The Pulse of the World

17: Bent

Ocelotte

Well, she'd surprised me. I couldn't deny that.

I'd known something was amiss when we cornered them at the end of the broken bridge. I heard shouting up ahead, but couldn't make the words out. Then, much to my surprise, the two of them threw themselves off the bridge, leaving only that strange robot of hers behind. This was followed by a loud yell, an anguished one. I recognized the voice as Brynn's, but I couldn't make out the words.

I bit my tongue, stopping a slew of curses from flying out, then let out a mild, "Huh."

"Shit!" Damon dashed forwards futilely, chasing a target that had already escaped. Amalina soon followed his lead, but I didn't waste the breath.

I could feel those pixelated eyes on me as I approached. Curious, considering Amalina and Damon were much closer, and considerably more imposing. At least, physically. So what could possibly be drawing her attention to me?

Amalina slowed to a walk, drawing her spear. "Getting sick of this fucking robot."

Damon's axe came out. "Well, we've already missed Brynn. Let's take out the trash."

I wrinkled my nose at his tasteless tough guy act, taking my time as I neared the strange creation before me. Brynn hadn't wanted to leave her behind, clearly. And she had shown considerable attachment to Brynn, in my experience. What, then, was she doing?

"Cool it, Damon." I moved between him and my sister, only a few steps from the teal figure. I wasn't entirely convinced she wouldn't take the leap as well. I wouldn't put it past Brynn to have made her waterproof. "Why aren't you following them?"

"Technology and water don't mesh well." Her strange mechanical voice held considerable hostility. I was surprised she wasn't waterproof, because that'd mesh perfectly with the unbelievable luck we'd been having thus far. "I'm not going anywhere."

Just making sure. I crossed my arms. "Well, thanks to you, we've lost our mark again."

"Protecting her is my job. She's too important to die here."

I frowned, my eyebrows turning down slightly. She was a curious one, alright. "Did Brynn program you to think that?"

My question took her off guard apparently, because she didn't reply right away. "... No." It sounded like a question.

"Hm. What's your name?" I recalled hearing it a time or two, but it was presently eluding me, and buying time didn't sound like a bad idea.

"Ocelotte, what are you doing?" Damon asked impatiently. "Let's just take her apart and be done with it."

"Ariena." She paused. "Why?"

"Because you interest me. And I'm in horribly short supply of things that interest me."

"Sis, come on. Focus." She sounded way too serious right now. Once this came to blows this would be an open and shut case. What would be the point on skipping the fun part? Especially if I might not even get the satisfaction of hurting her.

"Hush." I moved my hands to my hips. "So what's your plan, exactly? You know we're going to dismantle you quickly and rather effortlessly."

"That's pretty big talk for someone who couldn't kill one boy," she said, in a shockingly threatening manner. Not that she scared me. But I did respect the effort.

"Oh please," I said easily. "We were going easy on him because we were trying to catch up to you. Besides, you're not Gerrard."

"He trained me," she replied, still confident. "And even if I don't kill you, I'll eat up some of your time."