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chapter five: a fallen angel...
*lain opens her eyes. she touches the ground she sits on. cold dirty concrete. she looks up to see tall buildings towering over her from all sides. smoke rises out of the tops of the buildings. it fills the air creating a haze that is difficult to see through. lain brings her sleeve to her face to stop from inhaling too much of the smog. she can see that the steel buildings are dilapidated and covered in graffiti. she sits in the center of an intersection. no cars seem to be passing by. there are no sidewalks, only streets. she looks at her clothes; blue jeans, a white tank top, and her green jacket. she tugs on her shirt to make sure that it is real. she carries her knapsack on her back. she takes it off and looks through its contents. there are her school books, notebooks, pens, pencils, and her hand-held navi. she throws the books and notebooks out onto the street to lighten her load. she places her knapsack down. she holds her navi in the light that manages to reach her through the spaces between the buildings and dense air. a cold breeze tosses old newspapers haphazardly across the street and into lain. she picks it up and reads the heading*
“SLANETTERA TIMES”
*a shadow quickly moves over her. lain looks up at the grey sky to see something zoom away. she sees another object flying above the buildings. it descends toward her. lain squints, trying to make out what the object is. the vehicle is shaped like a pod, but it has small wings on the sides and a tail that of an airplane. the windows are tinted black. lain makes a futile attempt to look for whoever is operating the machine, but it is impossible. the aircraft slows down and lands in front of lain. its engine stops. air is released from it as a door slides open on the side. she quickly throws her navi into her knapsack and slings it over her shoulder. she braces herself. a tall man emerges from the vehicle. his nose and mouth are covered by a dark cloth. he wears a grey jumpsuit and black combat boots. lain stares at the militant man. he runs his hand over his buzz cut hair*
man: “what are you doing here?”
“i- i don’t know...”
man: “you don’t know? heh. that kind of talk will get you killed ‘round here.”
*lain takes a step back. the man looks at the books sprawled across the ground and then back to lain. he moves in closer to her. lain stands rigidly. he points to the books*
man: “what’s all this about? and don’t tell me that you don’t know.”
*he glares at her. the wrinkles under his eyes and in his brow deepen. lain opens her mouth to speak, but cannot. the putrid air fills her lungs and she coughs onto the man. she quickly covers her face with her sleeve. the man looks at his shirt. lain can see his eyes fire up. he looks back at lain*
man: “you filthy little wench!”
*he brings his fist back, ready to strike her face. lain takes a deep breath*
“nooo!!!!!”
*her voice booms. it sends the man crashing backwards into his vehicle. he collapses over onto the concrete. he lays on his side, motionless. lain’s staggered breathing overlaps her rapid heartbeat. she covers her face again. she turns away from the unconscious man and runs down the long stretch of street. she looks back to see the man disappear in the dense smog. she slows down at another intersection. she stops to look down the street ahead of her, but only sees more street and smog. she sees the same at her right. she turns to her left and sees something through the smog. it resembles the carcass of a large bird. she walks over to get a closer look. as the smog clears away, lain can see the flesh of a man. its body is badly beaten and bloody. he lays naked on the ground. this man is unusual for on his back are two large beautiful wings. next to him is a double ended scythe. lain moves in closer to see his face. he is bald and there is a large cut over one of his eyes. she stands over him to block the sun out of his eyes. he looks up at her in pain. blood drips from his mouth*
“are you okay? you’re bleeding...”
*he looks at her, but doesn’t speak*
“and why are you naked?”
*he looks at himself, but lain still receives no response*
“would you like some help...”
*she couldn’t think of what to call him*
“...thing?...”
*he looks angrily at her*
oh crap... he’s mad...
“hello? can you speak?”
*he tries to respond to her, but only manages to cough up some blood. lain gasps*
holy crap!
“i’m taking you to my place...”
*he coughs up more blood*
ah!
*she looks at him, wondering what to do*
here goes nothing
*lain kneels down beside the thing and carefully places her hands underneath him. she closes her eyes, bracing herself for the weight. she stands up slowly. she opens her eyes wide and looks at the body in her arms*
oh my... god... i just picked this thing up... how the?...
*she recalls what the god of the wired had told her*
i’m unique
*the thing begins to speak. His words are screechy*
thing: “wh... r... you...”
*lain squints, trying to figure out the muttered words*
“my name is lain… hush, you are not well.”
*he tries to speak again, but screeches loudly instead*
“and anyways, i think the question is… what are you?”
*lain bends down carefully to pick up the scythe. she starts to walk down the street*
thing: “...ang...el...”
angel?
*lain frowns*
“and i’m the queen of england.”
*the angel laughs at her british accent. Unfortunately, he coughs up some blood onto her shirt*
so this is how that guy felt?...
*lain looks around and sees a blue sign hanging on a building. a large white H hangs sideways and an arrow points to the ground. the adjacent building is spray painted with the words HO SPIT AL*
eww… that’s the hospital?
*she looks at the angel. his eyes are closed*
he must be tired.
*lain walks up to the door of the hospital. she turns around and pushes the door open with her back. inside, there is nothing, but an elevator. she walks over to it and presses the down button. A bell dings and the elevator door opens. The smell of formaldehyde bellows out*
oh geez... this place gets smellier and smellier...
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chapter six: ancient medicine...
*lain steps into the elevator. she stares at all the round buttons that fill the elevator. a bell dings behind her. she turns around to sees the doors closing. above the door is an LCD screen that reads 000. the first floor button is located to the bottom right hand corner of the front of the elevator. her eyes follow the buttons 7 feet up the wall. she follows the buttons around the space and squints to see the last button. she reads the last top button aloud*
“two… hundred and… nineteen?!”
*her eyes widen*
“oh well… I can’t reach that button anyway…”
*lain places the scythe against the side of the wall. she turns sideways, with the angel still in her arms. she extends her arm and fingers to reach a button at the side of the door. she presses one of the buttons. the 73rd floor button lights up a dim yellow. the sound of slow moving cranks echo above and below her. the cranks accelerate and the elevator bolts up with tremendous speed. lain falls onto her butt. the scythe falls over and cuts lain in the leg. she grabs onto her leg and moves the scythe over with her other leg. the angel’s head jerks back slightly. she holds onto him with care. the elevator trembles as it ascends. lain watches the screen above the door. it flashes random numbers. the elevator stops abruptly. lain’s body rises above the floor a bit and falls back to the ground. the screen above the door now reads 073. a bell chimes and the elevator doors open. light enters the elevator. lain squints to see an empty hallway. the walls are a pale blue with darks stains dripping from the ceiling. many of the tiles in the ceiling have fallen out to reveal pipes and wiring. one of the pipes drips a liquid that creates a puddle on the floor that mixes with bits of plaster. The light fixtures remain intact and shine brightly. a man in a doctor’s uniform walks in front of the door. he wears thick black rimmed glasses and a stethoscope adorns his neck. he has an overbite and the skin around his mouth is an awkward green color. lain stands up slowly. the doctor beckons for her to step out of the elevator. she picks up the scythe and limps out. the doctor takes a quick look at the angel’s bloody face. he speaks with an unusually high voice*
doctor: “would you like to get this preserved or cremated?”
“what?! neither. i want you to help him. heal him!”
*the doctor looks at lain as if she has a second head*
doctor: “are you sure about that?”
“of course i’m sure. why do you even have to ask that? what kind of hospital is this?!”
doctor: “your typical hospital. are you feeling alright?”
“yes, i’m doing just fine. help my friend.”
doctor: “okay, right this way.”
*the doctor leads lain down the hallway. they pass by several rooms. some of the doors are open to reveal dark empty rooms furnished with only a bed and curtains. no patients occupy any of the rooms. they stop walking. the doctor points into a room with two beds and a curtain separator in between them*
doctor: “you can lay him on that bed right there. if you need me, i’ll be in the next room over.”
“no, don’t go. you need to heal him now.”
*the doctor sighs*
doctor: “i don’t know why you won’t just won’t cremate or preserve that thing.”
“why would i?”
doctor: “it’s not everyday someone comes to a hospital wanting to get someone healed.”
“huh? that’s what a hospital is for!”
doctor: “you must not be around from here. well, around here, you should let natural selection do what it has to. there’s no need to keep the weak alive.”
*lain is at a loss for words*
“…well… just heal my friend, okay?”
doctor: “alright, but first, i need my payment.”
“payment?”
*lain walks over to the bed and gently places the angel down. she carefully leans the scythe against the wall. she places her bag on the floor and searches through it. no money. she pulls out her navi and hands it to the doctor*
“will you take this navi as payment? i don’t have any money.”
*the doctor takes the navi and looks it over*
doctor: “is this brand new?”
“yes.”
doctor: “who did you get it from?”
“i got it myself.”
doctor: “did you inherit it from someone?”
“no, i went out and bought it myself.”
doctor: “how could that be? these were manufactured centuries ago.”
“centuries?”
doctor: “yes and this one looks to be in pristine condition. i heard that only 23 of these are in existence. well, if you don’t mind parting with such an item, then i don’t mind helping you.”
*lain looks at the doctor blankly. she slowly nods. the doctor walks out of the room with a little strut in his walk. lain walks over to the angel’s bedside. his breathing is steady. lain smiles*
“you’re going to be okay.”
*she takes a deep breath*
“that’s more than i can say for myself… all i want is to go home. i don’t like this place at all. i don’t really trust that doctor either, but… he’s your only hope.”
*the doctor enters the room holding a small vial of green fluorescent liquid*
doctor: “here we are. this is a vial of heal potion. it hasn’t been used in ages, but I do suspect that it will still work.”
*lain steps away from the bed and the doctor walks over. he stands next to the angel and opens the vial. he puts a drop on the cut over the angel’s eye. it cleans up, but a scar remains. he continues to drip the heal potion all over the angel. the potion helps to clean him up a bit, but the angel is still appears badly beaten and bruised*
doctor: “there’s still a few more drops left. i don’t think it will help him anymore so you can have this for your leg.”
*lain looks at her leg to see it still bleeding. she stands in a small pool of blood*
“thank you very much.”
*she takes the vial from the doctor*
“no need to thank me. you’ve made me a very rich man. who knows how much i can get for that navi?”
*the doctor turns away and thinks of his future riches. lain rips the cut in her pants a little more to expose the wound underneath. she puts a drop of the potion on it. the blood disappears and a faded mark remains*
doctor: “you’re friend must have taken quite a beating. the potion didn’t help him as much as it helped you. what happened to him?”
“i’m not sure. i found him this way.”
doctor: “you’re a strange one. if he was going to die, you should have just let him.”
“no, i can’t do that.”
doctor: “suit yourself.”
*the doctor looks at the angel’s face. he points to the angel’s eye*
doctor: “i’ll get him an eye patch for that.”
“okay.”
*the doctor leaves the room again. lain looks at the tiny amount of heal potion left in the vial and puts it away in her bag. she slings the bag over her shoulder and puts her arm through the other strap. she looks at the small mark on her leg and touches it with her finger. the skin is smooth. she turns to the angel. lain tilts her head a little to the side and looks at the scar on the angel’s eye *
“how did you get that?”
*the angel lays there peacefully. she smiles lightly. the doctor enters carrying a small eye patch. he walks over to the angel*
doctor: “could you prop him up a little?”
“okay.”
*lain sits up the angel. the doctor puts the little piece of cloth over the angel’s eye and secures it with string*
doctor: “there.”
*he takes a step back to look at the angel*
doctor: “he doesn’t look like he’ll be able to leave here yet.”
“how long do you think he’ll have to stay here?”
doctor: “I’m not so sure.”
*he picks up both of the angel’s wrists and examines them*
doctor: “his left hand is broken.”
*lain looks at his hand and sees a bone protruding underneath the skin. she grimaces at the site. she feels a bit nauseous*
doctor: “this will take a bit of time to heal.”
“a bit of time?… how long will that be?”
doctor: “about a week or so.”
*lain nods*
“uh… i guess i’ll be going then. thanks for your help.”
*lain takes one last look at her sleeping friend. she turns around and leaves the room*
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chapter one: confusion...
*lain awakens to the sound of her buzzing alarm clock. she turns off the annoying buzz with a slap of her palm. the sun shines through her window illuminating her room. she squints at her clock*
"7:39 am"
*she sits up on her mattress and rubs her eyes. a quiet sigh of exhaust leaves her lips*
"another day of school..."
*she drags on out of her bed. lain takes off her teddy bear pajamas and puts on her uniform: a brown skirt, a white blouse, and a brown bow tied loosely around her neck. she grabs her knap sack and green jacket, and heads downstairs for breakfast.
her mother and father are at the table already consuming their breakfast. lain grabs a bowl and spoon, and pours herself a bowl of rice krispies. she quietly munches on her cereal. her mother and father sit there quietly as well. her father is hidden behind a newspaper while her mother stares blankly at the table as she works on a piece of toast*
"um... mom... dad... yesterday, someone asked me if i was lain iwakura of yasuo and miho iwakura..."
*the crackling of lain's cereal rises above the silence in the room. lain tries to chuckle off the awkwardness*
"can you imagine that?... heh... heh..."
*lain's father folds up his newspaper. he gets up, kisses his wife on the cheek, and leaves for work. lain's mother still nibbles away at her toast. lain gives up any hope of a conversation for the morning. she puts on her jacket and knapsack, and leaves for school.
as lain exits her home, she notices a black car with two men dressed in black standing in front of it. she had seen them there for a few days now. they wear strange eye pieces that look like they are used to scan objects. they watch her walk. lain speeds up a little, but the stares seethe through her clothes, burning her flesh. she stops abruptly and turns to the men*
"what do you want?!"
*she stands with her fists clenched. the men don't seem to budge. one of them cracks a small smile. lain glares with a fiery rage in her eyes. she screams*
"leave me alone!"
*the eye piece on one of the men breaks. he clutches his eye as a tiny stream of blood travels down his rough cheek. lain turns and runs for school. the men watch her disappear around a corner. they share in a laugh*
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chapter two: facsimiles...
*lain arrives at school out of breath and on the brink of tears. she looks around the school and sees her friends alice, reika, and juri. she walks toward them*
"hey alice!"
*lain waves, but no one turns around. she stops*
alice: "hey lain!"
"hey alice."
*as lain walks closer to alice, she sees someone cut in front of her. herself. the other lain gives a smirk and walks off with the girls. lain stands there bewilderment. she watches as her friends giggle and walk away with this imposter.
a bell chimes through the grey sky. lain looks at the school towering over her. a crow flies onto one of the school towers. it caws and another crow joins it. lain stares at the birds for a moment, but continues to walk solemnly to class.
lain enters her classroom, but finds that her desk is missing. she looks around the class to see her peers working on some assignments. lain stutters to herself as she looks around nervously. she turns to her teacher, who is reading a book*
"my desk... it's... missing..."
*no one responds to lain's voice*
lain: "don't you see? you don't exist."
*lain spins around to see herself standing in the doorway*
"you're... me... are you the girl i saw in the schoolyard?"
lain: "i could be. it could've been another lain too."
"another lain? what are you talking about?"
lain: "heh, you'll find out soon enough."
*the apparition of lain slowly disappears. lain quivers as she looks around the room again. her eyes begin to tear up*
"hello!!! can any of you hear me?!"
*no one looks up. lain breathes heavily as she walks over to one of the girls writing on some paper. she pulls the paper from the girl and tears it up feverishly. the girl continues to write on her desk. lain screams and runs out of the room. she runs down the hall, but stops when she hears mysterious whispers surrounding her. she doesn't move, but her eyes scan the area. she backs up to the window and slowly sits down. she clutches her ears and hyperventilates. her breathing echoes through the hall, but no one seems to hear melancholia. she looks at her tear soaked hands*
"what's happening to me?... i'm stronger than this... right?..."
*she slowly rises up. she wipes her face with her sleeve. the bell chimes the end of class. lain watches as her classmates file out of their classes. she turns away from them and leaves the school*
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chapter three: revelations...
*lain arrives back home. she looks around the street for the two strange men, but they are no where to be seen. their car has also disappeared. she walks up the steps and stands at the front door. she takes a deep breath to compose herself. she turns the door knob and it opens with ease. a cold breeze escapes the house. lain walks in slowly and listens for any signs of her mother. the faint sound of a television plays from the living room. she quietly shuts the door behind her. she takes off her shoes and walks up to her room.
lain enters her room and throws down her shoes. she puts her jacket and knap sack on her mattress*
"hello navi."
*her computer lights up as she sits down in front of the massive monitor*
navi: "hello lain. you have no e-mail messages."
"thanks navi."
*as lain types, she hears her door creak open. she stops, but doesn't turn around*
"who's there?"
*when she doesn't hear an answer, she continues to type, but not shortly after does she hear shoes tapping on the floor. she stops again, but turns around. the two strange men stand at her doorway. lain quickly rises from her chair*
"what are you doing here?"
*they smile at her. lain slowly moves away. the man with the broken eye piece speaks*
man #1: "we're here to help you escape this place?"
"what? i don't understand what you're talking about."
*the other man speaks up. his voice is raspy and the stench of tobacco floats across the room*
man #2: "you see lain, you're not real. the clothes you're wearing, that navi behind you, even the air you're breathing... it's not real."
*lain stares at the men who question her existence*
"then, what am i?! who am i?! tell me that!"
man #1: "you were created in the wired."
"the wired? no... that isn't possible..."
man #2: "why not lain? anything is possible."
*lain shakes her head*
"how?..."
man #1: "the god of the wired created you. that's what makes you special."
"god... of the wired?... where is he?"
man #2: "he wants to meet you. all you have to do is enter the wired."
*lain turns and looks at her navi. images on the screen move around and blink. the computer hums monotonously. she looks back at the men. they have stern countenances. she sits down in her chair*
"navi, connect me to the wired..."
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chapter four: god...
*a silent darkness. lain stands on a crimson rug that runs into the darkness before her and behind her. she feels blind with the exception of the rug in view*
“so, this is the wired.”
???: “yes, lain. I hope you find my home hospitable.”
*lain turns around, but sees no one. a liquid form swirls in the air. as it speaks, it glows*
“who are you?”
*there is a chuckle*
???: “oh, you know who i am, lain… i am god.”
“i don’t believe you.”
*hundreds of lains appear on the sides of the rug. they all have lain’s face and her distinctive hair, but they all have different bodies. one wears a man’s blue shirt and another wears a woman’s yellow dress. their heads tilt to the sides and don’t seem well attached to their bodies. lain gapes at all the copies of her. they all chatter their teeth rhythmically. lain looks to the mysterious being*
god: “you see , lain, I created you and I created all of them.”
“why?! what is my purpose?”
god: “unlike these creations surrounding you, you are unique.”
“unique?! how the hell am I unique if there are all these clones?!”
*she walks over to her copy in the blue shirt. it looks at her soullessly and continues to chatter its teeth. lain knocks the body over creating a domino effect of falling bodies. the head of the lain in the blue shirt rolls out of the body and into the middle of the rug. the incessant chatter plays on*
“agh! make it stop!”
god: “you can think on your own, lain. that’s what separates you from these mindless dummies. you wanted to knock them over, so you did… and you can do so much more. more than these dummies… more than any mortal…”
*lain has no reaction. she just listens*
god: “how else would you explain breaking that man’s eye-piece scanner*
“how do you know about that?”
god: “i am god. you didn’t believe me, but i can see now that i’ve changed your mind.”
*lain slowly shakes her head. she turns to run, but trips over the chattering head. she staggers a bit, but runs from her creator*
god: “i don’t know why you bother to run. i’ll know where you are and i’ll know where you’re going.”
*lain ignores the taunts. she runs with the chattering dummies passing by. finally, she reaches the end of the carpet. she steps over it, but falls into an abyss below. darkness engulfs her and the chattering sounds have ceased*
dammit... i don’t even know where i am... i’ll have to find a hospital...
“you need help.”
“i have got to get you to a doctor before you lose too much blood.”
“now, look what you’ve done...”
“luckily, we’re almost to the doctor’s... only a few more feet...”
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