Writing can be interesting sometimes. It's interesting to read a story and realize that it probably wasn't supposed to turn out that way when the author first thought up of the story. Writing is an art, and as such doesn't function well when dictated under a strict set of rules and regulations. It is ever-changing to suit new experiences, new viewpoints, and new situations. It changes when, partway through writing, you find ways to make the story seem better later on. I say this not in regard to any particular aspect of my story, but simply because it was the best thing I can come up with to prelude the third chapter of my story. Thanks for your reviews so far, I'll try to update in a quick fashion, but not too quick, as I love stringing along readers with well-placed cliffhangers and lingering questions.
I also want to say that I'm taking a somewhat unique direction with this fanfic. What you may end up finding is a collection of storylines that seem loosely related at best. It won't be until later on that you'll know why I did some things, so complaining about why I wrote that, or what that has to do with anything will be quite redundant seeing as everything in my writings is there for a reason. Now, let's begin.
UPDATE: Darn me and my oversight. I accidentally uploaded the wrong document -- There was supposed to be another scene between the last two below, but I forgot to include it... oh well, hopefully most of you wouldn't have noticed anyway
----------
A Paradigm's Dawn
Chapter 3 - Dinner for Three
"Are you sure you saw nothing?" Eugene Chaud stood at the laptop computer, calm and collected, unflinching in facial expression. The investigation had begun only a half hour earlier, and they already had a somewhat clear picture of who the perpetrator of the stolen data was. One of the camera programs scattered in the computer was able to pick up the image of a red-armored navi, with what appeared to be long yellow hair flowing behind it. Chaud had already gathered that the navi got into the computer through an open net port, grabbed the data, and left while the demonstration was still going on.
However, knowing who did it didn't help them much, as there was no sign of the navi anywhere in the net thus far. Beside, finding this navi wasn't as important as discovering how he got into Lan's computer in the first place. He had already checked the rest of the camera feed for anything suspicious, and found nothing. Sam hadn't forgotten to close the ports to the net, as the computer's logs showed that the port had been opened during the demonstration. Likewise, neither Sam nor Megaman could have opened it because the computer also logs Navi actions, the transcripts of which are restricted in access. The virus scanner also showed that there were no viruses in the system besides those that had been brought in for the demonstration. Those viruses had also been checked for any dubious code. None was found.
This left everyone, including Chaud, baffled at what could've happened. He knew that the navis wouldn't be able to give him anymore information, but he figured he would talk to them anyway just to be sure. As he expected, nothing. "I assure you Chief," Sam replied in response to Chaud's inquiry, "I saw nothing. You know as much by the logs."
"Everyone in the audience saw me the entire time," Megaman said in his reply, "I wasn't able to get a clear view of anything near the open data port."
"I see," Chaud wasn't the least surprised at their responses, but still felt a bit irritated. It wasn't the fact that this was one of the most underhanded data thefts in a long time; there was something more to his irritation.
"I don't understand," Lan spoke after Chaud backed away from the computer, "If it wasn't a virus that connected my computer to the net, then what was it?"
Chaud looked at Lan for a moment. That was why he was irritated. The thought of talking to him again wasn't exactly the most comforting thought. After all, this was the only civilian he knew of who could beat him in a one-on-one net battle, and losing isn't something he or Protoman enjoys very much. However, it also stemmed from the fact that despite Megaman's skill, Lan had to audacity to deny an honorable privilege...
Chaud ran his fingers through his white hair before replying. Irritated or not, Lan was a member of SciLab, and as such was entitled to the full services of the official net battlers like every other member. He thought about what he knew so far about the situation, but couldn't find an answer... unless... "All indications say that 'something' was able to execute the command to open the data port. The problem is there's no record of the command even being executed at all. The logs say that the net port was opened, but those same logs don't specify a command to do such as taking place. None of the viruses we've come across behave in this way."
"That is odd. But still, it doesn't answer my question--"
"In fact," Chaud said with a smile, "it answers your question completely." Chaud was able to pride himself on one thing: Lan may know enough about navi interfaces to work at SciLab, but Chaud was a literal savant when it came to the programming structures of whole computer systems. "What we have here is a type of virus that hasn't been in use in nearly half a century." The two were silent as Lan readied himself for an explanation.
"Most viruses we know of have a digital form similar to objects in the cyber world. They are essentially clusters of data that can interface with this world much like navis do; in fact, most viruses are nothing more than manifestations of the battle chip data we use for our navis. The problems caused by these navis are usually of a result of them corrupting the data that makes up a cyber world, causing it to become bugged or to execute a specific set of commands."
"Okay... but that isn't what caused this, am I right?"
"Yes. What we have here is a virus that really is nothing more than a system program. The most common forms were those spread through e-mail. By opening an attachment, you executed a program which could do anything from copying itself all over the hard drive to sending a command to delete everything on it. It lost widespread use, though, when the new type of viruses were found to be much more damaging."
"So you think I got that type of virus on this system? But how? I haven't gotten an e-mail attachment in a long time."
"That's what we're going to find out." Chaud started to walk away from the conference room. "I'll be coming to pick up the computer in an hour. Back up whatever data you need and move Sam to another computer. It could get messy. And don't be late." He walked through the door and was out of view when Lan let out a heavy sigh. He jacked out Megaman from the computer and looked towards his PET.
"Dad is not going to be happy at all." Lan said softly.
"First off," Megaman replied, "he isn't 'dad' while we're at work. Second, if what Chaud said is true, then it isn't really our fault. Still, he shouldn't exactly be thrilled to hear that a three-year project was stolen right in front of our eyes."
"I guess. Anyway, just remember to keep this between you and me. Nothing to Mayl or Roll about it."
"Yeah, I know how it works." SciLab's policy was that if such an incident were to occur, it was to stay within those involved. Anyone who didn't either witness the incident or have something of theirs involved didn't know about it. Megaman thought it was a bit dishonest, but understood that for a large research center such as SciLab, they didn't have much of a choice.
"Good. We should get to work on the computer." Lan picked up the computer and started toward his office. He observed the time on his PET: eleven fifty-three. There was still about five hours before work was finished, but he had a feeling those hours would go by very slowly...
----------
"Thank you for the wonderful dinner Haruka." Mayl smiled gleefully after finishing the last bite of her beef stew. It was eight o'clock now, an hour after she got to Haruka's house, and they had already talked about quite a few things. They had gotten into conversations about Lan's job, Yuichiro's job, Megaman and Roll, some recent net events, even for a moment the latest fashions. Yet, as Roll herself noticed, Haruka was still a bit nervous about something.
It was probably important. Mayl had to admit that they really didn't talk about anything that a good phone call wouldn't have taken cared of. There was something else... "I'm glad you loved it Mayl," Haruka replied, a smile gleaming on her face. "It's good to see you in a good mood like this. It's always nice to know Lan has someone so well-mannered as a wife. I... I'm quite proud of you."
Mayl was a bit surprised. Not at what she said, but rather at her wording. She already knew Haruka was quite fond of her-- she had said as much since they were married-- but never did she say she was proud of her... It sounded as if... "Mayl," Haruka began, interrupting Mayl's thought process, "I wanted to tell you something. You see..." Haruka paused as she tried to get the words out, now having a small frown on her face. "I spoke to your mother." Mayl was visibly alert at those words, suddenly becoming annoyed in her facial expression.
"Really? What does she want?" Mayl turned her face away from Haruka's view. She noticed Roll working with some data, seemingly oblivious to the conversation despite the fact that she had been listening until Haruka spoke about her mother.
Haruka continued. "She told me that she e-mailed you three times in the past week, but that you got none of them. She thought you were avoiding her, so she told me to tell you what she anted to say."
I hope she wasn't surprised, Mayl thought. "And?"
Haruka took a bit of time as she tried to continue relay the message. "'Hello my daughter. I hope you still aren't mad at me. I tried to do the best I can, but you have to understand that I simply couldn't do it anymore. Your father is a wonderful person, but I simply couldn't love him as much as I do Michael. He won't talk to me, and that makes me sad.'" Mayl became visibly angrier as Haruka continued on with the message. "'I'm telling you this because I'm afraid I won't be able to visit you this summer. You see, me and Michael--'"
"Stop right there," Mayl said softly, a sullen expression on her face, "I don't feel like hearing her excuses." Mayl got up and went from the dining table onto the couch. Haruka got up and followed her.
"I'm sorry Mayl," she said, "Really, I am." She sat down next to her daughter-in-law. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you anything at all..."
"No Haruka, you didn't do anything wrong," Mayl looked towards the floor, not focusing on anything in particular. "I figured this would happen. It has nothing to do with you."
"But that's just it. I'll be honest; I was quite upset when I read what she was doing. The divorce was hard enough on you and your father, and for her to do this was just... wrong." Mayl remained silent, unmoving in her gaze. Roll continued to work on various pieces of data. "I didn't just invite you over to satisfy her, if that's what you're thinking. I guess... I felt guilty."
"Guilty?" Mayl inquired as she turned her head towards Haruka. "Guilty about what?"
Haruka looked Mayl in the eyes for a moment, noting that her face had become slightly red and coarse. "Well," she began, looking away, "for a long time, even after you married my son, I never really got to know you. To me you were just one of my son's friends, just a bit closer than most.
"Perhaps you don't know this..." she paused a moment to look back at Mayl, "...but before your mom and dad divorced, she spoke to me about you. She was already seeing Michael at the time, but it was obvious she loved you very much. I actually thought that even if she left your dad, she would continue to care for you. I guess I was wrong."
She looked away again, "I didn't want to replace your mother. I still don't. But when I got this message today, I thought about some things. I wondered whether I was really different from her. I know you're a bit taken aback even thinking that I could be like such a person. But that's how I felt. I'm not your mother. But I am you mother-in-law."
Mayl looked at Haruka intently, noticing that she started to smile. She looked away towards the floor again. "Mayl," Haruka continued, "I wondered, 'if something happened to Lan, would I be able to help Mayl, to comfort her?' I honestly couldn't answer the question. So I decided I'd try to fix things. Your mother is gone, and I don't think she'll be coming back. So I just wanted to say..." She looked at Mayl until she met her gaze, "...that I'll do my very best to treat you like my very own, if you'll let me."
Mayl stared silently and felt her face getting redder and redder. After a moment, she found herself with her arms around Haruka and her face on her shoulder, crying. Whether they were tears of joy or tears of sorrow, or perhaps both she didn't know. All she knew was that she had wanted this. It wasn't apparent before, but she yearned for this almost as much as for her own mother...
----------
Lan turned around as he heard the sound of a door opening and closing, looking towards the direction of the living room. She saw the image of a long-haired red head from behind walk towards the couch, and saw her sat down, her face barely in view. He smiled as she saw her hair tumble over her shoulder as she sat.
Mayl let out a sigh as she sat, seemingly not looking at anything. Her face had a faint shade of crimson and was still slightly damp. "Mayl, are you okay?" Roll asked. She had barely said a word while Haruka was talking and only made a few general comments on the way home.
"I'm fine Roll," Mayl replied, "I guess... I guess I didn't know what came over me." She looked over at the image of Roll on her PET, and then smiled. "I'll be okay."
"Okay about what?" Mayl turned her head to see Lan staring straight at her. E was smiling, but Mayl could sense a bit of concern in that smile. "What happened?"
Mayl stood silent for a moment. "Your mom-- Haruka asked me and Roll to visit her for dinner tonight."
"Wh-- what? But why-- I mean, why didn't you tell me?" Lan seemed a bit surprised at the statement, though Mayl noticed he wasn't nearly as frantic as usual. Progress perhaps?
Anyway, she wasn't quite ready to tell him everything that happened. Any mention of her mother was enough to depress her, but that in addition to what happened with Haruka... "Um... ask me again tomorrow, okay?"
Lan didn't speak, pondering over her words. Mayl remembered how in times like this Lan would usually be insistent on what's wrong, serving no purpose but to make her more emotional than she already was. God only knows the things she wanted to do to him when the divorce actually took place.
Lan let out a sigh. Almost suddenly afterward he let out a smile. "Fine, I'll ask you tomorrow."
Mayl released the breath she was holding. Thank goodness Lan decided to be reasonable this time. "Thank you..." Mayl felt a bit more at ease, and then remembered something. "Oh! Lan, I'm sorry. How was the demonstration?" Mayl thought he saw Lan frown, but was only able to observe a smile on his face as he replied.
"It went fine. The system works like a charm. Isn't that right Megaman?"
It took a moment for him to respond. "Sure is Lan. Sorry, I was a bit busy with something."
"Hiya Mega!" Roll yelled from her PET.
"Heya Roll." Megaman always loved it when she greeted him like that.
"Hey Megaman, how quickly did you beat those viruses? You are a bit rusty you know."
"Hey," Megaman smiled as he held his arm up, "I may not fight as much as I used to, but I'm still as sharp as ever."
"Yeah, sure," Roll teased sarcastically.
"Heh, Megaman," Lan interjected, "You'll always think you're the best, won't you?"
Megaman put his hand behind his head nervously. "Well, I did delete them quickly, right?"
Lan rolled his eyes "Yes, you did." He was relieved he was able to be in a decent mood like this. His father never did return from his errand, so the rest of his work day went pretty smoothly. He did wonder what could've held his father up for so long, but he was more rejoiced that he could get a good rest before having to deal with the virus problem... if only he could tell Mayl.
"Well," Mayl said, "I'm glad it went well."
Lan looked at her. "Thanks." His expression shifted to a sly grin. "But there's still the issue of you eating my mom's food without me."
Mayl knew where this was going. Lan could be so predictable some times. Oh well, Lan's been a good boy, she might as well give him what he wants. She matched Lan's expression. "Oh really. What exactly are you going to do about it?"
Megaman rolled his eyes. "Gee, I wonder."
"First, we gotta jack you to into the Dell." Lan gave Megaman a dirty look. Megaman smiled as he stuck his tongue out at Lan
Roll rolled her eyes as well. "Cut it out Mega. You still need to tell me exactly how you did today."
"Trust me," Megaman said confidently "I won't waste any time."
Lan and Mayl smiled, then went over to an old-looking computer in an empty corner of the living room. They both connected their PETs to the computer, then left them on the floor. Megaman and Roll appeared on screen, in time to see Lan and Mayl walking into the hallway and into the bedroom.
In the artificial cyber world inside the computer, the two navis looked towards the hallway where their operators had been only a moment before. "It's funny..." Megaman said as he heard the slamming of a door. "...what kind of things people do for fun."
"Come on, Mega, you know it isn't only for fun. It's not like there's someone sitting in a room on a computer creating humans, right?"
Megaman laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Now, what were you saying about me being rusty?"
"Tee-hee!" Roll laughed as he started to listen to Megaman explain his performance that day...
----------
Mayl frantically looked around the bathroom near her bedroom. Where in the world is it? she thought as she opened various cabinets, to no avail.
"Mayl, what's going on?" said a loud voice from the bedroom. Mayl ignored the voice as she continued searching the area. After a few minutes she gave up. She stood still for a while contemplating what to do. I can't stop now, she thoughtShe gave a heavy sigh. "I'm coming Lan," she screamed back to Lan. She went out of the bathroom, making a mental note to search again tomorrow. After all, it was only one night.
What are the chances?