-- hellion's memoirs (dnp)

[XX-Emma Uchiha-XX]

His age had returned to being somewhat older again in the next memory, though the frustrated appearance didn't fade.

Well well well, look who it is. The trio of douchebags who picked on me through most of my high school years - who's moved up in the world now? They're plain a** businessmen who make shitty wages and I'm a gambler and a dealer (of course I didn't tell them that, since now it was their turn to be the 'goody two shoes') who's richer than rich and could buy them and their mothers if I wanted to.

They tried to make nice, which was strange - and of course, it was bull s**t. I didn't buy it for a single second. Those assholes thought they could just pretend like nothing had happened - well now it was my turn. I'd taken their s**t for years, been hit and punched and kicked, and even had my arm broken once. They'd blamed me for the teacher catching them cheating by making me do their homework, they'd picked on that girl with the scar and then beat me down when I tried to step in to help her... They made everyone they deemed less 'perfect' than they were live a life of Hell, and they got away with it because their parents were powerful.

Well, bitches. Papa's come home for dinner, and he's pretty damn pissed.

"Yeah, I remember you. You assholes were always walking around like you were a gang or some s**t." My eyes narrowed, and I glared at them. They'd chosen a bad time to approach me; things hadn't been going well at 'work', and I was pretty riled from that. Their ugly mugs were the last things I'd wanted to see. "Well guess who can pretend he's in a gang, too, 'n***a'?" I taunted, taking on a rather stereotypical accent. I thought I actually saw red for a moment as I charged towards the first of them, my first meeting his face in a strong punch. All of them were in ugly a** designer suits that made their douchebag faces look like cardboard cutouts taped on to an advertisement display, or like those animal pictures with the cutouts for your head that often showed up at amusement parks and such.

One of them tried to hit me, but I'd improved since I was a little helpless teen who took their girly punches without a word or a sound. Dodging it, I got his chin with my elbow, sending him staggering backwards clutching his jaw. I found I was enjoying my revenge a bit too much... I didn't feel human anymore as I beat them with all the force I had. Since my profession required being on the 'down low', wherever I was was always quiet, so there weren't any witnesses to see the fight go down. "I think I coul' get used t' dis here gang s**t." I growled in the same terrible African-American accent I'd used before.

With them stunned and confused, I walked away, leaving them to tend to their bruises and cuts on their own time. I wasn't about to waste another second on these pieces of s**t. I wouldn't forget what they'd done to me, that girl, and so many others, and I was glad I could at least gain a bit of redemption for the rest of us.

[Angels at Dawn]

Amy:
o__o!!
o uo;; e ue;; e we;; >___>;;
/looks at all the Jokers left
/goes over to drunk sexy Joker and gives him the orb
"I know you're barely coherent but please do not drop that!"
e we;;
/wonders what would happen if an orb broke despite herself
/goes over to orb pile and picks another up carefully

[XX-Emma Uchiha-XX]

This Joker looked as if the memory must've been quite recent. He appeared worried and stressed over something. It was also somewhat fuzzy and muffled, as if it wasn't remembered well. The orb itself was dinged and looked worse for the wear - perhaps he'd forgotten this?

Why was it that when I had someone in my life for the long term, I always ended up regretting that I hadn't spent the time I had with them better? Five years she'd been with me, constantly by my side, protecting me from those who had it out for me, taking care of whatever apartment we lived in... Traveling with me, talking to me, listening to my problems, all without ever complaining. I knew she wasn't happy, yet I never paid attention to her own problems and worries. I assumed since she was what she was, she didn't have such things.

Now she sat here, broken, busted, unable to move, and dying, and there was no way I could make up that lost time. It was like sitting by my mother's bedside all over again. "Wow... The first day I've ever taken off from work by choice. I kind of like just sitting around." I chuckled, and tried to lighten the mood a little. I knew she was upset with herself because she couldn't do her typical chores and things, and she'd been mortified that I'd had to cook my own breakfast - that moment was when I realized just how terrible I'd been to her. She wasn't just a machine... She cared about me. So, without regard to my stomach, which felt like it was empty, I sat beside her and barely moved for the entirety of the day. "I don't mean to make light of the situation, but damn, Cer - I could get used to this." I saw her crimson eyes move to look at me, and I felt like I was going to cry - she couldn't even turn her head to see me as I sat beside her.

Moving so I was in front of her, I took her hands and looked straight into those glassy eyes of hers. This was the effects of the virus that had been spreading from Chobit to Chobit for months now - rumor was, if your Chobit or Persicom got it, after they crashed permanently, you died right after. From what I'd seen, this wasn't just gossip or conspiracy. "Just let go. Stop struggling so hard against it... You're not prolonging anything but your own suffering." I saw her eyes flash blank for a moment; it happened when she tried to show emotion but her systems wouldn't let her. Tears still worked though, and they started flowing. I could tell at the moment she couldn't gain enough control to speak, so I moved beside her again, gently caressing her soft mint-colored hair for a good half hour while quietly giving her encouragement to... Well, become discouraged.

"But if... Crash then you... D-d-d-d-d-d... I'd learned to decipher her broken speech patterns by now. The phonemes of her language pack were infected and destroyed, and she could no longer use several of them. 'But if I crash then you...' "Want live." 'Won't live'. Of course that was what she was worried about... Damn it. I hated how selfless she was. I knew she was in pain, and suffering, and hurting emotionally... Yet all she worried about was pushing on so I could live longer. I could tell her fight was just about to end, though, and I remembered what my mother had told me. "I know... It's okay, though, Cerise. I'm ready..." And the light behind her eyes faded. "Goodbye... I love you, Cer."

[Angels at Dawn]

Amy:
...................
...................
...................
e we;;
'If he feels this way...then...'
e ue;; /remembers back to when he reprogrammed Flicker
'Hm....'
'After that incident, I had the impression he wasn't as good of an owner as my owner was.'
e we;; /vaguely remembers being dumped in the garbage
'...But maybe I was wrong.'
......
=/ 'Hm...someone better than my owner?'
......
'Maybe he was right...and I am glitched.' ...
..../walks over to the two remaining Jokers and hands the orb to lazy
^___^ "Thanks, once again, for recharging me."
/turns over to everyone
"Last one, everyone! Here we go~!"
/smiles and picks it up

[XX-Emma Uchiha-XX]

The last orb held a vision of a dark night and threateningly overcast clouds. No moon gave light to the dim streets, lit by street lamps that clearly hadn't been tended to in a very long time judging by their consistent flickering.

Well, this wasn't so unusual. I was now officially surrounded by idiots who were about to kill me. They'd made me turn off Cer to keep the deal from being recorded and their identity possibly breached, and now I was on my own. And they were hitting me.

Since I was little I'd dealt with this sort of thing, and it seemed like my entire life had been being used as a punching bag. I bet even beyond the grave I'd be Satan's own personal whipping boy - or maybe one of his demons or something. Yeah, I didn't believe in God anymore, but I figured there had to be a Satan. How else could you explain possession and hauntings and s**t? Plus, it seemed just like this world to put an ultimate malevolent force and no benevolent one to counteract it.

But for once, I was tired of just taking the abuse. I didn't let their hits knock me down, no matter how much effort was put in. I'd taken care of those asses who'd picked on me when I was a kid, right? Why not take down these thugs, too? So, I started dodging, dipping, ducking, diving, and dodging in order to avoid their blows, and I threw my own punches whenever I got the chance. Eventually, I'd won, and I returned to my boss with both the money from the deal and the goods that were supposed to be sold, thinking he'd be proud of me for not only getting the cash and keeping the product, but putting a few lowlives in their place. But he just punched me, too. Ah well - all's well that ends well, right? What's a little punch for a manly guy like me?

[Angels at Dawn]

Amy:
D=
^___^ /roots for Joker in the memory
/happy when he finally beats them up
^_____^!
/skips over to Badass!Joker
"This one might be yours...."
e we;;
/stands back
"Now what..."

[XX-Emma Uchiha-XX]

For a moment, all of the Jokers stared around the table, looking at one another with confused expressions. No one understood why she'd been handing out strange balls, or why she was suddenly aware of the only memory they currently possessed.

But then, each of the orbs began glowing, in the order that she'd met them. Once the tenth had lit up, they all flashed very brightly, and the memories contained within flashed through everyone's minds, revealing the truth behind the crowd of Jokers' personalities, and giving insight to the complete Joker's past. It was too bright to see anything, and before long, in front of them, was the body of Joker, sitting on the ground and looking quite groggy, ten pieces once again forming one whole person.