Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been at least ten moons since the defeat of the Usurper in the Wasp Kingdom, and the subsequent knighting of Team Snakemouth.

With news of the first Bee explorer making its way across Bugaria, having new bees take up the challenge of exploration resulted in a small, semi-official branch of the Explorer’s Association growing out into the Bee Kingdom. 

One of the first challenges that the new teams had started to attempt to tackle was research into the old Roach monuments, both for the sake of allowing the returning Roaches to learn about their history, and to better understand why and how the Roaches of old were so advanced.

One team in particular, Team Eratos, consisting of a former-bandit Ladybug and a Bee who wanted the experience of discovering something new, had taken a request to explore the Sand Castle, a once-mystical building now known to have hidden half of the Ancient Key, as well as signs of incredible Roach technology and evidence that ancient Roaches could harness ice magic with ease.

The plan was simple, enter the castle, leave the site primarily undisturbed when possible, and recover any smaller artifacts that could result in scientific or historic breakthroughs. While leaving the grounds in tact was important, just leaving the ruins as-is wouldn’t let historians get a true feeling for how it was even created and hidden under the sand, so taking a few pieces of broken carvings or a few pieces of cryocrystal would be worth it in the end.

The two explorers stared up at the towering building before them, standing right at the mouth of the door together. “So…” Eratos, the Ladybug, started. “...this is the place, right? Should we work our way from the bottom up?”

“I think it’d be safest. I mean, you wouldn’t think the lowest level of a crumbling building would be safe, but with Team Snakemouth’s account of almost being buried alive by some kind of sand trap up in the upper levels… yeah. Let’s start at the bottom.” The bee, Doi, agreed, looking to her partner. 

He nodded, then stepped inside, leading the charge. He was more suited for handling danger if any of the constructs were still active, with his experience out in the desert.

The two looked around, in awe of the beautiful carvings on the walls. “Whoa… this had to be some kind of place of worship too.” Doi observed softly. “I’ve never seen so many carvings. And look! You can tell all of them were done by hand, you can see the little chisel marks here, and this leaf is bigger than that one on that tile, so those little flaws are really telling of each one being unique, and- oh I’m so glad I took this job!!” She squeaked, her wings buzzing excitedly as she hopped in place.

“Maybe you could become an archaeologist-explorer. Professor Neolith would surely train you if you asked him about it.” Eratos snickered, watching as his friend got as excited as she did over the wall. “Plus, we haven’t even seen anything we haven’t before in some way.” 

“So we haven’t, but this stuff is at the LEAST thousands of moons old! It’s just- so amazing to see with my own eyes.”

“Ha, I’m glad to see you’re so impassioned about it.” He smiled over at Doi, waiting for her to finish inspecting the wall before the two began delving deeper, walking togther into the labyrinthine halls.

“...y’know, this place was supposed to be a laboratory too.” Doi mentioned. “I wonder if there’s like- any failed experiments still wanting to EAT US!” She spread out her wings and threw her arms up, trying to look bigger in a playful attempt to startle her companion. 

Eratos did jolt slightly, then laughed. “Well, if there are, then I’ll tackle em! Don’t think I've lost my skill.”

“Oh, right, yeah! How’s Astotheles? Have you seen him in a while?”

“...uh… why do you ask?” Eratos slowed his pace to look at her. 

“I heard stories from Team Snakemouth’s encounters, he sounds like a weirdly cool dude for a bandit.” She paused, then looked to him. “Not saying bandits can’t be good people.” 

“I’m not a bandit, you know that.” Eratos looked a little hurt at the sudden topic change. “...but, last time I checked, he finally got somewhere with his pleas to be independent. If there’s ample proof that he can handle being a sovereign state within Bee Kingdom territory, like if he can produce or buy food without theft and can handle the political side of things, then there could be a full pardon for his past crimes. Or they’re gonna throw em in Rubber Prison, it really depends on if anyone runs their tongue.” 

Doi paused for a moment. “Well, if we become big explorers, then we can support his independence together. It might even help with the… issues… in the Ant Kingdom still, regarding those of your-”

“Ladybugs aren’t trusted yet, I know. Just because laws changed and the peaceful protests worked, doesn’t mean I’m getting a free pass to roam around. I don’t blame em though, it just gives me a reason to work harder at being better.” 

The two reached a doorway, leading downstairs. As they talked, they walked down into the depths of the castle.

“...you shouldn’t need to work at all.” Doi reached out to set a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry if I struck a nerve, just… curious about what’s happening out there, in the Lost Sands. It’s a taboo topic, y’know?”

“No, no I get it. You were curious, it’s really understandable. It just… usually that kinda question comes with the whole implication that I’m going to steal from or hurt someone just because my elytra are spotted and because of a bad past I’m trying my best to move past.”

“If it’s worth anything… you’re doing a really good job of it. When you aren’t looking, I’ve seen bugs smile at you, thinking of you as an explorer, not just a Ladybug. Plus, if they do think of you as a Ladybug, they think of you as a prime example that you’re a person first and foremost, carving your own path no matter how hard it ends up being. That’s really brave, and… again, if it’s worth anything… I’m proud of you, Eratos, and I’m proud to call you my friend.”

Eratos paused for a moment, then turned his back to Doi again, a faint smile on his face that she didn’t see. “...thanks.”

“It’s just the truth.” She smiled at him, a smile he didn’t see either. Yet, both could hear it in each other’s voice. 

Even if they’d only been a team for a few weeks now, there was an unbreakable bond between the two already.

“Oh, right, we’re here.” Eratos stopped, gesturing around to the basement floor. It was covered in sand, with a swirling cascade of it beneath. “...igh- wouldn’t wanna fall in there.”

“That’s how to get sand in every plate on your body! Oh, and buried alive.”

“Let’s look around for anything interesting.” He tried to keep the image out of his mind as he started to search.

“Oh, alright. I’ll check the left, you check the right.” 

“Deal.”

And so, the search was on.

“ERATOS!” 

Doi shouted from across the room with her arm in the air to wave him closer, and immediately the Ladybug started charging toward his partner. “YEAH?!” He called. 

“I found this! I… I don’t know what it is, but I think we should take it back.” She was trying to pull something from the sand, struggling with its weight. Eratos quickly grabbed her around the thorax and tugged, managing to haul it out from the swirling vortex.

…a Roach? No, no- it… didn’t it wasn’t anything he had seen before. This… thing… was draped in a tattered black cloak, its body thorax, head, and part of its arm wrapped in bandages. It had a gaping hole in the back of its head, where wiring and metal plating could be seen, meant to hold something in place. 

“What is that thing?” Eratos looked to her as he gently dropped her once she was far enough from the sand. 

“I don’t know. B-but maybe… uh… maybe Dr. H.B. will know? It looks like some kind of machine, so maybe she… maybe she’ll be able to figure out what this is?” Doi murmured, out of breath. 

“We… can try. This’ll be enough history to bring back, surely.” He weakly laughed. “If it isn’t, well, at least that means we’ll get a better look at this place.” 

“Well, in that case, mind helping me carrying this thing?”

Chapter Text

“Crow, hand me the- that thing, the… what’s it called?” She snapped her fingers as she held out her hand.

“Actually, I don’t think you named this.” Crow placed the tool in H.B.’s hand, craning her neck to watch as she pried open the chassis of the construct splayed across the table, its bandages set aside. 

“It’s a little unsettling to think about how this thing was a Roach once.” Dr. H.B. commented absently as she set the removed plate of metal off to the side. “My only guess is they hollowed out a corpse? Otherwise it wouldn’t look so… realistic.”

Crow shuddered. “That isn’t a very pleasant thought…” 

“Eh, the ancient Roaches were just like that. But hey! If this is a corpse, that means it can’t feel pain anymore.” She looked over to Crow with that unsettling smile, adjusting her glasses just right to catch the light. 

“Grh- not my first thought.” The bee shrunk back.

“Ha, I’m only messing with you. Can you get a wet cloth?” She turned her attention back to the construct, inspecting it for a few moments. 

Its eyes were pitch black, appearing incapable of shutting. Its expression permanently looked cold and almost pained, gazing forward in a constant stare. Part of its face was shattered, revealing the inner mechanical structures and explaining why its head was bandaged when those two explorers dragged it to her. Its thorax though, had been bandaged specifically to hide the paneling… which the surrounding shell had been removed for… ease of access?

Beside it sat a replacement power crystal, custom-carved and shaped to its head. She had studied the charging port extensively, having managed to calculate what amount of power it would need, and how it should connect.

This construct was barely a challenge compared to the B.O.S.S..

…Though, its lifeless claws had remained curled around a book of some kind, never letting her pry it from its grasp. How strange, how when it was shut down (probably by some sort of force), the last thing it had done was grip it as hard as it could. 

Whatever was contained within those pages must be important…

Well, no matter. Crow soon returned with the damp towel, and Dr. H.B. set it aside. “Thank you.” She hummed as she got out a rubber-handled screwdriver, before jamming it sharply into the construct’s chest with a distinct CRACK, loud enough to make Crow jump. “Eep-! W-what was that?” 

“Just discharging any electricity left over. Now I won’t get electrocuted!” She set it aside as she picked up the towel, beginning to clean the sand and dust from its internal mechanisms. 

There was a compartment of small cryocrystals within its thorax, connected to a wiring system running throughout its entire body. Powerful pistons mimicking the actual muscular structure of a Roach laid inside the core as well, built around an internal skeleton of a so-far unidentifiable metal. Remarkably, it seemed to have an impressive amount of strength in its legs, again, mirroring a true Roach. 

Eventually, she stumbled across its central processor, set firmly in the center of its chest. While others might put it in the head, in place of a brain on a normal bug, the construct’s head seemed to only be for power and observation. She wasn’t sure how it was supposed to see through the bandages, but its systems were all based on sight, how curious. She reasoned that putting the processor in the chest was a better idea, as it was protected by a heavier shell than it would be if it was housed in the head somewhere.

…She made a note of its location, in case she had to access it. Surely the B.O.S.S.’s computer could handle acting as a programming medium for this, right? 

But, nevermind that, she had cleared it of the  sand and dust, and now was getting to work snapping the plate back into place. It required all of her weight to shove it back into its position, but she managed eventually!

Dr. H.B. took a moment to stand back and admire her handiwork, then smiled, placing her hands behind her back as she looked over the construct. Now all that was left was rewrapping it and powering it back up.

And so, she began the slow and tedious process of wrapping bandages around its thorax.

…Words it didn’t understand. Not words in its own dialect, words that sounded like the words of those vile thieves that slew it, and stole from it too. Stole. It was stolen. The Artifact was stolen. The Artifact was stolen. The Artifact was stolen.

THE ARTIFACT WAS STOLEN.

Though the weakness of its resurrection was still chaining it to stillness, it fought, and fought, and eventually, those chains loosened enough for it to move, and move it did.

Its leg swung upward in a powerful kick, and it felt the impact of striking something, its tibial spines skidding across shell, but it WASN’T ENOUGH.

Its grainy vision started to return as charge reached its optics, it saw a bee recoiling in pain from its kick, her glasses having been thrown off her face. Another bee quickly rushed to her aid, her tone worried as she spoke in that gibberish it didn’t understand. 

It didn’t care to understand, these were INTRUDERS. 

It lunged up to a sit, its body feeling heavier than it was supposed to and its limbs refusing to act at the pace it wanted them to, but it still managed to stand, stance wide as it brought its claw back, ice magic crystallizing in its free palm as it stared her down, fury blazing in its hidden eyes with its other claw tightly gripping the tome.

The two bees spoke to each other again, before they both suddenly rushed out of the room, leaving it alone in its…

…

…Where was it?…

The Watcher finally paused for a moment, slowly looking around the new environment. This wasn’t… the… this wasn’t the castle. Where was its coffin? Where was its sand? Where was it? Why didn’t- this- didn’t make SENSE!

It let out a garbled cry of anger, not saying anything in particular as it leaned its wrapped head back, feeling its magic flare in concentration and urgency.

Its powers reacted harshly to the increase in strength, with a nearly-deafening roar of crashing ice and snow that drowned out the faint whir of machinery around it, and the distant buzz of voices speaking that grating, nonsensical babble.

The cold was a drastic change from the warmth of its environment, covering the room imprisoning it with a thick layer of thorny frost, forming fractals that shattered beneath their own weight upon creation and leaving fog in its wake.

The sharp sound of metal screeching as it dropped in temperature crashed down upon its senses, alongside a cacophony of crashing ice and razor-like snow, covering the laboratory in its entirety in a still and silent blanket of frost in nearly an instant. 

The construct hovered in the epicenter of its own frustration, observing it with a stillness that mirrored the ice itself. Its antennae twitched, then. Sensing something, it twisted its head sharply towards the entryway.

The bee was back. It didn’t care which one, but she was back. She ran in front of it, waving her arms wildly and aimlessly, practically begging for it to attack. It would be happy to oblige this wretched creature, this- non-Roach that had DARED to touch it, whose kind had STOLEN. 

It raised its claw skyward, a sharp teardrop of ice forming at the pinnacle. It took aim, the tip pointing to the bee as it tracked her location, to see if she would try to flee it, and…

…? 

Something was flung at it. Something sticky, that sunk into its chassis. It was about to turn its head to inspect the substance, before it-

…Powered down.