Ch. 3: Discovery

"Rodent?! Why would you call me Rodent? Unless of course you meant that as in endearing term sweetums" The sickeningly sweet tone of her voice left Nethmera silent. He was taken aback by the almost instantaneous change in her demeanor from angry to almost innocent, and he couldn't help but wonder more about his "partner". Deciding he was done with formalities, Nethmera hijacked control of their shared brain. After moving Riel to an appropriate place shrouded by some trees and forest brush, he proceded to shut her down. By cutting her brain off from normally vital oxygen and sustaining it with his own biomechanical energy, he could sustain her and keep the tissue healthy without her being alive. He knew she would not be happy about this unilateral decision, but he had no real reason to care about her complaints at this point. After insuring there would be no complications resuscitating her after he finished with his investigation, he began by compiling a complete psychological profile using what available memories were at his disposal. Sadly, his profile could not be as accurate as he wanted, as many of her vital memories were damaged by his wreckless and hurried integration with her nervous system.  After chiding himself while she was not awake for a round of "I told you so", he set himself to the task at hand. Repairing the damaged memories would take time, and trying to make anything out of them while broken was fruitless. The most he could do is repair them during the night when she was resting. It would make for some awkward dreams, but at least eventually she would remember something.
    Her lack of memories was not the only problem, in an effort to subdue her when he initially started her consumption within that church, he had inadvertantly consumed or damaged many of the parts of her brain that controlled her Professional knowledge and basic bodily functions. It's true that without that knowledge it was easier to get her to calm down so he could talk to her before he ate her, but it this point it had come to be an unexpected setback. While her loss of memories was unexpected and annoying as he kept her alive solely for information, the loss of her abilities in combat and other areas might prove to be the first real problem is this now mutual relationship. He set about repairing what he could for the moment, able to return her to a fraction of her original power and potential. He knew this would not be enough if they encounted Rheyos, but it should surely be enough to deal with any issues they might encounter before he could finish fixing what was purposely broken. There was nothing more he could do without a few long nights, so it was time for the inevitable argument stemming from the result of his decision.
    With a gasp Riel began breathing on her own again as Neth severed his complete control over her brain, allowing her consciousness to awaken from it's near death state. Her heart and lungs begain immediately to resume their duties and Riel instinctively grasped at her chest from the pain of everything starting back up again after having been disabled.
    "You killed me you son of a drunken tavern slut!" Riel immediatly regretted her action, grabbing her throat as the pain from stretching the disused muscle rippled through her. She would have curled into a ball if it didn't hurt to attempt to move. "What made you think you could just kill me like that?"
    "Three reasons. The first is that it is rather easy to disable you. The second is I can fix you just as quickly, and the Third is that you would have annoyed me while I worked." The Lorath'Nekan's statement was cold and pointed, assuring Riel that there was no humor to what he did. She couldn't help but wonder what he was doing while she was out, but her head was pounding to a point where it would have been suicide to try and decypher the pain from him "working" from the pain of her body as a whole. She managed to tilt her head slightly and get a look at the sky through a break in the forest ceiling, the summer sun had been replaced with a harvest moon. The moon shined in the starless sky, like a beacon to the heavens. Riel stared at the moon for a moment and a small smile crept onto her lips, the beauty captivating.
    "So why did you "disable" me?" The biting sarcasm wrapping the question served as indication of her dislike for his actions, but in Nera's calculating mind necessity trumphed compassion.
    "I did what was needed to begin fixing my mistake from earlier"
    "So I WAS right to blame you then? When can I expect to start remembering useful things?"
    "It will be weeks before I get everything straightened out in that jumbled mass of primitive neurons you humans call a brain."
    "My brain would be fine if you would have merely said Hello instead of using me an an appetizer when we first met," Riel scoffed.
    "Perhaps, but I think your brain could have used my organizational skill even before now. I have seen cleaner Trag Styes than the inside of your mangled brain, and that is just recalling the still intact memories." Neth's retort had as much bite as any other comment he has ever made to her. Riel didn't know what a Trag was, but she had a feeling she would be finding a creative way to punish him when she found out. Riel sighed as she grasped the side of the tree she was leaning against and pulled herself upward, suprised at the ease in which she was able to lift herself compared to when she first awoke.
    "Are you going to tell me what exactly you were playing with in my head?" Riel asked.
    "I managed to restore part of your memory regarding your past occupation, at least enough to keep your skin in place without my assistance," Riel could see Neth's knowing smile inside her head, but it was still pounding far to hard to look any deeper then the reptillian grin.
    "Good, now what do we do about money?" Riel smiled as she brought up the matter that was pushed aside by the events of the day, most of which she had no control over.
    "For the moment I will continue to allow you to wear my body as a carapace of sorts, if for no other reason than it might keep your defenceless hide intact."
    Neth's snide responces were starting to bother Riel. She understood that this merger was decidedly not in her favor, but she needed to find some sort of leverage that could be used to keep Nethmera's attitude in check. His ego was growing far to rapidly to be put up with for much longer, something had to be done. Deciding to turn the tables on her sarcastic symbiote, Riel did exactly what had been done by Reth merely hours ago and cut him off from her mind and body. The result of this attempt was telling, as quickly as she had gotten to her feet she fallen, her control of her muscles gone without Neth supporting them. The Lorath'Nekan carapace she had been wearing was gone as well, retreating back within her mind to it's now disabled controller. Riel relented her enforced lockout of Neth, causing the carapace to return and the metalic smile in her mind to return as well, twisting into a furious growl.
    "Now you see while I did what I did earlier! Your incessant need to play with that which you do not understand would have lead you to kill yourself had I have not repaired your bodies basic self sustaining life support functions. Hours ago you would have died without me supporting your heart and lungs. It is true you still do not have independant motor control, but my assistance will allow at least limited augmentation to strength and speed while supporting you. After motor control is restored my assistance will not support you, but be solely devoted to enchancing your physical prowess. For the moment if you wish to survive you need me. To the contrary, I do NOT need you. I could leave if I wished, and IF I did you would rot here and eventually die. My being here right now is for the purpose of keeping you alive, because this information you claimed to have for me is pertinant to my current needs. Now please do not do something so stupid as to try and shut me out again, or I WILL leave, and you WILL die."
    Riel wasn't sure how to react. So much as she wanted to hate Th'revirex rth Nethmera with all of her being, she couldn't because he was right. he was the one thing keeping her from rotting in the forest alone. She would have to either learn to ignore his superiority complex, or convince him she was worth more than he thought she was.