Chapter 18: Truth or Lie?

Watching Chifuyu staring at the box sitting on the coffee table, Tabane imagined she was trying to glare it into submission. It was a tactic she could use on anyone she met and it usually worked within the first ten seconds of exposure, the afflicted going into shock and stammering like an idiot before finally giving in. The box, however, was putting up much more of a fight and was steadfastly refusing to be intimidated by what was, in Tabane's opinion, one of the scariest people on the planet when she needed to be. Tabane had been working on her computer to try and open the lock ever since yesterday, when Maylin had given it to them. Before she died she thought, suddenly overcome with feelings of gloom that she was not used to. Shaking her head, she focused completely on the screen before her, determined to not be outsmarted by this box.

"Well?" Chifuyu asked, starting to tap her foot in frustration. This thing was the only real answer they had gotten, and it was steadfastly refusing to give up its secrets. While she would have loved to talk with Simon about what he had experienced, now was definitely not the time. "Almost… Got it!" Tabane exclaimed as the lock chimed. The top of the box split down the middle and opened, revealing two devices. They were plated in black and gold, rectangular in shape, with a white crystal at the center and rounded edges, like pipes. Reaching towards the box, Tabane almost grabbed one before a concealed hollo projector lit up. And just like that, there was a miniature version of Tabane facing her, although this woman had a scar along her jaw and looked much more sad than the one sitting on the couch.

"Hello, my past me," it said, "Before you ask, I know that it was you that cracked this lock. No one else in the world could have, and I should know since I designed it." "Well, she definitely sounds like you, Tabane," Chifuyu said as she walked around and sat next to her. "If you are watching this, than it means the worst has come to pass and Maylin has been unable to stop this enemy from reaching its critical mass," it continued, "In that event, I designed a forced upgrade module for the IS. These are the devices you see now. They will observe their pilot's actions before forcibly triggering the suit's next shift. In addition, they are designed to bring the suit up to 4th generation standards. However, it is an unproven technology, and I don't know what kinds of side-effects they may have on the machine or pilot. I hope that you will choose wisely who you give these to, because once they are integrated with the IS they cannot be removed. I pray that you will succeed where we have failed."

With that, the hologram disappeared, leaving behind more questions than it had answered. Reaching into the box, Tabane removed one of the devices and examined it closer. "So, what do you think we should do, Chifu-ni?" Tabane asked. She was immensely curious about the nature of this module, but at the same time she wasn't so sure that she wanted to know, which was a new feeling for her. This was a technology gifted to them from her future self, specifically designed for battle. That was something she hadn't always supported, even though she knew that it was inevitable with the technology and the way that people acted. "We don't do anything," Chifuyu said, getting up and walking over to get more coffee, "You, however, will study these devices intensely, without installing them into an IS. If they do what that hologram said, and if we end up needing them, then we will have to choose the pilots carefully." Filling her cup, she returned to her own work as Tabane got to work on the modules, with lab equipment appearing from nowhere at the girl's command. Privately, Chifuyu knew a few people she would trust with that kind of power, but she knew that she would need to talk with them about it first, and that right now was not the time.

The next morning, Cecilia awoke to the feeling of something warm next to her. Without opening her eyes, she moved her head slightly and heard a steady heartbeat. Remembering the other evening, she opened her eyes and looked at the sleeping boy next to her. After she had finally released him from their kiss, he had stayed with her all afternoon, talking with her and helping her work through some of the grief. She had also told him everything she had learned from Maylin, and for whatever reason he wasn't very surprised about learning he was the girl's father. "I knew there was something familiar about her," he had said, "She reminded me a lot of Sarah. I guess spunk runs in the family." This comment earned him a playful punch in the shoulder and a giggle from Cecilia.

He had also proceeded to tell her everything he had learned, and it just made her feel worse for him. She had been hoping that the Gospel was just playing some kind of game, that its supposed connection was just it trying to mess with his mind. To learn that it was truly what remained of his sister was, in some ways, worse. Not only that, but to learn that all of the machines had fragments of people's minds in them was also a shock, and it really brought into question their actions up to now. "How are we going to tell the others?" she had asked. "I think the question is whether or not we tell them at all," he responded, "But, I think we're going to have to tell Chifuyu and Tabane, at the very least. They might be able to make more sense of this than we can."

As the afternoon turned into the evening, they continued to talk before finally giving in to their exhaustion and falling asleep. Now, as she propped herself up to look at Simon, she smiled slightly at how far they had come. Not a few months ago, they had been dancing around the point, with the occasional phrase betraying their emotions. Now they were sharing the same bed, unashamed to be sleeping with the one they loved. And I do truly love him she thought again, glad at how good it felt to admit it. Lying back down so her head was on his chest, she closed her eyes and let his heartbeat lull her back to sleep. Well, almost, since a few seconds later he woke up and shifted slightly, causing her to moan slightly in annoyance. Another minute and she would have been out again. Instead, she looked up and saw him smiling down at her.

"You comfortable there, princess?" he asked, trying not to laugh. She still looked like a mess, since she hadn't really tried to clean herself up the other day. But this was a good kind of mess, and it just made her seem more beautiful to him. "Mmhm," she mumbled before pulling herself closer and trying to fall back asleep. Before she could, however, Simon sat up, forcing her to lie back on the bed with another huff of annoyance. "While I would love to lay here with you all day," Simon said while trying not to laugh, "I would like to eat. I assume you would, too." As he said this Cecilia's stomach growled rather loudly, causing the British girl to blush rather badly. Laughing softly, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead before turning around and grabbing his coat. She got up a minute later and walked over to the bathroom. "You wouldn't happen to need any help, would you, princess?" Simon asked playfully, causing Cecilia to blush.

"I can dress myself, peasant," she said, sticking her tongue out at him before closing the door. He just laughed again as he sat down to wait. He was still trying to fully wrap his mind around what had happened the previous night. "I love you, Simon" "I love you, to, Cecilia" Yeah, we really did say it he thought again, trying to cement the idea in his mind. It still didn't feel quite real, but he still felt better with it out there. Now they just had to suffer through whatever teasing Rin would come up with. A few minutes later Cecilia emerged from the bathroom, dressed, cleaned up and looking more like her old self. Getting up, he took her hand as they left the room and made their way down to the restaurant. When they arrived, the sight that met them was enough to stop them short.

All of their friends were sitting at one of the larger tables, eating and looking like they were having a rather good time. What surprised Cecilia the most, and made Simon smile, was that Ichika and Houki were sitting rather close to each other, occasionally looking at each other and blushing slightly. After grabbing their food, Cecilia and Simon joined them. "So, you finally pulled the trigger, Ichika?" Simon asked as they sat down, causing Houki to turn a brighter red and Ichika to do a spit take. Before either of them could respond, he continued, "Relax, I'm just teasing you. It's about damned time you two stopped dancing around it." Damn, I sound like Rin now he thought the second the words were out of his mouth. And sure enough, Rin was grinning at him, thinking the same thing. "So, Simon, did Cecilia tell you about it yet?" she asked, looking an awful lot like some petite demon. The next few hours were filled with idle chatter and sporadic laughter. It was fairly pleasant until Houki asked, "Does anyone know where Maylin is? I haven't seen her around."

Instantly, the mood at the table shifted as everyone had the memories they had been trying to block out come back. Looking at their darkened faces, Houki was utterly confused. Had she been badly hurt? "Houki, she…" Ichika began as he reached out and grabbed her hand, "Maylin is… she didn't make it." It took her a few moments to fully understand what he meant before she looked at the rest of them, hoping against all odds that Ichika was wrong. Her friends, however, were unable to meet her gaze, unwilling to give her false hope. "No," she said finally, "Why? She was always so… why her?" As she started to tear up, Ichika moved in and hugged her while the others struggled with their own feelings.

Before things could slide much farther downhill, Maya walked up behind them. "Excuse me," she said, sensing the gloomy atmosphere, "Simon, Cecilia, could you come with me, please?" Without a word, they got up and followed their teacher, hoping that their friends would be able to help Houki deal with the news she had received. Can't imagine how much she's going to take this personally he thought as they followed Maya. After a brief, but awkward, elevator ride they found themselves looking at the door to Chifuyu's room. After knocking briefly, Maya opened the door and led them in. Seeing what looked like a mini-lab set up in one corner of the room was enough to bring Simon up short, although what Cecilia was focusing on was the fact that Chifuyu was sitting at the table with three cups of coffee before her. "Thank you, Maya," Chifuyu said, breaking Simon out of his little daze, "You can go."

Taking the implied hint, Simon and Cecilia took the seats opposite their teacher while Maya left the room. As they sat down, Tabane came out of the bathroom, looking rather relieved about something. When she saw the two kids in the room, her mood brightened a bit as she sat with Chifuyu. She's not trying to smother Chifuyu in a hug. That's not a good sign Simon thought as they continued to sit there in silence. "So, how are you feeling, Si-kun?" Tabane asked finally, "They didn't do any permanent damage, I hope." "The only damage was to my pride, and my IS," he responded, trying to keep his voice neutral. "I noticed. You'll be happy to know that I've taken the time to repair the damage while improving its response time. No need to thank me, Si-kun," she said with a smile. Before he could press her for details, Chifuyu interrupted. "I hate to have to ask you this, but I fear that time is a luxury we don't have. I need to know what you know about this enemy, Simon. And I mean everything, not just what's convenient for you to say."

Looking at Cecilia, he saw that she was a little nervous about saying anything about what they had already discussed. "Before I say anything, I need you to promise something," he said, looking between them, "What we tell you doesn't leave this room unless it absolutely has to. Agreed?" "And why is that?" "You'll know why as soon as I tell you." Knowing this boy wasn't one for tall tales, they both nodded. Taking a deep breath, and taking Cecilia's hand for support, Simon proceeded to tell them everything they had learned. Everything from their individual conversations with Maylin, to Simon's time with the human IS. To their credit, Tabane and Chifuyu stayed respectfully quiet; although Simon saw Tabane's face cloud over the moment he told them about the process that turned his sister into the Gospel. Aside from that, there was no reaction from the two women during the entire story. When he had finally finished, it was Chifuyu who responded first.

"Alright, Simon," she said, straining to keep her voice down, "I only have one question; why the hell didn't you tell us any of this sooner?" "Because… I didn't know how to start," he said, looking down, "And besides, I didn't want any special treatment from you if they were targeting me. I can take care of myself." "Clearly you can't, and that's something you need to get through your skull," she responded, getting up and walking over to face him, "You do anything like this again and there will be consequences. Am I understood, Felix?" Before he could even respond, he made the mistake of looking into her eyes and seeing something he wasn't expecting. It wasn't the glare he had expected; it was concern, for him, for his friends. Hanging his head, Simon felt the guilt he had been trying to control surfacing again. And why not? This was all his fault; if he hadn't surrendered to the enemy, hadn't allowed himself to be captured, if he hadn't…

Before he could slide any deeper into that pit of despair, Cecilia reached over and slapped him, snapping him out of it. "Stop that," she said, looking at him in concern, "You aren't responsible for this, any of it." Tightening his grip on her hand, he nodded as he tried to get control of himself again. To his surprise, Chifuyu leaned down and hugged him, completely tossing aside the 'tough teacher' act. After a little while, she stood back up and returned to her seat. Simon smiled and nodded at her, his way of saying 'I'm fine now.' "Now, we come to the matter of Maylin's gift to us," she said as Tabane brought out the upgrade modules. It didn't take the two long to explain what they were, and what they were supposed to do. "I've run what tests I can on them," Tabane said, "But they appear to be inactive. There are a lot of code fragments and half-finished protocols. My guess is that the gaps in the programs are filled in with data about the pilot, but we can't be sure."

"Why not?" Cecilia asked as she picked one up and examined it. They were fairly pretty when she looked at them up close. "Because, according to the future me, once they are installed, they can't be uninstalled. It's a one-time upgrade, no take-backs," she answered, sounding slightly annoyed. For whatever reason, that part of the technology irked her, and the fact that she couldn't pin down a precise reason why just added to her frustration. "You didn't try dismantling them, did you?" Simon asked, knowing full well what he would have done in her place. "What, me? And why would I do that, Si-kun?" she asked sweetly, getting a soft laugh out of the boy. That's more like it she thought as she smiled back. "The question is," Chifuyu said, "Do we believe the message? And if we do, who gets these upgrades?" "You're forgetting one other thing, Ms. Orimura," Cecilia responded, getting a slightly confused look from her, "There's also the question of whether we tell the others about any of this or not." They all fell into an uncomfortable silence after that. Both options carried risks, and neither of them felt right enough to pick. Should they tell the others that what they are truly fighting, or not?

"They've been gone a while," Rin said, sounding a little worried. They had decided to move over to the common room to wait for their friends. However, the wait was starting to eat away at the less patient among them. Rin was fidgeting and looking at the elevators every other second, while Tatenashi was toying with her fan absently and looking rather annoyed at something. She was probably still brooding over the fact that she had been unable to beat down the knight IS. The others were a little better off, although Houki looked like she was eager to get out there and try and take this enemy single-handed. After Cecilia and Simon had left, the others told her about the battle to get Simon back, and how Maylin had died. At first, she felt guilty that she hadn't been there, but those feelings were soon replaced with anger as she thought about how many times these things had made attempts on the lives of most of her friends. If they had their way, most of us would be dead now she thought, her hands starting to tremble at the notion. Before she could even consider giving into the thought of acting, Ichika placed a hand on hers and broke her from the thoughts. Looking up at him, she saw a look of comfort. He was struggling with the same things, but he wasn't about to give in to his impulses or let her do the same.

"Okay, we need a change of scenery," Charlotte said, finally getting fed-up with the tension in the room, "We should all go out and do something to relax. If they need us, they will call." "Are you crazy?" Rin asked, sounding stunned, "You remember the last time we left those two alone? What if-" "They're with Ms. Orimura. After what just happened, she's not likely to allow them to do anything questionable. Am I right, Ichika?" Charlotte asked, looking at the bluenette. "Yeah, that sounds like something Chifuyu would do," he agreed, "And besides, Charls is right. Why don't we see if there's something in town we can do?" Looking between his friends, he saw that they were split on the decision. Deciding to take the first step, he stood and took Houki's hand. "Hey, I heard about this great café not too far from here. Why don't we go check it out?" he offered, ignoring the looks he was getting. Houki just blushed and nodded, not trusting her voice right then.

"Well, now that you mention it," Laura said, sounding like her usual confidant self, "There is some business that requires my attention. If you will excuse me." "Would you mind if I tagged along, Laura?" Charlotte asked, receiving a shrug as an answer. After the four of them had left, Kanzashi got up and mumbled something about going to watch an anime before she left, too. That just left Rin and Tatenashi, which was a little awkward for the two. They had never talked much before this, although Rin was knew Tatenashi by reputation. After sitting there for a few minutes, she broke the silence. "You're really worried about him, huh?" Tatenashi asked, smiling playfully. "Why wouldn't I be?" Rin responded, sounding indignant, "That idiot can't go a whole week without getting into some kind of trouble. Someone has to keep an eye on him." "So, are you and he…?" she asked, her smile taking on an evil glint.

"Wh-what? Of course not!" Rin exclaimed while trying not to blush, "I just… he's like a brother to me, okay? I care." "It's alright, Lingyin, I'm just teasing you," Tatenashi soothed, surprising her with the use of her formal name, "To be honest, I'm worried, too. I don't know what was between them, but he and Cecilia had some kind of deeper connection to Maylin." "How can you tell?" "I'm not saying we weren't all hurt when she...," Tatenashi began before trailing off, "But, in hindsight, those two seemed a lot more cut up about it than we were. At least, until he paid Cecilia a visit the other day." "He did what now?" Rin asked, getting a mischievous look on her face. In fact, it was a surprising mirror of the one on Tatenashi's face. The two girls spent the next hour gossiping about whatever came to mind, the bulk of which was the relationship between Cecilia and Simon.

When Simon and Cecilia came back down to the main floor, it was to be greeted with playful looks of suspicion. Glancing at each other, they both realized that they had unknowingly walked right into some kind of trap. "So, how did it go?" Tatenashi asked, smiling and spreading her fan before her face. Crap, I've seen that look before Simon thought as they walked forward. Turning around and trying to run would only give these two exactly what they wanted. Better to try and tough it out, and maybe get some return fire in, too. "It was…illuminating, to say the least," Simon said as he sat down on one of the couches. Cecilia joined him, sitting next to him without thinking about it and causing rather evil looking grins to appear on the faces of the other two girls. "What?" Cecilia asked, although she already had an idea of where this was going.

"Well," Rin said, "Tatenashi was just telling me how you didn't make it back to your room yesterday, Simon." "So?" Rather than answer the question, she responded with one of her own. "Did you two sleep well last night?" The furious blush Cecilia and Simon developed was answer enough. They both tried to splutter out some kind of answer while the other two died from laughter. Outside in the city, Houki and Ichika were enjoying a rather wonderful day; she had started to get over her shyness towards physical contact and was holding his hand. It was a big deal to them both, but they were slowly learning to not wonder if everyone was staring at them for it. Laura and Charlotte were visiting a local weapon store where Laura had ordered a custom combat knife. "Just in case," she had said, although Charlotte didn't know what to think about a combat knife with serrated teeth on one end. Kanzashi had curled up in her room and started up an episode of her one of her favorite anime, a rather touching scene where the heroin starts to fall in love with a commoner.

Back in Chifuyu's room, they were going over what they had recently learned and trying to figure out what it would mean for the future. "Are you sure it was right decision?" Tabane asked again, still concerned, "If they ever find out that we kept this from them…" "Then we just have to make sure we never tell them," Chifuyu said, trying to sound confidant and in control. In truth, she was starting to feel out of her depth. They were up against an enemy that could think like humans, but wasn't bound by the same physical restraints. They were also not above creating more of their foot soldiers, or trying to produce more specialized units. An enemy with those kinds of capabilities was not something she, or anyone, had ever prepared for. But we should have she told herself again, it's our job to be prepared. How did this get by? And the answer was simple; because someone, somewhere, thought they could keep a leash on this and had failed miserably.

"Whether they like it or not, they've been drawn into this fight," she continued, "If we tell them what they are really fighting against, they may hesitate. And you should know full well what that might cost them." Tabane took the implied rebuke in stride and just continued her work. Her friend was right, of course. These kids were still too young to be able to handle the full implications of combat. The longer they believed they were simply fighting machines, the better they would be. If they found out after the smoke cleared, she would make her apologies then. But until that happened, she was going to do whatever needed doing to protect them. She knew that Chifuyu would do the same. Even though she never openly admitted it, she knew her friend would go to any length to protect her brother and those close to him. She had done it once, and was not afraid to do it again.

The choice has been made, and our heroes are starting to recover from their loss. Who will receive the upgrades from the future? What are they truly designed to do? And will the enemy just sit back as they recover their strength? Till the next chapter.

I would say that I'm sorry to all of you that assumed there would be a sex scene, but I was determined to keep that kind of content out of it from the beginning. As far as how things will go with these upgrade modules, you'll just have to wait and see.