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 Twelve: The City by the Bay.
Soon enough, the ground beneath their feet began to turn rocky and green. The sand grew more coarse and darkened until it was rich soil and the lushness that surrounded the river began to spread outwards, overtaking the bare ground, and the trees grew into thick, young forests encroaching on what used to be a great city; broken, twisted and collapsed ruins could be seen everywhere, everything covered in a layer of green that looked bright against the blue of the ocean. For Trip, it looked much like the East had, except there were more hills and taller, older trees. For Monkey, it was a sight he hadn't seen in a long time and it almost brought a smile to his mouth. For Core, it was home and she couldn't keep the smile off her face.
She took several steps towards the edge of the rise they were standing on, but it wasn't long before she started running towards the ruins, laughter bubbling past her lips. With the exception of when they'd left Pyramid, Trip didn't think she'd ever seen Core look so… happy. But Monkey caught her with an arm around her waist and pulled her back, the motion hard enough to pull her feet off the ground. A beastly howl escaped her throat and she flailed, beating at Monkey ineffectually with her hands and heels.
"PUT ME DOWN!" she barked, trying to throw her head back into Monkey's face. "LET ME GO MONKEY!"
He struggled to get a hold on Core, but finally managed to wrap his arms around her loosely. "I'm not going to let you go, Core! Calm down!"
"FUCK YOU! PUT ME DOWN! I WANT TO GO HOME!"
Trip watched Monkey and Core struggling and she wanted to do something, but she didn't know what; not that she could think of anything she could do. Both Monkey and Core were stronger than she was and had more experience fighting. So she hung back and waited for something she could do to help.
She felt for Core; she knew what it was like to want to go home more than you wanted to be alive. She knew what it was like to be so close to everything you wanted, only to have it ripped away at the last moment. Trip hoped they would find her colony intact, find her family waiting, but there was that nagging feeling that they might not. On the other hand, Trip also knew that Monkey was right, that Core couldn't just run there. They had no idea what was hiding in the ruins, what could attack them at any moment. It was better to stay where they were and scope out the situation before rushing in. Regardless, Trip knew anything she said would go unheard, so she continued to stand by and wait.
Monkey currently had Core in a headlock and was trying to wrestle her to the ground. She was putting up a good fight, her strong hands were wrapped his arms and her muscles were flexing as she tried to pry herself free. Core was screaming wordlessly, her face turning red with the exertion. There were thin streams of blood running down Monkey's arms where Core's nails had dug into his flesh and she had managed to land a couple hits.
"Monkey!" she screamed, voice guttural. Core almost looked like she was going to cry.
"Core!" he barked, mouth close to her ear. The noise made her jump and gave Monkey the moment he wanted. He finally drove one of his feet into the back her to her knee, an arm still around her throat. She dropped quickly, groaning when her knees struck the dirt. "Calm down or the noise you're making will bring the mechs down on us! You'll get us all killed! You can't just go running in there!"
The reality of it finally seemed to break through her hysteria. "But…" she gasped. "I'm so close!"
"I know," Monkey said, his voice quieter than it had been. It was almost a tender moment; Trip could see real caring in his eyes. Monkey shifted his grip so he wasn't close to strangling her anymore and helped her lower herself to the ground. "I know, but you've gotta wait. We'll get you home," Monkey said, looking over his shoulder at Trip. He had said something similar to Trip when they had been making their way to her home. Monkey hadn't wanted the outcome they'd gotten then and he didn't want it now. Trip gave him a small, reassuring smile.
Without thinking much about it, Trip sent up her dragonfly, the little machine taking wing over the area of ruins immediately in front of them. Trip pushed it as far as she dared; after its excursion in the desert, it was hard to tell how far the thing would go before it died completely. If it even had a breaking point. Trip didn't want to find out though. The dragonfly revealed a lot of rubble and debris, but no mechs. That was a relief. Once the dragonfly had returned, Trip walked over to where Core and Monkey were sitting on the ground, Core staring at the ruins and Monkey keeping his eyes on the woman. She dropped to the ground beside them.
"Did you see anything?" Monkey asked because Core was too absorbed with her staring.
Trip shook her head. "There was nothing in the area I scanned." She pointed to the ruins and drew a sort of half circle. "I looked in all that. I figured it would be enough for the first bit of walking. I can keep the dragonfly up as we're going…"
Monkey looked at Core. "Good. Let's get going. Get into the ruins before the sun sets."
Trip followed Monkey's gaze, a small sigh escaping her lips. "Is she going to be okay?"
"As long as we find her colony intact and her family alive, then yeah, she'll be fine."
Author's Note.
So I'm going to finish this one off because there's only three chapters left, and then I'll have achieved my goal of only having three fics on the go at once! Woo-hoo! Achievement! …unlocked?
Sure, for 50G! It shall be called… Fulfilling your goal. I guess.
Okay, now I'm just rambling. I will shut up now.
Enjoy.
Next Chapter: Underground.