Chapter Text
She could see her can from where she was standing.
More accurately, what was left of it.
Across the lake that covered half of the valley below, the remnants of what was called her home was beginning to appear through the morning mist.
Before the Incident, to be an Iterator and to see the exterior with their own eyes - and not the one of an Overseer - was just an impossible dream, a complete folly.
But now, after so much time ?
After the Iterators, machine-gods bound in golden chains by their creators, have found their freedom by themselves, even if the found itself was accidental ?
The view was as common as an everyday sight.
But a magnificent one nonetheless, especially at this time of the cycle.
Although the region is now calmer in terms of rainfall since Pebbles's can toppling, the still-functioning superstructure of No Significant Harassment was close enough to have an impact on the local weather.
She left her gaze wandering to the small rain clouds clinging to the surrounding mountains.
The mist coming from the lake beneath started to condense, making it glistening by letting the sun shine on its surface, vultures casting shadows while taking their first flights of the day.
Lost in her contemplation, Moon almost missed the wiggles that came from the back seat of her microcell powered bike.
—
Ah, yes, Ruffles was beginning to get impatient. It had been almost 5 seconds since Moon had stopped to take in the view, and for the energetic little fuzzball, any time that wasn't spent going fast was a waste of time.
“Yes, yes, I did not forget you, little friend, do not worry.”
Moon patted affectionately the head of the wet rodent, before restarting the bike’s engine. While not being on the opposite side of the lake, Mountain Home was not close either, and she didn’t want to spend the rest of this cycle traveling. After all, she has been gone for more than half a decacycle, and the broadcast sent by Pebbles yestercycle intrigued her greatly. So, she better get going.
Although Pebbles' terraforming efforts have not yet arrived in the area, she knows it well enough to be able to make full use of her bike’s speed.
Ruffles made a yepping sound of joy when she started to go down the hill at full throttle, winding silently through the forest, toward a natural path that would eventually lead them to the Outer Expanse of her brother’s retaining wall.
—
On their way, Moon couldn't help but notice how quickly the flora was evolving now that there was no destructive rain to hinder its growth.
What was a dead plain nested between the lake and the foothills with barely a few bushes just a few decacycles ago was now a thriving forest, with fern trees whose size was not limited by the violent downpour anymore.
As she was passing by, she could hear squidcadas buzzing in the treetops, chasing batflies, a recent migration to this new arboreal nesting ground. Although she wasn't as good at biology as Seven Red Suns, she could easily spot the beginning of an emerging ecosystem when she saw one. Soon, bigger predators will find their way here, ending the reign of terror of the squidcadas over the batflies. She was almost certain it was going to be some kind of lizard, and began to wonder what kind of mutation these incredibly adaptable animals would undergo to reign over this forest.
Unless No Significant Harassment decides to intervene and unleash his own lizard subspecies, “far better equipped than any wild beast natural selection could provide”.
I wonder if he is still working on his Nitro lizards, or has he moved on to something else since then ?
The last time they met, Sig was positive those lizards would finally allow him to beat Suns to this absurd competition they both started some time ago, with the goal of making a creature faster than a vulture over a certain distance.
Alas, for now, the yellow Iterator was still crushing him.
While very talented in bio-engineering, it was merely a hobby for Moon’s green companion, while for Suns it was the specialization the Benefactors chose to bestow upon them.
Now that Moon was thinking about it, some kind of non-jet leaping lizard was the best move to make, so that the lizard could still steer during its jump, unlike the cyan lizards on which the Nitro lizards were based …
Mmmh.
Something with folding wings, perhaps ?
She was beginning to see how much fun it could be, and that would be a good reminder that seniority, contrary to what Sig thought, could be another thing that being a subject of dubious jokes.
—
Her reflections on reptile terminal velocity were put on hold when the fertile soil of the Fern Forest was replaced by the more waterlogged ground of the Outer Expanse, fern trees giving way to fields of overgrown rubbles and tortuous water streams.
Before the collapse of Five Pebbles, the swampy region of the basin was already difficult to traverse quickly, and albeit the new bridge network mitigating the maze-like nature of it, the forced migration of the vulture population from her little brother to the local ruins was now making the trip quite dangerous, even for a creature mostly made of metal like her.
After all, with the lack of any significant cover, she could only rely on her bike’s speed to outrun any particularly determined king vulture that could blindly took her for a decent meal.
The crude dirt road ended, and Moon led her bike on one of the bio-concrete bridgeheads. She was more focused on the sky than on the road, driving almost on autopilot.
But, with no visible flying threats (except if Sig created invisibles vultures since her departure, Void forbid), she focused on the only point of interest she could see from the road : the venerable giant Orb Tree, which once housed a now departed slugcat colony, according to what she could have deciphered from Ruffles’s drawings.
Moon know for a fact that it was Chalk, a master at this task, that taught her little companion how to use spears to sketch whatever comes to mind, and she loved to see their little friend scribbling diligently, even if they were simply too restless for a task that required so much patience.
Her view of the Tree was cut short when the bridge passed through one of the ruins that still remain mostly standing. Although Pebbles had tried to leave the ruins as much untouched as possible in his urbanisation efforts - she knew how much her brother loved the different creative philosophies of the Benefactors -, sometimes the optimal path had to go through one of the old buildings, turning the bridge into a tunnel.
Like every time she passed here, she remarked on the strictly utilitarian aspect of the bridge shifting to a much more intricate construction technique, mimicking the architecture style of the dilapidated edifice.
The new interlinked support structures, blending in with the much older, original walls, were softly illuminated by automatic lanterns - which lit up in different tones and colors as she passed by -, made to look like the ones used back at this time, showing Pebbles's deep understanding of Benefactors culture, much more profound than the norm for Iterators.
Maybe she was proud of him. A little bit.
—
As she was exiting the underpass, she caught the sight of a yellow blur by the roadside.
At last, it seemed that Iggy had finally managed to find them, she was starting to be worried.
She slowed down and waved at her favorite overseer, which was bouncing with happiness at the return of its Iterator.
“Yes, hello to you too Iggy”, Moon jiggled, as Iggy was circling around her bike, “My my, what an eager overseer, you are almost as speedy as Ruffles !”
An indignant meow rose from the backseat. The blue slugcat was trying really hard to make a frown look at her, but their adorable face was not made to express such an expression, so it looked more like they had eaten a bubble fruit the wrong way than anything else.
“Aw, don't you worry, Ruffles, I was just joking. Iggy, now that you have found us, can you be so kind as to go and inform Pebbles of our imminent arrival ?”
After performing what might have resembled a formal salute if it had arms, the yellow eye zipped along the road, away from Moon and toward their destination.
—
After this short interaction, and another patting session of her blue passenger, Moon resumed her journey, and before long exited the bridge system to return to dry land, taking the last stretch of road that led to Mountain Home.
While the rocky hills around their new base was a rough land devoid of any kind of vegetation, it had the advantage of offering an unobstructed view of the surrounding area, making it easy to detect any ambushed predator, if any predator at all.
As she was approaching, the turquoise Iterator could see more and more overseers dotting over the landscape. Blues, greens, reds, meaning she was the last to arrive.
She knew for a fact that her brother was already in Mountain Home when he sent his broadcast, and she was almost certain that Sig was there too.
As for Suns, she was aware that they were also roaming outside, in the southern region beyond the valley, across the mountains surrounding the lake. So their vulture could make the trip faster than her, after all…
Hm, maybe I should reconsider the top speed of my winged lizard.
—
As she slowed down in front of the main gate of Mountain Home, she noticed that Ruffles was literally vibrating with impatience, bapping her back repeatedly.
“I know, I know, you’re excited to see the others, but Ruffles, please calm down, we haven't been gone that long !”
An exasperated wawa replied to her, and the slugcat began to intensely fix the door, as if it would open faster.
Moon chuckled to Ruffles’s impatience, and when the outer gate finally opened (too slow for her passenger liking), she quickly rolled in and let the door close behind her with the habitual clanging sound of metal.
As the hissing vapor of the decontamination cycle began to rise, Moon turned to Ruffles, and scratched her favorite place between the ears.
“It's almost over, dear, don't worry. You've done it many times before, remember ?”
Ultimately, after the last wisps of steam dissipated, she could see the inner courtyard of Mountain Home behind the opening airlock.
Ah, it was good to be home.