Chapter 10

To the Anon who left three reviews (was that all the same person) asking why Beck was a soldier in the Occupation, he's not. Just FYI. This chapter should explain.

And I won't be able to update From the Darkness for a few more days. Once March is over, I should be able to update my story because this one should be complete by then.

"Nicolette."

She looked up as she entered the office. Roy was waiting for her with crossed arms. Guessing by his expression and the way he used her full name, he was not in a good temper.

"Hey."

"Where have you been?"

"I…I…"

"Never mind. Just….just finish your work before you leave again."

"I'm sorry."

He sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't say anything but just went on to his office.

She nodded, ashamed she had let her work slide this far. She sat down in her seat and set to work.

"Hey."

She jumped and looked up to see Edward Dillenger standing over her.

"Um, hi."

"What are you doing?"

"…fixing a hole in security."

"Ah. Good to see we have someone on that job."

"Yep." She looked back down and continued working.

"What's your name?"

She didn't look up, "Nico Sanders."

"Nico?"

"Well, it's actually Nicolette, but I prefer Nico."

"Oh."

She didn't say anything, putting her whole effort in working. She was desperate to get back to the Grid. Sure, she had gone yesterday, and the day before, and every day for the past week….

But that was besides the point.

He was quiet, watching her. Finally, she finished and logged off. She grabbed her coat to make it look like she was leaving.

"Listen, I've got to get going."

"Where to?"

"Home. Problem with that?"

"No," he shook his head, "Of course not."

"Well, then. Bye."

"Right."

She walked out, and felt his gaze on her.

"Are you alright?"

Nico looked as she exited the portal to see Beck was waiting for her.

"Uh…yeah." She glanced back before looking to Beck, "I think."

"Why do you say that? Did something happen in the User World?"

He handed her his other baton and she thought about how to explain it to him.

It began to rain.

"Let's talk about this when we get back to the city. The ride might clear your thoughts."

She nodded before she opened the baton and climbed on. She followed Beck for a moment. She felt the need to lose her thoughts to the speed so she accelerated past Beck and through the snow pile, snow flying. She heard Beck yell something but his words were carried away by the wind. A crazy grin appeared on her face and she laughed as she went to drift. She skid shakily and found herself speeding towards Beck without control. Gasping, she gripped the brakes and tried to stop. The brakes worked but she continued to skid towards him. Grunting, she jumped out and hit the ground as she heard Beck give a small yell.

The bikes collided with a CRASH and Nico's bike pushed Beck's on and on until it hit a large rock and exploded.

Nico watched the explosion and sighed, bowing her head. She glanced up as after a moment, Beck grunted as he sat up. He sighed and propped his elbows on the ground, "Well great."

Nico shakily stood, "Now what?"

Beck sighed, "I don't have any more batons. We'll have to walk back to the city." He stood and they began to walk, the rain hitting them with now cover.

Nico gripped her arms as they walked, hoping for warmth.

"Sorry….about destroying your bikes."

He didn't say anything for a moment, but then said, "Okay."

She looked down, "Alright."

They continued in silence. Beck wrapped his arms around himself, his spike beginning to go limp.

Finally Nico said, "I think one of the Users is stalking me."

"Stalking you?" Beck turned, intrigued now, "Why would they stalk you?"

"I…I don't know." Maybe stalk wasn't the right word to use, "Maybe they want to find out where I've been going."

"If you're certain about it, why don't you just show them? It seems like something you would do."

"No, it isn't. I know it sounds selfish…but I don't want any other Users on the Grid."

"Hm. Depends on the reason why."

She thought about it. She thought about the glares she's gotten from programs, the snide comments from Beck's fellow officers….

"The other programs….they seem hateful towards me….because I'm a User."

Beck exhaled through his nose, but said nothing.

"Why do they act that way?"

"We've had Users on the Grid before. Two, actually."

"Really? What happened?"

"The first User, known as our Creator, created a program that was…." His face was one of anger and he tried to think of the words.

"A psycho?"

"And a really big perfectionist that went by the name of CLU. He didn't like how things were run, so he drove out the Creator and….that's another story totally, nevermind that."

"What_" But at Beck's expression, she decided to abandon her pursuit of that. "Sorry. Continue."

He nodded and looked back forward, "But basically, for the longest time, he ruled the Grid. He talked of perfection, but his vision included the murder of so many programs, and to break many more."

He sighed, and she could see the weary consume him for a moment, making him seem older than he actually is. But he shook his head, and they receded as he continued.
"Then, after many and many Xilacycles, the Creator's son appeared. They may have overthrown CLU, but in the process they destroyed so much of our world, and so many programs died…but they were gone. And never to come back. So since then, we have been on our own, to repair everything and restart again. That's why so many programs are bitter towards you. Users have become an omen of bad luck."

"Oh….."

"Yeah."

"Do you….?"

"I don't know yet. Only time will tell if your appearance is a bad omen or not."

"Ah." She could no longer meet his gaze, so she looked down to his uniform, with it's simple four white dots at his shoulders and hips, with an odd armband on the arm closest to her, and his rank on the other arm. An unfamiliar image of orange, and much more detailed, circuits crossed her mind's eye.

"Hey Beck?"

"Hm?"

"What do the orange circuits mean?"

He gave her an odd look, "That was the uniform of CLU's army. To this day, it's viewed as sedition to have anything remotely similar to support of the support of the dictator."

"Are there still programs out there who….who believe CLU was right in his way?"

"Unfortunately yes. They've all retreated to the fringes of the Grid, but that means our small town of New Argon has been subjected to small acts set by these CLU loyalists."

"Why don't you call for help from the other cities? Surely, there are more cities than just New Argon left over."

Beck set his jaw, "That's the thing. We're so isolated from the rest of the Grid, we have no idea how the other cities are faring. We have no idea if they even exist anymore, let alone if we can contact for backup."

She bit her lip as she thought about it.

"I can help."

Beck smiled, "Thoughtful of you. But I'm uncertain whether the council will approve it."

Nico opened her mouth but stopped as they entered the inner city and the streets were almost empty.

"Wait here." Beck said after a moment, "I'm going to check in on any reports, then clock out. It shouldn't take long."

"Alright."

She stood under the awning to the police headquarters, shivering from the cold. Her hair was damp, but she had pushed it out of her face. Her teeth chattered as her damp suit let in all the cold water onto her skin.

"Done." It seemed like barely moments later, he had returned. His hair was still wet and droopy but he no longer seemed cold. He, however, took in her shivering state with his head cocked at an angle.

"Let's get you somewhere warm and well…" he glanced back at the door, "receptive."

He walked next to her in the rain.

"Where would that be?"

"My apartment. It's not far from here."

Beck turned the doorknob to find it unlocked. It seemed odd, that he relaxed instead of tensing up. He smiled softly and opened the door, "After you."

She nodded with a chattering smile of thanks and entered. Beck followed and closed the door behind him.

The apartment was small, cozy. The entryway led into a small living room with a chair and a small couch with a coffee table. Branching off from there was the study and a small pantry off the wall between the study and living room while near the back, a closed door led to the bedroom.

"This is nice." Nico said, and was surprised that she was almost whispering. Something about the place was quiet. Almost ordinary.

"Beck?" A voice called from the study, and Nico noted she knew it from somewhere, "Is that you?"

"Yeah." He called back, "I brought a guest."

There was the sound of a chair moving followed by footsteps and Nico realized where she knew the voice to the program who stepped into view. She was the medic, the one that she woke up to see.

"Paige," Beck walked over to her and gestured to Nico, "this is Nico. Nico, this is my…." He seemed embarrassed as he coughed, "Um…"

"Honestly Beck, the word 'girlfriend' is not going to kill you." Paige rolled her eyes in amusement before smiling, "It's good to meet you."

Nico unwillingly shivered and nodded, "N-nice to meet you too."

Paige noticed her shiver and her eyes widened, especially when Beck wrapped his arm around her. She pulled out of his grip, "Users, you're both wet and freezing!"

Beck glanced to Nico in concern at Paige's exclamation but Nico wasn't bothered about it.

"Y-yeah."

"I'll get you something to dry off with. Both of you." With that, she walked off to the bedroom and went out of earshot.

Nico grinned and looked to Beck.

"…What?"

"You didn't tell me you have a girlfriend."

"Well….it never came up."

Nico chuckled softly, shaking her head. Beck's cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red, "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Alright." Both looked up as Paige returned with two towels. She handed one to Beck, then one to Nico. "Here you go. Now you two warm. Nobody needs to have their systems freeze up."

"Oh that won't happen." Nico said, draping herself in the towel.

Paige looked to her in confusion, "Why?"

Beck finished rubbing the towel over his head before saying, "Nico's a User."

For the tiniest moment, a glint of bitterness, perhaps hostility, appeared in Paige's eyes and Nico feared she might have to leave. But she must have noticed that Nico saw her reaction, and hostility was replaced with regret and she looked away, "Ah. That makes sense now, why you're code was so confusing at the hospital."

"Really?"

"Yes. It wasn't anything like a basic's or…." she shook her head, "Anyway, I can take your towels and make sure they dry out."

"I can do that." Beck offered.

"No. No…I'll do it."

She took his towel, then took Nico's, before walking quickly back into the other room.
Nico was confused, "Did…did I do something?"

"You did seem really frightened for a moment." Beck mused, "She probably feels bad for making you scared. It's a habit of hers; it was ingrained in her; just like her initial reaction was."

"How so?"

Beck gestured for her to sit while he stays standing. He let out a breath before speaking.

"Paige…Paige used to be a soldier. For the Occupation. While she had been taught that Users were no good, she still had sympathy from before the army."

"Oh." Nico looked down, "I didn't mean to make her feel bad."

"I didn't think you meant to. Maybe you could talk to her about it."

The door opened and Paige came back in. Beck pulled her into a gentle hug before saying, "I'm going to go get out of my uniform, I'll be back in a moment, alright?"

When she quietly nodded, he kissed her forehead before letting go and walking into the other room. As soon as the door closed, Nico stood.

"Beck told me about…you know…..I'm sorry I made you feel bad."

Paige sighed, "No, its fine. I shouldn't have reacted that way."

"I'm not upset about your reaction. I'm fine."

After a moment, Paige sat down on the couch, and Nico sat in the chair.

"So…." Nico said after a moment, "You work at the hospital?"

"Yes." Paige met her gaze, "I decided to go back to being medic instead of continuing as a soldier. I'm afraid the Occupation ruined me in that area."

"Ah." Nico didn't really understand what she meant, but pretended she did.

"Was Beck always a policeman?"

"Nope." Paige grinned, "Before the war, he was a mechanic."

"War? You mean the whole CLU thing caused a war? Was he a soldier as well?"

"Well…in a way he was. He doesn't like to talk about it but_"

She stopped as the door opened and Beck came back out, but in a more detailed suit with blue and white circuits.

"Back."

"Hey." Paige smiled softly up at him, "We were just talking about you."

"Nothing bad, I hope." He sat down next to her.

She pecked his cheek, "Nope. I was just telling her that you were a mechanic at one point."

If that bothered him at all, he didn't show it, "Oh."

"Yeah. Nothing major."

Before he could say anything, Paige turned back to Nico, "So, what's it like in the User World?"

Nico grinned, "It's something, that's for sure. Not exactly like here, but close."

Paige opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped when Nico suddenly sneezed.

"You must be tired."

"Well…"

Yeah, I'm tired. But that's not why I'm sneezing….

"It's getting late, anyways." Beck said, "I can set up the couch and you can sleep here until next cycle."

Nico smothered another sneeze with her arm and nodded, "That would be amazing, thank you."

Later that cycle, Nico is woken when she heard Beck yell.

It wasn't a loud yell, but audible enough to wake her from her light sleep. She didn't make any noise, but blinked as she listened to him pant. After a moment, she heard the covers swish and Paige began gently shush him.

"Hey, it's alright. It's just a nightmare; you're okay."

He panted still, but it seemed quieter, not as fast. Nico thought she heard a soft, dry sob, but she couldn't be certain.

"You're not there anymore. You're with me. It was just a bad dream."

Nico sat up slightly and through the open door, she could see Paige and Beck were on the floor in front of the bed. Paige had draped the cover to their bed around them both as Beck leaned into her, trying to calm down. Neither of them noticed Nico watching them through the darkness.

For the longest time, they sit there, Paige gently consoling Beck as he was silently trembling. Finally, Beck wrapped Paige in his embrace and sighed as he stopped trembling.

"You ok?" she whispered.

"Yeah." He said almost inaudibly.

"Let's get back to bed."

He nodded and they both climbed back in bed, pulling the cover with them. Confused, Nico laid back down and stared back up at the ceiling.

What could Beck be so afraid?

What happened to him?

What_

She drifted back into sleep as the breathing of the two programs grew deep in the other room and the atmosphere of the apartment was peaceful again.

The next cycle, neither of the programs brought up the previous cycle's events. Beck rummaged through the pantry for something while Paige sat next to Nico.

"AH CHOOO!"
Well, mainly because Nico's symptoms had grown worse. She was now sneezing very loudly, her nose and the rims of her eyes were red, and even though she slept decently, she felt like she had gotten none at all.

And Paige was confused to this.

"I don't understand. You got plenty of sleep, so why are you still sneezing?"

"I think," Nico's voice was nasally, her nose stuffy. She sneezed into her arm, "I think I got a cold."

Beck looked to her, "A cold?"

"Nothing major. I just need to go home….get some more rest."

"So….we don't have anything for a cold?"

"No, Beck." Paige said, not irritated; just clearing it up, "We don't have anything for that."

"Oh." He closed the pantry, "Alright."

"Yeah. I probably won't be able to come back until I get over this cold. That will be a couple days."

"Alright. Just make sure you get better, Nico." Paige said, and they both stood.

"I will."

"I'll take you back to the portal." Beck said, and waited by the door.

"Thank you both for all you've done."

"It's no problem." Paige said, "It was good to get to know."

"You too. Goodbye."

Paige waved and Beck opened the door for Nico before following her out.