2.10|GARDEN OF TEARS

 

2.10|Garden of Tears

 

In Cathedral Ochre, Protlyn munched silently on an apple. The sight of the new brood in recent months, with their flowing blond, white and pastel hair, their pure white wings and almost idyllic twiggy proportions and glazed smooth skin often would set many an Oohtlet off, but for Protlyn they were merely dining guests at the fine institution. Leisure seemed to be all these Santri did, she could scarcely imagine them working out in the mines or operating the tracks. To her own relief very few shared her features, too altered in supermodel esque paradigms of beauty to reflect the sad visage she often displayed when eating in the courtyard.

Amity cleared her throat and pulled up a chair. "Is, um, this seat taken?" she

asked.

Protlyn shot her a dissatisfied look. "I'm on a date right now. Come back

later."

The hacker, scientist and now head researcher of MATRUS ARTIFICE

divisions looked around.

"With, yourself? But you're alone.."

Protlyn went silent, with eyes like daggers staring back.

"Oh.. right. S-sorry." She quickly backed down. "I'll come back later. Maybe go

eat with Ostara, she's pretty nice."

"Have fun."

Amity paced back and forth, noticing Protlyn spicing her steak.

"You know we had to clone watercattle to be able to make those right?"

She said.

"Specifically me and Theo did, and you still give us the cold shoulder

sometimes."

Protlyn chewed slowly. "I don't really like Theo. You, well you could keep

better company."

"Atleast I HAVE company! I've made FRIENDS here! Ones that aren't just

those natives!" She yelled.

Protlyn's hand shook, she held her wrist to stop the trembling. "I had someone

once." Her gaze looked down solemn, and she said no more of that topic.

"Do you know how much the Ooht loved you for that, flickering light you contributed? The 'Hex', it's revolutionized their whole world! And the Santri, you're a celebrity to them! They call you Mama Mara! What more do you want?"

Protlyn looked around, seeing the winged men and woman eating and

frolicking in the lap of luxury.

"A wedding." She turned her head. "But not with these harlots. I wanted a beautiful wedding, maybe on a cruise starship or by a waterfall. I wanted to raise children, to teach a daughter how to pilot a ship or a son how to raise a gun. I wanted to wake up every morning in bed with someone by my side. They called the Hex a power of 'Luminal connections' that they're still studying, but, what are my connections Miss Byte?" She stabbed her steak. "What are mine?"

Cathedral Ochre was more than just a cafeteria. It was a temple to the divine. The main hall, the central courtyard, the chapel all were sanctums where the Santri went to seek absolution. Oohtlet who could afford to do so had the same right of worship as those with a temple within their home and those who couldn’t but wanted to commune with the gifts of the Hex were welcome to take a meal here, but most couldn't afford it nor were afforded the same luxuries as the Santri. Protlyn, well, she just wanted to eat without the distractions and the occasional unwanted attention did find the Santri’s fundamentalist worship of the Hex a little troubling, they’d often come up to her praying and asking questions, treating her like some great holy figure to them. Dating 'herself' might have seemed awkward, but she barely had time to meditate with the Sightless anymore, let alone separate the two voices coalesced in her mind. She certainly didn't want to deal with Theo, and her feelings towards Monarch often grew complicated when they spent time together, whose feelings towards Amity were more complicated still. The cathedral courtyard was filled with Santri, eating, chatting, drinking, granted a beautiful view over the valley, from the diamond-bright morning to the midnight lit with stars.

Amity looked at the dour girl and felt a surge of pity.

"Protlyn sipped a cup of wine. "You should go. Besides, I don't know if the Santri are capable of work or love, or otherwise anything meaningful, to be honest."

"Y-yeeah.." Amity scratched her head. "I originally wanted them to be more, robust? Don't get me wrong they're great waiters, waitresses, lab hands and help but, they're really not that.. resilient. I wanted them to contribute but, the Oohts would rather just have them more like pretty pets or accessories mostly. Dainty."

"You mean the fact that they spend all their time here, gossiping and dining didn't tip you off?" Protlyn put one hand on her cheek, leaning abit.

"Pfft! And I thought it was just you who was this weird, and weird about food." Amity gave her a dirty look.

Protlyn shrugged. "I've found the Santri are rather.. difficult to get on with. I don't know why I feel such a bad connection to them. In spite of how they were made or how much they revere me." Protlyn said, and sat up. "I guess, I've been around so much weirdness lately that I'm having a hard time finding something normal."

Having long given up over and over on getting past the fence of Protlyn's inscrutable emotions, Amity sighed and walked away from the sunset across the sky. She headed back to Monarch's loft, noting the street festivals were entirely filled with partying Santri and very few of the nomadic inhabitants borne upon this rusted world.

As Protlyn pulled up a piece of steak to her mouth, her hand brightened until her skeleton was visible, the entirety of her body illuminating. The light caught the room and then vanished into itself.

When she looked around, everything was an eyesore of gaudy garnish colors and rounded architecture. She looked up and saw a giant bubble in the sky, the vermilion castle she stood upon draped with pink and violet flags. There were a few people talking nearby, she peaked over an angelic skirted statue to see a woman in an outfit that seemed fit for a perverted schoolgirl talking to a few children in suspenders, wearing bubbly inflated hats. The woman stabbed her heart and pulled a big wand out, the heart-shaped tip resembling a lollypop tasty enough to lick.

"..What.." Protlyn said confused. She couldn't make out the confusing words they said but only caught a phrase of their prattle. "Mommy Momutie will not stand for this sadgression! We need to ready the Huggle EnBrighteners at once, just in case! It pays preppy gumdrops to be prepared when the Bigworlders are afoot!" She started to feel light headed again, the Flicker's body phasing and preparing to warp  back to where she'd been.

 

 

Monarch woke on the second night of the festival to the feeling of a soft hand brushing across his cheek. He rolled to his left and found Amity sitting against him on his bare chest. Her eyes were full of sleep, and a soft glaze of dew rested on her eyes, her lashes fanned out like a flower petal. She had been out at work for most of the night, but she'd only fallen asleep in Monarch's arms. "Monarch.." She said abit torn.

"Why did you scream 'Ellie' last night during our... session?"

Monarch blinked ruefully.

Amity snuggled up closer to him, and she kissed him, her tongue grazing his, he could taste her arousal. He pushed her off gently. "Look things between me and Protlyn are.."

She hated when he said that name. Hated it more than anything else he could possibly say. "Yeah I get it.. you and her. You go way back.. even into your former lives 'far back.'" She sat up and folded her arms pissed.

"It's not fair what she did to you. Why do you still pine for her?"

"I.."

"You don't even have your memories back! How do you know about Ellie? I gave you that option as a courtesy, to choose! You never did, you and her and- UGGH! It makes me so upset. I'm the one out here optimizing this entire city! Why do you have all these complicated feelings around her?"

"Around who?" Monarch asked.

She slapped him. "Around Protas! Or Protlyn, or whoever. Towards Ellie who

you haven't seen in hundreds of years before several reboots! Whyyyyyyyy?!"

He stopped silent and stoic, the thick haul of his body pinned by her soft

supple breasts.

"Because I was made to.. I guess."

And so they fell into an awkward silence and a slow sweet kiss, the sweet warmth of her lips. "Open up to me. What are you feeling?" She whispered, cooing into his ear.

"I'm not feeling something, I'm thinking about something I want to feel, okay?" He replied. "And maybe it doesn't match what I know."

Amity threw off her labcoat, unclipped her bra and pressed her bare breasts against his chest. "Monarch.. you can't love me like this if you're still thinking of her." She whispered, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "I'm not! It's fucking complicated alright! I just told you I was literally created to-"

"Who CARES what you were created for!"

They paused silent, Amity started to unzip Monarch's slacks only for him to slap her wrist.

With a grunt, she continued to do it anyway.

"What did you re-create me for, Amity? Why did you rebuild me exactly?"

She glared back and grabbed his bare shoulders.

"I'm sorry you got hurt so bad. I felt guilty for how you were killed and wanted

to do something to makeup, that's all."

Monarch paused, rubbing his face. "I don't want to go over this with you

again."

 "It doesn't have to go like this."

Amity kissed him and pulled them both under the sheets bed. The smell of sweat and starched sticky pheromones slowly serenaded the room. Protlyn was back in her seat, in the courtyard of Cathedral Ochre once more.

The other Santri were giggling and looking up. "Oooh, fireworks!"

"Didn't know there'd be a show!"

A pink haired girl giggled.

"Are those real fireworks?" Another Santri asked excitedly.

Protlyn looked on, the bright pink light arriving closer and closer from the turbid skyline it descended from, forming a heart shaped ray from above which split into two, bent and shot upwards before twisting trajectory to curve and aim below at the exact same location.

 

 

"Baron... god......" Amity gasped, thrusting and twisting her bare body in a

sweaty passion. "Ugmmmmmmmmmmffff-"

Monarch stopped, cutting off the erotic thrill with a stiff motion. He pulled off the sheets angry. "Baron?" He glared at her. "Really? Whose pining for someone else now?"

She covered her naked body. "W-wait, c'mon! It's just a name, one of your names! We were having fun, don't stop!" Monarch pulled himself out of the bed unsettled and pushed her onto a pillow. "Whaaaat? You could've atleast let us finish!"

The two went to the balcony nude, their bodies illuminated in the pink light the sky turned.

"What the?" Amity’s eyes took in the beam.

The ground rocked. "Oh no..." Monarch shielded the two both from the shockwave and leapt backwards. He grabbed Amity, holding her close as a roily wave expanded from the trajectory site ahead. The beam eviscerated miles of land and vaporized beyond all thermal thresholds the equipment and infrastructure not too far from the city. A mauve toned smoke cloud emanated with matching colored fire, coming out a sizable crater and shrouding the city. Twenty minutes later the two met Protlyn back at the command center.

"What the hell was that?!" Amity asked, reading the metrics from all available data. Protlyn covered her face and sank back into a seat. She uttered a single word.

"EnBrighteners."