The Future rests on us

Cipher and Jade would encounter no more forces as they walked through the mostly empty and intact halls. At least this part was without troubles.
"It's called Frame Shift. My reactor has 2 modes. Standby, which supplies me with more energy than I use up, and Combat, which focuses on using the overload of energy I save up. I switch between modes to become more effective when fighting, and save energy for the combat mode while in standby. Did you understand that, or do you have any questions?"
Switching modes was his way of managing the energy of his reactor. Rather unique, and it seemed to be somewhat effective.

About an hour later, the two found an intact staircase and made their way to the top floor. This was where most of the battles happened, and there was a lot of evidence around. Cipher saw it, and was aware of what it meant. He picked up one of the pistols while walking past everything, and put it into his holster, right next to the sword.
"What happened here?"
He wanted to know what was going on. Some context to understand in which situation he and the area was in.
 
"Yeah I understand....you really are Cipher," Jade said as they walked. They soon actually found their way to the top floor and she seemed to freeze up for a moment. She had to force herself to look away as they walked past the destruction and blood. "I....I'll tell you when we get to the base....." She muttered. Soon they made it outside and she got on one of the bikes. "Can you operate one of these? Or do you need to ride with me?" Her eyes were still teary as she asked him. Once he was settled they headed off. It was still night out though the dawn was coming. Jade shivered in the night air and in a few hours they were back at the base. The entrance was hidden in some old ruins of what was once a school. She hid the bike and showed him the entrance in the basement. The actual base looked more like a network of underground tunnels that were supported by junk and scrap. Everyone seemed to know her but Jade said nothing to them as she showed Cipher to her work area. It looked like a sort of lab with a wooden table and tools sitting on old metal shelves. She sat down in a chair and looked at him.

"this is the year XX15.....The androids of the world have taken over in the city of Arcadia. They need humans to survive and took in the brightest and the best. Overpopulation started to be a problem and the androids decided to destroy the world...Arcadia is the only place left that's.....decent I suppose. But we wanted freedom...we're called The Resistance because we don't want our lives ruled by the androids. They decide everything....and they want everyone in the resistance dead....they...they attacked while we came out to look for you...." she seemed to break down as tears flowed from her eyes and her body started to tremble, "Everyone....they all died......"
 
Cipher accepted that she didn't want to talk about it, and didn't ask again. He just walked outside with her. The bikes seemed to be somewhat simple when it came to operating them, so he took one for himself and drove with adequate distance behind her. Even driving this bike was something he learned quickly. Gears, acceleration, breaks, handling. It didn't even take him a full minute to learn everything he needed.

Once at her lab, Cipher looked around while listening to her story. Things really didn't look good for the humans.
"I see. That explains some of the looks earlier.
...I want to use this machine for a moment."
Cipher had his hand on a scanner. Usually used for androids, or humans, to scan everything about them.
"My left leg feels slow, and my right arm is stiffer than the left."
He wasn't sure what to think of the whole situation he was in, and it was probably no use to think about something he couldn't relate to yet. For now, he just focused on a maintenance check.
 
Jade looked at him and wiped her tears as he mentioned the scanner. She slowly stood up and nodded. "Y-yeah. go ahead. I'll boot it up." She said as she walked over to the scanner and started it up. Once it was online she walked over to her main computer and got things ready. "Go on and step in. If.....if you don't mind...I'd like to get a scan of both forms... just to make sure everything's working." She spoke in a sad tone. The blue haired girl was starting to feel exhausted now that she was certain she was safe but she couldn't sleep yet. The scanner now had a light blue light inside it, indicating that it was online and operational.
 
Now that it was online, Cipher stepped inside and remained in standby mode. Once the scanner began to gather data, it was shown on the monitor for her. Cipher wouldn't be able to see it because of the angle the monitor was at, so there was some privacy for her.
His shoulder needed an adjustment, and one of the hydraulic mechanisms in his leg had to be replaced. Minor damages, which were barely worth mentioning.
Standby mode was just like how Cipher described it. His core produced about 3-4 times more energy than it used, and powered itself. A deep analysis of it wasn't possible, but there was no sign of radiation or danger for the surrounding area. The overcharge of energy was stored, and was available only for the Frame Shift.
Once told to do so, Cipher changed into Combat mode, using the overcharge of energy that he saved up. The scanner showed results many androids could only dream of. Cipher's body made a huge jump in terms of stats. There was also something in his programming, called Alpha Potential code. A deep analysis showed that Cipher had near limitless potential, making him one of the most powerful, if not THE most powerful, androids of this time. All it would take to get to that level was experience.

But there were also somewhat bad news. The core was linked to his life support system. This meant that unlike other androids, he could not simply get another core. The moment it would be removed, he would instantly die. With this information, the resistance had a decision to make. Either take his core to solve their energy crisis forever, and kill Cipher in the process, or send him out on field missions to become stronger.
Both ideas had their risks. Taking the core would be difficult since he wouldn't give it up. And sending him out on missions meant that his core could be taken by force, or destroyed.
 
Jade looked at all the information and wrote down the repairs she'd have to make. When she told him to change he did and she saw what happened. It was amazing and she realized that he really was the reactor they were looking for. However when she saw that it was tied to his life support she frowned. She didn't know what to do with the information so she decided to keep it to herself. Was it dangerous? Yes. But he seemed so nice and could be the champion to keep them safe. At this point, her mind was only on safety. Sure they needed energy but they'd manage for a while longer while she had to try and reason it out. Once the scans were done she turned off her computer and the scanner opened and shut down.

"You've got a few repairs that need to be made....I've got the spare parts..." She said quietly as she got up and busied herself with finding the parts. Her movements were sluggish and she walked like she was dizzy. The night was catching up to her but she didn't want to just stop and sleep. She was afraid she'd start crying and never stop.
 
Scans were done, so Cipher got out of the machine. He noticed how Jade walked as she went to get the spare parts. It was all wobbly and weakened. She was in no condition to work, and he could tell why. She had been through a lot today. Many of her friends were dead, and she was hunted like some animal.
Cipher walked to her, and when she turned around he put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her to him. He spoke quietly to her as he held the hug.
"Sorry. You just look like you need one."
Despite the kindness, Cipher thought that he was insensitive. It felt as if he forced himself onto her with this. They were no where near close enough for a complete lack of distance, and for him to see and hear her crying, but if it helped, he would take the consequences. Even it it meant she would hit or push him away.
 
Upon receiving the hug Jade turned around and hugged him back, trying her best not to burst into tears. She stood there for several minutes and wouldn't let go. When she finally did let go she went back to retrieving the parts. Once the parts were out she looked at him. "We should get you fixed up," She said, "The others are going to want to know more about you and I'm sure that they've got questions...It's always best to go in at 100%...." Her voice was quieter and her eyes started to droop shut. In truth she was starting to fall asleep just by standing there. It was then that she realized how stupid this would be to do the repairs while she was tired. She set down the parts and looked at him. "I'm going....to go sleep...." She muttered in her sad voice. Without another word she walked off to her own room to go to sleep.
 
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Seeing her this tired made him wonder about a couple of things. Just how would that condition feel, and would it reduce performance? Thanks to his generator, Cipher had no need for sleep or rest. Unless his body would malfunction, he would be able to keep doing something throughout the night. When she walked into her room and left him in the lab, he took a look around. There was a couch, and it looked not so bad. He layed down on it, but didn't know how to continue. Closing his eyes didn't really kill time.
"...I need a hobby."
He talked to himself once, and then would proceed to wait through the night.
 
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Jade slept through most of the day before finally waking up. When she woke up she thought about what had happened tears formed in her eyes. Her mind started to replay the horrible images still very fresh in her mind. She didn't know what to do as she started to sob and cry. Her mind was trying to deal with all of that and part of her simply did not want to leave the room. When her mind got to the memory of Leon being crushed she froze and curled up. It was like she'd completely broken down and couldn't do anything. The thought that she'd never see her friend again and would never even be able to give him any sort of funeral or proper burial hit her like a ton of bricks.
 
When the sun rose up, so did Cipher. Jade was probably about to wake up, so it would be just a little while longer until she would be up. But there still seemed some time to kill, so he began to think. He probably shouldn't touch any of the machines she owned, so he didn't do it. But maybe her tools would be okay. Cipher still had a gun from yesterday, which he still had to get used to. He wanted to modify it so that it would be more like his sword.
While tinkering with the mechanics of the gun, he noticed that it was not as easy as he wanted it to be. The weapon had a plasma core that he wanted out. He wanted to power the gun with his reactor by just holding the weapon. To test things out later, he first had to remove the little plasma core, which turned out to be a bad idea. For one reason or another, it was unstable and began to overload itself. Cipher quickly looked around to put it in or under something, but there seemed nothing fitting there, so he held it tightly between two palms and endured the small blast.
 
While everyone else went about their day, Jade found herself unable to move from her room. Someone came to ask her about what happened but they couldn't get an answer out of her. She simply pulled her pillow over her head, trying to hide herself with it. She was in a sort of shocked state and after a few tries they knew that she'd need time to come back around. Everyone at this point knew she brought back an android but no one dared ask about it. A few people heard the muffled explosion come from the small lab and peeked in to see Cipher there.
 
While Cipher prevented damage to the lab, word was coming to the commander. People saw a new android, with Jade in the lead. He figured that it must have been from the mission and wanted to know more. About half an hour later, two security officers came to Jade's lab and one knocked on her door.
"Jade? The commander wants to see you. It's because of the android."
 
Jade slowly stared at the door. She didn't want to face the commander but had no choice. It was either that or he'd go in himself. She slowly got up and opened her door. Her eyes were red and puffy with tears. Reluctantly she followed the officer in silence. Once in the Commander's office she sat down on a simple chair. He had a decent but heavy wooden desk that he liked to use to keep things organized. His office was the closest thing to a normal room, having the most box-like shape. She looked at him in silence for a few moments before she was asked about the android. "O-oh....H-he.....he's just...an older model...w-wouldn't be much use in the battlefield..." she lied. Luckily she was pretty upset still so her pauses to think could easily be covered with sobs.
 
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