Null Protocol || Ramattra x Reader

Chapter Eight

"I cannot let you live knowing what you do, especially now that you know even my own circuitry." With everything he'd taught her so she could fix him, he'd all but given her the very manual to a Ravager. She expected him to be uncomfortable with that due to his natural distrust of humans, not realizing it would further cement her fate until he brought it up.

"But I could use it to help others," she protested shakily, shivering as she caught a flash of chilly red from his eye light.

"Or destroy us." He loomed closer, his chest pressing her back against the cave wall as her breath hitched. "I should annihilate you right now."

Finally pulling her frazzled mind together, she shook her head desperately. "You can't break the ice boulder without your Nemesis form and you'll 'bleed out' before you ever reach the monastery." Her hand lowered to his stomach, lightly dipping her fingers in his leaking coolant. She didn't have any to replace what he'd lost, so if it kept dripping away – bleeding him out all the faster with movement – he'd never make it even if he did manage to escape the cave. "You need me to fix you."

The Ravager growled, holding her up higher by her neck so her hands fell to his hip joints, pushing against them to alleviate the pressure on her throat as she gasped. "Did you forget your place, human?" He was taunting her, watching her writhe pathetically without any means of escape, and her hand found the spot right below his open stomach, trying desperately to take her hanging weight off her neck with the added leverage. He grunted, his face plate radiating warmth against her skin before he stepped back quickly so her fingers fell from his pelvic plate.

He set her back on her feet, avoiding her gaze as she caught her breath. The atmosphere was tense with something – she couldn't pinpoint what – but at his quick retreat, curiosity burned in her eyes. "I was simply checking your authenticity and resolve." His answer to her unasked question came out curt while he spun his staff restlessly. "If you had anything left to hide, it would have come out."

"Glad to hear I passed the test." Her smile was shaky at best as she tried to keep her knees from buckling, and he afforded her a small nod.

"Next time, do not throw yourself at me, human," he chided, tapping her crown lightly with his staff. She rubbed her head sourly – though it didn't hurt as bad as before – but she deserved it for scaring him like that. He probably reacted on instinct thinking she was trying to hurt him.

With the air cleared up and her heart out of her throat, all that sweating had made her parched, so she reached down to grab her water bottle. The water was still cool as it slid down her throat, and when the last drop had disappeared, she headed over to the gap in the ice to try to scoop more snow into the bottle. Thankfully, she'd kept on top of her water intake as best she could, but the snow was steadily getting further and further away from her reach with each scoop. She fished around with her arm crammed through the hole, trying to find the snow as she grunted at the awkward angle and the strain it put on her body.

Something solid stepped up behind her so her back was flush against it. "Hand it over, we do not have time for this." A metal hand was thrust into her field of view and she pulled the bottle back, passing it off to Ramattra so he could reach through and scoop up some snow. Due to his vantage point and longer arms, he made it look easy, and he pushed the bottle back into her hands a moment later.

"Thanks." She shot him a smile he ignored as he turned to take slow steps further into the cave like he was on the prowl. The rabbit! She'd forgotten about that, but it seemed nothing could distract the Ravager from his goal for long – and knowing that goal was for her betterment made her stomach flutter in a way she'd never felt before, though that was likely because she'd finally have food in it.

After setting the bottle down beside the mess of oil and coolant on the floor, (Y/n) followed Ramattra, keeping close behind him like she had in the march through the snow outside. His orb glowed brighter, casting shadows on the walls on either side of them, and the further they got, the more her skin prickled with fear. The vivid imagery of a bear waiting for them made her heart race, and though she knew Ramattra could triumph over any threat, the damage it would do to him would set her back at least a couple days and she couldn't do this forever. Each step took more effort than marching through the foot high snow, her weakness from fighting the elements only sapping her strength faster, using up her fat reserves all the quicker just to both heat her core body temperature and keep her kicking. The blood flow to her extremities wasn't as good either, and she shivered, rubbing her cool hands over her arms. She should've grabbed her coat.

"You may return to the entrance," Ramattra grumbled. "I will take care of this." His fingers wrapped tighter around his staff and she couldn't help but note that the fate awaiting the rabbit was similar to her own.

She shook her head even though he wasn't facing her. "I ain't leaving you." She glanced back at the darkness closing in behind her, shuddering as she quickened her pace to keep close to the omnic and accidentally running into his back. He shot her a glare as she held up her hands in apology. "So, when did you see this bunny?" The silence was making her paranoid, and she thought she recalled something about being loud so the bear would know you're coming just to lessen your chance of meeting one.

He resumed leading the way, vigilantly searching for the rabbit while keeping aware of her presence behind him. "While you were sleeping last night. It could not have gotten far." He kept silent after that, listening for the skitter of small footsteps, and she followed his lead.

Sleep was calling for her now, exhaustion turning her steps sluggish even as she fought to stay upright. Her eyes stayed closed longer than open with each blink, and she let out a yawn as Ramattra stopped. She faceplanted into his back, but this time, he didn't glare at her, gaze laser-focused on something in front of him.

She peeked around the omnic, laying eyes on a small white bunny several paces out as it sniffed at the air. Slowly, he crouched down, turning his staff so it was pointed right at the animal as it stayed frozen up on its hind legs in search for predators. Then the nanites suddenly shot out, piercing it right through the side of its head as it let out a shrill cry that made (Y/n)'s hands snap over her ears, flinching. It flew back from the force, smashing into the wall and falling limp to the ground, twitching.

She put a hand over her mouth, regretting not closing her eyes as Ramattra stood, sliding his fingers up the staff so the nanites were replenished around the orb. He stalked towards the rabbit, steadily leaking coolant as the curved end of the staff hovered inches from the ground, but it didn't run, and when he reached it, he glanced back at (Y/n). The look he gave was explanation enough, and she shut her eyes and put her hands over her ears, not wanting to see him put it out of its misery.

She stayed like that until she felt the rod of his staff press against her lower back, pushing her back towards the entrance. Carefully, she opened her eyes, spying the limp rabbit in the omnic's other hand as he guided her back towards their camp. She swallowed before muttering out a quiet, "Thank you."

"Death is never easy to witness," he replied almost sympathetically – though that couldn't be right, knowing him. Standing by his side, the heat from his exposed stomach reached her easier, and while her fingers stayed blue, it still made a world of difference.

When they made it back, Ramattra collapsed to the floor beside her water bottle, crossing his legs as he examined the rabbit closely. (Y/n) shrugged her jacket on, getting her hands clean from his fluids with the pile of snow she'd deemed her sink – though it only made her fingers shake with the chill – and she slipped her hands into her mittens in the hopes of warming them up. She sat down across from him, stomach rumbling in anticipation of eating while it still churned uncomfortably at what she'd witnessed.

After the rabbit passed his inspection, Ramattra rose his gaze to her. "Have you ever broken down a rabbit before?" (Y/n) shook her head and he hummed, nowhere near surprised. "Then get your rest. I will wake you when the meat is ready to eat." Raw meat wasn't ideal, but again, seeing as she had no choice but to throw caution to the wind and hope she didn't get a foodborne pathogen, she nodded and curled up on the floor. Sleep drew her into its warm embrace almost instantly despite her subtle shivering, and Ramattra waited until she was breathing steadily before he turned the rabbit in his hands, pondering where to begin.