The Knights of Grimm - Act 3 - Shattered Memory

Chapter 44 - Something Else...

Ortega

The Admiral is sat in a chair inside of the Drift of Wandering Star, listening to the thrum of the powerful engines of his ship. His fingers grip onto a photograph of him with Penny and his Wife many years ago, and he has tears in his eyes, grasping the beloved picture tight as he sighs. He folds the photograph and he puts it back into his breast pocket when he hears the sound of a hologram projector activating behind him. He pushes the wheeled chair back and turns to face the man that he called.

Doctor Merlot forms from the holographic pixels, stood there with a proud smirk on his face, his cybernetic hand grasping his collar as he looks at his ally. "Admiral." Merlot greets.

"Doctor." Ortega replies in the same way.

"Alright then, why have you called me here, old chap?" Merlot asks him curiously as he stands before him, but not in person.

"I need to ask you something." Ortega says.

"And that is?" Merlot responds.

"Back on the Volcanic Chain Isles, with Penny – why didn't you wipe her memory?" Ortega asks him, and Merlot raises his brow.

"I don't understand." Merlot responds.

"You know what I am asking, Merlot, I am looking for the answer." Ortega states as he stares at the Scientist.

"You asked me to bring your daughter back to life, now I am no miracle worker but I am still trying my best here." Merlot explains.

"But you didn't wipe the memories of the previous droid?" Ortega questions.

"Droid? That was your daughter." He reminds.

"No, that was a pale imitation of my little girl, and you know it." Ortega states with a stern look in his eyes as he stands before his ally. Merlot stares at the Admiral and he crosses his arms now, looking right back.

"Memories are not something you can just plug in and plug out, Ortega. Bringing somebody back to life is hard work anyway, but trying to accomplish that are save memories from a corpse is even harder." Merlot states, staring right at the Admiral, who tenses at the word corpse when he describes his daughter who died. "I'm afraid the case is, that your daughter had friends when she was at Beacon, more than she ever did when she was human. Do you want the version I bring back to life to have the bad memories or have bad memories and the good, where she has lots of friends?" Merlot asks him.

Ortega never expected this level or morality from Merlot, he always struck him as a crazy scientist who just wanted to play god all the time. "Didn't take you for a moralist." Ortega scoffs.

"I'm not – I'm a realist." Merlot corrects.

"Penny's friends are our enemies; one of them is a girl that has caused her death twice now." Ortega states.

"No, Darren – Pyrrha Nikos did not cause her death when she was alive, that was the bullies. How was she to know of her when she never spoke to her?" Merlot asks him.

Ortega glares at him, because he cannot help but notice the fact that he is defending Pyrrha and the others extensively now. Which begs the question that has just entered his mind. "Whose side are you on, Merlot?" Ortega asks him, staring straight at the holographic projection of him.

Merlot remains quiet for a moment, until he narrows his eyes. "You know which side, Ortega." Merlot replies, turning and walking away from the feed.

Ortega stands there with a tensed body.

No...

I don't, Merlot...

Are you with us?