Warning: Strong language
Chapter Eleven
Dystopia
Platyborg woke up in the middle of the night; a sharp pain from the back of his neck, the faint wheeze of air could be heard. Platyborg began to breathe heavily as he reached around to the back of his neck, simultaneously pulling out a wrench with his robotic arm to tighten a loose bolt that controlled his breathing, for his lungs were completely robotic and required constant personal maintenance in order for the cyborg to stay alive.
That now over, Platyborg attempted to get some sleep, but his efforts were in vain, for his sonic hearing kicked in and as a result Platyborg was able to hear the sound of a several screaming women, all of them shaking in fear. Platyborg moved to the out to the patio to see what was going on. The screams were coming from a small plaza seven blocks away. Zooming in with his eye, Platyborg equipped his sniper rifle and simply waited for the right moment.
Linda Fletcher, who at this point was living with Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro, who was also in the square, was tied by her hands and feet and gagged. Across from them were Vanessa Doofenshrimtz and her mother Charlene. All of them were standing before Carl and two agents, a beaver and a pelican. Carl was holding a gun and waving it around aimlessly, "There are rules that have to be followed. That's why we have them, to keep you safe." Carl said, "To keep you safe and make sure that the human race survives, for we are all that's left." Carl walked over to Linda and removed her gag, he was immediately met with a well placed spit from Linda, "Listen to me you sick bastard" she replied, "I will not have you hurt these people. They've done nothing wrong." Carl laughed, "They're guilty, just like you are-" Linda cut him off, "The only thing we're guilty of Mister Carl, is being forced to live in this Hell. Well I for one will not stand for it any longer. You've already taken my husband and my daughter; you might as well take me too."
Carl shrugged and raised his gun to Linda's head, but before he could fire a single shot, Linda's head exploded. Carl looked at his gun in bewilderment and then at Linda's head, there was no way that he could've caused that much damage. The chambering of another round could be heard in the darkness. Carl looked around and motioned for the two agents to look around, "Alright" Carl said, fear showing in his voice, "Whoever this is better come on out and face justice. You just committed murder." The snapping of a neck came from the corner, Carl turned around to find the beaver's corpse. Carl began to fear for his life, "Alright that's enough!" he shouted into the night, hoping that whoever it was would leave him alone, "You've had your fun. Now why don't you just-" Carl felt the cold barrel of a gun against his back, Carl turned around once more to find nothing, but he could still feel the barrel that was now against his stomach. Platyborg then revealed himself, deactivating his cloaking device that was in his robotic arm, the sniper rifle pointed directly at Carl's heart. The pelican meanwhile, was in the cyborg's left hand, slowly choking to death. "W-w-what do you want?" Carl asked nervously. Platyborg smiled smugly, "Funny you should ask Carl" he exclaimed as he gently put pressure on the trigger, "I want you to let these prisoners go." Carl nodded nervously, but sensed that Platyborg wanted more from him, "Then what?" he asked. Platyborg laughed heartedly, "Then Carl...I want you to die."
Carl's eyes were stricken with fear at the prospect of dying, as he began untying the bonds, he spoke again, "How did you get here?" Platyborg shrugged, "Classified Cyborg Intel" he replied, finally ending the pelican's suffering with a single tight squeeze. Carl continued undoing the bonds. When he was done, Carl stood up and let Vanessa, Charlene and Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro take cover behind the platypus. "What are you going to do?" Carl asked, the fear rising in his voice. Platyborg sighed, "Turn around and start walking Carl. If you so much as hesitate even breathe wrong I'm shooting your fucking head off." Carl nodded and turned around, he managed to get in ten steps, then twenty steps, Carl tried to speak out, "How much further do I have to walk?" he asked. Platyborg heard this and answered him, "If you make it fifteen more steps, I'll let you live unconditionally." Carl nodded once again, feeling that he could make fifteen more steps to safety. On the fourteen step however, Carl sneezed, Platyborg shrugged, "Too bad Carl" he said, "you were so close. It's a pity really, that I have to waste a bullet on a miserable, sad, little fuck like you." Carl immediately began shaking, "Oh God!" he cried. Perry cut him off, "God...Don't you dare pray to God!" Platyborg then fired the sniper rifle, the slug hitting its mark and causing Carl's brain to explode on the inside of his head.
The others stared at him in horror, "What did you just do?" Vanessa yelled, getting directly in the cyborg's face as he put away his sniper rifle and returned his robotic arm to normal, "I did what I had to do Ms. Doofenshrimtz." Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro huffed, "You killed Linda. A good woman who the only thing that she ever asked out of life was a better life for her kids! What kind of person are you?" Platyborg sighed deeply, "I'm not a person. I'm a monster...a machine, incapable of most human emotions." Charlene slapped Platyborg in the face; it was hard, cold and unforgiving. "You didn't have to blow her head off you retard!" she said suddenly. Platyborg laughed sarcastically at Charlene's remark, "It was a mercy killing. If you would've seen that woman's suffering as I have, if you would've seen the way that her husband and daughter died...then you would've pulled that trigger too. I was happy to kill Linda Fletcher because I knew that's what she wanted. She may not have expected it to go down that way, but I know that wherever she is now, it's a hell of a lot better than what's going on here."
The three women stood in silence, taking in what Platyborg had said. Platyborg looked up and noticed that the rain was beginning to pick up, "We should get going. Someone's going to find the bodies." Vanessa nodded, "Then we should at least take Linda with us. Give her a proper burial." Platyborg shook his head, "Can't do that. The smell of her body alone would only led agents to her body and to the rest of the dead. They would eat the dead, get a taste for human flesh, those who haven't already gotten it and go on a rampage." Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro huffed, "That's ridiculous. That'll never happen." Platyborg shook his head again, "People said that World War III couldn't happen. People said that animals couldn't talk and that we were all just a bunch of mindless pets and dumb wild animals. Look what happened."
Platyborg's reasoning was uncanny. It seemed he had explanation for everything in this new world, it only made sense considering that he originally came from a dimension that was under a regime where he witnessed firsthand the horrors of desperate men and women. They had resulted to cannibalism in order to survive, for the death rate in the Second Dimension was almost 50%, so there was an amble supply of food. Platyborg knew that one way or another, the smell of dead bodies would soon be too much of a temptation, the humans would start become feral, the agents would begin searching for food as well. Then the inevitable would happen, the agents would kill the humans, each of them trying to survive. Then there would no one left, Platyborg would either be forced to shut down, join the agents, or kill them and be the last thing on Earth. This was Platyborg's greatest fear.
Vanessa noticed that Platyborg had zoned out, "Hey" she said snapping her fingers trying to get him to wake up, "Hello?" Silence. Platyborg blinked several times, eventually coming back, "We have to get out of here" he said demandingly, "Now." The women were motionless, it was only when the sound of approaching agents, heavily armed that they decided to move. Platyborg pulled out his ionic cannon from his robotic arm and ushered the women out of the plaza as quickly as he could, taking them back to his sanctuary in the old insurance building.
When they were safe, or at least relatively safe, all of them finally took a breath of air. Charlene and Vanessa immediately wondered if Heinz would've been able to stop this. They wondered if he were alive, if he would be part of this regime. They like to think that he wouldn't, that he would be like Platyborg and fight this new tyranny. But they would never know.
Platyborg could sense that something was troubling them, "What's wrong?" he asked, 'You know, recent events not withstanding?" Vanessa and Charlene laughed at this, for it was a joke these days to always follow the question "What's wrong" with "Recent events not withstanding" it was little thing, but having that made the world seem a little bit brighter. Charlene answered him, "We're thinking about Heinz Doofenshrimtz, my husband." Platyborg immediately shied away, for he did not like to get involved in personal family matters, especially when it came to Heinz or Perry. But still, Platyborg found himself speaking, "From what I remember" he said, "Heinz was a good man. Overzealous and annoying at times, but a good man...Perry would say that he was the greatest scientist who ever lived. But I can't say that, for I didn't know Heinz Doofenshrimtz." Vanessa and Charlene stared at Platyborg with confused looks on their faces, before they could say anything Platyborg gave his explanation, for he had read their faces and had seen that look enough times to know what it meant, "I have Perry the Platypus's memories, or at least part of them. The only details I can remember of Perry's life is Heinz Doofenshrimtz, cutting off until right before he died. I don't want to remember that for him. There are some moments in life that belong strictly to one person; Heinz Doofenshrimtz's death belongs to Perry and Perry alone."
That night Platyborg slept restlessly, his thoughts focused on the Second Dimension and the home he would never see. Platyborg then thought about how cyborgs technically are unable to cry, that in reality, his tears were simple vapors, having no substance and as a result when Platyborg starting crying, there was no end to them. Most nights Platyborg willed himself to shut down, his only motivation being that the more rest he got, the more he would be able to help people living in this hell. Platyborg almost never took time for himself and when he did it was always to check his weapons or think about ways to get out of the city. Platyborg was perhaps the most broken out of all them, because the broken ones are the ones who fight the hardest, they're the ones who have nothing left to lose.