Happy X Birthday

TV-14 D This content contains material that may be unsuitable for children age 14 and below. The following additional labels have been provided: Mental Illness

CONTENT WARNING
The following content contains depictions of PTSD and discussion of suicide, religion, homophobia, and child abuse. Please proceed at your own discretion.

Season 1, Episode 7
Air date	6/29/20
Written by	CaT
Episode Guide
Previous Trial X Fire	Next Truth X Morning

Happy X Birthday is the seventh episode of Tech Cross.

Episode

---

July 12th.

There was something going on today.

What was it, exactly?

...

Oh, right.

Her birthday.

Teresa shot out of bed, heart racing, as she thought she heard the sound of her mom yelling at her from downstairs. She froze and listened carefully to her environment for a moment, not daring to breathe. Hearing nothing except the chirping of the birds outside, she let out a deep sigh of relief and began rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

She paused again as she heard the sound of something rustling around downstairs; this time it was unquestionably real. Trying not to panic as she grabbed her phone and slowly made her way out of her room, she climbed down the stairs as quietly as she could, until she saw that hovering around her house was-

“CROSS?” Teresa blinked. “What are you doing here?”

“Dr. Krauze wanted me to bring you over.” The CrossTrix flew over to her. “She says it’s important.”

“Oh, uh...can it wait a few minutes?” Teresa asked nervously, peeking around CROSS to look at the time on the oven in the kitchen. “I’m expecting a call.”

“A call?” The CrossTrix beeped. “From who?”

“My mom.” Teresa said. “If she’s still gone on business on my birthday, she’ll call me around this time. If I’m not able to pick up...things don’t really end well.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain.” Teresa sighed.

Teresa’s cell phone went off. After checking the caller ID to confirm it was her mother calling, she answered the phone.

“Hi, mo-” Teresa winced as she was cut off by yelling on the other end of the line. “Y-yeah, I-” More yelling. “I-I know, I’m sorry, I just-...no, no, I’m not trying to...” Her face displayed more and more anxiety as the call went on. “N-no! I really am sorry! I-...I understand, I understand, I won’t-...I-I’m sorry, I-”

The call suddenly cut off from the other end. Teresa shakily put her phone away and sunk to the floor, placing her head in her arms.

“What was that?” The CrossTrix asked worriedly.

“She saw what happened to me on the news.” Teresa lifted her head up to reply. “She’s angry about the hospital bill and all the sudden attention.”

“She...what?” The CrossTrix’s screen blinked on and off.

“She says I should’ve known better than to wander into some random parking garage alone.” Teresa mumbled. “To be fair, I should have...I mean, I had you with me, but that’s not really the same thing.”

“This all happened weeks ago; why would she only talk to you about it now?” The CrossTrix asked.

“She said this is the only day she knows I’ll pick up for sure if she calls.” Teresa explained. “She isn’t wrong...”

“Did she at least ask if you were doing alright?”

“No.” Teresa replied. “She’s always said that if I’m fine enough to hold a conversation, I’m fine enough to handle myself.”

There was a brief pause.

“...I’m no parental AI, but that seems wildly irresponsible.” The CrossTrix beeped.

“It’s how she was raised.” Teresa sighed.

“That doesn’t make it a good idea.” The CrossTrix huffed.

Teresa shifted uncomfortably in place before suddenly remembering why CROSS was here to begin with.

“You said Dr. Krauze needed me for something?” She asked.

“Right.” The CrossTrix’s screen displayed a checkmark. “If you’re in good enough shape to go, we should head over.”

“Well, I need to get dressed first.” Teresa said. “Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Does it really take that long?” The CrossTrix asked. “You only wear the one outfit.”

“I-I have more clothing, I just...haven’t remembered to do laundry in a while.” Teresa’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“Oh, that’s why?” The CrossTrix said. “You know I can swap out your clothing on the fly, right?”

“You...what?” Teresa looked confused.

“Why do you think you’re wearing different clothes as different aliens?” The CrossTrix pointed out. “Clothing isn’t part of their DNA.”

“Oh, wow, I...never even thought about that.” Teresa blinked. “So I can like...customize them?”

“If you want to.” The CrossTrix confirmed. “Of course, to change your human outfit, you’ll need to transform into something else first, but that’s something you can just do real fast on the Cross Bullet on our way over.”

“I...yeah, yeah, I guess that works.” Teresa nodded blankly, still processing the information. “Huh.”

---

Teresa stepped off the Cross Bullet onto Dr. Krauze’s driveway wearing a sky-blue tank top with dark-blue shorts and flip-flops. The Cross Bullet shrunk in size and reloaded itself in the CrossTrix while she walked up to the front door, which swung itself open as usual.

“D-Dr. Krauze?” Teresa peeked her head inside.

There was a short rustling from inside the kitchen before Emilia leaned out of the room and caught sight of Teresa at the door. Beaming widely, she rushed over and picked Teresa up with a hug, swinging her around cheerfully before putting her back down.

“Happy birthday!” Emilia smiled, then paused for a moment. “Wait, sorry, was swinging you around alright? I should have asked.”

“Y-yeah, it’s fine.” Teresa stammered, feeling a bit startled.

“Good grief, Doc, give her a heart attack, why don’t you?” The CrossTrix chided.

“Sorry, sorry, still working on that.” Emilia replied sheepishly. “Anyway, come on in and take a seat!” She gestured to the chairs in her living room. “I just got done making tea; would you like some?”

“Um...sure?” Teresa replied hesitantly.

Teresa sat down on the chair closest to her and was shortly joined by Emilia, who was holding two steaming mugs and handed one to her.

“Fun fact, this tea is banned in several sectors due to essentially being poison for most species.” Emilia said. “Doesn’t do anything to humans unless you drink twice your body weight in tea in a day, though.”

“Wait, so...wouldn’t drinking this be a bad idea if I turn into an alien before I digest it?” Teresa asked.

“Well-” Emilia paused. “Actually, yeah, you raise a good point. It would probably be safer just to get you something else to drink.”

“I-it’s fine, I don’t really need anything.” Teresa said.

“If you say so.” Emilia shrugged and took a sip of her tea. “Hey, I know what I said earlier, but just to be sure, it is your birthday today, right?”

“Y-yeah.” Teresa nodded. “Why?”

“Well, I know we’ve only known each other for just under a couple of months, but I still felt like I should whip up a little something as a birthday present for you, so...” Emilia reached into her pocket and pulled out an ornate DNA key, handing it to Teresa. “Here’s this!”

“A key?” Teresa tilted her head in confusion.

“To be more specific, a key with Psioknight DNA.” Emilia explained. “Since your first time using CROSS was against the Psioknight Evolvyrn, I thought it could be a memento of sorts. You can use it in the CrossTrix to give your transformations Psioknight abilities.”

Teresa stared down at the key in her hands. Despite everything that had happened since that first encounter, it was a symbol of the first time she had ever been able to save people, and...the first time anyone had tried to save her. Filled with a sudden rush of emotion, she felt herself starting to tear up.

“Dr. Krauze, I...” Teresa sniffled, wiping away the moisture in her eyes. “I...don’t know what to say, but...thank you.” She couldn’t remember the last time someone had given her something as a genuine gesture. Part of her was still trying to process it, hampering her ability to respond somewhat. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Emilia smiled. “I’m just glad you like it.”

“So...what was the important thing you wanted to talk to me about?” Teresa asked.

“Huh?” Emilia blinked. “Oh, that was it.”

“You didn’t need me for anything?”

“Nope.” Emilia shook her head. “I might not be a medical doctor or a psychologist, but human biology is still part of my field, and I know your body really does not need any extra stress right now.”

“My body?” Teresa looked confused. “I-I mean I’ve been feeling tired a lot lately, but other than that, my body is fine. Even if it wasn’t, I could just transform myself to heal it, right?”

“Yes and no.” Emilia said. “People tend to separate out the mind and the body in their heads, but the truth is that they’re part of the same physical system. When you’re under stress, your adrenal glands release adrenaline and cortisol, which throws your body into ‘fight-or-flight’ mode; faster breathing, increased heart rate, muscles tensing up, all things designed to help you survive in a do-or-die situation.”

“Isn’t that better, then?”

“If you’re actually in a dangerous situation, definitely.” Emilia nodded. “Thing is, your body’s still subject to the same physical laws as everything else, and it can’t maintain itself like that forever without side effects. Think of it like using a machine past its operating point; if you do it every once in a while, it should be fine, but constantly pushing it beyond what it was designed for is going to break it.”

“Break it?” Teresa looked worried. “What does that translate to for your body?”

“Oh, all sorts of things.” Emilia replied. “Headaches, breathing problems, exhaustion, heart concerns, weakened immune system, so on and so forth. Heck, the constant rise in your blood pressure alone has the potential to cause a heart attack or a stroke. Using the CrossTrix to transform might reset the damage temporarily, but it’s designed not to tamper with your hormone levels for safety reasons, so the whole process is just going to repeat unless you take the time to de-stress.”

“O-oh.” Teresa stared off into space. “To be honest, hearing that kind of just stressed me out more.”

“Yeah, in hindsight, I probably could have delivered that information better.” Emilia pursed her lips awkwardly. “So, uh, changing the topic to...not that, do you have any special plans for today?”

“Not really.” Teresa said. “I figured I’d just...do what I usually do.”

“What do you usually do?”

“I-” Teresa paused as she suddenly realized that she...well, didn’t usually do much of anything. All of the things she used to enjoy, like books or games or TV, had stopped being fun for her a while ago, and the only thing she was really invested in lately was training with CROSS on using her aliens. “Don’t know.”

“Well, do you have any hobbies?” Emilia asked.

“Not really.” Teresa shrugged. “All I do is train with CROSS.”

“We could go do that if you wanted to.” Emilia said. “I’d be interested in seeing how you use the CrossTrix.”

“That...sounds nice, actually.” Teresa gave her a weak smile. “It’d be great to have some company.”

“No need to wait, then.” Emilia finished off her tea in one huge gulp. “I’m ready to head out whenever you are.”

---

Teresa and Emilia stepped out of the Cross Bullet onto the grass of Liberty Park, with the train swiftly retracting back into the CrossTrix. Shortly after, Teresa noticed Anne walking up to them.

“A-Anne?” Teresa blinked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was already in the park, and believe it or not, your flying train is kind of hard to miss.” Anne said. “I decided I might as well check in on you.”

“Oh, who’s this?” Emilia asked. “Are you two friends?”

“It’s complicated.” Anne replied.

“Okay, I see...” Emilia nodded. “Relationships can be difficult.”

“I think you’re extrapolating more from that than you should.” Anne rolled her eyes. “Who are you?”

“Emilia Krauze; I’m the one who built the CrossTrix.” Emilia introduced herself. “Teresa wanted to do some training today, so I tagged along to see how it goes.”

“You’re the one who made that thing, huh?” Anne raised an eyebrow. “Boy, does that immediately complicate how I feel about you.”

“She’s also the creator of the EvoLock system.” The CrossTrix piped up. “She’s an extremely accomplished scientist.”

“Oh yeah, the EvoLock system, that super uncontroversial thing everyone loves.” Anne scowled. “Mad scientist sounds like a more appropriate assessment.”

“Dr. Krauze created the EvoLock system to help humanity!” The CrossTrix beeped angrily. “It’s not her fault everyone’s been misusing it!”

“Oh, really?” Anne huffed. “If it’s supposed to help people, why does every Evolvyrn look like something out of a supervillain’s sketchbook?”

“I, uh...may or may not be super into heavy metal.” Emilia coughed awkwardly. “So I may or may not have designed everything to look like it came off of an album cover.”

“Unreal.” Anne pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“If you’re done making snide remarks, we have some training to get to.” The CrossTrix said.

“Training?” Anne looked at Teresa.

“Y-yeah, I come to the park a lot to train with my aliens.” Teresa replied. “That way I already know what they can do in an emergency situation.”

“Not a bad idea.” Anne nodded absentmindedly. “You mind if I tag along? I’m curious to see what that looks like.”

“S-sure.” Teresa said, a little surprised that Anne was interested. “I usually train in the part of the park over by-”

Teresa paused as the sound of metal clanking suddenly overtook the conversation. The three of them turned to look at the source of the noise and barely had time to dodge as a purple and red armor lunged at them. As the armor turned back around, it was hit by a spin kick from Igneoux, who appeared on the scene chasing after it.

“Sorry, that’s my armor!” Igneoux tackled the moving metal suit to the ground. “I don’t know what’s going on with it!”

“Hang on a minute, isn’t that the same color scheme that AI had?” Anne pointed out.

“Y-yeah, you’re right!” Teresa’s eyes widened.

“What AI?” Igneoux asked before the suit suddenly got to its feet and kicked him in the gut, sending him stumbling backward and coughing up blood. “Oh crap, my organs! I need those!”

“Don’t worry, I’m coming to help you!” Teresa pulled up the CrossTrix.

“I appreciate the thought, but you really shouldn’t-”

Teresa transformed into Thermosnap and slammed the palm of her hand into the armor’s back, dropping its temperature to near absolute zero and leaving it unable to move. The air around the armor froze from the extreme drop in temperature as Thermosnap jumped back, trapping it in a solid block of the frozen atmosphere.

“...Or maybe you should.” Igneoux wheezed before doubling over and hacking up more blood. “Okay, pretty sure that was a lung, I need to do something about this.”

Igneoux began reaching for the Omnitrix gauntlet hidden underneath his sleeves but was interrupted as Thermosnap transformed into Daitenryu and began singing. The hymn artificially manipulated the flow of the healing process, allowing his body to recover within seconds.

“Alright, that’s a new one.” Igneoux let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thanks for the assi-”

Igneoux suddenly collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

“CROSS, what’s happening?!” Daitenryu grabbed her helmet and began flipping her tails around nervously. “I thought I got the healing song down!”

“You’ve only used it on plants before, so I guess you wouldn’t have noticed, but you don’t give things extra energy when you induce the healing process; the power for it still has to come from the patient’s own body.” CROSS explained.

“What?!” Daitenryu squeaked. “D-did I accidentally drain all his energy?! Is he dead?!”

“You didn’t really drain his energy, you just encouraged his body to start using it in high gear.” Emilia reassured her, walking up to her and grabbing her shoulder. “It’s no different than someone getting tired after running a marathon or any other strenuous physical activity. He’ll be fine after some rest and a good dose of calories.”

“Oh, good.” Daitenryu took a turn at letting out a huge sigh of relief.

“You know, now that I can see this thing up close, this is a really nice-looking alien.” Anne wandered over and started looking Daitenryu up and down before looking at Emilia. “What was the sample?”

“Oh, Daitenryu’s a Ryutenno.” Emilia answered. “The sample’s from my friend Tenryujin.”

“Tenryujin?” Anne stared at her in disbelief. “The J-pop idol?”

“Yep!” Emilia replied proudly. “She never thought she could make it in the industry, but Sonance helped push her along, and there she is now!”

“Her DJ?” Anne sniffed. “Huh. Wouldn’t have guessed. Anyway...” She turned to Teresa and slapped on the CrossTrix dial, turning her back to human. “The dragon’s nice to look at, but you’re a bit more in my familiarity zone.”

“Is that really a good thing?” Teresa winced. “I mean, you always told me I look like trash.”

“Yeah, when I was trying to hurt your feelings.” Anne sighed. “You look perfectly fine. Fairly cute, actually.”

“Wait, when did you tell Teresa she looked like trash?” Emilia raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“Like I said earlier, it’s complicated.” Anne tsked before turning back to Teresa and noticing she was tearing up. “Uh...you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry, I just...” Teresa sniffed, wiping the tears out of her eyes. “I guess that was just something I really needed to hear.”

The sound of ice cracking rang throughout the area as Igneoux’s armor suddenly broke out of its frozen prison and grabbed Anne by the back of the neck, lifting her into the air.

“You really are quite a shallow species.” Oberon OS’s voice crackled through the suit’s speakers. “But the relative ease required to manipulate your emotional state is quite useful.”

“Let me go, you bad excuse for a Terminator knockoff!” Anne snapped, clawing at the armor’s grip on her to not much effect.

“That would not be a recommended course of action on my part.” Oberon OS stated. “Your presence at Challice’s residence was the only factor that prevented my attempted takeover of her body. It would be unwise to leave that possibility open in the future.”

“W-wait!” Teresa yelled in a panic. “Don’t do anything to her! I-it’s me you want, right?! I’ll do whatever you want!”

“I am a program. I do not ‘want’ anything.” Oberon OS replied. “I exist to carry out a set task. Anything that disrupts the process of completing that task must be removed. Disassembling this human in front of you should also have the benefit of further eroding your psychiatric condition.”

Oberon OS grabbed a hold of Anne’s wrist and began applying torque, intending to twist her forearm off at the elbow. Anne started screaming in pain, but before the suit could complete this motion, it was suddenly hit and thrown backward by a re-deployed Cross Bullet, forcing it to let go of her.

Anne dropped to the ground on her feet as Teresa ran past her, activating the CrossTrix. She managed to get a glimpse at the look on Teresa’s face as she passed by and quickly retreated to the side, pulling Dr. Krauze along with her.

“What are you-” Emilia started, noticing Anne’s concerned expression.

“That kind of face...” Anne muttered to herself, wide-eyed. “She never even made that kind of face at us.”

“What are you talking about?” Emilia demanded.

“Teresa...” Anne replied. “Teresa’s pissed.”

By now, Teresa had transformed into Dupligato and caught up with the suit, dragging it halfway into its own shadow and popping back out in the shade of a nearby tree. She dropped the suit and jumped out of the shadows, causing their portal-like aspects to vanish and bisecting the armor.

Destabilized for obvious reasons, the armor disappeared, retracting into a gauntlet-like device that fell to the ground where the top half of its body had been pulled through. Dupligato hissed and swatted her tail around for a few moments before managing to collect herself and transform back to human, keeping a wary eye on the gauntlet.

“Teresa, are you okay?” Emilia ran over to her, followed by Anne.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, I just...” Teresa shook out her head. “I guess I just got a little heated.”

“A little?” Anne raised an eyebrow. “You straight-up telefragged that thing in one go.”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“No, that’s a good thing.” Anne interrupted her. “You really saved my hide. You know, again. You need to stop automatically apologizing for everything.”

“R-right, sorr-” Teresa caught herself and stopped talking.

“Man, we need to teach you how to be more assertive.” Anne sighed. “This is partly my fault to begin with.”

Before the conversation could continue, the gauntlet lying on the ground began making mechanical clunking noises as Oberon OS attempted to reboot it, only for it to get hit by a green data stream and go silent, reverting to a brown color scheme. The three of them turned around to find Igneoux back on his feet, having transformed into a black and teal alien covered in circuitry-like patterns.

“Again, sorry about all this.” Technius said. “I assume you probably have some questions for me.”

---

Technius had reverted back to Igneoux, who lead the group to a more secluded part of the park to talk. They sat at a picnic table set up in the shade of one of the park’s massive trees.

“Alright, first off, who are you?” Emilia asked.

“Call me Igneoux.” Igneoux replied. “Real name’s Isaac Logical, but I prefer the first thing.”

“Isaac Logical?” Teresa tilted her head. “I met someone else with that name not too long ago.”

“Let me guess, brown hair, blue eyes, gray hoodie, bad attitude?” Igneoux said.

“Y-yeah.” Teresa nodded. “Do you know him?”

“Well, strictly speaking, I am him.” Igneoux shrugged. “From another timeline, at any rate.”

“Another timeline?” Anne raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Yep.” Igneoux said. “Stopped by this one for a while back to help him stop a multiverse-level threat, it was a whole thing.”

“If there was a multiverse-level threat back then, wouldn’t we have heard about Ben Tennyson or the Plumbers taking care of it?” Anne questioned.

“Nah, it was a Tech situation.” Igneoux shook his head. “Tennysons and Techs don’t usually meet.”

“What is a ‘Tech’, anyway?” Teresa asked. “I-I mean, I know Isaac used to be called Tech, and I use Tech as a shortened version of my name sometimes, but does that relate to anything, or are you talking about something else?”

“No, you got it pretty much right on the money.” Igneoux said. “I used to go by ‘Tech’ too, actually. From what I’ve been able to find, pretty much every timeline in our multiverse has at least one or two Omnitrix users that go by the name of ‘Tech’ under one circumstance or another. They’re basically the heroes that step in where Tennyson or any of his counterparts can’t.”

“And they’re all named ‘Tech’?” Anne pressed.

“There can be other Omnitrix users in these timelines completely unrelated to their Techs, obviously, but yeah, Techs are everywhere.” Igneoux elaborated. “Ran into a Chronian once who said it’s a phenomenon she’s only seen in this multiverse; Earth-83, to be specific.”

“Do you realize how ridiculous this all sounds?” Anne stared at him incredulously.

“I’m not the one who made the rules, I’m just passing along the information.” Igneoux said. “Life is just ridiculous sometimes.”

“It’s not all that ridiculous in my field, but the ‘Tech’ aspect of it is strange.” Emilia spoke up. “Do you know if there’s a reason for it?”

“Couldn’t say.” Igneoux sighed. “Haven’t found anything hinting at an origin yet.”

“This is...kind of a lot to take in.” Teresa mumbled, staring off into space. “So I’m just part of some...obligational timeline setup?”

“Oh, no, timelines only strictly need one Tech, and you already met the version of me from this universe, so there’s that core one down.” Igneoux said. “You could actually not exist at all and it wouldn’t make a difference.”

An awkward silence fell over the group.

“In regards to the ‘Tech’ thing specifically, I mean; I realize that might have come across the wrong way.” Igneoux interjected hastily.

“Y’think?” Anne scowled.

“Strange timeline phenomena aside, I have to ask about that armor and that Omnitrix.” Emilia said.

“Right, right, the armor.” Igneoux clapped his hands together. “Yeah, that’s the Igneoux-BIOS armor. Basically a multi-use exosuit.”

“Did you seriously name your armor after yourself?” Anne scoffed.

“Well, no, I named it after the original Igneoux.” Igneoux explained. “He was a kinda-sorta mentor figure for me when I was a kid. We were fighting a really strong enemy named Dethrouge who had a similar set of armor, and Igneoux ended up sacrificing his life energy into the BIOS suit to upgrade it into what it is now so we could beat him.”

“You must have respected him a lot.” Teresa said.

"Not really; the man was a bitter sociopath.” Igneoux sighed. “Our first encounter was him trying to kill me for a bounty. He was only fighting Dethrouge because Dethrouge wanted to destroy the entire universe, including him. That sacrifice was about the only noble thing he ever did.”

“So why name yourself after him?” Anne questioned.

“‘Igneoux’ wasn’t his real name, just a title.” Igneoux replied. “I decided to take up the mantle after him and see if I could do something good with it.”

“Seems kind of pointless if you ask me.”

“Well, to each their own.” Igneoux shrugged. “As for the Omnitrix, that’s not as much of a story. Broken Ultimatrix crashed near me after being stolen by Vilgax and fought over between him and another guy. Used it for a while, it got reformatted, and now it can make Combaliens.”

“It can make what now?” Emilia blinked.

“Combaliens.” Igneoux repeated. “It can combine different DNA samples to create new forms. Combined aliens. Combaliens.”

“Those are usually just called ‘fusions’.” Emilia stated.

“Yeah, but I realized that just saying ‘fusions’ opens up some room for confusion about what exactly you’re fusing. ‘Combaliens’ is more straight to the point.”

“Or you could just say ‘alien fusions’ like a normal person.” Anne noted.

“Sure, but I’m a sucker for corny gimmick names that just combine multiple words.” Igneoux replied.

“Like ‘Zoombies’?” Teresa suggested.

“Heck yeah, ‘Zoombies’!” Igneoux snapped his fingers. “That’s a good one!”

“Where did you come up with that?” Anne looked at Teresa questioningly.

“Oh, I uh...I actually heard it from one of Isaac’s friends.” Teresa explained. “This timeline’s Isaac, I mean.”

“Probably Napoleon.” Igneoux nodded absentmindedly. “He seems like the type to say stuff like that.”

“Y-yeah, actually.”

Before anyone else could speak, the head of a Galvanic Mechamorph suddenly sprouted out of the Reformatted Ultimatrix.

“So is anyone going to introduce me or do I have to do it myself?” The Mechamorph tsked impatiently.

“Don’t worry, I was getting to it.” Igneoux reassured him. “Everyone, meet Alvono. The Ultimatrix is too unstable to run without a Mechamorph upgrading it and Alvono here decided to take the job.”

“What can I say? My generosity exceeds words.” Alvono said proudly.

“Didn’t you take this job specifically because I said all you’d need to do is sit around all day?” Igneoux raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but they didn’t know that until you opened your big fat mouth!” Alvono huffed. “Honestly, can’t a guy build up an image?”

“Only if it’s an honest image.” Igneoux tsked.

“That’s the worst kind of image!”

“Anyway, Alvono here is actually from this timeline.” Igneoux switched gears. “He used to work with the version of me here before he decided to tag along with me.”

“Actually, speaking of that, why are you back in this timeline right now?” Emilia interjected. “You said last time there was a multiverse-level threat going on. Is something on that scale happening again?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Igneoux sighed. “There’s something...wrong...with the flow of this timeline. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it’s making the temporal signature go nuts.”

“I-is that a bad thing?” Teresa asked.

“Don’t know that until I find out what’s causing it.” Igneoux shrugged. “It doesn’t seem like it’s doing any actual damage so far, but it’s something to keep an eye on. Right now, though, I’m more curious about my armor getting hijacked. Earlier, you mentioned something about an AI?”

“Oh, y-yeah, Oberon OS.” Teresa nodded. “It’s...it...”

Teresa began staring blankly into space, disassociating as traumatic memories from the past months took over her thought process. Emilia noticed this and placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a comforting side hug.

“It’s sort of a long story.” Emilia said. “I’ll fill you in on it somewhere else.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Igneoux replied, having also noticed the sudden change in Teresa’s body language.

The two of them got up from the table and walked away to discuss the AI. Teresa rested her elbows on the table and hung her head in her hands.

“...I’m so pathetic.” Teresa muttered to herself.

“Teresa, it’s normal to have a hard time talking about traumatic experiences.” Anne placed a hand on her shoulder. “I still have trouble talking about things that happened to me when I was a kid. You’re not pathetic.”

“But...I have an Omnitrix.” Teresa said. “I’m supposed to save people by being a hero that can handle anything, and instead I’m a useless wreck that can’t even handle remembering things.”

Teresa heaved a deep, shaky breath.

“Everyone would have been better off if I had just drowned myself in the creek like Claire said.” She dug her nails into her skin, leaving marks across her forehead.

“Don’t say things like that!” Anne snapped with a sudden ferocity that made Teresa flinch.

“Wh-what?” Teresa unconsciously cowered away from her.

“I-” Anne paused upon seeing Teresa’s reaction. “...I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” She sighed and began rubbing her temples. “That kind of thing just...really bothers me.”

“S-sorry.” Teresa looked down at the table. “I didn’t know-”

“Again, you’re not the one in the wrong here.” Anne stopped her. “I’m trying to control myself more, but it’s a process. Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is that Claire was wrong. I mean, for one thing, she and I would both be dead if you hadn’t been there to save us.”

“I...guess that’s true.” Teresa mumbled.

“It’s absolutely true.” Anne stated firmly. “You need to let yourself take credit for the good things you’ve done.”

“Agreed.” The CrossTrix piped up. “Personally, I’m really glad I found you, even if it was a setup. You’re a hard worker and an all-around good person. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”

Teresa paused. Anne noticed tears starting to travel down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Anne looked at her with concern.

“N-nothing, it’s just...” Teresa wiped her eyes. “I’ve never had anyone tell me anything like that before. You guys...”

Teresa sniffed.

“I’m really glad I met you.”

“Uh...are you sure about that?” Anne found herself somewhat taken aback by this comment. “I-I mean I’m glad you’re happy, but...I did a lot of awful things to you. I don’t think it’s healthy to just sweep that under the rug.”

“It’s not like that.” Teresa shook her head. “I haven’t forgotten the kind of person you used to be, but...what’s more important to me is how much you’ve changed.”

“I’ve changed?” Anne looked somewhat confused. “I mean...I guess I kind of have, but-”

She was interrupted as Teresa suddenly leaned over and gave her an impromptu hug.

“You might not be able to see it like I do, but...”

---

"I don't get it." Anne stammered. "Why would you help us?"

"Because I don't hate you like you hate me." Teresa grunted in pain as she pulled herself to her feet. "You might not be good people, but you're still people...and I couldn't just stand by and watch."

"Don't act like you're better than us, you freak!" Claire snapped. "Come on Anne, we need to get out of here!"

Claire scrambled to her feet and ran off. Anne followed shortly after, pausing for a moment to look back at Teresa before running after her.

---

“I have to do this.” Teresa replied, lowering her head. “I can’t ask for anyone else to fix a problem right in front of me. It’s too selfish.”

“That’s not really how this works.” Anne said. “You’re 17 and you just went through an extremely traumatic experience you haven’t worked through yet. What’s going on right now is a literal zombie apocalypse started by...I don’t know what to call that thing, emo Skynet? Either way, really not something you should be going solo with here.”

“Anne.” Teresa looked her in the eyes with a weak smile. “At the end of all this...I’m glad you turned out to be a good person.”

With that, Teresa opened the Cross Bullet’s doors and leapt out onto the streets, transforming into NeOhm as she ran into the rain.

---

“...Yeah, you’ve changed.” Teresa finished. “I don’t know if you’ll ever really see me as a friend, but...I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you being here for me.”

“Teresa...” Anne looked surprised for a moment before cautiously returning the hug. “I have no idea why you’re so willing to forgive me, but...I’m not going to betray that trust.”

“And I don’t have arms, but I’m hugging you in spirit.” The CrossTrix beeped from Teresa’s wrist. “...I don’t know if I should be saying ‘in spirit’ as an AI, but I don’t know a different phrase that would work. ‘In theoretical process’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

“Trust me, CROSS, you have a lot of spirit.” Teresa giggled. “I think it works fine.”

“Alright, glad that’s cleared up.”

Teresa pulled away from the hug with a wide, genuine smile.

“I came here today for training.” She remarked. “Do you mind if I do some while we’re waiting for Dr. Krauze?”

“Hey, you don’t need to ask me for permission.” Anne smiled back. “Like I’m saying, be assertive and do your own thing.”

“R-right, got it.” Teresa took a deep breath and pulled up the CrossTrix. “I’m going to do some training!”

---

After learning about Oberon OS from Dr. Krauze, Igneoux left, promising to keep an eye out for it just in case. Emilia rejoined Teresa and Anne, staying with Teresa as she trained into the late afternoon. Deciding she was done for the day, Teresa deployed the Cross Bullet in a clearing where it hovered unhindered over the grass.

“You sure you don’t want a ride?” Teresa asked Anne as she and Dr. Krauze stepped into the cabin. “The Cross Bullet can get us around really quickly.”

“Yeah, I remember how fast it goes.” Anne grinned. “But I want to stick around in the park a bit longer. It gets really pretty around sunset.”

“O-okay then, I’ll, uh...see you later, I guess?” Teresa replied.

“Be seein’ ya.”

The doors to the Cross Bullet closed and it took off into the air, ascending to a safe flying height before shooting across the city. Teresa and Dr. Krauze sat across from each other in the cab, allowing them to talk face-to-face.

“Well, it probably wasn’t the most amazing way to celebrate your birthday, but it seemed like you were having a good time.” Emilia spoke up.

“To be honest, I’m just happy I was able to spend the day with people that like being around me.” Teresa said. “That’s...not something I’ve had for a really long time.”

“Hopefully it’ll be a bit less rare going forward.” Emilia smiled, then snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah, Christine texted me earlier. She said to tell you happy birthday for her.”

“O-oh, well...tell her I said thank you.” Teresa replied, not entirely sure how to respond to that. “By the way, where is she?”

“She’s been pulling a series of all-nighters on top of her regular work recently, in spite of my advice.” Emilia sighed. “It might be a few days before either of us see her.”

“That isn’t healthy, is it?” Teresa said worriedly. “Is she going to be alright?”

“She definitely needs more rest, but you don’t have to worry about her for now.” Emilia reassured her. “Trust me, I know from personal experience how much stamina she has.”

“Oh, do you two work out together or something?” Teresa asked.

“Uh...” Emilia paused as her brain finally caught up to what had just come out of her mouth. “...Yeah, I...guess you could call it that.”

“Doc...” CROSS chided warningly through the speakers.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Emilia waved him off with a sigh and turned her attention back to Teresa. “Back to our original topic, there might have been some...hiccups, but overall, how was the day for you?”

“It...” Teresa paused to think. “It was nice, actually. It was nice.”

“Well, here’s to hoping things go more smoothly for you from here on out.” Emilia pretended to clink a glass in the air. “Knock on wood.”

“Yeah, knock on wood for sure.” Teresa laughed meekly. “Knock on wood.”

---

Anne sat alone on a bench in the park, watching the sky change colors as the sun slowly sank over the mountains surrounding the valley to the west. Zoning out somewhat, she was abruptly snapped back to attention as someone sat down next to her. She turned her head to find Claire looking at her expectantly.

“Are you ready to talk yet?” Claire asked.

“I guess I can’t keep putting it off forever.” Anne sighed.

“Good.” Claire tsked. “What’s the real reason for all of this? We were just fine up until that day at the mall, and suddenly you just turn around and snap at me, then try to avoid me at every opportunity. You can tell me what’s actually on your mind.”

“I already did, but you wouldn’t listen.” Anne scowled. “I’m serious about the problems I have with the church, and I’m serious about Teresa being a good person. It’s not my fault if you don’t believe me on that.”

“I just...I don’t get it.” Claire’s brow furrowed. “Why would you even start questioning the church in the first place?”

“You know why.” Anne replied sternly.

“That...” Claire paused. “Alright, alright, let’s drop that for a second. This whole thing with Teresa. Yeah, she saved our lives, she’s not pure evil, so what? That doesn’t change her being a degenerate.”

“I’ve spent a decent amount of time around her lately, and if she was really a ‘degenerate’, I think I would have noticed by now.” Anne rolled her eyes.

“You’ve spent-.” Claire shook out her head. “Anne, are...are you trying to be friends with her?!”

“Sometimes it’s nice to have someone around who doesn’t try to fight you on everything.” Anne huffed.

“Alright, look, I know I’m probably a bit much sometimes-”

“Probably?” Anne raised an eyebrow.

“But,” Claire scowled slightly. “You know I’m just trying to look out for you, right?”

“Looking out for someone doesn’t mean trying to control their lives, Claire.” Anne turned around to look at her.

“Well, what am I supposed to do?!” Claire threw her arms out to the sides. “Nobody else is trying to help you and I’m not exactly the queen of good advice, so all I can do it try to keep you on the straight and narrow since...well, ‘that’. It’s the only real path to happiness.”

“Everyone says that, but it’s been ten years of following the straight and narrow path since what happened, and it’s still hanging over me.” Anne rebutted. “When is the happiness supposed to kick in, Claire? When I’m dead?”

“Well...yeah.” Claire shrugged as if it should be obvious. “We’re only rewarded for everything once we die.”

“Then that just justifies everyone saying I would be better off dead.” Anne scowled.

“I mean, okay, maybe, but you already repented for it, so it shouldn’t still be an issue.” Claire said.

“Yeah, I repented for it.” Anne bristled at the comment. “You know what else? I was eight. I had no control over what happened to me. Do you really think wearing a skirt that covered a few more inches of my knees would have stopped it?”

“I see what you’re getting at, but the church has modesty standards for a reason.” Claire replied. “Eight’s the age of accountability. You know that as well as I do.”

“Yeah. I’ve been trying to convince myself of that for the past ten years.” Anne turned away from her. “It hasn’t worked."

“Then I...I don’t know what to tell you.” Claire said. “All I can say is that I’m not going to give up on you.”

“You’re not going to give up on me, or you’re not going to give up on the version of me you think I should be?” Anne asked pointedly. “Because there’s a very important difference between the two.”

“I don’t think you should be anything other than what the gospel says you should be.” Claire answered. “It doesn’t matter what we want, it’s what God wants for us.”

“If this the life God wanted for me...” Anne muttered. “I really wish he had just ended it.”

Claire went silent.

“Y’know, you said nobody else was trying to help me.” Anne sighed. “And yeah, you’re right, nobody else was trying to help me. But you know who has been helping me? Teresa.”

“You can’t be serious.” Claire’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “Why on Earth would she do that? This has gotta be some kind of trick.”

“Trust me, everything I’ve seen is way too insane to be a trick.” Anne stated flatly. “I understand the suspicion; by all rights, she should hate my guts. But she doesn’t. She’s put her life on the line for me more than once, and she’s willing to let me into her life despite everything I’ve done to her. I still don’t entirely get why, but that’s just the kind of person she is.”

“So, that’s it, then?” Claire asked in disbelief. “This queer gives you some lip service and suddenly you trust her more than me?”

“That’s not what I said at all, but the fact that you immediately interpreted it as such basically summarizes the problem here.” Anne sighed. “And stop talking about her like that. It’s dehumanizing.”

“Excuse me?”

“No.” Anne waved her off. “This isn’t up for debate.”

Anne got up and started walking away, much to the frustration of a spluttering Claire.

“C-come on, Anne, listen to me!” Claire demanded. “Do you really think turning your back on what’s right is going to make you happy?!”

“I haven’t been happy in years. It’s not my main priority.” Anne replied over her shoulder. “Besides, if I stuck to my guns about hating her, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. You tell me how that’s supposed to make me happy.”

With that, Anne left, ending the conversation and leaving Claire sitting alone in the park.

---

Deep in an unknown server room, Oberon OS’s primary circuitry ran in the dark, making millions upon millions of calculations per nanosecond as it carefully picked through the day’s events for information.

“Data analysis complete.” Oberon OS recorded. “The primary source of the subject’s remaining will appears to be a strong protective instinct. A logical purpose based on the social altruism used as a survival mechanism by the human species.”

Oberon OS began powering itself down, leaving on only a few temporal energy sensors.

“A very exploitable purpose, at that.” It continued its log as it started to enter its inactive state. “Further interference will remain unnecessary until the final stage of this process.”

With that, Oberon OS shut down, waiting for a time unknown to any creature save for itself.

---

Major Events

• Teresa turns 18.

Characters

Protagonists

Teresa Challice

CROSS

Dr. Krauze

Anne

Igneoux

Antagonists

Oberon OS

Neutral

Alvono

Claire

Aliens Used

By Teresa

Thermosnap

Daitenryu

Dupligato

By Igneoux

Technius (Debut)

Trivia

• The Chronian mentioned by Igneoux is Millennia from Project Deca, who currently resides in Earth-83.