Virus -~- Book 3 of Pixel

-~- t w o

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Virus! :D

I do have a (somewhat) important question to ask you guys this chapter (actually, I have two), so be sure to read the QOTC this time around :)

Anyways, the Cube Fic Awards voting is still up and running! I have no idea when it ends, so if you loved Nano and its characters, be sure to vote for them (and me!) while it's still open :D

This is not my favorite chapter I've written, but I hope the POV will satisfy you all <3

Remember to follow code_cherry on Twitter, and to vote and comment for more. Enjoy chapter two!

S E A N [ G R A P E ] 

The real world was a startling relief, especially after all I'd been through recently. It was strange at first, almost foreign, but the sense of calming familiarity never left me. The first day I'd returned after sending the others home, I'd simply allowed myself a moment on the floor, listening to the sound of my own breathing and taking in the fact that I was finally home. 

 The reunions had certainly been something. I could still feel the tight hugs of my family, the cries of relief, and the overwhelming affection I'd received in those few moments. Though I should've been delighted, guilt over the secrets I was hiding and the distress I'd put them through unintentionally hung over my head.

 As for the Cube group, we were closer than we'd ever been before. Something about the experiences we'd shared, the dangers we'd faced side by side, changed our relationship completely. Not to mention the somewhat-daunting task of hiding our past from the outside world. 

More images flashed through my head, and I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes in order to view each one carefully. Images of Nano sneering at me, blurred pictures of a laboratory, and meetings in pitch-blackness swam before my eyes, but at this point it only took a thought to will them away. I relaxed visibly, opening my eyes just in time to see the faint purple glow fade from my veins. 

In the light of Nano's most recent scheme, I'd gotten over my new half-supernatural status rather quickly. It had become normal for Alpha's old memories to surface every now and then, and people like Jordan and Will had caught me speaking like the antivirus on occasion out of habit, not to mention the new powers that I'd had mere weeks to learn to control. It was a sort of odd feeling—almost as if I was two people at once—but it had taken a surprisingly short amount of time to get used to it all. I suppose I hadn't had much choice, anyhow. 

I thought back to Will's dream, the one we'd discussed earlier this morning. His description sounded suspiciously like one of the fuzzy memories that I was constantly receiving from Alpha, which made me rightly nervous. However much I'd accepted who I'd become, anything involving Alpha and Nano and their past was dangerous business that I'd rather not become involved in. For once, I wanted to live in the present instead of the past. 

 There's no use in pretending that it all never happened, I scolded myself. But then again, we're in far enough over our heads, regardless. 

 "Grape?" The voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I shook my head rapidly before responding. 

"Yeah, sorry, what's up?" 

"You zoned out for like five minutes, dude." Joe's voice was concerned. 

"I was just... thinking about something," I responded vaguely, not really wanting to talk about it. Despite having told the remainder of the Cube members the story and swearing them to secrecy, I still believed that you couldn't truly understand it all unless you'd been there, been through it all in person. Though I felt like I was keeping things from my other friends, they'd learned not to question it. 

"That's okay," Poke reassured me. "You ready to film this clip? Joe's getting on my nerves with his constant pacing." 

"Hey!" 

 I chuckled lightly, shaking thoughts of Pixel, Alpha, and Nano from my mind. Just have some fun for once, Sean. "Yeah, let's do it."

 After all, sitting here and thinking about it is getting me nowhere. I need more clues. 

I don't particularly enjoy this chapter or the ending, but I hope Grape's POV at long last makes up for the lack of quality and length. I wasn't having that great of a day when I wrote this ^^" I also simply had to include Tofuu, whose videos/streams I've been watching a lot lately. The fact that I needed to briefly address the Cube members who haven't been into Pixel at all gave me the perfect excuse to grant him a cameo (though Joe's personality is surprisingly difficult to write). Yay!

QUESTION(S) OF THE CHAPTER:

First of all, have you guys ever had any questions about my stories, me as a person, etc? I'm thinking about doing a Skype Q&A in the next week or so to allow you guys to hear my voice, talk to me about my work, and the like :) If I scheduled a time and you could make it, would you come? I would have you message your Skype to me and I would add you to a group call or something. Or maybe I could figure out how to work Twitch, though that may be a stretch... I could either do it alone before next Wednesday's update, or Emily (my best friend and beta reader)'s coming over for the Fourth of July Friday night, and I could maybe do it with her (though that may cause Time Zone problems if I do it later in the day...), idk. What do you guys think?

ALSO, the lack of cohesion between the cover art of the Pixel series is starting to bother me. Nano and Virus match up well, but Pixel just doesn't seem to fit. Would you guys be okay with me redoing Pixel's cover art to match the purple/red/black theme that I've decided on? I didn't have the color scheme when I first started, but now I want them all to match...

**EDIT: Pixel's new cover art has been designed and uploaded. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to redesign it! I'm so happy, the series matches now <3 :D**

Vote and comment for more! Until next time! :D

~ Cherry