Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Digital Bath ❯ Chapter 7
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Vinyl-Koneko 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Fantasy / Cyberpunk / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.02.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 313 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Fantasy / Cyberpunk / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.02.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 313 | Status: Completed
+Title: Digital Bath - Part 8
+Author: Vinyl Koneko (Emily), roguegirl@att.net
+Rating: R
+Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5xM, 13x11, 6x9, R+1, H+2
+Warnings: AU, yaoi, cyberpunk, possibly more lime in later parts
+Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing because if I did I'd get rich auctioning it off on eBay... LOL, just kidding. I'd keep them for myself to make videos and become the real Sabintha. ^_~
+Notes: //Thought//, *emphasis*. Some ideas may seem similar to "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson, "The Matrix", and "Digimon", but I swear that isn't what I'm going for. "Digital Bath" is a song by The Deftones.
*~**~*
My program was being put to good use, and everyday, it seemed, there were hundreds of new citizens placed back on Earth. The buildings were being filled up, and they were helping us rebuild. We had teachers, biologists, mechanics, and various types of manufacturers. We were slowly getting back the people that made up a society. After another week we had half of the population of the system out with a quarter of those up and walking around, perfectly healthy and happy to be out.
Seeing people as three-dimensional beings was quite the different experience after you've dealt with pixilated avatars your entire life. The age difference took a little while for people to get used to, but it didn't create any major problems. Most people were actually happier to be younger.
Even my friends were acting a little differently. Quatre had his empathetic abilities to deal with, Trowa as patient as ever when it came to Quatre's talent. Interesting coincidence, it turns out that Catherine and Trowa are actually brother and sister. Catherine had disappeared when Trowa was young, their parents assuming that she had just run away, but she had actually been brought out to Earth. That explained why she seemed so familiar before. I had seen pictures in their home, and knew how secretly it hurt Trowa knowing that he'd never get to know his sister. He wasn't the only one things were doing well for. Wufei got involved with Meiran, and even though it looked like they were arguing all the time, you could see that they were perfect for each other. It was good for Wufei. He needed to loosen up. He'd probably say the same thing about me.
Duo apologized, but he still couldn't tell me everything. "When this is all over," he promised, "I'll answer any and all of your questions." I accepted the apology; I knew that was the best he could offer for the time being, and I couldn't stay angry. I just didn't like being left out in the dark. I still couldn't help but feel like I was the only Specialist that didn't know about Duo's past.
I had been walking back to my room after spending an evening in the library with Duo; we hadn't gotten a lot of reading done, but we had expected that much. I passed Dorothy and noticed a flash of white out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't tell if it was because I was tired and my eyes were playing tricks on me or not, but she seemed to be flickering. She'd look fine one moment and for the briefest second she'd look like the snow you get with a poor reception. I blamed the exhaustion and went to bed.
The next day, though, she still seemed to be a little off. I asked the doctors about it, and they exchanged quick glances with each other before telling me it was probably my imagination. For the next few days Dorothy was nowhere to be seen, but when she finally did return she seemed like she had always been. Whatever was wrong with her, I'm certain that the doctors were the ones to have fixed it.
In the meantime, more and more people were pouring out of the system. Unfortunately at this point there had been a death rate of five-percent, but Duo said that was to be expected. The sudden change was just too much of a shock for some people, whether they rested afterwards or not. He stopped calling us the Specialists and used the term Liberation Army instead, saying it made him feel like more of a rebel movement than a political and scientific cause. He even designed a flag, a black image of a scythe slicing through a computer on a red field. Treize was furious when he saw it on the flagpole in front of the school the next day. He called it disrespectful to the nations of the world and national pride was what the topic of discussion for that lesson became.
I had pretty much forgotten about the strange occurrences with Dorothy, and now that I think back on it, I probably shouldn't have.
*~**~*
We were in a museum looking at ancient artifacts from around the world. How people lived on the planet had always been a mystery to me, and looking at the things they used, I realized that the system was a basic copy of Earth, not a completely different world.
The weapons were the most interesting, the ancient swords catching my eye. I had seen them in the system, but I knew in the real world they were lethal and much more dangerous.
A scream from one of the girls - Relena - tore my attention away from the display to see what the commotion was about. It was Dorothy. She was flickering again, but my gaze was pulled to the object in her hand. It was one of the lighter swords used in one-on-one dueling that were more commonly used by European officers. It was essentially a fencing foil only designed to be a weapon, not a toy.
"Relena, darling, you don't need to be afraid," Dorothy always sounded like a cat purring, only this time she sounded more deadly.
"What's going on, woman, have you snapped?" That was Wufei, trying to put himself in a position where he could disarm Dorothy when she wasn't paying attention. Unfortunately, it didn't look like she was about to be fooled.
"I have not 'snapped' as you so eloquently put it, Mr. Chang. It's more a matter of how I know what you are all planning and I'm not going to tolerate it!"
Quatre's eyes narrowed. I could tell he was trying to figure out what she was feeling, but he seemed to be struggling with it. "Dorothy, what are you talking about?"
"When all of you *humans* are free from the LSOS you're going to terminate the system. I won't let that happen. I will kill you all!"
I caught Hilde pressing an emergency button on the wall, alerting whoever would respond that something was wrong. I didn't know who she thought would be able to help us. We certainly didn't have a police force, and if the doctors responded, I don't know how they'd handle a homicidal maniac. Dorothy suddenly sprung into action, swinging the sword at anyone who was in her way. I wouldn't let that happen. Wufei knocked the others out of the way as I went for the open display, grabbing a katana before swinging the blade out to defend her attack. The irony of grabbing a Japanese sword never even occurred to me.
"You can't stop me," she hissed, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared.
I swore. "Where did she go?"
Duo shook his head, his eyes wide with fear and disbelief. He opened his mouth to respond just as I felt the sharp sting on my arm. She was behind me. I tried to ignore the cut on my arm, the pain and the blood, but I couldn't handle the katana as well as I should have. I was forced to hold the weapon with my left hand, putting me at a disadvantage. She continued her attack, each of her blows meeting my block, but I couldn't hold it as firmly. My arms trembled. Dorothy knew that she held an advantage over me. I didn't know how much longer I would last before my strength gave out.
Dorothy grinned devilishly at my efforts. Her blade rose in the air again for another swing, bringing it down in an angled cut at my left arm when suddenly she froze. She just stopped moving. I heard a sigh of relief as Meiran slid down on of the walls. Relena whimpered slightly. Duo was kneeling on the ground, face cupped in his hands as his body was wracked with sobs. I looked at my peers, unsure how to feel or even where to start in demanding an explanation. I stormed out of the museum, dropping the katana in my wake.
*~**~*
I was standing at my bedroom window, watching the sudden onslaught of rain, when I heard a timid knock at my door. "Heero?" It was Duo. "Heero, it's me; can we talk? Please?"
I sighed. I knew this would have to happen sooner or later. We might as well get it over with now. To think, before an explanation was all I could dream of. "Come on," I said, my voice harsh from standing in silence for the hours that had passed since Dorothy's assault.
I could hear the door creak open and Duo's quiet footsteps as he entered, the door clicking shut behind him. I turned to face him, watching as his eyes went to the blood staining my shirt. I noticed then that he was holding a first aid kit. I sat down at one of the chairs without beckoning, let him approach and unbutton the shirt I had been wearing, sliding it off to assess the wound.
"You should have taken care of this earlier. It could be infected." I didn't reply. I had so much that I wanted to say to Duo that I couldn't think of the right response for that particular comment. I winced lightly as he cleaned the cut, using a damp cloth to wipe away the blood. "I figured you'd have a lot of questions, so I'm just going to talk and let you ask any remaining questions afterwards, okay?" I looked down at him from where he kneeled in front of me, eyes focused intently on the task before him. I wanted to read the emotion in his eyes, but he was purposely looking elsewhere.
"The doctors knew that once people were freed from the system that they wouldn't be able to return, so they needed a way to get people who could exist in both worlds. They took the idea of how a program could exist in the system and tried to make one that could also exist outside of it. Solo was the first. He was successful in traveling between the worlds, but he couldn't stay outside for too long. Being on Earth for too long killed him. The doctors realized their flaws and tried again. It was me this time, and Dorothy soon after. It seemed that all the kinks got worked out and we were too good to be true. Our programs were practically perfect."
My gaze traveled back to the window. They were programs. Computer programs. "The barcode let's you get scanned back into the system." It wasn't a question. Everything made sense all of a sudden.
Duo nodded slowly. "We're dependent on the system in order to live. We had to stay connected to it somehow, and drawing our energy from the LSOS was the only way for us to survive. We behave exactly as normal human beings do, though. You can see me, smell me, feel me, hear me... It's just that I don't have the basic needs that you do. I can eat but I don't need to; I can sleep, but that's not necessary, either."
My gaze narrowed, voice still low. "You said before that once all the people were returned to Earth the doctors were going to destroy the system."
Duo's hands stopped wrapping the bandage around my arm for a moment before continuing. "Yeah, I did." He sighed, the air pushing chestnut bangs out of his eyes. "When the system goes down me and Dorothy are going with it."
"Why?" I whispered, unsure if I had actually asked out loud until Duo responded.
"It's easier that way. I'm a program, Heero. I can't stay here, even with you. You'd keep growing and get older and I'd be stuck like this until you died, and then I'd be on my own." He hesitated. "It's better this way."
I nodded understandingly even though I really didn't. I felt torn. Duo, the most human person I had ever known, was a computer program. Count on a hacker to unknowingly get involved with one. "Duo," I said, my voice choked, "I love you."
He leaned up, kissing my eyes before moving to my mouth. His lips were wet and salty. Was I crying? "I know, Heero." Duo reached up, wrapping his arms around mine as he placed my head on his shoulder. "I know."
*~**~*
End Part 8
+Author: Vinyl Koneko (Emily), roguegirl@att.net
+Rating: R
+Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5xM, 13x11, 6x9, R+1, H+2
+Warnings: AU, yaoi, cyberpunk, possibly more lime in later parts
+Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing because if I did I'd get rich auctioning it off on eBay... LOL, just kidding. I'd keep them for myself to make videos and become the real Sabintha. ^_~
+Notes: //Thought//, *emphasis*. Some ideas may seem similar to "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson, "The Matrix", and "Digimon", but I swear that isn't what I'm going for. "Digital Bath" is a song by The Deftones.
*~**~*
My program was being put to good use, and everyday, it seemed, there were hundreds of new citizens placed back on Earth. The buildings were being filled up, and they were helping us rebuild. We had teachers, biologists, mechanics, and various types of manufacturers. We were slowly getting back the people that made up a society. After another week we had half of the population of the system out with a quarter of those up and walking around, perfectly healthy and happy to be out.
Seeing people as three-dimensional beings was quite the different experience after you've dealt with pixilated avatars your entire life. The age difference took a little while for people to get used to, but it didn't create any major problems. Most people were actually happier to be younger.
Even my friends were acting a little differently. Quatre had his empathetic abilities to deal with, Trowa as patient as ever when it came to Quatre's talent. Interesting coincidence, it turns out that Catherine and Trowa are actually brother and sister. Catherine had disappeared when Trowa was young, their parents assuming that she had just run away, but she had actually been brought out to Earth. That explained why she seemed so familiar before. I had seen pictures in their home, and knew how secretly it hurt Trowa knowing that he'd never get to know his sister. He wasn't the only one things were doing well for. Wufei got involved with Meiran, and even though it looked like they were arguing all the time, you could see that they were perfect for each other. It was good for Wufei. He needed to loosen up. He'd probably say the same thing about me.
Duo apologized, but he still couldn't tell me everything. "When this is all over," he promised, "I'll answer any and all of your questions." I accepted the apology; I knew that was the best he could offer for the time being, and I couldn't stay angry. I just didn't like being left out in the dark. I still couldn't help but feel like I was the only Specialist that didn't know about Duo's past.
I had been walking back to my room after spending an evening in the library with Duo; we hadn't gotten a lot of reading done, but we had expected that much. I passed Dorothy and noticed a flash of white out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't tell if it was because I was tired and my eyes were playing tricks on me or not, but she seemed to be flickering. She'd look fine one moment and for the briefest second she'd look like the snow you get with a poor reception. I blamed the exhaustion and went to bed.
The next day, though, she still seemed to be a little off. I asked the doctors about it, and they exchanged quick glances with each other before telling me it was probably my imagination. For the next few days Dorothy was nowhere to be seen, but when she finally did return she seemed like she had always been. Whatever was wrong with her, I'm certain that the doctors were the ones to have fixed it.
In the meantime, more and more people were pouring out of the system. Unfortunately at this point there had been a death rate of five-percent, but Duo said that was to be expected. The sudden change was just too much of a shock for some people, whether they rested afterwards or not. He stopped calling us the Specialists and used the term Liberation Army instead, saying it made him feel like more of a rebel movement than a political and scientific cause. He even designed a flag, a black image of a scythe slicing through a computer on a red field. Treize was furious when he saw it on the flagpole in front of the school the next day. He called it disrespectful to the nations of the world and national pride was what the topic of discussion for that lesson became.
I had pretty much forgotten about the strange occurrences with Dorothy, and now that I think back on it, I probably shouldn't have.
*~**~*
We were in a museum looking at ancient artifacts from around the world. How people lived on the planet had always been a mystery to me, and looking at the things they used, I realized that the system was a basic copy of Earth, not a completely different world.
The weapons were the most interesting, the ancient swords catching my eye. I had seen them in the system, but I knew in the real world they were lethal and much more dangerous.
A scream from one of the girls - Relena - tore my attention away from the display to see what the commotion was about. It was Dorothy. She was flickering again, but my gaze was pulled to the object in her hand. It was one of the lighter swords used in one-on-one dueling that were more commonly used by European officers. It was essentially a fencing foil only designed to be a weapon, not a toy.
"Relena, darling, you don't need to be afraid," Dorothy always sounded like a cat purring, only this time she sounded more deadly.
"What's going on, woman, have you snapped?" That was Wufei, trying to put himself in a position where he could disarm Dorothy when she wasn't paying attention. Unfortunately, it didn't look like she was about to be fooled.
"I have not 'snapped' as you so eloquently put it, Mr. Chang. It's more a matter of how I know what you are all planning and I'm not going to tolerate it!"
Quatre's eyes narrowed. I could tell he was trying to figure out what she was feeling, but he seemed to be struggling with it. "Dorothy, what are you talking about?"
"When all of you *humans* are free from the LSOS you're going to terminate the system. I won't let that happen. I will kill you all!"
I caught Hilde pressing an emergency button on the wall, alerting whoever would respond that something was wrong. I didn't know who she thought would be able to help us. We certainly didn't have a police force, and if the doctors responded, I don't know how they'd handle a homicidal maniac. Dorothy suddenly sprung into action, swinging the sword at anyone who was in her way. I wouldn't let that happen. Wufei knocked the others out of the way as I went for the open display, grabbing a katana before swinging the blade out to defend her attack. The irony of grabbing a Japanese sword never even occurred to me.
"You can't stop me," she hissed, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared.
I swore. "Where did she go?"
Duo shook his head, his eyes wide with fear and disbelief. He opened his mouth to respond just as I felt the sharp sting on my arm. She was behind me. I tried to ignore the cut on my arm, the pain and the blood, but I couldn't handle the katana as well as I should have. I was forced to hold the weapon with my left hand, putting me at a disadvantage. She continued her attack, each of her blows meeting my block, but I couldn't hold it as firmly. My arms trembled. Dorothy knew that she held an advantage over me. I didn't know how much longer I would last before my strength gave out.
Dorothy grinned devilishly at my efforts. Her blade rose in the air again for another swing, bringing it down in an angled cut at my left arm when suddenly she froze. She just stopped moving. I heard a sigh of relief as Meiran slid down on of the walls. Relena whimpered slightly. Duo was kneeling on the ground, face cupped in his hands as his body was wracked with sobs. I looked at my peers, unsure how to feel or even where to start in demanding an explanation. I stormed out of the museum, dropping the katana in my wake.
*~**~*
I was standing at my bedroom window, watching the sudden onslaught of rain, when I heard a timid knock at my door. "Heero?" It was Duo. "Heero, it's me; can we talk? Please?"
I sighed. I knew this would have to happen sooner or later. We might as well get it over with now. To think, before an explanation was all I could dream of. "Come on," I said, my voice harsh from standing in silence for the hours that had passed since Dorothy's assault.
I could hear the door creak open and Duo's quiet footsteps as he entered, the door clicking shut behind him. I turned to face him, watching as his eyes went to the blood staining my shirt. I noticed then that he was holding a first aid kit. I sat down at one of the chairs without beckoning, let him approach and unbutton the shirt I had been wearing, sliding it off to assess the wound.
"You should have taken care of this earlier. It could be infected." I didn't reply. I had so much that I wanted to say to Duo that I couldn't think of the right response for that particular comment. I winced lightly as he cleaned the cut, using a damp cloth to wipe away the blood. "I figured you'd have a lot of questions, so I'm just going to talk and let you ask any remaining questions afterwards, okay?" I looked down at him from where he kneeled in front of me, eyes focused intently on the task before him. I wanted to read the emotion in his eyes, but he was purposely looking elsewhere.
"The doctors knew that once people were freed from the system that they wouldn't be able to return, so they needed a way to get people who could exist in both worlds. They took the idea of how a program could exist in the system and tried to make one that could also exist outside of it. Solo was the first. He was successful in traveling between the worlds, but he couldn't stay outside for too long. Being on Earth for too long killed him. The doctors realized their flaws and tried again. It was me this time, and Dorothy soon after. It seemed that all the kinks got worked out and we were too good to be true. Our programs were practically perfect."
My gaze traveled back to the window. They were programs. Computer programs. "The barcode let's you get scanned back into the system." It wasn't a question. Everything made sense all of a sudden.
Duo nodded slowly. "We're dependent on the system in order to live. We had to stay connected to it somehow, and drawing our energy from the LSOS was the only way for us to survive. We behave exactly as normal human beings do, though. You can see me, smell me, feel me, hear me... It's just that I don't have the basic needs that you do. I can eat but I don't need to; I can sleep, but that's not necessary, either."
My gaze narrowed, voice still low. "You said before that once all the people were returned to Earth the doctors were going to destroy the system."
Duo's hands stopped wrapping the bandage around my arm for a moment before continuing. "Yeah, I did." He sighed, the air pushing chestnut bangs out of his eyes. "When the system goes down me and Dorothy are going with it."
"Why?" I whispered, unsure if I had actually asked out loud until Duo responded.
"It's easier that way. I'm a program, Heero. I can't stay here, even with you. You'd keep growing and get older and I'd be stuck like this until you died, and then I'd be on my own." He hesitated. "It's better this way."
I nodded understandingly even though I really didn't. I felt torn. Duo, the most human person I had ever known, was a computer program. Count on a hacker to unknowingly get involved with one. "Duo," I said, my voice choked, "I love you."
He leaned up, kissing my eyes before moving to my mouth. His lips were wet and salty. Was I crying? "I know, Heero." Duo reached up, wrapping his arms around mine as he placed my head on his shoulder. "I know."
*~**~*
End Part 8