Chương 121: Chapter One Hundred Three Past n Present

 

Several years earlier:

The girl blinked, shifted at the light and took a moment to notice that her counterpart was still sleeping. Groggily she shifted and glanced at the clock. It was late or really early depending on how you wanted to look at it. The bed opposite hers was empty. For a moment she wondered where her roommate was, then she noted the figure in the doorway.

The figure smiled, “Sorry to wake you E-5. Is your counterpart up as well?”

E-5 shook her head, “No. What do you need Mistress Xeni?”

Mistress Xeni smiled, “That’s good. Let her sleep, she doesn’t need to be awake for this anyway. Before we get to business I wanted to check how you were doing. I heard about the incident with Mistress Tarsa.”

E-5 shuddered as she shifted into a more comfortable sitting position and tried not to think about it. “I’m okay. I think. Suddenly not knowing Kiru even existed was really scary.”

Xeni sighed, “If I had known what Tarsa was going to do I would have stopped her. I didn’t know the extent of the bond, but I knew your counterpart had bonded with Kiru.”

E-5 cocked her head, “You did?”

Xeni nodded, “Given she was of such interest to the program? Of course, I’ve been keeping tabs. I knew Kiru spent too much time with your counterpart as a baby. That a full bond with her was possible and that the two of them really got along. Your loving Kiru and that incident just prove that you two have the kind of telepathic bond that mothers and daughters are supposed to have. We will have to conduct some tests on both you and Kiru to determine how strong it is.”

E-5 stretched and frowned, “Is that going to be okay for the program? I’m supposed to be bonded to a trusted caretaker.”

Xeni said, “It just means that properly indoctrinating Kiru will be more important. Not to mention getting her to join us at the facility. I’ll do everything I can to make that happen. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that. I’d love to be together with big sis!”

“Yeah it also means replacing her personality will be more important as well. We will need a very special replacement personality. Will you have a problem with that?”

“Big sis is big sis. Changing her personality won’t mean anything to me.”

“Great! Speaking of personalities. I have some work to do on the two of you. A conditioning treatment for Eriku. Just a little something to help prepare her for being erased.”

E-5 stood up, “As fun as she is. I’d love to see her erased now. Is there any way I can convince you to do it now?”

Xeni giggled, “Afraid not, but I am glad that part of your program is working correctly.”

E-5 chuckled, “Well of course. I was made to replace her. It's only natural that I would want her erased. Even if I do like her. We can’t share this body forever. One of us will eventually have to be the sole occupant of the body.”

Xeni smiled and gestured out the door, “Quite true. Now if you would follow me we can get started on helping your counterpart understand that she needs to be replaced.”

Happily, E-5 followed Xeni out of the door. It wasn’t a long walk to what Eriku referred to as the mind room. They had been here quite often to work on her program. E-5 was quite happy that for once they were working on Eriku’s program instead. Eagerly she settled into the chair and helped attach the interface hardware to her head. Taking a moment to get properly comfortable before that welcoming ache told her the machine was interfacing with her mind. Moments later she felt all mushy as Xeni began the session.

In the timeless mushiness induced by the machine she was moved from one moment to the next with no real inkling of time. Vaguely she was aware of a voice speaking to her and her responding. Yet she could never really recall what was said. 

She blinked. Xeni was standing over her with a smile. “How are you feeling E-5?”

“Fine, a little achy. Nothing to worry about. Did things go well?”

Xeni nodded, “Eriku was responding quite nicely to the machine-aided conditioning. I think a couple more sessions and she will quite happily let herself be erased. Just don’t talk to her about it yet. She isn’t ready for it.”

E-5 gave her a look, “I want her erased because I want to replace her. Not because I hate her. I love her. I would never hurt her by talking to her about things like that.”

Xeni held her tentacles up, “Sorry! Sorry I didn’t mean to imply you would do such a thing.”

E-5 relaxed, “I’m glad.” she yawned, “Is there anything else we need to do? Or can I go back to bed?”

“No, you are free to relax.”

She smiled, “I’m glad. Oh? Yes, where is A-98? She wasn’t in the room earlier.”

“Late night programming session, followed by a fertility assessment. She should be back in the room right about now.”

E-5 nodded, “Ah, is her counterpart getting the same programming mine is?”

Xeni nodded, “She is, but unfortunately she isn’t responding to it as well as we would like.”

“A shame. I’m sure A-98 won’t be happy about that.” she yawned again, “but I should get to bed. Can’t serve properly if I am exhausted.”

“Sweet dreams!” wished Xeni before departing. E-5 followed her out of the room but headed a different way. Back to her familiar quarters.

Starblossom Academy shortly after attempting to erase Eriku:

She blinked as the nurse moved over her. A friendly smile on her face. “How are you feeling E-5?”

She groaned and stuttered for a moment, “I... um... I’m not okay.”

The nurse blinked, “I thought you would be more excited. We finally erased Eriku for you. You do have full control of the body don’t you?”

E-5 nodded, “I have full control yes, but...”

“But what?”

“Eriku is still here!”

“What?” she glanced at the console.

As the nurse was looking over the console she reached out to Eriku. “I’m sorry they couldn’t erase you.”

“...Why am I still here?”

E-5 didn’t know, so she simply said, “I don’t know.”

After a moment the nurse said, “I’m not sure how, but instead of erasing you the machine nearly merged you two. Thankfully something stopped it. Do the two of you feel alright?”

E-5 took a moment to process that, before starting to ask Eriku how she felt. Only she was responding already. “I’m alright. If they can’t erase me, I’ll just sit here and let you have control.”

“I see.”

“I’ll stay silent too and try to pretend they did erase me.”

E-5 frowned, “No you won’t. I won’t let you.” she paused, “Doing that would be kind of silly and it would be no fun if you are just skulking in the background.”

“But you were so looking forward to me being gone!” she pouted, “I know how much you were looking forward to having the body all to yourself.”

She sent her feelings back to Eriku. “I was, but I like you too much to let you just skulk like that.”

Eriku giggled, “I like you too. Fine, I’ll try to engage.”

E-5 smiled, “Glad to hear it.”

“I won’t take control though,” she replied in a slightly cheeky tone.

E-5 giggled, “Well the body is supposed to be mine, now. So that sounds natural.”

Before they could talk more the nurse prompted, “Well how are you two feeling?”

“We are alright. Eriku isn’t that happy that she wasn’t erased, but I think we have worked it out.”

There was a knock on the door and then a moment later Caretaker Xeni stepped into the room. “So how did things go?”

E-5 sighed, “Well today went pretty well right up until it was time to erase Eriku.”

“Oh? What happened?”

E-5 glanced at the nurse who gestured for her to go ahead, “It seems the machine tried to merge us, instead of erasing Eriku. Thankfully both of us are still here.”

Xeni blinked, “I see. On a different note, did you have fun with Kiru?”

E-5 nodded excitedly as she was reminded of that, “Oh yes I had lots of fun! So did Eriku even if she did spend the entire time just watching.”

Eriku interjected, “well it was your moment. I didn’t want to intrude.”

“Well she is your sister as well. You could have engaged, I wouldn’t have minded.”

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“I know, but...” Eriku trailed off, but E-5 understood what she wanted to convey. She wordlessly returned her feelings.

Xeni smiled, “Well at least you had fun.”

She turned to the nurse, “Mark the procedure as a success. Give me the data, I’ll look into it and determine if any action is needed.”

“Will do. Anything else?”

“Yes, I would. I need a full copy of Kiru’s mind. Everything that has been archived to be updated regularly. I’ll need it.”

E-5 blinked and then smiled, “You want to do some work on K-20?”

Xeni nodded, “Yep. She is passable, but I think her program can be better. Care to help?”

E-5 nodded happily, “I’d love to!”

Eriku interjected, “I’d like to help as well.

She smiled, “We’ll make it a group project then. I’m sure Eriku still wants to help?”

E-5 nodded, “She does.”

“Great,” she paused. glancing to the side, “Anyway we need to get going. Before A-98 starts wondering where we are.”

E-5 quickly agreed and they set off.

---

Present day:

The young girl stared out of the viewport. A hand on her swollen belly. She was scheduled to give birth in a few hours, but she wasn’t really focusing on that. Rather she was instead thinking about her sister. It had been years since she had last seen her, but she still thought about her. In fact she had been so close to seeing her again and then everything had gone wrong. 

Suddenly feelings of reassurance filled her as her counterpart spoke, “It’s okay. We will find her. Xeni won’t fail us. If anyone can find our sister it will be her.”

“I know, I know E-5. It's just it’s been months and we still haven’t found her. I know in my heart she is still alive, but...”

“I know. I can feel it too.”

“Think she is okay?”

“I’m sure she is fine.”

Turning away from the stars, she shuffled towards her bed. Resting on the nightstand were her favorite belongings. A single teal blue ribbon, one E-5 made a point of wearing every day. It was their most beloved gift from big sis after all. Next to it were a pair of memory crystals. One of the shiny red gems carried K-20, her own precious gift for her sister. A completely new personality that she couldn’t wait to see take over her sister’s body. The other was a complete archive of her sister’s memories that Xeni had given her.

E-5 picked up her sister’s memory crystal. Patting it gently, “Want to dive into her memories again?”

Eriku thought for a moment, “Not really. It's fun, but...”

“Yeah it was just a thought,” she responded as she put the crystal down. E-5 stretched a little, and then grabbed the ribbon before settling on the bed. Eriku watched as she tied it skillfully to their tail. “Anyway I’m a little bored. Care for a walk?”

Eriku sent positive feelings, “Sounds fun. I think A-98 went down to the gardens.”

E-5 nodded, “Yeah I think you are right and the gardens sound lovely. Let’s go.”

Only there was suddenly a knock on the door. E-5 looked up at the door, “It’s open!”

There was no real need to mention it. The door didn’t actually have a lock, but it was common courtesy to knock. A moment later the door to her bedroom slid open to admit Xeni.

“Hey E-5. I was hoping we could talk.”

E-5 frowned, “Hmm? About what? If it's my upcoming birthing...”

“Not that. I wanted to talk about Kiru.”

Eriku didn’t like her tone, and E-5 shifted her stance clearly not liking it either. “Kiru? Have you found her?”

“I’m afraid not. Which is what I wanted to discuss. I think we should give up.”

“WHAT?! Give up?!” E-5 glared, “I’m not giving up on big sis no matter what anyone says.”

“E-5! It’s been months! We have to face facts, we aren’t going to find her. In fact she might...”

“She is alive! I can feel it. I know she is still alive. I don’t care what the military thinks, Kiru isn’t dead.”

“I believe you. That wasn’t what I was going to say. I’m afraid she might have been captured. If she had been stranded or something we would have found her by now or with her training she would have found a way back to us.”

E-5 blinked, “You think the Erali might have her?”

“They might.”

“Well you better rescue her!”

Xeni slumped, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Why?”

“Have you been keeping up with the war?”

E-5 shook her head, “Not really. I’ve been too worried about Kiru. Why?”

She sighed, “The military has been forced to pull back on several fronts. We lost several fleets to a dragon attack in addition to the fleet we lost to that precursor ship. You know the one your sister was part of.”

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t know what to say. Eriku could feel her counterpart’s surprise. After a moment E-5 finally spoke, “are you saying we are losing? What about the poor girls on those ships?”

Xeni glanced up, “I know I promised to reunite you with your sister. I’m sorry I failed.”

E-5 gave her a look, “You’re giving up! What if my sister is suffering?!”

Before Xeni could reply someone ran up from the hall, “Ah! Director Xeni. There you are!.”

There was something in her voice. Xeni looked up at her, “What’s wrong?”

The woman took a moment to take a breath, “We just received a brief burst from Nekuri. I think you should see it for yourself though.”

E-5 frowned, while Eriku wondered what report from the homeworld could be so alarming.

Xeni gestured at the terminal in the room, “Um, E-5 could you put that on the local monitor?”

E-5 nodded, walked over to the terminal and logged in. It took her only moments to find the recent broadcast that the other Iniri must have been talking about. 

Almost instantly a nude Neku appeared on the screen. Her belly was rather flat. She must not be pregnant. The woman smiled, “Good day people. Today is a wonderful day here at Kuris City, and for those tuning in. Stay tuned as our war update is coming up soon.”

The woman paused and suddenly there was a boom in the background. She glanced off-screen, speaking to someone not on the screen, “What was that?”

“I don’t...” Another boom cut the second girl off. Then there was a slamming noise, and a third girl ran into view. 

“Quick! Switch the feed to outside, you have to see this.”

The view shifted and they were treated to weird blue-green lightning bolts striking in the distance. No wait, those were far too straight. A boom followed shortly after each strike. It took her a moment to realize what she was looking at.

E-5 voiced it, “Is that... a planetary bombardment?”

Suddenly the feed switched back to the earlier reporter. Who spoke hurriedly. “New sources just in reveal that a large alien battleship decloaked moments ago in upper orbit. In less than two minutes it proceeded to sweep away the local defense fleet and has begun a systematic bombardment of the planet. The military advises all locals not to panic and stay in their homes or seek shelter. Secure all devices. The beam weapons you have observed are non-lethal in nature.”

The feed switched showing the view of a mall. Everywhere you could see young girls, and women were slumped on the floors. Babies lying unattended and seemingly peaceful in their strollers. There was no sign of damage anywhere, and for a moment they looked dead. Until they noticed the girls breathing evenly. E-5 blinked, as she stared at the unreal scene.

Behind her Xeni inquired, “What happened to the planetary shield?”

The feed switched back to the reporter. “For those wondering what happened to the planetary shield. Our sources report that the shield was sabotaged by cloaked infiltrators.”

She hit a button and a video played. Showing an empty hall when suddenly a blue-green beam shot out of nowhere to cut into a door. Two turrets popped out of the wall, only to be sliced before they could fully deploy. A moment later eight girls, rifles raised, burst out of a room. Only for a grenade to appear from nowhere and land at their feet. It detonated in a massive flash, and Eriku saw something. E-5 saw it too.

Her hands ran over the terminal. A moment later, a frozen still appeared. With light starting to spread out as the computer-enhanced image reflected a familiar nude form. E-5 stared and Eriku did as well. She didn’t look the same, her arm had been replaced with a weapon. Well she still had a hand actually but her arm had clearly been replaced. Somehow she even looked prettier than she remembered. “Found you,” whispered E-5, voicing their thoughts. She didn’t know what happened, but she knew where her sister was.

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