Eli froze mid-step, his glowing smile locked stiff in place as his body turned to face the stranger.
The Paigetown Rat was unfortunately what he had been dubbed, being now a publicly registered Offclock.
The individual who had named him came into his small sightline through the eyeholes of his metal facade, thankfully, didn't look like much of a threat.
It was a woman - or more apt, a girl. She was a little smaller than even Eli himself, which was an accomplishment itself. Unthreatening was just one of the words that formed in Eli's mind as she stood before him.
The girl was dressed full-tactical, with more pockets than sense lining her trousers, which flared out and covered high-ankle leather boots. Above the waist, a giant oversized waterproof jacket draped over her, cuffing at the hands.
Naturally, her face was enshrouded with a retro gas-mask, the type you'd see in the world wars. How she got her hands on that was pure mystery to Eli, but it certainly did a job of covering her face.
"Who are you?" Eli yanked his bag further up his back.
The girl stepped forward, jubilant, but jumped a few feet back as Dogbot crawled forward in kind.
"Woah! Heel, boy!" She stuck her hands out worried, but her voice oozed joy, "I'm a customer! Hear me!? Cus-to-mer!" She whined.
Eli raised a brow beneath his mask, "Just go and steal what you want, the guy ran off."
She turned to the run-down convenience store, and laughed. She shook her head, and wandered closer to Eli, who had recalled Dogbot to his side.
"They didn't tell me how funny you'd be! Hah. I want one of these!" She jabbed a finger to the hound beside him.
Dogbot's eyes flashed brighter, but he soon turned his head off into the distance.
"He's not for sale." He smacked her hand away.
If a gas mask could pout, it would likely look like this girl right now.
"I know that much! I looked into you a lot! You made one for King, didn't you? He was talking about you." She shrugged, "So I poked around. Make one for me, too."
Eli sighed, and turned around. He snapped his fingers, and wandered down the road with Dogbot. There was no time for insane girls this early. Hunger and thirst prevailed.
"Where're you goin'?" She called out, bouncing after him, "Hey, I'll pay. King said-"
"Who's that?"
"Who's who? Who's King?" The girl shook her head, "Only the best Offclock like, ever! Come on, man. You don't remember him? He totally said you made him a little metal rat thing." She pat his back, "That's awesome, yknow-?"
Before she could finish her sentence, Eli's grimy hand had slithered its way around her pale neck. He was glaring at her through the dim eye holes of his mask.
"You're going to tell me everything you know about that man, then." He struggled to fight back the bile in his throat.
Were they still alive? Surely not- He had killed one himself. There was no way Miss Magenta let them go…
The girl stiffened up, and nodded weakly. Eli tightened his grip, and dragged her along with him to the Motel. By the time they got there, the sun was now looming in the sky, and the early morning cold was waning.
They entered the room, and Eli pressed the girl against the wall. She had been awfully quiet since he had made contact. A far cry from how annoying she had been just earlier.
"Tell me what's going on here. If King is one of the people I'm thinking of, we definitely aren't on good terms." He pushed harder, only realising her reply wasn't coming because she couldn't breathe.
He let go suddenly, and she slumped, coughing and heaving.
"H-Holy heck… you Overclocked guys really pack a punch, huh?" She sputtered again, rubbing her throat, "Uh- King kinda misled me on the kinda guy you were…"
The steel mask staring at her from above made her shiver, and her eyes desperately explored the run-down room. She swallowed.
"King." Eli stated.
"Right! You should know him, kinda looks like a Mummy in a suit, uhh… like, the most awesomest Offclock ever?" She shook her head, as if it were obvious. "He just walked in one day, with these magical lights, man, he was-"
Eli's mood grew colder. He had done a lot of thinking in the couple weeks since his entry into the true off-grid lifestyle.
He came to the conclusion that he was angry. Angered with the state of the world, the fact that his mere existence was cause for exploitation by a local mangy dog.
Simply because happenstance made him superhuman?
"I see. King, is it? Well, thank you for the information. You can stand." He nodded, turning and walking to his bedside.
Eli took a seat, and huffed out a sigh. He had convicted himself of this mission days ago now, but the idea itself was tantamount to insanity.
"Say," Eli perked his head up, and stared at the masked slump on the floor, beside the door. The wide, tinted lenses of the mask stared back at him, "Where is… King keeping himself these days?"
The girl scrambled to her feet, and threw a cursory glance at the doorway. She realised not seeing Dogbot might've been worse than seeing him.
"A-anyone remotely close to the underworld could tell you, y'know? It's crazy to think someone so unacquainted worked for King!" She laughed, before coughing, and letting out a pained whine.
"I'll take you! He's always at this one place- He's been resting up since he escaped this stupid pink hero." She muttered, sounding as if it was her own loss.
"Why do you like that asshole so much? It's starting to piss me off." Eli was a little more stern than he had been.
She jumped, "Eh-? I mean, I don't know. Have you seen the pretty lights he can make?" The words came out almost dreamy.
"Yes. I have." Eli sighed.
Suddenly, it all made sense. Those god damn lights. The girl was assuredly mesmerised by King's power, more so than king himself.
"In fact, I'd say those lights and I spent a lifetime together."