Chapter 24; The Cost of Victory

Rin, Tatenashi and Charlotte rushed to the crater that Laura had created, hoping that the German hadn't just blown herself up along with her opponent. Before they could go more than a few feet, they heard coughing and saw Laura stumble out of the cloud looking rather pissed. She was also missing about half of her cannon, telling the others exactly how close their friend had come to dying. "Are you okay, Laura?" Charlotte asked, still concerned. Out of everyone, she was very close to Laura. "My cannon is no longer functional," Laura told them, sounding like her old self, "However, that machine isn't functional either, so I think it's a fair trade." At this, Rin began to laugh uncontrollably. Laura just looked at her, confused about what she found so funny. This just caused her to laugh harder, clutching her stomach and collapsing to the ground. This wasn't so much because she found the whole situation funny; it was mostly due to the relief that they had all survived the fight. Her relief was contagious, and soon Tatenashi and Charlotte were grinning as their friend tried to pick herself back up again.

"Alright," Rin said, finally in control of herself, "Let's go find the others." Their journey back onto the deck of the carrier was more intense than their journey down into the hold, as what felt like the entire crew attacked them as they progressed through the hallways. When they finally made it back onto the deck, Laura and Charlotte had burned through the last of their ammo, leaving Rin as their only long-range member. Looking around, they quickly spotted Houki and Ichika fighting frantically to keep a hole in the deck clear of enemies. The pile of scrap metal and body parts around them attested to the ferocity of the enemy assault. "Rin, we need your help here, now!" Ichika said, slashing another Harpy in two, "Cecilia went after Simon. You need to go give her some back-up!" "What about the fight up here?" she asked, torn between helping the two blondes and the rest of her friends. Laura just laid a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle shove towards the hole. "We got this, half-pint," Tatenashi said, bringing her spear up and charging. Ignoring how her temper flared at that last statement, Rin dashed into the hole while Ichika gave her cover fire.

Further ahead, Cecilia was moving through the damage caused by Simon's fight with Gospel, amazed that they had done so much so fast. When she happened upon the final room, she stopped cold. The first thing she noticed was Gospel's body on the floor; chest pierced clean through and Simon's sword lying next to it. She also saw a patch of blood, which she visually followed to the nearest wall just before gasping. Simon was sitting with his back to the wall, his IS still somehow active, and surrounded by a slowly expanding pool of blood. For a brief moment, Cecilia felt her heart stop. No, not him she begged as she dashed forward, please, God, not him. "Simon?" she said as she knelt down next to him. Hearing her voice, he lifted his head and looked straight at her, cracking a weak smile.

"Hey there…princess," he managed, sounding tired, "I think…I may have…screwed up." Bracing his hands on the wall, Simon tried to get back onto his feet, only to slip and fall. Cecilia caught him and gently lowered him so he was lying on the metal, his head in her lap. "Don't worry, Simon, I'm here," she said, near hysterics, "You're going to be all right. Do you hear me? You're going to be fine." She could already feel herself tearing up, and she angrily scrubbed them away as she tried to think of a way to get him out of here. Crying wasn't going to save his life, and she was going to save it, damnit. The way back to the outside, however, was rough and would require his flight system to traverse properly. And he clearly wasn't in any condition to move. Instead, she looked around for something to act as a make-shift bandage while she tried to call the others.

Rin had caught up to them by this point, and when she saw the condition Simon was in she immediately started scrounging through the crates. Finally finding a box full of simple clothing (although why these machines had it, she didn't know), she grabbed a pair of shirts and some long pants before rushing over to Simon. "Hey there…Rin," he said, turning his head slowly, "I'm glad...to see that…you're okay as well." "Shut up, idiot," she replied, lifting him slightly so she could get one of the pant legs and a shirt under him. She then put the other shirt on the wound on his front and used the pants to tie them together. "You're going to be fine, Simon," she told him, trying to project confidence, "We're getting you out of here." "Thanks for…the kind words…Rin," he managed, smiling at her, "But…I think…we both know…it's too late."

"Shut up!" Cecilia shouted, feeling her heart breaking as he spoke, "I already nearly lost you twice! I'm not letting it happen again! You're going to live, damnit!" Reaching up, he touched her cheek as Cecilia began to cry, unable to wipe the tears away anymore. "And...how do you…propose that…I make it…back to the…mainland?" he asked, too tired to try to lie, "Even if I…got back…to the main deck… it's miles to…the nearest shore…" "We'll think of something," she said, determined not to give up, "I can't lose you, Simon. Please, don't leave me here…please." It hurt him deeply that he was the cause of all of this pain, but even he had to accept what this meant. "Like hell you're dying here," Rin said as she grabbed his arm, "Cecilia, get his other side. We're heading up top." "But-" "But nothing! I'm not standing by and watching this play out!" Rin shouted, fed up, "You're going to help me get him up to the deck. And you, Simon, will not die unless you want me to come after you and kick your ass. Do you hear me?"

Smiling weakly at her, Simon nodded as they helped him to his feet. Thankfully, they were able to support his weight with their flight systems, so he was spared the pain of walking. It still hurt like hell as they drifted back the way they had come. Lady luck did smile on them in at least one way; they were spared any enemy encounters. When they returned to the deck of the carrier, they saw that the others had finished the remaining enemies off. They were all in various levels of exhaustion and damage. But when they saw the two girls carrying a bleeding Simon, they all dropped what they were doing and hurried over. Laura, thankfully, had taken basic medical training, and she drew on it now as she destructed her IS. "Lay him down on the deck," she instructed as she walked over. Without a word, Rin and Cecilia did as she said, although Cecilia stayed next to him and kept a firm grip on his hand.

"Well…at least I'll die…with a good view," Simon said, admiring the blue sky. It had never looked so beautiful to him before, and part of him knew it was because he was starting to become delirious due to blood loss. "After all of the battles we've been through, American," Laura said as she examined the wound, "I can't believe that this little scratch is what's making you act this way." "Thanks for…the encouragement…Laura." Meanwhile, Houki was clinging to Ichika, hoping against everything that she wasn't witnessing the death of another friend. Charlotte was standing behind Cecilia with Rin, both girls unsure of what they could do. Tatenashi had her hands clasped in front of her, looking helpless as well, and clearly not used to the feeling. Laura had summoned a first aid kit (why she had one, no one knew or was about to complain) and went to work trying to patch the wound as best as she could. Thankfully, his IS' continuous inversion of the shield around the wound combined with the make-shift bandage was serving to slow the bleeding by a good measure. However, as Laura continued to try and stop the bleeding completely, she realized that unless he got medical attention fast he was going to bleed out.

"Cecilia…" Simon said, pulling her in closer, "I need…to tell you…something." "Simon…please, don't…" she replied, already dreading what she was about to hear. "Listen, I just…wanted to say that…I'm sorry," he said, "I'm the reason that…you've had to…suffer like this. And I'm…so sorry for that… If I had never…if we hadn't…" "No, don't say that," she said, shaking her head, "I don't regret a moment of it. Not any of the time we spent together, or any of the things I thought and felt. Now stop talking, you're going to be fine. We're going to have a lot more time together, so don't you dare die." Simon just cracked a weak smile as he noticed his vision fading around the edges. "I'm not…sure that…I can…do…that…"

With that, Simon felt his eyes slide closed while he slowly sunk into oblivion. "Simon?" Cecilia asked, her breath hitching. Noticing the change, Laura leaned over him and placed her ear on his chest. "I still hear a heartbeat," she said as she looked back at Cecilia. She was already starting to tear up again, and Laura couldn't do much more in these conditions. "Houki, we need you," she said as she stood back up, "You need to take him to the Academy as fast as you can. It's the closest land to us." Without hesitation, Houki stepped forward and started to pick the unconscious blonde up. "I'm coming, to," Cecilia said as she stood up with her, still holding Simon's hand. Houki didn't even try to argue as they took off and flew back the way they had come. Cecilia, thanks to her shift into a 4th gen, was able to keep pace with Houki well enough. Please, hold on, Simon she begged as she noticed his bandages starting to soak through with more blood.

Looking around, Simon was mildly surprised to see that he had returned to that inner space in the IS core. I wonder why I came here he thought as he looked around. He was strangely light-headed, and he looked down to see that his pilot suit was completely intact, as was his body. "You really are several kinds of stupid, aren't you?" he heard. Turning around, he saw his IS' AI, 13, standing behind him, smiling like she always did. "You couldn't go more than a few days without getting hurt, could you?" she asked, walking forward. "What can I say?" he replied, "I'm a risk taker. So, why am I here?" "You're here because I'm not about to let you die, stupid." "You're starting to sound like Rin," Simon noted, looking around. He was suddenly feeling very tired, and a little short of breath. Suddenly, he felt a surge through his chest that hurt like hell. He tried to cry out, but only managed a ragged gasp as the pain continued for what felt like hours. When it stopped, he dropped to his knees and greedily sucked in air.

"Wh-what did you just do?" he managed after a time, looking up. 13 had walked over to stand in front of him by this point. Kneeling down, she replied, "I just used some of your remaining energy to restart your heart. Now focus, Simon. You have a promise to keep." "So, you heard that, did you?" he asked, smiling sheepishly. "I hear everything through my stand-by form, Simon," she replied, her smile turning mischievous, "That was some rather risky behavior with your girlfriend in the past, by the way." This caused Simon to blush rather badly as he looked away. She just giggled at this reaction before she helped him back onto his feet. "So, why am I here, really?" he asked, trying to stay focused. Leading him over to a table with a pair of chairs (where they had come from, he had no clue), she explained, "You're here so I can monitor you more closely and keep you alive while your friends get you to a hospital." "You're really confidant," he said before he collapsed into the chair, feeling numbness starting to creep into his limbs.

Rubbing his hands together, he tried to dispel it, but didn't succeed. Looking up, he saw that 13 was still smiling as she sat down opposite him. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked, starting to feel a little cold. "My last operator was an incredibly cheerful person," 13 told him, laughing softly, "I think it rubbed off on me." "Clearly." "Anyway," she continued, ignoring his comment, "I thought this would be a good chance for us to talk properly." "Why?" he asked, "We both know that my odds of living through that wound are slim to none. What's the point?" In an instant, 13's demeanor changed. She suddenly became serious and focused, the humor that was present in her eyes replaced with a calculating look. It was enough to unnerve Simon slightly. "You're here so that I can keep your mind alive while my subroutines keep your body alive," she explained, sounding serious, "You're here because despite what you may think of me, I do have morals and I won't stand by and watch you die." "And how exactly are you going to keep my mind alive?"

"By doing what we're doing now," she replied, smiling slightly, "So, what are you going to do when you get out of this?" "Seriously, that's your plan? Keep me talking?" Simon asked, stunned. When 13 just sat there expectantly, he sighed and continued, "Well, I will probably get to suffer through a ton of apologies. I did drag everyone into this, after all." "And we're going to stop that right here," 13 said, sitting upright, "This is not your fault. Get that through your thick skull. This was the result of a freak accident that some people tried to twist towards their advantage." "But I allowed them to continue with the test when I knew that it wasn't safe," he protested, feeling that old wound opening again. "And what would they have done if you had objected and tried to force them to stop?" 13 asked. Before he could reply, she continued, "They would have dismissed you and brought someone in that wouldn't object before continuing at the same pace. This is on their heads, not yours."

"But I still had the chance to end this," Simon said, "Twice, actually. I could have taken Gos- Sarah, I could have taken Sarah down when she appeared at the resort." "That fight was stacked in her favor from the get-go," 13 told him, "And before you try and make another excuse; you staying with them when they captured you wouldn't have stopped this from going this far. Your sister and her comrades were set on this course from the beginning." "And how do you figure that?" Simon challenged. How this program could believe it knew his sister better than him was bordering on insulting. "I may not be able to fully grasp some of the logic you people use," she explained, softening her tone slightly, "But I can tell you more about what your sister was towards the end. The process to turn them into what they were is essentially a fusion." Simon just sat there, thinking about what she had just told him. Finally, unable to make total sense of it (due in no small part to the fact that he felt himself fading again), he asked, "What does that mean?"

"The process imprints a person's brain waves onto the IS core," 13 explained, "It is essentially a brute-force method of turning a human into an AI. However, the original IS cores have their own respective intelligence. When the human mind is imprinted onto the core, it overwrites certain parts of the AI's program. At the same time, certain parts of that program overwrite parts of that person's mind and memories. What's left is a hybrid of the two minds, but not exactly the most stable being." Through all of this, Simon sat there and absorbed all that she was saying. Now that it was all laid out for him, it explained some of the quirks with them when he talked to them. "But, how can you know this?" he asked finally. "When I back-tracked the connection between the virus to the IS known as 'Fairy,' I got a brief glimpse of her core's program," 13 told him, "It wasn't long enough for a detailed analysis, but enough to show signs of both minds working in a kind of chaotic-harmony."

"Then what I killed…" Simon said, feeling sick, "What she was at the end… She wasn't really my sister, was she?" At this, 13 changed from cold and calculating back to her old self, although she looked genuinely hurt for him. "I'm sorry," she said, "But no. Parts of her were definitely genuine, and I'm sure her memories of you were what made her more human than the others. But, she wasn't your sister, Simon." He felt conflicted over that. On the one hand, it was worse to learn that it was the remains of his sister that he had fought. He couldn't even imagine what it was like to exist like that. But, on the other hand he was relieved that her suffering was finally over. And it was by his hand, not some stranger. There was a twisted kind of solace to be had with that. Before he could dwell on this internal conflict any more, he felt the familiar pain as 13 shocked him again to keep his heart going.

"Be honest with me," he asked after he had steadied his breathing, "What are my chances?" 13 sat there for some time, clearly running through any and all variables she could conceive. Finally, she said, "Baring any sneak attacks by remnants of Gospel's forces, I'd say that your odds sit around 20%." "Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't know how much longer I've got," Simon said. He could feel himself fading again, growing much colder. "Simon, no!" 13 said. Suddenly, the chairs and table disappeared and she was next to him, keeping him standing upright. "Stay with me, Simon! Stay awake!" Realizing that saying that wouldn't work, she tried another approach. "You never finished answering my question," she said, gentler this time, "What are you going to do after you get through this? What about you and Cecilia?"

At the mention of her name, Simon brightened a bit. That's right he thought, I have a promise to keep. "Well… I guess the first thing I'll do is make sure I never make her cry again," he said, feeling some of his strength returning, "Then, I would make sure to honor my original promise." "And what promise is that, Simon?" 13 prompted. She needed to hear him say it. More importantly, she knew that he needed to hear himself say it. "I promised that I wasn't going to leave her," he responded, stronger this time, "And I won't."

He felt warmth first; enough that it was comforting but not so much that it was stifling. For the longest time he lay there with his eyes closed, unwilling to move. This was the first peaceful rest he had had in a while, and he was loath to disturb it. Finally, he forced his eyes open only to squint from the light coming in through the window. After a few minutes of watery eyes, he adjusted to the light enough to see the familiar surroundings of the Academy's medical center. When you recognize the ceiling at first glance, you've been here too many times he thought with a smirk. Rolling his head to the right, he saw an IV and a heartbeat monitor, the latter of the two showing a strong, steady rhythm. Looking back to the left, he saw a rather familiar person in a familiar place. Cecilia was sleeping with her head on his bed; her hand entwined with his and tear streaks down her face.

Moving his hand up, he started to wipe the tears off her face while he tried not to let his guilt overwhelm him. He had made her cry, again. Rather than dwell on it, he focused on the fact that he had kept his promise. The movement of his hand was enough to rouse her from her sleep, and she looked up at him, trying to blink the weariness out of her eyes. When she finally saw that he was awake and looking at her, her eyes snapped open and she sat up, grasping his hand in both of hers. "Simon?" she asked, barely above a whisper. He nodded at her, cracking a small smile as he saw how she just lit up. Without any prompting, she leaned forward and kissed him, tears starting to return to her eyes. "Why do you always have to make me worry?" she asked finally, leaning back a bit, "Every time I leave you alone, you do something stupid and get hurt." "What can I say, I like taking risks," he replied, leaning up slightly, "And don't pretend that you don't like it."

With a huff, Cecilia punched his shoulder, saying, "This is the last time I will allow it. Am I understood, peasant?" "Yes, princess," he replied, laughing softly. She struggled to stay mad at him, but it didn't last. Eventually, she was laughing along with him, relieved that he was okay. It had been a serious challenge getting him back to the Academy for treatment. While Houki focused on keeping him stable as they flew, Cecilia had called ahead to let Chifuyu know what had happened. The woman hadn't been too pleased with them, but when she learned how badly Simon had been wounded she had quickly focused on getting him the proper attention. During the flight, the girls had noticed that Simon's IS was still active, and that at about the half-way point it had delivered a shock to his chest. "What the heck was that?" Houki had asked. Since she was in contact with the IS, she had received a portion of the charge. It wasn't enough to hurt, but she did feel it. "I don't know," Cecilia had replied, feeling helpless. Because of their position and the speed they were traveling at she hadn't been able to actually monitor him, and it was killing her.

When they had arrived back at the island, his IS had done it again. "What is it doing to him?" Cecilia had asked one of the paramedics as they examined the boy. "I don't know," she had responded, trying to work around the armor, "But I'd guess that it's an improvised defibrillator. Probably saved his life." His IS is trying so save him, to Cecilia realized. Finally, Tabane had forced it to destruct to allow the paramedics to get him secured properly. After that, Cecilia had spent her time in the waiting room as the doctors worked to repair the damage. The energy blade had apparently missed most of the vital organs, although the damage to the digestive tract was bad enough that they were going to have to reattach certain sections. Just listening to them list the damage he had suffered had made her feel sick, but Houki had thankfully been there to keep her comforted. Kanzashi had arrived at the center soon after they had, hearing that Simon had been hurt. She had also tried to comfort the girl, even though it wasn't really her strong suit.

Simon spent hours in surgery, while Cecilia kept track of every minute, praying that they would save him. Eventually, the others arrived, cleaned up and dressed properly. Ichika had told her that Chifuyu had wanted a full rundown of their attack on Gospel's forces before she would release them. Finally, one of the doctors entered the waiting room, looking rather tired. "Cecilia Alcott?" she asked, knowing full well her relation to the patient. "Is he alright?" Cecilia had asked as she stood up. "We did what we could," the doctor told her, "I'm optimistic, but we're going to have to wait until he wakes up." Sensing the girl's next question, she gestured down the hall, saying, "Room 112." Cecilia had rushed down the hall without any prompting while the others stayed back. They all figured that the two blondes could use some time alone.

She had stayed by his bed all night, talking with him at first. This had dissolved into crying as he remained unresponsive before she finally fell asleep, too exhausted to stay awake. But he's awake now she thought as she looked at him. He was probably a little stiff, and that wound was definitely going to leave a scar, but he was alive. "Well, at least you kept your promise," she finally said as she went to sit back down. Before she could move, Simon reached up and cupped the back of her head before pulling her down into an awkward hug. "I'm sorry, Cecilia," he said as he kissed her head, "I'm so sorry." She was surprised at first, but it quickly turned into relief that resulted in her losing all restraint. She started to cry again and she wrapped her arms around him as best as she could. "Don't ever make me worry like that again," she managed between sobs. Simon just lay there, massaging the back of her neck as she let it all out. "I won't, I promise," he said, kissing her head again.

The fight is over and done, with our IS pilots coming out on top. They may bear a few scars, but they wear them proudly as they begin to recover. And for those that actually believed I was about to kill my OC off, how cold-blooded do you think I am? "But wait, Palladin, what about what you mentioned last chapter about another story arc?" Hmm, I wonder…