System Failure (An Adesa Fanfic) [Originally by Littlewolf65]

Chapter 9

Adam's POV
Alesa hurriedly took a step away from Ty, her hands twisting uncertainly in front of her chest and her eyes flicking between Ty and myself. Ty's left hand dropped to his sword but it wasn't there of course. I took a quick glance around the park, hoping that no one was watching the exchange. Thankfully, everyone else's gazes were elsewhere.

"Ty, just... come here for a sec," I said quietly, gesturing for Ty to come with me a few steps away. Ty's gaze flicked to me and then hovered on Alesa, but he did as I asked. Alesa shifted from foot to foot, looking just as nervous as she did when I first saw her in the glitch mainframe.

"Adam, what are you doing?" Ty hissed as soon as we were a few metres away from Alesa. "She's a virus!"

"I know, but-"

"You knew?" Ty's eyes widened and he shook his head a little. "Don't tell me that you knew she was a virus and you brought her into the real world anyway."

"She's not like othe-"

"She's a virus! We both know that viruses want to cause chaos in the systems and that they've been wanting to get into the glitch's mainframe ever since we were created. If they get into our hard drives, they'll destroy us and we'll have no way of tracking them!"

"Alesa hasn't said anything about getting into the glitch mainframe," I defended. "She doesn't want to destroy systems or hunt down glitches."

"That's all viruses ever want to do," Ty said. "Adam, she's manipulating you. She's using you to figure out how to get into the mainframe."

"She has emotions, she can feel things like a human. Ty, she has a heart. A good one."

Ty shook his head. "You can get kicked out of the glitches for this, Adam. I don't want that, but this virus has got to go."

"She's not a virus!" I hissed. "She's saved my life Ty, and killed a worm in the process. She doesn't want to hurt anyone and more importantly, she has feelings. She's not a danger."

"You don't know that," Ty said, trying to be reasonable. "She could be lying to you and pretending that she has feelings."

"She's not pretending Ty, I know it."

"Stop being stubborn! Just admit that she could be a danger, not just to you but to everyone, the entire city!"

"Alesa's not a danger!"

"She's a virus!"

"She's human!"

Ty threw his hands in the air. "I can't believe you." He stormed off.

"Ty, come on!" I called after him. He didn't glance back and I gave a huff, looking away. He wouldn't even consider the fact that Alesa could possibly have emotions, instead being fixated on the fact that she was evil and wanted to destroy everything we glitches worked to protect.

I glanced to where Alesa was standing only to find the space empty. I looked around but couldn't see her. Where did she disappear to?

Ty's POV
I marched away from Adam, inwardly fuming. Why couldn't Adam understand? Sure, Alesa was a nice enough person but she was still a virus, and viruses were manipulative and cruel. I didn't want this virus to destroy the glitch's mainframe and I also didn't want Adam to get hurt.

"Ty! Wait!"

I turned around, already scowling at the virus jogging up to me.

"What do you want?" I asked, harsher than I meant to be.

She slowed and stopped a few steps away from me. She was obviously nervous, her hands twisting together but her eyes, while wide, were locked with mine.

"Look," Alesa said. "I know you don't trust me, and you have every reason not to. But... just give me a chance. Please."

"Why should I?" I asked, crossing my arms. "You're a virus."

"I'm not like other viruses," she said quietly. "I don't want to destroy mainframes or kill glitches. And... I don't want to be the cause of you and Adam splitting up."

She sounded genuine, but I wasn't sure. What kind of virus didn't want to destroy files? But then again, what kind of virus would Adam trust enough to bring into the real world?

"Every virus I've ever fought has wanted to cause chaos," I told her. "Why should I think that you're any different?"

Alesa flapped her hands a little. "Adam found me in the glitch mainframe," she said. "I'm... not entirely sure how I got in there, but the mainframe is still standing, you know that. And no other viruses have gotten in, so you know that I didn't tell anyone."

Her eyes were pleading. I had no proof of that but if she was telling the truth, but if she was then that was proof enough that she could be trusted. A virus who knew the way into the glitch mainframe (which was virtually impossible from what I knew) wouldn't hesitate to tell everyone they knew about it.

Some of my disbelief must have shown on my face because Alesa added "I know that it's hard to believe, but... if anything goes wrong because of me... I'll let you kill me."

I met her eyes. She was deadly serious about this and maybe a little scared too.

"If... If viruses get into the glitch mainframe or if Adam gets hurt or whatever, I'll stand still and let you kill me," she repeated. "Just... don't blame Adam for bringing me into the real world. Please."

I sighed. If I hadn't believed Adam before when he said that Alesa had emotions, I had to now. Even a blind guy would see that she was virtually human in the way she acted, except for that code-filled eye that I saw earlier. I uncrossed my arms.

"Alright," I said.

Relief welled up in her eyes and she stepped forward as if she was going to hug me before her arms tensed and she kept them by her sides.

"Okay," she said, nodding a little, her cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink. I chuckled despite myself.