A/N: I have been working on this story for ages. For some reason I just couldn't get my thoughts out right. And then, once I finished, I discovered that we weren't allowed to have plagiarized song lyrics in our stories. So that was a problem. So I deleted the song lyrics, except one, and posted it anyway, praying to God that it makes sense.
The song I used for this story was My Immortal by Evanescence. And I own neither it nor the character of AndrAIa.
If you can, I'd like some feedback on how well I portrayed AndrAIa.
My Immortal
AndrAIa swam silently through the lifeless waters. She hated this. The game, the sprites, everything. Playing out the same scragging scenario, over and over, without end. It was always the same. The people were always the same. The data sprites all feared her. No one was brave enough to even come near her. It made life very lonely. As always, in times like this, AndrAIa's mind wandered back to the one time that things had been different. The one time that had changed her runtime forever.
Absorbed in her thoughts and musings, AndrAIa wandered through the game. At the nano, the game was off, not running in a system. That's good, she thought. It's more peaceful this way.
AndrAIa was completely unaware of her surroundings until she scraped her knee against a sharp outcropping of rock.
"Spam!" AndrAIa rushed to cover her wound before the energy could leak into the water and attract any sharks. Not that she couldn't take care of herself, but it'd be a pain in the ASCII to fight off the hordes of sharks that she knew lived inside the game. She squatted uselessly behind a rock. As if this would do anything, she thought to herself. Inside, she berated herself for not taking more notice of where she was going. That's how accidents happen, she told herself.
AndrAIa stole a quick glance around the rock. Nothing seemed to be coming. Nothing seemed to have sensed her spilt energy. Thank the User.
It took a few nanos for it to click in AndrAIa's processor that this rock was where she had first met him. Where he had saved her life.
How could he have had such an effect on her? She had seen him but once, and that was a long time ago. He has probably forgotten me by now. I bet he has moved on with his life, and doesn't obsess over one insignificant game sprite. AndrAIa was inexplicably saddened by this thought.
What would have happened if he had stayed with her? Or if she had gone with him? Life would definitely be more interesting, that's for sure. She hadn't known him for a long time, but they probably would've been friends. They had gotten along very well. Conversation was easy between them, as if they'd been friends for hours. And she really needed a friend right now.
True friends were hard to come by. AndrAIa may have only been a game sprite, but there were some things that she innately knew. Like that he could've been a true friend to her. She fervently wished that somehow, someday, she would see him again.
AndrAIa sighed and made a half-hearted attempt to push away these thoughts. What was wrong with her? This was becoming some kind of unhealthy obsession.
And obsessions, or any distractions for that matter, are not good things to have in a game. It had only been about an hour since he left, but AndrAIa had long ago begun to need another set of hands to count the number of times that thinking about him had left her vulnerable to attack.
It was rather ironic actually. She was AI, a Game Sprite that was supposed to learn from past experiences. So why couldn't she learn from this one? Why couldn't she move on?
Why was it, that whenever she closed her eyes, he was there? Standing there, concerned about the stranger that lay unconscious before him. Concern was not something AndrAIa was used to. But he was. He was concerned, and interested too.
AndrAIa had been very surprised to hear him ask about her. Ask her name, things she liked, games she played. To not be afraid, as most others were. His frank openness was not something AndrAIa had experienced before.
He changed her; it was obvious. AndrAIa found herself helping the system sprites that entered the Games. One time, another Game Sprite had approached AndrAIa. Asked her why she helped the outsiders. AndrAIa had had no answer.
Why did she help them? They weren't, couldn't, be him. She would probably never see him again. There were millions of systems out there. What were the chances of meeting again? Still, AndrAIa's newfound infinite capacity for hope wouldn't allow her to give up. Wouldn't allow her to accept it and move on.
AndrAIa gave a sardonic little laugh. She acted as if she had known him forever. Their meeting had lasted, at most, a milli. Funny how much one's life could change in such a short time. Funny how quickly one can get attached to a person. Funny how much it hurts when a friend is gone.
He really was a friend, she mused. There was no reason for the feelings AndrAIa had for him, no logical explanation for her unhealthy obsession.
AndrAIa gave in to the urge to scream with frustration and rage. Her mind argued back and forth. He's gone, one part said, get over it. Stop sulking! And yet, another part of her could not let go. Could not give up on the hope that he would come back.
AndrAIa's programming told her to be logical. To calmly assess the situation and fix it. But if there was only one thing that he had given her, it was the ability to feel. To feel pity for soon-to-be nullified system sprites. To crave for social contact. To be passionate about something.
Passion. That was the right word. The word to describe her feelings. The word to describe his personality. He was a passionate person. He felt deeply and strongly, wore his emotions on his sleeve.
AndrAIa had a passion. She realized it now. Such an intense feeling, such a powerful emotion, subsumed by one overwhelming desire. For him. Her love for him.
Did she did love him?. She may not have known him long, she may not have known him at all, but she could answer that question with certainty: Yes.
I love you Enzo.
Cause you still have all of me