Chapter Text
Pebbles wasn't sure what he was looking at, exactly. Just a few minutes ago, an overseer had alerted him to the presence of a foreign agent working its way through his systems, but he expected another rodent, not... this. Person. Person? Person. They had similar anatomy to the ancients, but with smaller proportions; children their age would normally be a foot taller, at least, which filled him with a concern he hadn't felt in ages, which was easy to stamp out. What was more pressing was the fact that they appeared at all. If this is an ancient, they all ascended themselves, so that doesn't make sense, but if it's not an ancient, then what the hell is it?!
The earliest footage captured of them was from a routine sweep of his can, and he was quick to bring it up, upon noticing it making its way to his puppet chamber. Notably, this footage isn't them entering, but rather, fighting against one of the mobile rot cysts. Although it was less of a fight, and more of a distraction, as it threw several edible items at the 'creature', then calmly floated past, as its arms were occupied. Enhancing the footage doesn't clear up exactly how they were carrying all of that food, which was another mystery to add to the pile... His anxieties ease, slightly, with every spear it passes, on its way to him. It's likely the creature isn't violent, so he won't have to kill it, but- What does it want? Should he just tell it of the "way out", like the others? He's going to question it, certainly, but what then?? Is it an evolved scavenger...?
...
He quickly files that away in the "terrible ideas" section of his memory. A place that's grown worryingly full, as of late.
Another ping, as an overseer alerts him to the presence of something else; another thorn in his side, though one he's at least gotten a lot of usefulness out of. The little ruffian, descending from the city atop his back, to greet him. This... This did not bode well, for either of them. Quickly, he commands his overseer to pop up in the little beast's path, and flash the sign for "DANGER", with an arrow pointing in the general direction toward the Interloper.
His immediate thought is that he did not think this through, as the first thing the ruffian does is see the sign, spin on its heels, and go stomping off in the direction he just warned it about. His structure shakes; the closest thing to an annoyed sigh he can give, without it being in the room for him to throttle directly. He's going to have to step in, he knows this, but it could... well, it could be valuable data. To figure out this Interloper's intentions, and how it fares against a more capable combatant.
'Or the little ruffian will tear it to shreds', an unhelpful part of him adds. 'Then all other use for it will be lost.' He's made many horrible decisions, and taken many unnecessary risks, however. What's one more, at this point?
It doesn't take long for the meeting to happen. He holds his overseer back from providing either of them with warnings, simply watching, to see how things play out. If this is an ancient, or if they speak a similar language, then the ruffians' mark of communication could allow for a... peaceful dialogue, if either of them are intent to use it.
Unfortunately, this proves to be what he suspected: Wishful thinking. A spear grazes past the Interlopers' hair, embedding itself into the wall; they don't seem hurt, nor do they seem fazed, their expression somehow even more blank than the average slugcat. With a surprising show of strength Pebbles did not expect them to have, they rip the spear from the wall, and smack away a piece of debris, thrown by the beast. The Interloper stands with the spear held in both hands, assuming a defensive position, as the ruffian peaks out from a pipe, in the ceiling.
The Interloper holds the spear at their side, positioned behind their back, as they point, and say something. Something like...
* You tell The Artificer that you're not here for a fight.
* She doesn't seem to care.
So it- he? she? they? 'it' feels wrong, now -speaks a language! That he understands! Fascinating, he'll add this to their file. The beast travels back through the pipe it was in, going to fetch another brick, and a spear. It heads back down soon after, going for an alternate strategy, rocketing out of the pipe with a loud 'bang'. The Interloper has moved in the time it took for the beast to restock, now climbing up a railing along the wall. Though as the ruffian flies past, and throws its spear, they kick away, narrowly avoiding death. They both float in the same direction, landing against the upper wall, as the Interloper says something else.
* You make a joke, about sending a message.
* But nobody got it.
...Sig would like this one. It takes everything in Pebbles to not groan, however. The ruffian seems to realize what the Interloper said was an attempt at humor, and snarls, mirroring how he feels, even if it probably doesn't understand what the joke was about.
* Artificer's ATK went up!
The Interloper flinches back a second before the rock is thrown, tilting their head to the side, and letting it bounce off the wall behind them.
Hm. He records this peculiar interaction, and saves it for later, as the ruffian uses a controlled explosion to launch directly toward them, but the Interloper is fast. They avoid it with ease, the ruffian dashing after them, always landing where they last were, as the two practically bounce around the room. After a while of this, however, the beast backs off, sparks emitting from it like a bomb, about to detonate. Which would be not too inaccurate, given its track record. The Interloper grabs back onto the wall-railing, and speaks.
* You tell The Artificer that you find her cute.
* She bares her teeth, at you.
This is going to take too long, if he lets things continue as-is. It's time to step in. His overseer pops up in front of the ruffian, and he shows it the symbol for "DANGER", crossed out, pointing toward the Interloper. The beast pauses, glaring into the Interlopers' eyes, before focusing the full weight of its fury onto him, letting out the beginnings of a growl. Five Pebbles actually sighs, this time, and changes the symbol to that of an iterator, with an arrow pointing in the direction of his chamber. He turns toward the Interloper, to make sure they see it as well, finding them standing as still as a statue. ...After a second of staring, they reach out, and give a thumbs-up. A sign Pebbles hasn't seen in... well, not that long actually, when he thinks back to some photos he's been sent. But that's unimportant.
His overseer retreats into the ground, re-appearing in the next room, awaiting the two's arrival. Then it disappears again, waiting in the next room, and the next, so on and so forth, as he lets that process run in the background. He ensures the anti-gravity is turned off, and that all of his pearls are out of the way, held in a series of lines, against the back wall. They're organized by contents, mostly so as to not appear like clutter, or junk. As a part of his brain focuses on the duo traveling to his chamber, it becomes clear that the Interlopers' speed is mostly just for combat, as the ruffian has to routinely wait for them, by the exit to every room. Not that they seem to mind, but the little ruffian, on the other hand...
...All Pebbles can do is hope a second fight doesn't break out. It's easy, at first, to not let nerves get the better of you. Less so, when what you're anticipating takes longer, and longer, and longer to occur. But it's fine, it'll be fine. He's nothing, if not patient.