For Ciel and Chloe, the rest of that morning was a whirlwind. Francis only spoke to them for a couple of minutes before sending them off to the tech wing, explaining that she had recommended Ciel and Chloe to help finish up a project that had hit a snag, and they needed to decide quickly whether or not to work on it.

They both had been hearing about the project for a while. Everyone had! Ciel was shocked to hear that development had nearly hit a standstill so close to completion. Either they had been putting it off, or they really needed help.

Before they agreed to anything officially, they were briefed about the foundations of the project by Steven, the reploid in charge of it all. He was very enthusiastic as he led them around his lab, but unfortunately, he was also a bit of a windbag. He gave them long explanations about whatever random pieces of equipment they happened to pass by, and told them all about cyberspace, even rambling a bit about the promise and potential it held for the future. And that was before he even told them what they needed help with.

Eventually, he managed to get on topic and tell them about what he and his team were actually working on: cyber-elves. They were the beings that were currently being designed to access cyberspace. Much like with cyberspace, his explanation of them eventually turned into him gushing over them.

"These things are AMAZING, guys!" he exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure I mentioned it before, but they're noncorporeal, you can't touch them at all, but think and feel just like you and me!" He had mentioned it before, several times. " And they can touch things, but you can't touch them back, get it? It's kind of complicated." He thought for a second, then elaborated. "Well, I guess you can touch them, but there won't be anything there. It's like, uh, air? I guess?" He waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, they're cool, I promise! Wait till you see them. They're like these little tiny fairies and they glow really bright! They're super colorful-"

Chloe raised her hand to cut him off. "Hey hold on, they look like tiny little fairies?"

"Uh huh! They're real neat!"

"But they're called cyber-elves."

Steven sighed dramatically. "Yeah. I know. I wanted to call them cyber-sprites because it makes sense and sounds nice, but it lost the vote."

Ciel laughed. "They look like fairies? Oh man, I was way off! This whole time I was picturing like, fantasy elves! You know, like seven-foot-tall dudes running around forests in fancy robes?"

Chloe started laughing too. "Shit, I was thinking of Santa's elves! Oh wow, is it too late to change how they look? That would be incredible! I'll take Santa elves over faires any day!"

Steven chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry, it's way too late for that. Maybe someday, though."

"So when do we get to see the little guys?" Ciel asked.

Steven grinned. "I'm glad you asked! See, that's exactly why we need help. Right now, only reploids can see them without special equipment. I think I told you before, they sort of tread the line in between the substance world, where we are, and cyberspace. We really want to find a way for them to be visible to humans, because the set up we have for you guys right now cost like ten thousand dollars to make and is super annoying to wear." He nodded over to one of the side tables they hadn't been shown yet, and lead them to it. Sitting on top was a mannequin head wearing something that looked similar to a welding mask, but with two large camera lenses on the front. He gestured towards it dramatically. "See what I mean? This thing is ridiculous! I mean, we can connect it to a display, of course, so what you see can be seen by everyone else and recorded, but still! It's awful."

Ciel nodded slowly, making peace with the fact that if she took this job she would have to wear that thing on a daily basis. "Ok, so that's all you need help with?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yup."

Ciel looked over at Chloe, who gave her a smile and a little nod. She looked back to Steven. "I think we can help you out. I mean, these things are designed to interact with the substance world. It shouldn't be too hard to get them to emit some sort of visible light."

Steven beamed. "So it's settled then! Alright! Oh, you guys are lifesavers. I can't thank you enough."

Ciel laughed. "No problem! We've been hitting some snags in our department too, it'll be nice to get a break."

"Great, I'll let Francis know that you two decided to help out, and we'll get all the details settled after lunch!"

By the afternoon, Ciel and Chloe were honorary members of the tech department, and they had already begun brainstorming ideas.

Ciel didn't even knock when she got to Zero's apartment. She just swung the door open, looking ecstatic. "Zero, the best thing ever happened to me!"

Zero smiled, looking up from the boat he was carving. "Really?"

Ciel nodded excitedly, scooping up Bartholomew, who had come to say hello. "Yeah! I'm working with the tech department to help them finish up these things they're working on. They're called cyber-elves. It's going to be so fun and easy, none of this uranium or plutonium or whatever the hell Johnson was talking about! And I get to work with these little things that are so cool! They're almost out of the prototype phase! They're really amazing! They're like living bits of data, and we can use them to access cyberspace."

Zero's eyes widened. "Holy shit, they're sentient?"

Ciel nodded. "Yeah! Like any other people." Still carrying the kitten, she plopped down on his couch.

"So what are you doing?" Zero asked, sweeping the wood shavings off of his work desk and into a small trash bin.

"Well, humans can't actually see them. Only reploids can. They don't actually exist here or something? Or like they half exist? I don't know, Steven didn't explain it very well. But anyway, it shouldn't be hard, and I have a ton of ideas! I'm really excited to try them all out!"

Zero tilted his head. "Wait, that's physics?" he asked, walking over and sitting next to her.

Ciel smiled, petting Bartholomew. "Oh yeah! Light and all that. It's just a different branch."

Zero thought for a moment and looked over at her. "Hold on, how do you know like, light and all that? I thought physicists picked a branch and specialized in that."

Ciel looked back at him and nodded, "Well, some do, but I didn't really get that option. I'm a specialist in most types of physics."

Zero tilted his head. "What?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I have twelve PhDs."

Zero looked at her in shock. "How do you have twelve PhDs?!"

Ciel gave him a funny look. "What do you mean?"

"It takes years and years to get one. How did you get so many already?"

Ciel blinked. "I'm part of the GMH program. Of course I have that many."

Suddenly, it all clicked. His jaw dropped "You're a GMH?! Why didn't you tell me?"

Ciel laughed. "I thought I already told you!"

"No, you definitely didn't." He shook his head and grinned at her. "Damn. Every time I hang out with you, you just keep getting cooler and cooler."

Ciel laughed, feeling heat rise to her cheeks and she looked away from him, instead focused on the cat in her lap. "I mean, it's not that big a deal . . ."

"Come on, don't sell yourself short. I don't have any degrees!"

Ciel smiled and rolled her eyes. "You could get a degree if you wanted to!"

Zero shook his head. "That's not the point. It would still take me years."

Ciel shook her head. "Whatever, anyway, the point is, I'm really happy to be working on it! This is exactly the break I needed. I think our best bet is to try and get them to emit light, which shouldn't be too hard since they already seem to emit light in cyberspace. It would be a lot harder to get them to reflect light since I don't think they have physical bodies. And they are designed to interact with things in the "real" world . . ."

Zero grinned at her as she went on about the project. He was glad to see her so happy about her work. He had been a little worried the other night that she actually hated her job, but now he could tell that wasn't right at all.

He tried to listen to everything Ciel was saying, he really did, but he was too busy watching her. He had never seen her like this, and he loved it. Her eyes were shining, and she was talking so passionately. Her mind was going a mile a minute, forming new thoughts and ideas as she spoke. She was truly brilliant. And while most of the time she was looking off into the distance while constructing plans in her head, every now and then she would look back at him with delight in her eyes, and he'd be filled with warmth. He wished she looked like that all the time.

He didn't realize that he was obviously zoning out, wearing a dazed smile, until Ciel's face fell.

She looked down, a little embarrassed, and sheepishly started scratching Bartholomew's chin. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm probably boring you."

Zero's smile was immediately replaced with a look of shock. "No! No, not at all! I love hearing you talk about your work," he said earnestly.

Ciel didn't seem convinced. She looked back over at him. "Well, anyway, how's your work?"

Zero frowned a little. He wished she would keep talking about her work so he didn't have to think about his. "It was fine," he said, shaking his head a little. "I don't think I told you yet, I got assigned to train some cadets, and I have no idea how I'm going to handle it. How can I teach them in the basics when I've never been taught the basics? I've always just known them." He looked over at her. "Do any of those PhDs happen to be in teaching?"

Ciel laughed. "Nope. I think you're just going to have to look up some tips. Is it just going to be you teaching them?"

Zero shook his head. "No, no, Signas isn't that mean. I'm working with Kat. She's a member of the first unit. They're the ones who usually handle training and all that."

Ciel smiled. "Oh, ok! Then it shouldn't be that bad. You can probably work something out with her. Maybe you can be more of like, a guidance counselor, you know? Like help them figure out what they like and what they want to do, while Kat does most of the actual teaching."

Zero was stunned for a moment. "You're such a genius. Why didn't I think of that?" He grinned at her. "What did I do to deserve a friend as smart as you?"

Ciel laughed. "Well, for starters, you brought me coffee this morning."

Zero shook his head. "I'm serious, Ciel. You're so brilliant."

Ciel was taken aback by his sincerity. It took her a few moments to find her voice.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Neither of them said anything for a moment as they looked at each other. There was a tension between them, something important left unsaid. Ciel turned away.

"Alright, so what are we watching?" Her cheerful tone sounded a little forced. "I think it's your turn to pick."

Zero ended up choosing a newer movie, something with a lot of action and colors. Ciel didn't really pay attention to it. She was too busy stealing glances at Zero, hoping that he would break the silence that had formed between them as the movie progressed. He didn't. The silence continued until the end of the movie, and even after that, they didn't say much to each other.

Zero took her home on his bike again, but this time she was holding onto him tighter than before. It comforted him. He had been scared that he had overstepped a boundary of hers, but now he was assured that wasn't the case at all. Instead, he felt even closer to her. When he dropped her off at her apartment building, she gave him a hug goodbye.

"See you in the morning?" She asked, still hugging him.

"Of course."

"I really did like that coffee you brought me this morning."

"I'm glad."

She pulled away and smiled at him sweetly before turning and heading up the front steps. As she opened the door, she turned and waved at him one last time before stepping inside.

Once she was inside, her face fell. Getting over him was going to be much harder than she anticipated.