Consoulia Chronicles: Booting Up [~ read description]

Chapter 16: Dolphin

"You again," Zander glowered. "What're you after?" 

"No, you really can't be. It's really you." Zerrin called out. 

Agent Dolphin didn't respond. She picked up an assortment of documents from the computer panel, partitioning them into manila folders and tucking them away into her bag. Her bag at this angle was stuffed like a filing cabinet, but there was also what appeared to be a VHS tape in her collection as well. "You've all been helpful. Thank you." Her voice was smooth and professional with little trace of emotion. 

"For what exactly? Who are you?" Clover asked. 

The woman peered over at Iris, remembering the space station incident. "You'd do well not to pry me. All you need to know is that I have everything I need." When Sotoro pulled out his bolas whip, she sighed. "Fighting is counterproductive. Don't even bother." 

"You're the mastermind behind everything, aren't you?" Sotoro questioned as he lunged, intending on landing a hit on her, but her form disappeared. "What?" 

She reappeared in another part of the room. "I'm flattered you think that way, but that title goes to Corporate Greed. It's a shame that his top scientists died, though." She peered over at Iris, who shrunk away from her. She was stopped by Zander, who found that her form disappeared from his grip. She reappeared over Iris, who was bracing herself. All Agent Dolphin had done was remove the USB from her Identity Choker, ending the glitching once and for all. "Interesting that Ken took this with her. It's not even the virus, just some crummy code that your BIOS read and couldn't figure out." 

"But what about that orange glowing thing that Iris gets?" Spire questioned. 

"That was there already. You'd do well not to expose Iris to further emotional trauma. She's a ticking time bomb." the kid growled at her accusation. "Speaking of, this place is set to blow in an hour. There's a transport room down the hallway on your first right. I wouldn't linger." 

"Why even do that at all? Who even are you?" Zander shouted. 

"I don't need the genius that will be sent to investigate Ken's and Stephanie's deaths to use this for their own gain. Think about it, the second that Ken and Stephanie died was the moment Corporate Greed was alerted to it. I'd move if I were you." 

"Who's side are you even on anyway? Don't you remember the mission at all?" Zerrin confronted, pressing her nose against the agent's. "Well, do ya?!" 

"I've not forgotten, but you'd do well to stop associating with me for the time being. That goes for all of you." Agent Dolphin dismissed. She exited the room, with Zerrin following in anger. 

"What's that supposed to mean?! Lar..!" But she was gone. 

"Come on, we've got what we needed," Sotoro said as he clutched the USB drive with his sister's backup in it, as well as gesturing to a freed Mia. At least with her, they were one step closer and a couple obstacles removed from saving Consoulia. 

"Right." Zerrin looked at everyone around here, from the humans to her Consouloid friends, to her brother and Myrtle. "Let's get outta here." 


Three days later, a lonely car drove in the rain. From the inside of the car, the person sitting in the passenger seat looked out of the raindrop spotted window as his sorrowful expression was supported by a palm on his cheek. "I can't believe it's been a whole three days since all of that happened." Sotoro reflected. "I'm glad it's over." 

"Same. I did some checking around and saw that the motel itself is still standing. The lair's just completely destroyed," Zerrin confirmed. "Not that we have to go back down there again. We couldn't anyway." 

"But how would the motel still be standing?" 
"Beats me. Agent Dolphin's got some weird abilities that remind me of, well, hers." 

"Your girlfriend, right?" Sotoro asked. He caused his sister to blush. "Must be hard seeing her on their side." 
She stopped the car abruptly at a red light. "You're telling me, Sotoro. What's she doing working with Corporate Greed out of all things?! She's so cold and lifeless she could drop the act anytime and we could get off this planet and fight!" 
He sighed. "Except, we don't have a way to get off the planet yet." 
"I knowww..." she slouched behind the steering wheel. "And we still don't know about Lady Ari." 

The hatchback rolled up to a parking lot adjacent to the motel.  

The Consouloid siblings stepped out of the hatchback and stepped onto the motel porch; Sotoro inserted a key into the knob and twisted it until the door clicked open. Inside was the living space he remembered bitterly, but with a touch of fondness. He looked at the circular table with he remembered the time Satara forced his friends and the late scientists into a contract, but looked at the couch facing the television with fondness as he remembered the place where Myrtle sat. 

"Hey, Zerrin? Do you miss your researcher?" He asked, walking in. 
"No, why?"
"It just seems like your resolve to fight strengthened when you witnessed the death of your creator when we escaped Consoulia."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she dismissed. "If anything, I'm mad that I didn't get to beat her up myself. I had so much to ask her, like why our father? Why participate in any of this?" 

"Right, I get it, that's why you're here," Sotoro concluded. "You're here because I told you about that diary Ken left behind. I totally didn't read it." When he was given a look by Zerrin, he giggled nervously. "Okay maybe I took a little peek. Okay, a big peek. I read the whole thing cover to cover, but strangely it wasn't one that Ken wrote." 

"C'mon, let's go find it already," she bemoaned. 

The two of them looked high and low for the diary. Hours had passed, but no matter how much furniture they moved around, they couldn't find it. Their search had tired them out to the point of needing to sleep in the living area. While Sotoro was asleep sitting up on the reclining chair, Zerrin was conked out on the sofa. 

She dreamt of the last confrontation with Agent Dolphin. She remembered seeing her bag from an angle - folders, a VHS tape, and a red and gold book. She awoke from her sleep with a start, sitting up. "Oh, for fuck's sake."