Well, here's chapter one of my first Chobits fanfiction. For those of you subscribed to me through my other fanfiction, Final Challenge, I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this one too. I haven't given up on it, don't worry, but I will be writing these two simultaneously. If you have found this story through your love of Chobits, I hope that this story will be an interesting read for you. I've written it as a sequel to the manga/anime series, as a possible story that occurs when Hideki is in college.
I will be using the manga's spelling for Chi in this story. To avoid confusion, whenever Chi says her own name, it will be in italics so that you don't mistake it as another character saying her name. Chobits is a CLAMP creation, and I in no way claim ownership over any aspect of the franchise.
She awoke.
She had had the dream again; the dream that simultaneously made her feel scared and happy. In it she stood alone in an orange stadium, the walls closing in. There were large, grey, sharp spikes on the walls. That was what terrified her. But then she turned and she saw him. The one who had taught her; the one who had rescued her; the one who she loved.
The Person Just For Me.
She had learned many things about people and persocoms. How they were different, how they were similar, what they could and could not do. People could act on their own initiative; persocoms could not. Persocoms could do any task imaginable; people could not. People could dream, but persocoms could not. That is what she had learned.
Why, then, did she keep having this dream? Long ago she had been confused about the concept of a dream. The best she could understand was that they were scary, but could not hurt anyone. She accepted that. Then, one night, she had a dream too. She didn't tell him about it. She was afraid of what he might think, of how he would react. So she kept the dream a secret.
She had had this most recent dream several times now. She didn't know what it meant, but she did know one thing. He would be there with her.
He stood strong against the torturous electric current they were forcing through his circuits. Inwardly he cursed the day when he asked to be programmed so that he could feel pain. He cursed the day when he had become obsessed with people. He cursed the day he, a machine, had tried to become as human as it was possible. But the knowledge that he could wipe this pain from his memory kept him strong.
"You failed, Zima," a voice hissed sibilantly.
Zima looked around the dark room. There were cables and wires everywhere. Test versions of persocoms were stored in gelatin tanks, their model numbers etched into their sides. Aside from the three scientists who were attempting to torture him now, he could see nobody.
"I did what I felt was right," Zima responded to the shadows. "I wanted her to find The Person Just For Me."
"So, we failed when we created you," the voice mused. "I suppose it makes sense in a way. You did come from the same line, after all. You did what you felt was right; of course, acting against your programming. By taking the precaution of ensuring that she could not freeze you, we must have also installed some of her programming. What an oversight."
Two men stepped forward from the darkness. One was tall and dressed in a lab coat. His steely-grey hair betrayed his age, but his eyes reflected his true strength. The other was even taller, and dressed completely in black. His pale skin clashed with his jet-black hair; the only noticeable difference him and Zima was a red mark, shaped like a knife, on his cheek. Zima's eyes widened.
"I would like you to meet our newest persocom, Vali," the scientist said. "He is model number DTS 2.096; an upgrade from the old DTS 1.087. Oh, but I forgot, that's your model number, isn't it, Zima?"
"Swine," Zima growled. "You aim to replace me, and erase what you have labeled to be my failures!"
"Correct," the scientist said, idly examining a fingernail. "As you know, the DTS series is this nation's data bank. Your programming is remarkably intricate and complex for you to be able to withstand a Chobit's attacks, contain the government's data, and stay secure against any attempted hacking."
His smile flickered and faded as he looked into Zima's eyes. "Vali contains all of these programming, and more. He does not think for himself; he does what we program him to do. It is an improvement on your design. As soon as we have backed up all of his data, he shall set out to destroy her; only then can her damage be undone. When he has gone, you shall be decommissioned.
"Goodbye, Zima. I can't say that it was a pleasure knowing you, but I shall feel distinctly relieved once you are gone." He turned and walked back into the shadows, Vali at his side and the scientists close behind.
Zima roared his fury after them and threw himself against his restraints in desperation. The heavy metal doors at the far end of the room clanged shut, and he knew that he was alone.
I hope that you enjoyed this first chapter. I know that it was exceedingly short, but it's all I could write in one spare. I'll update again as soon as I can. Please review (they really help improve my story)!