What Once Was (A Steins;Gate 0 Story)

Chapter 7-Hacking to the Gate

Disclaimer-I don't own Steins;Gate, only this story...

It was the 2nd day out of 3 that Daru had agreed to be working on the laptop. After his date with Faris the previous day, Okabe was feeling refreshed and ready to get serious about his mission. Though there wasn't much he could do at this point, he was holding out hope that Daru would have found something by now. He had decided that he would go check on him in his new hideout and see how much progress he had made. He was sprawled out across the couch, covered by a blanket, about to get up and start his day, when his phone rang loudly in the silence, resulting in him almost falling off of the couch. He checked the screen, and upon seeing who it was, he answered it immediately.

"Good morning, Okabe! How's it going?" Came the uncharacteristically cheerful voice on the other end.

"It was going well, until just a few moments ago."

"Wow, someone sure is grumpy this morning. Did you not sleep well or something?"

"It's nothing like that, I assure you. More importantly, to what do I owe the pleasure of speaking with you, Maho?"

"I was just calling to see if you've heard anything from your friend, Daru. Did he say anything about his progress, or about me?"

"No, I haven't heard anything from him yet, so I'm going to check up on him today. I'll tell you as soon as I know something. Why would you ask if he said anything about you anyway…" Okabe thought back to how she had acted around him before, and it suddenly made sense. He grinned widely. "It couldn't be that you've taken a liking to him, could it?"

"No! Of course not! What would give you that idea?"

"It doesn't really matter either way, I'm afraid. He's already spoken for. You shall have to look elsewhere for romantic pursuits."

"Curses! Oh well, I lost this round." Maho had not meant to let that slip out, but it was too late.

"What was that?" Okabe was teasing her, since he had already heard it loud and clear. Maho was quick to move on, embarrassed.

"Whatever! Anyway, just call me later once you have something to report." With that hasty reply, she ended the call, leaving Okabe to laugh and begin getting ready for his trip.

Soon after, he was on his way to the grocery store that his family owned. The place had two floors, with the ground floor being the store, and the top being an apartment. Now that Okabe had started staying at the lab again, he didn't really have a use for it anymore. That's why he had seen no harm in Daru getting some use out of it. On the way, he bumped into Faris. He didn't expect to run into anyone he knew on the way, but he couldn't just blow her off. It really wouldn't hurt to spend a few moments talking to her. She was back in her usual attire today, he noticed. "Okabe, nya! I was hoping I'd bump into you!" The faux feline's eyes lit up upon noticing him.

"Good afternoon, Faris. What's going on?" He couldn't really think of any particular reason that she would be looking for him, unless something important was happening.

"I just came from Daru's hideout. He ordered takeout from the café, so I hand delivered it myself. While I was there he told me that if I saw you, to tell you that he has almost cracked the code. He just wants to give you his progress report, nya." Okabe noticed that she was back to her cat speaking ways. It apparently did work like she said before.

"I thought your café didn't do takeout?"

"We don't, but I made an exception for Daru, since he's pretty much our number one customer, nya! Who knows, in the future we might start delivering meals."

"Ok, but why didn't he contact me himself?"

Faris shook her head, seeming to think that the response she was about to give was kind of silly. "Apparently, out of all the supplies he brought with him for the job, he forgot his phone charger."

"Why am I not surprised? Was that all you had to tell me?" Okabe was even more eager to get going now that he knew Daru's work was almost complete. Faris really didn't want their conversation to end so soon, but she knew that Okabe had other things to do.

"Yes, that was about it…Oh! I almost forgot about this! Here, I made lunch for you too, Okabe!" Faris pulled out a boxed lunch and handed it to Okabe. Of course, it had a big pink heart on the front, with the words 'From Faris, with love'. "I made it myself with lots of love! I hope you enjoy it!" Okabe was taken aback by her thoughtfulness, having no idea that she cared that much about him.

"Thank you, Faris. I really appreciate this." Faris looked kind of shy or bashful all of a sudden, like she was trying to decide something, but was embarrassed.

"Hey, Okabe. Can you lean down here for a moment?" Okabe didn't understand why she wanted him to do this, but he didn't see the harm in it.

"Sure, I guess so." Once he bent down closer to Faris' level, she reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Okabe's face quickly reddened from the act.

"F-Faris, wha…" Her cheeks were rosy pink like her hair, and her only response was to run off giggling.

"See you later, Okabe! Have a good day, nya!"

He sincerely hoped that this wasn't going to become a habit with her. He really didn't want to let her down, and the more she did it, the closer he got to falling for her feminine charms. Okabe shook it off, continuing on his way to the hideout. It was really just his parent's house, though. There was an area in the back of the store that was the living space for his parents. There was a living room, bed, and kitchen in there, so it was pretty spacious. Upon arriving at his destination, he briefly greeted his parents, before heading up the stairs to the hideout.

He knocked on the door, and a voice called out from the other side, not willing to let him in so easily. "Who goes there? Anyone who seeks entry must say the password." Okabe sighed, he didn't feel like dealing with this at the moment.

"Daru you imbecile, its me!" Daru quickly opened the door, to see Okabe frowning at him.

"What? I can't let just anybody in here, you know." Okabe walked past Daru and entered the room, expecting it to be a mess, but it wasn't. The only mess was the box from the lunch Faris had brought in near the computer. Daru closed the door and walked back over to the computer desk, sitting in the chair that was in front of it. "I'm sure that it was Faris who sent you, right?" Okabe nodded,

"Yes, although, I was already headed this way to check up on you." Okabe pulled up a chair next to Daru, so he could set his boxed lunch down, and see his findings. The laptop was hooked up to the computer by a USB cable. The display from the laptop was on the computer screen, showing the password enter area. "If you don't mind, I'd prefer to eat my lunch while we talk. I'm starving." Daru shrugged,

"Sure, whatever man." His gaze landed on the front of the boxed lunch, now noticing the heart and special message. His eyes widened, when he realized what it meant. "Dude, Faris must really have a thing for you! She put a heart and a message of love on the box, which means that she must have hand-made that lunch for you! She's never done anything like that before, so it makes me wonder if something's going on between you two! I'm so jealous…uh, I mean I WOULD be jealous, if I didn't already have Yuki, heh heh."

"While I definitely appreciate the sentiment behind it, there is nothing going on between us. Though she has been behaving differently ever since we went on our date yesterday."

Daru could hardly contain his excitement at this news, he had to know more. "Dude! I can't believe that you went on a date with THE Faris! You have to tell me all the juicy details!" Okabe sighed,

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you all about it." Okabe wasn't expecting to have to tell him so soon, but he had already started it, so it was too late. "What happened to talking about the laptop? Somehow this has turned into the equivalent of a girl's slumber party. What have I gotten myself into?"

"Wow, you even got a kiss from her? I'm impressed! That kind of thing usually doesn't happen on a first date, and if it does, then that means it must have went really well. She must really think a lot of you, man! I can't wait to tell Mayuri about this, she'll be so surprised. Don't do anything to hurt the heart of a pure young maiden like Faris, or me and all of her fans won't be too happy with you."

"I don't know if I'd go so far as to call her a 'pure maiden'. But yes, I will be careful. Fear not, I know how dangerous toying with a young girl's heart can be." Okabe never was the best at talking about this kind of thing, and while he WAS having fun conversing with Daru, it was about time to get back to what he came here for. "Listen Daru, do whatever you want with the information I told you, but can we get back to your progress report? I would really like to hear what you've found so far." Daru seemed a little bit disappointed that they couldn't continue the conversation, but he agreed that it was probably about time to get back on topic.

"Alright, if you say so." He turned back to the display on the computer. "As you can see, I've gotten no further than the password screen just like Maho. I have, however, tried many different combinations of phrases and keywords, allowing me to narrow it down. At this point, I was hoping that maybe you would have some ideas, to help speed this along." Okabe frowned, unfortunately he didn't think he would be of much help in this.

"What makes you think that I would know anything about it?" Daru sighed, not believing he would actually have to spell something this simple out for him.

"Work with me here! You were friends with her in another worldline, right? Did you ever figure out what her password was? It was probably something that was important to her." Okabe was still at a loss.

"I honestly have no idea what it could be."

"Are you sure? If you two were as close as I believe you were, then you had to have seen it at some point. Maybe you borrowed her computer for whatever reason, or saw her type it in." Okabe shook his head.

"Afraid not. It is true that we were very close, but she never brought her laptop to the lab, and I never went to her apartment. There's no way that I could have seen it, and that's not the sort of thing you just come out and ask someone. What reason would I have had to know such personal information?" That certainly wasn't what Daru was hoping for, but it was all that he would get.

"That gives me an idea. What if the password was the name of someone she was close to? I haven't tried anything like that so far." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. His eyes widened in realization. "Is it possible that it could be your name? Maybe she changed it sometime after she met you, when you got closer than you were before." Okabe had never even considered the possibility.

"Even if that were true, that would have only applied to the other worldline where she knew me personally."

"Not necessarily, my friend. When you told me about what happened to you, I saw blurry images in my mind, and I feel like I almost remembered my memories from the other worldlines. You also told me that if the memories are connected to someone emotionally, then they could recall them easier. With that in mind, isn't it possible that she regained enough of her memories, at least in part, to remember you? The memories related to you must have been full of emotion. What if she felt like changing her password for some reason she couldn't explain?" Okabe still thought that this was a waste of time, but he couldn't deny that it was a possibility.

"I'm not sure if this is worth our time, but it's worth a shot, I suppose. You can do whatever you want." Daru smiled,

"Alright then. I sure hope this works!" He typed in 'Okabe' and pressed the enter key. The screen flashed green as the words, 'password accepted' appeared on the screen. "Yes! We're in!" Okabe nearly choked on his food. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

"Why would that be her password? She couldn't possibly have known…" The screen changed to her home screen. On the screen were a few icons, some of which were text documents.

"She just left her important files on the desktop, for some reason. To be fair, she had the computer locked down, and if someone managed to break into it, they would never guess the password. Who would ever guess that it was the name of someone she had never even met?" His mouse hovered over one text document in particular. He suddenly grew silent and serious. "Okabe, I think you need to see this." Daru moved over so that he could slide his chair closer to the screen. Looking at where the cursor was pointing, he read the words on the screen.

"For his eyes only." There was only one person that it could be referring to, and they both knew it. Clicking on the icon opened it, revealing what appeared to be a letter. Okabe's breath caught in his throat. He had known that it would be something like this, but simply having the knowledge wasn't enough to prepare him to see it. He began reading it out loud, for whose benefit, he couldn't tell.

"Dear Okabe, if you're reading this, then I'm already dead. I've been having weird dreams lately about a man in a white lab coat, and it feels like we're connected even though our adventures are not within the realm of scientific possibility. If these are memories and not dreams, then I know that my death is coming, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I wrote this letter to you, because it's about to happen soon. If you are really out there Okabe, then I have the feeling that you will come across my laptop. Our destinies our forever intertwined, as in our paths were always meant to cross. I know that you will find your way to me, even if in this worldline, you're too late. If anyone can save me, it's you. You just have to find a better worldline, one where I can exist alongside you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to say all this in person. I love you Okabe, don't ever forget that. Love Kurisu."

"Whoa, Dude! Are you crying?" Daru had never really seen Okabe this emotional before. Okabe hadn't even realized that he had started, but he reached his hand up to his cheek and it came back wet. Tears were streaming down his face from both eyes, and he couldn't stop it.

"Why did I ever think that I could live without her? Either of them? It was an impossible choice, and it was all up to me! No mere mortal should have the power to choose who lives and who dies! Someone tell me then, why I had to?" Daru wasn't sure how to handle this situation, so he just awkwardly patted him on the back. After a few moments, he was able to wipe away his tears, and pull himself together. "Is it my fate to forever be miserable?" He smashed his hand on the keyboard in frustration.

"Whoa man, be careful!" Daru warned, not wanting his stuff to be ruined. Despite his warnings, Okabe smashed his hand on the keyboard repeatedly in a different spot each time, each one was weaker than the previous. Finally, he stopped, having calmed down enough to stop the senseless violence. Upon observing the damage and seeing nothing was broken, Daru sighed. "Next time take your rage out on a punching bag or stuffed animal, not my computer!" His gaze traveled back up to the screen, and he gasped in surprise. "Okabe, I'm not sure what you've done. But…just take a look." Okabe turned to look at the screen in confusion, only to react in the same manner as Daru.

"What is this?" The screen had changed to a black background with green words on the screen. The words at the top said, 'A Message for Him'. "It appears that all my senseless banging around resulted in the discovery of a secret message. A P.S. of sorts."

"It looks that way." Daru agreed.

Okabe once again began reading it out loud. "Dear Okabe, congratulations on finding my secret message. To get this far, you must have had the help of an extremely skilled hacker." Daru was a bit disappointed by that line.

"The fact that someone like Okabe who isn't even a skilled hacker, stumbled on the right combination by pressing random buttons, makes me feel like what I do isn't important. I mean, if anyone can do it, then why am I here?"

"To be honest, I wasn't sure if you would have the resources to find this secret message of mine. I made this so hard to find, because what I'm about to tell you doesn't need to be seen by just anyone. The truth is, I've been feeling like for a while now, someone has been watching me. I just felt the need to warn you about them. If they're still out there, then anyone who goes looking for information about me, could be targeted. This laptop must be kept out of their hands at any cost. The best thing to do, honestly, is to destroy it. Now before you go grabbing a hammer and smashing this thing to bits, I have one last request for you. Take the memory card or SD card out of the laptop. It contains everything on this computer in it. While it may seem strange, you need to put it in your phone. Just trust me on this.

I know you want an explanation, so I'll tell you what I know. A man approached me a few days ago, and handed me this SD card. He told me to use it, and make sure it got to you. I never got a look at his face, but he reminded me of you, as in I didn't feel threatened by him. It was almost like I knew him, even though I didn't. You know? Anyway, this message has gone on long enough. The point is, you need to take the card and destroy this thing as soon as possible, alright? Once again, this is Kurisu signing off. Or do you prefer Kuristina? Ha ha, I wonder."

As soon as it had appeared, the screen returned to normal, displaying the home screen. Both Okabe and Daru were at a loss as to what to say next. Daru was the first one to break the silence. "This sounds serious. I mean if she thought that this information was so dangerous that it had to be hidden within the code of the laptop itself, then it must have been bad." He whistled in appreciation of her talents. "I knew she was supposed to be a genius, but this surpasses everything I thought she was capable of. She must really know her way around a computer." Daru paused for a moment, glancing at his friend, who hadn't given any indication that he was even listening to him. "What should our next step be? Okabe, we should definitely destroy it. Don't you think so?" Okabe finally snapped out of it, turning to face Daru.

"Of course, I just need a moment." He briefly glanced over at his mostly eaten lunch, it was guaranteed to be cold by now. He looked back over to the computer, gazing at it sadly as he closed it gently. It was the same shade of red as her hair. He made sure to open the slot on the side, withdrawing the card within. Luckily, he wasn't currently keeping a SD card in his phone. He didn't have many apps on it, so he had never really needed the extra space. Thanks to that, he was able to put it directly in his phone. A quick storage check revealed that all the info on her computer, including both messages to him, were all present like she had said. He needed some time to think about all the new information he had just learned. "Daru, would you mind terribly, if we postponed our demolition for a bit? I need to go get some air. Also, I believe we should bring this over to the lab. It IS where everything started, you know?"

Daru was surprised by his decision, but it was understandable. "Sure, I'll pack up and meet you at the lab later." Okabe walked by his lunch, stopping to take another look at it, on a whim, he snapped a photo of the message and heart on the cover for memories. Then, he threw it in the trash. Starting to head towards the door, he remembered their agreement.

"I almost forgot, Daru. Here is the payment for all your trouble." He opened his wallet and handed some cash to Daru.

"Thanks man, I appreciate your business!" Daru grinned, having nearly forgotten the money in all the revelations that they had uncovered. He was still happy to receive it, though. Okabe waved, as he exited the room, descending the stairs and walking away. Saying goodbye to his parents on the way. He had no particular destination in mind, so he just aimlessly strolled, processing everything he had learned. Upon reviewing some of it, he realized something.

"If that mysterious man gave me this card to put in my phone, and he knew that I would be trying to reach the perfect worldline, then what was the point of giving it to me? He should know as well as I that nothing carries over to other worldlines, so I would lose it once I left this one. Wait a minute…I never even tried to test it for sure. It's possible that I may not know as much as I thought. I guess I could do an experiment. I'll try putting something in my pocket, and see if it makes the trip with me." He scratched the stubble on his chin, thinking about what he could bring that would be useful to have for his mission. His mind wandered, recalling an object from his travels. "Of course! If I can find the divergence meter, I will be able to tell if I made it to Steins;Gate or not! This means I shall have to pay a certain someone a visit, whether I like it or not."

With a destination now in mind, Okabe continued his stroll, this time in the direction of the hospital. He knew what her room number was, because Daru and Mayuri had already told him before in case he ever wanted to visit. Her room was on the third floor, and once he found it, he lightly rapped his knuckles on the surface of the door. "Come in!" Came her voice from the other side. He opened the door, stepping inside and closing it behind him. The person in question was facing the other way when he entered, looking out the nearby window. He couldn't tell if she was angry or not, but he assumed that she was, since he hadn't visited her even once since she had been here.

"Hello, Suzuha. It's been a while." He greeted her, casually.

She turned her head in his direction swiftly, causing the two braids on each side of her hair to swish with the action. Her arms went from a relaxed pose to a crossed position at the same time, upon seeing who it was. "So, you finally decided to show up. It's been a while, for sure."

"Uh-oh. She is definitely mad." "My apologies. I should have come to visit you sooner." Suzuha huffed,

You should have. In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of ticked off at you right now."

It was a few moments before either one spoke, Okabe because he wasn't sure how to bring up what he needed to know, and Suzuha because she was trying to calm down a bit. Okabe glanced down at her side, eyeing the bandages wrapped around her midsection. He knew that she would never have that injury if he had done what he needed to do when she begged him to. He couldn't help but feel bad about it. "Suzuha, I know you may not want to talk to me right now, but I'd appreciate it if you would at least listen. You have my deepest gratitude for doing what I was too much of a coward to do myself. This should have never happened. I know that I'm in no position to ask this of you, but I could use your help."

"I'm listening."

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, but what you did changed nothing. The future hasn't changed, and we're still headed for disaster if nothing is done. I have a plan, but I need to know where the divergence meter is. I need it to confirm my success when I change something. Rest assured, I'll take care of everything." He paused for a moment, going through what he wanted to say next in his head. "While it certainly doesn't make up for not visiting, the reason why I didn't was because I felt bad for letting this happen to you. I wasn't ready to face you."

Suzuha sighed, uncrossing her arms, and looking him in the eyes. "I kind of figured that nothing happened, since I was still here, but it doesn't make it any less disappointing. It's kind of silly for me to be mad at you for so long, and I understand why you did what you did. I accept your apology." She looked around before motioning for him to come closer. "Come closer, Uncle Okarin. We don't want anyone to hear this." Okabe walked up to her bedside, and leaned down to her. To his surprise, she hugged him tight. It was part of the act, so that no one who was watching them would think it was suspicious for her to whisper in his ear. "The Divergence meter is under the seat in the time machine."

She pulled away, and patted him on the back. Suzuha grinned, her eyes full of warmth. "I know you can do it. I always believed that you could, you know? I would have never come back here if I didn't. Save us all, Uncle Okarin. If anyone can, it's you."

Okabe walked out of the hospital in high spirits. Now all that was left was to go get the meter before he destroyed the laptop. Although he still hadn't called Maho yet, there was really no reason to, since everything he learned wasn't important for her to know. She wouldn't remember any of it anyway, so he chose not to worry about it. On the way to the lab, his phone went off, telling him that he was getting a call. When he answered it, his eardrums were assaulted with Mayuri's voice at full volume. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe that you and Faris are an item! I can't believe I didn't notice that she liked you that way sooner!" Okabe winced, increasing the distance of his phone in relation to his ear.

"I assume you ran into Daru on the way back from work?"

"No, actually I've got the late shift tonight. He stopped by to tell me the news on the way to the lab, though. Congratulations on finally getting a girlfriend, I never thought it would be someone I knew! I just called to congratulate you, so I guess I'd better get going."

"Okay, I suppose I'll talk to you later then."

"Yep!"

The phone call was ended there, as he arrived at the lab. When he entered the room, Daru was sitting in his favorite chair at the computer. The laptop was already sitting out on the coffee table, ready to be smashed. His friend stood up to greet him. "Hey, Okarin! I'm ready whenever you are."

"You shan't have to wait much longer. I just have to go retrieve something." Okabe dashed off to get the Divergence meter, and if it had been a classic cartoon, he would have left a cloud shaped like him behind. He found it exactly where Suzuha said it would be, the orange numbers in the nixie tubes glowing brightly in the darkness inside the time machine.

Even though it wasn't very late in the day, it was getting dark outside. Storm clouds were rolling in, and a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky in the distance. Okabe didn't even notice the incoming storm as he rushed back inside, meter in hand. Daru was still waiting for him when he returned, looking curiously at the device in his hand. "Is that the 'Divergence meter' that you said you used before to know what worldline you were on?" Okabe nodded, confirming his statement.

"Yes, I require use of it once more." He walked over to the computer desk, setting it right against Daru's computer. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Daru agreed, pulling out a hammer. It had never seen much use, since he wasn't the outdoorsy type, but he had always kept it around just in case.

"Do you want to do the honors, or should I?" Okabe was a bit saddened, because if they destroyed it, then her legacy would be gone, almost as if she was being killed again. He didn't know if he had the strength to do this, but he had to try. It all came down to this. His mission was almost complete. He gulped, steeling his resolve to do what must be done.

"This is my mission. I messed up before, but this time, I'm the one who has to make the change. Even Kurisu herself believes that I can save everyone, so that is what I must do."

"Whoa, man, it's fine. You don't have to give me a whole speech about it. A man's got to do what a man's got to do. I'm not trying to stop you or anything." Daru encouraged, passing the hammer over to him. Daru backed up to lower the chance of death by flying computer shards. Okabe stepped closer to the manifestation of her legacy, hammer in hand. "I can do this. After all, it's like I always used to say, this is the choice of Steins;Gate!"

Okabe swung the hammer as hard as he could repeatedly pulverizing the laptop, until it was nothing but scattered pieces. The hammer dropped from his hand, as a wave of dizziness hit him. He could tell that it was starting. In a few moments, he would be gone from this place. He stumbled over to the computer desk, and placed a hand on the Divergence meter, just as a huge bolt of lightning struck the power line outside. It traveled through the wall socket into Daru's computer, and since the meter was right against it, it jumped into that as well.

This had the unfortunate side effect of traveling into Okabe's hand that was attached to it, electrocuting him. He screamed out in pain as his body convulsed, and he tried to pull his hand back, but it was as if it was fused to the glass. It felt like some sort of energy transferred into him, as the orange light illuminating the numbers grew brighter by the second. Suddenly, when it felt like fire was scorching through his veins, the lights died down, and the tubes shattered, as Okabe passed out. Images of Kurisu and all the times they had shared ran through his mind in the moments before he was out like a light.

Outside the lab, the flashing light could be seen through the window. On a nearby rooftop, hidden in the shadows, a mysterious figure stood. It was watching the events down below with a smile. "All according to plan. The new one, that is. This is much better than his original fate, anyway. This way he won't grow up regretting his actions, or lack thereof. This is your second chance, and I advise you to take it, Okabe Rintarou." A laugh that was worthy of a mad scientist echoed across the rooftop, as the figure turned away, coat swishing with the movement. The figure disappeared into the night, leaving no trace that they had ever even been there at any moment in time.