I'm going back to one by one chapter updates. I'm also trying to fix any typos I can find. Song for this chapter is "Suffocate" by . However, listen to the radio edit. Please. I never listen to the unedited versions if I don't have to. Seriously. An alternative song, which actually makes excellent background music (during the presentation) is "On My Mind" by Ellie Goulding. Incidentally, the second song should be Kamijou Miki's new character song—it gives him more depth.

In addition, there's an upcoming speech that a character is going to give. If you can catch who the monologue is referencing (yes, it's a real person), I'll give you an ahead-of-schedule preview into the upcoming parallel story to "Puella Magi Yuuko Magica." But I must warn you—that first chapter is a HUGE spoiler.

A nighttime dance better than prom! What could possibly go wrong?

We all know the rules

The rules we've been taught since birth:

Don't harm the Mundane

Don't fall into the darkness

Always keep our world a secret

I solemnly swear to follow the Mage's Creed

Or suffer punishment from The Council

Chapter 37: Shutdown, pt. 1

Everyone piled into the limousine with a most unusual silence hanging around their shoulders. As the only exception, the two who seemed to be having any sort of conversation were Chii and Hideki. Chii, who looked exasperated, never let up on asking about why Garrett and Amber were 'wrestling'. Hideki, of course, tried to reason with her about it, but she was really adamant on knowing about those two's activities. Meanwhile, Yuzuki was buffeting another storm of messages from Chii's wireless connection, asking about the same scene that the little Chobit was pestering her boyfriend about.

It seemed that even with her old memories, Chii knew nothing of flowers, insects, and the aspects of pollination. (They could probably blame that on Ichirou and his stupid reset buttons...) Of course, Hideki himself was too excitable to explain it to her, either. He had been meaning to for a while, but every time he thought of what he was going to say, the man would roll around on the floor clutching his head.

Nevertheless, Chii wasn't satisfied with their refusal until Hideki solemnly swore to explain every aspect of it to her later, in extreme detail. Then, and only then, did Chii sit back in her seat, fully content. Sumomo had been preoccupied with the coloring book and crayons she had been supplied with, so she was effectively ignoring their strange conversation and concentrating on trying to color the sky pink.

To distract herself during the ride, Amber had been anxiously flipping through her speech. Shawn had told her that this year it was unavoidable, and that she might as well prepare one. It had been handwritten (quite shocking, actually) on a few cards, and after five minutes of mouthing silent words, she stuffed them into her purse.

It had been only three minutes later, but there was a slight disturbance on their forty-five minute journey to the Tokyo Performing Arts Center.

"Oh, Tsundere-chan, you're bleeding," said Minoru, suddenly spotting her absent-mindedly nursing her hand. A thin stream of blood, but not too much to get worked up about, was dripping down her finger. She didn't seem to notice it much, and looked down to find that she indeed was.

Amber glanced down and shrugged. "It's nothing. I must have nicked myself on my index cards." She should have put on her gloves to help prevent that, but fumbling with the white squares would have been complicated by the satin fabric. "It's just a paper cut. Nothing major."

"Do you want me to heal it?" said Minoru, lifting up his ring for her to notice it.

"It's okay Min-kun. It'll clot on its own," insisted Amber. Though, why it wasn't doing that already was a little concerning, she didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Garrett seemed most agitated by it. She hadn't said anything about it when it happened. Two more things to check off: reckless behavior (the embarrassing event from earlier), and lack of concern for personal injury.

Before she could decline another attempt to help, this time from Chii, Garrett took up her sliced finger. She started at this, but didn't fight him. However, when he slipped the slim brown finger into his own mouth, everyone's breath seemed to stop simultaneously.

Conversely, Amber's breathing sped up considerably, and she flushed a deep red that overpowered even her skin's natural color. Yuzuki was right behind her on the world's deepest blush, followed by Hideki and Minoru. Chii only looked on, wondering why her little brother was holding Amber's finger between his lips for so long.

When he finally released her, everyone was still lingering on the moment. Briefly, Amber glanced down at her finger, which had stopped bleeding. Yuzuki's lips were parted slightly, and her eyes were filled with a strange, dreamy emotion. Hideki couldn't look straight at the pair for long, and was shielding his line of sight with his hand. Minoru kept on repeatedly clearing his throat and fiddling with his thumbs. Chii was silently wondering if she should try that to Hideki one day.

"So is it true?" said Minoru, looking 'round to look at Amber.

"Is what true?" asked Amber defensively, her face still blazing red.

Minoru cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure. "The awards."

Fighting the urge to slap her cheeks to clear the pooled blood, Amber fought down another wave of emotion and sighed. "Oh, yes. It's a shame that my father's committee overlooked her for so long. Minako's done quite a lot for Persocom Rights over the years. She'll be the very first Persocom recipient of the 'Most Progressive Thinker' award."

Garrett snorted, looking out the limousine window. "It makes sense, though. The committee is filled with humans, after all. Takeda-san has been a public figure for a number of years."

'Of course they would be biased,' thought Garrett, trying not to become too irate. Sometimes he regretted ever being part of such a race.

"Chii read Mrs. Takeda's books," announced Hideki's eager girlfriend. She seemed proud at the declaration, bobbing slightly in her seat as they rode along. "Chii prefers her fiction, though. She uses big words and boring explanations for her psycholitical…um psycholingical…er… books about the brain and thinking." Her eyes went a little dim at the thought of such uninteresting topics. "So Chii gave up on those and read the story about the island. Scary, but fun!"

Regaining her liveliness, Chii held her cheeks and smiled.

"When did you ever get that book, Chii?" asked Hideki. HE was normally the one to go with her to the bookstore to buy books. To think that she had independently added another one to her library was a little saddening.

"Kotoko gave it to Chii as a gift," said Chii teasingly. She examined Hideki's disappointed face with a little giggle. Hideki really liked doing things for her didn't he? "Since Chii remembers her time with Mama and Papa, she can now use the Internet as she pleases. Chii made an email account and talks to Yuzuki, Kotoko, and Amu, sometimes through blueteeth." Chii looked quite pleased at her explanation, and left it at that.

"Bluetooth," said Yuzuki gently, remaining serious. It had been hard to do, but Yuzuki had regained her poise after being riled up by Garrett's romantic scene. "It is true. Miss Chii often talks to me in the mornings when she is bored."

"Yuzuki knows a lot about love and romance! It's like she's an expert," said Chii, pointing, though Hideki had mentioned many times that it was rude. "Chii was super impressed."

"I-I don't know about that, Miss Chii," said Yuzuki defensively. She hardly knew anything of the sort. Chii was probably blowing things out of proportion. True, the blue-haired maid had given Chii some advice from time to time, but she wasn't an expert.

"Sure you do, Yuzuki!" insisted Chii innocently. "You're always watching those Korean Dramas! Like 'LoveLove Adventure', 'Flower Boy Pizza Shop', 'Unending Passion' and even 'I Need Romance 8'." As she listed the programs, Chii counted them off on her fingers. With each program Chii counted off, Yuzuki's red face turned a shade darker.

At what seemed the end of her embarrassment, Minoru casually bumped his shoulder into Yuzuki's arm. He probably sent some mental message using their pact, because Yuzuki suddenly became flustered.

"L-lord Minoru wha-what did you—," Yuzuki was fanning herself now. She couldn't sweat, but her core temperature was elevated. The fanning wasn't going to help much with that, as it was much like someone eating only celery in hopes of nourishment: a futile effort.

"Anyway," said Garrett, refraining from smirking, "looks like it'll be a good night. There are a few prestigious speakers tonight."

"Yeah…" muttered Amber, knocking the sides of her shoes together, trying to gather her thoughts.

...

Minoru was rejoicing within himself. On the outside he was his usual, cooler than ice façade. But on the inside he was bubbling over with childish glee. He was a huge nerd, in all truth, so this gathering of great minds was far more thrilling than going to Disneyworld as Amber had offered him. There was already Disneyland in Japan, so why fly all the way over to Florida in the United States?

He had been tempted, though, if only for a few moments…

To prepare for the event he had skimmed over the latest tech magazines and refreshed his knowledge of C++. He also hoped that wearing his reading glasses would make him look smarter. His vision would suffer temporarily, but he hoped that his eyes wouldn't get ruined just for wearing them tonight.

Mr. and Mrs. Kokubunji had arrived separately from the others, as did the Takedas. Kojima and Kotoko had also taken a separate ride. When Minoru's parents arrived, they had bumped into the Section Chiefs on the way into the ballroom.

Mami, who was wearing a gold and cream silk gown, was holding onto her husband's arm, strolling towards the staircase that led down into the event. Her dress looped around her neck at the back, and had a v-shaped plunge in the front that was almost too-deep-to-be-legal. The two strips of fabric exposed quite a bit of skin at the sides, but censored the important parts with perfect accuracy. To be honest, it looked like two meatbuns had two strips of mozzarella melted directly through the middle of the top of each. It was almost as if she was trying to show-off her impressive (surprisingly, they were natural) chest. Her hair was curled in loose spirals that cascaded gently down her shoulders. As for her accesorices, nothing less than gold was seen on her. From the masses of bangles down her arm, to the multiple thin chains making up her necklace, the expensive metal was found highlighting her outfit. Beside her, her husband had a speckled red handkerchief and bow-tie to accent his overall classic tuxedo ensemble.

It was then, arriving from the opposite direction, Minako spotted Mami. The Persocom wasn't visibly startled by the other woman's presence, but Minako could detect the hostile spike of magic when Mrs. Kokubunji noticed her presence.

Minako was wearing what could be called the opposite of Mami's dress. It was a shimmering off-the shoulder emerald getup that was made out of tiny scale-shaped pieces. The fabric making it up had been printed, molecule by molecule, as a combination of satin and silk, into this odd fish-scale format. In the front it had a scarf-like drape that extended over her left shoulder and trailed behind her like a banner. The back was cut out so deep that were it four millimeters lower, a certain part of her anatomy would have been peeking out. Her lime green hair was up in a high ponytail, exposing her elf-shaped ears proudly for the whole assemblage to see. A few clip-on silver earrings, along with the long platinum necklace she strategically placed against her back, completed the image.

Mrs. Takeda was still trying to be the peacemaker, so she greeted the woman with a polite bow. Junji followed suit, and gave Shintarou a look only men would understand.

«Drinks afterwards?» he asked with his eyes.

«Agreed,» responded Shintarou, trying not to crack a smile.

For some reason they got along perfectly fine—their wives was another story. The hostility, though, was solely coming from Mami, so it was more of her own personal problem than anything.

Mami glanced over the other woman's dress and tilted her head subtly, patting the back of her hair with her free hand.

"It seems Shawn's daughter invited you as well?" she remarked haughtily.

"Actually, Kokubunji-san," Minako forced the sweetest expression she could to emerge from her face, "I was nominated to receive an award."

"Really?" said Mami, sounding like she was on the verge of yawning. "That's admirable, I suppose."

"It's good to see you again, Takeda-san," said Shintarou, trying to cut down on the power behind his wife's intimidating glare. He was referring to both of them, but mostly to Minako's husband, who nodded and said "likewise" just to be polite.

After a minute of chatting about the weather, they ventured down the stairs in silence and merged with the crowd milling about in the ballroom.

Just like previous years, the world's most influential people in the technology industry were invited. This year it seemed there were more Persocoms than usual, including a few celebrities, human and mechanical alike. There was a few iconic figures, like Ben Paths, Harry Hefner(Hugh Heffner's son/clone) and Lady Gaga who were mingling among the sea of sharply dressed nerds. (Lady Gaga was wearing a dress made of sticky notes with messages sent in by her fans, of all things.) Others, Persocom pop divas like Miku Hatsune, Momoko, and Meroko, were all sranding in a group and chatting animatedly, despite the heated rivalry between them. However, the three of girls stayed far away from Gaga, because, frankly, she was intimidating in real life. Even Miku, who had opened for her on occasion, seemed to shy away.

Meroko, although she pretended to be on friendly terms with the two of them, had them labelled as enemies in her mind. Yes, Momoko was friendly, but Meroko was a little paranoid when it came to her fellow popstars. Miku, she knew, was evil incarnate. Even though she was sweet and nice in front of others, the second the paparazzi looked away, bam! The green-haired Persocom would turn into a haughty princess that looked upon others like trash—other Persocoms included. It was no wonder that Amber was heartbroken when Meroko told her the news—when the tyke was little she was head-over-heels in love with Miku.

As that famous Japanese saying went: people have three faces. One is the public face, the other is the private face that only friends and family see, and the last face only you know about. Meroko would never see that third face of Miku, but she had experienced the second, and it wasn't pretty at all. Meroko wondered if it had to do with all of the memories Miku's company had strived to input into her hardrive. Of course it was to make her seem more life-like, but sometimes Meroko wondered if they hadn't made the next HAL or something.

Miku was nothing compared to Angel, however.

Momoko was nice enough, though, if a bit rebellious. Her numerous handlers didn't help, either. It wasn't as if Meroko was going to start a cat—er—rabbit(?) fight in the middle of her father's own gala. But, she assumed, it was due to the normal-eared popstar's penchant for slipping away from her security detail. On occasion, Meroko was the same way, so she could understand the need to get away from an army of suffocating bodyguards. Meroko was only a little jealous of Momoko's human-like ear implants, though. Just a teeny bit.

When she spotted her little sister arriving with her friends, however, Meroko hopped at the opportunity. Apologizing, but not really feeling any remorse about it, she abandoned the two fellow divas. Her fluffy pink dress, which resembled a peacock with its tail stored away, swayed erratically as she more or less shimmied through the crowd in order to reach Amber. It was also strapless, and Meroko was shamelessly bearing her assets for the entire gala to admire, due to the corset-like design of the top.

Her little sister was wearing something black, which was unsurprising. It was almost like Amber's signature. What was interesting, though, was what the fellow heiress was wearing on top of her head. Meroko wondered if she should be flattered or simply laugh at the absurdity of Amber wearing a pair of black bunny ears modelled after her own. The miniature black top hat was also a little too much, but she wasn't going to burst into hysterics right now—Meroko was going to save that for later. It did make them look more like sisters, though, now that Meroko thought about it.

"Amber!" half-shouted Meroko, squealing like a schoolgirl as she burst from the crowd and encircled her little sister in a hug.

"Meroko?" asked Amber, who had been in the middle of introducing Minoru to Benjamin Paths. "What're you—I'm sorry Mr. Paths, you remember my older sister, Meroko?"

"No problem at all," admitted the older man, enjoying the sight of the busty young woman rubbing against her younger sister. "You know, I can remember when your father was still constructing your neural architecture."

"R-really?" said Meroko, pausing her affection to greet the owner of Picosoft. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Paths." Out of habit she bowed shallowly and smiled. Meroko, looking a little confused, lifted one of her slim ears. "But the last time I spoke to you, it was ages ago."

Although he attended the Moonlight Gala every year, they never truly got the chance to speak face to face. Many other people often preoccupied his time in those previous years, but since Amber had promised Minoru the moon and the stars tonight…

"It was when you still were in a medium-sized unit," said Benjamin, "You probably were only eight years old at the time."

That was at least sixteen years ago. She was a few years older than her sister, and they were born within the same month, no less. Just last week Meroko had turned twenty-four.

Meroko nodded, her smile indicative of the nostalgic memory replaying in her head. Back then, she really was a handful, and her little sister had only been three and just as mischievous. She always had her bunny ears and tail, though, and it actually had made the little tyke much more adorable than she would have been without them. Their father, who was insistent upon making her as human as possible, had used a large unit's A.I. crystal for Meroko. All he had to do was switch the crystal into a new body and transfer the data every few years or so. The body Meroko was in now, she had been using since she was eighteen, and would continue to use it until she could repair it no longer.

"You had more hair then," Meroko joked, noting the thinning spot in the middle of Benjamin's head.

"Pffft," the older man struggled to keep a straight face. "I guess that's true," he forced out, for little bouts of laughter were threatening to escape. "I also wasn't this successful." He slapped his midsection and smiled.

Meroko, Minoru, Yuzuki and Amber couldn't help but chuckle under their breaths.

"Yeah, same old Bennie," said Meroko giggling.

The Billionare blinked; he hadn't heard that nickname for quite some time. "You remember that?" asked Mr. Paths, sounding surprised.

"Of course," said Meroko, looking askance and poking her fingers together, "I did ask to marry you, after all."

Even more surprised that the Persocom would even keep that memory, Benjamin stammered. "Wh—Ah, well, that's…Sorry."

'She what,' asked Minoru to Amber, testing out their new neural network. He kept a straight face as they all continued to converse, but the young man had been all-together astonished by Meroko's statement. The sounds of the conversation had dimmed a bit, but from what the two could tell, Yuzuki had interjected and tried to make the little reunion less awkward. She was highly adept at that, actually, and had even struck up a cute little debate between her and Mr. Paths about the different types of cooking software on the market. From his earlier joke, Yuzuki could tell that the man enjoyed quite a few well-cooked meals in his lifetime.

'It's a long story. You know how kids are,' answered Amber, trying not to break down into peals of laughter. 'He was a lot younger then, and so was she, but you know how little kids grab you and say you're their boyfriend or girlfriend or something like that?'

'I never had such a phase,' said Minoru, understanding completely, 'but I have witnessed the concept. So Meroko was like that with Mr. Paths?'

'Yup,' Amber responded, composing herself and smiling, trying to pay attention to the conversation. 'Of course, now she's got Joe, but technically, 'Bennie' was her first love.'

'I see…' said Minoru, feeling quite amused at this point. From what he knew, only twelve years back Benjamin Paths had gotten married. It must have upset Meroko a great deal to hear that. How many little girls aiming to marry older celebrities had their hearts broken by such an announcement? Well, the most notoriously ignorant heartbreaker had been Adam Levine, but that was another story for another day.

Elsewhere, Kotoko and Kojima were mingling in the crowd, chatting with the newly arrived Takedas. Kojima was sipping on some golden liquid from a glass, observing his not-quite-girlfriend Kotoko, who was simply overjoyed to hear that her mentor had been nominated for such an honor.

Kotoko, who had been admiring Minako's dress, was also dressed to the nines as well. Although the others had been overtaken by western clothes, Kotoko had chosen a more traditional form of formal wear. However, she was not wearing a Kimono, as one would expect. Instead, she was wearing a Hanbok. Also made from silk, the traditional Eastern garment originated from the Joseon period in Korea. Apparently, Kotoko had caught the Korean drama bug from Yuzuki—her preference, however, was period pieces from the Joseon era. The clothing was what she most admired, and despite her stealthy suggestions to Kojima, he refused to wear the matching male outfit from the time. He still had his pride as a Japanese citizen, after all.

Her dark purple hair was braided and coiled into a low bun, with a golden dragon pin skewering the mass of hair. The dragon on the pin seemed to be eating a red sphere. The hanbok's top was light lavender with a red ribbon pinned to it, and the bottom was an illustrious dove-white, and flared out slightly at the bottom. Most of the shining silk was embroidered and trimmed with gold thread, making a wonderful portrait of gears.

Meanwhile, Motosuwa and his makeshift family were being treated like celebrities, especially since a few of the Persocom Moguls recognized Chii. The presence of Dr. Hibiya also was startling to see, since she had refused to keep in touch with anyone since her husband died. She was wearing a simple, modest dark blue dress that swept the floor. Sumomo had behaved well so far, and the little Persocom was more interested in meeting new people than making more mischief.

There was quite a bit of mingling to be had. Not too soon after that, the food was served, and while the guests ate to their fill, the program began. Amber had disappeared before dinner, however, to help direct the program. It was only nearing the main course that she appeared at the front of the room where the podium and mike were, displaying a perfectly practiced smile.

"Welcome to the twenty-fourth annual Moonlight Gala. I, Amber-Nicole Lee-Young will be your opening speaker tonight." She appeared on the screens placed all over the ballroom, recorded by some unseen cameraman. "To start off, I would like to ask our waiters back into the room."

It was only a moment after she said this that the staff made their way back into the dining area. All of them were carrying large silver containers.

"When you think of Gala Inc., you may think of my father. When he founded this company, he strove for excellence, creativity, and above all— innovation. That is why for the first presentation of the evening, I would like to finally announce the release of an all-new product."

On a night like this, with all the big industry names here, it wouldn't unusual for Gala Inc. to unveil their top secret products that were going on the market the next day. The Moonlight Gala was, at best, a big tech convention, dancing, and food rolled into one night.

"For all of our Persocom guests, we at Gala Computers Incorporated are happy to release a special surprise."

The servers had approached all the Persocoms seated and placed the silver platters in front of them.

"uFood."

All of the silver covers were now lifted.

On all of the plates before them was a variety of meals identical to the ones the humans had partaken of—but with one big difference.

"Don't be fooled, everyone, it's inorganic. What you see before you is one-hundred percent virtual: a self-contained hologram that you, as Persocoms….can eat. That means, dear humans, no sampling of the goods, got it?" Winking, Amber gigglied childishly, wagging a finger.

Kotoko looked down to the food before her. Her plate had a mound of rice covered in brown gravy, a few heads of steamed broccoli, and a fillet of Applewood grilled salmon. "You're kidding," she whispered.

Minako, across from her was just as skeptical, but was one of the first to experiment. She had already stabbed her fork into the creamy mixture of spinach-stuffed ravioli Alfredo set in front of her. It reacted so realistically to the fork that she was astonished.

"I know you may be hesitant to try it, but this is not a joke. The plates are the generators of the holograms. However, even if they leave the plate," on the projector screen at the back of the stage, there was a simulated image of the food leaving the plate and retaining its form, "they'll continue to exist until the unit is eventually turned off."

It was at this point that Amber began walking away from the podium, and to the prepared table that had its own set of silver covers. The servers were very diligent in their work, because as she approached, they lifted the covers one by one and disappeared offstage.

Obviously, Amber was wearing a wireless mike, because as she kept speaking, the sound continued to carry throughout the auditorium.

"Moreover, you can use any type of silverware with them." She picked up a fork and stabbed a broccoli floret in the first dish. For the next plate, she picked up chopsticks and used them to pick up a piece of fried tempura shrimp. In the next, she waved her hand over the device carrying jambalaya. A holographic menu appeared over the food. The display was shown on the bigger screen, showing the recipe being generated. "The simulation of taste is the most intriguing aspect of the device, and from the list purchased recipes, you can tweak any dish to your liking." As she spoke, Amber swiped across the screen, and a variety of different meals replaced the first. There had been a plate of steak and mashed potatoes with asparagus, a stack of steaming pancakes with a pat of butter and a drizzle of syrup.

"The holograms, although not a perfect substitute for real food, they effectively turn uFood into a wireless recharging station. Please, try it for yourselves. When you bite into that piece of broccoli, do you find that your battery percentage increases by a fraction?"

Chii sniffed the food curiously. It did not have properties that caused it to have an odor, but it did look good. She had always been curious about the food Hideki needed to eat. None of it had any taste to her, and thanks to mama's warnings about trying human food, Chii didn't have any problems with trying to dispose of the results of that. She usually spit it out quickly afterwards, anyway.

"Sumomo," said Chii, looking to her little daughter who was eyeing the broccoli suspiciously, "Mama says you should try it. Mama Chii is going to try it, herself, see?"

On her plate, she had a mound of spaghetti topped in squid ink. Like she had seen Hideki do with his own food, Chii whirled her fork around in the noodles. Her bundle was a little too big for what could be called formal eating, however. She stuffed it into her mouth as best she could, with squid ink still dripping off the fork.

"Chii, that's—," Hideki tried helping her, but he was torn in between helping his wife and helping his child, but both of them were shoveling too much into their mouths.

"I don' li' thith Papa," said Sumomo with two buttery broccoli florets in her mouth.

"EH? Sumomo, wait…"

Other Persocoms weren't having such problems, though. Kotoko and Minako were so accustomed to being around Kojima, Junji, and other humans, that after struggling initially, they successfully were able to feed themselves. Garrett, having been human before, had no problems, but he was a little sad that he didn't have Amber here beside him so he could insist upon her feeding him.

"How is it, Minako?" said Junji, looking upon in interest. He didn't dare try it himself, after hearing that it was also a wireless charger, but he was curious as to how it tasted. Minako had, on occasion, wondered about the taste of foods, but he couldn't quite describe it.

After she had 'swallowed' the food, Minako licked her lips contemplated. It was very ambiguous. She knew that it did have a 'taste', and that it wasn't just numbers and values being loaded into her system. However, she hadn't eaten enough to really compare and explain the flavors.

"It's hard to explain, Junji, considering that this is my first meal. The only thing I can tell you of is the texture, which is most certainly creamy, but the ravioli was tender." Sighing, she closed her eyes to process it all. "Other than that, it's hard to explain."

As a whole, the sensors placed within a Persocom's mouth were limited to the tongue, lips and teeth, to aid in pronunciation and other things. The cheeks and other places like the roof of the mouth weren't prioritized, and taste was most certainly not one of their functions. However, Gala, despite their closed code policy amongst many things, had created a product that seemed to work, if the portion of the now eating audience was to go by, on a variety of Persocom models and operating systems.

"Yeah," said Kotoko. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact they had eaten and tasted what they ate and now her battery was almost full. Kotoko had around 89% left by the time they arrived, but it already was at 97%. However, the fact that they were eating was still just so crazy, she should have asked Kojima to pinch her. "The fish was really…well it was good, I guess. There was a sort of rich feeling to it."

Honestly, for Kotoko and the many other Persocoms in attendance, there was no other way to put it, it was so novel.

"That could be the butter, don't you think, Takeda-san?" asked Kojima, trying to sort out the experiences. It was a hologram-like program, after all. He was still trying to figure out the ingenuity behind it all.

"Maybe," said Junji, shrugging. The humans had been served an almost identical set of food, and his wife had patiently waited for him to finish the most of his own creamy noodles. "It's hard to discern. You might as well describe a sunset to someone who was born colorblind. They can see you enjoying it—but without the full spectrum, they're just like 'what's the big deal' until they get those neat glasses."

"Oh," said Minako slyly, swirling one of her ravioli in the sauce to see the effect. It was still unfalteringly realistic. "So you're saying that the uFood dish is like our very own set of chroma glasses."

It was exactly what Junji was saying, but his wife was getting that look in her eyes again. Playful and teasing, he could almost hear her thoughts right now.

"Let's see if we can change the recipe," suggested Junji, giving her a devious smile back. "Do they have fruit?"

Minako waved her hand over the dish, and the demo menu popped up. Of course, after searching for a bit, they found out there was indeed a dish of chocolate-coated strawberries.

Garrett, however, was the one most subdued about the whole thing. He was sitting at a table with Minoru, Yuzuki, and Meroko, and the two Persocom women were simply delighted with the product. Yuzuki, since she was always the one preparing food, finally was able to enjoy some of her own. Meroko, who was so busy with her tour, had no idea that such a thing was even being developed.

Garrett ate his salmon in silence, chewing contemplatively. It tasted very very close to the real deal.

Meroko was wrestling with how to eat the squid ink spaghetti, and Yuzuki was trying to change her meal to something more Eastern. She succeeded in changing it to a plate of sushi, and began digging in with gusto.

"So," said Minoru as he looked on in fascination, "do you have an idea of how Gala even accomplished such a thing?"

"Beats me," said Garrett calmly, savoring the meal.

"Garrett…" Minoru slid his glasses down his nose. He was giving him a look that basically screamed 'really?' in a sarcastic tone of voice.

The Chobit cracked a grin and wiped his mouth with the napkin from his lap. "Let's just say Amber felt bad for me a while back and we did some tests. All of a sudden last month they shipped us a top secret prototype that worked perfectly, and after a sampling everything on the demo menu…I gave it the thumbs up."

"And they tested it on other Persocoms within that time, I'm sure," Minoru said, nodding. He would have never believed it from seeing how the man carried on in a video chat, but Dr. Lee-Young was a complete genius. He did effectively digitize a consciousness, with the help of Dr. Mihara of course, but this was still pretty impressive.

"Each of you will be able to take home that plate, courtesy of Gala Inc.," added Amber from the stage, still smiling. "Thank you for your enthusiasm, and your time." She curtseyed briefly. "Now, let us all put our hands together for Dr. Ralph Richards, who will be presenting this year's award for 'Most Progressive Thinker'."

A man had already at this point, strode over to the podium.

"Thank you, Ms. Lee-Young," announced the man, gripping the podium, watching her as she left. He was unusually tall, thin, and had a head of wavy, wiry grey hair. A pair of red glasses framed his bright green eyes. "Every year, we at Gala like to recognize the innovators, the bold, and the brave. Past winners have demonstrated a startlingly fresh perspective on both technology and life, despite the public opinion's overall negative outlook. This year we had several nominees."

The lights dimmed, and on the projected screen, a few video clips played.

The first set of clips were of a young woman with long blonde hair and brown eyes. Her name, Rima Hisao, faded in and out onscreen, as she worked over a vat of water, wearing a yellow hard hat.

"Trying your best sometimes isn't enough," she said during the clips. "You sometimes need to rally the people, even if they think they've got nothing; the results will be surprising." A few scenes of her working to install clean water in needy lands, helped by a few locals, flashed on screen. "Putting in a little elbow grease to help others isn't wrong: ignoring the problem is the real crime." It finished with her posing with a bunch of local workers all of them in hard hats, her with folded her arms, holding a wrench.

The second set of clips was of a long-haired man with platinum blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, his tan skin and facial features were most definitely an indication of a mix of races. He spoke with a musical, southern British accent. His name, Samuel Evans Jr., was shown very briefly.

"Making others happy is the only way to happiness, in my opinion. Serving just yourself, although may be fine in the short-run, is ultimately an empty joy." He was seen visiting orphanages, many of which had children in war-torn countries. Some of the children had limbs missing. Afterwards, they were shown sporting whole limbs, most likely prosthetics. Some of the packages sported the name of the Sarah Thompson charity that Dr. Lee-Young had started. "I donate as much as I am able to and live a simple life. I just do what I can, trying to spread positive feelings wherever I can, to whomever I can. We have an obligation to the world to make it a better place." It ended with him giving a high five to a little Chinese girl with pigtails who once had no arms.

The last set presented, was footage of Minako over the years. Her name was written in a sharp, imposing font.

"I don't care what people say about me—I think that's why I've gotten to where I am today." A still shot of her speaking passionately at a rally transitioned into a few more photos using transparent bars. "Equality isn't about making the oppressed superior, as the bigots may claim. But to be treated fairly, no matter who you are is a basic right of all sentient beings." Clips of her appearances in courtrooms, coupled with scenes of her hugging fellow Persocoms and sitting in interviews and talk shows alongside her husband, were edited together very dynamically. Someone even threw in a brief clip of her having an interview on her wedding day. "You can't just talk about change—you have to do it yourself." It closed with a still shot of her, with her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, wearing glasses for some reason, sitting at a desk, writing something with pen and paper.

"And now," said Dr. Richards genially, lifting up a sealed envelope, "the moment of truth." He ripped it open and took out the card. "This year's recipient of the 'Most Progressive Thinker' award is…" With a flick of his thumb, the card opened and he quickly turned it to the audience, a huge grin on his face. "Mrs. Minako Takeda!"

Feeling bashful, although Amber had already informed her of her win, the Persocom blushed lightly and stood to walk onstage. The audience had erupted into a roar of applause.

"WHOO!" shouted Junji, whistling loudly. He was pointing at the retreating figure of his life partner, "that's MY WIFE!"

While clapping, Kotoko snickered at Mr. Takeda's display of pride. On the other foot, Kojima shrank into his seat, thoroughly embarrassed at this behavior.

"Thank you," said Minako. It had taken no time to walk to the podium, and Minako had been given access to the sound system the instant her name was announced, so her voice was now booming over the loudspeakers.

Dr. Richards had handed her a 24-karat golden statue the size of a large man's fist. It was a skull, bisected, and inside was a mass of gears and cogs. Engraved on the name plate was her name, Minako Takeda, in all caps, alongside the year.

"Thank you," she repeated humbly, looking over the crowd. The applause suddenly died down, and a respectful silence had filled its place. "I know this sounds cliché, but this really is an honor. I can only thank the committee for bestowing this award, and for that I truly am grateful." She looked emotional for a second, as tears were gathering, but she stifled the emotion to finish giving her speech. "There are so many people I'd like to thank over the years. If I were to list them all, it would take most of the night. But first and foremost, I'd like to thank my husband, Junji, for overcoming his initial skepticism and supporting me on this journey. When he first bought me I had been merely a tool to help him in college, but after some convincing, he saw me as a person, and the rest is, as they say, history."

"I'd like to thank my friends, Hitomi, Azami, Amethyst, Beatrice…I would like to give a special thank you to Yumi Ueda, God rest her soul. I consider you all my sisters, and I hope you feel the same, wherever you are right now in life. I would like to thank my publisher wholeheartedly for taking a chance on me and making my books available to the world. I also thank my readers, a diverse mix of Persocoms and humans from around the world that have been very supportive as a whole. It's been a while since I was first activated, but the world has come quite far since then. I'd like to thank my fellow activists, Meroko and her sister, Amber, and many others who have continued on in the fight for equality. There are many more I'd like to thank, but the time, as you know…I have something my husband wanted me to say.

Meroko, looked to be in between struggling with keeping her smile and actually wanting to cry, but for a different reason entirely.

"And I know it's silly, and a little shortsighted on my part, but I promised him that if I had won, I would say this…" she took a breath and then intoned, feeling embarrassed at ever promising something like this, "Junji Takeda is my awesome husband. He knows I should have gotten this award years ago, but that's okay, better late than never, y'all. He also," Minako bobbed her head with a bit of attitude, some of it also leeching into her voice, "could have a really successful rap career, if he want it to." The woman tried hard not to break character after that statement, and waved her free hand in the air. "But that's fine 'cause he likes to be chill and lay low with his hot, genius wife, who can beat the pants off of anyone," she pointed around the audience in no discernable direction, "in chess. And if a certain someone is watching… you know who you are…I hope you're having a good life….NOT, you racist, sexist kidnapper."

"Word!" blurted out Chii brightly, remembering that it was supposedly a cool thing to say in agreement.

Upon hearing this, everyone who had been holding in their laughter suddenly broke out into hysterics. Chii and Sumomo, did not quite get what was so funny, but giggled all the same.

"S-sorry," she said, twittering nervously as the audience laughed sporadically from Junji's prearranged speech. Minako blinked innocently and stopped the ridiculous monologue. "But thank you again. I hope you continue to hear our voices loud and clear over the opposition."

Minako sounded a little too happy to say the last two sentences of Junji's words, actually. However, she was still cringing from being forced to use improper grammar. When she finally sat down, Kotoko was still sniggering.

"What's this about a rapping career?" asked Kojima, barely holding in his laughter.

"Just a youthful phase," said Junji, grinning. He folded his hands over his full stomach. "I had even made this demo song called 'Big—,"

"Junji," Minako said, glaring sternly, "haven't you caused enough damage tonight?"

"You could've just said 'no'," he said self-assuredly.

Minako rolled her eyes, wondering how they even fell in love to start with. "I keep my promises, thank you."

Kojima and Kotoko burst into loud boisterous laughter, then, wiping away tears as their troubles seemed to melt away.

…

Something was wrong. She could feel it all throughout her speech. Even when she sat down and mulled over the reasons why, there was this little iota of dread lingering in her mind. Amber had been glad that the program had continued without any hiccups, minus Junji's promised speech, but it had been a success. The only thing, however, that was bothering her was the absence of her father.

All night Amber had not seen him, not even once. The only time he hadn't attended the Moonlight gala, was the night she was born.

Her pessimistic thoughts were broken, when Garrett tapped her on the shoulder. He was looking at her with a worried look. Apparently, he had been calling her name, but she was so far away from them at the time, mentally, that she had not even noticed.

"What is it?" she asked softly, still a little shaky from being knocked out of her reverie so soon.

"Do you want to dance?" prompted Garrett, still concerned. More and more it seemed his partner was self-destructing. What he could do to stop it—he was at a loss. She honestly seemed fine. Nevertheless, Garrett knew better. He knew Amber better than that. The only thing he could think of at this moment, however, was to ask her this ridiculous question.

"Sure," replied Amber automatically, rising slowly and taking his outstretched hand.

They strode over to the assembly of guests who were swaying to the infectious beat in the middle of the ballroom floor. Amber's ebony dress was speckled with star-like glitter, and as they joined the dancers, the dress shifted around, making them twinkle. In her hair, she had two red ribbons to keep her now lengthy hair from flying everywhere. They were entwined in the long French braid that was keeping her do from rebelling.

"Honestly, Amber," murmured Garrett, noting the sudden change of music. They had barely been on the floor for long before it had changed to a slow dance. "What's on your mind?"

Garrett and Amber were swaying halfheartedly to the gentle rhythm. The heiress was limply holding onto his hand, as if she were exhausted from just being at the event. The smooth lyrics from the singer, which was surprisingly not Minako at this moment, was so soothing that Amber could feel her consciousness drifting in and out. Thankfully, she was on her feet, or she would have been asleep at the table.

"The usual—I can't get over this twisted destiny."

Even now, he couldn't help but balk at her. From his observations, the stress was taking too much of a toll. Before, in their apartment, she had seemed different. More lively. But now, she looked like a Persocom trying to get by on 5% battery power. Her smile was looking worn. Her eyes weren't even shining like they normally did.

He was going out of his mind trying to figure out what to do.

"I'm sorry," he admitted, knowing that there wasn't much he really could do.

She shook her head. It wasn't his fault at all. Apologizing for this was unnecessary. "No, don't be. I'm the one who dragged you into this."

"If it's any consolation, I would have chosen this life anyway."

"…" She looked down, suddenly guilty again. Even so, his life today was a result of her dragging him into her world, so she did bear some responsibility for that.

"Hey."

Garrett stopped moving, and Amber did the same a moment later. She glanced upwards to stare into his troubled face. They were the only still people on the dancefloor, surrounded by a crowd of twirling and joyful figures. But when he looked into her eyes, it was as if they were alone—nothing else mattered. Time appeared to slow down slightly.

"I can't lie to you, Amber," he said gravely. Their situation was bound to come to a conclusion sooner or later, but waiting for it was becoming excruciating. "What am I supposed to do? I can't bear thinking about losing you."

"Garrett…I…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say. A dull pain in her chest began to rise up, as a result of the increase in stress.

"No," Garrett shook his head. "No excuses. I care for you too much for me to let Angel kill you."

Amber tried to draw away, to escape somewhere to avoid hearing any of this. She didn't need to hear this; hearing that she would be missed, that someone cared for her, it was too burdensome. In response, Garrett merely held her waist tighter, brought her closer. Their faces were only a few inches away, now.

"Don't leave," Garrett said softly, letting go her hand to move aside one of her bangs. "Don't move…" His face was moving even closer, now. His fingers were entwined in the mass of dark hair at the nape of her neck.

With the grief of her foreknowledge throbbing throughout her veins, Amber could only close her eyes.

When their lips met, the tears burst forth from her eyes. The streams of salty sorrow were icy cold—like the harbinger of death that soon awaited her. They stood there, kissing passionately in the middle of the gala, uncaring of who witnessed it.

Everyone was there to watch their demented, devastated, kiss goodbye.

...

A penthouse was a symbol the height of luxury, especially if you lived in a sprawling city like Tokyo. Kamijou Miki stood at the edge of his living room, holding a glass of champagne. He was staring at the city's unapologetic display of power: the millions upon millions of lights that lit up the sky so brightly that the stars were drowned out by the light pollution. To supply those bulbs with a constant flow of electricity was nothing short of amazing. However, that was the ultimate folly of humans. Once they mastered something, they grew incredibly arrogant about maintaining the status quo. Why, if someone decided to set off an EMP in the middle of this technologically dependent metropolis, the chaos that ensued would be too awful to imagine.

However, it was just this chaos that Kamijou dared to contemplate. The humans would self-destruct in n a matter of months. If an event like that happened, even with outside help, the inhabitants would be severely traumatized.

Kamijou smiled, swirling his drink around.

He was quite the sociopath, actually. When he was younger he had been diagnosed as such by one of the top pediatric psychiatrists. It was only when he was admitted to magic school that he learned the reason for his mental state. He had heard once, of his cousins gossiping of the means of his birth.

Yes, he had been out of wedlock, but that wasn't the most scandalous part of his unexpected existence. No, what his parents had never dared to tell him was that he had been conceived as a result of a love potion.

Now, at the time of him hearing it, he thought nothing of it. He barely understood what it meant. However, it was only when he questioned his Potions instructor, feigning curiosity, that Kamijou learned the truth. The reason he could not empathize with other humans, was because of that potion. The reason he existed was a result of that potion. The reason he could not love was all because of that potion.

He should have hated magic from then on, but it only fascinated him further.

What he had not expected, though, was the already-stated-as-impossible event of him falling in love. Why he loved Angel, he did not care. It was the first time he ever felt such a feeling, so he was not eager for it to leave anytime soon. She had promised to stay with him forever if he aided her, so he did everything in his power to do so. Though, to be honest, he wondered if the emotion he felt was truly love, or something else.

Kamijou looked at the sleeping form of Angel lying on the couch, who was recharging for the upcoming event they had planned. Her light blue hair spilled over the edge of the couch cushion, and her pouty pink lips were slightly parted. Her two hands were curled in front of her, and her entire body was slightly curled up.

She had met him in the rain; the beauty with an artificial halo.

She had tolerated him, despite hating humans.

She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look straight at her.

Despite this, he refused to look away. Kamijou could not understand why he had become infatuated but it didn't matter.

Angel was lovely in every way. They could talk for hours, and never get bored. Kamijou knew he shouldn't have told her of his love, but her response was altogether too cute for words: Angel had smacked him playfully on the arm and said he was stupid.

It wasn't long after that, though, that Angel had repaid him for that comment with the single best night of his life. It was more than intimacy. Every time she touched him, it seemed to complete his existence. He sometimes got a little embarrassed thinking about it, but she really was his first and only love. Human girls often repulsed him, but even other Persocoms had never been appealing.

Sometimes he wondered if she loved him back or was just using him, but his own passion was so blinding that it didn't matter at this point—he was too far gone. Kamijou slept, and she was still on his thoughts. When he woke up, she was still in his thoughts.

Even if she wished that the universe would to end, he would do anything if it pleased her.

One upon a time

I became a monster who destroyed the world

Yes, I planned it all

I betrayed every single one of my friends

I embraced madness

And became a dark goddess of obsession

I kept them all safe

In my prison-world of twisted love

No one could love a monster like me

T/N: When Chii talked about Korean Dramas, apparently, but you can correct me if I'm wrong, the term "Flower Boy" refers to very handsome young men.

A/N: Ah, this chapter was also hard to write. The finger scene was literally THE most exciting I've written to date. And I did mention Yuzuki had started to like cooking shows and K-dramas a few chapters back, haha.

Also. The first set of italics? It's a shout out to "Platinum Angel" a Chobits crossover with Assassins Creed, written by Chaos Invoker. It, and "Coming to Terms," by Thanos of Titan, have recently updated, I believe. I was recently re-reading some of the chapters from their stories, and I was just in awe at how well written they are! (fangirls) However, I think my subconscious gleaned something from one of their stories (can you guess which one?) Because, when I reread thier chapters, I noticed that for this chapter I basically fulfilled one of their character's wishes. That was incredibly scary to realize, and I hope my brain doesn't do that again.

There is…too much conflict with the women. WHY WHY WHY. I feel like I should start my own series, reminiscent of Mean Girls.

If you love Sci-fi about humanlike machines, and don't object to aliens, I suggest 'Extant', even though it got cancelled. Season 2 of that show is my favorite!