Nanomachines: Season's Greetings

(A/N: Doing a Christmas story through the skin of my teeth! :) I had this idea in my head for a bit and it's inspired by ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's Batman Christmas story video. Hope you all like it and what ever holiday you celebrate, I wish you all a happy holidays.)

Chat Initiated 12:00-12:05
WorldMage59: Hey Johanna, Philip

ChainMistress: Hello boys!

Mechanical_Glutton5: Greetings. And Todd, please enlighten me, why do we talk here on a RPG site's chat?

WorldMage59: Because I'm a wizard that travels to other universe, Johanna can make chains and control darkness, and you're a WMD. Where else can we openly talk about this and not attract attention?

Mechanical_Glutton5: Okay point taken.

ChainMistress: Can't wait for tonight Todd! Christmas Eve at your place! :D

WorldMage59: Yeah, love this time of year! You coming Phil?

Mechanical_Glutton5: No.

ChainMistress: Are you spending it with Rune?

Mechanical_Glutton5:...No

WorldMage59: Then, what are you doing?

Mechanical_Glutton: Nothing. I've been alive to see a few Christmases. See it as a mostly Christian holiday, I felt it would be inappropreate for me to celebrate.

ChainMistress: Pleanty of people who aren't Christian celebrate Christmas.

Mechanical_Glutton5: Trust me, religion isn't the (entire) concern.

WorldMage59: Then what is?

Mechanical_Glutton5: Don't worry about it, just enjoy the holiday. G2G, need to pick something up. I'll see you both around.

ChainMistress: Happy Holidays

WorldMage59: Happy Holidays

Mechanical_Glutton5:...Good Night

Mechanical_Glutton5 Signed off
ChainMistress: I worry about him sometimes...

WorldMage5: Yeah...

So, have you read the stories by VampireSlayer456?

ChainMistress: Meh, I've read better, read worse stories on other sites, but I've definitely read better ones, especially here.

WorldMage5: Yeah, my thoughts exactly...

Philip deleted the history of his computer and cleared the hard drive, excluding the back-ups of accounts as to prevent the Assimilators from tracking him. Philip felt kind of bad about not asking Rune if she could use his company for, whatever reason, but he didn't even know if she celebrated the holidays.

And there was the fact he didn't feel...like it should matter. On the TV, on the radio, and in other pop culture he's seen and assimilated in his evolution, he knew that the holidays were about peace on Earth and goodwill towards Man. 'Peace, as opposed to War, Man, as opposed to machine.' he thought to himself.

So he got up, formed his long coat and stepped out of his apartment and closed the locked door behind him. Philip has ran out of batteries for various things around his aparetment, such as flashlight, smoke detectors, and the buttons for the TV and DVD player.

Philip decided as he walked out into the snowy weather, to make a hat to warm him up a little. So he walked down to the convenience store. It was somewhat warmer than outside, the lighting was poor though. There was a teenage cashier, reading a magazine with a look on her face saying that she would rather not be there. 'Real shame,' thought Philip. 'Ought to be with her family.'

So Philip looked around until he finally found the batteries, Double A, and went to the cashier and paid for the batteries. Philip noticed the name tag on her chest read, "Danu."

"You're name is Danu?" Philip asked.

Danu had black hair and green eyes, a little short for her age, but was a rather normal looking lady.

"Yes," she answered in a heavy Irish accent.

"Danu, that's an Irish goddess of wisdom, wind and is a mother goddess, am I right?"

Danu nodded, "And mother of the Tuatha-De-Dananna."

"Huh, not a common name is it?" Philip asked.

"Named after my granmum." she answered. She signed and went back to reading.

Philip stuck around for a little longer and said, "You know, why don't you go home, I'll hold down the fort."

Danu did a double take at the young man, asking, "Are you crazy? I can be fired!"

Philip looked around and asked, "That's a bad thing?" He gestuered to the door, "You should be out there, with your family. Besides, you can find a better job. And trust me, the way I'll run this place, no one would know that you weren't here."

Danu looked hesitent before looking out the door, watching the snow fall. "I better not regret it." she said to Philip, getting up and towards the door. She stopped and asked, "But why even bother?"

Philip shrugged, "Seems like it'd be the right thing to do." Danu walked towards him and kissed his cheek and left saying, "Thank you."

Philip altered his form to resemble Danu and went behind the counter. 'Well better get to work.'

So he sat there waiting for anyone to come and buy something. After an hour of waiting the door opened, entering an elderly man of aproxemently 73 years old, wearing gree robes and a golden colored vestment over his shoulders. The bones of his face were very evident, and his hear recceded to the sides of his head and had a white beard. He also walked with a small cane.

"Hmm," said the old man, "I wonder where the lady at the counter left to?"

Philip cleared his voice and replicated Danu's voice, "Uh, excuse me sir, I'm right here."

The old man stood up straight, revealing that the vestment had large crosses on them, he was a part of the clergy.

"No, no, you're not her. I mean Danu." replied the cleric man.

Philip was getting slightly annoyed, "Yes si- Father, I am Danu. What may I do for you?"

"Tell me where the real Danu is." smiled the old man, laughing now, "I can see through your disguies my friend."

"Damn, I thought I'd fool you." Philip said, dropping the voice. He was about to walk away to "change" when the man said, "Now no need to pretend, just change. I already know, I mean, you did save the Pope after all."

'Damn! Should've known that would bite me in the ass one of these days.' Philip thought, changing to normal. "There we are!" said the man, who, Philip was just noticing, gave off an aetherial presence. "Now, you go along now," said the man, who walked out.

"The hell?" muttered Philip to no one in particular. So he walked out the door, turned the sign to closed, and back to his apartment. He replaced all the batteries that needed to be replaced and turned on the news (he canceled his subscription to the newspaper to avoid being tracked by the aliens.)

Nothing in the news, for once it actually has good news. He smiled and looked at the time, 12:35pm. Granted it was early but Philip needed a nap. So he slipped into bed, 'For another dreamless sleep.' he thought.

The sounds of footsteps awoke Philip from his sleep...or so it seemed as he quickly realized that his bed was floating in some sort of void. "What the ___?" Philip questioned, surprised he couldn't say "hell."

"Sorry for the dramatics," said an elderly voice, causing Philip to slip out of his bed and onto the "floor"

The voice belonged to the man from the store, except now he was wearing his proper robes and carried a staff, making his identity more evident, "St. Nicholas?" Philip asked, "Why am I all of a sudden meeting different Saints?"

Nicholas smiled and said, "Not important now. Please, just walk with me and talk with me." With no real choice Philip walked along with the Saint, trying to rationalize what was happening.

'Must've recieved more damage to myself from Van Dorf then I thought.'

So after more "hours" of silence Philip asked, "So what do you want exactly?"

Saint Nicholas answered, "Merely to try to understand your disposition about your self." Philip didn't understand what he meant and said nothing. Saint Nicholas could tell of his confusion and elaborated, "I mean your "Self." You don't celebrate this time because you see yourself as merely an intelliegent weapon rather than an intelligent being."

Philip responded, "Can't really blame me. I was designed to be a weapon for war, kinda the opposite of the peace and love, and being a machine, I think it undermines the whole spiritual element of it, as a machine."

Saint Nicholas formed a plan in his mind, "Yes, well I assume that a person would have to be soulless to turn his back on his loved ones on a holiday that's enjoyed not only for the spiritual reasons, but also for the compainionship of friends and family. To think you leaved them behind..."

Philip looked at the Saint and snapped, "Hey! I didn't turn my backs on them!" Thinking of a way to defend himself, he looked back at the time he spent trying to get gifts for his friends, may not be the strongest way to defent himself from the "ghost" of a saint, but it was the best he got.

"I took time out of my day, risked being discovered by the aliens that plauge me and I even got crushed by an automatic door! Nearly ran out of money to get stamps...hard to send packages to other planets..."

Saint Nicholas smiled and said, "And you have proven me right."

Now even more confused Philip merely said, "Huh?" The saint answered, "What I just said, about you turning your back on your friends was merely a short lived plan to prove my real point; the point being that you do in fact have humanity within you."

Philip looked surprised by the saint, who he assumed would use theology to prove what he said, about his lack of humanity.

Saint Nicholas continued, "You have just shown to me something that a machine can not, something a weapon can not. Feelings, emotion...love." Nicholas gestured with his staff and continued, "And the fact that considering what you are, a collection of nanomachines, a large collective of seperate devices, which now work in a hivemind...and yet, you are "one."

Philip asked, "So?" "If you weren't "one" you would not talk as "one", but as many. And do you know what "I think therefore I am" means?"

Philip had the answer almost immediatley with his computer-like "brain", "Cogito ergo sum, I think therefore I am, the idea that one's ability to think is proof of one's existence."

The Saint then inquired, "Have you considered that could be proof of something close to a soul then?"

Philip then realized something, "Are you here just so I'd go to Todd's thing tonight? Because...that's a waste of a Saints' time!" Nicholas shrugged, "I am associated with this holiday you know...even met the "other me" before...really jolly soul. Regardless, that's more of a by-product of why I'm here."

"Then enlighten me, what's the point of your being here?"

"Philip, is this not your first thought?" asked Nicholas, slamming his staff to the ground, a disembodied voice saying, "I'll be a human too."

Philip reluctantly nodded, "Yes, that was my first thought." Saint Nicholas then inquiered, "Than is this proof that you are, in someway, alive? What makes you any different then someone with abilites? What makes you any less "living" or any more "soulless" than your friends?"

To that Philip couldn't find it in himself to counter. Nicholas continued, "Now back to emotions, what about Danu?" Philip was surprised he brought that up, "If you were just a machine, you would have no sympathy, you would not worry about her desire to see her family.

"And as you said, I am also here to influence you to go see Todd's, because what good are those sent packages without the sender there to show the affection you mean to show, without the giver there to be thanked (granted good deeds shouldn't be done soley for thanks, but I believe you have the point)?"

Philip remained silent.

The saint sighed, "I know my words have struck a nerve, but I know that it'll still take time...for someone so fluid, you're stubboness is hard as iron. I bid thee well my child. You now must act, for you think, therefore, you are."

Philip awakened in his bed, the clock now read 9:03pm. He sighed, got out of bed, and changed his "clothes" to leave.

Todd and Johanna walked back into the house after some fresh air. The house, while not "packed", held Todd and Johanna's respective families, even some members of Johanna's family he never met before. The two stopped talking when they heard the door open.

It was Philip, "Uh, hey."

Johanna responded nonchlantly, "Hi." Philip continued, "I..remembered your offer and wondered if I can, still join you?"

Todd answered, "Of course." Todd then pointed to the living room, and then guided him and introduced him to his family. Philip said to the large, powerfully built man that was Todd's father, Hank, "I, I hope I'm not being a bother."

Hank laughed heartily, "Nonsense!" Martha, Todd's mother came in offering Philip a cookie, saying, "You're alway welcome here. Just like Johanna."

After a few hours of eating, the families sat together for something Todd's family did every Christmas Eve, watch a movie, not nessicarily a Christmas movie, but just a movie until they had to leave. During this moment Philip slipped away and pulled out his cell phone and hit 1 on his speed dial, "Hey Rune, think you can come to Earth?"

(A/N: Well this was different in my head. But hey, I think it turned out a little better than the first. :P Well again whether you liked it or not you liked it, Happy Holidays :) )