if the cyan ones are as frightening as OneShot implied. They lowered themself to the ground slightly, lowering their voice.

“Are you gonna be okay...?”

OneShot took far longer to answer than Niko would have liked. It made them nervous. Several seconds of hesitation later, they finally responded. “[I'll... be fine. I'm not connected to your thoughts here, and I'm not sure if that's better or worse, but...]” They paused, groaning. “[Ugh, forget it. Just go, I'm overthinking.]”

Niko furrowed their brows, before nodding solemnly and walking towards Five Pebbles' innards. They can probably convince him to let OneShot through when they meet him! Sure he apparently killed his big sister, but he couldn't be that mean. Maybe he was just sad and scared, like OneShot was! They hurt people accidentally too. Niko has a feeling he's not so different. That rot stuff must hurt. Did the squares hurt? They couldn't ask. OneShot was already gone.

The red lights continued into his structure. It wasn't comforting.

...But those thoughts were quickly interrupted as Niko was lifted off of the ground, any attempt to move only spinning them out of control. Was this something about iterator structures OneShot forgot to warn them about...? It seemed like it. After an embarrassingly long amount of time spent flailing around in one room, they finally managed to figure out how to control their movement and squeezed into a small tunnel with several branching paths.

It was just now hitting them how completely lost they felt without OneShot's help. As they aimlessly wandered around, they couldn't help but feel like everything looked the same. Had they been here before? Did they just come from there? They wished they weren't alone. It reminded them of the Tower, and how alone they felt then. Except this time... OneShot really wasn't there.

The rooms were filled with countless neuron flies, constantly changing in hue rather than remaining at a stagnant white. This was the environment they were made for, something that was obvious as Niko watched them effortlessly fly around the structure. A mobile rot cyst nearly impeded Niko's travels, one of its tendrils barely missing the floating slugcat, but with a strategically thrown piece of debris, they managed to narrowly avoid consumption.

At the end of a long, long hall was a room with rot clinging to the walls. The black and blue cancerous growths were stationary, not dangerous unless Niko ran into them directly, yet still filled them with a sense of unease. They clung onto unmoving tendrils like ropes, disgusted by the mucus-like film it left on their paws as they managed to enter another series of small tunnels. They wanted to turn around.

...But, they trusted OneShot, so onwards they went.

They... didn't know what they were looking at in the next room with all of the lighting near completely blown out, but they felt their stomach drop as they saw several mobile rot cysts crawling around the large, open area. Tumours covered the decaying walls, more tendrils coming from everywhere. In the middle of the mess was a non functional, broken down mechanical heart no longer beating. Every single spot on its surface was covered in rot. They were terrified... but this only made them want to meet Five Pebbles more. He must have been in so much pain.

Carefully and slowly, they navigated the room, quiet as a mouse. The amount of time spent holding onto cancerous tendrils left their hands sore and tingling, as if touching something acidic. Waiting for mobile cysts to pass, they managed to leave the heart of a dying god.

The long journey upward they saw ahead of them almost looked worse. Alongside more mobile rot, the stationary stuff coated the walls almost entirely, the only lighting in the area coming from bright red danger signals. They felt sick, but slowly, they started climbing (and floating) towards their goal.

It was so close. They were so close. Just a little bit further upward, and they would be out. That is, if this was even where the infested area ended. They wished so desperately that OneShot could be here, to tell them it was going to be okay, that it was almost over. But such fantasies were too good to be true.

They got too confident in their movement, not cautious enough, and in their distraction wishing for their friends' return... landed directly into a cyst stationed on the wall.

Pain. Sudden, dissolving pain. They screamed, but any attempts at struggling only strengthened the grip the tumour had on them. Their frantic attempts at escape alerted mobile cysts, now slowing clambering to their location. Tears welled in their eyes as they continued pulling, begging to be freed.

The last thing they remembered thinking before everything faded to black was that they wished they had gotten to say goodbye to their Mama.

As their golden, glowing form disappeared into the rot, a new cyst grew from where they were consumed.

...

Darkness.

They saw nothing. Heard nothing. Felt nothing. A cold yellow light faintly appeared in their vision as what looked like the flower they had eaten before bloomed in the structure of the iterator they died in. And yet. They were not passing on. They were not slipping away. They felt the ground beneath their sleeping figure, and heard shelter doors creaking open. Heard the bustle of two nearby lizards exiting their home and looking for their next meal.

Wake up.

Niko’s eyes flickered open to reveal... the shelter they had slept in last night. Their body was intact. There was no pain. They slowly sat up, pressing their paw to their chest. Their heart continued to beat. They were alive.

“[Niko?]” A familiar voice made their ears twitch. A purple overseer appeared in front of them, causing them to blink. They didn't respond quite yet.

“[I thought you went into Five Pebbles' structure. Why are you back here? Did something happen?]” Concern dripped from OneShot’s tone as they spoke, clearly knowing something had upset them. Their thoughts may not be linked, but OneShot was still a very perceptive person. If Niko weren't right in front of them, they probably would have already started panicking. Niko needed to choose their words very carefully.

“I...” Niko hesitated. Could OneShot even handle this information? They don't know how much OneShot's condition had improved since they returned the Sun. But they would be able to tell if Niko was lying, so they continued. “I think... I think I died.”

“[WHAT?]”

The overseer immediately began flickering in and out, as if they were struggling to remain connected in their shock. They could hear alerts going off from OneShot's end. “[What do you MEAN you DIED? What happened!? Are— Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have—]”

“OneShot!” Niko called out, cutting them off before they sent themself into a spiral. “You didn't do anything! It's not your fault.” When OneShot didn’t answer, they decided to explain what happened. “There was... a lot more of that rot stuff inside of him. I don't— remember what happened very clearly, I just... I just remember landing in some of it. I don't know why I'm here.”

Several minutes of silence. OneShot was clearly trying to ground themself, keep calm after the scare of a lifetime. After settling, they thought for a while longer, finally speaking again.

“[I... guess that 'cycle of life and death' stuff wasn't religious nonsense.]”

“I remember you mentioning that when we first got here,” Niko tilted their head as they spoke, “do you know anything else about it?”

Niko heard screens appear around OneShot as they paused, looking at information again. “[Nothing in this world truly dies. It just goes around and around in a loop. When a body is too old to continue functioning, the creature reincarnates into a new form. Everything and everyone who dies will always wake right back up again... The... 'Great Problem' that those who once lived here wished to solve was a method on how to make their death permanent. They wanted to pass on without returning.]

[That's what iterators were built for, to constantly work on a problem larger than any of them... or, us, could have possibly dreamed. We were given life so that others could die. And, when we didn't give them the solution they craved... They abandoned us. Left our structures to live forever as they dove into the only other thing they knew could grant them freedom.]”

Niko stared, their eyes wide. That was... really sad. They weren't old enough to truly understand feelings of wanting to die, but... that was how OneShot once felt, wasn't it? Rue had told them that the squares were induced by stress, and the desire to 'self-terminate'. They could tell from the pained way OneShot spoke that everything about what they were saying hit far too close to home. Niko wished they could hug them. Instead, all they could give them were big, sad eyes.

As if OneShot could read their mind, they sighed.

“[I'm fine.]”

Despite their attempt at comfort, their words felt cold, dripping with a sombre melancholy.

“So... now what do we do?” Niko questioned. “Do you still think climbing up Mr. Pebbles' wall is a bad idea?”

“[I don't... know.]” OneShot seemed distracted. “[I don't know.]”

Another long bout of silence. Niko didn't know what to say. Oneshot didn't seem to either. They stared at the floor, the only thing bringing back their attention being a sudden BANG they heard from the distance. It was as if an explosive went off. Niko's head immediately perked up, their ears twitching, as OneShot's overseer turned around to inspect what made the noise.

Crackling. Another bang. Whatever was making the sound was coming closer. The two yellow lizards they saw last time hissed at the unidentified creature, as another explosion went off. The sound of a distant fight (and more explosions) could be heard above them. The air smelled of gunpowder. It didn't take long for the area to go silent.

The gunpowder smell was getting stronger. The creature was getting closer. Niko felt the constantly wet hairs on their back raise into hackles, as they backed towards the end of the shelter. They were next. They listened closely as a blob of red slid through the shelter pipes, and what emerged was...

A slugcat.

A slugcat, who's heart skipped a beat upon seeing Niko’s small frame, her eyes wide in shock.

The spear she was holding clattered to the ground.

Chapter Text

The reaction the red slugcat had to Niko was not the one either Niko or OneShot were expecting. The initially stone-faced warrior dropped all of her weaponry the second she saw them, dashing over and grooming them with a loud, scratchy purr with the warmth of a mother.

“[It... seems like she will be no threat,]” OneShot calmly states as a small, floating piece of machinery that seemed to struggle to keep up with her sudden sprint flew into the shelter. Their overseer turned to look at it. “[What is this thing?]”

The stranger's ear flicked, as if she had only just noticed Niko wasn't the only thing in the shelter, and whipped her head around to the overseer. A low growl filled the room, hairs on her heavily scarred back raising. OneShot seems puzzled at this reaction.

“Oh— No no no! They're not a threat, that's my friend!” Niko quickly intervened, standing in between the overseer and the slugcat. She blinked, eyes widening in shock before making what sounded like raspy meowing noises. Yet... somehow... Niko could understand what she was trying to say.

“You speak language of metal pup. How?”

“Huh? Umm... I'm not sure, miss. I've always been able to talk like this...” Niko paused, not sure how to respond. “I didn't know it wasn't normal until we met Moon. Do… you even know who she is?”

“[You can understand her?]” OneShot questioned.

“Moon metal pup's family,” the slugcat stated. “She alive?”

Ah. so 'metal pup' is Pebbles. Got it. Niko nodded in response to her question. “She doesn't have many of those neuron thingies, but she's alive. Does... Mr. Pebbles not know that?”

“[You'd think he'd be more worried about the state of his own sister...]” OneShot muttered. The red slugcat hissed at them in response, seemingly offended that they would so casually insult her 'metal pup'.

“Metal pup very stressed. You don't know anything.”

Sensing building tension, Niko quickly decides to interrupt. “Um! Speaking of Mr. Pebbles, we need his help. I tried going through the inside of his structure and...” They shuddered. “It didn't work out. We were thinking of going up the wall instead—”

“No.” she quickly cut them off. “Wall dangerous. Lizards, dropwigs, vultures. Not safe for pup. Inside safer. Has danger, but avoidable. I will guide you.” She headed towards the shelter exit, grabbing her spear before standing upright on her hind legs. The spear had a piece of red fabric tied around it.

Niko's eyes lit up. “Oh! Thank you miss... um... What's your name?”

She tilted her head, confused at the question, before slowly answering. “Artificer,” was her first response. “Metal pup also call me Citizen, Ruffian.”

“Artificer... okay! My name is Niko!” they smiled at their new guide.

“Weird name.” is all she responded with.

“Ahaha... I've been getting that a lot.”

OneShot simply stayed there in silence, not understanding a single thing that was being said by Artificer. Niko looked towards them, having just noticed their dilemma.

“Oh— Sorry, OneShot! She said she'll guide me through the inside of his structure! Apparently most of the risks are avoidable.” Niko thought for a moment. “Maybe once I meet Mr. Pebbles, I can convince him to let you in so you two can talk as well!”

“[Ah. I see,]” OneShot's overseer nodded. “[Well... She doesn't seem to be a threat, at least, not to you. I'm sure she'll protect you nicely. It would also be nice to finally meet this 'Five Pebbles'...”

Artificer shook her head. “Metal pup dislike visitors,” she said. “Reason lockdown exists. Doubt he will make exception.” She signalled for Niko to follow her as she exited the shelter. “Also, won't like being called that.”

Niko frowned, before turning to OneShot. “She said he won't do it.”

From the overseer, OneShot sighed. “[Well, I suppose it's at least worth a shot. I will accompany the two of you to the gate, like last time. After that, you two will be on your own. Be careful.]”

Niko nodded, slipping out of the shelter pipe. The journey began yet again.

After another farewell to OneShot and several distrusting glances towards the overseer from Artificer, she took Niko through a much safer path in Five Pebbles' system, going around the infested area entirely. Mobile cysts were still encountered, but were quickly dealt with via her spears wrapped in red fabric, which apparently had explosive qualities to them... rot didn't last long against her.

Artificer was glued to the small messiah, always looking back to make sure they were still following, and forcing them onto her back around certain places of the iterator's innards. It was as if she was afraid that they were going to vanish into thin air if she wasn't protecting them. She almost reminded Niko of their mama... though a much more aggressive and violent version. Does she have children of her own, maybe?

Quick work was made of the trip to Five Pebbles, the two of them now parked right outside his chamber. Niko hopped off of Artificer's back for the sixth time since they entered, about to climb through the pipe she had said leads to the room his puppet resides, but was quickly scruffed by the ragged slugcat and attached safely to a nearby pole.

“I go first,” she declared, not giving Niko a chance to question why as she and her strange drone entered. They didn't get why it was so important they went in after her, but from what they've heard about Mr. Pebbles, it's probably so he doesn't get too upset about a random slugcat breaking in. As they moved closer to the pipe, they heard a one-sided conversation they couldn't make out the words of over the noise of the machinery working around them. They slid in after her.

Instead of more zero gravity like the messiah had expected however, they were sent plummeting directly onto the cold, metal floor. Oddly enough, the fall didn't hurt much at all, but Artificer clambering towards them and assisting them in standing definitely made them feel more injured than they actually were...

“A slugpup.”

The squeaky voice of what sounded like a young boy echoed from behind them, causing them to turn around. They were met with the bright pink puppet of Five Pebbles, a halo of light surrounding the figure that was much more intimidating than his older sister's. He wore a bright golden robe, a slow gradient into a deep orange around the ends of his oversized sleeves and the robe itself, bright white eyes piercing through all the colours of his puppet. He looked annoyed...

...and tired.

“I assume you have brought this in because you want to keep it,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “As you're my citizen, I cannot stop you from doing anything, but I will advise you that if you create an infestation similar to the levels of the scavengers in my city, I will no longer be speaking with you or granting any of your odd, animalistic requests.”

Artificer simply sneezed in response, chittering something along the lines of “Not what they're here for”, but of course the iterator didn't understand what she was saying. Niko decided they would have to take it upon themself to explain to Five Pebbles why they were here.

“Excuse me, Mr. Pebbles?”

Pebbles quickly drew his attention to the talking slugpup sitting on his floor, eyes bewildered. They thought they would be used to this reaction by now, but it still surprises them every time they realise nobody expects them to be able to talk. He stares at them dumbfounded for a few moments, all processes in his mind having seemingly stopped.

“...Is this some kind of joke?” he snapped, eyes scrunching shut in frustration as he rubbed the nose bridge he didn't have. “I have had countless amounts of your kind in and out of my chambers, digging their way into every aspect of my life, and yet you are the only one who has ever graced me with speech and anything other than a blank stare. What do you want, little rodent?”

“I'm not a rodent!” Niko cried out. An oddly familiar sentence. Pebbles sighed in response. He was certainly much ruder than his sister... either way, they did come here to ask for assistance in getting home. “I'm here because I need help, and... a friend told me I should come to you.”

His frustrated expression shifted into one of tired acceptance upon hearing their words. “Ah, right, of course,” he began. “You wish to break the chains binding you to this world and escape the cycle. Know that you are not special, almost every living being in this world has this desire, including me, who are, if you'll excuse me, god-like in comparison.”

Niko tilted their head. That... was a strange way of phrasing their problem—

“Unfortunately for me, my kind will never know the freedom we both crave. We will all simply remain here until we are nothing but rust and decay.” The exhaustion in his voice felt infinitely amplified upon speaking those words. Hold on a minute. “But for you, there is another way; the Old Path. Go west, past the Farm Arrays and deep, deep into the earth...”

Escape the cycle...

Oh.

“W-wait!!” Niko cut him off. “Are— are you telling me how to die!? That's not what I want!” they cried, “I just wanna go home with my friend!”

He blinked. “Ah. In that case then, you must be referring to the area outside of my territory. In that case, you will still need to go west, but instead through the underground tunnels at the outskirts of my territory. The gate to the world outside of it was unlocked due to a rather... generously-sized visitor who got trapped not too long ago.”

“Um... no, that's not home either...” Niko mumbled. Would he really believe them if they said they were from another world entirely?  “Actually, I'm not from here at all. I was brought here from another world!”

“Right,” Pebbles deadpanned.

“My friend was too! I... think they're in the body of one of you right now? They wanted to talk to you as well, but they can't get through 'cuz of the restrictions to put up,” Niko said. “Would you mind--”

“No.” Pebbles didn't even let them finish their question. He sighed. “Look. You already have a mark of communication, meaning you visited an iterator before me, most likely from very far away as the only other iterator nearby is...” He paused. “...Out of commission. Or, you're somebody's messenger. Which one is it? Who sent you?”

Niko thinks for a moment, figuring out how to answer. He... probably won't react well to being told Moon sent them, would he?

“Um... my friend's name is OneShot,” Niko answered slowly, “But I think their name here might be something different...? It started with a C. Cell-something?”

“...Doesn't sound familiar.” After a brief pause, he inhales sharply. “Okay, look. The dilemma you have described to me is still difficult to believe. Other worlds were never proven to exist, and the multiverse theory as a concept is... flawed. But, in the past, I have been in contact with someone who believed very strongly in it. I... am willing to play along with your game of make-believe, but I cannot help you. Multiverse theory is not my specialty.”

Niko's ears flicked up. “Oh! Who were you in contact with?”

Pebbles squints. “I don't know their actual name. In the chat we were in, we both went by aliases. Last time they spoke, they said that they had a plan to escape the cycle that would only work for them. I'm not sure what came of it, but nobody has heard from them since.”

“Oh...” They frown.

“...There may be pearls on your plight,” Pebbles states, which makes the Artificer's ears perk, “if you can find those, and bring them to an iterator that can read them, they might help. But don't bring them to me. I'm preoccupied.”

Well that's something, at least. Niko nods. “Thank you, Mr. Pebbles!”

“Don't call me that,” he says instead of accepting the thanks aimed towards him. “You should be on your way, now. I have a lot of work to do. And please, if you decide to show up here again, don't rummage through my insides to get to me. Just go through the access shaft at the top of my can.”

Before Niko can get another word in, they're already being gently pushed out of Five Pebbles' chambers, and into a long, illuminated hallway. The Artificer quickly follows after them.

“How are we gonna find pearls with stuff on them...?” Niko frowns. They're... not sure how they're going to pull this off. They feel a paw on their shoulder, and turn their head to the Artificer.

“Know where to look. Follow?”

Chapter Text

CC tried to put the static out of their mind. They didn’t have many opportunities to talk to anyone. The group they frequently spoke with barely counted, especially since Erratic Pulse vanished. But now, they were in a world full of people. 

Did any of them know the person they were meant to be? The person who was likely alone, afraid, in a world much more miserable than theirs…

No. No time for regrets. Besides, CC isn’t sure they’d be able to get back if they wanted to. And they definitely did not want to do that. This was their only chance at a true purpose.

Resolved to make the best of this opportunity, CC scanned the world’s regions. There were so many people they could talk to…

Something caught their attention. Two of their siblings, Cedric and Rue, passed by a person with a clock where their head should be. According to their files, this ‘person’ was called Watcher. How strange. 

Stranger still, neither of them spoke to Watcher as they passed, nor did Watcher acknowledge them at all. Instead, Cedric entered the room with the big clock, toward the locked door containing something CC couldn’t see. Cedric typed a code into the door’s keypad. With a soft ding, the door unlocked. Rue and Cedric stepped into the static, disappearing from CC’s view.

This couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? First, that box-headed brother of theirs disappeared, and now their other dear siblings were hidden from view as well. Did they know? CC had been doing their best not to draw too much attention to themself, but these are supposed to be their siblings. 

Perhaps that Watcher person could help them figure out where their siblings went.

CC places their holographic form on the city’s catwalks. Looking down, they could see just how high up they were. This felt dangerous; it was exhilarating. Unfortunately, they couldn’t spend all their time sight-seeing. They were on a mission. CC manoeuvred their way through the almost maze-like grid of catwalks until they reached their destination. The building’s entrance was well-kept. CC had a feeling not many people passed through. The only thing beyond its entrance, aside from the mysterious clock, was a generator. 

The only person within this lonely structure was Watcher, staring out the window in thought. At least, CC assumed she was staring. They couldn’t tell if she was capable of seeing, given the clock where her face should have been. 

Their footsteps were muted on the soft carpet inside. At first, Watcher didn’t pay them much mind. 

[Hello?]

Watcher turns. “You’re not supposed to be here, are you?”

CC tried in vain to hide their shock, Did she know? How? Had she met this so-called ‘World Machine’ before? [I was just wondering if you know what’s in that room? With the clock over the door?]

Watcher seemed to stare at them for a few seconds longer than they were comfortable with. “You should already know the answer.“

[If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you, would I?] 

CC’s fears were confirmed with Watcher’s next and final words to them: “You are one of the few people who have ever entered that room.”

How? How was that possible? CC walked down the hall and toward the ticking clock. The room was dim, the metal door imposing. It seemed specifically designed to be as unwelcoming as possible. CC could only see static beyond that door. So how were they meant to have entered it before? The last time they’d tried to enter one of those areas, their own code had rejected their presence. Was this area different somehow? If only they knew the password…

CC began to dig through their files, searching for words that may have been significant. ‘Niko’ was the first code they tried. Whoever this person was, they seemed to be important. 

Nothing.

World Machine? Also no. Variations on World Machine or The World Machine didn’t seem to work either. Nothing they could think to try yielded any results.

During their distracted digging, CC noticed something tugging on their awareness. A warning? A message? Whatever it was, they could easily ignore it. Until they couldn’t.

CC found themself staring at the screen where they found Niko’s reflection. They could not look away. No matter how hard they tried, their awareness was locked to this location. To make things worse, they couldn’t shake the feeling someone was watching them. They tried to tell themself they were just being paranoid. There was some kind of glitch, and they had to find a way to fix it.

From the bottom of the screen, CC saw Prototype walking forward, turning toward the camera. [Please proceed as you normally would. If Cedric is to be believed, the option should appear.]

CC wants to scream. Those… those ‘siblings’ of theirs HAD been up to something. But who was Prototype talking to? One of his other siblings? 

Before they could find an answer, CC was gone. 

CC awoke in a bed. They had never slept before, but that must have been what had happened to them. Quite some time seemed to have passed. The Sun was no longer visible in the sky. Was it one of those ‘dreams’ the Ancients were always talking about? But… why? They shouldn't have been able to sleep. They tried to reach out, to reconnect with the world they had been connected to, but there was nothing. This stolen form of theirs was their only window into the world.

Their feet slid out from under the blankets, thumped on the wooden floor. They felt the sudden urge to call out to someone. 

[Hello?]

There was no answer. The floorboards creaked as CC’s legs began moving them forward. They weren’t exactly sure why, but they ran in circles around the little room, avoiding an obvious hole in the floor. 

The room was nearly pitch black. A dim glow from the window was the only thing illuminating their surroundings. Aside from the bed they had just woken up in, the room was sparsely furnished, containing only a bookshelf and a computer. Everything was covered in dust. 

CC stopped to look out the window. To their shock, all they could see outside was empty sky. No ground below, no tower in the distance. Where exactly was this place?

Before they had time to process this, they felt their hand reach down to pick up a device from the floor. When they looked down, they were holding a remote. Most of the buttons were faded, but four numbers stood out. Not only because they were surprisingly legible, but because they were different colors than the rest of the buttons on the keypad.

Before they had time to dwell on their discovery, CC’s feet dragged them toward the computer. As they turned the computer on and typed in the code, it finally struck them: their actions were not their own. Something was compelling them to move, to interact with the world around them. 

The computer dinged. ‘Access granted.’ CC hadn’t even seen the code they’d typed, but apparently, it was correct. A simple desktop flickered onto the computer’s screen. The sudden light caused CC to flinch. 

After a few seconds of CC staring at the screen and trying not to panic, an error message interrupted their thoughts. 

[You found me.]

Found who? CC tried to respond, but they couldn’t force the words out.

[...Why?]

All they could do was read the words that were appearing on the screen.

[You’re already too late. Not much of the world remains. This will be apparent once you go outside.]

What was this computer talking about? The last time CC had seen the world, it had been in great condition. There may have been a few errors they weren’t sure how to fix, but they weren’t that serious.

[This place was never worth saving…Do you still want to try?]

Saving? None of this made any sense.

[Then, remember this. Your actions here will affect Niko.]

Niko… That was the name CC’s appearance had been given. But if CC was meant to be Niko, who was the computer talking to?

[Your “mission” is to help Niko leave.]

At least they would be able to leave this place soon…

[And most importantly…]

The computer turned off without finishing its statement.

CC had only one thought as they were pulled toward their next objective.

What had Prototype done?