Work Text:
This meeting was an inevitable occurrence. And one Pearl did not prepare for enough.
The doors to Pearl's office swung open as the Aeon of Elation/Nihilux walked into the room. Usually her arrival would be alongside at least three guards hauling her inside as she struggled to escape, however THEY strode into the place with a clear goal in mind.
"Please take a seat Miss Nihilux, I'm sure we have much to discuss." If Pearl was like any normal human being, she would be sweating bullets and possibly already had passed out by now.
Nihilux pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, eyes locking into Pearl's with an uncanny focus. "Theres no need. I'll make it quick."
Pearl's eyes slightly narrowed as she straightened her posture. She already had calculated 179 scenarios that could happen, and with every step Nihilux took towards Pearl, another 10 was added to the total.
"Madam Pearl... it's time to enact my revenge."
Briefly, Pearl prayed to the aeons (apart from the one standing directly in front of her) that she would survive whatever she was subjected to. She just hoped the Aeon would spare Planarcadia in the eventual destruction that would come hand in hand with the Aeon's judgment.
Finally, she closed her eyes and awaited her downfall.
Nihilux placed a hand on the intellitrons shoulder. "You..."
Pearl's mechanical joints in her fingers locked as her hands clenched. Was this human nervousness? Or more accurately named as human fear? She had thought of herself not capable of those feelings, as most Intellitrons were, but in the face of an Aeon, anything could happen.
"...have to help me finish my manuscript!"
Pearl's eyes snapped open so fast it almost jammed the joints, blinking in surprise. Were her auditory systems glitching? She quickly preformed a quick maintenance scan over her systems.
...
Strange. They were all functioning correctly. Had the Aeon misspoken? Her eyes scanned over Nihilux's face, trying to see anything on the usually expressive artist's face. The sight she was met with only confused her systems more.
"Correction: would you like me to never bother you again for your manuscripts?" Pearl asked helplessly. This couldn't be right.
Nihilux stepped back and shook her head, smirking evilly. Placing a hand on her hip, she raised her other hand and pointed at Pearl with flare. "My revenge against you will be forcing you to assist me in finishing my manuscript! Finally, you will get to experience the horrible, cruel and inhuman treatment I have been subjected to!" She announced with a flip of her hair.
"You wish... for me to assist you in finishing your manuscripts?" Pearl confirmed, tilting her head and looking genuinely baffled by the suggestion. In all the outcomes she had calculated, this was not one of them. Were the Aeons—not including the one pointing at her—actually watching over her... and had blessed her with a merciful outcome?
"I could clear all of your outstanding debts and give you an additional 5 million if you pleased. The amount is negotiable."
"Nope nope nope! Tempting, very very tempting, but I've already made my decision Madam Pearl." She leaned in close, almost so that their noses were touching. "Your punishment has been decided."
If Pearl was a human, she would've gulped. Or well if she was, she would've already ran away begging for mercy.
Her hands clasped behind her back. "Survival chances: 86%. Merciful, considering my treatment."
"Don't worry, I've got many plans for you. Now just follow me and let's begin!" Nihilux grabbed her arm and dragged her out of her office.
-----
"There is no joy in this! No soul! It needs to be filled with puns and happiness Madam Pearl!"
The last hour had been filled with similar things yelled at her. Pearl has been forcefully sat down in the Furbobo Weekly office with a tablet in front of her and an impatient Nihilux who immediately began leaning over her shoulder. ‘To have the whole experience’ she had said.
Pearl could only admit there was some pressure on her shoulders. Not by the deadline... that was the least concerning part, but the immensely judgmental Aeon behind her.
"It sounds like it was made by a depressed office employee! The dialogue has no feeling!" Nihilux scolded, erasing the bubble for the fifth time.
"Explaination: The dialogue is only spoken by a side character, so it doesn't need to have an impact. They only show up for one panel." Pearl tried again once more, before Nihilux groaned and erased it again.
"Everything must have quirkiness Pearl! That's the whole thing about Fluffy Across the Blue!"
"Isn't the Fluffy just about turning the Trailblazers journey into a cute comic?"
Nihilux looked close to exploding. Was this the part where she faced the wrath of an Aeon?
"It's not just a cute comic!" She clutched her heart, breathing heavily and ran a hair through her hair. Then Nihilux abruptly stood up straight, finding a new approach. "You know what, just finish the manuscript! If the drawings are lacking or the dialogue is thin, you're remaking everything from scratch!"
Pearl sighed. "Could you make your instructions on how you want this to sound be any more clearer?" She was struggling. CEO of Planarcadia and a Stoneheart, was openly struggling. Is this what Nihilux went through when making the next chapter? The instructions were vague, the criticisms harsher… was this 'hell'? An Intellitron such as herself should breeze through this with no trouble, yet she was facing almost even more hassle than when she completed her own art pieces.
"I'm finished." Pearl said after a while, putting down the digital pen.
Taking the tablet, Nihilux looked over the page for a while, nodding, shaking her head, sighing, eyes widening then narrowing. Not a single thing could Pearl decipher. The complexity of human emotions. Or was it Aeon emotions? Pearl's focus trailed off as her systems went back on forth on the dilemma, imaginary steam drifting from her ears.
The situation was similar as to whether the banana was art.
"You failed."
Snapped out of her stupor, Pearl spun around on the chair. "But—how!? I completed all of your instructions perfectly!” What could she have possibly got wrong?
"Yes but you see..."
"Problem discovered: I don't see the problem. The page is like every other in the series."
"And that's the problem, as a comic artist, you always need to have something new and exciting to keep readers engaged and to keep buying." Nihilux then pressed delete on the file.
Pearl could only stare as the work she had spent the last few hours on be deleted. "But that wasn't in the instructions you gave me?" Her processing was haywire. She had done everything perfectly. Nothing was making sense. Her calculations were useless.
Two arms slammed down on the table, effectively trapping Pearl between them, and she could only helplessly look up at the women/Aeon above her.
Nihilux leaned down, smirking in triumph.
"Conclusion: I have had these same impossible rules put on you Miss Nihilux..."
"Correct!" She smiled happily, patting Pearl on the head before seeing her hand back down. Leaning forward more, her voice suddenly grew much deeper. "So many sleepless nights I have gone through because of it. It's time for my payback Madam Pearl...!"
-----
It had been a week. An entire week.
The Aeon had forced Pearl to take a leave of absence before dragging her back to the office and locked her there. Since she was an Intellitron, she didn’t necessarily need to eat or drink, so most moments were filled with drawing. And there was always a shadow over her shoulder. Her ears were constantly filled with…
“Tsk tsk, wrong.”
“Do it again.”
“Are you even trying?”
And the deadline kept crawling closer and closer. Pearl even managed to catch herself glance at the clock multiple times an hour, only to be scolding and made to redraw a character. This was absolute hell.
It was currently one of the rare moments Nihilux wasn’t in the room with Pearl. Her processors immediately began the task on figuring out how to escape this dreaded room. She was desperate.
Eyeing the window, Pearl slowly sat up, placing the pencil down carefully so it wouldn’t roll off.
Probability of escape: 43%. Currently dropping by the minute.
She moved over to undo the window lock, alarms popping up in her vision when there was a soft click and creak. Hopefully her captor didn’t hear anything. She pushed the window with some effort and peeked down at the empty Dovebrook District street below her. Pearl’s eyes furrowed. Was it already night again? How off was her internal clock? Well that doesn’t matter right now, just one more step and she can run as far as she can from this place.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Everything stilled at one instant. Pearl froze, alarms blaring in her head.
IMMEDIATE DANGER.
“The room was stuffy: it was only logical to open a window for fresh air?” She lied terribly. It was the Aeon of Elation, THEY probably saw everything she did.
“With one leg out the window? I really doubt that Pearl.” Nihilux’s voice grew cold, and Pearl couldn’t bear to see the look Nihilux had on her face, choosing to keep her eyes locked on the dimly lit street below the window. “Be a good artist and sit back down.”
Hands grabbed her shoulders and Pearl could only helplessly follow when she was taken to the chair and shoved back into it.
“Deadline is Monday.”
What would even happen if she didn’t complete it in time? She didn’t even want to calculate that. If only this would end faster.
Nihilux leaned over her shoulder and forced the pen back into the segmented fingers of her prisoner. “Keep drawing Madam Pearl. The Fluffy doesn’t update by itself.” She kept leaning until she was right by Pearl’s ears. “And I’ll be right here the whole time.”
This was certainly a punishment for the poor Pearl of the Ten Stonehearts.