Felix never though programmers could be so cruel.
Sergeant Calhoun, or Tamora, loved Felix. Loved him more than anything. So, of course, she never told him this information. Though he told her cliché, cheesy lines everyday about how much he loved her. She thought them at first annoying, then sweet. It's something Brad would do, if he existed.
One day, Tamora went to Felix's house for a date. He was unusually quiet for such a chipper and talkative young man. "What's on your mind, soldier?"
"Nothing, ma'am."
"Spill it." She stated roughly.
Felix looked at her with big, sad blue eyes. "What was your family like, Tammy?"
Tamora looked at him in shock and surprise. "F-Fix-it? What?! W-why do you ask?" Felix had never heard his strong, fierce lady stutter. He wondered what would cause her to behave so out of character, but said nothing along those lines. Though, he decided to keep pushing her for information.
"What was your family like?"
She smiled sadly at him. "That's confidential information, soldier." He looked rather downcast at her answer. "Why do you seem so sad that I won't tell you?" She asked, interested.
"Because I want to know if I am the only one who has never met his mother." Felix responded quickly, then with wide-eyed surprise, he covered his mouth, not expecting his girlfriend to fish that information out of him. She had a way of doing that all the time. He found it annoying.
She looked at him in surprise. "You never met your mother?"
He looked at her, depressed. "No, ma'am. My dad was the only parent I knew of. And he was gone most of the time in his game. I never really got a chance to know him. I was pretty much by myself most of the time."
She, not being used to this, awkwardly put a comforting arm round his shoulder. "I'm so, er. sorry Felix."
"She called me by my first name," he noticed, going giddy inside.
He looked at her, and smiled. "It's okay, Tammy. I've come to terms with it long ago."
"No you haven't, or you wouldn't be thinking about it." She replied bluntly. Felix stared at the ground, and said no more on the subject.
"What about you?" He asked, looking at her. "I told you about my family. Now it's your turn." He joked. She, like him, turned her eyes towards the ground. Something told him there was more pain in her past than the mysterious fiancee.
"My family... wasn't exactly the most functional family around."
"What do you mean?" Felix asked her, confused.
My mom was also in a shooter video game."
"Like mother, like daughter." Felix joked.
"I hope not." She replied icily. He looked at her with wide surprise, but said nothing."She, like your father, was gone most of the time. I never really knew her. When she wasn't working she was training, though now I think that it may have been to avoid my father.
"My father's video game was unplugged shortly after he married my mother. We lived in her game. Though it was violent, we were safe from the guns. Though, he could never get over the fact that his game was unplugged. He drank a lot. And when my mom wasn't around..." Felix's heart dropped at what she was implying. "Let's just say that all these bruises and cuts don't come from the Cybugs. The programmers made me cold and hard, though they didn't need to. I experienced, and modeled enough of that from my family."
"And that's why your old groom meant so much to you..." He finished. She looked at him, confused.
"How do you know about Brad?" She asked in the softest tone he ever heard her speak in. It, quite frankly, frightened him.
"One of your men told me."
"Brad never existed." Felix was dead silent, not knowing what to say. How many more surprises were there going to be that night?
"He was just programmed as a back story. My creators figured that I would be a great soldier if everyday I felt pain at the loss of my beloved, and attempted to avenge him. Though the memories are awfully painful, because I was programmed into believing he loved me. Not like my own parents ever did." She smiled a tight, sarcastic smile. "You do your best in war if you have a reason to fight. My programmers knew that. Though, like I said, they didn't need to go through the trouble of giving me a back story of someone who loved me, then got eaten. That's pushing it. I'm not programmed to get over him. I'm not programmed to push him out of my mind."
"You beat me on everything, Tammy." He said, cracking a smile.
"What do you mean?" She asked, looking at him.
"High-definition, newness of games, height, back stories, and painful family memories." She smiled back at him.
Felix took her hands. "I'm not Brad. I'm not smart or tall or handsome. I don't have a history of saving the day. But I'm real. I'm here. We don't have to be slaves to our code. If we were, do you think we would even be here? Do you think Ralph would have left the game? I refuse to be part of what others tell me is my duty. Maybe you can, too?" He finished, have expecting to get socked by the giant woman for telling her what to do.
Instead, she smiled at him. "I'm trying, Fix-It. And everyday, it gets a little easier."
He pulled her into a sweet, chaste kiss. "That most certainly is not part of our code."
She laughed. "No, it is not."