Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening
Chapter 11
"Worries… and Pain"
(Point-of-View: Chaud Blaze, 3rd person)
Tick… tick… tick… tick…
The incessant ticking of the old-fashioned clock on the wall was the loudest sound in the room; underneath, the gentle whirring of his computer filled the room with a constant pulse.
Chaud sat with his head in his hands, sitting at his desk in his office, trying to keep awake by listening to the seconds tick by.
Tick… tick… tick… tick…
Yawning, his head lolled back, he forced his eyes open to look at the clock.
It's almost midnight… this took longer than I thought… ah, well… I'm almost done.
Chaud stood up and stretched, then turned to the screen. Protoman was lying on the screen, several windows open in the area around him, and the recovery program's blue circles rotating around him.
As Chaud looked on, the program finished its work, the circles disappearing and the other windows closing. He leaned in towards the screen.
"How are you feeling, Protoman?"
The red Navi twitched, then stood up, nodding over to his NetOp.
"That was an unusual side effect…" He murmured, opening and closing his hands. "What did I do?"
Chaud rubbed his temple with his forefinger. "Well… you almost went berserk and nearly deleted Nocturne in the process… and you just spent all day recovering."
Protoman covered his face with his hands. "Oh, man… that's definitely not good." He looked up at Chaud. "Is Nocturne alright?"
"Yes. He was just a little shaken; he and April both." Chaud stood up and stretched, then plucked the PET out of its cradle. Protoman appeared, his head hanging slightly. Chaud blinked. "Protoman?"
Protoman bit his lip before responding. "Chaud… what is that thing called—it's a mythical force that says whatever you do to others will be paid back to you?"
"Karma?"
Protoman nodded thoughtfully. "That's it. We've been repaid for trying to stop April by seriously harming Nocturne."
Chaud seriously considered putting Protoman back into the recovery program. He wasn't sounding at all normal. "Are you feeling okay Protoman? You don't sound at all like yourself."
Protoman looked up at him, and a sad little smile spread over his lips. "But it's true, is it not?" He whispered.
Chaud had nothing to say back.
In the limo, Chaud sat back and thought about what Protoman had said. It was true that his viruses had backfired. If they had worked like they were supposed to, Nocturne would've been put out of action for several days, if not a week, or more. In that time, he could've thought of what to do about the Navi that April was creating without having anyone to know about it. Instead, one of the viruses got under Protoman's skin; dramatically changing his programming, and now April was proceeding along normally with the creation, which was not good. She needed to be stopped before any one else got hurt. Chaud leaned forward and put his face in his hands. If only we hadn't destroyed all the viruses, I might be able to—wait a minute.
Protoman wasn't the only one who fought against that virus… Oh no…
Tomahawkman!!
---
(Point-of-view: April Cossack, 3rd person)
April sat in front of her computer screen at home. The sun had just risen, the early morning light glinting dully off the metal on her face, the edges of which she was running her finger around. On the computer screen floated a sleeping Requiem.
Today's the day…
April's fingers glided over the smooth metal until they found what they were looking for: a small, barely noticeable, indent right above her temple. She applied a little pressure, and a part of the covering slid away, revealing a tiny data card in a little slot. Her fingers ran over the tissue paper-thin card; she gave it a little tug, and a pain erupted behind her eyes. She gasped, and a small purple spark flew out from it, lazily danced a few inches away from her face before it went out. April's hands flew to cover her eyes.
"Are you okay April?"
She looked up; Nocturne was looking at her from her PET, a concerned look on his face. She smiled—though it looked more like a grimace—trying to ignore the pain swarming beneath the machinery on her face.
"Yeah… I just need some pain-killers, that's all."
Nocturne looked over to the computer screen. "Is today the day, April? Is she going to be finished?" April nodded. "But then…" he continued. "You'll have to take that out today." He said, gesturing to her eye.
"I know… And it's not going to be pretty." April murmured. "You saw what happened when I just gave it a little tug. I don't want to know what will happen when I completely take it out…"
Nocturne watched gravely as she pushed the indent again and the door slid shut, hiding the card. "Well… you are losing a small part of your consciousness, it's only expected that it would hurt."
"Well… yeah… but I didn't think it would be that much." She sighed.
"Perhaps you should wait until the last minute. You might be in so much pain you wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else; you don't want to mess anything up."
She nodded "Yes… and I'll take a lot of pain-killers too… that might help a little bit…" Suddenly, a wide grin broke out on her face. "I can't believe it Nocturne. She'll finally be done. I wish Grandpa could see this day…"
She gazed at the screen, eyes unfocused.
"By the way… what are you doing up at dawn?"
April couldn't suppress a laugh. "Good point. I couldn't fall asleep, so I just wanted to make sure everything was fine with her." She glanced over at her clock, then stood up. "Guess I'd better start getting ready now…" she said, her alarm chirping over the end of her sentence. She smacked it, and then walked into the bathroom to start her shower.
Nocturne waited until he heard the water start running, then transferred over to the computer. Requiem floated several inches above the ground in front of him, her chest moving up and down slightly with her breathing.
He sat down, crossing his legs Indian-style, and leaned back, his arms spread out behind him. Unmoving, he sat and watched her breathe; the only sound was the rushing of water in the pipes behind the walls.
She is rather pretty… he though, a slight blush rushing to his cheeks. If the situation were more normal, maybe we could… His face went even redder as the thought entered his mind. He shook his head vigorously, his dark ponytail flying all around, trying to chase the thought away. If the situation were normal, we wouldn't be in this situation. He blinked. Wait a minute… that didn't make sense…
Abruptly, the water stopped running. Nocturne jumped up in surprise, glancing over at the door. It remained closed. His shoulders relaxed, and his gaze turned back upon Requiem. He walked closer; soon they were standing nose to nose.
"Perhaps…" he whispered. "Perhaps… you just might make a different choice than what April might think. Perhaps…"
The corner of her mouth twitched. Nocturne drew in a sharp, quick breath. He started to lean in closer, when he heard the turning of the doorknob behind him. Within a moment, he was back on the PET, his back faithfully turned away from April as she started to get ready.
---
(Point-of-view: Chaud Blaze, 3rd person)
Chaud walked slowly out of his office, his hands in his pockets, his eyes closed. He had just reached the screen when the lab door slid open behind him.
"Hey Chaud!"
Chaud turned at the sound of Dingo's voice. "Hello Dingo. How are you and Tomahawkman doing?"
Dingo's grin was wide. "Better than ever!"
Chaud tilted his head slightly out of confusion. "Nothing's wrong? Tomahawkman hasn't been acting… different lately?"
Dingo's smile shrunk a little. "No… Should he be?"
"Never mind. Forget that I asked." Chaud waved the question away and turned back around, relief flooding though him. So nothing happened to Tomahawkman after all. That's good to know…
Dingo gave him a strange look, then shrugged and headed to his office.
The door opened again behind Chaud. He turned around quickly and saw April walking by, her eyes on the ceiling and her mind obviously preoccupied.
"April." He said.
She gave a start and looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh… hello… Chaud." She strangled out before walking away again.
Chaud stepped right in front of her, forcing her to stop. "What are your plans for today, April?" He asked, his voice overly casual.
"Oh, you know. Just work as usual."
"Not today, April." He whispered.
She glanced up at him, astonished. "What?" She asked, her voice low.
Gently, he wrapped his hands around her arms. "I'm not going to let you finish that program." He said, just as softly as before.
She tried to step back, but his gripped her upper arms tightly, and she winced. "What are you talking about Chaud? Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm feeling just fine. I've made my decision." The color drained from her face. "I need to stop you before any one else gets hurt." He continued. "You have no idea about the power you are playing with."
Her eyes narrowed. "I have no idea? You're kidding right? Do you have any idea about how much damage with be wrought if I don't finish?" His grip slackened a tiny bit. "Get out of my way Chaud. My life depends on my being able to finish."
"What are you talking about? Don't tell me that—"
She pushed his hands away. "My very life is at stake Chaud, not to mention Nocturne's, and even possibly this entire facility. I'll ask you nicely again. Please get out of my way."
He shook his head. "I can't April…"
Her hands clenched into fists. "So that's it, is it?"
"Wha—"
"You care to keep your job more than you do to keep me alive, is that it?" April looked up sharply at him, hot tears gathering in the corner of her eye, and her voice rising in volume.
"No, no, April… Please calm down…" He reached to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she roughly shoved him away. "April?"
"Just. Let. Me. Through." She said through clenched teeth.
"No."
"Get out of my way Chaud."
"No."
"Get out of my way Chaud!"
"No."
"April, relax!" Nocturne yelled from her side. She ignored him.
"Get out of my way!!"
"No."
"JUST MOVE!!!" She screamed, shoving him in the chest with all her strength, then ran past him, slamming the door and turning the lock.
Chaud was caught off guard by April's push, and he lost his balance, fell backwards, and soundly knocked his head on the sharp corner of a desk.
"Chaud!" A new voice pierced through his new headache. He groaned, and his eyes fluttered open. Lan and Dingo's faces swam into view.
"Are you okay Chaud?" Lan asked, helping Chaud to sit up.
"Do I look like I feel?" He replied, placing his hand where he had hit his head. He pulled it away from his sticky-feeling hair; his palm was splashed with red. "Ngh…" he bit his lower lip against the sick feeling rising in his stomach.
"That looks painful." Said Dingo, holding onto Chaud to keep him from swaying. "Why did April push you? A lover's quarrel?" He smirked, a teasing note in his voice.
Chaud ignored him, instead used Lan and Dingo's shoulders as levers to pull himself up to a standing position, ignoring the wave of pain the motion sent through his skull.
"That's not important. We need to stop April." He looked directly at Lan. "She going to complete it if we don't."
Lan's eyes grew wide, and he grabbed onto Chaud's arm, helping him run over to April's office. When they were several feet away, a scream suddenly erupted from behind the wooden door. They jerked to a halt.
"What's going on here?" Dr. Hikari walked up to the boys. "Is everything all right? I thought I heard April scream just now."
"She did." Chaud said, uselessly jiggling the doorknob. "We need to break it down."
He backed up, and Dingo rushed to join him. Chaud looked over at him. "On three, ready? On—"
"Three!"
They rushed forward, slamming their shoulders into the wood. Chaud wobbled off, clutching at the back of his head.
"You take my spot Lan."
"Three!"
Slam.
"Three!"
Slam.
"Why do these doors have such good locks?" Chaud muttered to Dr. Hikari, who shrugged.
"Three!"
Slam.
Another scream came from behind the door, and they gave each other panicked looks. Lan and Dingo backed up several more steps before charging with all they had.
"Three!"
Crash!
The door finally gave, and the four men rushed into the room. Chaud elbowed his way past the others, expecting the worst.
A bright flash of light blinded them, and a high-pitched, maniacal laugh rang through the room. When the light faded, the sight that greeted them made them all gasp in horror and cry out.
"APRIL!!!"
CLIFFHANGER!!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Yawn.
I'm tired.
And I still have to get up early tomorrow.
Groan.
Yeah… I had to go back to school a couple of days ago… bleargh. That's why it took me forever to get this done…
That… and the fact that I had writer's block for several days….
……
I HAVE SO MUCH FREAKIN' HOMEWORK!!!! IT'S NOT COOL, DANG IT!!!!!
But it's my last semester of high school!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!
Btw…I'm the dance captain in the school's musical (We're doing 'Urinetown'… yuck. This is not going to be a happy rehearsal period…) and I'm in the pit (the people that play the music and instruments, for all you non-theatre people out there) so I'll get even less work done……
Sigh……
But now I'll leave you to ponder what it is that made them all cry out in fear… bwahahahahaha…
Next time:
We go back a couple of moments in time to April's point of view, and we find out what exactly it was that made her scream in pain, who—or what—gave the maniacal laugh, and what it is the boys saw when they finally broke into her office…
Ohh… I'm so mean….
LOVE ME AND REVIEW PLEASE