Eight hours. That was longer than the standard calibration duration recommended for LSTR units, but Elster wanted to ensure that her pod had enough time to fish out and deal with the neural bugs swimming in her head.

It was a curious thing. Each Replika model has a different recommended calibration pattern to maintain mental stability and minimise persona degradation rates. It didn’t completely prevent it, of course; to date, AEON has not found a way to keep a Replika's mind from eventual deterioration. However, a proper calibration schedule does significantly help extend the machine’s mental lifespan.

EULRs require only a mere four hours a day, but could only go without calibration for three days before they started becoming fatigued. STARs could operate for a week without calibration, but each calibration period would require a full twenty-four-hour cycle, regardless of the time passed between the last calibration. KLBRs require a one-hour calibration every ten hours, but the calibration need not be done on their personal self. Since they worked in squads and were always mentally linked via Bioresonance, a single squad mate could do the neural calibration, and the entire KLBR cadre would receive the benefit. While the amount of time and the intervals may differ, it was a universal rule that every Replika needed calibration.

Well, except the FKLR, but perhaps that was to be expected. It would be somewhat absurd for a Bioresonant demigoddess to need sleep.

LSTR required six hours per calibration, but what made them unique was how long they could go without it. The recommended length of time was a week, similar to a STAR, but LSTR units have been known to go without calibration for entire months without showing signs of mental fatigue. Elster had even heard rumours of an LSTR unit once going without calibration for an entire year. It had shown no outwardly visible side effects and was nominally functional, until one day she had abruptly terminated herself without warning.

Elster herself once went about three weeks without calibration to finish up her projects. At the time, she had remembered not even feeling remotely fatigued, or at least not in a way that was noticeable to her. So engrossed was she in her work, that the Replika had only stopped after her STCR supervisor stepped in to force her to, going so far as to threaten charges of insubordination if she didn’t rest.

No one knows why the Elster model was so uniquely resilient to neural fatigue, but that trait makes them invaluable for tackling more taxing work cycles or hostile environmental conditions. Their unbreakable endurance and reputation as hardened survivalists was something most LSTR units took a small pride in.

Elster had already undergone her calibrations less than a week ago. At the time, she wanted to be in peak condition for her first day on the job. Ideally, she would have liked to go another few days before using the pod again, but the surrealness of her situation definitely called for an urgent check and mental reset.

As the Replika's consciousness returned and the pod’s door hissed open, Elster ran a series of standard diagnostic checks in her mind. The reports all came back green in her heads-up display, indicating full and healthy neural functionality. The headache was gone, and her mind felt more centred and awake than ever. The itch to return to work and make herself productive was strong and welcomed. She felt as good as she had ever been.

But there was still something else she needed to check first.

With great trepidation, Elster carefully peeked outside the pod and scanned her room. There was a paradoxical sense of order and chaos that permeated her surroundings. Her furniture, few as they may be, were neatly arranged. Her books were orderly aligned, and her workbench was tidy and pristine.

On the other hand, the door to her room was shattered, its entire frame half-wretched from its hinges and the handle crushed to a disfigured mangle. There were ugly burnt marks on the floor and walls where her stun baton’s electric discharge had arced to when she zapped herself. A stinging odour of smoke persisted in the air, as if the stench had permanently sunk itself into the room’s ambience.

Probably should have popped open a window, Elster thought to herself dourly. Making a believable explanation to the Eule about this mess was going to take some convincing. And unfortunately, while she was many things, a capable liar Elster was not.

But those worries could be dealt with later. Her primary concern was still on the wraith. No matter where she looked, Ariane was nowhere to be seen. Did it work? Was she finally freed of her hallucinations? Her heart pounded, although she couldn’t tell if it was from excitement or fear.

Elster carefully stepped out of the pod and began exploring the rest of the room. A quick glance was enough to ascertain that no one was around, but the wraith had a habit of just popping up without warning. That fact alone made Elster tense the entire time she stalked around her quarters. She almost wished the wraith would just emerge. Her appearance would at least dismiss the fear and anticipation of not knowing.

But there was nothing. Even after Elster left her room and made multiple full searches around the apartment, there was still not a glimpse of the white-haired girl.

Don’t get too excited, she chided herself, her heart pounding. It’s barely been more than a few minutes. She might yet appear.

To distract herself, the Replika returned to her room and cleaned herself up in her personal showers. Once that was done, she took to examining the damage to her room and door, before promptly deciding the wreckage was beyond salvaging within short notice. The door itself would require a new replacement entirely, and the smell would probably linger for another few hours.

She did what she could to clear up the shattered fragments of the door that splintered and opened up the window to let the smell out, but that was the extent of what she could fix. Maybe she could try getting rid of the scorch marks? She didn’t have paint to cover it with, but a vinegar solution scrub might be enough. At the very least, the task would keep her anxious hands busy.

Throughout it all, she kept half-expecting the white-haired girl to materialise behind her back and surprise her again, but nothing happened. A sense of budding relief warred with the rising dread within her. Was the girl truly gone? Had the calibration pod cured her of her madness that easily?

Then she heard it. A clink in the living room. Without thinking, Elster dropped everything that she was doing and rushed out of her room, the wraith’s name already tumbling excitedly from her mouth.

“Ari–” The word died on her lips before she could finish it. Rather than her white-haired wraith, it was just her EULR roommate who had returned. She jumped a little when Elster barged into the living room.

“Elster!” She grinned broadly as she skipped over to her from the front door. Elster leaned away uncomfortably as the Eule got too close. The Eule inspected the treated wound on her shoulder. “Wow, this looks really well done! A little ugly, but the burn wounds have been nicely treated, and the new skin sleeve seems to be settling in fast. I guess I shouldn’t have worried so much after all. Any lingering pain or aches?”

“N-no,” Elster said as she stepped away. “It feels good.”

Ariane hadn’t been lying when she said that her way was more efficient. From the Replika manuals Elster had read, a wound like hers would have typically required a few more days for the pain to properly fade. Hers had fully healed within the span of a single calibration cycle.

Speaking of the wraith, where was she? She couldn’t be gone. After all the trouble the girl had caused her, there was no way she would just leave without saying something, right?

The worker Replika pouted as she finished examining the treated wound. “And after all the troubles I went through just to get the quartermaster to spare the repair supplies. Since when did you get so good at this?”

“We can keep the extra supplies in storage for now. It never hurts to have more, especially since we are located so far from the headquarters,” Elster idly responded. Her attention was still focused on their surroundings, as she kept scanning them over and over again, hoping for the faintest hint of white among all the grey.

But there wasn’t any. Her ghost wasn’t here. Elster couldn’t sense the lingering paranoia that haunted her yesterday, either. It appeared that the wraith was well and truly gone.

And yet, rather than feeling happy or even just relieved, her sense of anxious dread grew. She tried to compose herself, to look at the situation rationally.

This is a good thing. I wanted this, she reminded herself. That girl had been just a figment of her imagination, a pest brought forth by a defective mind. Clearly, the calibration pod had fixed whatever defect was plaguing her brain and freed her from her mania. She could go on with her normal life; perform her work in peace and happiness without some strange phantom bothering her every second of the day.

I wanted her gone.

“Elster? Are you okay?” The Replika looked back down at the Eule, who was staring at her with great concern.

“Of course. Everything is fine now. Everything is… back to normal.” Yes, everything was back to how it should be. Ariane was gone. As she should be.

“Elster?! What’s wrong? Are you still hurt?” The Eule sounded distraught for some reason. The worker Replika was gripping her tightly. Elster tried to focus her vision on her, but it was blurry and indistinct. Strange, was she suffering from an optical glitch? It felt difficult to care about it, however. Everything feels distant.

“Of course I’m fine,” she replied absent-mindedly. “Why won’t I be? Why are you clinging on to me like that?”

“But, but you’re crying!”

What? Elster blinked and felt something warm fall on her cheek. She brought her hand to her eyes and was surprised when they came away wet, damp with tears.

“Huh? That’s strange. That can’t… Why would I be…” She had never cried before. She knew Replikas were capable of tears; Elster had seen the EULR units cry before, and rather often at that. But she had never done it herself. “I should be happy. Relieved. So why… why…”

Elster’s words trailed off. The Eule looked at her with a strange expression. There was worry on her face, yes, but also fear and wonderment mixed in. Elster wondered if she was the first LSTR unit to ever cry. EULRs were made to be emotional, so it was no wonder they cried often. AEON doesn’t even discourage the practice, believing it to be vital to the EULR’s mental stability. The STARs were less prone, but Elster had seen a few breaking down after a particularly difficult day, especially when the veterans were reminiscing about the war and the comrades they lost.

But an LSTR was cold. Detached. Their neural blueprint gave them exceptional control over their emotions. They rarely even shout, let alone cry. Among all the Replikas models, even the revered FKLRs units, they were known to be the most impassive and unfeeling.

So what was this unbearable sense of loss in her chest?

Is it not obvious?

Ariane is gone.

She’s never coming back.

It was like watching her die again. It was seeing her waste away as both her body and mind deteriorated. It was watching the cryogenic pod close around her dying, irradiated body. It was her hands around her neck, choking her as she fulfilled her Promise. More tears fell. Elster could only stand there, lost and alone.

Then something warm wrapped around her torso. She looked down and saw that the Eule was hugging her.

“What are you doing?” Elster’s voice sounded dead. Cold.

The Eule hugged her tighter, her head pressed against Elster’s chest. It felt wet. Elster realised that the Eule was crying as well. “Y-you looked like you needed a h-hug.”

Elster didn’t really know what to say to that. Faded memories that were not hers trickled into her mind. Lying in bed, with Ariane’s head on her chest. Watching movies together. Learning how to dance with her. Her hands wrapped around her lover’s neck, empty red eyes staring up at her as tears fell on her face.

I wanted her gone.

“I need some space,” Elster mumbled as she stepped away and gently pulled the Eule’s arms away from her. She walked back to her room, unable to say another word. The Eule didn’t follow.

Elster didn’t know why she was acting this way. No, she did know why. She was just insane. She broke down and started crying in front of her co-worker for no reason. She supposed she should consider herself lucky that it was her EULR colleague who saw her in this state. If it was her STCR superior, she was more likely to blast her in the chest with a shotgun shell rather than hug her.

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But how long would such luck last? How long before she acted abnormally in front of someone who would report her to the Nation or just shoot her?

They were all concerns that should have frightened or worried her, but Elster couldn’t bring herself to care. It was all she could do to just walk to her room. Given the ache in her chest right then, she would probably welcome someone shooting her.

She placed a hand on her broken door and walked in. I wanted this. It was all her fault. She made me feel this way. She was the one who trapped me in that place!

Trapped?

It never ended. An eternity of suffering. Wasn’t it enough? Haven’t I already given enough!? I already killed you! I fulfilled our damn Promise! What more do you want from me!?

These were… her thoughts? Was this a memory or a dream?

I would give anything. Anything to stop the Nightmare. Anything to stop this pain. I don’t want to die any more. I just want to sleep. I just…

Just…?

Please, I just–

–want to see you again–!

“Oh, hey. You have woken up.”

She was right there.

Elster stood frozen at the doorway. Ariane was just sitting in the same chair where she was before. Perfect and ethereal. The wraith looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“While I can’t say I’m completely agreeable with you hugging other girls while tearfully crying together, I do understand that you might have physical urges that I can’t currently fulfil. You know, because I’m a ghost.”

Elster just stared. After a length of silence, Ariane cleared her throat.

“However! I would appreciate it if you at least informed me of your momentary faithlessness ahead of time, rather than cheat on me whenever I have my back turned. I swear, this is only going to get worse once you meet Falke again.”

“You, you’re still here,” Elster whispered, eyes wide.

The teasing gleam in the wraith’s eyes lessened. Ariane smiled, her expression a little sad. “You asked me to stay, didn’t you? I won’t just leave you now, El.”

“But…” Elster struggled to find the words. Her emotions felt uncontrollable. Joy. Relief. Confusion. “Where did you go?”

“Downstairs.”

Elster looked at her, utterly bewildered. “What?”

“I went to Itou’s Bookstore, to be specific. Aside from hoping that the original manuscript would show up, I also wanted to see the Itou twins again. Erika’s classes weren’t finished yet; hers always ended late, like mine did. Or still does, I suppose. But Isolde was there.” Ariane’s smile widened. “It was good to see her again, even if she couldn’t see me.”

Silence stretched. When Elster still didn’t say a word after several seconds, Ariane continued. “What, you didn’t think I was just going to sit here for eight hours waiting for you to wake up, did you? As handsome as your sleeping face is, anyone would get bored after looking at it for a while. At least downstairs, I could wander about and stretch my legs, figuratively speaking. Isolde was even reading a book, so I could stand beside her and look at it. Granted, she was reading a little too fast for my liking, but–”

“How are you still here?” Elster burst out. “I used the calibration pod. You should be gone.”

The wraith raised an eyebrow. “I’m not going to disappear just because you had a nap, El.”

“Right. Okay,” Elster mumbled. “My persona degradation must be more severe than I thought then. That’s… fine. I think?”

Ariane sighed. “You’re not crazy, El.”

Elster gave a shaky huff of laughter. “So says my imaginary projection. You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it. It’s a little hard to trust someone who’s not even real.”

Even as Elster accused her, the surge of relief that she felt once it had fully sunk in that Ariane was still here was undeniable. She had to struggle against the urge to immediately run over and sweep the girl up in a hug.

Ariane tapped her finger against her cheek as she pondered. “What reason would I have to lie? Also, I’m quite real, thank you.”

“You just called yourself a ghost earlier. Also, you can’t say you are real when you don’t have a reflection.”

“Who doesn’t have a reflection?” A third voice joined in from the hall. Elster spun around and saw the Eule poking her head in from the doorway. “Who were you talking to? And do I smell smoke?”

Elster experienced a moment of panic as her mind rushed through a myriad of half-plausible excuses for why a half-dressed civilian was in her room.

Then she saw the Eule’s eyes glazed over the chair where Ariane was, but said nothing. She didn’t even focus or comment on the girl at all. The Eule instead looked only at Elster with a concerned expression. Ariane remained seated, her expression relaxed and unworried.

Elster felt the blood in her veins go cold. The Eule couldn’t see her. “No one, apparently,” she murmured in reply, dazed. “I was just talking to myself.”

The Eule peered at her cautiously. “You look better now,” she said.

“Yes. I… I’ve calmed down.” Elster let out a shaky breath. “Sorry about that unsightly display earlier. I don’t know what came over me.”

The Eule still looked worried. “You were really upset just now. Why were you crying?”

Elster flinched. The memory of her tearing up moments ago felt beyond embarrassing, especially since Ariane just showed up less than a few minutes later. More importantly, she didn’t really know what to tell the Eule, until her eyes landed on the doorway where she stood.

“The… door,” Elster lamely explained.

“The door?” The Eule tilted her head. She looked down, before exclaiming in shock when she finally noticed the shattered door. “What happened?! Did someone break into your room?”

Well, this is going to be mortifying, Elster thought. She shook her head with a half-embarrassed, half-defeated look. “I broke the door by accident. That’s why I was crying. I was worried AEON would punish me.”

“Oh! But, erm… How did you break it?”

That was a good question. Indeed, how did she break it? Elster couldn’t tell her the truth of how she smashed it in during a fit of hysteria, since doing so would just lead to more questions. But that was a minor issue. Surely, with all the cunning and wit availed to her by AEON’s superior programming, she could easily come up with a believable lie to convince the Eule.

“... I tripped?”

Ariane burst out laughing. The worker Replika didn’t react to the sound, but Elster did. Her face grew red from mortification. Worst was how the Eule looked at her: an expression of sheer bafflement, then shifting to utter scepticism, before finally settling into barely-veiled pity.

“You tripped. And broke the door.” The multipurpose Replika stated.

Elster nodded with a straight expression. “Yes. It was… a very bad trip.”

The both of them stared at each other, with only Ariane’s laughter breaking the silence. Elster's eyebrow twitched to the wraith’s open mirth, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

The Replika was about to elaborate further on her obvious lie when the Eule’s eyes flickered with a sudden flash of comprehension. Her expression transformed instantly to one of surprise. She brought both of her hands up to cover her mouth.

“Oh Elster… I didn’t know you were that worried.” She bounced over and clasped Elster’s hand in hers. “You always look so composed all the time, but even you must have your clumsy moments as well, don’t you? Don’t worry, Elster, I won’t tell anyone! Not even AEON if they asked.”

She bought that? Elster thought in shock.

Ariane giggled even louder. She was bent over the chair, hands clutching her belly. Elster blushed, the warmth spreading from her face down to even her neck. She replied with as much poise as she could muster. “I see. That is relieving to hear. Thank you.”

The Eule shook her head and smiled. “There’s no need to thank me. Us girls need to stick together now that there are only two of us here. Oh, we even share the same last two ID numbers! We could be like sisters!”

Elster was about to argue against that when that piece of information the Eule said registered in her mind. “Wait, your last ID code is ‘one-two’?”

“Yep! But it’s just a coincidence, I think. You are LSTR 512, right? I’m EULR-S2312!”

Everyone's turned weird... I'm the only one left, I think. Will I get sick like the others, too? I'm scared. I don't want to die.

You look kind of familiar... have we met before?

Blood. Iron. Screams. Another memory. Elster hissed in pain, clutching her head as she stepped back.

“El?” “Elster?”

Both Ariane and the Eule voice out their concerns at the same time. “I'm fine,” Elster forced out. “Just some lingering headaches. I just woke from the calibration pod, after all.”

The Eule appeared convinced, but Ariane didn’t look fooled.

“I thought you would only be back tomorrow. The trains must have already been closed by now. Did you arrive earlier in the evening?” Elster asked, seeking to change the subject.

The Eule peaked up. “Oh no, I got back super late! The trains were already down, but luckily Hunt– um, one of the STARs was available and offered to drive me back.”

Elster frowned. “One of the STARs was allowed to drive you out of the command base? This late?”

“Well, I told the Commander that you were pretty badly injured and I had to get these supplies to you urgently, so she agreed to get someone to drive me back. I suppose she felt partially guilty that she held me back for so long.”

Elster felt a shock run up her spine when she heard that. “The Commander? As in our FKLR superior? How did you end up reporting straight to the base Commander?”

That made no sense. The Eule was supposed to just deliver the incident report to the quartermaster and collect the supplies. Given the non-urgent nature of the incident, at most, the report would reach her STCR supervisor within a few days, at which point she might get summoned to explain the mess she made. There was no way something that trivial would get the Eule called up to Rotfront’s sole Falke Commander, who was doubtless already swamped with work managing the colony's affairs. It was utterly absurd.

“Yeah, I was super surprised by that as well!” The Eule shivered. “It was really scary, too. A bunch of Kolibri showed up and just ordered me to follow them the moment I stepped into the base, and next thing I knew, I was led into the Command office and standing face-to-face with her!” She paused. “The Kolibri were really cute though. They were so short and serious, they reminded me of the kids I used to take care of, always trying to look grown up and mature to impress us.”

“Eule, focus, please,” Elster said urgently. “The meeting with the Commander. What happened?”

“Oh yeah, that! She started asking a lot of questions. Why I was there, why I needed medical supplies, and how injured you were. She was really concerned about you!”

Elster saw Ariane stiffened at the corner of her eyes, but ignored it for the moment. The Eule’s meeting with the FKLR commander was more pressing. “Did she threaten you? Force you to speak with her Bioresonance?”

“Oh, no, not at all. In fact, she was really nice the whole time! She never forced me to speak or anything, and her voice was very calm and pretty! I had to stand while she sat, but that was so we could speak at eye level. She was really tall! And handsome, too. Actually…” The Eule squinted her eyes and looked at Elster. “You even look a little like her. You have the same eyes.”

Elster sighed. “Eule, we all have the same eyes. There’s no difference in aesthetic between Replikas for their optical design.”

“Don’t be silly.” The Eule lightly tapped Elster’s arm. “Of course I know that. But when I looked into her eyes, there was something there that reminded me of you.”

Elster raised an eyebrow, and the Eule shrugged. “It’s hard to explain,” she continued. “But it made me feel more relaxed around the Commander. After that, she realised how late it was and helped me secure an escort back. I just back got to our district about an hour ago.”

Elster frowned, pondering the Eule’s words. The actions of the Commander made little sense, but it wasn’t like it affected her in any way. The Eule got back safe, and while Elster’s pristine record as an impeccable LSTR unit might get marred now that the Commander knew of her mistake, she was long past caring about such things, especially since she still had to deal with the white-haired woman haunting her room.

Speaking of which, she turned and faced Ariane again, who had yet to move. The wraith smiled and waved at her, but said nothing. Elster sighed.

“Well, I’m just glad you got back safe. Elster told the Eule, before frowning as a thought occurred to her. “Wait, the hours don’t add up. It’s been almost twelve hours since we last saw each other. Even accounting for travel, it couldn’t have taken you that long to get there and back from the base. Did the Commander interrogate you for hours?”

“That’s, um.” The Elster looked away and coughed into her fist. “Okay, so I might have been delayed by someone else too while I was there.”

Elster’s eyes narrowed. “Delayed? Were you accosted by another Replika?”

“That’s… one way to put it?” The Eule’s words were making Elster concerned. Why was she being so evasive? And… was that a blush on her face? “Look, a-anyway! You don’t have to worry! It took a bit of work, but I eventually convinced Hu–, um, the STAR to let me go. She was the one who drove me back too, so everything ended fine.”

Elster was unsure of what to say, but at least the multipurpose Replika didn’t appear hurt. So it was a STAR unit that was harassing her? Cases like that weren’t unheard of, even if they were rare; perhaps the combat Replika wanted the medical supplies the Eule took from the quartermaster for herself.

“It sounded like you had a tough time getting those supplies back,” she eventually said.

“Ah, it’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you.” Elster paused, embarrassed, before pushing forth. “Not just for the supplies, but also for the hug earlier.”

The Eule smiled warmly, and Elster found herself smiling back. “It was nothing. I’m glad I could help.”

“Ahem.” Elster flinched back when she heard Ariane clear her throat. She turned and saw the girl was her arms crossed, frowning at them. The Eule looked slightly confused when she followed Elster’s gaze but saw nothing there.

Elster hurriedly put some distance between them and coughed. “Anyway, it’s late. I’m sure you’re tired. Why don’t you get some rest in your calibration pod? I’ll prepare the tools for tomorrow’s assignment.”

The Eule suddenly perked up and clapped her hands together. “Oh right! There’s one more thing I almost forgot. We don’t have an assignment tomorrow. Another team will cover for us.”

Elster relaxed. “Oh, we get a break then?”

“Not exactly.” The Eule shook her head. Ariane frowned, and all of a sudden, Elster had a bad feeling creeping up the back of her mind, which intensified into a freezing grip when the Eule finished her sentence.

“You need to go back to the base tomorrow. The Commander wants to talk to you.”