Chapter 38: Carry On
It was a joke. It had to be some twisted joke. At any moment she'd begin to laugh and tease him for being so concerned, then hop out of the bed to rejoin him. And yet she didn't do any of that. Quote's heart had been racing in anticipation of meeting Curly again, but now it seemed to have stopped. She was staring up at him with an expression of utter confusion. It struck him hard just how foreign the look was on her.
"C… Curly…" he somehow managed to choke out, "what are you talking about? It's me, Quote. We're- we're friends…"
"I'm sorry, sir. Really. But I don't know who you are, or even who I am. I'm trying my hardest, but nothing's coming to me. Who are you?"
She had repeated her question. Those three words were more painful than anything the Doctor and all the monsters of the island had thrown at him. Quote stood there, his gaze locked with hers, and in her eyes he could see that the friend he'd held so dearly was gone. His first instinct was to embrace her, pick her up, help her leave that room, anything for her, but her damage was so extensive that he feared even putting a finger on Curly's body would cause her pain.
Malco's footsteps came up behind him as he finally managed to catch up to the soldier. Quote barely even noticed, instead wrestling with the ten-ton weight that seemed to be crushing his chest. She didn't recognize him… the reality sank in at an agonizingly slow pace. Then, all of a sudden, the pain stopped. Not in a good way, either.
He felt numb.
Her head was killing her already, and this wasn't helping. She continued to look at this strange person who'd just barged in, trying as hard as she could to figure out who he was. He'd introduced himself as Quote… she liked that name, but it was entirely unfamiliar to her.
Based on the desperation in his eyes and the way he looked at her injuries with a horrified grimace, it was clear that Quote knew her somehow. She genuinely wished she could understand how they were familiar, and offer some consolation to the devastated stranger, but her mind was a total blank. As saddened as she was to see him so upset, she could only imagine how he felt.
Another person walked in behind him. He had a similar look of alarm on his metal, rectangular face, but nowhere close to the level that Quote had.
"She's alive… I see, her receptor antennae have been damaged. That explains why I wasn't able to contact her."
Whatever he was talking about was beyond her understanding.
"Are you okay, Curly?"
Both of them had called her that. Was it her name?
"I d-don't remember either of you…"
Malco was upset to learn that Curly had lost her memory, yet not completely surprised. Having nearly drowned in the waterway and no doubt been tossed roughly through the pipe, it was a wonder that memory loss was the worst thing that had happened to her. The damage she'd sustained was not mending itself like it should have been, indicating that her auto-repair systems had malfunctioned as well.
"Let's go."
Quote had turned around and stood in the doorway with his back to Curly. His voice lacked all emotion, sounding hollow and unfeeling. It was frighteningly similar to how he'd spoken back when they first met in the Bushlands.
"Are you okay?"
"No. Come on, we need to find Sue."
Giving one last apologetic look to Curly in her bed, Malco followed him out. He was afraid to say anything now out of fear of the reaction he might get.
"Ah… I suspected I would meet you here, gentlemen…"
The lizard-like, raspy voice came from somewhere to their right. Clad as usual in his green hood and with only the lower half of his scaly orange face showing, Cthulhu greeted them both with a toothy smile.
"Fascinating," he hissed slowly, "to see a robot with such strong affection. My sincerest apologies for listening in on your conversation with Miss Brace… I didn't know it was possible for you to feel this way about someone."
Malco realized that the reptilian man wasn't talking to him specifically.
"Her condition is pitiful, no? The poor girl cannot even recall her own name… I assume she is beyond her usefulness to you now. Just another pile of scrap, like the robots from so long ago."
In a blur of movement that was nearly too fast for Malco to keep track of, Quote lunged at Cthulhu and rammed a fist into the middle of his face. The hooded man staggered from the blow, but his smile only widened despite trace amounts of blood being visible in his mouth.
"Heh heh heh…"
The soldier didn't let up and charged to strike again. His wild punch was easy for Cthulhu to dodge, and Quote paid for it when his target raised a scaly finger. Through some unseen force, he was launched through the air and landed hard on his side.
"Ha ha ha ha! Such a fierce spirit…"
Malco wasn't about to stand there and watch his friend get hurt. His hands moved quickly to aim Napalm, but by the same telekinesis which affected Quote he found himself unable to move. Cthulhu sneered under his hood.
"Your concern for your companion is remarkable indeed. There may be a way to help her, you know…"
Quote was dragging himself to his feet.
"What are you talking about? You'd better not be joking."
They had little reason to trust the hooded being at this point, but Malco knew that if anything could be done for Curly they would have to consider it.
"I retrieved her belongings from the lake not long ago," Cthulhu said. "She carried only two items: her gun and a small jar of a red substance."
"Jenka's healing potion?" Quote asked. "Do you still have it?"
He reached somewhere into his robes and retrieved both the jar and the Snake rifle.
"I cannot promise that she will remember anything, but if you were to give her this potion her wounds would surely repair themselves."
Cthulhu tossed both items to Quote, who stared back at him with what Malco could best describe as an uncertain glare.
"I am not attempting to deceive you. Go, tend to her. With her injuries, her time may be limited…"
While he barely trusted the hooded reptile person, Quote was desperate to help Curly however possible. Tightly gripping the jar, he reentered the small room with Malco close behind him. He didn't know if this would work at all, but by that point he was willing to do anything if there was a chance of it somehow bringing his friend back to him. Even that awkward draining procedure would have been tolerable.
She was still flat on her back, sound sleep. Her eyes were closed and she didn't react to their approaching footsteps. Had it not been for the painful-looking tears in her skin, Quote might have found the sight comforting.
"Here goes nothing…"
He twisted open the potion's lid, immediately confronted by the rancid smell it gave off. It must have been shut for decades, possibly even centuries. If the situation weren't so dire he'd have felt bad about forcing Curly to drink it. Quote tenderly pulled down on her chin to open her mouth and poured a small amount of the thick liquid in. Due to her lacking a proper throat, it slid into her lower body without needing to be swallowed. He continued the process until the jar was empty.
"Look! Her injuries!"
Malco didn't need to point it out, as Quote could see for himself that the potion was working. Curly's skin was beginning to neatly reattach itself, any exposed wires returned to their proper places, and her limbs reoriented themselves. She didn't stir from her slumber, but soon enough she looked to be in as pristine a condition as he remembered. Even her clothes mended themselves, surprisingly. Whatever Jenka had used in that concoction was powerful.
From outside, Cthulhu beckoned for them.
"I will keep watch over her while she recovers… the two of you should hurry along if you wish to prevent a repeat of the disaster from years ago."
"Curly's still unconscious," Malco said, "but I can connect to her receptors again. She should be physically fine, at least."
Quote nodded without a word. His thoughts remained on her memory loss; he didn't know what he would do if she still couldn't recognize him.
"For now, we should split up to cover more ground. I'll inform you if I find Sue or her mother, and in case you do I'll occasionally check in."
"Alright. Do you want Curly's gun for now?"
Malco shook his head.
"I can still rely on Napalm if things get hectic. I may not have your combat prowess, but this weapon will hopefully compensate. Leave it here with her for whenever she awakens. What she does with herself then is her choice."
With that, and one more concerned glance at their unconscious friend, the two parted ways. Cthulhu waved to them as they left.
"I should start by finding where that jail is…"
Quote walked along the right side of the path they'd initially entered by while Malco took the left. Craning his head as far as he could, the soldier tried to get a glimpse of an appropriate-looking building. There was none in sight, and what he wound up finding was far from desired. As he walked around a patch of healthy Demon Flowers, he heard a deep shout of "Killer robot!" Quote was just able to get a glimpse of a giant orange fist speeding toward his face before everything went dark.
