Voli only had one mission today: get John to that place, and confess.
She'd been in love before. With her mother, with her sister, and with money. But never with another man, not even her father. At one point she even started questioning her straightness.
And yet, the moment she saw John, her heart fluttered. She didn't believe in love at first sight and she knew this wasn't love, it was but a craving, a craving she couldn't satiate. Or perhaps this craving, really was love? She wasn't sure.
But it didn't matter now. She was here and she was going to let her heart run wild.
She didn't care about anything else.
There was no going back and there was no holding back. At least that was the plan.
She was glad Theo wasn't as dense as John and took the hint. But then again, she got awfully frustrated at times, knowing John never once looked at her, the same way she looked at him. Even now as they were heading over to the weapons shop, John's head was held high and he didn't even give Voli a second glance.
Obviously, Voli didn't like this but she waited for the right opportunity. 'Today I will!'
***
It took them two minutes to reach the store.
John ravaged through the inventory and bought things in a flash. He even got good prices. And he looked marvelous while doing so.
'He's a true craftsman!'
Voli's heart fluttered some more. She couldn't handle this anymore. "John?"
"Yes?" He looked back.
Voli's heart raced. The sounds in the distance became muffled. Nothing in the whole world mattered to her anymore. Only the man in front had all her attention, every last bit of it.
"I actually wanted to check out a place, quick. Do you have time?" Voli tried her best plead. She'd learned the way to use her charms from her mother.
And yet, her breathing was all over the place, and she couldn't think straight. 'What if he says no?'
Thousands of possibilities danced in her mind. She couldn't- no she didn't want to entertain those thoughts and yet-
John sighed. He saw this coming from a mile away. He knew Voli had feelings for Theo and it should have been Theo to go out with her, but he guessed she was probably just too shy to be alone with Theo. Somehow the guy actually pitied Voli. Even now he thought she was only inviting him to get rid of the thoughts of Theo. "Sure." But perhaps he did pity her a bit more than necessary.
Voli almost jumped in excitement but controlled her emotions. Her trembling heart found new life.
And the two of them headed for the fated place, a place of wonders: the floating lake of Tiyamate.
***
A sphere of water was flying, and below it was a lake. It was just one kilometer in diameter, but as it glistened with the artificial lights, it looked like a diamond, or maybe something like that. It was called Tiyamate as water spiraled down at the lake on the ground, almost like dragons. It looked more like snakes though.
This was the only place in Delta Monga said to be romantic. This place was also rumored to be sacred to relationships. People who got together here were bound together forever. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the lovers that it was just a marketing gimmick.
Or perhaps everyone knew but they just wished for a miracle? A miracle that wasn't possible. After all, no matter how modified, in the end, humans were fundamentally, still human.
And humans change.
So even if someone was in love with another now, who knows what could have happened ten, twenty, or even hundreds of years down the line?
"You know, this place looked a lot better in the pictures." Voli sighed as she just looked up. The sky was free and they were on some sort of terrace by a lake. There were other people here too, but far away.
The so-called dragons that fell looked nothing but just streams of water falling down, while the sphere itself, was just colorfully lit water anyway.
"Well, sorry to hear that." John wasn't interested, but he wasn't inhumane either. 'Poor girl.'
Voli sighed again and made a grin. 'I've come this far.' She took deep breaths before finally, "I love you." It was but a sentence, and yet her heart had never beat this fast.
She didn't care if she got rejected- she just had to say it.
John stood spellbound for a second, after all, all this time he had no idea… he cleared his throat. "I-" He stopped. Something was wrong.
Beep.
Beep.
"What's wrong?" Voli waited eagerly for the answer, but clearly, she wasn't patient. Sweat formed everywhere. 'My underarms, don't smell, do they?' And she was freaking out too.
"Theo's in trouble." John took a running pose and blasted off. "I'll give you a comprehensive answer later." He was gone.
'Just a yes was fine too, you know.' Voli looked up in the sky. "It really looked better in the pictures." Her beating heart calmed down in an instant.
***
Blood dripped from John's hands. It wasn't his.
"Are you okay?" He stared back at the guy behind him.
But his mouth didn't move. Theo's mouth didn't move. He was shaken, too shaken.
John walked closer. "Make sure to not wander off like this again."
"Ho-How'd you find me?" Theo finally managed. Even now, his heart just wouldn't calm down.
There wasn't anybody in the vicinity; the few that were, ran away. And no patrol came here either. This was truly a place hidden from society.
"I placed a tracker on your suit. And I also had a connection with your suit, so in case your heart rate exceeded 200 beats, I'd know."
'So, you know about my lemon squeezing sessions too?' Though Theo felt awfully terrified and embarrassed, he was also a bit relieved. "I'd appreciate if you didn't do that though." And yet he was glad John came to his rescue. 'I'd have to get rid of it later…'
But as he thought about the guy on the ground, even though the guy tried to force him, he still felt bad for the guy.
John grinned. "Let's not sweat on the small details. Anyway, what happened?"
'Which part of literally having a beacon on me is a small detail to you?' Theo sighed. "I got lost and the captain-"
"What about me?" A sturdy voice came from behind them. It was Sharon. She took a quick glance over the fallen man and the almost destroyed R.I. She turned her glare to John and Theo. "What about me?" She repeated, but her voice was colder. She was properly dressed, clean, and looked like nothing was wrong, to begin with.
Elegant.
Theo debated something. He took a deep breath, until finally. "Nothing."
Sharon gave half a smile. "Smart." She walked out. "We leave in thirty minutes." She gave John a quick smile.
Now that the captain was gone, Theo gave John a quick glance but he just grinned. He didn't need any more explanation.
"Let's go." Though John was set on leaving, he moved closer to the fallen guy.
The fallen guy in question was already covered in blood, despite just getting one punch. Just a single punch from John was enough to pulverize him.
Besides, the taser punch from before had done some internal damage too.
"What about-"
"There ain't no sensors here, so I guess we can kill him." John's voice was cold, and so was his eyes. He was serious.
"But-"
"You shouldn't make enemies, knowing they'll come back for you." There was a reason John wanted to kill this man. He heard the last bit of what the man had said to Theo.
And certain things irked him a lot more than he'd ever admit.
John went closer to the fallen man. The man in question shook like crazy but he couldn't move his body. "Please, don't kill me, I'll do anything. I'll let you play with my body…"
"Disgusting." John slammed his fist on the man's head until it cracked. He then turned to the R.I. "Sorry but you'll have to die too." The R.I was already quite irreparable but it still struggled. Wailed around its broken hands.
Did it want to live? Or was it just desperate to perhaps not be destroyed?
Theo had closed his eyes. He'd seen John kill before. And John even did time in prison for it, and yet, here they were, the two of them, killing in broad artificial light.
Again.
But Theo knew, there was no stopping John.
And even if this was found out later- John would probably get out on the pretense of him being critical for the mission….
'But still-' He wanted to but he couldn't stop him.
"Let's go." John was done. He wiped the blood with a handkerchief.
Theo felt powerless but he just followed John's lead. 'Was that really necessary?'