Chapter Text
“Hunter-Red. Y-y-you return?” The Twelfth Architect said, as Hornet the Hunter approached. “I I I have a wish, one for someone skilled with tools to grant. Will y-y-you accept? My last wish?”
Hunter looked confused. “Last?”
“Long now I have felt my rotors slow their s-s-spin. My limbs lift weak. An ending is felt, coming, sudden-certain.” They looked up. “Last-creation made, ready. O-o-only needs power. Hunter-red, will you take my core? Give life-freedom to last-creation?” Swiveling to face her, they opened their chest cavity, revealing a pristine core of intricate gears. Tucked below it was a red clockwork key.
Carefully, Hunter disconnected it from the various lines of gears. “What of the key?”
The Architect’s voice was slurred. “Access… the chapel-store… above… last-creation is… there…” They slumped onto the workbench, the lights in their eyes going out. A silkfly fluttered out of one, circling her as she retrieved the key. It followed her when she left, swinging from a clawline ring to reach the door.
Hunter decided to ignore it. Clicking the key into the keyhole, she spun the gear to make the chapel door slide open. It reminded her of the chapels she’d rescued her sisters from.
Inside, she was met with what looked like a prototype Chorus. Surely this wasn’t what she’d come here for? She pulled aside one of the curtains, then jumped back in surprise. Ah. It was quite likely to be that. The object in question was a cogwork Hornet.
Putting aside her feelings of concern, she opened its chest and threaded the gears of the pristine core into their proper places before closing it again. Then… she wasn’t sure what happened next.
The silkfly fluttered into one of its eyes, and a few seconds later both of them lit up.
-
Hornet the Beast ran into the bellhome with a frustrated growl. “Someone killed the Architect!”
Hornet the Wanderer and Hornet the Reaper both looked at her. “I thought you didn’t care about them?” Reaper asked.
“That was before I found this neat gun!” Beast retorted, holding it up.
Wanderer looked at the gun. “Couldn’t one of us fix it just as well as they could?”
“Yes! But!” She waved her claws in the air. “I thought they’d find it fun to fix! Because I wanted them to feel appreciated!”
“Beast-Red appreciates me?” someone said behind her. “Thank you!”
Was that the Architect’s voice - ?
She spun around. Standing on the porch was a cogwork Hornet. Or rather, Hornet the Architect. Beast looked incredulously at Hunter, who was also climbing up onto the platform.
“What?” Hunter said, shrugging. “She just wanted to take the long way.”