Day Two: Afternoon

[Android 17]

“But eventually, much like smoking cigarettes, it grows on you in its own addictive manner – it becomes a habit,” Minoshia concluded, smirking vaguely as he tore off another chunk of his bread. On the opposing side of the tiny pond, Seventeen reached into his duffel bag and pulled out an empty pack of cigarettes. With a frown, he flipped open the top and stared at the vacant space inside the tiny, cardboard container.

As the android stared down into the used up box, the konat’s analogy coursed through his thoughts, and before he knew it, Seventeen had crushed the container between his shaking fingers. A few feet away, Minoshia let out a soft chuckle and began to collect his belongings that he had scattered about at the beginning of the short break. Now that the fury of high noon had subsided, the two warriors were more than willing to continue their journey across the barren, inferno-like wasteland.

Discarded the empty packet of cigarettes, Seventeen yanked open his bag the rest of the way and skimmed through the bevy of trinkets and foodstuffs that he had either taken from the gym or stolen from those moronic people who had swarmed around him in the barracks. Oh how he desired to rend them limb from limb and scatter their broken bodies across the ground.

Make me proud, kiddo. The voice resonated, prompting the android to frown heavily as he pushed aside cans of soda and packets of junk food and fought his way down to the bottom of the congested duffel bag.

“No one asked for you opinion,” the machine-hybrid snarled, plunging his hand beneath a bag of potato chips. A few moments later, his nimble fingers closed around something, and with a faint smirk, he yanked out a small plastic cylinder. A few yards way, Minoshia remained relatively uninterested in whatever the android was prattling on about. By this point, the young konat had grown accustomed to the bizarre exclamations of his traveling partner.

It was obvious to the dark prince that there was a vast turbulence locked away in Seventeen’s mind, and with a sort of sadist glee, Minoshia had enjoyed watching the machine-hybrid’s further descent into madness and fury. The mohawked prince’s less than noble mindset left him interested in seeing what lay beneath the surface. Unfortunately for Minoshia, he was never the most patient of his people, and the waiting was causing him a mild degree of frustration.

“Are you ready to go?” The dark prince asked, watching intently as the android unscrewed the small plastic cylinder and pulled out an object similar to the cigarette he had offered the konat a few hours earlier.

“Cigar,” Seventeen said, having noticed the strange look of confusion and intrigue that had subconsciously propped up on Minoshia’s usually fierce visage. “Cuban, I think…but I haven’t the slightest idea,” he added as he light the large roll of tobacco and took a few short puffs from it, before letting it rest casually on his bottom lip. “We can leave now,” he concluded as he zipped up the duffel bag and tossed the strap over his lithe shoulder.

“Good,” Minoshia replied, sounding just as irate as ever. With a grunt, the konat prince shoved off the ground and scooped up his bag of supplies. Without waiting for the android to join him, he started off toward in the general direction that they had been traveling before their stop at the tiny oasis.

Something is coming. The voice spoke up, causing the android to stagger slightly as he took his first step toward his departing partner.

“What?” Seventeen mumbled, walking slowly toward Minoshia as to prevent the inward conversation from potentially annoying the mohawked warrior.

You can’t feel it? The formless speaker inquired, triggering a frown to spread across the cyborg’s haggard visage. You don’t feel the strength?

“No?” The machine-hybrid answered unsurely. If anything, the strange headaches and fits of muscle spasms had sapped him a little bit of his usually limitless supply of vigor and energy.

Heh…good. The voice cackled, before fading back into obscurity. As its presence slowly dissipated, it left the already confused android feeling just a little bit more lost. Part of him was shaken by the silent war being waged within his mind, but another part of him was completely complacent with the outcome. And try as he could, Seventeen was helpless to do anything but dredge onward and to continue his journey. There were still people out there who deserved to know the foul taste of the android’s fury as it pieced their hearts.

A smile spread across the android’s visage as he imagined murdering all those little fools who had seemed to cling to him during the pre-show. Although he didn’t know some of their names, he had images of them burned into his mind. With that thought, the feeling of helplessness subsided once more, and Seventeen was left with nothing but the blackness that was spreading like wildfire across his mind.

“What the fuck are you doing back there?” Minoshia growled, glancing over his shoulder and scowling at the android who was trailing behind him. Grinning coyly, the machine-hybrid jogged forward until he was standing beside the young konat warrior. “You fine?” The dark prince asked, raising an eyebrow as he stared at the manic expression that the android wore upon his pale, almost skeletal visage. The question was less out of compassion than it was to ensure that Minoshia wasn’t going to have to squelch the potentially unstable warrior.

“Never been better,” Seventeen replied, sounding bizarrely confident despite his prior track record of doubt and confusion.