Metalized Dusk

Savan prepared themselves for another dive, half heartedly feeling that it was probably going to be a waste of time, while the other half begrudgingly knew that it had to be done nonetheless. “I’ll be back in a minute”, they said, despondent and a bit tired.

Vivar- “ Savan…wait”, then the C.T.D picked up a bag and asked Billy and Melina to help him fill it with the softest material around. “ Leaves, grass, anything of the sorts.” Both were confused but did as asked; VIvar then asked the clopy to lay their head on top of it.

Savan- “ VIvar…we have pillows” but after their head sinked into the bag, the fresh smell of cut grass and ruffling sound relaxed them into a state of temporary bliss. “Alright…this is perfect.I’m good to go.” giving a thumbs up.

The dive took a bit longer than expected, but after 5 minutes the clopy exited it just as tired as before, except their irritated face now lacked the intense energy. “ Another mixed mind, but this time I knew what to look for. I didn’t find much, but both of them were sure that they could communicate with the outside somehow. Did we-”

Just then, Semil entered the room with a guest bound behind him. The guest caught parts of the conversation and guessed what the clopy wanted to indicate.

????- “ No devices or parts have been found smuggled in…so far.” The robotic, monotone voice came from the large C.T.D visitor, whose body resembled a giant animal with a royal human mask.

Billy- “Sovereign? You were home? Sorry, the others didn’t-”

Sovereign- “ I just arrived actually and got briefed on the situation. Based on what was discovered so far, my guess is that someone is probably building a transmitter with pieces found inside the Playground. “ The giant then took a look at the captured C.T.Ds, doing their own investigation. “ By the way, Savan, you’re getting kinda rusty. You missed the key feature of us, C.T.Ds, our chimeric nature of different parts and tech.”

Savan looked at the cyborgs and clicked their tongue after realizing what Sovereign meant. “Streamline builds, similar to the drones. Ugh, how did I miss that?”

Vivar- “ You’re tired, you working bee. Don’t take it personally. Also, regarding what you said Sovereign, you mean another operative, right?”, to which Melina raised an eyebrow. Spies? Of course they found spies in the Playground. But if that was the case, why– a question which was quickly responded by the knight. “ And missy, it’s because we didn’t want them to have a direct line with you or the other one. Don’t worry, all of the captured operatives are in another location, as prisoners.”

A tired Savan did some stretches and squats, asking for the condition of the four who dived with them before.

Sovereign- “ Two are recovering well while the others are still in a coma, but their bodies are still twitching like crazy…it’s still unclear what happened, but it’s like their nervous system is no longer capable of controlling the…well system.”

All stood in silence, unsure of what to say next. The prisoner broke the ice first.

Melina- “ So, you’re probably not going to trust me on this…but I want to help you guys out. “

No one wasn’t sure how to respond, but then Billy rose first with the accusation.

Billy- “ You are correct, I don’t trust you. Help us with what? And I don’t think you would do it for free. Your next condition would be to stay under Savan’s supervision while ‘helping us’, right?”

Melina- “ Well-”,

Billy- “ Well nothing. I know that you think Savan’s kinda weak and easy to manipulate-”

Savan- “ What?”

Billy- “ But you’re wrong.”

Melina- “ Of course I’m wrong. I’ve been trying to find weak points or escape methods for weeks now, but all we’ve done is help people out, meditate a lot, pick up garbage and WORST OF ALL-” the girl took a break, unsure if she wanted to continue saying her piece. She breathed in and continued:“ I enjoyed it!”

The other four left in the room took a seat, needing to rest from the bewilderment sent by that last statement. They wanted to stop the arguing from escalating, but then realized that this was the first in a while that Billy seemed so energized. Angry, but not dangerous, just filled with a passion that was lacking from him as of late.

Billy- “ What the hell do you mean you enjoyed it? You can’t do, you’re a Zin; strong-arm of the Brands and fucking hunters of jaywalkers!”

The girl took a few stomps forward, menacingly pointing her cuffed hands towards the C.T.D. “Oh please spare me, how many have you murdered and killed during the R.O.Cs, huh?”

Billy- “ I- WAS-BRAINWASHED”, he angrily waved his arms up and down.

Melina- “ And I grew up being trained day and night into the family business! Do you think I, or Marcos or Delina or even my dad had a choice on the matter? You survived into your 4th birthday? Congrats, you are now a fucking officer of the Brands! No whats or buts, family business!”

Billy stumbled through his words, a bit jumbled by a sudden backstory hit but then realized that the conversation went way out of left field of what he was arguing about. “ All sad and such, but what does that have to do with you wanting to help us?”

The prisoner left a sigh and stared at the cyborg, then at the clopy and the knight, turning back to Billy- “ Ok…While we searched for your saboteur, my plan was to coarse Savan into using their influence into letting me talk with the Commune-”

Billy- “ I knew it!”

Melina- “- Shut up you garden hose. And try to convince them to enter some peace…talks?”

Savan-” A parley? I mean…that’s not a bad idea, but we’ve been trying that for a while now.”

Melina-” Yeah, but I thought that if I could be an intermediary, then maybe…”

Billy was left speechless, while Savan and Vivar shared glances with each other.

Vivar- “ All nice and well, but why the long workaround? Why not start with that?”

The prisoner went red faced and spoke in the lowest, shyest tone she could- “ because I-”

Vivar- “ What? Speak up please.”

Melina- “ I was afraid that-”, then the knight interjected again, and the girl gave up trying. “ Huh, I just don’t know what else to do for now. Staying a prisoner ain’t a long-term option, and I…returning to the family…isn’t at the top of my priorities. For now, all I can think of is to give you a hand and stop this stupid fight- or do something about them, ok?”

Savan sent Billy a secret message, with something attached to it. After reading it and seeing the attachment, the soldier turned towards them. “ Are you two sure?”, to which both nodded. The C.T.D. looked at the cuffs and sighted. “ Can’t believe we are doing this-”, he mumbled as he pressed activated the program from the attachment.

Soon after, the cuffs deactivated and they fell heavily to the ground, making a loud sound during the crash. Melina couldn’t believe her eyes, and she needed a while to process what just happened. She rotated her wrists, bent them in different manners and it felt natural. She then turned to Savan, as if to ask if they were sure, but instead they received a wide, gentle smile. Both Savan and Vivar gave her a thumbs up, which was enough for the girl to feel that they put their trust into her.

Melina- “ You fucking idiots”, she chuckled in response as loud as she could.