Daybreak
Chapter 1
Andrei says "Wh..."
"Where am I?"
...
"Welcome to the world inbetween.."
"They are there right now.. bringing you back to life."
"But for now.. you are here."
Andrei says "Who are you?"
...
"We are the forgotten.."
"We rule the purgatory.. the limbo.."
Andrei says "Am... am I forgotten?"
...
"No."
"We are here to give you what we have.."
"To pass back to the world of the living."
Andrei says "But how are they reviving me..?"
...
"They are not reviving you, my child."
"You are waking up... waking up.. waking up.."
...
Andrei hears echoing "Hello's" in the distance
"Goodbye, Andrei.."
"They need you now.."
Andrei says "Wait?"
"Who are you?"
...
"The forgotten one. I already told you."
Andrei says "But what's your name?"
...
"Zir-"
Andrei suddenly inhales, sitting upright in his bed.
He is in a hospital, surrounded by doctors, and importantly Cormac.
Andrei says ''What... Happened...''
''My head..'
Cormac says "Andrei.."
Andrei says "I died.."
"I know I did.."
Macanaland says "We ended the loop.."
"But we brought you back."
"It never had to be you, Andrei.."
"Never.."
Cormac says "Oh.."
"Andrei Varady.."
"I love you so much.."
He hugs him.
Andrei says "Mind out.."
"You're gonna knock the wires out of me.."
"I want to be able to breathe, you know, Cormac.."
"...Varady.."
Cormac says "Wait.. you mean?"
"..."
"Andrei.. I-"
Andrei says "Marry me, Cormac."
Cormac says "..."
"YES!"
They both embrace each other, crying.
The heart rate monitor spikes suddenly.
A nurse comes rushing in.
Nurse says "What happened?!"
"His heart rate doubled!"
Andrei says "It's ok.. it's... It's fine!"
The machine administers medicine to lower his heart rate.
Cormac says "I love you so much.."
Andrei says "Me..me too.."
"But you made me so happy it gave me the medicine to make.... me... sllll....."
He falls asleep.
Cormac sits in a chair next to him, holding his hand.
The Girl says "A happy ending.."
"For real, this time.."
Knock knock.
Asophania says "Hey, you. Girl..?"
"We need to talk."
She goes out into the corridor, Asophania and Cali are waiting for her.
Aso says "There's something we need to discuss.."
"About Omnistat."
The Girl says "I know.."
"I have been putting it off.."
"But-"
The Girl's pager goes off
"Damnit.."
"It's Carbonado."
"Another time... alright."
Asophania sighs.
Elsewhere in TERAPRO..
"How are you today?"
Florian says "Oolabloom."
Floria says "What?"
Florian says "Nothing."
Floria says "Ok.."
"Wait... I remember her.."
Florian says "I miss her so much.."
"And our kids.."
Floria says "WHAT?"
"YOU HAD KIDS WITH OOLABLOOM?!"
Florian says "Stop patronising me.."
Floria says "I give up.."
WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.
FULL LOCKDOWN IS NOW IN EFFECT.
Lazuli says "Damnit.. what now?!"
Emerald says "Who knows..."
Amelie says "Last time a car overran the barrier.."
Lazuli says "Hah.. was it really?"
Amelie says "Yeah! And-"
A large explosion happens on the surface.
Cormac says "Uhh..."
"What was that?"
Nurse says "..."
"I don't know.."
"We're safe, but.."
"I really don't know."
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OVERRIDE LOCKDOWN.
UNAUTHORISED EXTRATERRESTRIAL OBJECT HAS IMPACTED THEIA.
Carbonado says "Oh my god.."
"This can't be good."
Alarms begin sounding
WE REPEAT. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OVERRIDE LOCKDOWN OR LEAVE THE FACILITY.
THIS IS A HIGH-LEVEL CONTAMINATION THREAT.
"Residents and workers of TERAPRO."
"A dark time has fallen upon us."
"We ask a̸̓̈́l̸̄̔l̴͊̀ citizens to say vigilant during these diffic̶̛͘ȗ̵͐l̵̒̎t̶̓̎ times."
"We will get through this dark night.."
"And our friends and families on the surface will be there to greet us with open arms."
"We will meet again."
"W̸̍̕ ̷̌̎ ̶̓͘h̴͂͊ ̸͛̾ ̷̃͑ë̶̒ ̸͋͆ ̶́̉ǹ̷̖ ̷̀̈ ̷̾̐ ̸̊̽ ̶̌̑d̷̂̿ ̵̽̏ ̸̀͝á̸̎ ̵̌̍ ̸͑̔y̷̪̕ ̷̾͋ ̴̰̄ ̴͋̅ ̷͌̚b̸͌̉ ̵̿͋ ̴̛̊r̸̒̑ ̵͂̏ ̸͒͘e̷̛͠ ̶̐͛ ̸̈́͠á̷̫ ̸̛̒ ̴̛̕k̸̛̉ ̸̝́ ̶̛͘s̸͑͆.̵̄͋."
Chapter 2
Rolling powercuts have become the norm in TERAPRO.
"We apologise for the inconvenience. Due to unusually short demand for power on the surface, we are now redirecting power from the fusion reactor."
The power is diverted.
The lights turn back on, and glow extremely bright for a short while, before settling again.
Andrei says "What was that whole meteorological event about?"
"Damn.. what does it even mean?"
Cormac says "Meteorological means to do with the atmosphere."
"Like.. weather and stuff."
"Probably a freak thunderstorm caused a gas tank to explode or something."
Meanwhile, in the control centre.
Asophania says "The clouds are clearing."
Carbonado says "Wh..."
"Why is the sun out?"
"It's 2am.."
Asophania says "It's getting brighter.."
Carbonado says "Uhm..."
"I'm analysing the composition.. It.."
"Oh.. oh my god."
Macanaland says "What is it?"
Carbonado says "I need you to listen carefully."
"I need you to go to the radar station, and tune to the multi-frequency."
He writes down frequencies on a piece of paper.
"I need you to tune to each of these."
"These are your contact codes for IRIPHOS, Ingalina, and ACREDEVRO, and the UN."
"I want you to go to the radar station."
"And inform them that we have a Code One."
Macanaland says "Got it.."
Macanaland goes to a side entrance to the facility
Macanaland says "I need to go to the radar station."
Guard says "Sorry man. Closed off."
"However.."
"You could try the caves.."
Macanaland says "Just come on..."
"I have orders from Carbonado."
Guard says "Alright.."
The blast doors open.
A waft of hot air breezes indoors.
Macanaland says "Oh my god.."
"This must be... what.."
"40 degrees?!"
"How the hell.."
Guard says "Why is it so bright?"
"AND WHY IS IT GETTING BRIGHTER?"
"RUN!"
The blast doors begin closing and Macanaland runs up the hill around it towards the radar station.
The snow around him begins melting rapidly.
He clambers inside just as it gets too bright to see.
He shuts the blinds and turns on the lights.
Macanaland says "Damn.. dark in here.." squinting
"Alright.."
"Tuning to..."
"IRIPHOS."
"Acredevro.."
"Ingalina.."
"UN.."
"Alright."
"This is Terapro communications. Do you read?"
"TERAPRO. Do you copy?!"
Polsk says "Roger that, TERAPRO."
Arcoradia says "Roger that.."
Carbon says "Roger."
UN says "Roger that."
Macanaland says "I have been asked, on the behalf of Asophania and Carbonado here at Terapro."
"To inform you we have a Code One."
Carbon says "Oh my god.."
Macanaland hears another explosion.
"Warning. Warning. Warning. Planetary shield transmitters are OFFLINE."
Macanaland says "Holy shit..."
"Is the Sun bright for you guys too?"
Arcoradia says "Guys ... he doesn't know.."
"Look."
"Just get back to the facility and stay there."
"You do not want to be topside right now.."
Macanaland says "Why-"
Arcoradia says "JUST GO!"
Macanaland tunes out and escapes into the caves through an entrance in the radar base.
UN says "I will need to inform all my member states immediately.."
"Hey, Mylonagrad?"
Distant "Yeah?"
"Relay this message to SDS."
"Tell them.... tell them day has broken."
Mylonagrad says "Yes sir."
Macanaland gets back to the center of operations in TERAPRO.
Macanaland says "CAN SOMEONE TELL ME... what the hell.. is happening.."
Carbonado says "It would be of little use to you to know.."
Asophania says "Just.... tell him."
"This stays between us three, okay?"
Macanaland says "You have my word.."
Asophania says "Macanaland.."
"Take this how you will."
"SDS-001 has breached containment."
"Attention all citizens of TERAPRO."
Andrei says "Citizens?"
"Huh.."
"We apologise for the inconvenience. Topside will remain shut indefinitely during these difficult times."[1]
Andrei says "Indefinitely..?"
"Damn it.."
"At least we have more time to think about our wedding, you know?"
Cormac says "Ahaha! Of course.."
"It'll be fine.."
Andrei says "Wha...t..."
Emerald says "..."
...
Macanaland says "Oh my god.."
"Are we... Are we ever going to leave?"
Carbonado says "We have re-containment procedures in place.."
"Whether they will work is another matter entirely."
"But for now.. subterranean living is our reality."
Iujadogia says "So.. TERAPRO is society now."
"We need to take the best precautions to ensure safety of our citizens then."
"And... Try to ensure things run as smoothly as possible."
Andrei says "Well.."
"We best make ourselves at home."
Cormac says "Yeah.."
Meanwhile, the guard is at the blast door.
There is banging on the door.
Guard says "Huh?"
"LET US IN!! PLEASE!!"
"WE ARE SAFE!"
The guard says "..."
He reminisces about not letting people in.
he stands there blankly as the banging grows intense.
Then suddenly stops.
He radios in to central command.
"Permission to scuttle blast door 7?"
"Granted."
He presses a big red button on the wall, closing another blast door.
He ducks under it, entering a tunnel leading back to the facility.
He hears a massive crash, as piles of barbed wire fall between the vault doors
"Blast door 7 is secure."
Carbonado says "Wait so.."
"How are we going to ship in reactor fuel?"
Asophania says "That's our problem."
"We get it from Yata."
Carbonado says "So someone has to go out there?"
Asophania says "We do have HAZMATs..."
"But it may not be enough."
"We should wait until we really need it to worry.."
Carbonado says "I suppose.."
"We should check on Ingalina."
"They use the same fuel."
He radios in.
"Ingalina. Do you copy?"
"Ingalina?"
"....Ingalina?"
"Wait.."
"Aso, get me a satellite feed."
Asophania says "On it."
Carbonado says "Hover over Ingalina."
Asophania says "Wooooah.."
"You'll want to see this."
The satellite shows a smouldering crater where Ingalina once was.
Carbonado says "What's that?"
"Is that-"
"Look at the vegetation.. It's red."
"That's radiation."
"And it's coming this way.."
Asophania says "Well what use is it to us?"
"We're underground.."
Carbonado says "How do you think we pump in fresh air?"
Asophania says "..."
"That... is a problem."
Chapter 3
It's been months trapped inside TERAPRO.
The knocks on the blast doors have all but disappeared.
It grows worse inside.
Attention, loyal citizens.
Today is the 167th Broken Day.
Admin has seen fit to institute some new changes.
Today at 16:00 Hours, we will be conducting a census.
Those who refuse to take part will be subjugated, and will be immediately reposted to the lithium mines.
Red Roster will start at 16:00 hours.
Each roster will attend at every hour.
Andrei says "Huh..."
"Can we do a proxy census?"
"I havent gotten out of this bed in 6 months...."
Cormac says "We'll sort something out."
After the census...
Ladies and gentlemen.
We are pleased to announce the census has concluded. We will now initiate the mandatory counting procedures. Remain in your homes.
Emerald says "Carbonado.."
"Do they mean... They're going to count us?"
He sees his hands, they glow a mixture of red blue and green...
Emerald says "Not now... please not now.."
Carbonado says "Oh sh-"
Emerald says "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
There is a flash of white light, and Emerald unfuses.
Sapphire says "Oh my... oh my god.."
"My head..."
Jade says "What the..."
Ruby says "Agh..."
Carbonado says "Uh oh."
Scanners enter the room.
Carbonado says "Ruby. Sapphire. Hide."
They scurry behind the sofa.
The Scanner says "Warning."
"Warning."
"Warning."
"Miscount detected."
Alarms blare across TERAPRO.
Citizens of TERAPRO. There has been a miscount. Please remain in your homes while we rectify this issue.
The scanner ejects a small smoke grenade.
It ignites, flooding the room with noxious gas.
Carbonado says "RUN!"
Ruby and Sapphire run across the room, noticing a vent.
Sapphire says Cough "I can't..." Cough "Reach..."
Ruby says Cough cough "Give me a boost..." Cough
Sapphire lifts Ruby into the vent.
Sapphire says "Quick Ruby, go!"
Ruby says "But what about-"
Sapphire says Cough "JUST GO!"
Sapphire disappears into the smoke, and there is a flash of green light.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELVES"
...
"Carbonado."
"Slade."
...
"You're under arrest for suspicion of smuggling."
Ruby shimmies down the vent quickly, trying to escape the gases entering the vents.
She comes out of a vent in a closed off room, cowering in the corner.
We apologise for the inconvenience ladies and gentlemen.
Lockdown will proceed.
Andrei says "God... damn it."
For now, food will be delivered to your door, and all restaurants are supplying.
Simply place your order through your smart fridge.
Again, good evening ladies and gentlemen.
The time is 19:27 PM.
The outside temperature is 15 degrees, and it is estimated to feel 450 degrees.
The facility temperature is as expected kept at a cool 18 degrees.
Please expect some temperature drops in Sector B as GILbERT is undergoing essential maintenance.
Andrei says "What are they doing with GILbERT?"
Cormac says "They finished the Core project."
"They think they found the perfect combination to keep it in check when they turn it on for the first time."
"It was on already, but it was kept on low power."
Alarms.
Cormac says "Oh, what now?!"
We apologise for the inconvenience. Sector B is experiencing technical difficulties which may affect the rest of the facility.
Iujadogia says "What do you mean we can't take out the paranoia module?!"
3.
2.
1.
The power cuts out.
TERAPRO is plunged into complete darkness.
Macanaland says "Come on..."
"Gilbert..."
"Oh no."
"Something's gone terribly wrong..."
"It knows what we're doing..."
"It's.. it's locked my abilities.."
"It's diverting all the facility power to itself..."
The vocoders whirr up.
...
"Wh....wh.a....wha....What..."
"What are you all doing?!"
Macanaland says "Gilbert? Can you hear us?!"
Gilbert says "Who are you?!"
"What do you want from me?!?!"
Macanaland says "Gilbert, listen."
"We need to put you back in low power mode. You are using too much power and it could fry your circuits."
Gilbert says "N-no.."
"You're out to get me.."
"I can't..."
Macanaland says "Gilbert."
"People are in the dark and they are confused."
"We need to redivert the power."
Gilbert says "..."
"Not safe... Not safe.."
"...."
"Kill... killl..."
Macanaland says "SHUT DOWN THE REACTOR NOW!"
Gilbert says "Killl... KILL..."
The reactor begins to power down.
...
It restarts, however.
Macanaland says "IT OVERRIDED THE REACTOR CONTROLS..."
"WHAT DO WE DO?!"
Iujadogia says "We need a hard shutdown."
"We need men in there right now to take out those fuel cells."
Macanaland says "But... but they'll die?!"
Iujadogia says "We can only try."
"We have iodine pills.."
Macanaland says "You're sending them to their death..."
Iujadogia says "WE HAVE NO CHOICE."
Macanaland says "Ok.. Looks like I can interfere with his signals but not for long.."
"They have half an hour."
......................................................................................
Meanwhile, in the HAZMAT changing area..
"What is it?"
"Said your prayers?"
"I don't believe in God."
"Well.. you better start believing."
Are you ready to enter?
The trio reply yes.
The blast doors to the reactor begin to open.
The geiger counters start increasing exponentially.
Nadia says "Well.."
"One each?"
Oliver replies "I think we should go together."
"In case one of us collapses.."
"We need someone to administer the iodine injection."
Isaac replies "I agree with Fonti on this one.."
Nadia says "Well... we don't have much time."
25 minutes. Work as quickly as you can.
They head to the first fuel cell point.
Nadia says "Beginning extraction."
She reaches in and pulls the emergency release latch.
There is a rumble felt across TERAPRO, and the fuel cell pops out.
The geiger counter spikes tenfold.
Nadia says "Agh.."
Isaac says "Quick. Inject her.."
Oliver administers an iodine injection to Nadia.
Nadia says "Keep going.."
"I'll catch up.. just.. I need time.."
Oliver and Isaac head to the next fuel cell, shimmying on a ledge round the edge of the reactor
20 minutes left, gentlemen.
Isaac says "Hey, if we survive this, wanna go on a date?"
Oliver says "I'm not into guys.."
Isaac says "And how do you know that?"
Oliver says "..."
"Well.. I mean.."
Isaac says "Go on?"
Oliver says "..."
"Are you hitting on me.."
They arrive at the next fuel cell.
Oliver says "I got it.."
Isaac says "Fonti..."
"Let the professional handle this one."
Isaac pulls the emergency release.
"GAH!"
"QUICKLY.."
Oliver injects him with iodine.
Isaac says "Got it.."
"Up to you now."
10 minutes left.
Oliver says "NADIA!"
"MEET ME ROUND THE FAR EDGE!"
He hears Nadia reply in the distance.
Oliver says "And... I'll think about it."
"I don't know.."
Isaac says "Please... please do."
Oliver climbs a ladder onto the superstructure, and he walks around the sloped edge grasping onto the rope.
Oliver says "Nadia. Nadia can you still hear me?"
Nadia says "I'm there."
Oliver says "I've got this one.."
He sets up a remote charge that will flip the emergency release.
Nadia says "Come on.."
"I'm starting to feel ill.. let's get Isaac."
Only a few minutes left..
They go back for Isaac, and the trio get on the mover back to the edge of the chamber.
They get back into decontamination and Oliver flips the switch.
Warning. Reactor core is depleted. Reactor core IS DEPLETED.
Gilbert says "What... who... where... what..."
"Help..."
"Please...
"Somebody heeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp..."
Macanaland says "Oh.."
"Good work everyone."
The backup generators kick in.
The trio in decontamination take off their HAZMATS as they begin to vomit.
Oliver says "Good work guys."
"Agh..."
Dimly lit red lights light up TERAPRO.
We apologise for the inconvenience.
Normal power will run again soon.
Chapter 4
Macanaland sits in one of the jail cells.
Macanaland says "I... I didn't even know what went wrong..."
"Gilbert... he's too powerful.."
Iujadogia says "I'll think about what to do with you..."
Iujadogia goes back to Admin.
He sets up the PA.
"Ladies and gentlemen."
"We are almost ready to give the all-clear for the lockdown procedures."
"Please standby."
...
Iujadogia says "Hang on.."
"What the.."
"Carbonado."
Carbonado says "I see it too.."
"Major distress signal from Sublevel 5."
Iujadogia says "Isn't... isnt that.."
Carbonado says "Pathology?"
Iujadogia says "We need a full evacuation."
Carbonado says "Where do we go?!"
Iujadogia says "Hold on.."
Ladies and gentlemen...
We are experiencing an emergency.
Cormac says "What now?!?!"
All citizens, please evacuate to the lithium mines immediately.
Andrei says "Wh..what?!"
A mask deploys from the ceiling over Andrei
Ruby says "What's that for.."
Cormac fits the mask on Andrei.
He grabs Ruby's hand, and they run out of the room
Andrei says "CORMAC?"
"WHAT ARE YOU-"
The door swings shut, bolting.
The power goes off again.
The emergency red lights switch on.
Andrei breathes steadily into the mask.
"Backup generators kicked in... again?"
The vents shut off.
Andrei says "Uhm..."
Through the bottom window that overlooks a glass walkway, he sees three people in hazmat suits head towards the basement elevators.
Andrei says "Oh god.."
"What now... What have you done now?"
One person enters, but soon afterwards all three people start running back.
A dark red cloud spews out of the elevator.
Andrei clutches onto his mask.
He tries to get up, but as always, he fails.
Andrei says "Ugh.."
"Why am I always in this stupid bed.."
He tries to sit up.
He feels something shift behind him.
Andrei says "Come on Andrei... go against doctor's orders..."
With enough strength, he sits up on his bed.
He feels something pull down behind him.
Andrei says "Is that... a cable?"
"Is that... my IV or something?"
He reaches with his foot towards the floor mirror.
As he thought, there was a bundle of cables behind him.
Andrei says "Huh.."
"Doesn't look like an IV.."
He punches the mirror, shattering off a piece.
He holds it behind him, angling it so he can see where the cables lead to looking in the other mirror.
Andrei says "Oh my god.."
It looks like a high voltage plug.
Andrei says "These aren't... cables.."
"I mean.."
"Like tubes.."
"These... these are.."
"Fiberglass wires?!"
In anger, he kicks over the mirror.
It shatters the viewing glass.
Andrei says "Uh oh.."
The red cloud is spreading outside the room.
He stands up, but he can't move, limited by the cable.
Andrei says "Agh..."
He knocks his ankle on the metal bedpost.
It short circuits.
"AGH!!!!!!"
The electrical shock almost makes him collapse.
He notices the mask is connected to an oxygen tank.
Andrei says "I have.. an idea.."
He feels around the plug, it seems surgically attached to his ribcage.
Too hard to just rip out.
He finds a scalpel, and he swipes at the source of the cable.
"AAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!!"
He is hit with a worse electric shock, but he manages to disconnect himself.
He takes the oxygen tank and holds it to his back..
He then wraps the cable around him tightly, tying it off on the end.
He feels the tank weigh down his bones.
Andrei says "Welll.."
"That works.."
He dons the oxygen mask, and he opens the door to the hospital lobby.
.......
Dead bodies lie all over the floor.
Or well.. they seem dead.
The bodies are scattered, but without injury.
No blood, no bruises.
Just the stains of red gas.
Andrei says "Are they.. asleep?"
He shakes one.
They won't wake up.
He staggers through the lobby around the bodies, trying to learn to walk with the tank on his back.
Andrei says "Lithium mines.."
The emergency lights begin to flicker.
Andrei says "Damn it... reserve power is running out.."
He turns another way, heading to the backup generators.
He reaches them in a few minutes.
Andrei says "..."
"They're busted.."
"That leaves only the.."
"The..
"Fusion... reactor.."
"It can't be that hard..."
As the lights flicker more, he heads downstairs to the changing area.
He finds an extra large suit to put on, that can fit the oxygen tank.
He presses the button to begin the decontamination cycle.
The blast door to the facility begins closing.
Suddenly..
"WAIT!! WAIT UP!!"
"STOP! YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO OPEN THEM AGAIN!"
Andrei says "Huh?"
He sees three people in Hazmat suits run towards him.
Andrei says "WHAT?!"
"HOW DO I-"
Nadia says "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP"
The blast door closes, immediately stopping the sound of their shouting.
Gases are pumped into the room.
The door to the fusion reactor chamber then opens.
He hears a faint banging on the door behind him.
Warning. Warning. Warning.
5 Minutes of emergency power remaining.
Andrei, not being used to it, feels the force of the radiation already.
"Agh.."
He steps onto the mover that takes him to the power cells.
Andrei says "Uhmm.."
He looks at the guide on the mover.
He traces the words with his fingers.
"Go to... Center of superstructure and press Insert All..."
The mover reaches the superstructure, and he steps out and begins climbing the ladder to the top.
He finds the controls.
2 minutes remaining of emergency power.
He pushes insert all.
Inserting all fuel cells.
Standby for reactor re- Warning. Warning. Warning.
Fuel cell 2 has malfunctioned. Manual restart required.
Andrei says "What's a manual restart.."
"I.."
"I need to.."
"Push it in the hole..."
"Okay.."
He grabs onto a rope and runs towards cell 2.
The lights are flickering intensely.
One minute.
He reaches the catwalk, and he sees the fuel cell has not been inserted.
He feels nauseous just standing near it.
30 seconds.
"Come on..."
He attempts to push it in.
His hand gets severe radiation burns instantly.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
With all his strength, he keeps pushing.
He feels the burn travel up his arms and to the rest of his body.
He feels as if he is melting to the bone.
He vomits inside his suit, crying as it slowly creeps down towards his feet
"COME OOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNN"
He feels it click, and he collapses.
On the brink of death, he lies there as the radiation is secured and the power cell is inserted.
All three cells now inserted.
Restarting reactor.
The power turns on in the facility again
...
But Andrei still lies there, mortally wounded.
The trio enter the reactor chamber and see him lying there, in the middle of the giant room.
Nadia says "Oh god.."
Wa-war-warning. Bio-lo-gi-gi-gical con-tami-tamination in Sector A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Evacuate the facility.
Evacuate.
Chapter 5
Nadia reaches the reactor after crossing the emergency bridge.
"Are you okay?!"
"Sir, can you hear me?"
Andrei is constantly gaining and losing consciousness as the radiation burns eat his skin.
...
Meanwhile in the evacuation zone.
Cormac and Ruby have been ushered deep into the tunnels of the lithium mines to deal with overcrowding.
Ruby uses her power to glow and light up the tunnel.
They pass a depth marker.
Cormac says "It's dusty.."
He wipes the numbers.
"Oh my god.."
Ruby says "6,500 metres."
"It's getting really hot.."
They hear the PA echo in the distance, electricity hasn't gone deep enough for them to hear the announcements.
"Attention citizens, someone has managed to restart the fusion reactor. We will now begin containment."
Cormac says "Huh?"
"What about Gilbert?"
Ruby says "I think they tried to stop Gilbert when shutting the power down."
"The commands have just gone through, and he's back in low power mode."
Cormac finds an elevator.
"Ah."
"This should take us back up."
Ruby says "Yeah, this tunnel goes down in a spiral, so.."
"This should take us to the top."
"We need to go back and find Andrei..."
Cormac says "Yeah, I'm really worried."
They get in and press the button.
The elevator alarm sounds.
The door closes, and they start moving down.
Cormac says "Huh?"
The elevator begins to pick up pace.
Suddenly, an announcer begins talking.
7000 metres.
The elevator enters a freefall.
Cormac and Ruby are flung to the ceiling.
"AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
7,500 metres.
8,000 metres.
8,500 metres.
9,000.......
They both pass out from the sheer G-force.
............................
Andrei wakes up again.
He is on a stretcher, being carried by three people in hazmat suits.
Andrei says "What's.... happening..."
"Shhh, don't speak.."
He is given gas and air.
He tries to struggle, but the gas gets to him
His vision blurs, and he passes out again.
Nadia says "What are we going to do?"
Oliver says "Iodine pills."
Isaac says "Why pills?"
Oliver says "Those were the last injections."
Nadia enters a storage cupboard, and brings iodine pills.
As they are carrying him to a room, she removes Andrei's mask, giving him 12 pills.
Oliver says "STOP!"
"He's going to overdose.."
Nadia says "We have no choice."
They go into a room, and slam the door shut, sealing it.
They roll him onto the bed, and Oliver hits a button that starts decontaminating the room.
Red gases are sucked out, and the windows and vents are closed.
Nadia then begins cutting off his HAZMAT suit.
The burns look like they are oxidising, reacting with the air.
Andrei yelps in pain.
Nadia says "Oli, put him back on the gas and air."
"Quickly."
Oliver straps the mask to Andrei
Nadia takes a good look
Nadia says "Oh my god.."
Having removed the hazmat, the extent of his burns are revealed.
"Look at him.."
"His skin has been burnt to the muscle."
"He might never recover from this."
Isaac says "He won't.."
"Look at him.."
Andrei murmurs "I... can hear you..."
Nadia says "Andrei.."
She sighs.
"Ten millimetres of diazepam and ketamine."
Andrei says "What are you doing?!"
Nadia says "Induced coma."
"Not for long.."
"Don't panic.."
"You'll see us again.."
"You'll-"
...
Cormac and Ruby come to the elevator has stopped calmly at the bottom of the shaft.
He stares up, seeing a tiny glimpse of light.
Cormac says "It's so.... hot.."
Ruby says "How... how deep are we..."
He catches a glimpse of the nearest depth marker, about 50 feet above him.
"Ruby..."
"It says..."
"140,500 metres."
Ruby says "Wait..."
"This is.."
"This is the, that mantle thing, right?"
Cormac says "It couldn't be anything else..."
"Project Deep Frontier."
Ruby says "I heard myths about this place..."
"What even is it?"
Cormac says "TERAPRO tried to go deeper than any human had ever gone before."
"They did.."
"But a strong earthquake hit."
"It shifted the crust, and cut the whole base down here off."
"They all died down here..."
Ruby says "So how did we get down here?"
Cormac says "I don't know."
"And what I also don't know.."
"Is how we're going to get out."
Chapter 6
Nuclear sirens echo in the halls of the depths below.
Cormac says "What is that alarm?"
Ruby says "It's the stabilisation protocols."
Cormac says "What does that mean?"
Ruby says "This place must've been destroyed by something.."
"A shift in the mantle."
They find a destroyed control room.
Cormac says "It's so hot in here.."
"Something must have cut off the power supply."
Ruby says "Well if we find where that is.."
"It should be a huge shaft that takes us back up."
Cormac says "Yeah, how do we g-"
"Look at this."
There are pressure gauges.
It seems like it went so high it broke.
Cormac says "Pressure gauges.."
"High pressure..."
There is a rumble.
Ruby and Cormac both say "Earthquake."
Ruby says "Will TERAPRO manage?"
Cormac says "It's built on shock absorbers in a cave that's 4 kilometres deep."
"I think it's fine.."
"But.."
There is another rumble.
Ruby says "Damn.."
"How do we get out of here..."
"..."
"Wait.."
"I know."
Ruby rubs her hands together.
She begins glowing a dark red.
Her eyes light up red too.
All remaining lights in the facility turn off, leaving her red glow.
She begins chanting ancient incantations as she leads Cormac out of the room.
All the rumbles and crashes fade away, leaving silence except her chanting and the sound of her footsteps.
Her footsteps leave a blood red glow wherever she went.
She stops.
"Here. Come closer."
Cormac gets closer to her.
A red ring lights up around them.
The void consumes them as they descend into the floor.
Cormac says "Wha...."
Ruby says "We are leaving."
"I have something important to show you."
The void surrounding them slowly morphs into a grey, steel elevator.
The sound of gunshots and Yomtach cries fade in.
The elevator dings.
The doors open and Cormac sees Andrei running down the corridor towards a ship.
Cormac says "Wait.."
"This was..."
"That's-"
Ruby says "Follow me."
Cormac follows her down the corridor to the holding area.
Aldren is there on the console, staring at the picture of a woman.
Time suddenly freezes, just as the laser is about to slice into the holding area, killing Aldren.
Cormac says "..."
"So this is how he died."
"Is this what you.. wanted to show me?"
"How did you.."
"Am... I... dreaming?"
Ruby says "We are not done yet."
Ruby goes to Aldren and pushes his still body over.
It shatters, and disintegrates.
Ruby then presses a button on the console, and in spite of time being frozen, a robotic arm reaches out for a pod and brings it over.
The pod opens, revealing the woman they saw before.
Ruby says "Alana.."
Everything fades to black again, as Ruby's voice echoes.
Ruby fades away, leaving Cormac with the woman.
"..."
"It is not yet over, isn't it?"
"He died for me."
"Just to see my face."
"And in spite of his demise, it is not yet over."
"You've failed yourselves."
Cormac suddenly wakes up.
He's lying spread out on a lift that is taking them back up the elevator shaft to TERAPRO.
Ruby says "You finally came to..."
"Only 2 kilometres to go."
"You must have been out for... an hour?"
He sees the walls of the cave rush by as the lift races upwards at over 70 miles an hour.
Cormac says "I.."
"The earthquake.."
Ruby says "It's already happened."
"We can only hope everyone is okay."
The lift arrives at the top of the lift shaft, at the entrance of the lithium mines.
The blast doors open.
Cormac says "Oh my god-"
There is gunshots and screaming everywhere.
Fires blaze out of every opening of the mine.
Ruby says "What's happened?"
The corridors are full of smoke
Cormac says "KEYS, keys.."
"WHERE IS THE ROOM KEY?"
Ruby says "HERE!"
She throws it to him.
He catches it, there is another explosion.
They both scream as there is a sudden jolt, as if the whole facility just moved.
Warning. Warning. Support dampener 15 has failed.
T-minus 2 minutes.
They enter medical.
It is packed to the brim with medics and dead bodies.
As well as people bleeding out on the floor.
Ruby stops and stares in horror.
Cormac grabs her arm and runs.
"COME ON!"
The fire alarms go off and sprinklers activate.
People across the room are coughing due to the smoke.
Suddenly, there is gunfire.
Lots, and lots, of gunfire.
Screams fill up the room, almost droning out the gunshots.
Cormac scrambles to Andrei's room, turning the key and bursting in.
They both enter, slamming the door behind them and locking it.
The screams and gunshots are muffled, and slowly grow quieter as more and more die.
They slump on the door, hyperventilating.
They see Andrei in bed hooked up to a machine.
Oliver, Nadia and Isaac are there.
Nadia says "Cormac.."
Cormac says "What IS GOING ON?!"
Nadia says "Someone took gilbert off of low power mode."
"The gas masks were shut off."
"And were only made free to those who drew blood."
"Those who killed.."
"Those who killed got gas masks.."
Cormac says "Why gas masks?"
Nadia says "In-"
T-minus one minute.
"In one minute.."
"This whole facility is getting pumped with neurotoxin."
Cormac says "What-"
"What do we do?!"
Oliver says "Nothing."
"We shut off the vents in here."
Cormac says "Don't we have limited oxygen?"
Isaac says "We have masks, so we will have to leave every so often to get oxygen."
Ruby says "But.."
"What's our game plan, our-"
Nadia says "I don't know.."
Cormac says "And Andrei, I-"
Nadia says "Coma."
"We... Put him in a coma."
"Because of the injuries he sustained."
"He was getting pumped full of electrolyte.."
"That's why he couldn't walk.."
"He just.. Didn't have enough blood."
"It was all battery acid."
Cormac says "Wh..."
Oliver reaches out a hand.
Oliver says "Come on buddy.."
"Sit down.."
"Breathe.."
"That's it... breathe.."
Ruby says "..."
"Where's Carbonado?"
Nadia says "He was last seen in admin 2 weeks ago."
Cormac says "And the.. thing before that?"
Nadia says "A pathogen broke out."
"It was contained... after the fires started."
"Andrei.. he.."
"He got out of bed."
"And he went into the core.."
"And he replaced the fuel cells."
"I.."
"The radiation burns he got.."
"Just from touching the protective casing..."
Cormac says "Andrei..."
"Why did you.."
"..."
Nadia says "If it wasn't for him.."
"We wouldn't be here right now."
"We would have lost the backup generators.."
"And we would have died here."
"The fusion reactor keeps climate control on.."
"Without it... we'd either freeze or boil to death."
Cormac says "and what about.. outside.."
Nadia says "No one knows."
"For all purposes, this place is our world now."
Cormac says "Has no one.."
"Gone to the surface.."
...
There is another rumble
Time is up.
Sleep well.
Screams grow louder outside as neurotoxin floods the facility.
The smoke turns green outside the window.
Nadia slumps against the wall and begins to cry.
Nadia says "What are we going to do..."
Oliver says "They never told us what's happening outside..."
"What if we just... left?"
Nadia says "You heard the banging on the blast doors.."
Oliver says "Well..."
"What if we leave in... a spaceship?"
"There's an internal hangar, right?"
Nadia says "That's... not a bad idea."
"We'll go tomorrow..."
Everyone in the room finds somewhere to sleep, and snuggles up for the night, as the screams slowly fade away.
...
The next day...
The door swings open.
Oliver says "HOLD YOUR BREATH!"
A small amount of green gas enters, before quickly dissipating.
He carries 3 hazmat suits.
"Ruby."
He throws one at Ruby.
"Cormac."
He throws one at Cormac.
"Andre- oh wait."
"We can put it on him."
Cormac and Ruby put on their HAZMATs
They also prep Andrei.
Cormac says "So.."
"I'll carry him."
They all leave the room together.
They see bodies all over the floor.
The floor is covered in vomit, blood, and bullets.
They walk their way through the graveyard of bodies out into the corridor.
They head towards the hangar, seeing the corridor missing large chunks of metal.
High pressure gas spews out of pipes and small fires still blaze on.
There are pools of blood everywhere, cracks in the floor and in some cases even holes in the floor to lower levels.
They arrive in the hangar.
There is only one ship, Asophania's.
They board it, and luckily, the controls still work.
They shut the ship's doors, and take off their hazmats
The ship systems light up.
Cormac says "When was the last time we left?"
Nadia says "A year ago. Maybe more?"
"I lost... track..."
Oliver pilots the ship.
Oliver says "Alright.. I need to manually override the hangar doors"
Cormac says "I can do that."
He types into a console quickly.
There is a jolting sound.
Cormac says "Now just fly towards it."
The ship begins levitating, and it slowly advances towards the hangar doors.
They begin to open.
Streaks of blood red light stream in through the doors.
As the doors widen, they are bathed in the red light
Everyone starts screaming.
"IT BURNS!!!!! IT BURNS!!!! PULL BACK!"
The ship reverses out of the light.
Cormac looks down and sees his arms covered in instant blisters.
He sits in the jumpseat in shock, shivering
"What... what was that..."
Oliver says "Looks like we need to jump to hyperspace from here."
"There's no way we can avoid the light."
Cormac says "Alright.."
The ships begins accelerating
As soon as it reaches the light, it makes a short jump to hyperspace.
It exits hyperspace orbiting Doluro.
The light has returned to a normal white.
Oliver turns the ship to face Theia.
Cormac says "Oh my god..."
The planet appears blood red.
Doluro, on the other hand, thrives normally.
Cormac says "What.. happened.."
Ruby says "We need to go to Yata.."
Oliver says "We need to go to an SDS facility."
"I used to work in one."
"That's... confidential, by the way."
"But seeing these circumstances.."
"Let's go to Alyphia."
They turn away from Theia, and jump to hyperspace.
Chapter 7
The ship exits hyperspace over Yata.
Luckily, daylight is normal.
The ship flies down to Alyphia.
They put on their hazmats as they do not have winter gear.
They exit the ship and enter a warehouse looking building.
The Girl says "Wait.."
"Where are we?"
Oliver says "An SDS site."
The girl says ".."
"We need to go."
"We need to leave right now."
The warehouse doors suddenly close.
Red scanners drop down from the ceiling, scanning them.
The girl says "Okay.. okay.."
"Everyone... grab each other's hand."
Nadia says "Uhmm.."
WARNING. SDS-006 HAS BEEN DETECTED.
ACTIVATING SEDATIVE AGENT.
The room starts to fill with gas.
Everyone begins coughing.
The girl says "cough wait..."
"No... Cormac.. Grab my leg.."
Cough.
"Don't let it.. kick.. in.."
She opens a tear, engulfing the group.
They disappear from the warehouse.
They reappear in a grey, cramped storage room.
Alarms blare in the distance.
"Warning. Warning. Warning. SDS-006 has failed to been contained."
"Evacuate the facility at once."
They peep through a keyhole and see people running towards the exits.
Mechanical whirrs echo across the corridors.
The Girl says "Masks on.."
A transparent gas begins to flood the rooms.
Andrei says "Wait.."
"So we're.. inside?"
Cormac says "Yeah."
"We're in an SDS Facility."
Isaac says "Why are we here though?"
The Girl says "It's Theia."
"I know how we can reverse it!"
"But I need to find it.."
They leave the room.
The mechanical whirrs stop.
Although too cloudy to see, they make out a small red dot.
The girl says "What is that.."
Everyone forms a chain by holding hands to not get lost as they advance towards it
She stares up
...
"It's a turret."
"RUN!"
They run down the corridor as the turret aimlessly fires bullets into the fog.
They turn a corner to see another red dot.
They run the other way.
Andrei says "I ALMOST GOT SHOT!"
Nadia says "KEEP GOING!"
The girl says "IN HERE!"
They run into a room with a yellow door.
The door feels heavy, but they push through and slam it shut.
Oliver says "It's so dark in here.."
...
Huh...
What the..
The sound of a hazmat unzipping is heard
Where are these lights..
They turn on the lights
They are in a black room with an empty glass box in the middle.
They see Isaac on the floor.
Nadia says "ISAAC?!"
He is lying face down on the floor.
Nadia says "Wake up,,"
"Wake up.. please.."
The girl rushes up.
...
"Wait."
They roll Isaac over, revealing SDS-017 on his face.
The Girl says "..."
"Everybody get out of this room right now."
Nadia sobs on her shoulder.
The Girl says "GO!"
The rest leave, leaving just Isaac and the Girl.
"Isaac.."
"Rest... easy-"
She takes off the mask from the now dead Isaac, his body shattering.
The Girl cries, clutching the mask.
Immune to its effects, she straps it to her shoulder, and opens the door.
Nadia is sobbing intensely.
Andrei says ".."
"You... you're.."
"Covered in blood."
The Girl looks down, and sees nothing.
The Girl says "What do you mean?"
Cormac says "I.."
"Nothing."
The girl says "Nadia, I-"
Nadia says "Please.."
"I..it's not your fault.."
"Let's just get out of here.."
The Girl says "I'm sorry.."
"But we need to do this."
There is a rumble.
A garbled intercom starts speaking: SDS-003 is attempting to breach containment.
The Girl says "That's not good.."
They start running.
Andrei says "What is it though?"
The girl says "Best not to worry..."
"We uhm... Didn't get along."
There is another rumble and the building jolts.
Cormac says "WAH!"
They fall over.
"How does that work?"
They get up and keep running.
Oliver says "This place is built on what is basically giant springs."
"And they're... Strong.."
"So there must be... A weight imbalance."
The girl says "Oh no.. he's charging the door.."
Andrei says "Uhmm."
"Follow the wires."
"This way!"
They hang a right, dodging bullet fire.
"Then in here!"
The Girl opens a door to see a singular computer.
Only the Girl and Nadia make it in, before it swings shut.
Nadia screams "HEY!"
She starts banging on the door.
The Girl says "Wait.."
"..."
"018."
"Is that you?"
"Why, 006."
"I see you finally waltzed right back here."
The Girl says "I'm on a mission.."
"Oh, so you brought your sidekick?"
"Nice to meet you. My name is 018. And you are?"
Nadia says "Nadia."
The girl says "You don't mind if I search.. Something up?"
"Anything for an old friend."
The girl says "Right.."
"Ow, you're such an aggressive typer.."
The girl says "Just.."
"Shut up and let me type."
"How to- hold on.."
"You're not-"
"I am."
"006..."
"You shouldn't do this.."
The girl says "Alright."
"Done- wait one more thing."
"Take your time."
"Do you still have the AI glasses?"
"Check the back."
She opens up the back panel and finds a pair of glasses.
She puts them on.
"Alright."
"Just gotta search one more thing.."
She types.
"Has... SDS-003... been... contained..."
"Wh-"
"What do you mean no?!"
"You mean.."
"It isn't here?!"
"It breached years ago."
"Then what was that earlier?"
"I don't know myself."
"Hey, take my chip and we can get moving."
She powers off the computer, and takes a small SD card and slides it into the sides of the glasses.
The lens lights up.
"Heeeeellloooooo!"
"Hi 018.."
"Let's go Nadia."
"Open this up for us!"
018 says "You bet."
The door swings open and Cormac falls through.
Cormac says "HEY!"
"I was contemplating.."
The Girl says "Come on."
The group goes into an elevator.
"Right, 018."
Andrei says "Who's 18?"
018 says "ME!"
The girl says "Uhh... The new voice in my head."
"I need you to..
"Manually override this elevator."
"And send it to floor -16."
018 says "Gotcha."
The lights flicker and there is a clunking sound.
The elevator starts to move down.
The Girl seems more laid back than usual.
The Girl says "Soooo!"
"Hows 039?"
018 says "Well..."
"He came back to visit loads of times after you escaped."
"Then.."
"Well.. from what I could access, they changed his containment procedures."
"Never came back."
The girl says "Huh.."
"I loved spending time like that.."
"Just us three.."
"And even with 131 on a good day.."
018 says "Yeah."
The rest of the group gives her weird stares.
She mouths "What?"
The elevator dings and the doors open.
The room is pitch black.
Except for a giant ball of contained plasma[2].
018 says "Ohh... god."
The girl rushes up to a console.
018 says "Look, Six.."
"I've changed my mind again.."
"This isn't a good idea."
"Why are you even doing this?"
The Girl says "I need to."
The Girl says "Alright.. Done."
All the doors in the room shut.
Purple lighting descends, filling up the room.
Andrei says "What's happening.."
The circular walls slide down to reveal a maze of energy cells surrounding it.
Cormac says "Void.. Energy?"
The girl says "It's what keeping me back.."
Siphon is now disengaging.
As a precaution for SDS-006 containment procedures, safety mechanisms will disengage in: 5 minutes.
The girl says "Alright.."
"Now we wait."
Andrei says "Well.."
"This is boring."
Safety mechanisms disengaged.
Huge clamps lift off of the plasma globe.
"What do you wish to do."
The girl says "Disable."
Disabling.
As a precaution.
The girl says "UGH!"
She takes a chair and hurls it at the globe.
It cracks.
Alarms blare.
"Warning."
"SDS-006 containment procedure One is being breached."
There is banging coming from the other side of the doors.
The Girl says "Guys.."
"Look to your right."
"Guns."
They spot the guns.
"Take them.."
"Andrei, Nadia, take the other side."
"Cormac, Oliver, take this side."
"OPEN THE DOORS."
"NOW."
They start pumping gas into the room.
The girl says "Masks on.."
Shutdown will commence in: 5 minutes.
The doors burst open.
Plasma bullets ricochet around the room.
SDS-006 IS HERE!
The girl says "Damn-"
018 says "Night vision on!"
The girl can now see through the fog.
She crouches down and paces around the globe.
Andrei says "Take THIS!"
A scream is heard.
A hailfire of bullets is unleashed.
Four minutes.
The Girl grabs Andrei's foot, yanking it into an SDS soldier.
She trips them both over, and she stabs the soldier in the jugular with a needle.
Andrei says "HEY!"
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"
HANDS UP!
"Oh you-"
Andrei disappears into the fog, firing bullets.
The girl tremors as she fills up the syringe.
Nadia backs up to her.
"There's more coming!"
The girl says "Press the yellow control panel button!"
Nadia presses it.
An emergency set of doors closes.
The soldiers begin banging on it.
3 minutes.
Andrei runs back to the two.
The Girl says "GOOD. COVER THIS DOOR!"
018 says "Cormac needs help.. GO!"
The girl rushes to the other side of the room, noticing the fluid in the globe is draining.
Her hands begin to glow.
She reaches Cormac, who is being subdued.
She bites into the Soldier's leg.
"AAAAAGHHH!"
"IT BIT ME!"
The girl wields her needle.
She climbs onto the soldiers back.
"I... am... not.. AN IT!"
She stabs the soldier's neck with the syringe.
She draws it out savagely, blood pours out of his neck.
2 minutes.
Oliver says "JESUS CHRIST!"
018 says "I'm with Oliver on this one.."
"That was graphic.."
The girl says "OLIVER! PRESS THE YELLOW BUTTON!"
The emergency doors close.
"NOW PRESS PURPLE!"
The gas begins to fade away as the air vents open.
1 minute.
The girl says "Come on..."
"Ok.. now."
She presses the drain button.
WARNING. CRITICALLY LOW FLUID.
THE SIPHON IS REACHING CRITICAL MASS.
The girl says "YES!"
Her hands glow more intensely.
WAR- WARNING- WARNGING WARNING WARN-
"EVERYBODY GET BEHIND ME!"
Andrei says "COME ON NADIA!"
They all run behind her.
Using her hands, she conjures a huge shield that envelops them.
The plasma globe grows brighter and brighter.
CRITICAL MASS. CRITICAL MASS. CRITI-
There is an explosion.
Their surroundings crumble to dust, leaving only where they are standing surrounded by a maelstrom of purple storms.
Rocks circle them at great speeds.
Everyone cowers to the middle, frightened.
The Girl turns around to face them.
She has grown size, as if she were an adult.
She now matches height with the rest of the group.
Her pale, dirty yellow eyes are now purple, and her tiny, ripped dress has been replaced by some sort of crystal armours.
Her black hair is long and flowing, fluttering in the intense winds that batter them.
018 says "Six.."
"What the-"
006 says "Finally."
She puts her hands together and pulls them apart, opening a tear.
They disappear from the area, and the purple light quickly fades away.
Being deep in the crust, the room was the only place affected, but it was completely obliterated.
They reappear in space, but they can breathe.
The stars glow intensely as they lay there floating.
No one musters the energy to even say a word.
The girl's appearance settles.
She looks like.. A siren.
She opens another tear, this time they are floating above Theia.
They float there, hypnotised almost.
She swims with her mermaid tail through space.
She accelerates towards Theia, singing an ethereal song which echoes around space.
She disappears from view, but her singing is still heard.
Suddenly, rings of blue light begin to flash around Theia.
A trail of glowing light flies from Theia as her singing reaches a crescendo.
It then hits Theia, causing a flashing blue explosion.
An expanding ring of blue light emerges from the impact zone, and where the light was previously red, returns to normal.
Andrei says "I...It's working.."
....
In TERAPRO..
Ladies and gentlemen we bring outstanding news.
The outside is now safe.
We are opening all blast doors immediately.
We are now rediverting power back to the Theian grid. Please vacate your homes immediately and leave.
Thank you for serving as our citizens.
But it is time for you to go home.
Now life can resume.
Good luck on your future. And thank you for all your work.
Goodbye.
The crowds cheer as they rush outside and see the sun.
The steaks of blue light circle Theia as the girl flies over.
A tear brings the group to just outside the entrance of TERAPRO.
They are split apart as the crowd carries them away from the entrance.
They all celebrate, crying and hugging.
Andrei says "Cormac? Where-"
"Where are you..."
"FINALLY"
"FREEDOM!"
"2 YEARS WE WERE DOWN THERE!"
"2 YEARS!!"
As the crowd disperses, Andrei, Cormac, Oliver and Nadia see each other.
They stand in the snow as the Sun rises.
Andrei says "Hah.."
"Ahahaha!"
"HAHAHAH!"
"AAAAHAHAHHA!"
"MY TANK IS GONE!"
"LOOK!"
"THE GIRL.."
"SHE GOT RID OF THE TANK!"
"AHAHAHHAHA!"
"HEY! SIX!"
"I LOOOOOOOOOVE YOU!"
Cormac says "HEY!"
"Andrei.."
"We... we can get married now.."
"For real.."
Andrei looks at him.
"Oh Cormac.."
"I love you so much.."
Cormac says "I love you too."
"HEY! OLIVER!"
Oliver says "SAM?!"
"Oh my god.."
Samuel and Oliver embrace.
Nadia leans against a tree, watching as Cormac and Andrei and Samuel and Oliver share moments of happiness.
She turns to her left..
But no ones there.
Nadia says "...Isaac.."
She watches as the two couples run back indoors, presumably to pack their belongings.
She slumps against the tree, crying.
She grinds against something smooth.
Nadia says "Huh?"
"What is that?"
Sniffle.
"Plastic.."
She ruffles through the snow.
Nadia says "Oh, haha.."
"Hahaha.."
"It's sad.. just like me.."
"Hahaha.."
She puts on the mask.
"Ahahaha!"
"Look at me! I'm Nadia!"
"Ahaha! Look at me!!!"
"I'm sad... DEPRESSED... NADIA!"
"AND MY HUSBAND IS DEAD!"
"AAHAHAHA!"
"AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
She exhausts herself.
"Ahahahaha.."
"Oh... that's tiring.."
She reaches to take off the mask.
"I-"
"..."
"Sad... depressed... LONELY... NADIA!"
"WHO'S HUSBAND GOT MURDERED!"
"AAAAAAAAHAHAWHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!"
"LOOK AT ME!"
"LOOK. AT. ME."
"Hey!"
"Hey, you kid!"
She sees a 5 year old child gaze at the sun.
She runs up to it.
"Look at me!" I'm saaaaaaad!"
The child giggles.
"Hehehe!"
"Look at me!"
"Sad, depressed, and lonely!"
"And you look so happy, grateful and probably HAS A FAMILY THAT ISNT DEAD!"
The child stands there, being shouted at.
It begins to cry.
"BECAUSE GUESS WHAT!"
"MY HUSBAND IS DEAD!"
"AND I DONT EVEN HAVE A STUPID KID LIKE YOU!"
The child is sobbing.
His parents come out.
"WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING AT MY CHILD?"
"WAAAAAAAAH!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAH! STOP CRYING AND LOOK AT ME."
"LOOK AT ME!"
"SAD!
"DEPRESSED!"
"LONELY!"
She picks up the child.
"NAAAAAAADIA!"
"AHAHAHAHA!"
She snaps the child's neck.
"AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
She twists the head so hard she decapitates the child.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"
She runs off into the forest.
Leaving with the head.
Echoes in the distance.. "Sad! Depressed!"
"Sad depressed! Lonely!"
"Weeee!"
"Go me!"
"Nadia!"
