(f)inal

“Are you ready?”

“F, I don’t know if you’re ready.”

“No, I am. This has been a long time coming.”

She’s staring at me. Her eyes turn back to the screen as coordinates flash. Q has been with me since the beginning, though she never told me why. There is nothing for her to gain from this. No glory, nothing solved, nothing at all.

“Q.”

“Yes.”

“You never told me why.”

“Why what?”

“You know damn well what I mean.”

“I guess you deserve to know, because when it is done I will go my way and you will go yours. Do remember when I found you?”

“Yeah. You were helping Doc with the underground clinic. I came in bloodied and broken. You were the one that helped develop the cybernetics and the biometrics that reside in my eye and my right arm. You made the Double Tap and my dagger as well.”

“You, while you were under the anesthetics, spoke of trying to find someone you loved. That you would stop at nothing to find them. I wanted to be part of your journey. To help.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

*Beep*

“The hell? Oh yeah.”

*Beep*

The face of this unremovable watch read 21:13 again. I still don’t understand the purpose of it.

*Beep*

“So, where am I going?”

“No, where are we going.”

“Q, you can’t.”

“F, I was here from the start. I’m going to see the end.”

“Then let’s go.”

She wrote down the coordinates. I loaded D.T. Grabbed whatever ammunition we had left. Q unlocked a drawer on her desk and removed a second Double Tap.

“What? You thought you had the only one? I’m more prepared then you know.”

It only took two hours to get to our destination. A house. A large one. With gate. And guards. A lot of them.

“You ready Q? ”

A slight smile formed at her lips and she held up her left arm. The skin began to tear away and a blade appeared.

“Where do you think I got the ideas for your weapons? Doc found me, as I found you, broken. Then he rebuilt me. Made me a weapon. Watch this.”

Then the fabric on her back began to rip. Two more blades appeared. Then they split. Pain shot up my spine.

“Don’t worry. It subsides quickly.”

Soon, blades were floating around me.

“Think of how you want them to move, and they will.”

“Why the hell did you not tell me about these before. Fuck Q, this-” I took a breath and tried to gather my thoughts but could only say, “-is fucking awesome. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.”

She smiles.

“Let’s finish this.”