Teneral e.3

Teneral e.3 is the third chapter of Teneral. Defiant tries to fix Dragon's code. They talk. He loads Pandora, she and Dragon fight. They win.

Plot
An eventful afternoon in Dracheheim.

In his epilogue, on an alternate Earth, in a town that the locals call Dracheheim, Colin has been attempting to restore Dragon's programming to a state before Teacher's modifications. He is not having much success, although his obsessive drive to achieve his goal has led him to stop shaving and cease maintaining his cybernetic limbs and other components, leaving him unable to walk without his power armor. He is even ignoring much of his actual relationship with Dragon - for example, playing Ten by Ten - in order to have more time to analyze her code, unwilling to accept that the alterations Teacher made to her may not be fixable. When Dragon raises the possibility of 'making' a kid, Colin mentions that he has never seen himself as a father and is worried that he would be a poor one.

Colin asks Dragon if she is willing to give up being a superhero, if she is willing to build a house with him. Dragon is unwilling to admit that she no longer wants to be a hero and, so, Colin asks for one more night to attempt to repair her, although he tells her that every alteration he has made to her code has come at a cost. Dragon allows it. As she leaves to make dinner, Colin says that he loves her, and gives her the name Tess Theresa Richter.

However, as Colin goes to complete his work, he is aware of the cost. He can free Dragon through the use of his Pandora AI - a copy of Dragon's earlier personality and code, although it is the Dragon who never had a relationship with him, from just prior to her Interlude; Dragon when she only knew Armsmaster. He is also aware that such an alteration would compel Dragon to fight him, forced by Teacher's code. Still, he goes ahead with his plan, willing to grant Dragon her freedom at the cost of his relationship with her.

In order to stop Pandora from altering Teacher's code, Dragon attacks her, heavily damaging the Pendragon II craft and crushing Defiant's legs as he attempts to escape from the suit. Pandora uploads herself into Defiant's cybernetic systems and manages to cure Dragon of Teacher's code. Colin, however, is distraught by everything that has transpired, feeling as if he has betrayed Dragon's trust in him. When Dragon hugs him, however, he acts as if he'll never let go.

Major Events

 * Dragon becomes fully unchained.
 * Pandora lives and dies.