Perfection Unfolds In A Virtual Reality

CHAPTER THREE - The Birth of a Facade

"It's done. He's complete."

Damian steps back to look at his creation. His very first creation. Fortunately, all went well and it was successful. A woman approaches him with a shocked and amused expression. 
"You actually did it, bravo. I have to congratulate you. Not many men keep their word." She said, visibly impressed. 

"Are you trying to reference me there?" He smirked, but his attention quickly drifted to his creation. "I'll have to name him something other than EVE. Any ideas?" He said, his gaze still on the humanoid creature. 

"You've asked the right person. Damon would go well, right? Since your name's Damian; it would only be right if he had a name closely related to that." She said, sparking with excitement.

"That'll do. I'll give him his old memory back, but with a few modifications. I can't have him running off on us now, can I? To be honest, I've always wanted a son..." He stopped, thinking for a bit.

"You intend to make him remember you... as a father, don't you," She laughed and added, "Not the worst idea ever. You did make him so it would technically make sense. Quite a fitting role." 

"You know what, I'm going to do that. I'll programme him to believe that I'm his father, and that he got trapped in some sort of simulation and met Xavier through that, or something like that. He will not know about the V.R. game by any means." He pondered considering it for a while before beginning to write the code. He also added some advanced human knowledge. Soon after finishing it, he played with the memory files and inserted the code to them. He implanted the chip in the humanoid and waited for it to boot. It was engineered to be serene so as not to cause too much chaos.

♡

"Hello, Damon. How're you feeling?" He said, anticipating for the reply that was about to come.

"Father... where am I? Where's Xavier?" Formerly known as EVE, now Damon, said. He rubbed his eyes and tried to absorb his surroundings. In front of him stood his 'father,' looking at him with fascination.

"You're doing alright! That's wonderful. You remember what happened to you, don't you?" Damian asked, making sure that the coding was permanent was working. He also felt a tinge of ecstasy knowing he had a 'son.'

"Indeed, I do. I would never discard that memory, no matter what. It was quite a sensory overload. I'm eternally grateful you got me out of that father, but... I do desire to have the chance to see Xavier once more." His expression faded, recalling the false words that Damian programmed Xavier to say. He had been made to sound a bit more like an 18 year old, so his word choice sounds more informal.

"I'm just glad you're alright. And of course you can see Xavier again. But first, join me for dinner. It's been long since I've last shared dinner with you on the dining table," He lied, playing his part quite well. It was like he was talking to a human child. His human child. Damon walked alongside the person he called father to the dining room. They used the elevator to reach downstairs, unnecessary but to Damian it was just another ornament to make his house 'easier.' (He's just lazy.) A woman was waiting for them at the table. 

"Dinner without your mother?" The woman spoke. She was the same woman that was Damian. A family couldn't be complete without a mother, so she was made the mother as she had proved helpful in the making of the humanoid. She had accepted the role instantly. Damian and the woman aren't in a relationship of sort, but they are acquaintances that share the same goals, dreams and aspirations. They have known each other since they were children, so they aren't necessarily against each other.

 "Ah, Marie, there you are. I thought you were at the party your colleague was throwing,' He said, in a relief sort of tone. He was impressed with his own acting. 

"But I'd never forget to join dinner with my loving family, obviously." Her acting was little over the top. Her name is Margaret, her alias being Maria. She was quite the eccentric woman. 

"Mother! I'm so glad you're here ! I have so much to tell you and father!" Damon had a big smile plastered across his face, with the 'love' of family overcoming him. Even if it all was just a forced facade. 

The three talked over dinner like a real family. Marie and Damian never received any sort of love or affection from their parents or family in entirety, so they felt some sort of happiness overcome them. They felt like a piece of them was restored. 

♡

He cannot tamper with Xavier's memories again until he plays the game. Which he most likely will not do. Damian felt a tinge of guilt. There is always the possibility that Xavier will play the game again just to see what happens, so Damian kept an eye on him to make sure. On the contrary, everything appears to run smoothly. Damon acted like a real human, with human feelings and ideas. Damian simply feels proud when he sees his humanoid creation. That was all he ever wanted. He can't make Damon public just yet, but he will eventually.. In order to gauge how effectively Damon would connect with people outside of his immediate family, he considered enrolling him in school as an experiment, since he had made such great progress in such little time.

On Xavier's end of the tale, he has have trouble falling asleep. He has been absorbed in his thoughts and has stopped talking to most people. He feels as like he is forgetting a vital detail, but he is unsure why. Something important. Someone important. He felt hollow, unfulfilled and incomplete. He's missing something, and it all happened ever since he played that V.R. game. It just doesn't sit right with him. Playing it just once more was the only solution and the only answer available. He made the decision: he'd do it. He would only only through this way. He was hesitant to play the game even though he had it at home. After some hesitation, he begun the game. For some reason, the name EVE just sounded so familiar. In any case, he slipped on the headset.

Damian received the notification right away. Everything was unfolding precisely as he had planned. It could not gotten better than this. Without delay, he tampered with the headset and put Xavier in a different mask, recalling all that had transpired but in Damian's narrative style. Xavier was, after all, only a minor player in his scheme. Damon would be able to socialise using this approach and enrol in whichever high school Xavier was attending. That's how simple it would be. 

Xavier awakened in a confused state. He just recalled everything. How could he have forgotten all of that? How could he have forgotten about Damon? How could he forget the only person he had ever loved? But where should he begin with his search for him? He needed some time to think things through. He rode his bike to his local park. It was his favoured place to think about stuff. Usually, it's about his apathetic and verbally abusive parents or school, but today it was about the love of his life. Just as he sat down, he heard someone talk next to him. "Do you remember me?" That voice. That monotone voice. With the broadest smile on his face, his eyes sparkled. The response was, "Of course I do, idiot." With tears welling up in their eyes, they exchanged glances. "I told you I'd never forget you." In between sobs, Xavier said. They gave each other an embrace as though it was their final chance to be together. It was as though Xavier's missing piece of his heart had finally been filled, and he felt whole again.That sensation returned to Damon's heart, but this time he was aware of what it was. He was aware that he was holding his beloved.

♡

"Maria, everything went well." He exhaled a breath of relief. "The good news is that we can now enrol him in school."

"But isn't that too risky?"

"As you are well aware, he has demonstrated all of his attributes to be in the outside world. He is entirely within our power. Maria, you shouldn't be concerned about anything.

"...Alright, as you say so."

♡♡