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 Five: Fight, Fight, Fight.

Core's weapon turned out to be a collapsible staff that split into two halves in the middle. The ends were covered in metal and there were large studs along the length, making them look as deadly as they were in the right hands. Her fighting style was nearly identical to Monkey's, but she relied more on her body than the staffs in her hands; she executed several elaborate kicks and wasn't afraid to smash her elbows and knees into the mechs. There were metal plates affixed to her pants and on bands around her elbows, protecting the joints. It was clear that she knew her fighting style and knew how to protect herself.

Trip huddled against the rock and watched as Monkey and Core tackled the small pack of mechs, sending out an electro-magnetic pulse when her device was ready. There were four smaller mechs and one that was quite large—clearly the leader. It walked on four legs and had two extra arms extending from its back, bearing drills. There weren't any guns visible, but that didn't meant there weren't some hidden beneath under all that metal plating. Under the combined powers of Monkey, Core and Trip, the four smaller mechs fell quickly, turning into piles of metal and cables and sparks around their camp. The larger mech was going to be a problem and Trip realized this as soon as she sent out the pulse to temporarily freeze it and it didn't work; it kept coming, its drill-like appendages poised and ready.

"MONKEY!" Trip yelled. "Monkey, the pulse isn't working on it!"

The blond man growled loudly and turned his attention to Core, who was standing in front of the beast, facing it head-on. "Core! We're going to have to find another way to kill it!"

She nodded and started running towards the mech. Trip screamed wordlessly, confused and afraid, but Monkey knew what Core was doing; he'd seen this move before. He picked up a rock and chucked it at the head of the creature and it hit home with a resounding clunk. The mech turned its head and unleashed a bizarre almost-roar, focused on Monkey instead of Core, who was almost directly underneath the four-legged thing, headed for its tail.

The mech lunged for Monkey when it was in range, its jaws getting a mouthful of sand as Monkey dodged. As he rolled out of the way, he saw Core climbing onto the thing's back and knew they were close—as long as Core could hold on, they were close to killing the mech. Monkey dodged another attack and drove the butt of his staff into the roving yellowish eye of the mech, meeting with a shower of bright sparks and the sound of grinding metal and a high-pitched whine that came from the mech; it almost sounded like pain. Core took the opportunity to drove both her staffs into the cables and wires at the neck joint.

The thing didn't stop.

It howled, but didn't stop.

It reared, sending Core flying from its back. She landed with a thud in the sand many feet away; the noise was so loud that Monkey heard it, even standing in front of the mech. There was no time to worry about the woman though. The mech started moving again and Monkey was forced to start the dodge and roll routine. Trip initiated her distract protocol and the hologram drew the mech's attention. It started to move closer to the rock.

Monkey cursed under his breath and ran towards the creature, using his staff to launch him into the air so he could grab something, anything on the back of the mech. His hand closed around one of Core's staffs and he held on for dear life, hoisting himself up. The staff moved a couple inches under Monkey's shifting weight. Seeing an opportunity, he kicked at the staff, driving it down and pushing it through the parts holding the mech's head to its body. Sparks erupted around the staff. The mech howled again and the staff fell from the joint; the head was lopsided now.

"Trip!" Monkey barked as the mech started around the rock. "Move!"

He saw her across the sand towards Core and then turned his attention back to the mech as he started kicking Core's other staff, trying to loosen it and remove the mech's head completely. The second staff didn't want to move. With a wordless scream, Monkey drove his own staff into the joint and used all the strength he could to drive it through what would amount to the spine in a flesh and blood animal. A loud crack and flames told Monkey he was successful and a moment later, the mech fell forward and skidded across the sand, Monkey leaping from its head to land gracefully several feet away.

Where he was tackled by a blue, black and red blur.

"That was so much fun!" Core exclaimed, voice breaking.

Monkey looked at the young woman from his past and fought the urge to laugh. She was cut, bleeding and bruised, but she was smiling, her blue-green eyes sparkling. "You haven't changed a bit," he said, something in his voice revealing the surprise he was feeling.

"When would I have had time to change, Monkey? I was dead and then I was captured and stuck in Pyramid." She turned her head up to the night sky. "I've been stuck in the exact same place for so long, but that," she pointed at the smoking, sparking remains, "was just like old times."

Monkey gave her a small smile.

Trip stood there, watching, a pronounced scowl on her face. "You two fought a lot when you were friends or whatever?" she asked as Core went to examine the wreckage.

"We fought mechs," he replied.

"You fought mechs."

Monkey looked sideways at Trip. "Yes. We fought mechs. We hunted mechs. We did it to protect her colony." His eyes narrowed at his traveling companion. "Are you happy?"

Trip just huffed and walked away.

Core reappeared at Monkey's side with their staffs in tow. She had also salvaged assorted pieces of the mechs and was carrying them under one arm. What she was going to do with them was anyone's guess, but she seemed very happy with her finds. "Are we staying here or are we moving on?" she asked as she watched Trip stomp back to the stone.

"We'll move somewhere else. We don't want to attract attention with all these dead mechs." Monkey turned to look down at Core. "Are you okay to walk? You took some pretty solid hits."

Core looked down at her body. "They're just flesh wounds, Monkey. Nothing to worry about." She gave him a smile he never thought he'd see again: it was devious, mischievous and warm all at the same time. "I've been worse. You have given me worse injuries. Let's walk," she added with a gesture. "And I'll hope your little girlfriend doesn't find the guts to bite my head off."

Monkey gave Core an indignant look, which she returned with a bright smile before marching out across the sand.

Author's Note.

Sorry this one took so long. It's the end of school and that means I can't update as quickly as I'd want to, but I'm trying to keep these coming. Actually, writing my fanfiction and my original stories is all that keeps me sane while I'm writing my essays. So I've got to keep at it.

Anyways, we are officially one-third of the way through this fic. WOO.

Enjoy.

Next Chapter: Departure.