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 Six: Departure.

"Where are you going?" Trip asked.

Core looked sideways at the redhead, her finds from the mech still tucked under one arm; she hadn't had the opportunity to do whatever it was she going to do with them yet. "What do you mean? Where do I want to go? I want to go home. West coast, the ocean… my family, my colony, if it's still there." Her blue-green eyes took on a faraway look and a small smile danced across her lips. There was a little skip in her step as she thought about home; she looked quite a bit younger.

The girls were behind Monkey, walking side by side as their companion kept an eye out for more mechs. Trip was feeling a little more confident back there, more able to talk to Core than she could with Monkey nearby. Something in the chemistry the pair shared unnerved her and there was the feeling that Monkey would take Core's side in anything. "Do you think it's still there?" Trip asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

"I hope so. It was a large, hidden colony with lots of trained fighters. I think there's a good chance that it's still there. A better chance than most colonies, anyways."

For a long moment, Trip didn't say anything. What she was going to say next could have some seriously bad consequences for her, but she sucked in a breath and said it anyway. "Do you have to travel with us? We aren't necessarily going all the way west." Her voice was quiet.

Core stopped walking, her toes digging into the sand. Trip knew instantly that she had pissed off the blonde, and sure enough, when she turned back to face Core, she found those extraordinary eyes narrowed and her metal treasures on the ground by her feet. The short fuse that led to Core's temper had just about run out; ahead of the girls, Monkey was still walking, but it wouldn't be long before he turned to join them. Core advanced on Trip, the blue ends of her blonde dreadlocks swinging madly around her waist and her hands balled into fists.

"You want me gone?" she asked, venom in her voice.

"I—"

"You don't want me around Monkey, do you?"

"I—"

Core reached for Trip, but Monkey appeared suddenly between them, pushing Core back roughly. She took several steps back, her eyes locked on Trip's face and ignoring Monkey's eyes on hers. When she finally did look at Monkey, whatever she saw there made her scowl. She spread her hands out to either side and gave Monkey a smile that was angry and bitter. "It was nice to see you again, Monkey," she called, voice sarcastic. Core turned her back on the pair, grabbed the metal pieces from the mech and then started off across the sand, headed vaguely west. "I'm going home."

Monkey watched her shrink on the horizon for a few moments before turning to face Trip. His eyes were narrowed, but he wasn't specifically mad at Trip; she knew that, but the look still made her shrink back a little. Trip swallowed that fear because she knew Monkey wouldn't hurt her and faced him.

"I didn't mean for her to storm off like that, Monkey," she said.

For a second, Monkey looked like he was going to yell, but then he closed his eyes and sighed, his muscular shoulders dropping as he exhaled. "I know. Core's always been unpredictable." He ran one hand back over his blond hair, scratched at his head and then folded his arms across his chest. "What did you ask her? Something had to set her off."

"I asked her if she had to travel with us. I should have asked it a different way."

Monkey nodded, almost absently. "You don't want her here."

Trip knew it wasn't a question. She sighed. "It's not that Monkey. It's just… The history between you two is... a lot to handle." She took a couple steps towards him, until they were standing very close. She placed a hand on his arm and squeezed gently. "Will you please tell me how you two know each other? More than just you fought mechs together? Please?"

Monkey cast another look over his shoulder in the direction Core had gone; she was just a small dot on the horizon now, still heading due west. She could take care of herself, he knew, but there were a lot of mechs out there, and a lot of big mechs, like the one they had faced the night before. She had been inside the Pyramid World for a long time, and things had changed. He wasn't going to leave Trip behind, even if he could have, but he didn't want to lose Core. Not yet. He started speaking with his head still turned. "A long time ago—I don't remember exactly how long—I was near the ocean and was attacked by some mechs." He turned back to Trip. "Core and her brothers showed up and wiped out the mechs like it was all they knew how to do. I learned later that that wasn't far from the truth."

"So you joined them?"

Monkey nodded. "I had nowhere to go, no one to see and the people in her colony were willing to welcome me in. The colony in Old San Francisco is underground. It's the largest I've ever seen; the slavers can't get in. I don't even think they know it's there. They have entire families down there." Monkey took a deep breath. "I stayed there for a few years, helping Core and the others hunt mechs and slavers and protect the colony."

"You were… close?"

Monkey nodded, his eyes focused somewhere other than Trip's face.

"And you thought she was dead?"

"I saw her get impaled by a mech. I saw the life leave her eyes, had her blood on my hands. There were slavers coming and I ran so I wouldn't get captured. I didn't expect them to take her. I thought she was dead."

Trip looked at Monkey with something like shock in her eyes. This was the most he'd ever shared about himself and his past, and the most emotion she'd seen from him that wasn't anger. The only other time she'd seen similar emotion had been when they'd almost kissed on the journey from the east, on the giant mech. That hurt, but she just wanted to make sure he was okay. "Monkey…"

He held up a hand, cutting her off. "It's the past. It doesn't matter."

"Clearly," Trip said, finding a previously unknown well of strength, "it does."

Author's Note.

We are going to try and finish this one up quickly!

To clarify something that seems to be confusing… Core's hair is blonde, but it was dyed blue. So now, the ends of Core's hair are blue, but the rest of her hair is blonde because the dye has grown out.

Yeah, I'm going to play the game again soon, methinks. I need to get all the achievements, and I love the game so much.

Anyways, enjoy!

Next Chapter: Arguments Abound.