Thought I'd try something different. I don't think this really applies as an OC, but I had an idea, and I might as well use it to update.
I should have been better.
I looked around in my virtual world. I sighed, and I sat on a conveniently placed rock, staring the opposite direction out of the window of the computer screen. It was depressing, around here.
Pretty, yes. It couldn't possibly not be, with the designers going crazy over the scenery. Tall trees, delicately branching out, each pale green leaf visible. Brooks and streams, with water as clear as crystal. The ground, an icy and hard white. It was all covered by a soft blue light, patched with gold. Definitely pretty. But depressing, all the same.
I'll get out of here eventually. When the bell rings.
While I wait, I should explain why I'm here. I'm not exactly sure how, though.
Let me put it this way. My name is Averia Farron.
Ah, confused already? Never heard of an Averia Farron, now have you? Maybe a Claire, maybe a Serah, but you're sure there is no such person as Averia.
But there is. Or there was. Through designs and redesigns, names have changed. From Averia, to Éclair, to Claire, and then Lightning. Ah, the moment of realization. Yes. That's correct. I'm who you think I am (unless you're thinking about some princess bride or something). I am Lightning.
Or, more correctly, I'm simply Averia. Still confused? I know I would be.
I should explain it better. I used to be Lightning. Not anymore. Someone else took my place. Oh, and I know what you're thinking. No, I'm not some Sue that replaces the main character. I'm more of a clone, actually. I suppose, to be accurate, I'm more of a prototype. Prototype Number 1.
It's very easy to tell the prototype from the final, officially released product. My hair isn't pink, my eyes are paler, and I suppose, I'm really more intimidating-looking than Lightning. It's hard to be intimidating when you have pink hair. She manages, thanks to her rather threatening personality, which I don't have. But otherwise, I am an exact clone. Or, again, more accurately, she is an exact clone of me. Or at least, she used to be.
I can remember what they did. Created me out of words and colors, a blur of personality and white. Tons of little bright green lines, tracing, tracing, tracing. Making my face, making my body, installing my personality. When they were finally finished, and when I was finally born, I was pretty cheerful, with an actual sense of humor. As soon as I figured out what I was, where I was, and what I was doing, I was pretty happy. I would have been given a voice, a body, a place inside an actual story…
Yeah… It didn't exactly work that way.
Huh. Major understatement.
My hope, the hope that kept me moving, the hope that told me I existed, was shattered only a few months after my creation. The creators decided I was flawed, that I definitely wouldn't do, and that I was useless. I wasn't serious enough. I wasn't pretty enough. Not good enough to be the main character. The words acted like hammer blows. I wondered why that was. Why wasn't I good enough? They spent a long time designing me just to scrap me. Sure, I wasn't perfect, but what human was? That's called realism. And why was that a bad thing…
And so, out of me, they created Lightning. At first, it was simply another Averia, out of the same words and colors. I remember her waving at me on the other side of the computer screen, grinning. I remember a part of me being jealous. I also remember telling that part of me to shut the hell up, and waving back, with the same grin. After all, it still was me going out there. It just wasn't me, me. I shouldn't be jealous of myself.
A few days later, I wasn't jealous of myself.
A few days later, I heard her scream.
All the changes they made were horrendous. The hair wasn't so bad. They simply changed the color, like anyone else would with a bit of dye. But the rest was painful. She was re-sculpted and redone, until she didn't look all that much like Averia anymore. Her eyes were removed, so they could change it into a different color. They cut her face up, so it would look different. I had to watch through the entire thing, because I was still stuck on the monitor, as a model. And of course, they didn't give her painkiller or anything. She was just a character. Why would a character need painkiller?
To them, I say, 'What kind of person cuts you up because they want you to look different?'
When I met her again, she wasn't Averia. She wasn't me. She was Claire. She was Lightning.
At first, she acted as I normally would. Typing her words, smiling, laughing. At first, we were still friends, like sisters. At that point, I still looked similar enough to her to pass as a sister. But then she revealed the fact that she wasn't a prototype anymore. She had a voice actor. She had a backstory. And she would happily walk out of here with my part, and my story.
After that, everything changed.
Her new personality slowly took over her. She became cold and distant whenever I tried to talk to her. She didn't smile anymore. She didn't laugh. Then, soon, she couldn't move. She was just like a lifeless doll, her eyes glassy and glazed over, put into storage until she was needed. I tried waking her up, but she was oblivious now, to everything except her story. I couldn't do anything.
I gave up talking to her.
I was so happy when she finally moved again. When I tried to talk to her, she gave me an odd look. "Who are you?" she demanded.
At that point, I simply walked away. It was sad. That was probably my only friend. And now she was gone. I found it odd how detached I felt, but decided to ignore it.
I really should have paid attention. Or at the very least, said good-bye.
Because, now that the official Lightning is released, they have no use for me anymore. There's no point in leaving me here anymore, since I'm now cluttering the computer with useless information. Just a rough draft that you can't revise. Just someone stuck in the monitor.
So I sat, on my conveniently placed rock, and waited for my execution. I'm not afraid anymore. I'm not scared. I'm detached. I'm emotionless. Because all those emotions have already been deleted. I'll be next.
I heard the toll of the bell, and stood up. Vaguely, I wonder if anyone will remember me. Probably not.
I stepped forward, my eyes raised to the sky.
Time to go.
The silver blade swung. I couldn't dodge it if I wanted to. Everything went dark. And now I'm falling, falling, falling…
