I do not own Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. I do own Core and her back story and the parts of the plot that aren't in the game. This fic spawned largely from my dissatisfaction with the ending of the game. It was an awesome game and I didn't want it to end. So I decided to write a fic. It's rated for language and violence mostly, but also for some sexual scenes.

Enslaved: Marks of the Past.
Chapter Ten: Surrendered Choices.

The warm sun on her face woke Core. At some point during the night, she had been moved from her watery bed, and she was glad for that, because there was nothing worse than trying to walk around in wet pants. She was now lying on the bank of the river, her head in a patch of sunlight shining between the leaves. After making sure she wasn't in too much pain or anything, Core slowly rose to a sitting position and looked up at the azure sky; if her telling-time-by-the-sun skills were at all accurate, it was about midmorning. She did another quick check of herself before getting to her feet and approaching Trip and Monkey, who were sitting on the opposite bank in silence. Trip was lying on her back in the patchy grasses, her eyes closed and her breathing even. She was still asleep.

Monkey got to his feet when he saw Core approaching and crossed the river to stand near her. Core couldn't keep a small smile from working across her face. He was exactly as she remembered him and it was nice to know nothing had changed. About him and his personality anyway. Trip certainly changed things, but that wasn't her business really. So she smiled at her friend and reminded herself that though she was back, the past was past.

"I guess I owe you another apology for getting you into trouble, don't I?" she asked when he had stopped in front of her. They were standing fairly close so they could talk without waking Trip.

The barest hint of a grin flickered across Monkey's lips, the same smile she had been missing all her time in the Pyramid world. "What else is new? You were always the one who got us into trouble." Monkey dropped to a cross-legged position in the shade of one of the short trees and Core joined him, sitting close enough that their knees were touching. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"Pretty good, all things considered." Core gestured across the river at Trip. "You know, she's a lot better than I thought she was at first." She stumbled over the words a bit, but then, Core wasn't in the habit of changing her opinions about people. She had a habit of sticking to her gut feelings without fail. "But she's far too nice to be hanging out with you," she joked, turning the conversation in a more familiar direction. "How did you trap her into helping you?"

Monkey laughed a bit, something in the tone of the expression telling Core she had made some sort of hilarious mistake. "Actually," the blond man said, raising a hand to the thick gold headband sitting low on his forehead, "she trapped me into helping her."

Core had noticed the headband before, but it hadn't really meant anything other than it was an obnoxious accessory that she thought was a little beyond Monkey's normal taste in clothing. Now though, she saw it for what it was. "A slave headband?" she asked, her voice dropping and becoming heavy with disgust. "Why haven't you found a way out of this? Why haven't you done something? Why are you still traveling with her?" Core hissed. Her blue-green eyes darkened with anger.

Monkey grabbed Core's wrist as she ran her fingers along the metal of the headband and pulled it away from the device, drawing her a little closer to him at the same time. His face was also slightly contorted with anger and his grip on Core's wrist was almost to the point of hurting. "Don't assume you know everything, Core."

Core yanked her arm out of Monkey's grasp, the ends of her dreadlocks flailing slightly with the sudden motion. "Then tell me what the fuck is going on."

Monkey sighed. On some level he had known this conversation was coming, but that didn't make him any more prepared for it. For a moment, he just stared at the formerly blue haired woman. She replied by stretching out on the grass, her head resting against Monkey's leg and her hands folded on her stomach. The position was familiar and, as he had done before Core had been taken, he rested one hand on her head, fingers sliding into her hair. They sat like that for a few moments, their minds both wandering back several years.

"I got caught by slavers and was on a ship on the way to Pyramid," Monkey said suddenly. Core rolled her blue-green eyes up to Monkey, signalling him to continue. "Something went wrong with the ship—I think it was Trip's doing. I escaped and so did she, but I got knocked unconscious. When I woke up, she had the headband on me and told me that if I killed her or got too far away. She wanted me to help her get back home because she knew she couldn't make the journey by herself; she can't fight worth shit, but she's got some tricks that come in handy when fighting mechs. It's not so easy to fight groups of them by yourself, you know."

Core laughed. "Yeah, I know. So, what happened? Did you find her home?"

"Yeah… there was no one left."

She fell silent and sighed, her shoulders sinking into Monkey's leg. "So you decided to come west and destroy Pyramid?" she asked.

"Well first, we hijacked a giant mech with the help of a guy named Pigsy."

Core laughed again before sitting up and turning to face Monkey. The smile on her face was bright and slightly devious. "Gee Monkey. It sounds like you got up to a whole lotta trouble without me. Also sounds like a lot of fun…" She leaned a little closer, still smiling. It was a gesture made out of habit, from a time when she could have leaned in and kissed him, when she could have behaved the way she wanted. When she realized what she was doing, however, she stopped and pulled back, dropping into a kneeling position beside him. "Sorry," she breathed.

Monkey waved it off. "Are we taking you back to the coast? To your colony?" he asked, changing the subject.

Core nodded. "I would like to go home," she said with longing in her voice. "But we could have the same situation Trip did. It's been two years since I saw anyone, Monkey. What if they're not there anymore? What if they're dead? Or what if they were at Pyramid and I ran right past them?"

"Core," Monkey said in a commanding tone that staved off the coming hysteria. "Core, we don't really have a choice anymore. We're out here in the middle of nowhere without a plan. Might as well head for the coast."

Core flopped back on the ground and nodded.

Author's Note.

Still don't fear. Still not breaking up Monkey and Trip.

I really don't have anything else to say about this one, other than enjoy. I'm still super psyched that people like this fic.

Next Chapter: Farther West.