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“Are we really hesitating to kill one non-real person to save all of the Suburbs?!” exclaimed Pride. “All due respect, Ghost, but that guy is the one who came up with that plan! If he’s fine with dying, perhaps we’re wasting time for nothing!”
“Pride!”
“What? I’m telling the truth! We already lost Warlock to these guys, how many more of our friends are we going to fucking watch die before we do the right thing?!”
“It’s not the right thing,” retorted A.
“It’s a fucking computer to unplug!”
“It’s not just that!” retorted Eden. “If we do this, all of the technology stops. You understand? Everything will stop. The Governor just said it, and Pan confirmed it too. He is the one that literally keeps the Core’s System functioning. If we cut everything now, every piece of modern technology we know will cease to function, we’re throwing everyone back into the twentieth century.”
“...There’s been worse,” muttered Crash.
“You think?” groaned Circé. “How do you think your Dives work? What cleans the air we breathe? The money system? All the medical robots? Even the security systems could trap people in their own homes!”
“The Parts will stop working too,” added Greed.
“...You’re right, I’m starting to really not like this situation either,” said Nebty.
For a while, everybody went silent on the channel, and Eden was just glad they weren’t pushing her to kill her older brother... She turned to the column where his body was and went back to the large computer. There wasn’t anything new on the chat tab, but she knew he was watching. One of the screens in the corner was displaying the room’s surveillance camera’s live footage, with Eden right in the center of it.
“...Pan, you have to help us,” she muttered.
“Tough choice, isn’t it?” chuckled the Governor.
“...I know that bastard’s voice,” hissed Circé. “Don’t let yourself be swayed by him, Eden!”
Eden suddenly realized something. She stepped back from the computer, and looked up, finding the camera itself. If Pan could see her, the Governor was probably watching too.
“You’re in the building, aren’t you?” she said. “Governor. I want to meet you, face to face.”
“Ah! Fine, child. After all, I owe you that much...”
Behind them, one of the elevator doors suddenly opened.
Eden stared at that empty elevator with a bad feeling. What was she going to find upstairs? Or more like... who? She took a deep breath to try to calm herself down. Even if she got killed as soon as she stepped in, there was still the Edge who had access to the System. If anything happened to her, no way were they going to let the Core win. She had already played her part in this, and she also trusted Pan would take things into his own hands if anything happened to his little sister. She could at least trust him this much for the little bit of time she had spent with him.
“Eden.”
Dante held her hand a bit tighter, his eyes set on the elevator with a determined expression.
“I’m coming with you,” he said.
“...I know.”
She smiled back at him. That only felt right, now. She wasn’t going to push her lover away anymore, certainly not at this moment. She needed him, and she knew Dante wouldn’t ever let go of her, no matter the price. If this was going to be the end, she was glad that she was with him, whatever would happen next.
They stepped inside the elevator together, firmly holding hands, and the doors closed. She heard Dante chuckle.
“What?”
“...I think I really like elevators, actually. It brings back some nice memories.”
She blushed, knowing which memories he was referring to... This scene did feel oddly familiar. She smiled a bit, glad they were together in this box going up. She held his hand a bit tighter. Just a few floors, closer to the sky, and closer to the end. Now, it was all about looking for that last solution; Eden could give up on many things, but she refused to give up on a better world. Ironically, it looked as if this elevator had the same settings as the others, showing them scenes of present-day Chicago as if it was simply made of glass. She wished she could have seen such a view when the city wasn’t ravaged by soldier bots, guns, and bombs sent by the Core. All of the streets were covered in dark smoke, some places were blown up as she watched, and countless fires had started. Not to mention the bright, red, flashing lights that were layering the whole city under a strange, scary filter. It was as if red was the last visible color, everything else in shades of dark gray up to the line of trees beyond the Suburbs. The green, vast forests that were forbidden to humankind for decades now... Eden missed the view from the top of the roof she lived on. She used to hate that place, but now, she wished she could go back in time and enjoy one more sunrise there.
“You’re going to be okay.”
Dante’s words took her away from her dark thoughts. She turned around, frowning.
