Ergo Proxy: Proxy of Life
It was just one of those days where nothing seemed to go fast enough. Re-L and Kristeva sat at the back of the Rabbit, discussing where they thought that another dome would be located. Sometimes the noise level would rise or grow gruff, but something would be compensated, and they would discuss some more. Vincent was stuck playing with Pino, who almost went into a rage before Vincent broke down and agreed to play silly child-games.
The Rabbit was stationary, as nobody could decide which direction to turn next, and there was only a slight breeze.
"Come on, Vince!" cried Pino. "You can't be tired already!"
"Coming…Pino…" wheezed Vincent, trying to catch Pino. They were playing cartoons, and Pino was a rabbit, and Vincent was the hunter. Pino giggled, and ran off. "Oh…" groaned Vincent, leaning on one of the railings on one of the higher decks of the Rabbit. It broke under his weight, and he tumbled down, landing on Re-L.
"Get off me, oaf!" she growled, heaving him off.
"Any injuries?" asked Kristeva.
"Negative," snarled Re-L. "Although this one hurt his pride."
Vincent moaned, rolling around on the ground.
"Vince?" yelled Pino from up on the sail. "What are you doing down there? You're not supposed to be on the floor."
"Letting a little girl push you around, huh?" teased Re-L. "What a man."
Vincent got up on his hands and knees, still doubled over. Re-L kicked him, not too hard, and he fell over again. Pino climbed down from her place on the sail, looking at Vincent inquisitively.
"Pino, why don't you go and play your new song for Vincent," suggested Re-L, turning back to Kristeva to continue their discussion.
"Yeah!" yelled Pino, and she pushed Vincent until he got up, then pulled his hand downstairs, below deck where Vincent would have a moment to rest before Pino wanted to get up and play again.
"You're in love with him," murmured Kristeva once Vincent and Pino had disappeared.
Re-L was silent, looking at her boots. "It's that easy to tell?"
"Not quite, but it's there," replied Kristeva in a kindly tone.
Re-L sighed, her mind whirring.
Pino's song must have been finished for Pino had run out of the bunker below and was scurrying up the mast again. Vincent came trudging out a couple minutes later. "Ready or not, here I come," he mumbled wearily. Re-L watched him intently as he lifted up blankets and boxes and looked inside and below and everywhere, but he couldn't find her. How degrading, she thought.
"Come on, Pino, give me a hint!" he yelled, frustrated enough.
Suddenly, Pino's instrument came hurtling out of the sky. Pino meant to throw it right into Vincent's arms, but she misjudged her distance, and it knocked Re-L in the head, sending her flying off of the Rabbit and into the dirty, snowy ground.
"Pino!" exclaimed Vincent. "Miss Re-L, are you all right!?" When no response sounded, Vincent jumped off the ship, frantically searching for where Re-L fell. He found her a few feet away, and she was obviously knocked unconscious.
Kristeva landed next to him, and she felt around Re-L's body for any broken bones. "Everything seems to be in check," she told Vincent.
"Where in the head did it hit her?" Vincent asked.
"In the side; here." She pointed to a spot just to the right of Re-L's small bun. "We should probably get her inside and warmed up."
Vincent picked up Re-L and climbed the ladder that Pino had just thrown down.
"Come and play, Vince!" she cried when they got up the ladder.
"No!" scolded Vincent. "Do you see what your play has done? You could have killed her!"
"Don't…be too hard on her…Vincent…" Re-L struggled to say. "Sh-she didn't mean…"
"Don't talk, Re-L, just rest," hushed Kristeva. Re-L smiled at Kristeva, then went back to sleep.
Vincent carried Re-L downstairs and placed her in her cot, grabbing three blankets and piling them on top of her, tucking her in as best he could. Then, for no reason at all, he bent down and kissed her cheek, half-wishing she would wake up, half-wishing she wouldn't. He put his thumb on her lips the way he did back in Romdeau dome, at the time of their first encounter, and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
"Kristeva," asked Pino, when Vincent returned on top deck, "why was Vince so angry at me? He has never talked to me like that before."
"Well, you gave him quite a scare when Re-L was knocked off the ship," replied Kristeva, brushing Pino's hair to try to make her feel better, but it was more to keep her occupied.
"Why does he care so much about Re-L? She is so mean to him."
"I'll tell you another time," said Kristeva stiffly.
"Kristeva," asked Pino.
"Hmm."
"What am I feeling?" Pino turned around and looked at Kristeva.
"I think you are feeling jealousy, Pino. You are jealous that Vincent likes Re-L more than you," Kristeva said, setting down the brush on her lap. "You are feeling confused also."
"Jealous…" murmured Pino, turning back around. "Is it good to feel jealous?"
"It depends on how jealous you feel. How would you like your hair today, Pino?" asked Kristeva, trying to change the subject.
Maybe if I look like Re-L, Vincent will like me more and my jealousy will go away, Pino thought. "In two small buns, like Re-L's!"
Kristeva sighed, but did so anyways. Once she was done, Pino jumped up and ran over to Vincent. "Vince! Do you like my hair?" She pointed at her head.
Vincent, who was staring off into the horizon, merely took a small glance down. "It looks like Re-L's" was all he had to say. When he said nothing more, Pino became even more confused and ran back over to Kristeva.
"Kristeva, has my jealousy gone away?"
"Why do you say that?" laughed Kristeva.
"I thought that if I looked like Re-L Vincent would like me more and my jealousy would go away!" smiled Pino.
"Jealousy is something you have to overcome, Pino," replied Kristeva. "You have to accept that Vincent likes Re-L more than you. Then perhaps your jealousy would go away."
"Perhaps?" wondered Pino.
"It just depends on if you can truly accept the truth," answered Kristeva, and she walked away so that she could check the breeze and make sure that the Rabbit's anchor was still.
Re-L Mayer woke up a few hours later, her head a bit sore from her knock-out. Groaning as Vincent had earlier, she got up and headed to the bathroom. Her face and body were quite grubby from being thrown to the ground, so she decided that taking a shower would be a smart thing to do; plus it might soothe her aching head.
A lot went through Re-L's mind, from when Vincent had first broke into her bathroom back in Romdeau, to just this afternoon, when he had completely exploded in Pino's face.
Re-L dried her hair after her shower, but only put on her pink undershirt and underwear. She opened the bathroom door a tad, and saw that Vincent had meandered his way back into the bunkroom, probably just to check on Re-L anyway. She closed the door and took three deep breaths in the mirror, then opened the door.
Vincent, who was facing the bathroom door, sitting on Re-L's bunk with his hands folded together, was obviously not expecting this, and he fell to the ground when he saw Re-L half-naked.
"R-Re-L," he stammered, his voice slightly muffled from it being pressed into the floor. He was expecting Re-L to flare up and scream at him, driving him from the bunkroom and making him sleep in another place for a week at least. But she didn't.
"Get up," she said softly. He didn't move, unsure if he was supposed to obey this order. "Get up," she said, stronger.
He shakily stood on his feet, averting his eyes, trying to be careful, but it only made his eyes twitchy. He was beginning to sweat.
"Why did you break into my house back in Romdeau?" asked Re-L.
"I-I don't know!" yelled Vincent, who had no clue what the hell was going on.
Re-L took a deep breath. "Why did you break into my house back in Romdeau when I was going to take a bath?"
"I don't know!" cried Vincent, getting very distressed.
Re-L grabbed his chin, and forced him to look into her eyes. "Why, Vincent?" she whispered.
Vincent's breath was caught in his throat, and he gasped and stuttered over senseless words. Re-L pushed him onto her bed and kneeled over him. "You know why," she whispered, kissing him on the mouth. Vincent felt his eyes rolling around in his head, and was shaking very hard now; it was all he could do just to keep a faint hold on reality.
A bump sounded in one of the cupboards, and Re-L got up and walked over to the cupboard, opening it up. "Pino, get out," she said gently. The cupboard was quite dark, but she knew Pino was in there. "Pino," she said more sternly. A few seconds later, some shifting noises came from inside the cupboard, and Pino crawled out, a curious and shameful look on her face. There was also something similar to jealousy inside her Auto-rave eyes. Re-L ushered her to the door, then closed it and locked it.
"Kristeva," whined Pino. "Why won't Vincent or Re-L open the door?"
Kristeva became very still for a few moments, then she looked down at Pino. "Come, Pino," Kristeva said. "I'll teach you how to do your own hair."