CH9 - Consequence

— — —

"Then, as a psychologist, I think you're confusing suicide with self-destruction. Almost none of us commit suicide, and almost all of us self-destruct. In some way, in some part of our lives. We drink, or we smoke, we destabilize the good job... and a happy marriage. But these aren't decisions, they're... they're impulses. In fact, you're probably better equipped to explain this than I am. [...] You're a biologist. Isn't the self-destruction coded into us? Programmed into each [and every] cell?" - Alex Garland's Annihilation

— — —

The rusty pickup trundled up to the back of my base. It drove down into the truck dock, and as it reached the opening garage door, cables swung out, snapping into place on the front of the pickup. They went taut, and the truck was lifted out of the dock pit, up and through the doorway.

It shut.

Safely within the walls of the base, automechs pulled apart the disguise. The false front of the pickup was removed, and the tarp obscuring the majority of the actual APC pulled away. The hatch opened, and I shook the shoulder of the woman dozing on the bench beside me.

"Come on."

Canary got up slowly, wincing. "I… alright." She followed me into the living area, where another me was sitting on one of the couches in my Hyperbright.

I spoke. "This is the one responsible for your freedom." With that, I turned and walked away, stepping through several sliding doors.

I pulled away my black-visored motorcycle helmet, sitting it on a shelf. I undressed, leaving the garments on the floor.

Stepping over to the healing vat that was the centerpiece of the room, I stepped into it, and laid down. The lid slid shut.

The cold metal of the ego bridge locked into place around my skull. Sometime after that, everything ended.

— — —

I had long since witnessed the XP recording from the entire raid. It wasn't quite the same as being there, but it was enough for now. I would merge with my fork soon enough.

Right now, I was more interested in the bedraggled woman that had just sat down across from me. Her bright yellow hair and feathers hung tangled and matted, stiff from the dried mess of chemicals that had dissolved her prison. Several feathers were snapped. She was a mess, but she looked at me directly. If she had ever been afraid, she had moved beyond it, now.

"So what's—" She coughed. "What's the price?"

An automech crawled into the room with a glass of water, and she automatically took it. Only with it halfway to her mouth did she pause, glancing back at the robot and at me, before continuing the motion. She drank deeply, emptying the entire glass.

"There isn't one," I said.

"You saved me from a lifetime in hell for… nothing?" Her tone was perfectly polite, but for all that, there was an undeniable edge of skepticism.

"I was there to… punish Bakuda," I said. "Since I was already there…"

"Of course," Canary said slowly, staring into the empty water glass. "Of course. But being a fugitive, I'll be in your care, I expect."

"I suppose you are. You're free to leave at any time, though— the door isn't locked."

She gave a weak laugh. "Do you have… a shower I could borrow? Clothes? Maybe some makeup?"

"I'll see what I can do."

— — —

She had only just stepped into the shower when the entrance pinged me. Lisa.

A minute later, there she was, stumbling into the room. She looked like a hot mess, one hand pinching her forehead and the other gripping the wall. "Henryyyy," she growled quietly, her throat rough. Her face was incredibly pale.

"I told you it was experimental," I said quickly.

"Don't care," she snapped. "I'm dying here. Fix it."

"There's nothing I can do. If I give you more, it'll just put off the inevitable. Maybe make it worse."

She made a faint whining noise. "Fuck… did you get what you wanted? The news is full of bullshit and I can't use my power…"

"Bakuda is dead, but I took Canary," I said.

"...Oh god damn it. You… really did kill those troopers. Didn't you."

She paused a moment, still leaning on the wall.

"Knew this was a bad idea, bad idea," she muttered. "While I was high on your crazy drugs I, uh, did some other stuff. Turns out Coil's way nastier than I thought. Which is maybe a good thing since I kindofrobbedhim."

"...What?"

"Most of his money. Gone," she said. "Yeah, dumb, I know. I wasn't exactly thinking straight. Since I still can't, I'm feeling a little, um, exposed right now. So I'm just gonna, uh," she gestured toward the other couch, even as she started toward it. She bumped roughly into the coffee table, but managed to trip onto the couch rather than hitting the floor. She swore dully.

I pinched my own forehead.

"Oh," she mumbled from the couch. "You need to move. Coil has been trying to murder you for like a week. 'Ll explain. Later." She dropped her face into the cushion.

"What?" When she didn't respond, I went over and rolled her over. She glared at me blearily. I noticed her eyes were dilated.

"...His power. Two… worlds in parallel. Does different shit in each… drops. One he doesn't like. Remembers… all. You don't. Until… he finds... win." With that, she just stared at me silently, and I let go.

"...Fuck."

I woke my fork still in the vat. A brief communication, and he made his way out to steal another semi truck. This time, at least, he didn't have to get it from a different city.

— — —

I'd run off a pile of common clothes in every color and had them brought to Canary. When she stepped back into the room, she looked a lot better.

The broken feathers had been plucked, and her yellow hair was clean and straight, hanging loosely around her head. Despite her somber attitude, she had chosen bright colors, a loose, lime green top and violet sleeping pants. She paused at the doorway.

"First come first serve?"

The couch she previously inhabited was now taken in its entirety by a silent, face down Lisa.

I shrugged, and gestured toward the other end of mine.

She sat down tentatively, pulling her legs up.

"I need time," she blurted.

I raised an eyebrow.

"All this… the trial. They chained me up, muzzled me…" she trailed off. "...I just… need time."

"Okay."

She glanced at the table, at Parian's tablets.

"Can I…"

"No, but I can get you one," I said.

"Okay. Yeah." She shifted. "I feel like I'm asking you for a lot. But you brought me here, and you obviously had those clothes prepared in advance, and, I don't know… and now I'm rambling. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "You're feeling lost at sea right now, I imagine. I think you just need to rest. In case it wasn't clear, the bedroom attached to that bathroom is yours."

"Yeah. Yeah, rest." She stood up, and paused, glancing at the tablets again.

I sighed, and picked one up. With a thought, I backed it up and reformatted it. "One second."

I'd needed driver analogues for the local operating systems for a few of the devices I sold on PHO, so it was only a moment to adjust them for this. The tablet flickered, then lit up with the Windows logo.

"Here." I offered it to her, and she accepted it.

"Thanks. I'm just gonna go... sleep. Okay?" She sounded uncertain.

"Alright."

She made her way out of the room, pausing to glance back at me briefly as she passed through the door.

Then she was gone.

Now I just needed to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do about Coil and the messed up girl on my couch. Or Parian, when she came back by and I had two more suspicious women here than I expected to have. And again, the sudden revelation that Coil's silence was probably constant active murder attempts. And what he was going to do when he realized his money and Lisa were both missing.

...Fuck.

— — —

/AN: Funny thing is Tattleturkey is (probably?) more aware there in her head than it appears at the end, she just hardly has the energy or will to move her mouth. Words are like moving a mountain. It's impossible to explain unless you've been there? Hopefully you haven't!