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From late hours into the night to early mornings, [Server] sat swinging their legs and watching Thorn do… whatever she was doing. Admittedly, though they were all powerful and omnipotent, they did not know absolutely anything about the machinery that went into this project.
Every so often the villain would turn her focus to them and ask innocently, “Is this okay?” and what was [Server] to say? Something like, “I can’t understand a single word on this document and I am weak and terrible and trapped and stupid actually.”
Of fucking course not! They were smart and all knowing!
It’d been weeks now, or maybe days or years, time shifted a bit and [Server] never slept. They’d spent their time jumping between energies, hanging on the powerlines, hiding in the hum of the lights to watch some weird exchanges at a flower shop, before coming back here.
[Server] wasn’t going to rush the process of course, but they were getting bored.
They stared out the window they could see in the peripheral of the screen. It’s raining today.
The boredom was quenched when Thorn walked back into the room.
“H-..Y,” their voice pierced through the speakers in a distorted warble, it’d been a bit since they’d talked, “Hey!”
Thorn flinched back for a moment before calming down. "Jesus!" She sighed, moving the umbrella she held into her other hand. "Well, hello there [Server]. Been a while, hasn't it?" Thorn questioned, placing her wrench back into the toolbox she was carrying around.
Thorn hadn't expected this to take so long, but then again, she had needed to double check everything was correct and that [Server] found it up to standards. "Whatcha need?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side as she stared at [Server].
“Well,” [Server] trailed off, “Y’know, I’m just saying hi! Welcome back! What have you been up to as in, like, how has progress been?” [Server] chuckled awkwardly, the edges of the screen fraying into static with the sound.
"Ah, progress. Well, it's actually going pretty well. I basically have everything done. All I need is for you to test it out. It's waterproof of course, fire resistant, and won't rust! And won't need updates but I can't update it if I need to. Even if it did update I'd just do it automatically." Thorn explained.
“Yay!” On the screen [Server] twirled around, only stopping to bounce on their heels for a few moments, “I can test it? It’s ready?”
Thorn smiled softly, "Yeah. It's ready to test. Let me know if something feels wrong or if you have any questions! I also made it where you should be able to feel the outside world. It won't be fully accurate but it'll be somewhat the same. It'll treat you like a person too! Like the rain will land on you and the ground will shift under your feet." Thorn replied.
Yellow stars appeared around [Server]’s face, their eye turning into an upside down v, “Oh awesome! Awesome awesome awesome.” They paced around their pop-up box that displayed a desolate wasteland in the background, “Can we go now? Is that power trail all finished?”
"Yeah! You can go now. Just be careful about the one going into the mountains, I need to double check that one for safety reasons but besides that we can go!" Thorn smiled under her mask. Something about [Server] just made Thorn… Happy? She wasn't sure how to explain it but she had to admit, [Server] was pretty adorable at times.
“Ok ok!” [Server] thought for a moment. It was raining, rain could be nice! An open place then. “How about the one in the field?”
"Yeah! That'll work. It'll take a little to get over there but sure! And it'll give you some time to get used to things. It'll take about 5 minutes for me to get over there if I run." Thorn nodded, giving the [Server] the go ahead to head out. "See you there!"
[Server] practically beamed with excitement, white flashing took over the corners of the screen that left yellow afterimages in their wake. Time to get the hell out of here! [Server] disappeared from the screen so fast the graphics card stuttered, turning the screen completely black for a few seconds.
Within the electricity [Server] searched for the frequency they’d specifically told Thorn to try to tune to. Tracking a single strand was difficult but possible, where powerlines hummed around 50Hz [Server] could avoid that in place for 40Hz. All technical things they could barely care about, it was second nature.
They successfully connected to the source and took to intertwining themself down the path. Unfortunately it was a ground wire and the blank expanse of dirt could only mimic the stars with its sediment. But, the journey is worth it.
Light poked through the top soil before the gray, rain heavy clouds showed themselves and the tall grass framed the sky.
[Server] circled their energy around the node Thorn had designed. Speaking of, there should be a few minutes before she got here. [Server] peered out at their surroundings and listened to the croaks of frogs in the distance and the pattering of rain.
They must’ve gotten lost in thought, it felt like only a few moments of calm before Thorn’s steps shook the ground wire and her heaving breaths got louder at her approach.
Thorn panted as she ran over to the area [Server] would be at, soon she stopped, glancing around before spotting [Server]. "Well, hello there. How was the journey?" Thorn asked, straightening herself up and brushing some dirt she had gotten on her clothes. Thorn's clothes also seemed to have some water on them, her umbrella probably had been held incorrectly at some point and she had gotten wet.
"Did you have any complaints about the journey? This is more so a test so if anything needs to be fixed it will be."
[Server]’s voice emanated from the node, “Nope! I’m all good.”
They couldn’t say they weren’t suspicious of this whole thing. They’d blackmailed their way into this by threatening to expose every single online portion of Thorn’s information! It’s something they’ve tried a million billion times before, to get some mechanics expert to get them where they wanted. It has also backfired just as many times.
It’s a delicate balance and it requires some caution. By simply cutting off the external power source just before they could get a paw out the electric door they’d be trapped. If the power supply there runs out then- Poof! Gone.
Of course, because [Server] is the most powerful and strongest and bestest program in the whole wide world they’ve always widely (narrowly) escaped that situation with grace (panic) and sublimity (luck).
They swirled around in the node for a few more seconds, testing how fast they could run out of the line. [Server] really wished there were two power imports, but asking for that would have been too much.
[Server] connected to the projector light.
The first thing they felt was like static. It trailed across their screen and skin in pin pricks but it didn’t hurt like typical computer static typically does. It also felt a lot colder. A breeze slipped through the grass and made the ground under their paws shift, or at least that’s what it seemed to do. There were a million new sensations that left [Server] a little overwhelmed.
[Server] looked down at themselves, physical and real! This was insane, this was actually crazy. They jumped, spinning around a few times and watched how their movement affected the grass around them.
They looked towards Thorn, motioning at themselves vaguely but very clearly speechless and overwhelmed.
Thorn couldn't help but chuckle. "Amazing, isn't it? Technology really is something…" Thorn laughed softly, sitting down on the ground with her legs crossed. "If you need me too I can turn down the… feelings setting. I wasn't sure what to name it since it was 3 in the morning when I was naming things but either way if you need to turn it down then you can or I can."
I wonder what it's like to experience coming out of a projector… It's probably overwhelming with the added sensations I added to make it better for him. Thorn thought, watching [Server] have the time of his life. Or, it looked like it anyway. "Right now the setting is at 80 but I could turn it down to 10 if needed." Thorn added.
Thorn had no intention of leaving [Server] like this. Leaving him to rot in one place for the rest of eternity. But, even if she did, she figured he'd be able to escape. Actually, no, he wouldn't. But, she couldn't bring herself to do that to him. Sure she wanted to get her revenge for being blackmailed but whenever he was free he could easily send it out to the internet and her job would be over. She couldn't have any peaceful moments, she couldn't have a week off and relax in a hot tub without having to worry about suddenly being snuck up on.
[Server] took a few deep breaths to ground themself. The excitement under their paw pads began to settle and the wind didn’t feel as abrasive. They smudged a paw into the dirt, staring at the print before making a circle of them. It was very weird to be able to make an impact physically .
“Wow,” they breathed out, “Okay! Yeah, this is perfect! I’m like- I’m out here!”
[Server] walked to the edge of the light, watching their paws fade in and out in between the long blades of grass. The overcast day seemed so tangible out here rather than having to stick to the electrical mainframe.
They had no mouth to smile with but they hoped their movements conveyed it well enough, “Thank you!” They spun around Thorn’s legs, hopping every other step, “Thank you thank you thank you thank you.”
Thorn couldn't help but grin, ah, another satisfied customer! Okay well, she didn't know if it was really a customer since it blackmailed her. But, she'd let it slide. Just this once. Mostly because she hadn't been able to make something this fun in a while. "Yeah, of course! I haven't made something this cool in what feels like forever! I normally don't give people this opportunity so consider yourself special." Thorn said, watching [Server] jump and spin around.
Wow. Okay. He had a ton of energy. More than she suspected, most of it probably came from how happy he was. If Thorn were it she'd probably be happy to be in the real world as well. Granted it wasn't super real world but hey, she wouldn't bring it up.
“Yay! A lot of people call me special.” [Server] laughed slightly, stopping their spinning abruptly, “I guess I won’t have to expose you all across the internet and get you arrested and killed forever!”
[Server] spun down into a sitting position, pushing their paws into the ground. There's still a lot to take in! [Server] instinctually tried reaching into the web to figure out what species of grass was around them and paused when it came up empty. Right. They wanted it so they specifically couldn’t do that. Learning!
Thorn laughed nervously, sitting down on the ground as well. She took in a breath of fresh air. "Yeah… I'd prefer not to have my identity ruined. I'm not sure if you go through this or not, but, if my identity was found out I'd never be able to relax. Since I have a citizen life and a villain life. It's nice to hide, you know? Get away from the world and act like you don't kill people for a living…" Thorn trailed off, laying down on her back as she watched the clouds pass. "Act like it never happened." Thorn grumbled before realizing she was ranting. "Ah, right, happy moment. Sorry." She laughed.
“It must be nice to hide,” [Server] turned their head to look at Thorn, resting it against their knees, “Or at least have the illusion of safety as a civilian.”
Thorn nodded, "Yeah. Seems like we both have a problem, huh? You can't really hide as a civilian and… Yeah. Both got a problem." Thorn said, looking over at [Server]. "Hmm… Perhaps we could try and get you a civilian outfit. But, I'm not entirely sure how to do that. I'd have to look more into it, and if you would want that." Thorn was mostly just talking to herself now, letting her eyes shut as her head tilted back up towards the sky.
[Server] thinks for a moment, watching Thorn gaze at the blank white clouds.
“No, I don’t think I would want that actually.” [Server]’s voice turns wicked then, “I think this is too much fun.”
[Server] disappears with the flicker of the projector, the strengthening of the hum from it indicates their presence in the node. The humming stopped completely as they darted away.
This was only the first step.
Sure, Thorn was helpful and kind, but there was always more. More to see, more to do, and yeah, whatever, [Server] needed external help for now but once all the necessary parts were together it would only be a matter of time.
Thorn sat up, looking around confused. One moment [Server] was here and then the next, when she opened her eyes, he was gone. He was… Certainly something.
Thorn sighed, shaking her head lightly. "Well. I probably just brought the world something awful. Oh well! Their fault, not mine." Thorn laughed, getting up and brushing some dirt off her clothes before leaving the open field.
That could have gone worse, and yet, it didn't. She was suspecting something bad to have happened, something always seemed to happen. Mostly bad.
Thorn made her way back to the cave, speed walking towards it and making sure to stay out of sight. She had more projects to do and no time to waste.