Chapter 10; Failure's Price

For a long time all Maylin saw, all she was aware of, was darkness. But it wasn't the kind that you would find scary. It was comforting, almost soothing, as she floated in an endless sea of black. It felt good to not have anything to worry about. Her cares all seemed to drift into nothingness as she continued to float along. After what could have been minutes, or maybe hours, she became aware of far off voices. Voices she vaguely recognized, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. "Hello?" she called out, "Who's there?"

Ah, you're still awake. That's good. You're not as weak as I thought.

She knew that voice from somewhere. In a flash, her memories came back to her. The attack on the Academy, her mother getting hurt, her friends all deciding to go on the attack, everything came back in one big rush that left her feeling dizzy. "Wh-where am I?" she asked, trying to project confidence.

There's no point in trying to sound brave, girl. I can see your emotions clearly.

"Then answer me. Where am I?" she asked again. She was starting to get frustrated with this voice, whatever it was. She couldn't quite figure out how, but it had somehow taken control of her. That's the only thing she could think of that would explain the way she had blacked out. Once she realized this, however, she felt a strange sense of violation. A foreign power was controlling her, and that was disturbing on a lot of levels.

Well, you're thinking clearly, and that's a start. To answer your question; you're in my space now, although it is a little empty at the moment. Trying to fight while projecting an artificial reality is a little too taxing, it turns out.

"What do you mean? Fighting who?" she asked before remembering, "The other IS? What are you do- No, that's not the right question." She sensed pleasure for some reason. Whatever this thing was, it seemed pleased that she had realized how pointless her previous line of questioning was. "Are you in control of my body?" she asked, calmer this time.

In a way, yes.

She felt herself growing more irritated with this entity with every passing moment. It's only telling me what it wants me to know, not what I want to know she thought. Maylin gave her next question more thought this time, deciding that she needed to know as much about this as she could. It might help her avoid this situation again. "How did you take control, specifically?" she asked, thinking, ha! Try and dodge this one, jerk.

The particulars are too complex for you to comprehend at the moment. Suffice to say that I am in control now, and am doing what you've failed to do.

Damn, he did dodge it she thought before realizing something. "What did I fail to do, then?" she asked, already dreading the answer.

You refused to fight as if your life depended on it, and you risked both of our lives because of that hesitation.

Honestly, Maylin didn't know what she expected as an answer, but it wasn't that. How was her refusing to fight seriously risking two lives? She was the only one using the IS, after all. None of her friends were nearby when the fight started, so it wasn't them. It sure as hell wasn't the machine she had been fighting. "Okay, who are you?" she demanded, "And you better tell me the truth."

I…will save that answer for a later date. For now, it appears the battle is over. I'm landing near your friends and returning control. I hope you're prepared for pain.

Before she could ask what it meant, Maylin felt herself rushing up and out of the dark sea. When she opened her eyes again, she saw her friends standing on a rooftop with her. They may have been a bit battered, but they were all in one piece. We're all still alive she realized with relief. However, about a second later she got hit with massive exhaustion, as well as aches from what felt like every bone in her body. She was probably only conscious for about a second, two at most, before it hit her and she fainted.

This time it was a proper rest, and when she awoke she was unable to remember any of the dreams she had had. Blinking several times to clear her vision, she saw that she was in a hospital bed and that it was night outside. She also saw that she was hooked up to an IV and heart-rate monitor. When she tried to sit up, she was immediately hit with pain. Even with the painkillers they had undoubtedly pumped into her system, it felt like her bones were made from glass. Lying back down as slowly as she could, Maylin took a few deep breaths while she tried to blink away the tears from that pain. What happened to me she wondered as she looked around again. It was at this point that she noticed the bed across from her was occupied.

"You're awake now," said a familiar voice from that bed, "That's wonderful. I wasn't sure how long you would be asleep, May." "A-Annabelle?" Maylin managed as she tried to prop herself up to see better. With a click, Annabelle turned on a lamp next to her bed, bathing the room in a soft light and allowing them both to see better. "You looked like hell when they brought you in," she told Maylin as she shifted to sit up. It was at this point that Maylin noticed the extent of Anna's injuries. Her head was bandaged, as well as her left arm all the way up to the elbow. But, it was her right arm that got Maylin's attention. Her shirt's right sleeve was buttoned up to her shoulder, leaving about two or three inches of fabric.

"Y-your arm…" she managed, feeling the tears return. Knowing what she meant, Anna touched her right sleeve, a slightly sad look on her face. "Yeah… the doctors did what they could, but… the damage was too intense," Anna said as she clutched the fabric, "I guess this means I'm through as a pilot, huh?" This last part was accompanied with tears as Anna's brave front finally cracked. She had been trying to figure out how to give this a happy spin since they brought Maylin in almost three hours ago. But the more she thought about it, the more Anna felt like there was a huge hole in her life.

All she had wanted was to become an IS pilot. Unlike her brother, she enjoyed the challenge of a good fight with a powerful opponent. She had wanted to study under a seasoned pilot, like Ms. Orimura, and learn how to fight with the best of them. In fact, she had secretly hoped she would have been able to succeed Simon as America's Representative. But now she had lost her dominant arm. Even with the best prosthetics available she would never be able to fight like she once had. In fact, she probably wouldn't ever be allowed to use an IS again with her injuries.

Maylin watched her friend break down and felt herself dropping into her own pit of despair. They may have survived the battle, but she was quickly realizing that the cost of survival was incredibly high. How much did they take from us she wondered as she lay back down, how much more are they going to try and take? She was still struggling to come to terms with her own injuries when a familiar voice popped into her head.

This is the cost of hesitation, girl. if you wish to prevent such tragedies from occurring again, you won't hesitate next time.

Simon was sitting next to Cecilia's bed, one of her hands in his as he searched her face for any sign of a change. They had an oxygen mask over her mouth to assist with her breathing, as well as several electrodes on her head and chest to monitor her brain and heart. He was trying really hard not to tear up as he watched his wife; it was absolutely heartbreaking to see her like this. She had always been so proud and strong, and yet kind and gentle at the same time. And now she was in here, hooked up to all of these machines and barely clinging to life. Don't you dare die on me now, Cecilia Simon thought as he gripped her hand, I still need you, and so does our daughter.

For whatever reason, he felt himself drifting back into his memories. Back to when he had visited her house for the most important conversation of his entire life. Remembering it, he smiled at how nervous he had been at the time as he felt exhaustion start to overtake him. After getting Maylin to the hospital and giving her friends a thorough scolding, he felt almost completely drained. As he laid his head down on Cecilia's bed, he fell asleep as he began to remember.

-20 years ago-

When Simon finally pulled up the drive to the main house, he once again found himself admiring Cecilia's manor. It wasn't an enormous mansion, but it was definitely big. He had learned on previous visits that there were at least a dozen rooms, but there were probably more that he hadn't seen. She had said that she wasn't incredibly wealthy, but she did live comfortably. Seeing the house for the first time, Simon found himself thinking that she had been down-playing it just a little.

As he got out of his car, he saw an older man opening the front door and walk down to greet him. He had also learned on his first visit that this was her butler, Gerald, and that he was one of the nicest old men he had ever met. "Ah, master Felix. A pleasure, as always," Gerald said as he approached. "Please, Gerald, just Simon is fine," he replied, smiling. He had been trying to convince the man that he didn't need to refer to him as 'master,' but it hadn't been working.

"Miss Cecilia is upstairs," he told Simon, waving him up the stairs, "She is currently in the middle of a conference call, but I'm sure she will be with you shortly." Nodding his thanks, Simon entered the house and made his way to one of the waiting rooms. On his way, he saw several of the maids that Cecilia employed busy with various tasks. They all smiled and waved at him, a few whispering and giggling. They hadn't exactly kept their relationship a secret, and Simon could guess what they were talking about and it made him blush slightly. When he got to the room, he sat down on a rather comfortable couch as he tried to steady his breathing. He also checked his pocket to make sure that the box was still there. He had probably done it almost a dozen times on the drive up here, but it had served to calm him every time.

After almost half an hour, Cecilia walked into the room looking a surprisingly cute mix of pleased and pissed-off. She was wearing a light blue sundress with her hair in a pony tail. "Let me guess, bankers?" Simon asked as he stood up. When she nodded, he had to resist the urge to smile. Cecilia's fortune, for the most part, resided in a private bank that had always had a history of being…difficult. She butted heads with them on an almost regular basis, even though the money was hers. Sighing, he walked up to her and hugged her, having learned a long time ago that she would be left emotionally drained from these kinds of arguments.

Smiling, she returned the hug, enjoying the feeling of being embraced by her boyfriend after so long. Simon had been forced to return to the U.S. after graduation. He had still had a standing contract with the lab he had worked at with his sister, and had needed to finish out the last few months on it before he could move on. It was…difficult, only able to talk with the man she loved through phone calls and video chats. He had spent five months finishing out his contract, and in that time they had both sorely missed each other's company.

Pulling back slightly, she looked up at him and said, "Thank you. I missed this." "I thought so," Simon replied as he leaned in and kissed her. Sitting down with her, Simon felt himself growing nervous again. They talked about mundane things for a while, sharing what they had experienced since they had parted. For Simon, it was mostly work; telling her about the current projects his lab had begun and the breakthroughs he had assisted in. For Cecilia, it was constantly butting heads with several groups interested with her family's fortune. It was still surprising that so many people were interested in her money after she had spent so many years fending them off. She had told Simon that her father had left very specific instructions; it was for her future, and she should only share it with those she thought worthy of her trust. And at the time, none of those vultures had gained that trust.

"So, why don't you tell me why you're here," she said finally, "Not that it isn't nice to see you again. It is, but this is probably more important than a social call, isn't it? Not that a social call wouldn't be considered important, but…" She realized she was rambling but couldn't stop. She was so nervous now for some reason. Cecilia hadn't seen Simon in months, and now that he was here, in her own house, it was throwing her for quite the loop.

Laughing softly, Simon placed a hand on top of hers. "It's okay, Princess," he said, smiling at how she pouted at his laughter, "I'll admit, there is a reason behind my visit. But, I'm willing to bet that you can't guess it." She just puffed her cheeks up at him, annoyed that he would be playing games. But she still tried to guess, if for no other reason than to spend more time with him. After several guesses, however, she still hadn't been able to figure out why he was here.

"Oh, stop messing with me and just tell me already," she said, punching his arm playfully. Laughing softly, Simon mentally steeled himself for what was about to happen. "To tell you the truth, there's something I've been thinking about for a while now," he said, reaching into his pocket, "I couldn't quite come up with a plan that I was satisfied with, so I decided to just wing it." When he pulled out a small box, Cecilia could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. There's no way he would… would he? She thought as she watched, feeling her cheeks heating up. It got even worse when Simon moved off the couch and down onto one knee.

"This has been a long time coming, I guess," he said as he opened the box, "Cecilia, will you marry me?" Inside was a simple silver ring with a diamond set in it. Not the most glamorous ring, not by far, but it had been the best he could do on what he had saved up. And he hadn't been about to ask one of his friends for help on it since he had wanted to keep this as secret as possible. Seeing the ring, Cecilia covered her mouth as she felt tears starting to form. She had always hoped that he would ask her one day, but she hadn't been prepared for it today, not so soon after finally seeing him again.

"Simon, are you sure?" she asked, remembering what they had been through, "After all that we've learned, are you sure you want to…?" "I've never been surer of anything in my entire life," he replied, smiling, "I want to be with you, and to hell with whatever the future thinks will happen." Standing up, she took his hand and helped him to his feet, and for a moment he thought she was going to say no. She would have every right to. They had already witnessed a pretty bleak future second-hand from their daughter in that timeline. He would understand her not wanting to take the chance at making those same mistakes.

"Yes," she said, catching him by surprise, "Yes, a thousand times, yes." Before he could do or say anything, she kissed him with all of the passion she could muster. Wrapping his arms around her, Simon returned the kiss as he felt an incredible burden lift from his shoulders. In fact, he felt almost giddy. Getting a firmer grip, he spun her around the room as they laughed, caught up in each other's happiness. After a few more kisses were exchanged, they realized that they would need to start laying plans for a wedding. The first item on Simon's list was to make sure that all of their friends would receive invitations. Maybe their wedding would finally get Ichika and Houki to stop screwing around with their own relationship.

-Present Day-

Walking down to the intensive care unit, Houki tried not to let her sense of guilt get the best of her. But no matter what she told herself, she still felt personally responsible for Madoka's condition. If I had moved faster, fought harder, then she wouldn't have gotten hurt she found herself thinking again. She kept telling herself that Fairy was a powerful opponent, and she couldn't have done anything to prevent this without risking her own life in the process. And maybe you should have, you coward; Madoka might not be in this situation if you had said the little nagging voice in the back of her head. It had always been there, telling her that she wasn't pushing herself hard enough in her training, or that she was an idiot for not being more forward with Ichika. It had been helpful in the past, getting her to push herself. But now it was just making her feel worse.

As she came up to the observation window, she saw a doctor and two nurses in the room with Madoka. She was hooked up to several machines and covered in bandages and wrappings. She also had three cuts that had needed stitches, and several severe burns. Her breathing tube just added to the entire picture, and it all made Houki feel like her world was crumbling around her. She had tried to remain strong for her daughter, and yet she still felt her legs growing weak and her eyes began misting up. Before she could collapse against the glass, she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind. She didn't even need to turn around to know it was Ichika; he always seemed to know when she was hurting and would always be there for her.

Placing her own hands over his, she struggled to hold the tears in as she spoke. "She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Houki asked, trying to make it a statement and failing. "If she's half as stubborn as we are, she'll come out of this swinging," Ichika replied, smiling as Houki laughed a little. It was nice to hear her happy after the last few days. In truth, Ichika had to stop himself from running off like those kids had. He had never been an aggressive person, but whenever his friends or loved ones were threatened he would always be one of the first to defend them. It was the reason he had helped Charlotte when she was taking control of her father's company, why he had backed Laura, Tatenashi and her sister when they were forming their organization, and why he had butted heads with people over his older sister's position.

Before either of them could get lost further in their respective thoughts, Ichika's phone buzzed. When he opened it, he saw a quick text asking him and Houki to meet Chifuyu in her suite. The trip back to the hotel was rather depressing, with them both trying very hard to remain positive and failing. When they finally arrived at the room, they saw that Simon had already been called in, as had Maylin's friends that weren't currently hospitalized. In fact, Maylin herself was their in a wheel chair and looking like she felt terrible. Tabane was standing next to her with her trademark grin, trying to keep their spirits up. What surprised Ichika the most was that Tatenashi was also here, and that threw them for a moment.

She was dressed in a light blue button up jacket, which was currently open to reveal a low-cut white shirt, rather simple jeans and her trademark fan lying across her legs. When she saw Houki and Ichika come into the room, she smiled and waved them over. "So, I think our best bet now is to consolidate whatever we have available," Tatenashi continued, "I've already put our Japan branch on stand-by and Laura is on her way from South America with her personal unit." "How many IS does that give us?" Chifuyu asked as she motioned Ichika and Houki to sit. "The Japan branch has five ready to go, with a sixth down for repairs," Tatenashi answered, smiling, "With Laura's team of six, we will have twelve IS to work with. That's not counting any machines you would be willing to donate."

It took Houki and Ichika a moment to realize they had just been called into their equivalent of a war summit. Looking over at the kids on the far end of the room, Houki tried to figure out why they were here if something like this was being discussed. "I'm sorry, we came in late. What exactly are we talking about?" Ichika asked. "We're discussing how best to deal with the next attack," Simon responded, refusing to meet their looks. "And how do you plan on 'dealing' with them, Felix?" Houki asked, tensing up and staring at him, "Did you forget what happened the last time we fought them?" "Oh, I remember perfectly what happened, Orimura," Simon responded, meeting her gaze with his own glare, "That's why they're here. Apparently, your sister's new system is more powerful than even she thought."

Turning to the kids, Simon tried not to wince when Maylin visibly flinched. They all knew that they meant her, and even Maylin wasn't so sure what had happened. "Just start at the beginning, May-Chan," Tabane encouraged, patting her shoulder and smiling, "It's okay." Taking a deep breath, she began explaining what happened yesterday. When she got to the part about floating in a black sea and talking with a mysterious voice, Simon felt like he knew what had taken control of his daughter. It didn't make the thought any easier to bear; any father than can accept some outside force controlling their little girl like that can't really call themselves parents, at least that's how Simon saw it. When she finished, everyone was quiet for a moment, and it was Tabane that broke the silence.

Setting Maylin's necklace down on the coffee table, she huffed a sigh as she said, "Alright, 134, come on out." The AI projected itself above the amulet, taking a few people in the room by surprise. Unlike Simon's, this one's avatar was male; dressed in a brown overcoat with a black shirt and cargo pants. It also had a look that was part bored and part pissed off. "So, care to explain yourself, 134?" Tabane asked, crossing her arms. Despite her smile, everyone in the room that knew her could tell that Tabane was mad. The slight twitch in her eye and the way she settled on her left foot betrayed that.

"I don't see what else I can add to the girl's account," 134 said, crossing his own arms, "Except that I was able to use her equipment to fend off that monstrosity for quite some time before her body ran the risk of failure." "I'm sorry, what?" Simon asked, standing up, "First off, her name is Maylin, not 'girl.' And what the hell do you mean her body almost failed? What the hell did you do to my daughter?!" Looking Simon up and down, the AI seemed unimpressed with Simon's anger. "She's flesh and blood," it explained, talking as if it was addressing a child, "Her body has limits that machines don't share. I was forced to push her to those limits to stand a chance at beating it, and as a result I risked damage. But, as you can see it wasn't anything permanent."

"And that's supposed to comfort me?" he asked, trying to resist the urge to hurl the necklace through a window, "How the hell did you take control, anyway?" "That will take longer to explain," 134 said, looking around, "And I'd prefer not to do it in our present company." "Too bad," Chifuyu said, leaning down over the avatar, "I'm long past tired of keeping secrets. You're going to explain yourself here and now." The AI looked to Tabane, as if asking her for help. When she didn't, it sighed before running a hand through its hair. "Fine, but don't blame me if this leaves you with a headache," it said.

New powers are discovered, as is the potential cost of victory. Will any of those wounded be able to recover from their injuries in time to help? How was 134 able to take control of a human being? And what, exactly, is the nature of these AI? Till the next chapter.

I'm really sorry about the delay on this one. I got scheduled to work for the past five days, and it really kicked my ass and left little time to write. Glad I was able to finish this when I did. Also, a merry Christmas to you all. Go enjoy some turkey.