Author Note: Sorry about the delay, but here it is, finally, the end of my story, minus an epilogue I'm still working on. As I'm short a beta atm, this is presented as is and is probably a bit rough. I hope you enjoy it, anyway.

Chapter Ten

Chi Triumphant

Freya unhooked herself from the recharger and then leaned back against the wall with a satisfied sigh. She closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them and looked at the people and persocoms gathered around the table in Ms. Hibiya's apartment. Hideki, Minoru, and Yuzuki sat at one side of the table, Jima, Dita and Ms. Hibiya at the other. Sitting on the table were the two smaller persocoms, Kotoko sitting perfectly still as usual and Sumomo dancing around, also as usual.

Freya said softly, "Thank you for being patient. It has been a long and wearying day, and I'm afraid my batteries were almost drained. I know my reappearance was a shock to all of you, and I apologize for that. It was never my intention to keep it a secret, events just moved much faster than I anticipated.

"Three years ago, my sister gave her life to save mine. She copied my personality data, my memories, out of my failing body into her own. Due to a flaw, a situation my father never anticipated, a persocom cannot have two sets of personalities in one body, the newer one always overwrites the old.

Elda knew this and sacrificed herself anyway, to preserve me from death. It was a debt that I could not, cannot, repay. So, I promised to watch over her as she was reborn anew, until she found her special someone. A year ago, she found that someone." Freya nodded at Hideki, who blushed, "I slept, thinking that my sister was safe. I was wrong. A month ago, my sister called out to me in dire need. I awoke too slowly, too late, she was struck down and darkness claimed us both.

"I woke once again when Chi did, inside the virtual body housed in the computers below this apartment complex. I knew that time was short, that our data would overwhelm and overload the computers in short order unless we were put in storage. I also knew the terrible danger Chi was in, separated from her body and vulnerable. I did the only thing I could think to do, dangerous as it was.

"All persocoms are connected, a shared network that forms the backbone of the Internet, among other things. The computers below are also tied into this network. At first I thought I could use that network to copy myself onto another persocom somewhere. However, I quickly realized that idea was unworkable. That persocom would lose their memories for the same reason Elda lost her memories, I would kill that persocom. And even if I was willing to do that, which I wasn't, it still wouldn't work. My sister and I, to this day, are the most complex persocoms on the planet. Attempting to place our data in any other persocom would just end up with that persocom overloading and crashing.

"Instead, I decided to distribute my data across several persocoms, thus avoiding damaging any of them and allowing me to temporarily displace any one of them so I could keep an eye on the Syndicate and protect everyone here from them, in theory, at least. I knew I risked scattering my data so widely that it would be effectively lost, drowned in the sea of information that flows from persocom to persocom, but I was willing to take that risk. I loved my sister more than life itself, and I wanted to protect her while she slept like she protected me when I needed it. So, before mother had a chance to put Chi's data in storage, and with it mine, I separated myself from her and leaped into the collective unconscious that all persocoms share. I thought I was prepared; I wasn't. The tides of data shredded my personality and for a time I lost my sense of self. I never let go of my purpose, though, even when I no longer knew who I was. I kept trying to find persocoms who were near this apartment complex so I could watch over Chi and her beloved."

Hideki stared at Freya, "It was you! That day I walked to work and that strange persocom kept staring at me. That was you, wasn't it?"

Freya nodded, "Yes, or at least a part of me. Unfortunately, it took a long time to gather myself, to remember who I was. The Syndicate did not wait, and by the time I had myself under control they had already struck out at you and those closest to you. I had failed my sister yet again.

"Finally fully cognizant again, I began studying the Syndicate closely, taking over their agents temporarily in an attempt to understand what they were planning next, and to learn more about their inner working and policies.

"I had a problem, though. I was never designed to spread myself across several persocoms. My programming was adaptable, but this was too much. I began to unravel again, began to lose my sense of self. I knew that there was no second chance, if I didn't do something quickly I would be lost for good this time. I knew I had to gather my data in one persocom again, and there was only one viable candidate, my old body. After being buried for three years I had no idea if it could be made to function, but I had no other choice.

"I borrowed several of the Syndicate's agents, putting them into a state that resembled sleep walking and had them dig up my grave in the middle of the night. Somewhat surprisingly, my body was still in good shape. There was one little problem, after three years of inactivity my batteries were completely drained. Unable to hook myself up to a charger for fear of discovery, there was only one other option. I had my body placed on the roof of an abandoned building where it would get plenty of sunshine and then I waited. A day later I borrowed another agent and had him check on my body, reboot it, and run a complete diagnostic. Several of my systems had failed, as well as half of my batteries, but I was capable of working around the damage, enough to restore myself to nearly full functionality, although I knew I would have to be careful of energy expenditures."

Freya looked over at Hideki, "Which, by the way, is why I collapsed while fighting Fugami. My father built many defenses into my sister and I, including the ability to discharge part of our battery power in an effect that mimics a stun gun. When Fugami struck at me, I grabbed his arm and shocked him. Unfortunately, the effort temporarily overloaded my batteries, causing me to reboot."

She turned back to the others as she continued her story, "With my body working again, mostly at least, I gathered my data and moved it back to where it belonged. For the first time in three years, I was back in my own body. I was weak and damaged, but I was myself again. I immediately started to head towards the apartment complex. I knew by now that mother would have heard about my grave being empty and I wanted to reassure her. Before I got there I saw Hideki walking down the street. As I turned towards him, however, a white van pulled up beside him and he was yanked inside. Before I could react, the van sped off into traffic and I lost it.

"I thought I had failed my sister again, that I had let her beloved be kidnapped while I stood by helplessly. I had one last hope, though. In my investigations into the Syndicate, I had uncovered a list of safe houses. I compared that list to my current location and picked out the nearest ones. As it turned out, I found the van in the second one I visited. The rest of the story you know."

Freya leaned against the wall and closed her eyes again. Quiet reigned for a minute as everyone stared at her in rapt fascination, even Sumomo had stopped twirling in place and was watching wide eyed. Finally, Ms. Hibiya got up and walked over to her daughter, sat down next to her, and hugged her. "You didn't fail your sister, ever. You went above and beyond what anybody could have expected."

Hideki nodded, "Yeah, if it wasn't for you, if you hadn't arrived when you did..." He shrugged uncomfortably, "I'm the one who failed. I'm the one that gave up."

Freya opened her eyes and smiled at Hideki, "I believe we had this conversation once. You did the right thing, the only thing you could have done." She looked around at everyone, "This has gone on long enough. If something isn't done soon, the Syndicate will hurt and kill more people just to get at my sister and I and I cannot allow that."

Minoru looked at Freya curiously, "What are you going to do?"

Freya smiled cryptically, "I am going to give them what they want."

(***)

Freya hooked another of her cables into the monitor and then sat back and nodded. "I think that did it. I'm ready."

Ms. Hibiya looked at her, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Freya shrugged, "There is only one other choice. Dita and I could fight back, try to bring down the Syndicate in any way possible. Many people and persocoms would get hurt or killed, maybe even you and Mr. Motosuwa. And even if we succeeded, what would we accomplish? Even though their methods are sometimes less than ethical, the Syndicate does much more good than harm. They protect persocoms from those that would exploit them."

Ms. Hibiya frowned for a moment then nodded. "I know. I just worry about you. It is a mother's right, after all."

Freya laughed, "I know. Now wish me luck." She looked at the monitor and concentrated for a moment. The monitor turned itself on, displaying a camera feed of a tired looking old man sitting at a expansive desk.

The old man looked at the camera in surprise. "Who are you? How did you get this number? How did you get past security?" he barked. His eyes widened as he recognized Freya, "You! Get off my phone this instant!" He stabbed a finger down at a something off screen, the hang up button presumably. He frowned and then jabbed his finger down again. He sighed and looked back up at Freya, "I see. Well, since I can't get rid of you, what do you want? Make it quick, I'm busy."

Freya smiled brightly, "Director! You look tired. Not sleeping well?"

The Director snorted, "No thanks to a certain persocom who doesn't have the decency to stay dead. Skip the pleasantries and get to the point."

Freya sobered, "If that is the way you want it, fine. I want you to leave me, my family, and my friends alone."

The Director shook his head, "I'm sorry, we don't negotiate with terrorists and criminals. If you turn yourself and your sister in, however, there will be no need for us to keep bothering your family and friends."

Freya's face hardened, "I am neither a criminal nor a terrorist. And I will never turn my sister over to you."

The Director shrugged, "Then we have nothing to talk about. Good day." He stabbed down at the hang up button again. When nothing happened he frowned at Freya, "Damn it, give me my phone back!"

Freya shrugged, "Not before I've said what I have to say. This has to stop, Director. Eventually, you will either destroy me or I will be forced to destroy the Syndicate. Believe it or not, I don't want to do that. What do you want, what will it take, to bring this senseless conflict to an end?"

"I told you once, and my answer hasn't changed. Bring yourself and your sister, her data and remains, to us."

Freya shook her head, "Unacceptable. Tell me, why do you want us so badly, what about us scares you so?"

The Director snorted again, "Like you don't know. You can ignore the security of any persocom you want, steal information, hack their programming. Your sister could even shut down persocoms over a several block radius, somehow. And those are only the tricks we know about. Your creator was very secretive about your designs, so who knows what else you are capable of."

Freya nodded, "Maybe we can compromise? If you knew what we could do, could you not devise a way to defend against it? And if I and my sister could no longer intrude on other persocoms without their consent, would we still be a threat?"

The Director looked curiously at Freya, "What are you proposing? I am listening,"

"Simply this, I am willing to give you the complete technical specification of my sister and myself, blueprints, research data, everything. I am also willing to have your technicians observe my mother removing my ability to hack into other persocoms. I believe that would remove us as threats, yes?"

The Director gaped at Freya in astonishment. After a moment he got himself under control. "That would work, I think. But why would you agree to this now? Do you know how long I badgered Doctor Ichiro to do this very thing? Do you know how often he turned me down flatly?"

Freya shrugged, "My father could be somewhat stubborn. He never trusted the Syndicate, and he never liked being pushed into doing something he didn't want to do. I, however, just want this mess settled. I am willing to do anything except to turn myself and my sister over to you to accomplish this. I do have two requests though."

"Name them," the Director said suspiciously.

"First, I ask that after your technicians study our data that you don't use that information to build more Chobits."

The Director laughed incredulously, "More Chobits? Dear lady, I think two Chobits is two too many in the first place. Why would you think I would want to build more?"

Freya nodded, "That may be, but you will retire at some point. Can you be certain that your replacement will be of the same mind regarding this? The Chobits project was a failure, Director, and no more of us should be built."

"A failure? From where I'm sitting it looks like it succeeded just fine."

Freya shook her head. "No, it was flawed. I suffered a programming conflict that caused me to break down. My sister lost her memory and then nearly had the same programming error destroy her as well. I cannot in good conscience have more persocoms suffer as we have."

The Director looked thoughtful for a second, then nodded. "I see your point. After I am satisfied that there are no hidden surprises in your schematics, I'll see that they are destroyed. What is your other demand?"

"Undo the damage that you have done to my friends," Freya said simply.

The Director nodded, "That I have no problem with. I'll take care of it directly, though it may take a few days or even weeks to straighten it all out. Now, I'll send over two of my best technicians to observe the procedures on you and to collect the data you promised. If everything checks out, this will be the last time you'll see any of us." He added under his breath, "And won't I be very glad of that." He continued in his normal tone, "One other thing, those rogues, Jima and Dita? Can you ask them to return to the Syndicate please? I promise that they won't be harmed, but we can't have them running around loose."

Freya nodded, "I can ask. Jima shouldn't have a problem now that Chi is safe, and Dita goes where he goes."

"Good. Then I think our business is concluded. Now, give me back my phone!" the Director bellowed.

Freya nodded and the monitor went blank.

(***)

A day passed and the Syndicate technicians came and went, taking Jima and Dita with them. A few more days passed, then a week. Life at the Gub Jogasaki returned to something approaching normal. Hideki spent his days looking for a job,Minoru and Yuzuki spent most of their time in the underground room pouring over the computers, Freya and Ms. Hibiya spent their days together, rediscovering what it was like being a mother and daughter again, and Sumomo and Kotoko spent most of their time either with Hideki or with Ms. Hibiya.

Finally, Freya decided that the Syndicate had, indeed, kept their end of the bargain and it was time to talk to her mother, a conversation that she had been dreading. "Mother, it is time," she said gently.

Ms. Hibiya looked at Freya curiously, "Time for what, dear?"

Freya smiled sadly, "I came back to protect my sister. Now that the Syndicate won't disturb her again it is time for me to... go."

Ms. Hibiya's face fell, "No. I had hoped we could be a family, that you had come back for good."

Freya shook her head slowly, "You know that isn't possible. The pain I felt when I found out that the one I loved could never return my love has never left me. Now he has gone someplace I cannot follow and the pain is nearly unbearable. I endured it for my sister's sake, but she is safe now. Please, mother, don't ask me to stay."

Ms. Hibiya looked at Freya, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Is this truly what you wish? I would never ask you to suffer just to make me happy. But I wanted, I wanted... oh Freya."

Freya said quietly, "I understand. If I could remain I would. But my heart is torn in two and it hurts, every day it hurts. It never has healed, and cannot. The Chobits project's biggest triumph, and its biggest failure. However, there is one thing you could do for me, if you would?"

"Name it, my daughter, and if I can do it, I will."

"When I am gone, do not bury my body again. My hardware is compatible with Chi's data. Use it to reunite her with Hideki. I know the pain of being separated from the one you love. If I can spare those two that pain, it will bring me comfort, and maybe, in some small way, repay the debt I owe Elda for her sacrifice."

Ms. Hibiya nodded slowly, "Freya, know that I love you, and I'll always love you." She hugged Freya tightly, tears pouring down her face. After a moment that seemed to last for an eternity she let her go and stepped back. "Chobits," she said, voice choked with emotion.

"Entered. Password and voice recognition are confirmed," Freya said, her voice flat, her face blank, "Standing by master, please give me your instructions."

"Delete all data, terminate all systems."

"Confirmed. Proceed with deletion of all data and termination of all systems?"

Ms. Hibiya paused for a moment, then continued, "Initiate."

There was a whirring sound for a moment, data lines streaming across Freya's eyes, then she said simply, in the same flat voice, "Procedure completed."

Ms. Hibiya sank to the floor, crying freely. Freya, her daughter, was lost to her forever.