Sorry if you go this the first time, but as far as I can tell it never
made it to the list... anyway, here is part two of Awakenings. As I
said with the first part, this is entirely different from what I've
written before, and therefore is somewhat rough. C&C would be very
greatly appreciated.
Without further ado, Stormwalker <stormwalker@airmail.net> presents...
Awakenings
A Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction by Douglas A. Reeves
Part the Second - Discoveries
"Come on, Nene, nobody's THAT perfect," Priss said
pointedly. "They've all got some secret or another that you
don't find out until later."
"Priss!" Nene rolled her eyes, exasperated. "You're such a
cynic."
"And you're a dreamer," Priss shot back, voicing the label
with disdain.
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing's wrong with it," Linna interrupted, "but Priss
does have a point. Don't get all wrapped up in this 'perfect'
person. There is no such thing."
"Oh, I know THAT," Nene answered, immediately dismissing the
thought.
"Do you?" Priss prodded. "We'll see when you find something
wrong with him."
Nene shook her head defiantly, "I guess we will."
* * * * * * * * *
Michael sat at his computer at home, grinning at his prize
for the day. On the monitor in front of him was the AD Police
file of Nene Romanova. Skimming it quickly, he made a few mental
notes and then closed the connection. He could always get back
in to see it again, and besides, he didn't really need it for
anything.
He wondered why he'd gone and gotten it in the first place.
As far as he'd been able to tell, Nene hadn't been particularly
deceptive with him, but something about her aroused his
curiosity. There was something more to her than was readily
apparent, and he was sure he'd wind up tying himself in knots
trying to figure out what it was.
In a way, he hoped that he never would... the little mystery
about her was a game that he enjoyed playing, and he would like
to draw it out as long as possible. These things never seemed to
last long enough, though; he decided he was just too smart for
his own good.
* * * * * * * * *
When Nene got off of work on Tuesday afternoon, she hurried
straight home. Michael would be coming to pick her up in a
couple of hours, and she wanted to be ready. She wondered why
she was so taken with him; she'd been interested in other men
before, but he intrigued her in a way she'd never really
experienced. <Is this love?> she wondered.
The time before he was scheduled to arrive passed with an
excruciating slowness. She was ready a full hour ahead of time,
and had to sit and wait, nervously and excitedly considering
these new feelings she was having. Certainly she cared about him
in a way that she hadn't anyone else, but then, there were other
explanations for that... weren't there?
* * *
The ring of the phone came at precisely seven o'clock, just
as it had before. Picking up the receiver, Nene said, "Hello?"
"Hello, Nene," Michael's voice responded. "I'm downstairs."
"All right. I'll be there in a second." Hanging up the
phone, she practically ran down to the security doors. Slowing
down before she rounded the last corner, she smiled. <Let's not
be TOO enthusiastic,> she reminded herself.
She smiled when she saw him through the glass door, and went
out to meet him. Immediately, he produced a dozen roses, some red
and some white, from behind his back, and she was caught off
guard.
"Why... thank you," she responded, looking them over,
"they're beautiful."
"Not too cliche, I hope."
"Oh, no, not at all," she giggled, then turned and hugged
him. "You're wonderful."
"I try, anyway," he smirked, then leaned down to kiss her
gently. "Shall we be going?"
"Yes, let's."
* * * * * * * * *
Again, the evening seemed to fly by. Dinner was excellent,
by Nene's estimation, and the service was better this time. She
almost lamented that part, though, as it gave her less time to
talk with him. When she voiced that sentiment, he smiled. "I
know a good place."
When she saw it, she was forced to agree. The observation
deck of the Kawasaki building was usually closed this time of
night, but since Michael's company had its offices in the
building he was able to get in. Nene privately wondered if he
had hacked the keycard access, but it mattered little to her.
The panoramic view of Megatokyo was spectacular on this
rare, cloudless night. She could see everything for miles, save
that which was obscured by Genom's monstrosity of a headquarters.
At first, she was speechless.
"Incredible, isn't it?" Michael grinned. "Sometimes I come
up here at night, just to think about things."
"What sort of things?" she asked curiously.
"Well... I used to come up here when I had a stubborn
problem I couldn't solve. Sometimes it helps to step away from
it. Lately, though, I've been thinking of you."
"Oh?" she grinned. "And what have you been thinking about
me?"
"Well... how beautiful you are, and how wonderful, and how I
think... I love you, Nene. I knew it from the moment I first saw
you."
Nene's eyes widened a bit, "You, too? Oh, that's so
romantic!"
Michael smiled, "Isn't it, though? I'm not usually that
way... letting my heart run away with me like that. Then again,
love does that to a person, or so my friends tell me."
"I love you, Michael."
"I love you, too, Nene."
* * * * * * * * *
Priss sighed. "I don't know, what do you think, Linna? I
don't like this."
"Well," Linna mused, "It's hard to say... I know people who
believe in love at first sight, but it hasn't been like that for
me. On the other hand, I've never found the right person...
maybe it's different."
"I don't buy it... it's too convenient."
"It is, at that... but then, there's not a lot we can do
about it, is there? Besides sit back and hope for the best.
It's her life."
"Maybe," Priss said with an uncharacteristic quietness.
Something was nagging at her... and she didn't like it a bit.
* * * * * * * * *
Nene clearly had no such reservations. Time passed, and
with each day gone by she felt more and more in love with him.
While she couldn't speak for him, it seemed very much that he
felt the same way. They were spending more and more of their
time together, meeting nearly every day not for lunch or dinner,
or just to talk for a while, and the initial nervousness was
fading, replaced by a growing comfort with his presence.
She was beginning to get annoyed with Priss's attitude
toward Michael, though. Sure, he had flaws, but nobody was
perfect, she reasoned. They were no reason to jump all over him.
<Why doesn't Priss trust anybody?> she asked herself. <I just
hope she doesn't get Sylia off on this kick with her.>
Sylia was being quietly observant, as was usual for her.
While it was clear that she wanted Nene to be happy, the youngest
Knight Saber couldn't tell quite what she thought of Michael's
place in that happiness. <If only they could see him the way I
do.>
Still, they weren't actively interfering in the
relationship. Even Priss, for all her grumbling, left them pretty
much alone, and Nene was grateful for that. She would hate to be
at odds with them; after all, they were probably her closest
friends.
* * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Nene... take a look at this."
"What's that?" she responded, leaning on his shoulder as she
read off of the screen. "A list of access codes?"
Michael nodded. "Supposed to be for the GPCC mainframe."
Nene leaned a little closer to the screen. "Nope."
"What do you mean, nope?" Michael looked at her a little
oddly.
"Those are phony. I know the real ones."
"You WHAT?!"
She grinned. "At least, I know a few of them."
"What HAVE you been hacking, girl?"
"You really don't want to know."
"No, you have to tell me."
"How much time do you have?" her grin expanded a little.
"It's a long list..."
* * *
Michael sat speechless. He'd
thought he was a serious
hacker, but if Nene was telling the truth... "Why the GENOM
obsession?"
"Huh?"
"Well... everything you listed is tied to GENOM in some way
or another... except the USSD and SDPC stuff."
<Even that is, if only you knew,> she thought. "Biggest
thing out there. I'm going to hack the Tower main someday."
"You're kidding. That's dangerous!"
"Yeah?"
"Well... what would they do if they caught you?"
"They won't."
"How do you know?"
Nene frowned. "I... really shouldn't talk about that,"
<Oops. How am I going to play this one down?>
<Oh, really?> Michael thought, but decided to let it drop.
<Better not to push; I don't want to make her too cautious.>
"I... see, I guess."
"Well, I don't do it alone," she lied. "And I can't betray
a confidence."
"Ah..." he nodded, not sure whether to believe her or not.
<It WOULD explain some things...> "That makes sense."
"I'm glad you understand," she smiled, then turned so that
she was facing him. Leaning forward just a little more, she let
the smile slip into a grin. Suddenly, she pounced, throwing her
arms around his neck and kissed him, nearly sending them toppling
from his chair.
"Nene?" he blurted out, grinning. "Where did THAT come
from?"
"Oh... you're just so good-looking, I couldn't resist." she
stuck her tongue out at him. <One custom-made distraction, served
with style. Fun, too.> "Let's go out for dinner... I'm hungry."
Michael laughed, <Some things never change.> "As you wish."
* * * * * * * * *
Late that night, Nene lay awake in her bed. "What were you
thinking?" she scolded herself aloud. "You start talking and you
just can't stop, can you?"
She sighed. She would have to be more careful in the
future. At least none of the others knew how close she'd come to
giving them all away... she'd never hear the end of it,
especially from Priss. The worst would be Sylia, though... she
probably wouldn't say anything, but just knowing how Sylia felt
about such things... she didn't want to think about that.
* * * * * * * * *
<She was right, too,> Michael stared at the screen, stunned.
<Of course, it could have been a lucky guess, but she was so
CERTAIN about it. I should have remembered to ask her for the
real codes. Doubt she'd have given them to me, though, if she
was telling the truth about working with someone else...>
Shutting down the intricate remote connection he'd set up to
avoid being traced, he sighed. <Looks like I may be out of my
league here. At least she loves me, though... can't argue with
that.>
* * * * * * * * *
Sylia looked up as the file she was seeking came up on the
screen. <So, who are you, Michael Greyson? And why do I not
trust you?>
She had maintained a close watch on Nene since the beginning
of this relationship, and nothing seemed inherently wrong. This
in itself was cause for worry, because young Nene was far too
trusting, but there was more here. Unfortunately, she couldn't
find any hints as to what it was.
The common interest of the two was clear. Though Nene had
not said as much, Michael's personality and his chosen profession
implied a tendency toward certain... questionable uses of
information systems. This being a hobby of Nene's as well, and
the primary reason behind her membership in the Knight Sabers, it
provided them with a social understanding. Theirs was an
unconventional romance, to say the least.
Still, there were no indications of trouble thus far, and
Sylia would have to be content with that, for now.
* * * * * * * * *
"So... have you ever done any hacking for money, or just fun
stuff?"
"Well... never for money," Nene smiled impishly, "but I
can't claim to have gotten nothing out of it."
"Such as?"
"Well... the government thinks I'm two years older than I
really am."
"Nene! You're joking, right?"
Nene shook her head. "Nope. I didn't want to wait until I
was old enough to work for ADP, so I... made a few changes."
Michael laughed, then made a mock-worried face, "So... how
old ARE you?"
Nene grinned and shook her head.
"Aw... come on."
"All right, all right... I'm 20."
"That's your REAL age... not your legal one, right?" he
grinned.
"Yes!" she answered, feigning indignation, then gave it up
and just laughed.
"You're so much fun to be around, Nene-chan. I love you."
"I love you, too," she smiled, squeezing his hand a little
tighter.
"Do you realize that Saturday it will have been a month
since we met?"
"So soon? Wow... we should celebrate! What do you want to
do?"
* * * * * * * * *
The phone rang, jarring Nene from her nap. Glancing over at
the clock, she gasped. She'd slept through her alarm, and
Michael was here already! Quickly, she threw on some clothes and
ran down to meet him.
"I'm sorry... I overslept. Would you mind waiting upstairs
while I take a quick shower?"
"Not at all," he smiled. "You know, you're pretty even when
you're not trying to be."
She blushed. "Thanks." Leading him into her room, she
said, "I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Ok, I'm sure I can entertain myself that long," he grinned,
taking a seat. As soon as she had closed the bathroom door
behind her, he was at the computer.
<Let's see,> he thought. <All hackers have little tidbits
filed away somewhere...> Quickly, he set to work. With a little
luck, he might just find a clue to the puzzle box that was Nene
Romanova.
* * *
Nene silently cursed herself for oversleeping, knowing that
Michael had made special plans for tonight. Still, he didn't
seem too upset, so apparently there was not in too much of a
rush.
Hurriedly setting the water temperature, she jumped into the
shower. Time to be quick...
* * *
<Ah, here we go,> Michael thought as the hidden drive's
directory listing came up. It was relatively cryptic, though
he'd come to understand Nene well and was able to make sense from
it. <Now this looks interesting...,> he smiled, opening up an
encrypted file.
<I've seen this encryption before... I know I have> he
thought, searching his memory for the patter. <Ah, I remember!>
It was an advertisement he'd stumbled across once, floating on
the net. The encryption algorithm had been beyond his ability to
decode; it seemed that Nene had fared better. <Impossible!>
* * *
Nene reached to turn the hot water up a bit more, savoring
the warmth as it flowed over her. Her mind wandered, as it often
did now, to thoughts of Michael... dreams, hopes for a future
together... which came to a sudden end as she remembered that he
was waiting for her. <Oops...> she thought, and began to rinse
out her hair.
* * *
<Absolutely impossible...> Michael thought, amazed, as
Nene's decryption program unscrambled the message. <She broke
it!> Slowly, a character at a time, it began to take shape. When
it was about halfway complete, he shivered, beginning to realize
what it was.
* * *
"Ah, there," Nene smiled, turning off the water and grabbing
a towel from the rack. Looking at the two dresses she'd brought
with her, she tried to decide which to wear.
* * *
<Knight Sabers? Nene?> Michael stared at the screen in
shock. There before him was his answer... the secret of Nene,
and what a secret it was!
He wasn't sure how to react to this... emotions warred for
control. He was jealous of her ability; she was clearly the
superior hacker. He feared her now, and his knowledge put him in
danger. Shock gripped him as he realized how badly he'd
underestimated her... not his equal, she was clearly a level
above him in everything. He... could never have her for his own.
This realization stung him, and a cold, silent anger
enveloped his heart, smothering the affection which resided
there. <How could she...>
The sudden silencing of the shower snapped him out of his
thoughts, and he immediately switched off the machine. Careful
to put everything back in its place, he returned to his seat and
waited, while his heart froze.
***********
End Part Two