Archive of Our Own

Slipping out of the karma gate’s pipeline, Artificer landed in a combat stance, fangs barred and explosive spear raised to throw at anything that moved. She was all alone in enemy territory now; a part of her was nervous, but mostly she was feeling excited.

Being alone meant she didn’t have to watch her throws; there were no longer any allies with her that could accidentally get hurt in the explosive chaos, only scavs, and they could all die a hundred cycles over for all she cared. Artificer fixed her gaze on the long, winding corridor in front of her. No scavengers were around just yet, it seemed.

"What? Not even a welcome party?!" She yelled down the corridor, keeping her spear level and ready to throw at any movement.

Her voice echoed off the walls and back at her, along with a bark of laughter at her own joke. Carefully, she lowered her spear and started walking. It did seem awfully quiet, didn’t it? There is no security set up for the gate. Did they not take her seriously or something?

Maybe they think I’m too scared to venture into their territory; is that it? She felt her fur fizzle as she growled at that thought. She’d show them alright, green lizards were more dangerous than a scav, as were pink lizards, blue lizards, or any lizard! Even leeches posed more of a danger than…

Her mind stopped its rambling when she reached the pipe on the other side of the corridor, and her little drone flew close to the entrance, flashing red and pointing a holographic symbol at it. She knew what that symbol meant; she’d seen it plenty of times before.

Danger…

Artificer lifted her spear again; she had learned long ago to trust her droid companion when it came to its warnings. Her not listening to it had led to some avoidable deaths in the past, after all. Squinting her eye and adjusting her grip on the spear, she focused all her attention on the pipe.

After what felt like hours, the pipe flashed, and a light blue figure popped out. Without a second’s hesitation, she threw the spear as hard as she could. It lodged in the scavenger’s torso as it squealed, the spear sizzling. Artificer took an explosive jump backwards as the spear exploded. She was partly immune to explosives, but she didn’t want to risk getting stunned when more scavengers could be coming close behind their friend.

She landed further back and raised the homemade bomb made of rock in her other paw, watching the pipe. After a moment, her drone flew over to her and blinked a couple times, circling her once. Artificer lowered the explosive rock, sighing in disappointment, before walking up to the singed corpse.

"Only one scav, seriously?" She asked as she leaned down and looked over the corpse, groaning in frustration as she came to a realization. "With no weapons?" She snarled and gave the corpse a kick in the side; it didn’t react.

They sent a singular scav, with no weapons to speak of. Was this a joke?! She growled, promising herself that she would make them pay for this slight, in blood and pain.

She got to her feet, ready to move on, before pausing and turning back to look at the corpse. Artificer wasn’t particularly hungry, but why let scav meat go to waste? Sitting down, she immediately tore into the stomach, gorging on the meat and organs inside.

At least there’s one thing scavs are good for: they make a good meal! Artificer thought, once again laughing at her own joke. When done, she felt particularly full and considered finding a shelter in this damned place, if the scavs even had those…

Well, if they didn’t, then at least the scavengers she killed wouldn’t be back in Metropolis the next cycle; they would have to travel from wherever they last hibernated.

If that is the case, I’ll have to do so too. With a scoff, Artificer waved away those thoughts. It had been so many cycles since the scavengers even came close to killing her; it would be fine. Some of her scars started itching, but she ignored them. She carried their pathetic attempts to kill her on her body with pride!

Artificer straightened up, puffing out her chest in pride and smirking. What she was doing here was justice for all the pain the scavs had caused not just her but the rest of slugcat-kind! With a newfound determination for her mission, she slipped through the pipe.

Only to immediately pop out into a room that held three other scavengers.

The scavengers’ eyes opened so wide that they seemed to almost pop out of their heads as the one closest to her raised its spear. Reacting quickly, Artificer threw the bomb in her paw right at the one about to spear her.

She could only make out loud chitters and screams of pain and terror through the ringing in her ears as the shockwave of the blast threw her into a nearby wall. Collapsing to the ground, Artificer shook her head to try to gather her thoughts; her vision was blurred and her ears were still ringing loudly.

Glancing up, she saw everyone in the room had been affected by the blast; the one that had the bomb directly thrown at them was obviously dead and gone, but the other two were only dazed and trying to get up.

Shaking, Artificer got to her feet and started moving towards the next scavenger. It shook its head and looked up, its orange eyes widening as it noticed her approach. As she saw it scramble for a spear, she lunged forward, emitting an explosion that knocked the scav’s head into the floor.

Before it could properly recover, she was on top of it, biting down on its neck. The scavenger barely had time to gasp before she tore the throat from its body, spitting it out onto the ground.

Her ear twitched as she heard the sound of metal behind her. She didn’t need to glance back to know the final scavenger had a spear ready to throw at her back. Trusting her instincts, she backflipped into the air, feeling relief when she saw the spear fly just underneath her, right where she previously stood.

Landing on the ground, she turned to her final enemy, scowling angrily. The last scav was dark brown with blue eyes. It had no weapons left, nothing to defend itself with, as it chittered in fear, stepping backwards until it hit a wall. Slowly, Artificer advanced on it, picking a discarded spear off the ground as she approached.

Artificer considered throwing it at the scavenger before deciding against it as she felt anger course through her veins.

"You remind me of someone…" She said this, the scavenger stilling as she talked, her voice low and dangerous. "Have we met before? I feel like I recognize you." Artificer laughed for a moment, the scavenger’s terror rising further as time went on. "You look just like the one at the toll!" She yelled, charging forward.

The scavenger had no time to react as it was tackled to the ground, with Artificer growling as she raised the spear above her head and pushed down. It was only by luck that the scavenger managed to block the spear’s path, the tip going through its hand before getting stuck. The scavenger howled in pain, its other hand wrapping around the handle just above the tip, trying to push back against its attacker.

Artificer growled as she pushed down with all her force. The scavenger was strong, but it was weakened and disoriented, and it was clear it wouldn’t be able to stop the spear as it slowly moved towards its chest. It chittered in fear, looking up into her good eye as it seemed to beg for mercy.

"You didn’t show my pups any mercy." She whispered, laughing as the scavenger shook its head, squealing in fear. "You will get no mercy from me." The scavenger closed its eyes as the sharp tip was only a couple millimeters away from its flesh.

Its arms shook, trying to push back with the last of its strength; eventually, the spear pierced the scavenger. Artificer smirked as the scav’s eyes bulged open and it screamed, the spear slowly but surely being driven into its chest. The scav stopped attempting to stop the spear; instead, its hand grabbed onto Artificer’s fur, trying to pull her off, hurt her, or do anything to stop the spear’s descent.

With a growl, she pushed downward, feeling the spear lodge itself in the ground beneath the scavenger’s body. Artificer smiled as she felt its warm blood smatter on her face. Its body twitched, its eyes rolled back into its skull, and one last, weak chitter left it before it finally fell limp.

Artificer snarled as she ripped the spear free, taking a moment to catch her breath before getting to her feet. Taking a glance around the room, she quickly spotted a shelter pipe in the high ceiling. With a sigh of relief, she explosively jumped up, grabbed hold of a pole, and climbed up into the pipe.

Once she was fully sealed inside, she laid down on the cold floor with a sigh. Tossing and turning, Artificer found it harder to sleep than when she had company. She frowned, already missing the feeling of warmth all around her from her friend’s furs.

With a grunt, Artificer shook her head. You chose this, you’ve come this far, and you are going to finish the job.

"Hell yeah, I am." She said to herself, ignoring the way her words slightly echoed back to her in the desolate shelter.

Exhausted from the day, she eventually fell asleep, dreaming of all the ways she would tear The Chieftain limb from limb when she finally reached him.

As Artificer moved through the city, she kept getting pestered by blue overseers displaying holographic images in her face. They were of various odd images with accompanying text that she could not, for the life of her, understand. She wasn’t even aware of what language it was written in.

It was especially annoying and dangerous when an especially idiotic overseer decided to throw up an advertisement for some stupid can of soda right when Artificer was taking aim at a scavenger. She ended up missing the spear throw, forcing her to wait until her opponent got close to finish them off with her claws and teeth. When the same overseer popped up again, she threw her spear at it, and as it popped, essentially dying, it dropped a metal orb that looked like an eye.

Artificer remembered seeing the scavenger’s trade these eyes between each other, exchanging them for other items like spears and pearls. She also made note of how the scavengers also seemed to hate the overseers, always attempting to throw a spear at them, likely explaining why they viewed the eyes as valuable and probably as an item to display with pride.

She rolled her eye with a growl at these notions; the scavengers and their constant materialism and greed only made her angry, so she decided to abandon that train of thought. Her drone suddenly beeped, making her stop in her tracks and prepare her spear. It took her a moment to realize the drone wasn’t trying to alert her of any danger; it was pointing at a random wall.

With a hum, Artificer walked up to the spot the drone was pointing to; the part of the wall was covered in a piece of cloth that had been attached a bit further up. She looked up at the drone, giving it an incredulous look. It beeped and once again pointed at the wall in response. With a sigh, she grabbed the cloth and moved it to the side.

As she expected, there was a hole in the wall. Peeking in, she could see a collection of what scavs considered goodies: explosive spears, bombs, the aforementioned overseer eyes, and, of course, all manner of pearls.

"Oh, what a surprise—a scav treasury." She said sarcastically, turning to the drone with a scoff. "You could at least show me something interesting! There’s nothing in there I could possibly need or want!" The drone beeped again, bumping into her forehead.

Artificer batted at it a couple times before scowling at the drone. After staring at the drone for what felt like hours, she finally rolled her eye and stepped through the hole with a scoff, the drone following close behind.

She strolled through the chamber leisurely, making sure to give any pearls in her path a hard kick into the walls of the treasury with the intention of scuffing the pristine surface of the shiny orbs.

She snickered as she imagined the scavengers coming back and crying over their damaged property; they would probably be more upset over ruined pearls than the temporary death of their kin. The drone turned and looked at one of the walls, hovering in place. Artificer stopped to stare at it in confusion before turning to look at the wall it was inspecting.

The artwork in question was painted with white paint, depicting what looked like a slugcat wearing a vulture mask offering a yellow flower to a scavenger wearing a ornate mask with various pearls hanging off it from strings. Various other scavengers were painted in the background, standing crowded and watching the interaction with wide eyes.

Artificer frowned as she looked at the scavenger wearing the mask; she had never seen a mask like that on any scav before, not even on the elites she’d faced. It almost looked regal in nature, and she growled as she realized it was probably depicting The Chieftain.

At least now I know I can’t miss them. She thought as she glared at the ridiculously regal mask of The Chieftain.

Eventually she turned her attention to the mask-wearing slugcat. It seemed to be on the shorter side, barely reaching up to The Chieftain’s chest, and quite skinny. The body language displayed seemed to be suggesting happiness as they offered the gift, a certain giddiness to the way they carried themselves.

Despite what Artificer thought of the scavs, she had to admit that they had a knack for artwork; it was a very detailed piece despite being painted on a rough stone wall. The slugcat, especially, was drawn in intricate detail; it almost reminded her of someone…

With a scoff, she picked an explosive spear off the floor and hurled it at the wall, smirking as it sizzled for a moment before exploding, reducing the painted artwork to a scorched mess, with most of the paint burned off the surface.

Now they won’t cry just because of the pearls! Artificer thought as she laughed, picking another explosive spear off the floor and heading for the hole in the wall. The drone beeped and followed, catching up and going through the hole before her. She stopped before going through, turned around, and hurled the spear at the other explosives gathered on the floor.

As Artificer climbed through the hole and started walking away, she smirked as the explosions started, the shockwave practically leaving the nearby walls shaking under its might as all the scavs cared about blew up into smithereens.

In her travels, Artificer came across a tall tower. Looking upward, it was clear to her that it was the highest point in the whole region. She was having some trouble finding her way through the city, always running into dead ends or coming across more useless scavenger treasuries; maybe climbing up the tower could help her get a bearing on where to go?

Her little drone certainly seemed to agree, immediately beeping and pointing towards the top of the very tall tower. It would be a very long climb, but if it helped her find the way to the chieftain, it would very much be worth it. Thus, she started to slowly ascend the structure.

It quickly became clear to her that the scavs probably valued the tower in some capacity, considering the number of different patrols she ran into on her way up. Luckily, none of them managed to catch her by surprise, and none of the patrols had an elite traveling with them, so it was not a very big deal.

If anything, it quickly became an annoyance once she had to kill at least her twentieth scavenger that cycle. I think that’s actually a new record. Artificer thought as she explosively jumped to the next pole, grabbed on, and glanced down towards the ground. She was making good progress, at least, judging by her distance from the ground. Turning her head and looking towards the peak, she estimated she’d climbed about two-thirds of the way.

From there on, there were no more patrols in her way, making the last stretch way less annoying than the first one. Though, considering she’d have to climb all the way down again, Artificer was starting to question if this trip up the tower would seriously be worth it at all.

After a bit more climbing, she finally reached the base of the antenna at the top. Artificer could get a look at her surroundings from her current position, but there was no point in not climbing the whole way up now that she’d gotten this far. She grabbed onto the steel bars of the antenna and used it as a makeshift climbing pole, shimmying upward towards the peak.

As Artificer got closer to the very top, flecks of what seemed to be gold started raining down around here, along with the warm light from the sun being replaced with a bluish tint, slowly moving around the area. She paused for a moment, looking around in confusion.

Artificer had never seen something like this in her life, and try as she might, she couldn’t figure out a logical explanation for it. Her drone was completely silent at her side, seeming just as confused as her. Curiosity peaked, and she kept climbing towards the top of the antenna.

All logic went out the window when she reached the top and immediately spotted a large, black being covered in golden scales and floating just next to the tip of the antenna. After a moment of hesitation, Artificer climbed all the way up the pole and balanced on the top as she leaned in to get a closer look at the strange being.

Her grip tightened around the spear in her paw; the creature hadn’t shown her any aggression yet, but it was always better to always be ready for a fight, just in case.

"You are stuck in a cycle of wrath and destruction, simple being. " Artificer yelped as she almost lost her balance and fell off the pole. From how hard she flinched at the sudden, loud voice echoing through her mind, " Gripped by raw emotions whose chains bind you, destined to this land." She recovered from her shock, glaring at the being in front of her.

"How do you know of my mission of revenge?" She asked, baring her teeth and raising her spear in warning, though she was unsure of how much damage such a small weapon could do to a creature of this size.

"Shortcomings of the past haunt one and all like whispering phantoms." It continued, as if it didn’t hear her.

Artificer paused; maybe it was deaf? It didn’t have visible ears, not from what she could see anyway.

"Listen. Let this be a warning to you…" She huffed in response. The being could obviously see, or at least feel, her presence; otherwise, it wouldn’t be trying to give her a life lesson on revenge. "An unrewarding battle awaits, culminating in a path of no return. A perpetuity of struggles begetting more of the same." It turned slightly in the air, and Artificer could swear it was looking right into her soul. "Find a way out, if you still can." She was suddenly hit with a wave of fear. How did this being know so much about her?

"What are you?" Artificer asked, her voice shaky as she felt her ears pin back on her head.

Instead of receiving a response, she was hit with a bright flash of light, enveloping her whole vision in white. Artificer shut her good eye tightly and tried to turn away, only for everything to go dark.

Her eye opened again, and she sat up with a gasp. Artificer looked around, quickly noticing she was back in her last shelter. She shakily got to her feet, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Get a hold of yourself, Artificer. It was just a very weird dream." She told herself, the only logical explanation she could find.

Everything was the same as when she lay down to hibernate in the shelter; nothing was out of place or missing. Her drone beeped twice, floating around her for a moment before stopping to hover just behind her, ready to go.

Yeah, just a dream; nothing to worry about. She thought as she picked her explosive spear off the floor, the shelter doors opening in front of her.

However, as she left the shelter, Artificer couldn’t shake the feeling that she had experienced something spiritual in nature.

As Artificer got familiarized with the region, she figured that if there was ever a place The Chieftain would probably be, it would be the massive dome she could already make out in the distance. Considering their ridiculously adorned mask, she wouldn’t be surprised if they also lived in the biggest building, at the center of the city.

However, seeing as there was a large toll between her and the dome and all scavs definitely knew she was in their territory and making her way to The Chieftain, Artificer decided to put off going to the dome for a small while, at least until night fell. That’s why she was currently scouting through the underground of the city, where there were more predators than scavs. 

Can’t even keep annoying pests out of their precious city. She thought as she speared a centipede into the wall, the creature convulsing and spasming for a moment before going still as all life left it.

As she munched on the snack, her drone suddenly started beeping and showing her holographic arrows again. She sighed and finished the centipede in a few bites as the drone’s beeping became faster.

"Alright, alright!" Artificer said, following the direction of the drone’s arrow. "This better not be another treasury..." She mumbled as she started climbing down the poles in the room.

The stupid drone seemed to love the treasuries; perhaps it was coded to consider pearls and such valuable? She huffed; if she met up with Five Pebbles again, she would convince him to rewire that part of the machine. That way, she didn’t have to waste time following arrows; ninety percent of her time in scavenger territory.

She stopped as the arrows led her into a wall. Looking up, she saw a small alcove in the wall near the ceiling. The drone beeped and pointed at the hole. Artificer grumbled as she blasted up into the small compartment. What she saw made her growl angrily at the drone still waiting near the ground.

It was a pearl once again. Granted, it was a dark green color, unlike the rest of the shiny white ones she’d seen a million times before. But still, it was a pearl. She picked it up, turned around, and jumped down to the ground in front of the drone, seething.

"I thought I told you not to waste my time." Artificer snarled, showing the green pearl to the stupid robot, who beeped once in response. "It’s green and different, sure. But how is it of any use to me?" She asked, looking down at the pearl.

She could cover it in explosive spit, maybe? The idea of using the scav’s greed against them as a weapon was very alluring. But the pearl was quite a bit smaller than any rocks she would otherwise use for bombs; it wouldn’t make as big an explosion if turned into an explosive. The drone suddenly beeped impatiently, and she glanced up at it.

It was showing her a new holographic image, a headshot of that iterator person: Five Pebbles. Artificer hummed as she thought back to his chambers. He did have a lot of pearls strewn about; perhaps he could get some use out of this thing? The drone beeped again, and she groaned.

"Fine! I’ll bring the pearl to Five Pebbles, happy?" She scowled as she put the pearl in her mouth and swallowed, storing it in her stomach for later.

The drone beeped again, circling her a few times in what she perceived as happiness. In response, she huffed, batting her paw at it to get it to stop. Going through a few more pipes, Artificer peeked outside to get a grasp on the time of day. The sky was slowly getting darker, and she could see stars start to come out. Nighttime was steadily approaching.

Artificer smirked to herself, spitting some explosive spit onto the tip of her spear and lifting the bomb in her other paw.

Showtime.

As Artificer made her way towards the toll’s giant dome, hidden by the darkness of the night, she couldn’t help but feel giddy at the thought of finally reaching her target and finally being able to avenge her pups. Victory will be sweet, and she will finally feel satisfied and be able to move on. As she was just one room away from the huge toll she had seen earlier, Artificer smirked.

Under the cover of darkness, they won’t see me coming. Artificer thought as she prepared to jump up to the pole leading to the pipe. She stopped as she heard the sound of something moving through the pipe behind her.

Immediately, she whipped around and raised her spear. The skinny and small figure that climbed through the pipe had yellow fur, a green vulture mask strapped to their face, carried a lantern, and was a slugcat, a certain slugcat Artificer recognized quite well, even with the mask covering their facial features.

"Monk?" Artificer lowered her spear as the yellow slugcat pulled their mask to the side, staring in shock for a moment before smiling warmly.

"Arti!" Monk yelled, closing the gap with frightening speed and embracing her.

Despite his small frame, Monk almost bowled Artificer over, and despite his lack of strong muscles, the tightness of his hug managed to push the air out of her lungs as she chuckled, hugging him back. She had almost forgotten Monk called her by a nickname; normally she would feel 'Arti' would be a bit too cute of a nickname for her, but Monk had been so excited when he came up with it, so she let him use the name.

"Wasn’t expecting to see you here." Artificer said as they eventually broke the embrace, crouching down to ruffle the fur on Monk’s head, the slugcat giggling in response. "It’s been a long time, kid. It’s good to see you." She meant that, despite the timing of their meeting being a bit off.

"It’s good to see you too!" Monk responded, smiling wide. "You look well, despite it all." He said warmly.

Artificer had noticed from the very first moment she met Monk that his strength didn’t come from his agility or strength like most other slugcats; his strength came from his empathy and spiritual understanding.

"So, how did you manage to befriend the scavengers?" She couldn’t help but ask. "They are paranoid on a good day and dangerous on a bad day." Try as she might, Artificer couldn’t stop the venom that seeped into her words as she spoke of the scavs.

"They’re not that bad once you get to know them! Like you say, they are just very paranoid and wary of strangers." Monk giggled. "Though there are some who are just flat-out rude, of course!" Artificer hummed and nodded.

She was in no way surprised that Monk had managed to make friends with the scavengers, however, it came at the cost of her having to tell him what she intended to do to The Chieftain.

"Listen, Monk." Artificer started, Monk’s smile turned a bit more melancholy as his ear twitched, like he knew what was coming. "I… I think you’ve already figured out why I’m here." She said, Monk closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yes, you are here for revenge." He said simply, reaching out and gently grabbing hold of her paws. "You are here to fight the chieftain of the scavengers, intending to defeat him in single combat." Artificer shivered slightly; she had almost forgotten that Monk’s empathy sort of granted him the ability to read minds, or at least made him very good at guessing other’s motivations.

Artificer had not yet told him the story behind her hatred of the scavengers, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to, especially now that he had become the scavenger's friend. However, she was not going to stop her revenge just because she didn’t want to upset Monk; she had already gone too far to give up now, after all.

"I'm sorry, Monk." She said, hardening her gaze slightly. "I know the scavengers are your friends, but I have to do this." Artificer tried to keep up a strong facade, but she was terrified of her friend trying to stop her; she didn't think she had it in her to hurt Monk if he stood in her way.

With a sigh, Monk let go of her paws, smiling up at her and tilting his head. Artificer felt calmer in his presence; she felt like the constant ringing in her ears faded away; her scars stopped their incessant itching; and she felt happier in general.

"No need to worry, Arti! I won’t stand in your way." He giggled slightly, "Even if I wanted to stop you, how would I be able to stop a slugcat as strong, determined, and capable as you?" Artificer wanted to laugh with him but couldn’t find it in herself to do so. "I would rather things don't go down this way, but you have made up your mind, I can tell." He added, smiling warmly at her, in an attempt at comfort, no doubt.

She thought back to what that odd being in her dream had told her—the one at the top of the antenna—about her being stuck in a perpetual cycle of destruction and wrath. It couldn’t be true, could it? It wasn’t a cycle; the cycle of wrath would end when she got her revenge. Then everything would feel normal again, and she would finally feel normal again.

What if the meeting with the being was real? It felt like a spiritual meeting, like something otherworldly, something her slugcat brain wasn’t supposed to experience. Monk seemed to notice her nervous shifting as he tilted his head again, frowning for the first time during their conversation.

"Something on your mind, Arti?" He asked carefully, and Artificer hummed in response, hesitating before speaking.

"I think I witnessed something… otherworldly a couple cycles ago." She said Monk seemed to perk up, his eyes widening in recognition, so she continued. "It was a large being, black and covered in golden scales, floating high above the ground. It spoke like it knew me, like it could see into my soul." Artificer explained, turning her head to look at a nearby wall. "It felt very spiritual, and since you’re, well, spiritually attuned, do you think you could tell me what such a meeting means?" She looked back at Monk, whose wide eyes almost seemed to glimmer.

"Arti, you encountered an Echo!" Monk said excitedly, bouncing slightly on his tippy-toes, it reminded Artificer of her pups. "They are a result of a being with too many vices trying to transcend the cycle of reincarnation, becoming stuck between this world and the next. They don’t show themselves to many, and encountering one is very rare and a great honor!" He explained, clapping his paws together in excitement.

Artificer hummed, so her meeting wasn’t just a dream then. The Echo really looked into her soul, and that’s what it saw? A cycle of destruction and wrath? That can’t be right. It can't be, right? The cycle ends with her, with her revenge...

"Did you understand what it told you, Arti?" Monk’s chipper voice interrupted Artificer’s thoughts. "I’ve seen a few before, but the first I encountered never spoke to me. At least, not until meeting Five Pebbles." He seemed deep in thought suddenly, scrunching up his face slightly and looking at nothing in particular.

"Five Pebbles... what a character, huh?" Artificer said jokingly, desperate to change the topic of the conversation.

"Yeah, he’s kind of rude!" Monk said with a giggle. "But something tells me he’s been through a lot. Besides, it can’t be much fun to be cooped up in that chamber with no way out." Artificer smiled. Monk’s empathy and kindness were truly something to behold.

Thinking back to her meeting with Five Pebbles reminded her that Monk probably didn’t know about Survivor! She inwardly facepalmed herself for not mentioning it sooner to the little guy.

"I’ve seen your brother, by the way." Artificer blurts out, unsure of how to change the topic so rapidly in their conversation.

Monk’s eyes widen as he stares in shock for a short moment before his face splits into a huge grin.

"Really? You have? You've seen Survivor? Where did you see him?" Artificer was suddenly bombarded with questions faster than she could answer them. "Where is he now? Is he okay? It’s been so long since I’ve last seen him-" 

"Easy, Monk, easy. Breathe." She cuts him off. "I’ll tell you everything, okay?"

The yellow slugcat nods and takes deep breaths as Artificer recalls the whole story. She tells him about their first meeting, their travels, and the different problems they faced. Monk comments from time to time, for example, when she mentions Hunter and he screams something along the lines of, My brother has a mate? Or when she told him of Hunter's illness progressing, he looked close to tears. Before finally whooping and clapping when she tells the story of Hunter being cured.

Though eventually, Artificer is able to tell the whole story, including Survivor and Hunter going off to look for Monk when, ironically, he had been way closer than first thought.

"Well, we have to go find them!" He says as soon as she finishes recounting the story.

"You want me to come with you?" Artificer asked, for some reason thinking Monk would want to go alone.

"Of course! We make a great team, don’t you think?" Monk responds, winking.

Artificer laughs; she’d like that. It would be nice to have a traveling companion again, but first she has to take care of business here. The Chieftain would not get away from her; she would have revenge and justice.

"I’d like that, Monk." Artificer says, turning towards the yellow slugcat, who looks up at her excitedly. "Before we go, I have to take care of business. How about you backtrack and wait for me by the gate out of the city?" Monk nods twice, and she smiles, running a paw through the soft fur on his head as he chirps happily. "I won’t be long, a couple cycles at most."

"Okay, Arti!" Monk responds, about to turn around, before stopping. "Just keep something in mind." He says, suddenly looking deathly grim. "Revenge is always a choice, and it’s one that should not be taken lightly." It was said in an uncharacteristically serious voice.

Artificer has to suppress a shudder at the look on Monk's face, pacifist he may be, just like his brother, he knew how to be threatening when needed. As she nods, Monk’s smile returns as they exchange a quick hug before he turns and walks up to the exit. He turns back to wave at her, and she waves back happily. Then he passes through the pipe, and Artificer is all alone again.

She squashes the sudden nervousness and uncertainty around her mission, growling to herself as she picks her weapons off the ground.

Don’t second-guess yourself now; you’re almost done. Artificer tells herself as she jumps up to the pipe leading to the toll and, after that, the dome containing her target.

With a deep breath, she slid through the narrow entrance.

The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air as Artificer passed through the ruined toll. Outnumbered as she was, with the cover of darkness and the element of surprise, it had been surprisingly easy. She started it off by pelting the scavengers with explosions from afar, sowing chaos and destruction. When most had been killed, she moved in to finish up the rest.

Finally, with bated breath, she passed through the pipe leading into the dome. The inside was unsurprisingly as huge as the outside, but with enough lanterns spread around to ensure it was fairly bright inside the building, even at night. Artificer ventured further in, staying on high alert the whole way through, ready for any surprises that could be thrown her way.

A familiar beeping sound grabbed her attention. She turned her head to the drone, but it wasn’t beeping; it wasn’t even looking in her direction; it was looking upward and ahead of her. She glanced up and saw the source of the beeping: another Citizen ID Drone, maroon in color, pointed an arrow along with a symbol at her.

Danger.

Looking at its owner, she bared her teeth and growled. There, on top of a large platform above her, sat The Chieftain Scavenger. They looked down at her, their red-orange eyes visible through the eye sockets of their mask. Wasting no time, Artificer jumped up to their platform and stood straight, staring them square in the eyes.

They had no weapon on hand, but their body was covered in red centipede scales, acting as a sort of armor, she guessed. It spoke to The Chieftain’s skill if they had killed the red centipede themselves, as the red creatures were notoriously difficult to deal with.

"The Red Death." The Chieftain spoke in her language, his voice deep and clear. "Why have you come here?" He rumbled, and Artificer growled in response.

"You know why." She snarled, spitting on the ground between them, the saliva sizzling.

"Your pups." The scavenger continued, Artificer scowled, shaking in rage. "They were slain by a small group of our tribe. Why should all of us suffer for their mistake?" The Chieftain tilted his head, scowling at her as the beads hanging from his mask clinked together.

"It’s not just a small group!" Artificer laughed, clenching her explosive spear tighter. "You scavs are all the same! Stupid, paranoid, and above all else, violent." Smoke left her mouth as she hissed.

"If you had been at that toll, you would have done the same thing." Artificer said before throwing her spear down on the ground in front of The Chieftain, keeping the bomb in her paw. "Pick it up and fight me." She smirked, taking a small step back.

The Chieftain looked down at the spear for a moment before looking back up at Artificer and shaking his head.

"No," he said simply.

…No?

…NO?!

"Pick it up." Artificer hissed, taking a small step forward and pointing at the spear. "Don’t you want to avenge your kin, coward?" The Chieftain growled quietly at the insult, and she smiled. "Pick up the spear and show the rest of your tribe you are fit to lead them." She stared at The Chieftain, waiting for his expression to twist in anger and for him to grab the spear and lunge for her.

He did none of those things; he simply sat and stared at her. She stared back, anger giving way to confusion. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go, The Chieftain was supposed to be ruthless and evil, fully willing to fight and kill a slugcat like her.

The Chieftain wasn’t supposed to refuse the weapon, to refuse to fight her, or to give her the satisfaction of his defeat. After a while longer, The Chieftain took a step closer, lifted his right arm, and pointed towards the exit.

"There has been enough violence and death from both sides, Red Death." He said, his voice calm and even. "Leave, and don’t come back." Artificer stared in shock, taking a small step back.

"Fight me." Artificer said, he shook his head, and she growled, taking a step forward, picking the spear off the ground, and pointing the sharp tip at him. "FIGHT ME!" She screamed. The Chieftain didn’t move; he didn’t even flinch.

"Leave." He repeated himself, still pointing at the exit. "My fellow scavengers will let you leave in peace." Artificer hissed, turning her back to the scavenger.

Should she leave? Is it really that simple after everything she’s been through? After all the violence and death? After she’s sacrificed her very soul and spirit for the sake of this?

Was this trip all for nothing?

Artificer closed her eye, recalling a happy memory of her pups, one of the few she still remembered.

It had been during a very bad cycle; Artificer had slept terribly and was feeling under the weather, and it was her turn to go out hunting with the other hunters of the colony. It had been a time before she had decided to start mothering her pups full-time, so she said goodbye to Hooligan and Sunshine and left.

After a lot of struggles and strife, she had come home to their den, exhausted from the long day. When she went through, the little ones immediately swarmed her, happy that she was back.

They had tidied the den while she was gone and done some light hunting themselves, catching a couple small centipedes. She was so proud!

Sunshine instead recounted how her centipede had looked ‘so sad’ when she had thrown a spear through it, so she made sure to give it a proper funeral ceremony, complete with candles and offerings for the dead.

There’s no way to give her a funeral; you had to run away and leave her body behind for the scavengers.

Hooligan had told the story of how his centipede had shocked his hand, which was indeed a very dangerous injury. He was lucky to have survived at all!

He didn’t survive; the leeches pulling him deep underwater and sucking out all the blood from his small body attest to that.

It’s his fault they’re dead.

He needs to pay.

Kill him.

Kill him!

KILL HIM!

With an enraged roar, Artificer whipped around and threw the explosive spear at The Chieftain. He reacted quickly, shifting his body so one of the centipede scales on his torso would take the brunt of the damage. With a loud boom, both Artificer and Chieftain fly off the platform in opposite directions.

Landing between the platform and the entrance, Artificer rolls to lessen the impact of the fall, quickly climbing to her feet, burning rage the only thing left inside her body as she snarls. On the other side of the platform, she sees the scavenger climb to his feet, and, with a growl of his own, he bends down and picks up an explosive spear.

Artificer charges forward with a fierce battle cry, sliding under the spear The Chieftain throws for her head while throwing her own bomb in his general direction. He manages to only just sidestep the explosive as Artificer picks a spear off the ground for another throw.

The battle was fast and brutal, with no quarter given on either side of the battlefield. Artificer smirks as another of the centipede scales falls off, not paying attention to the fact that the most recent explosive spear that missed her lodged in a pole just behind her head.

By the time she hears the hissing of the fuse, it’s too late. When it explodes, she feels the inside of her right ear burst as sharp pain shoots through her. The pain fades slightly, but she feels something warm run from her ear down the right side of her face. The ringing that was always present in both her ears was now only present in her left; the right had fallen completely silent.

A spear whizzes past her head, and she turns around just in time to dodge a bomb thrown at her. Several scavengers are rushing into the chamber to assist their leader, all of them chittering and pointing at her, the threat. She snarls, the pain and loss of hearing completely forgotten about as she cracks the joints in her neck.

Obstacles, in my way.

All the sound around her seems to fade around Artificer as she picks a spear off the ground and runs towards the new obstacles. The world seems to move in slow motion as she effortlessly dodges spears and bombs, throwing spears that always hit her targets whenever there’s an opening.

They are beneath me; they are nothing!

Slowly but surely, the number of obstacles dwindles until there’s no one left.

I am unstoppable! Invincible! I am Death!

Suddenly, Artificer hears a scream through her one functioning ear, coming from behind her and dodges to the side just in time to avoid a fatal backstab from The Chieftain’s spear. He recovers from the miss quickly and turns around, swiping at her. She manages to scramble back, wrapping her paw around an explosive spear discarded on the ground. As The Chieftain lunges forward, she throws the spear, her opponent only spared from certain death by his final centipede scale.

The explosion knocks them both on their backs, the shockwave whipping away all nearby weapons. Artificer recovers quicker than The Chieftain, her natural resistance to explosives doing her all the favors.

She looks towards The Chieftain; his mask has been blown off, lying off to the side. Surprisingly, the strap still seems connected. The Chieftain looks dazed as he tries to stand on shaky limbs; his now-exposed face is covered in a web of scars—the sign of a veteran warrior.

Seeing no weapons nearby, Artificer decides to finish it with her fangs, and with a scream, she lunges forward, teeth bared. The Chieftain quickly tries to climb to his feet, but she tackles him to the ground, rearing back to bite down on his neck. He thinks quickly, blocking her bite with his forearm.

The Chieftain hisses in pain as she bites down, shaking her head in an attempt to tear a piece out of the muscular limb as she starts using her paws to scratch at his torso and arms. He starts throwing desperate punches at her head to try to dislodge her. One punch connects to her scarred eye, and she yelps and lets go as pain blossoms over the area, bringing back unpleasant memories.

He takes the chance, kicking out with a powerful leg, catching Artificer in the stomach, and knocking her off of him. Before she can properly catch her breath, The Chieftain throws himself over her, pinning her under his weight. His hands wrap around her throat, and he squeezes.

Artificer feels all air leave her as she loses her capacity to breathe. Panickedly,  she tries to scratch at The Chieftain's arms to let her go. Despite the heavy bleeding from the cuts, he doesn’t let up. She moves onto his face, catching him by surprise as she aims for his left eye. She feels her claws shred the sensitive organ to bits as The Chieftain screams in pain and angles his head upwards, out of her reach.

She feels her consciousness fade as her arms fall to his in a last, desperate attempt to pry them off of her. He looks back down at her, his left eye and eyelids torn to shreds by a large clawmark. Despite the fact that he is winning, The Chieftain looks haunted—terrified, even. Artificer smirks at him, despite her situation.

I’ll be back; you know I will. It doesn’t matter how many times you kill me. I’ll come back every time until I manage to kill you.

Her paw suddenly clenches around something—a rough and slightly sharp round object. With the last of her strength, she swings the object upward, towards The Chieftain’s skull. It connects to his temple with a crack, and he immediately slumps over to the side.

Artificer coughs as she tries to catch her breath, kicking herself out from underneath the big scavenger’s body, scrambling back, and raising the rock. As her breathing evens out, she keeps waiting for The Chieftain to move, to lunge for her again, to say something.

But he just lay there, completely motionless. The drone following him is hovering close to his motionless body, blinking red. His back turned to her as a steady pool of blood slowly started forming underneath his head.

It takes her a bit longer to realize something else.

The Chieftain isn’t breathing.

He’s dead.

She’s won.

Artificer starts laughing; she doesn’t rightly know why; nothing about the situation is particularly funny, but still she laughs. It takes her a long time to realize she has an audience; only when she hears quiet chittering does she look around the chamber.

Scavengers, more gathered in one spot than she’d ever seen before in her life, all crowded behind the slope beneath her. Their weapons aren’t raised; in fact, they are all unarmed. The expressions on their faces don’t reflect anger or vengefulness; they reflect fear and terror.

She clumsily stands on shaky legs, walking over to the chieftain's mask lying just a few steps away. She takes her time putting it on, relishing in the scavenger’s fear as she adjusts the strap, ensuring it fits snugly around her head.

Only then did she remember the deal she made with Five Pebbles, making sure the scavs moved out of his city. Artificer turns to the scavengers, scanning the crowd of scared onlookers. She didn’t know so many scav words, but she could keep it simple.

“Scavengers, look upon me!” Artificer started, the crowd flinching and going completely quiet. “I have killed your chieftain, as I once killed many of you.” She chittered as she pointed towards the crowd, relishing in the way many of the scavengers winced, no doubt remembering how their meetings with her in the past had gone.

“Now I command you to leave this city behind.” She spat her explosive concoction on the blood-covered rock in her paw, and the scavengers started to back up fearfully. “If you are not long gone in the next couple of cycles, make no mistake; I will find you. Then, I will slaughter you over and over again, cycle after cycle.” The threat seemed effective, as many of the scavengers squealed in fear.

“I am your worst fear.” Artificer growled, raising the bomb in her paw to the skies as the scavengers quickly started retreating. “I am your Grim Reaper!” She threw the bomb down the slope, and the explosion only narrowly missed the scavengers, who screamed in panic and fully started to retreat.

“I am The Red Death!” She shouted after them as they ran, like lantern mice with non-existent tails tucked between their legs!

Artificer’s laughter echoed off the walls as the chamber completely emptied, leaving her completely by herself. Her laughter eventually died down, and the silence in the dome was more deafening than her fight with the chieftain had been.

Why did her victory feel so… empty?

Where was her satisfaction?

The feeling of accomplishment that she had been chasing?

The happiness?

She looked around the battlefield, seeing the dead scavengers, the dead chieftain, and the tens of thousands of scorch marks all over the place. What did she do all of this for if not to feel better?

Why did she not feel better?

Why did she feel so much worse?

The burning rage that she used to constantly feel running through her veins was gone, replaced with a hollow feeling of emptiness. There was not even a sadness anymore, not even the longing she used to feel, the longing to find her pups.

Her very soul was empty now; there was nothing left.

This was not a victory.

This was a defeat.

Only then did she realize the words of warning she had been hearing, from the Echo and from Monk—had all been true.

Revenge didn’t solve any of her problems; why did she think it would? It didn’t make her satisfied, it didn’t give her new motivation to keep living, and it sure as hell didn’t bring her pups back to life.

With slow steps, Artificer left the building, making the slow trek to the nearest shelter under the starry night sky. Several scavengers were still outside, not having gotten the memo yet, but when they saw her approach with the Chieftain’s mask on her head, they all dropped their weapons, turned tail, and ran.

She reached up to her right ear, touching the spot and then looking at her paw. As she thought, blood. Her hearing in that ear still hadn't come back, which was probably not a great sign, not that she had it in her to care anymore. What's one more injury to add on top of the thousands littering her body?

What now? Artificer kept asking herself the whole way to the shelter, and it was a very good question to ask. What would she do now? Just keep killing scavengers indiscriminately? It hadn’t done her much good so far, so no.

Help Monk get home; that’s my mission. She thought to herself as the shelter doors closed behind her and she settled down on the cold, metal floor.

Yes, then I will disappear from their lives, never to come back. She curled up on the floor with a deep sigh.

They were better off without her around; she was a monster and a murderer. Just a few cycles ago, she would have uttered those words loudly and with pride. Now, just thinking about what she had turned herself into made her want to shudder.

It’s not like she needed to stay with them; she had a whole city to herself now. It’s all she obtained in the end—all that she has to show for her genocidal tendencies.

What my revenge left me with is a big, empty city, population: me.

Eventually, Artificer fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of floating around in a black void with no one else around.