The Saviour of Pink Haven

The Trap - Section 12

[Several long minutes passed in preparation for the machine. When Ivy returned, she was informed of what was happening and told the two waiting slugcats that she'd be back with supplies when it was over. A tripwire was set, which would automatically fire an explosive spear from the designated launcher, and Tech found the perfect place to jump onto the machine to deactivate it while it was being bombarded.] 

"Ready Loon?" "When have I ever been ready?" "You got some time to get ready now, I don't hear that droning from earlier." 

[Tech looked off into space, where a few machines were constructing something]

"Five Pebbles, how much longer until the 2 ends are connected?" "I'd give an estimate of about 5 minutes, teleporters this big don't get made quickly, you know." "Well, let's hope this machine is slow, 'cause these will be the longest 5 minutes ever." 

[More time went on, about 2 minutes worth, until he heard it. The droning of crudely made idle machinery. The clicks of idleness. The thud of a footstep. And then another. And another. And another. The two stayed silent... and then the footsteps stopped. It stared at the tripwire and stepped over it. They risked a look at the creature. It only had two legs, but instead of normal bird legs, it had sharp blades that could cut through nearly anything with ease. The blood of its previous victims still stained them. Its glowing red eye searched all over, nearly spotting them multiple times. The salivating mouth of the bird dripped a reddish blue. It was clear that this creature was a variant of the Miros Bird, but was certainly not normal. It had a number on the back of its head, but was too unclear to read.]

"Woah..." "Shh, it can hear us."

[A furiously frequent clicking turned, and a red light was emitted in their direction. Techno looked at Loon and mouthed the words: 'Don't make a sound.' The machine raised an arm, which shot out a loud frequency... But Loon didn't seem to care. Techno on the other hand.. Was in torture.]

"AGH! WHAT THE FUCK!?" 

[The machine cut down the tree he was in with one leg and tried to dig him up to make sure he was dead until the spear launcher fired at the beast. The spears hit with a loud CLANK. The skin of the creature was too thick to penetrate with just a spear. Loon fled from his tree and went to check on Tech, who was covered in rubble and blood. There was no time to waste. The rage boiled in Loon, and made him attack with his all. The crystals that used to only cover his fists turned into claws that could pierce even the finest metal. Loon started the damage at the left leg and worked his way up to the chest, and then the head. It hurt the beast but didn't kill it. It grabbed him by the neck off of its back and began to suffocate it. Underneath the rubble, Tech had been wounded significantly, leaving only the syringe, and a single hole for him to watch as Loon was being killed... The same way his mother died. Choked in front of him. Time seemed to freeze as the moment replayed. The fire was everywhere, except for in reality. In his delusion, he was seeing the same thing he saw when he first saw the beast. The remnants of wildlife seemed to vanish without a trace. He saw the damage on the machine. Spears, rocks, and even a boulder didn't stop it. Those awful teeth were bared for all to see as he ripped the throat out of everything he grasped. Stained with the blood of his family. His own blood. He had enough. He slowly grasped the syringe... And stabbed himself, releasing the poison that consumed all who touched it. The change was slow but painful. His back grew circular sores that grew noodle-like appendages, which pushed the rubble off of him. They lifted him off his feet and made him tall. He never felt more pain, or more power in his life. More appendages grew as he began to charge at the beast, forcing it to drop Loon. The creature regained its balance and stared at the sudden change from his previous victim. Tech charged at the beast once more, stabbing into its body and lifting the machine like it was nothing, stabbing it over and over again as if there were razor-sharp knives attached to the ends, similar to the Hunter. In his blind rush of attacks, however, the bird-like creature bit his neck and spilled even more blood on the ground. Tech's rage fueled him and the disease more, growing more appendages with alternative mutations. These had ball-like endings, which hung lower to the ground. They seemed to be very heavy enough to crush the most powerful armor. Before Tech could attack again, the machine jumped and kicked Tech in the chest, crushing his ribs and freeing itself from the grasp of the Rot. A voice Tech didn't recognize at first soon rang out.]

"Tech! The teleporter is ready! Give him hell!" 

[And he did just that. He hammered the machine endlessly with the new appendages, each hit leaving a significant dent into the metal exterior and stabbed the machine to grab it again, this time rushing to the activated teleporter, which dropped him into a large body of water. The sickness was seeping into his mind now, slowly twisting his views, telling him to consume the beast. He resisted the thoughts as much as possible. After a few more increasingly violent stabs and slashes, Tech released the machine, which sank into the depths below... And the depths groaned a familiar groan. The machine turned to see a red beast with a deformed mouth open its jaws and clench them onto the metal bird's chest. It struggled, struggled... Until it couldn't struggle longer. The beast swallowed him whole, and left Tech alone, as gratitude for feeding him. When Tech returned, he hid for the remaining moments that the rot contaminated him, as to avoid further harm to anyone else. He never fully became normal again. He sometimes hears those same voices in his head. And the way he manipulated them with his agony... It was impressive, but scarring. Ivy returned and tended to Loon, while Tech returned to Five Pebbles.] 

"Well.. that sucked... Never let me touch Rot again." "You never have to. The RRT is a successful solution to Rot entirely, and we've planned to remove almost all of the Rot, keeping a single, contained segment for experimentation." 

[Five Pebbles watched as Tech leaned on the chamber wall, and slid down into a sitting position.] 

"You've been through a lot today. And you pushed through. And with that... I think you have what it takes to become an Iterator. Besides, it's not like I'd leave you empty-handed." 

[Tech looked, and contemplated the request] 

"Sure. Just... Give me a minute." "Take all the time you need."

[Soon, the two slugs returned to the chamber, and comforted Tech as best they could. When they heard that he was becoming the first Slugcat Iterator, they celebrated rather loudly, which Tech wasn't fond of. He was still trying to get over the sounds from earlier. When he was relatively stable, Tech began the process of becoming an Iterator.] 

"The rules are simple. Your name is picked, and I record myself giving you the status of Iterator, as well as the additional benefits." "Such as..?" "From an Iterator such as myself, you'll obtain near-infinite knowledge, and never growing old, which I managed to add to biological forms by making a serum. You're welcome... Actually, I made 3." 

[He glanced at the other two] 

"I didn't want you to be left out. You all played parts today, and I'm impressed." 

[An overseer arrived, but it wasn't Ruby. It was for Five Pebbles, and it began recording the process.] 

"This is Five Pebbles, and I give you 3 the privilege to become the first Slugcat Iterators to ever roam the earth. To find others, instead of being found like us. Do you accept these offers?" 

[Techno was the first to accept, then Loon, and then Ivy. They all injected themselves, and froze for a moment, taking in all the knowledge they obtained.] 

"Techno is not your name anymore. That new name is for all of you to decide. I wish you luck on the path to becoming a great Iterator, and I wish to see you all soon!" 

[The recording ends.]