It had been two days since the shuttle took off, Goal was still locked in that room.
Though they knew she didn't have the codes, they strangely didn't hurt her, maybe her father prevented it from happening?
While Goal was sitting at the window, sadly looking at Deponia beneath her, her room's door opened. It was Patrick.
She looked at him with despise.
-Oh c'mon, child, don't look at me like that- he said in his defense.
-Monster- she exclaimed.
-Don't you want to know the truth about the organon?- he said.
The girl was surprised.
-Why would you tell me?- she asked.
-Because I thought you'd be interested and it's only a matter of time anyway, Machina is going to bring us the codes and Deponia and its inhabitants will only be a memory- said Patrick approaching the glass.
-Why? I don't understand, it's your country-
-Yes…a land we were confined in against our will- he hissed.
She frowned.
-You see, we wanted to live on Elysium too, like Rufus- he paused for a few instants –Me, Seagul and…Rudy, your friend's real father-
-And in order to do so you wanted to destroy everything?!- she scolded him.
-That wasn't the plan to begin with- he stepped away from the glass and looked right into Goal's eyes –You father proposed us a trade-
The young girl froze.
-If we had given him an indestructible force of defense, he would have let us live on Elysium-
-That doesn't make any sense, Elysium's resources alone allow the creation of an optimal defense!- said Goal.
-And who do you think is the genial mind behind those defenses?-
Goal jumped.
-It was us…year after year! Yet we had to struggle to live- Patrick grinded -You basked in pleasures, without a single day of effort, while we worked…-
Goal didn't know anything about it, she couldn't imagine that her father took advantage of the Deponians to build her city's defenses.
-But what does this have to do with the destruction of the planet?- she insistently asked.
Patrick closed his fists.
-Rudy died while we were studying a new mineral to exploit in the construction of an intelligent defense- he said with clear anger.
The young girl turned pale.
-So Seagul and I decided to return to the original plan, the one that established to create supermen, emotionless and unconcerned by danger, which would have made them unique-
Patrick looked out of the shuttle again and he started to laugh nervously.
-Pathetic…- he muttered under his breath –of course it was a failure, how could we think to change human nature?- he said.
In the meantime, Goal moved closer to him, looking at him with despise.
-Revenge- she hissed.
He remained silent.
-The most despicable among human motivations…- she continued –you're doing this for revenge!-
-When you father told us about the problem of Elysium…we suggested to destroy the planet- eventually said Patrick –so that Elysium could have run elsewhere-
The young girl bowed her head. Elysium was floating not far away from mainland and year after year it got closer to it. So the solution for them was to bring the city out of Deponia's orbit? Goal was incredulous.
-In the end Elysians…never cared for us-
In that moment the girl violently slapped the man, leaving a red mark on his face.
She massaged her palm, a furious look on her face.
-You disgust me!- she hissed between her teeth –the council sent us on Deponia to make sure there was life on it, to insure us a future on this planet- she looked intensely right into his eyes –and for 19 years you've craved its destruction with all of Deponia's inhabitants!- she finally screamed.
He looked at her without saying a word.
-We've waited for so long because…it wasn't an easy choice- explained Patrick with calm, then he turned and went to the door.
-Wait- said Goal before he could leave –I want to know which sort of genetic modifications you performed on Rufus, Cletus and Argus- she asked firmly.
Extra Chapter – My greatest friend
Toni was sitting next to the bed where Rufus had been sleeping for two whole days now.
She slept and eat very little.
She often sighed, absorbed in who knows what thoughts, maybe the young girl was lost in old memories where Rufus and she were younger, playing among the houses in their hometown.
She remembered those days well, when everybody took care of the boy who lost his mother and was completely ignored by his father. He had always been brilliant in his own way, for example he always came home with a large amount of junk he would use to create lots of absurd objects. But the most beautiful story Toni carried in her heart happened ten years ago.
Once Rufus picked a bunch of filaments up, all that he could find, then he created a cage wrapping them up.
-What's it for?- asked the little clumsy Toni. At that time she had two long braids and lots of freckles on her cheeks.
-eheh- young Rufus had a wide smile on his face –you wanted a parrot, didn't you?-
-Me? Yes, for my birthday- she said sincerely.
-Then this is a surprise- he answered.
Then he came back to work without saying a word.
Toni didn't understand and so days passed.
The cage Rufus created opened and closed with a snap through a hook in its center, the boy put it on the top of a pile of garbage and junk, gently arranging in the middle a bunch of seeds, then he abandoned it there and left. It had been a couple of days when Rufus went running to Toni's house, opening the door wide.
-GOT IT- he enthusiastically yelled.
Little Toni had a jump scare, luckily she was alone most of the time at her place.
Rufus was holding a big colored bird that was struggling from side to side.
However, the little girl was mainly startled by the boy's appearance, covered in scratches and with filthy clothes.
-What have you done?- she said panicking and ran upstairs to get the first aid kit.
Meanwhile, he stood on the doorstep and spitted a feather every now and then.
-But what have you done?- she said while tamponing his scratches.
-it wasn't easy-
She glared at him.
-When it got in the cage, I thought I'd caught it- he put a hand behind his head –but I haven't thought about how to retrieve it from the cage- he giggled.
-You're so silly- she scolded him.
-But I wanted to give you a present- he said.
The two kids looked in each other's eyes.
Rufus smiled.
Toni sighed.
-Thanks- she said eventually.
The parrot's name was Frank, it lived for approximately 8 years, Toni remembered burying it in the backyard of her house, she loved it very much.
Rufus was like that, when Toni had a wish he did all he could to please her, most of the times getting in trouble, those troubles Patrick always forgave him for. Once Toni wished for a kite, so Rufus used the linens hanging outside the major's house. It wasn't a bad kite, but the major was upset. Or once Toni asked him for gold fishes and Rufus nearly drowned in the sea before Patrick could explain to him that gold fishes lived in fresh water and that the closest lake was miles away.
At the end of everything, remembered Toni, it was always Patrick who got them out of trouble.
They both weren't really keen on studying and skipping classes was one of their favorite hobbies.
They would hang in the city, exploring its every corner, eating all the sweets Mr. Harold brought them from Kapitol, then they would play trapshooting with two slings Rufus had built, their favorite targets were Mrs. Pakket funny hats, 10 points if you hit it unnoticed, 5 if she ended up chasing you with a shoe in her hand. It usually was Rufus to be run after and Toni laughed heartily.
In the end, they always ended on Krem's only hill where the only tree, that Toni liked to climb, grew.
-That's the greatest view in the country- exclaimed Toni sitting on a trunk.
-I'll reach it someday- said Rufus.
The girl knew what he was talking about, he had been repeating it every day for years now.
-Look, isn't it beautiful?- he would ask. The same question every night.
-Yes, it is- Toni would always answer.
Then he pushed himself out.
-One day I'll bring you there with me- he said enthusiastically looking at Elysium.
He had never said something like this before. Toni looked at him and blushed.
Then he smiled at her in his contagious way, a strong light in his eyes that always inexplicably attracted Toni.
-Yes- happily smiled the young girl.
Tears streamed down her face, tears of happiness and, at the same time, full of melancholy.
Yet nothing had changed until then, he was always incredibly reckless and she chased him with a first aid kit.
Toni smiled.
-Fool- she whispered.
The she stood up and moved closer to him, she lightly kissed him on the forehead and for a moment it felt like he was smiling, he had a serene expression, she wondered if he was having a nice dream.
She stepped away and walked to the door.
She had been the only one to change during those years. She had forgotten she used to dream of Elysium with Rufus, Patrick however had filled her head with lies.
But no more running now, it was finally time for a reckoning!
End of the extra chapter
