[What's That Over There?] Not Treasure, But...

One might liken Scraps to a chicken rather than a duck, but no matter what kind of fowl comparisons one could make, he took surprisingly well to diving under the sea. Though he fretted to himself about his hardlight modifications shorting out underwater, it seemed they held up just fine--in fact, his wings managed to carry him just as well in the water as they did in the sky, much to his relief. Moving at a decent clip, he took the time to take in the sights... when something crossed his path. A grey, fuzzy thing with a pleasant face and a vacant stare. For a moment, they exchanged glances, with Scraps even trying to communicate with the creature. It didn't seem to respond much to his words and gestures... but it did start swimming off in another direction, as if trying to lead him somewhere. Just as curious as it was about him, he followed it.

"Where are you taking me, little guy? To treasure?"

...Well, "treasure" was definitely subjective. They swam together for what felt like hours... until finally, they came across what first looked like a scattering of rocks below the sea. Upon closer inspection... no way! An entire underwater lab, no doubt ravaged by the eruption. Scraps almost didn't know where to start in terms of exploring these ruins... but maybe that section being messed with by another critter was a good place to start. As he approached, it abruptly looked up from whatever it was doing to that wreckage, glancing up with shiny, almost pleading eyes. Yet despite its cute façade, its remaining six arms were clearly wrapped around something in such a way to suggest its hidden beak was chewing on it. Carefully, Scraps moved closer to try and pry the creature off... just to realize what it was wrapped around. An arm? That's clearly an Amicabot's arm! One with... a strangely identical one right beside it. There was someone trapped under that rubble, but how was he going to get them out? Without help, maybe this was something he'd have to do himself...

It took a great deal of effort, fighting against the water around him slowing down his movement, but eventually, he did manage to unearth the trapped Amica. Spots of rust flecked their paint, external gills adorned their face, and... strangely, they seemed to have four arms and a tail split in two. It wasn't treasure, but it was still a fortunate find all the same. Scraps thanked the specimen who lead him here (only to be met with the same blank expression... though it did wave a flipper at him, possibly a friendly gesture?) before collecting the formerly buried Amicabot and swimming off. Hopefully they weren't too badly damaged from being under there for so long... maybe they'd power on soon? One could hope.

Submitted By benightedswallow for What's that over there?
Submitted: 5 months ago ・ Last Updated: 5 months ago