NEO World of Advent Chapter Twenty-One

Cero leaned into his seat as he gripped his controller tightly. He tilted to the left, as though actually moving physically would impact the curve of his racer so that it avoided the edge. He would have made it, if not for a large shell-shaped bomb flown at him from Clover's side of the screen. Cero groaned at the sign of his racer being reset in the beginning of the track while Clover lapped him for the third and final time.

"Hey, you alright?" Clover set the controller down. "You usually dodge that attack. Something wrong?"

"Not really," Cero said. "It's just really odd, thinking about having a brother. Kind of surreal, if that makes sense. I thought he was dead."

"Yeah, I can see why that would make you a little confused." Clover put her hand up to her chin, cupping it thoughtfully. "He seems pretty cool though. He's not you, obviously, and he's a little serious, but I don't think he's a bad person."

"It's not that," Cero said. "It's that I'm no longer an only child. I never was, I guess. I wonder if Light is out there too…" Cero shook his head. "This is maddening."

"Ciel and Zero must be wondering that too," Clover told him. "I'm sure they'll find him if he is out there like they did with Cipher. I don't think agonizing over it will help any."

"Yeah," Cero said. "I just wish I knew for sure. I wonder what he'd be like? Maybe he's a scientist for peace, like Mom." He envisioned a regal blonde man in a lab coat, hard at work curing incurable diseases.

"Well I hope he's a video game designer," Clover said. "Maybe he'd make me a character in one of his games. Like the final boss or something."

Cero rolled his eyes. "Why don't you make your own game? I'm sure you could be the bad guy then."

"It's so hard to do though," Clover moaned. "I've looked into it, but there's like a gajillion different things to understand and like seventy different 'languages.' I didn't even know games had languages."

"I can teach you a bit more about it," Cero offered. "Those are just different styles of doing it. Kind of like how one string of letters could mean something in one language and be totally incomprehensible in another."

"Thanks," Clover told him. "But for now I'm just going to stick to shoving you off the side of the map."

Cero laughed. "I think my parents are spending one-on-one time with Cipher, so we have the Base to ourselves, kind of. Is there anything you want to do?"

Clover thought about it. "I don't know. I'm happy with doing this all day."

"That's all we ever do," Cero said. "Let's go visit Aunt 'Lou. You can even hang out with the other cyber elves if you want."

"Are you sure we can't just stay here and finish that secret story chapter for Spellblade II?" Clover tugged at the sleeve of her dress nervously. "I don't want to bother her."

"You're not afraid of Aunt 'Lou, are you?" Cero gave his friend a concerned look. "You're not still angry about her shutting off your audio feed that one time, are you?"

"Of course not." Clover fidgeted in her seat. "It's not her. It's um, something else. It's not a big deal though. She's probably still in the Nursery if you want to check up on her."

"What is it?" Cero paused their game to let her know he wasn't planning on playing again until he got answers. "I can't help if you won't tell me what it is. Is it the incubator?"

"No, Cero." Clover sounded annoyed. "Why would I be afraid of that old thing? I get why I had to stay in it; besides, that's where I first met you."

"So what's the big deal?" Cero was confused. "I thought cyber elves loved the Nursery. Allouette tells me about how she can't get the others to leave."

"That's kind of the problem," Clover said timidly. "I don't always get along well with the other elves."

Cero was taken aback. "Why don't you get along?"

"I make them nervous or something." Clover fingered her controller restlessly. "They don't know what to think about me."

"What about you?" Cero felt a little angry that Clover had been mistreated by her own kind. "I mean sure, you can be a little lively at times, but I don't see why that's any reason not to like you."

"It's not exactly that," Clover told him. "I think you told me that humans have those weird cliques, like how certain people like to hang around people like them. Well, elves do that too. It's just that animal elves like to hang around the other animal elves and the hacker elves with hacker elves. Nurse elves are a little friendlier, but most of the time they stick to their own kind as well. There are exceptions of course, but nobody seems to figure out where I belong. I'm not really any of them; I can use all three types."

Cero put his hand over hers, a subtle gesture of solidarity and nodded knowingly. "I know what you mean, actually. I never got to know most of the Advents my age. Most of them couldn't see past my parents to actually get to know me. Don't worry," he told her. "Even if you don't fit in with them, you fit in just fine with me."

Clover gave him a shy nod. "Thanks, Cero." She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "To the freaks."

"To the freaks." Cero stretched, realizing for the first time that he was actually very hungry. "I'm sure we can catch her at lunch; even she has to eat from time to time."

Clover nodded. "Maybe I can ask about why I haven't been growing any." She tugged at the neck of her dress, almost as if looking underneath for any signs of subtle growth. "I was growing so fast and now I haven't been growing at all."

Cero nodded, but said nothing. He had neglected to tell Clover that she would no longer grow any more. "I'm sure she would know."

The two found Allouette attempting to sneak out with a platter of Energy Crystals. They flagged her down, and made her sit down with them. "You should really take for yourself," Cero said. "You don't have to be working all the time."

"I appreciate the thought," Allouette said, "But I have a lot of work to do, Cero. Some of the elves aren't growing as much as I think they should and I need to figure out why."

"Hey speaking of that," Clover said, "Why haven't I been growing?"

Allouette looked to Cero, who shrugged. "I didn't tell her," Cero admitted. "I didn't know how to say it."

"Say what?" Clover's shoulders drooped as she anticipated bad news. "What's wrong? I'm still growing, right?"

"No Clover," Allouette said gently, "I don't think you are. There's nothing wrong with the body you have now though. Lots of cyber elves look like that when they're fully grown."

"No," Clover protested. "Martina looks almost as old as Ciel does! And Milvy's still growing," she added. "She looks as old as Sorra and Grey."

"You aren't Martina or Milvy," Allouette said. "Their abilities are still maturing. Yours were lucky to manifest early alongside your physical body."

"But I don't want to stay like this," Clover said anxiously. "I want to grow old, like Cero." She looked at the energy crystals on Allouette's plate. "If I eat more, will I grow again?"

"Clover…" Allouette gave the young cyber elf an empathetic look. "It doesn't work like that. You're perfectly healthy-"

"I don't want to be healthy though!" Clover sounded desperately close to tears. "I want to grow older."

"And you will," Allouette said. "Just in a different way. The more you experience life, you'll find yourself becoming a different person in time."

"But that won't make me look any different," Clover said, her voice rising in pitch. "I can't wear that Forest Spirit cosplay if my chest doesn't get any bigger and…" She gave Cero a sideways glance before burying her head in her hands.

Allouette rubbed Clover's shoulders like she had with Cero's own in the past. Cero remembered his Aunt 'Lou consoling him about something one of the Neo Arcadian kids said, rubbing his shoulders like that. "It'll be okay," she reassured Clover. "It's not the end of the world."

"What if you made me a new body?" Clover looked up hopefully. "I know you had a younger looking body from pictures on Ciel's desk. Maybe you could transfer me to a different one."

"Clover," Allouette said, a touch more sternly this time. "There is nothing wrong with you. You are a wonderful young woman just the way you are. As it is, cyber elves aren't reploids. I can't transfer your consciousness like Ciel did with me."

Clover's shoulders sagged, but she seemed to accept her fate. "Okay. I guess this doesn't change much, really. I'm still me."

"Yes," Allouette said, relieved to see Clover taking the news better now. "Everything you can do with an older body you can do with the one you have right now."

"Everything…" Clover nodded. "Thanks, Allouette."

"Anytime." She held out an energy crystal for Clover to take. "Here. It might not help you grow, but these are my favorites. Ciel tells me they taste like oranges."

Clover nibbled on the end thoughtfully. "It's kind of sweet, but not like how chocolate is. It's weird," she said. "I don't know how to describe it."

"Try 'fruity,'" Allouette told her. "Human fruit tastes sweet like that, but you're right. It's a lot different than chocolate."

Clover nodded. "I'll try out more fruity crystals. I didn't know this was a thing."

"I'm sure you'll like them," Allouette said, then turned as the rest of Cero's family walked inside. Cipher was between Zero and Ciel, looking slightly uncomfortable. Cero sympathized with him; it must be just as weird for his brother as it was for him. "Here's your brother," Allouette told Cero. "Why don't you go say hi?"

"I guess so," Cero said. Allouette gave him a look. "Alright, alright! I'm going." Cero walked over to where they were, gathering a small meal. "Hey," he greeted Cipher. "How do you like the food here?"

"It's good," Cipher told him. "It's a lot better than the stuff we ate back home." He frowned, almost as if trying to decide where 'home' was. Cero thought of some way to make him feel welcome; that's what you were supposed to do with long lost relatives right? Cero shrugged; it seemed like the right thing to do.

"You can bring your food up to our room," Cero said. "We have a good collection of games if you want to play one."

"We?" Cipher seemed confused. "Whose room are we going to, again?"

"Clover and I share a room," Cero told his brother. "She's my elf, remember? Uh, don't tell her I said that."

Cipher nodded. "Alright, sounds fun." He looked up at Zero and Ciel questioningly.

"Go on," Ciel said. "It's important to get to know your older brother."

"We'll be here if you need us," Zero added. Cipher nodded.

"Got it. Lead the way, I suppose." Cero lead Cipher to the table where Clover and Allouette were talking. "Hey Clover," he said. "Do you want to help me show Cipher around? I thought we could show him our collection."

"Oh yeah!" Clover nodded enthusiastically. "You'll love it. We have everything, even the digitally remastered stuff and the mature rated games we're not actually supposed to…" She cleared her throat. "We have lots of games," she finished.

Allouette shook her head. "Don't let your mother know about those games," she said warningly. "I'm not bailing you out if she does."

"It's nothing bad, really." Clover defended her choice in selection. "People are so sensitive about their ratings these days. It's just a little blood at most."

"Alright." Allouette shrugged. "I suppose I don't need to let Ciel freak out over a little bit of blood. It's just blood right?" She addressed the question to Cero.

"Just blood," Cero reassured her. "Nothing too bad."

Allouette nodded, satisfied. "Well, have fun you three. I'll be down in the nursery," she told Cipher. "These two know that, but if you need anything or just want to talk, I'll be there. I know it's a lot to take in," she added. "But I'll do anything in my power to make you feel at home here."

"Thanks," Cipher said. "It's still strange, but I'm getting used to it. I think I remember which hallways are which now at least."

"Just stop by if you ever want to talk." Allouette gave Cipher a small hug before leaving. "Just knock first!"

"So," Cipher said. "I remember you saying something about games. Are you talking about video games or the board kind?"

Cero and Clover shared a panicked look, as if the question was concerning to them. As far as they were concerned, non-digitized gaming was a sin. "Video games," Cero said. "We don't play board games that often."

"I'm more used to board games," Cipher admitted, "But that's just because we couldn't afford many of the expensive gaming systems."

"We have a spare," Clover said. "You can use that if you want. Just ask Ciel or Zero! I'm sure they'd get you one. Actually," she said thoughtfully, "I'm pretty sure they'd get you just about anything right now. I don't suppose you'd ask for one of those immersive gaming sets, would you? It's for science."

Cero groaned. "Ignore her. It's what I do."

"Hey," Clover complained. "Rude."

Cipher smiled. "You two seem close."

"We are," Cero said. "I've only known each other for a little less than a year now, but it feels like a lot longer."

"I've known him my whole life!" Clover hummed happily as they approached their door. "It's a bit of a mess, but nothing too bad. Just step over the candy wrappers."

Cipher eyed the offending snack wrappers warily, but found a place devoid of soda cans or energy crystal packages. "Reminds me of one of my Family's rooms," he said. "Brandon and Kent's," he explained.

"Your family?" Cero's eyebrows were knitted together before he realized who his brother was talking about. "Oh yeah, that's right. You were assigned an Advent Family weren't you?"

"Yeah." Cipher looked around with a half smile. "Those two were a lot messier than this though. Charles and I liked our room the cleanest."

"I remember you talking about him," Clover said. "He was kind of like your lieutenant, right?"

Cipher nodded. "Charles is in charge now, as a matter of fact. I hope he's doing alright." Cipher brought himself out of his reverie. "What kind of games do you have?"

"We can play Spellblade," Cero offered. "It's what Clover and I first played together."

"Can we do something different?" Clover put the tips of her index fingers together. "That game's kind of special."

"Yeah, sure." Cero dug through their various boxes. "How about Hero Simulator?"

"Oh that's a good one," Clover said. "It's a beat 'em up game," she explained to Cipher. "You play as a character and try to defeat the other with each avatar's different set of moves and abilities."

"It gets complicated if you want to be competitive," Cero said, "But for casual games it's pretty simple."

"What do you think you'd like to play as," Clover asked. "There's aggro style which is kind of like up close attacks or long-range fighters, but long-range fighters got a damage reduction in the latest patch that makes them not as viable as more aggressive or midrange fighters."

"Slow down," Cipher said. "What's this about midrange?"

"It's best if you just play," Cero said, offering a controller to his brother. "We'll explain as the fight goes on."

The three of them successfully found Cipher a fighter he seemed to enjoy, Copy X. Cipher seemed to lean towards long-range combat more, but also used midrange fighters like Harpuia well. Cipher told them that he enjoyed the game, wishing he could bring something like it back to his Family.

"We do have a spare," Cero reminded him. "Here," he said as he brought out their older model. "It's a little laggier, but works well with something like Hero Simulator. So long as you're not playing something that has a lot of high definition graphics, you should be fine."

Cipher eyed the box. "Thanks, Cero. Do you mind if I take this to them now? I need to check up on them anyhow."

"I don't see why not." Cero paused their game. "But that's up to Mom or Dad. Mom usually handles the transfers, so it might be a good idea to ask her."

"Where is she?" Cipher scratched his head. "I still don't know my way around yet. I'd go on my Slider, but it's a little too far for that."

"She might be in her room," Cero said. "But I think she said she would be in the Command Room, dealing with something with Neo Arcadia. If we go now she might still be there."

The three of them made their way to the Command Room, where Ciel was busy talking to someone beyond the closed door. "You'll have to wait," Jaune, one of the operators said. "She's busy right now, but she should be done soon."

"What is she doing?" Cipher peered through the glass panel to get a glimpse of who she was talking to. "It looks important."

"A lot of the stuff she handles with the city is," Jaune told him. "Right now she's discussing Zero's allowance into the city, among other things."

The three of them didn't have to wait long. Shortly after Jaune told them to wait, the doors opened, and Ciel stepped outside, running a hand through her hair.

"How did it go," Jaune asked her.

"It went well," Ciel said. "Harpuia wanted Zero to wear some sort of ankle monitor, but we managed to work something out where Zero wouldn't be treated like some sort of criminal." She shook her head. "I swear, that reploid can be so stubborn sometimes. It's not like we were ever the bad guys anyway." She spied Cipher, Cero, and Clover. "Hello, you three. I take it you want a trip to the city? Thank heaven I don't have to negotiate any of you entering Neo Arcadia." She gave a short laugh.

"Yes please," Cero told his mother. "Cipher wants to check up with the rest of the Advent Family he was assigned."

"That sounds alright," Ciel said. "I'll go ahead and approve the transfer. You three look after each other, alright? And be careful of the paparazzi. They'll be looking for you," she told Cipher.

"Thanks for the head up." Cipher stepped onto the pad beside Cero and Clover. "Are you coming too," he asked Clover.

"Oh yeah," Clover said. "This is exciting. I've never met an Advent Family before."

"Good luck separating her from Cero," Ciel told Cipher with some amusement. "It's hard to forget they're not fused at the hip sometimes."

Ciel input a few coordinates and a moment later, Cipher was groaning beside the Cero. "It takes a bit of getting used to," Clover said sympathetically. "I felt the same way my first time."

"I think I'm good." Cipher stood up, looking around them. Ciel had managed to transfer them directly in front of the apartment complex he once called his home. "Come on, I'm pretty sure my key still works."

Cipher tapped the gate's security system, watching it light up in green with some satisfaction. "There we go. I was afraid I would have to call Charles. That would ruin the surprise."

Cero eyed the pool in front of the complex. It was a good sized one, with wet spots nearby the chairs from recent use. "Looks like we just missed them."

"Yeah," Cipher said. "Shirley probably put the younger ones to bed already." Cero eyed Cipher curiously as his brother's face darkened, looking to ground as if in shame.

"Do you two not get along?" Cero hoped that his question wasn't too personal.

"Oh no," Cipher said. "Nothing like that. We just left on less than ideal terms, that's all. I don't know how she'll feel about seeing me right now." He frowned. "Maybe I should have called."

"Too late now!" Clover thumped Cipher in the back cheerily. "Let's go meet your Advent Family."

Cipher nodded. The three of them walked up the metal steps to a room at the end of a hallway. Cipher raised his fist as if to knock hesitantly. He brought it forth, rapping the door a few times before standing back.

"Whozzat?" A black-skinned Advent only a little older than Cero stepped out, rubbing his eyes. "Cipher?" CIpher!" He embraced the Advent in question happily. "Dude, you would not believe how crazy it's been."

"Crazy how?" Cipher looked concerned. "How has everyone been in my absence?"

"Not them," Charles said. "The media. How have you not seen it by now? When they found out we were your old Family, they wouldn't leave us alone until we gave them what they wanted."

"What did they want?" Cipher looked around. "I didn't expect for you guys to get swarmed by the paparazzi; sorry about that."

"It's cool," Charles told him. "They gave us tons of cash for personal interviews. We had fun giving different stories to different news stations. They caught on after the first few articles contradicted each other, but it was a lot of fun."

"Sounds like you've adapted nicely," Cipher commended his old friend. "How are the others?"

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Charles cupped his mouth to form a sort of megaphone. "Hey guys! Cipher's here!"

Soon, the doors were opening to reveal a variety of Advents from all sorts of ages. There were about twelve of them in all. "Hey man," an Advent with brown hair and dark red eyes greeted Cipher. "It's been too long."

"Sorry about that Bradley," Cipher said. "It's been strange back in the Resistance."

"Yeah," an Advent with unruly black hair said, a wide grin on his face. "What's that like?"

"Different." Cipher laughed. "Very, very different." The small group assembled seemed to pause when another door opened slowly from across the hall.

"Jeez," an Advent girl said irritably. "Can you guys keep it down? I just put the kids to bed." She stopped when she saw Cipher. "Oh."

"Hey Shirley," Cipher said cautiously. "How are you?"

"I'm good." She sighed. "Hey, listen. I'm sorry about how I treated you back then. That was wrong of me to ask you to give up your real family for us."

"It's okay," Cipher said. "I get it." He introduced Cero and Clover to the older members of his Family, naming off Bradley, Kent - the one with the unruly black hair, Shirley, the sole girl of the group, and Charles, who they already met. "This is my Family," Cipher said. "My Advent Family, at any rate."

Shirley examined Cero and Clover with interest. "You must be Cero," she said, holding out a hand. "What's it like, having Cy as a sibling?"

"He's cool." Cero didn't know what else to say.

"Just you wait," Shirley said with a smirk, "You'll learn soon enough."

"Hey," Cipher said, "I can be cool."

"Maybe," Shirley conceded. "You made some sweet moved in the tournament. Next match is really soon, right?"

"Yeah," Cipher said. "Really soon, actually. I'm kind of nervous."

"Don't be," Kent said with a grin. "You're Zero's son. You'll win for sure."

"Just don't get cocky," Brandon warned. "But if you do, make sure you go out doing something super cool."

"I wish I could have gone," Clover said. "I didn't get my powers until it was too late."

"Clover's a cyber elf," Cero explained. "She's really strong, too."

"A cyber elf?" Charles seemed surprised. "I've never met one before. What kind of stuff can you do?"

"All kinds of stuff!" Clover made the seven of them float. "See? Pretty neat, right?"

"Yeah," Brandon said. "Just let Charles down. I think he's going to puke." Clover let them down gently so Charles could acclimate to gravity once more. "Nice."

"I try." Clover beamed, doing her best impression of an actual beacon as her body lit up. Kent found this greatly amusing and had to be brought out of a fit of laughter.

"You glow," he said. "That's amazing."

"She's got a big enough ego as it is," Cero told them. "I'd be careful if I were you."

"Come on," Clover said playfully. "There's no harm in a little showing off."

Cipher laughed. "She's quite the character. Why don't we wake up the rest of the Family," Cipher asked. "I want to see how they're doing." Soon, more introductions were made, and Matt had already pissed off Clover, who floated the greedy boy into the pool with a splash.

"I don't even have a wallet!" she called down. "You're lucky I made the fall a short one."

A few of the other boys laughed at this, and asked Clover to show them what else she could do. Soon, a pool chair was being extinguished from a hastily made explosion that got out of hand.

"Cero, right?" Carla eyed him with some interest. "You're a lot more handsome in person."

"I am?" Cero blushed. "Uh, thanks."

Clover cleared her throat loudly, getting between Cero and Carla. "It's getting pretty late," she told them. "We don't want Ciel to freak."

Cipher made his goodbyes, stopping as Shirley seemed to be anxious to say something. "Can you get your dad to sign my Zero action figure," she asked at last. "It's still in the package, and it's already a collectible, but just imagine if I got his autograph on it."

"You sound like Joan," Cipher laughed. "Sure thing. I'm pretty sure I can get him to meet you all, actually."

"Really?!" Shirley squealed in excitement. "Don't go holding out on me now, you hear? I really want to meet him."

"I won't," Cipher promised her. "I've been meaning to introduce you guys to them anyway."

"Meeting Zero?" Charles shook his head. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for that level of commitment." Cipher gave Charles the gaming box, telling him to open it away from Matt's spying eyes. They laughed and said their goodbyes one final time before asking Ciel to bring them back. Cipher stumbled a bit on the return trip, but seemed fine otherwise.

"Thanks Mom," Cipher said.

"No problem," Ciel said warmly. "I hope you got what you wanted out of it."

"I did," Cipher said. "Thanks."

"Now go to bed," Ciel said. "It's late. That means no video games," she added in Cero and Clover's direction. "And there's something I need to talk to you two about."

"What?" Clover yawned. "Can't it wait until morning?"

"Not really," Ciel said. "I know how close you two are, but Cero's still in his awkward teenage years and needs his privacy. You two can be right next to each other, but I've prepared a room for you beside it, Clover."

"But we're fine," Clover said with a whine. "It's been like this for forever.'

"No buts," Ciel said, handing her a key. "I know you two are close, but this is for the best. You can still check in on each other if you want to. It's just next door."

Clover sighed, defeated. Ciel was the one person who could usually get Clover to do what she wanted to without much resistance. Cero remembered Clover telling him that Ciel was her creator, which warranted some level of respect, even if she didn't view her as a mother, exactly. "Okay."

"Good." Ciel hugged the two of them. "Thanks for trying to get to know Cipher earlier. I get the feeling as though he's not really comfortable here yet."

"No problem, Mom." Cero gave his mother a quick squeeze goodnight and the two of them made their way upstairs. Clover stared at her new room with some apprehension but opened it anyway.

"Want to check it out," she asked. "I guess it's not the end of the world, having a room to myself. It's not like we sleep in the same bed anymore."

"Yeah," Cero said. "And if you need me, I'm just next door. You don't need to knock if it's important."

"Same here," Clover offered. "And I'll try not to catch you getting dressed again." The two shared a moment of silence for the awkward experience. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?" She hugged him, squeezing his chest as hard as she could. Cero wrapped his arms around her warm body as well, reveling in the closeness of the embrace.

"See you then," Cero said. "'Night, Clover."

"'Night, Cero."

Cero stepped inside his room, feeling an odd mixture of relative freedom and loneliness. On one hand, he could get dressed whenever he wanted to and didn't have to worry so much about bringing a new set of clothes in the shower with him. On the other, he would miss looking over and seeing his elf's snoozing face in whatever dream she was caught up in. Cero got under the covers, finding it hard to sleep. He got out of bed, cracking open the door to find Clover on the other side.

"Couldn't sleep," she said. "So uh, I hear sleepovers are a thing."

Cero grinned. "I guess they are." The two of them booted up an old arcade game, keeping the sound to a minimum. "Goodnight," Cero said as he rolled over on the floor, a pillow braced between his head and the cold surface. "We should probably switch rooms before Mom checks up on us."

"Probably," Clover agreed. "I'll set an alarm, okay?" She snuggled closer to Cero's section of the covers. "'Night, Cero."