Twelfth Jump (Deus Ex:HR) Part 2

The Four Companions: Lina

            A few months after I had returned Kubrick to Jensen and had the chance to relax, nothing involving the need to either stalk the augmented security guard that Jensen had become or taking care of the maintenance of my body… or gluing together the plates that I had shattered last week… Only to cause even smaller, broken pieces- Any ways, that isn’t important. What is important was the fact that, as I was walking through the housing section of the warehouse, I had caught sight of Lina rummaging through the pile of games that were strewn about her room, the door having been left open for whatever possible reason.

            Everyone, except for Celestian, had grabbed a decent number of video games, movies, and music after the housing had been generated. Granted, they were traded around soon after simply for the fact that they either grew bored of them or they were not of their liking. Lina had specifically grabbed a large amount of video games… My theory on that manner was the sheer fact that she didn’t seem to sleep… or blink… Seriously, why did she never blink?

            “Morning Lina.” I stated, only slowing down for that moment before resuming my casual pace. As I heard “Hhhiiiiii Tadek. Come here!” I found one of my arms taken a hold of and insistently pulled into the woman’s bedroom with the force of a small gerbil, not resisting the pull only to be polite. The copper-haired woman pulled me over and wrapped an arm around my neck, pulling herself up close to me as I would not budge at that point. “I need your help with something. You seem to know more about these machine spirits than anyone else. Which one should I play with?”

            As she spoke, I reached up to grab her by the back of her shirt and slowly pry her off of me. Of course, if she wasn’t going to let go, I would instead just slip out of her hold and crouch down so that I could sift through the pile of games. “Well, that depends. What do you like to do, hmm? You would probably like something a bit more energetic…” While I went ahead and sifted through the pile of random games. Pretty sure I saw a Sims game, which I set off to the side for the moment.

            While I was distracted, the non-blinking woman stepped up and rested her elbow on the top of my head so that she could prop up her own. She didn’t rest any weight on me, but it was still slightly uncomfortable. “What about that one?” My companion commented, pointing down toward a survival game with a steampunk flare to it. “Hmm? Oh." I stated, reaching out to pick up the game and then hand it to her.

            The woman snatched the game from my hand and went off to, after a surprisingly short bit of prayer and ritual… Something I really needed to explain to all of them at some point that it wasn’t necessary for something to work… before managing to figure out how to put in the game and get it started. “Well, I shall take my leave then, if you are comfortable.” Just as I was stating that, she reached over to grab my wrist and pull me over. “It says we both can play! Mind joining me? I have been needing to make sure your motor functions are up to par.”

            If there ever was an excuse made off of the top of someone’s head, this was it, but at least she tried making it sound reasonable. With a hum, I sat myself down next to her and freed my wrist. “Alright, I suppose. But, quick warning… If your character dies, that isn’t the machine spirits being angry.” I warned as I picked up a controller and got started.

            We played for a few hours before we were called away for dinner and, since she seemed to have enjoyed herself… Despite the occasional effort that I had to make to keep her at least a foot or two away from me. Over the next few days, however, I realized that I had made a grave mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake.

            Every chance that she had, she pulled me along to go play video games. Normally it was the same exact game, which was understandable, and while I was quite comfortable simply playing games with her, there was just something off about it.

            If I was free, she pulled me away… If I was interacting with another person, she pulled me away to play video games. Heck, even if I wasn’t playing games with her, the other women stated that Lina had been spending a lot of time in her room as of late with the sounds of chopping wood and Lina saying something about getting everything ready.

            Cierra and Celestian were showing a notable amount of worry as Lina was skipping combat practice a wee bit too often for Celestian’s liking, and was also quite uncharacteristic, along with the fact she wasn’t always present for lunch. With this in mind, I had a goal in mind the next time that we gamed. I must break her of her addiction.

            I was laid out over the couch of our actual apartment when Lina came running up with a small box in hand. “Tadek! I have something to show you!” She stated, already moving to set everything up. Apparently she had brought out the system and game, put everything together, and began to play. “Speaking of the game… I need to talk to you about something. What do you need to show me, though?”

            With a huff, I rolled off of the couch and landed on the floor with a little thud. She moved her character along the screen, going around an area that we had been avoiding for the most part as if she was searching for something. “Just a little thing I have been working on for you.” She dragged out the word ‘you’ a little too long, but I didn’t pay any mind.

            Instead, I climbed up to my feet and watched the screen, speaking as she moved the character around. “Well, I would just like to raise some concern that everyone has had… They’re worried that you may be playing these games way too much. You’ve been skipping meals and training… Would rather not see you lose your life to games.” I explained, stepping over to stand next to the red-head.

            She finally stopped her character at the top of a hill and looked down, revealing a large, spread-out ‘Thanks for playing with me!’ written out with a mix of stone, wood, and fire in a clearing at the bottom of the hill. Lina glanced up at me and offered a smile. While it brought a grin to my face, I simply reached down to set my hand on the top of her head for the moment. “You’re quite welcome. It was enjoyable… Now, please eat and everything, alright?”

            I gave her a little pat, my personal way of showing friendly affection, before moving to take a seat next to her and play the game with her once again. “I shall, Tadek. Been getting very hungry…” She commented before attempting to hug me. One of my hands came up to gently hold her at a distance by her shoulder. “Heh, go eat. Lunch is being made and I am sure that Cierra wants to see you eat it.”