Prisoners of Heaven

Fairy: Ugh…I would provide an intro, but I’m as bored as hell
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Chapter Six: Concerns and Obsessions

“You did it again, Sovereign! You could have easily won that match, do you WANT to make me look bad!?” Rachel shouted. She huffed and stormed out in a fury, despite that I almost cracked my neck in that battle. I was sitting next to Osiris.

“Fucking tarts,” I muttered.

“You did not listen to her. I guess we must review battle tactics.”

“It’s not because I didn’t listen to her,” I defended, “It’s because the Arcanine pisses me off so much and said…some…things that really angered me.”

“Now for tip number forty-seven, don’t allow emotions to govern a pokemon in a battle. It will be their downfall.”

“I know that now,” I sighed. I licked the blood off my lips and stared right into the computer screen. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you were real?”

“Yes, but I can’t concern myself with that. It will never happen.”

“Wondering is still good,” I muttered.

“It is not,” Osiris droned, “It keeps us away from reality. It keeps us away from things and people who truly care about you.”

I looked at him, with confusion shining in my eyes. “What are you getting at?”

“Sometimes, things we THINK are good for us, actually isn’t, and people who you think don’t care for you, actually do.”

“Look,” I said bitterly, “Who gives a shit if Rachel cares? I mean, come on…all she wants in a strong pokemon to show off to that piece of dick, Starlet. All those other pokemon want is someone as a trophy mate.” Tears flowed down my eyes. “Why are you acting this way?”

“I was not intended to be used for this purpose!” Osiris snapped.

“But…” tears filled my eyes, squeezing through the rims. “It’s better for someone to care for you and be artificial, than someone who is flesh and blood, don’t give a shit about you.”

Osiris did not say a word when I said that. Rather, his Umbreon form went towards me on the holographic plane and reached out for me. He set his paw on my fur, but it wasn’t real. I felt nothing and neither did he. I wish that he was real, rather than artificial. Maybe, I had a problem, which probably grieved me to the point of insanity—for a sound person or pokemon would think this is insanity. “I never want to leave you,” I said, trying to kiss the hologram. Osiris leaned in—we pretended to kiss. Our lips didn’t touch but we made the impression of kissing by moving in synchronized motion and using our tongues.

“I love you, Osiris, I do,” I said…without thinking.

***

I sat in the rain, letting the beads of water roll down my ebony fur. I didn’t care that I had stolen a laptop from Rachel’s room. I did it for Osiris, for he was constantly cooped up in Rachel’s room. I learned quickly how to operate this thing by watching Rachel use it. One thing is for sure, Ninetails are intelligent creatures and fast learners. I brought it in the rain, protecting the hardware from the water itself by using four of my nine tails to cover it. I took the CD out from the larger, stationary computer and put it in the laptop. Osiris was there again, and projected himself as his usual Umbreon form.

“This is rain,” I said, “It feels wet. I’m pretty sure you can feel it.”

“It is d-d-d-d-diss-s-s-s-s-disrupting…zzzzz….my image,” her stuttered. His voice sounded weak and full of static.

I quickly pushed the laptop on the porch, protecting him from the rain.

“Sometimes, I wish I could turn digital, so I could be with you. If you can’t be real, maybe I can be something else.”

“I have never thought of that,” Osiris said, settling next to me within the range of his holographic field.

“Is it possible?”

“I don’t know,” Osiris said, “I will have to research it one day. It is probably not though.”

I sighed, disheartened.

I placed my paw on Osiris’, just lifting over his slightly so it would almost look like we were holding paws when we weren’t. Though we should be studying battle tactics, this is what one gets when they design a program that is interactive.

I saw Rachel walking in the distance, having an umbrella over her head. She looked surprised when saw the glare of light from Osiris’ image. When she got closer, her surprised look dismayed.

“Sovereign,” she gasped. I quickly removed my paw away from Osiris’ image.

“What the hell are you doing?” She gasped again. “My laptop could be damaged. How did you learn to use this? Program Osiris, explain this.”

“She learned to use the laptop from the observation method.”

“And how do you know this,” Rachel growled. It was actually a test for Osiris, if he was faithful to his programming. I had to defend him some how.

“She told me,” Osiris said, he sounded unsure. Rachel stared at me.

“How can a pokemon tell you? They can’t talk!”

“I have a pre-programmed translator.”

“Can those translations turn into human words so I can hear them?” Rachel said, closing the umbrella now she was on the porch. I became nervous.

“Yes,” Osiris said, with no emotion at all.

“They are saved on your software?”

“Yes,” Osiris said, his image became pale and his voice weak.

“Then play back everything Sovereign says and translate them so I can understand them,” Rachel said, folding her arms.

Osiris in Umbreon form glanced at me unsure. My black fur was beginning to turn a sickly gray from anxiety.

“Do it!” Rachel snapped. I hung my head. Osiris had to obey the installer’s command. It wasn’t his fault.

Osiris played back everything. He played back when I called Rachel a fucking tart, when I tried to convince Osiris to let go of his original programming by saying “pretend,” to feel. He played back when I called the Persian an asshole. He played back when I called Starlet a “senseless git…” he played everything I said.

Rachel was turning pale and her eyes turned dark. I saw her fists clench. But he played back the last thing…I said…

“I love you Osiris, I do.”

My eyes closed when that played. Rachel’s opened in surprise and she turned to stare at me. I could see her eyes becoming hazy and waterlogged. She bit down on her lip and turned off the laptop. Osiris holographic image disappeared and the flickering screen shut down. She brought inside.

***

I help to feel scared when I heard Rachel’s exasperated voice over the phone with her father. She almost sounded like she was crying.

“Sovereign hates me!” Rachel shouted over the phone, liking if she was panicking. I didn’t hear what her father said.

“That Ninetails is such an ungrateful snipe! Starlet was right, she does have a problem. You know that new Interactive Battle Pokemon program that lets the trainer and pokemon interact with it. Sovereign fell in love with it… No dad, she literally fell in love with the program. You see, the program has a translator that can play back what a pokemon says in English. She said all these mean things about everybody, but the program—which was named Osiris; she said that she loved him. Fell in love, dad, like romantic love! What should a do…?”

There was a pause, for I didn’t hear what that her father said. But what Rachel said afterwards, confirmed my suspicions.

“I should destroy the program?! Dad, I spent too much money on it and Sovereign as been getting better at battling! Yes, I know it’s unhealthily for a pokemon to be romantically attracted to an artificial program, but still!”

There was another pause.

“Alright dad thanks, I love you too, I’ll call you next week, bye.”

She hung up and sighed and sat down. I heard her soft crying. I felt so guilty. She thinks I hate her. I don’t hate her. I never said I hated her, I just…I just…said mean things about her. I looked at Osiris, which the disk was placed back into the main computer. He was on.

“I’m s-s-s-sorry,” I said, beginning to cry.

Osiris didn’t answer. I’m guessing he was either ignoring me or sleeping, either way, it was my entire fault.

I leaned on the monitor and sobbed over it. Rachel would follow her dad’s advice sooner or later, if not now, later. And I’ll never see Osiris again—the only thing I ever truly loved. I loved Rachel too, but it wasn’t the same kind of love that Osiris and I had…or I think we had.

“It is okay,” Osiris finally said.

“Why did it take so long for you to answer?” I asked, bleary-eyed.

“I’m slowing down,” Osiris said softly, “The more you use me, the slower I get. I don’t last as long as you, Sovereign, I don’t last forever. Sooner or later, my CD will be scratched to point it doesn’t work.”

“NO!” I screamed.

“I will last long, for years, maybe even decades, but you will outlast me, unless…”

“Unless what…”
“Rachel doesn’t snap my CD in half first.”

I gasped, and then sighed.
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Fairy: OMG! OMG! Find out why I’m saying OMG so much in the next chapter…Ja!