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 Eight: Compromise Reached.
Monkey and Trip followed the dragonfly's directions for the better part of the day. Trip had to give the mechanical insect a break every fourth or fifth trip so it didn't overheat or break down. Once, she had to force Monkey to sit down and rest because the dragonfly was only flying in circles to the left and she couldn't fix it while they were walking. While she sat in the sand and tinkered with the beast, Monkey paced back and forth behind her, wearing a trench in the sand and mumbling under his breath. Trip did her best to ignore him as she worked, but it was hard not to notice how worked up he was getting over Core, lying out there somewhere in the sand, dying or already dead.
If Trip was being completely honest, she was getting worked up about it too. She didn't hate Core, regardless of what she brought out in Monkey. Actually, she quite liked the blonde woman with her blue-green eyes and her slightly psychotic smile. Trip admired her: the woman had spent around two years in an artificial world and she didn't let it suck her in. She had lost two years of her life and she had come out, planning to pick up where she had left off and doing whatever she could to get back to her family, her colony and her life. Almost everyone else Trip had seen come out of the Pyramid world had been upset about leaving; apparently, it had been a beautiful, wonderful, peaceful place, but it was all fake and Core had clung to reality. That took something special in the face of perfection.
She liked Core. She just didn't like that she was coming between her and Monkey. If she was at all; Trip had been thinking while they walked across the sand. Maybe Core had no designs on Monkey, maybe Trip had been imagining that, or she was just going off of Monkey's reaction. Core had never made any move other than to hug someone she hadn't seen in a long time, someone she cared about and had thought lost to her. That wasn't so outrageous.
Trip looked down at the dragonfly in her hands and realized she hadn't been working on it for several moments while her thoughts chased each other around her head. She shook out her red hair and wished they were somewhere cooler; she was sick of sweating in the heat. Ridding herself of all thoughts of Core and Monkey, Trip focused on the dragonfly and completed the last few repairs.
"Is that thing ready?"
"Yeah, just give me a second to test it and make sure," Trip said, her voice even and unemotional. She tossed the dragonfly into the air and held her breath as it sputtered, wings flapping rapidly. After a second that seemed to go on forever, the little thing rolled over and took off and Trip had full control again from the console on her wrist. "It's good. We're getting closer."
Monkey took off again at a fast jog and Trip followed a few paces behind, the holographic console disappearing back into the device on her wrist. Soon, she was breathing heavily and it was a struggle to keep putting one foot in front of the other. She could run, but not as far as Monkey; she wasn't that strong. When her legs felt like lead, she had to stop. She called to Monkey and he stopped and turned, jogged back to where she was standing, her eyes narrowed slightly, like he was angry.
"I can't go any farther right now," she panted. "I need to take a break. I'm sorry."
The blond man stopped and stared down at her. For a moment, Trip was sure he was just going to turn and keep going towards Core, but then he picked her up and put her on his back, like he had when they had been back on the East Coast, climbing through the remains of the city. Trip held on as tight as she dared, her knees braced against Monkey's muscular back. She leaned closer as he started moving again, putting her mouth close to his ear.
"I'm sorry," she said again, hoping he knew what she was apologizing for.
Apparently he did, because he nodded ever so slightly.
Because she wasn't running, Trip was able to look down at the display console on her wrist. The dragonfly was hovering over Core's unmoving form. There were drag marks behind her, like she had dragged herself through the sand, heading towards… towards… Trip made the dragonfly look around and she saw what Core had been trying to get to: not far away from her position was a river, surrounded by green plants and bright flowers; she had been trying to get to the water, where she might be safer from the mechs, might be able to heal. There was blood in the sand behind her and though her chest was moving up and down with ragged breaths, it wasn't moving much.
"Monkey, hurry," Trip gasped. "She's dying."
Monkey hurried. It didn't take that long when he was running almost as fast as he could. Soon enough, they saw her in the distance, but she wasn't alone. Following in her drag marks were three mechs, all half functional, like they had taken a serious beating. Monkey stopped running and set Trip down on the sand.
"Get to Core," he said. "I'm going to get rid of those mechs. Get her to that river."
Trip nodded. Before he could run off, Trip placed a hand on his arm and gave it a small squeeze. He held her gaze for a moment and then broke away, running towards the mechs with her staff poised and ready. Trip sighed and ran in an arch towards Core, to stay out of the mechs' path and Monkey's way.
Author's Note.
So, the chapter is a little shorter than the others, but because everyone seems to like this fic, I'm not pushing, I'm just writing and I'll tell you something, it feels nice. I haven't had a lot of experience with things that just flow like this fic. Sometimes my other fics do, but this one has been pretty consistent. It's nice to have something that's just a lot of fun.
Anyways, enjoy!
Next Chapter: Rescued Again.