Warning: This chapter contains themes of suicide.
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For the first time, she can actually see in this memory. Her vision is hazy and there is static filling her head, but she can still see through Alain's eyes.
He's in the Citadel, standing alongside two other SRL who appear to be lower ranked by their plain uniforms. He's standing in a small room, staring at a terminal that has an EPC wired into it. On the screen is a blue bar that moves in tandem with a familiar voice. It's CLive.
"...W... What's happening?" He sounds afraid, as though this has never happened before. Though it is an old memory, so it more than likely hasn't. "Where am I...?" He sounds younger, if that's even possible for someone who physically can't age. Maybe it's just more innocence from his lack of experience in the world.
Alain slowly holds up a hand. "CL-3584. Sovereign Sweeney has ordered me to instigate your punishment. You will feel no pain during the procedure. However, you will once you return to your SRL. Refusal to cooperate will only ensure the punishment is made more severe." He speaks slowly, as though he's talking to a dim child. His voice is as it always has been, but that's not surprising.
Alain looks towards the back of the room to see CLive's body suspended to the wall. It's the body Edith recognizes from when they met, only it lacks the tears in his cheek and arms. The only visible damage is the cuts in his chest from where his EPC was pulled out.
"...3583, what are you doing? Why am I being punished...?" CLive's voice sounds like he's on the edge of tears, but in his current state within the terminal, he is unable to release them.
Alain turns back towards the terminal as the other two SRL begin walking towards CLive's body with batons. "I know it is challenging for you to think, but I know you are not ignorant. You were tasked with acquiring a package from Idyll, but instead, you took the opportunity to visit County Mortal to speak with Adius Wright. You were deactivated and returned to the Citadel to face the consequences, and I am to oversee that you get your due. Is that clear?" Alain explains.
The two SRL begin beating the batons against CLive's body and he lets out desperate cries from the terminal. "3583, please! I just wanted to see him! Let me go!" he begs, the blue line rises and falls rapidly compared to before.
Alain says nothing and closes his eyes, patiently waiting for the punishment to finish.
Edith can still hear the agonizingly familiar sound of metal hitting metal that she had hoped to forget, alongside CLive's cries, pleading for mercy.
Alain opens his eyes again as the SRL finish and return to his sides, standing tall and awaiting his command. He walks towards the terminal and pulls the wires from the EPC, then carries it over to the body, releases it from its suspension, and kneels down.
He carefully wires the EPC back into place and stays kneeled as CLive powers back on.
He opens his eyes and begins hyperventilating, looking around in a panic and wrapping his arms around himself to fight the pain. Tears start pooling in his eyes and rolling down his face, which Edith knows is not easy for an older model SRL to do.
The sight makes Edith wish she were there with him in that moment and able to hold him and protect him from those who caused him harm. He tries moving away from Alain, but his other half holds him steady by his shoulder and raises a calm hand.
"Breathe, CL-3584. Your punishment is over. They will not hurt you anymore. Relax and allow your EPC to mend. Panic will only decelerate your recovery." He sounds oddly comforting, a way Edith had never before heard nor expected to ever hear.
CLive looks down and takes deep breaths, blinking back the tears. Alain nods slowly and stands up with his hands crossed formally behind his back.
"AM-5624. FC-6221. Bring CL-3584 down to the infirmary to recover from his wounds and rest for the day. I shall inform our Sovereign that he has learned his lesson and should cause no further problems," he orders with his usual monotone voice.
The two SRL glance at each other with uncertainty. "But... I don't recall the Sovereign mentioning that part earlier when he gave you your orders. I thought we were just supposed to send him back to work once we were done," AM-5624 questions.
Alain glances over at him and slightly narrows his eyes. "This order is coming from me. CL-3584 has been traumatized by the experience and with his fragile mentality, he needs time to recover before he can be made useful again. My position within the Citadel is superior to yours, therefore you are obligated to follow my command. Now, go. We are already two minutes and thirty-seven seconds behind schedule," he states and walks out the door without another glance back at any of them.
"CLive!" Edith jumps awake with a gasp, then groans and holds the sides of her head as she feels a pounding headache come over her. There are instantly fast footsteps coming up the wooden stairs and Cree comes around the corner with an alert look on his face.
"Edith? What's wrong?" he asks.
Edith sighs and lowers her hands. "N... nothing. Just... another memory..." she grumbles and drops back into the pillows. She can see sunlight shining through the cracks in the boarded wall that let her know it's morning.
After arriving, she had felt like shit the entire next day so Cree let her stay in bed and do nothing so she could recover from her small fever. Now it's technically her third day in Idyll and while the fever may be better, it's still partially there to make her hate the world.
Cree nods and walks over, sitting down on his bed across from her. "What was it this time? Please no more plots of war and foreboding statements about the future. If so, I might have to hurt you." He glares at her.
She throws her hands up. "Hey, it's not my fault. I can't control what I see. But no, it's nothing like that... It was from a long time ago... back when Adius was still mayor of Mortal."
Cree cocks a brow. "Damn, that is some time ago. What did you see?" he asks. She sighs and closes her eyes tight.
"I saw... CLive's EPC was wired into a terminal... Alain was watching as... his body... was..." She shakes her head as she dreads recalling the scene.
He nods slowly and looks away. "...As his body was tortured. Then his EPC was put back into him and he was left with the pain, wasn't he?"
Edith opens her eyes and looks over at him. "How did you know?"
He sighs. "It's what the SRL here have been telling me Unity does to SRL who defy their masters... Probably everyone here you meet will say they have gone through it," he explains.
Edith scoffs and shakes her head as she sits back up. "That's horrible..."
He nods. "It is... but that's why we're going to help them. We just need a plan," he says.
Edith yawns and her stomach churns, letting out a loud growl. Cree chuckles. "Damn, you're still hungry? All you did was eat and sleep yesterday. Not saying I blame you, but still." He grins and stands up from his bed.
She glares at him. "One whole week without food, Cree. You're not allowed to make fun of me for being hungry and wanting to sleep all day. That's CLive's job," she states and crosses her arms.
"Speaking of... our scouts still haven't seen any sign of him. But they're still keeping an eye out. I'll let you know if anything turns up."
"I did say in my note that I didn't want him to follow me. Assuming he's actually found it, maybe he's just respecting my wishes," she reasons.
Cree shrugs. "Maybe. But knowing CLive, I thought he'd be here the instant he learned you were gone. Especially with all the Unity soldiers in the area."
Edith nods. "Yeah, but still. I think he's starting to accept the fact that I can take care of myself. He's gotten a bit more confident since last you saw him," she says with a small proud smile which makes Cree laugh.
"Yeah right. I'll believe it when I see it. Now, if you're feeling up to it, we can go get some breakfast and then discuss our plans for the Citadel. I was generous and brought you food yesterday, but now it's on you to use your own damn legs," he snarks.
Edith huffs. "What if my legs were broken, huh? Would you just let me starve here?" She glares at him. He grins.
"Oh definitely. Then at least I wouldn't have to listen to your bitching." He glares back at her as he starts walking backwards towards the stairs.
She rolls her eyes and forces herself to stand up. "What would I do without you, Cree..." she mumbles and pulls her hoodie on before walking over to him and following him down the stairs to be met with more sunlight shining in her face, worsening her headache.
He shrugs. "Starve, apparently."
He leads her out to the walkways of Idyll and they walk side by side over the mended bridge. He leads her to another repaired building and lifts the wooden board that acts as a makeshift door. She ducks under and he follows. They enter a large stone room with a wooden table in the center that has a map of Utopia, and the small island that houses the Citadel is circled in red. There is a red 'X' drawn over Idyll, and a question mark beside Mortal.
At the back of the room is a stack of steel supply crates, similar to the ones that Edith had found in an old Card'n'Fast warehouse in the Mortal Commons with Madhavi. That was actually her first run-in with these rebel SRL. She and Madhavi had killed three of them in self-defense, but it's probably for the best to keep that information to herself.
Cree walks up to one of the crates and uses his metal right arm to easily pry it open. He pulls out a small heap of packaged meat and tosses it to her.
She sighs. "I don't suppose you have any—"
"No! We don't have any fucking chocolate milk! I thought that was clear after the hundred other times you asked yesterday!" he snaps.
Edith groans. "Ugh... no one told me the revolution would lack taste." She rolls her eyes and unwraps the meat to start picking away at it. Cree grabs one as well and shuts the crate. As he turns back to Edith, the wooden board lifts again and Alexas ducks in, holding it open. She doesn't even spare Edith a glance and just looks right at Cree with a mournful and panicked expression.
"Ty, hurry! We need you down in the med center!" she shouts. Cree groans and sets his food back in the crate, shutting it again.
"What happened?" he asks.
Alexas motions to the door. "It's Erika! Apparently, she powered down a few days ago but we weren't informed. She's going to become Insentient soon!"
Cree gasps and rushes towards her. "Why hasn't she been taken care of?!" he asks. Alexas sighs.
"Lewis refuses to do it. He won't let anyone near her." She shakes her head.
Cree grumbles and nods. "Let's hurry before that idiot gets himself killed," he says and ducks through the door. Alexas keeps it open and waves Edith to follow.
She stares at her in question. "Me?" she asks. Alexas huffs and nods.
"Yes. If you're going to be helping our revolution, you need to know what you're getting into. Now hurry!"
The three rush down the walkways to an open-walled building with many cots and bedrolls laid out with SRL on them that hold vacant gazes and pained breathing. On one of the cots along the back wall is a man with tan skin, hazel eyes, and brown hair holding a woman with the same traits. She isn't moving or breathing, and he is silently crying over her.
Cree stands a few feet away and sighs. "Lewis..." he says quietly.
Lewis looks up at him past the tears and shakes his head. "I... I can't do it..." his voice crackles and he looks back down at her, gently brushing her hair out of her face with a trembling hand. Edith covers her mouth and her features soften into empathy.
Alexas steps up next to Cree. "You have to, Lewis. If you don't she'll become Insentient and start attacking us!"
Lewis shakes his head again. "N... no... she wouldn't do that... My little sister would never hurt her friends..." he chokes out.
Cree glances down at the handgun that lays beside his leg and meets his face again. "When she turns, it won't be her anymore. It won't be able to think or feel. You have to." He kneels down slowly and keeps his eyes on him.
Alexas sighs. "Lewis, if you're not going to do it then let us. We can't let her turn and take anyone else." She crosses her arms.
Lewis holds Erika tighter and shudders. "No... I... I can't..." he whispers and stares at his sister's face through blurred eyes. Cree tries slowly reaching for the handgun, but Lewis grabs it and pulls it closer, tucking it at his side. "...No... please..." He begins silently weeping.
Alexas shakes her head and pats Cree's shoulder. He stands up and faces her and she shrugs in defeat. "We've gotta do it, Ty. If he won't give us that gun, I've got a spare back at my place. He's putting all of us in danger by refusing to destroy her body. He could be a threat, too," she lowers her voice so only he and Edith can hear.
Cree growls. "No, Alexas. He's a part of Mortality. He's grieving. That's no reason to take him out, too. We need to be rational," he speaks in a hushed tone as well.
Alexas frowns. "He's the one being irrational. We have to think of the people, Ty. We can't afford to lose more people than is necessary."
His face hardens. "No. We'll find another way. Just... let me think, okay?" He looks away only to see that Edith has started walking towards Lewis. Alexas growls and takes a step towards her, but Cree catches her by her shoulder and lets Edith approach the grieving SRL.
She slowly kneels in front of him and stares at Erika's pale, lifeless face. Lewis shakily looks up at her and pulls his little sister's body closer to himself. He stares pleadingly into her eyes. "...Please..." he quivers. "...Don't let them kill her... I'm... I'm begging you..." He looks down at her again.
Edith cautiously reaches her hand towards the body and Lewis tenses, but makes no attempt at stopping her. Edith presses her hand to the center of her chest and feels that there is no steady pulse within her core. She pulls her hand back and shifts to sit on her knees. She trails her eyes up to look at Lewis's face. "...You were really close, weren't you?" she asks tenderly.
He meets her eyes and tries blinking back the tears to see her clearer. "...N... not when we were humans..." he starts and returns his attention to Erika's face. "We... fought all the time... she... was my annoying little sister... and I was her asshole big brother... but... after..." He clears his throat. "...After Unity took us from our home... they made us watch as they... killed our parents... we became SRL together... seeing how scared she was... I..."
He looks back into Edith's eyes. "...I knew I had to protect her."
Edith stares at Erika's face and slowly nods. "...I had an older brother, once. We... were the same way. I annoyed him and he picked on me in return..." She smiles sadly.
Lewis stares at her. "...Did you become close with him eventually?" he asks.
Edith sighs and keeps her eyes distantly on Erika. She slightly shakes her head. "...No." She takes a deep breath. "...He died of an overdose on Keen years before I became an SRL... I never had the chance to make amends... but I still went to his funeral. I still loved him even though, when he was alive... I never knew how to show it." She looks at him again and reaches up to rest her hand on his shoulder.
"...It was hard, but... I eventually moved past it. I may not have been able to be close with him when he was alive, but I kept his memory close... It helped me find comfort, even through the tears," she says softly.
Lewis looks away. "W... why do the best people always die...?" he whispers. Edith sighs and retracts her hand and slowly reaches for the handgun.
"...Because the best people are often the ones who know their limits. While the cruel ones believe that they're immortal. That's what separates them from us..." she says. "...For the best people... it's our mortality that binds us together." She shows him a small smile. He brushes his hand over Erika's cheek.
"...And it breaks us apart..." he says quietly.
Edith slowly stands up and stares down at him. "Only if you let it. We have to understand our own mortality in order to overcome the people who try to take it away from us. But, to do that..." She holds the gun out to him. "...We need to learn when to let go."
Lewis stares at the gun and then at his little sister again. With a shaking hand, he reaches up and grabs the handle. His tears have dried up enough to let him see her face. "...I... I want to be alone with her when I do it..." He swallows back what remains of his tears.
Cree smiles sadly and steps towards Edith, putting his metal hand on her shoulder. "Of course... we'll leave you be..." he says. Lewis nods and stares vacantly at Erika's face again. Edith takes a deep breath and turns away. Cree glances at Alexas.
"Come on... let's go," he says quietly and leads the two away.
They head around the corner and across the walkway. Edith places her hands on the stone rail and leans forward with heavy breathing. Cree stands beside her and awkwardly pats her on the back. "You okay?" he asks. She holds her stomach.
"I think I'm going to be sick..." she says throatily. Alexas sighs.
"Let's just hope what you did works and he actually follows through," she says. Cree glares at her.
"Calm down. Just give him a moment to say goodbye," he says.
Alexas nods and leans her back against the wall across from them.
Cree looks back to Edith. "What you said back there... about... mortality." He glances down. "...You'd given that a lot of thought, hadn't you? Even before coming here," he asks.
Edith takes a deep breath and looks at him. "I guess I had..." She shrugs. "...It's what I keep telling myself... after John... I..." Her eyes tear up. "...I couldn't stand not having him in my life... I still can't, but... I'm trying to learn to let go... I need to accept that I can't do anything to bring him back... I can only keep his memory alive... what he stood for... Mortality." She stares off distantly, looking over Idyll.
From the direction of the med center, they hear a gunshot echo through the ravine. Alexas sighs and pushes off from the wall.
"He did it... I should go and—"
She's cut off by a second gunshot from the same direction.
Edith gasps and covers her mouth with one hand and keeps holding her stomach with the other while Cree stares off meaningfully in the direction of the sound.
Alexas shakes her head. "Shit..." she curses. "I'll go take care of it... You two should head back and start planning. Sorry for all this..." She sighs and turns, running back towards the med center again.
Cree looks down and takes a deep breath. "...We're losing more each day... I don't know how much longer we'll be able to..." He stops himself as he turns back to see Edith retching over the rail.
He grimaces and looks away. "Maybe... we should head back... get you some water..." he suggests and holds her by her shoulders.
She shakily leans away from the rail and nods. "...Okay..." she shudders. He sighs and gently turns her to start walking back towards the supply building.
He holds the board open for her and she slowly crawls through, staying on the ground and leaning her back against the stone wall. Cree ducks in and sets the board down. He walks over to the crates again and pulls out a water bottle, bringing it over and handing it down to Edith.
She opens it and takes greedy gulps until the bottle empties. He takes it from her and tosses it to a corner. "Maybe you should get some more rest. We can hold off on planning for a bit longer," he offers. She shakes her head and coughs.
"No... I'll be fine. That was just... a lot. I didn't realize how bad it was out here... These poor people..." She closes her eyes.
Cree nods slowly. "I felt almost the same way when I got here and saw it... It was like opening my eyes for the first time since coming to the Mainland," he says and walks over to the table, peering down at the map and staring at the island of County Sunder.
She looks over at him. "What do you mean?" she asks. He snickers emptily.
"Come on, Edith. I told you my story and I know damn well that you remember how I was back when we first met... I hated the SRL with a passion. Hell, I hated everyone I met. You, Data, even John..." He sighs.
Edith tilts her head. "You did?"
He nods. "Hoh yeah. When I met him, he annoyed the hell outta me... with his smug face and overconfident ass..." He chuckles to himself and ends with a hollow sigh.
She smiles. "...Sounds just like him."
He nods again. "When we met, after Data and I did that first job for him... he took me to the Watchman for a drink. I was too young at the time, but he said one drink wouldn't hurt and got one for me..." He cracks a smile to himself.
"...I felt he was pitying me so I called him on it. I started doing what I always do and saying as many hurtful, uncalled-for things as I could think of. Normally, I was used to getting an offended glare or sometimes even slamming doors as they storm out, but not him. After every hurtful comment I spat out, he came back with a smirk and an insult of his own." He chuckles as his eyes stray from County Sunder to land on County Mortal on the map.
"By the time I was done, I was too annoyed and tired to think of any more insults, but he was still unfazed. After that, he sat there and stared at me for, I wanna say... five whole minutes, without saying a word. It ended when I got irritated and asked him what the hell he was doing, and you know what he said?" He glances over at her.
"What?" she asks curiously.
Cree smiles and looks down again, closing his eyes. "He looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'I know who you are. I don't know where you come from, what you've been through, or what you've done. But I know you. You've fought your whole life to feel as though you belong somewhere. You've even given up your own freedom for just a chance at finding a place you feel accepted. But in the end, it wasn't what you wanted, was it? Now you're left lost and without that part of yourself that allowed you to be free, but instead of looking for it, you prefer to hide from it. Because you know that once you find it... there's no going back. You're afraid that who you used to be is someone that nobody wants. Someone that doesn't belong.' And then that smug asshole took a fucking drink from my glass." He laughs lightly and shakes his head.
Edith's smile grows at seeing the youthful joy on his face as he remembers the scene as if he's reliving it. She wishes she could have been there with him, to hold these memories as well. To be able to see him as John got through to Cree before anyone else could.
He has a sharp intake of breath and he opens his eyes. A few damp spots dot the map beneath his face and he sighs longingly. "After that... I didn't know what to say anymore... He was the first person I'd come across that actually managed to shut me up with his words alone. He knew it, too. He then asked me how I felt about the SRL... and I told him what I had believed at the time. That they were nothing but empty machines. And once again, he didn't bat an eye. He wasn't upset. He just said one thing that has stuck with me to this day, that I never understood until only recently..."
Edith watches him. "What did he say?" she asks and shifts to sit on her knees instead of leaning against the wall. He looks over and stares into her eyes.
"'The SRL may be machines... but that doesn't mean they aren't people.'" He smiles at seeing her start to tear up because he knows that she can hear John's voice saying that in her head. "He asked me if I wanted to join Mortality. I was going to say no because, back then, after hearing him say that, I was fully convinced that he was a fucking lunatic. But before I could say no... she walked in." He keeps his eyes on her.
"She?" Edith asks. He nods.
"Amie. She walked up to us with a little girl holding her hand. John gave her a kiss and the little girl hugged him... I asked him who they were, and he told me the girl was his daughter, Peace. And he introduced me to Amie, not by her name... But as AH-2490."
Edith looks down and lets out a soft chuckle. "...That must have come as a shock to you." She looks back up at him.
He nods. "It was. I was so fucking confused and trying to figure out how the hell a human was engaged to a machine and had a child with it, that I didn't comprehend when Amie tried shaking my hand. Peace made fun of me, of course. That snapped me out of it, being made fun of by a ten-year-old. But after that... I agreed to go with him on a raid to see what Mortality was about..." he explains and bites his lip, looking down.
Edith stares at him and her eyes widen as it hits her. "Wait... Peace was ten at the time...? This was... ten years ago..."
Cree sighs and slowly nods. "That's right... The first raid I went on for Mortality was the one near Paradise... After the battle was over... I found John crying over Amie's body. In that moment... something changed in me. He was genuinely broken up about her death... I realized that for a death to hurt someone that badly... the person must have first truly been alive. She was alive."
Edith looks at him in question. "But... he told me that he was the only one who survived that raid... How did you...?"
Cree closes his eyes. "...I ran. After seeing John crying over her, I ran back to Mortal... I didn't know what to say or do because I still didn't fully understand their relationship... When he came back... he saw me... but as always... he was unpredictable. He wasn't mad at me for running away... Instead... he hugged me. He told me that he was glad I survived... I didn't understand." He shakes his head. "...I didn't deserve his forgiveness but he gave it without a second thought. From that point on... I kept going on raids with him. I became a part of Mortality. I became... a part of his family."
Edith slowly stands up and steadies herself using the wall. She makes her way over to him and sees the tears on his cheeks. She reaches up and wipes one away before pulling him into her arms. He returns the embrace with a smile of his own before pulling back and letting her go.
She takes a deep breath and looks down at the map. "Let's make sure it wasn't in vain. We're going to free all the SRL," she states.
He nods sternly and looks down as well. "Right... sentimentality aside, we've still got an island to blow the fuck up. Let's get to it."
Right on cue, the board pushes aside and Alexas ducks in, lowering it behind her. Cree stares at her expectantly. She sighs and nods sadly before confirming what they fear they already know. "They're both gone... he didn't want to be without his sister but he wouldn't let her hurt us. I can respect that. Now, are we finally ready?" she asks.
Edith nods and suppresses the sick feeling in her stomach again at knowing what happened to those siblings. "Yes. Let's start planning," she says and looks back at the map as Alexas makes her way over and stands with them.
Alexas looks to Edith. "Alain is looking for you and doesn't want any harm done to you, so you are our best and only option for who to send in with the bomb to plant it and get the slaves out," she starts and points at the Citadel that dots the center of Unity City.
Cree sighs. "Yes, but how is Edith supposed to do all that alone? Once Alain has her in the Citadel, he's going to want to start his experiment right away. She probably won't have time to sneak away, plant the bomb, and evacuate everyone before he catches wind. We'd be lucky if she gets even five minutes away from him."
Edith squints her eyes as she thinks. "Maybe we could try doing what we did a year ago where we have someone stall him while we take care of everything."
Cree sighs. "Yeah, but you're his main focus. If someone were to go in and start talking to him, one, he would instantly realize that someone else is there who shouldn't be, and two, he wouldn't care about whatever they have to say," he points out.
Alexas purses her lips and looks between them. "What if... what if we send in someone who would hold his attention? Edith would be taken down to his experimentation lab and would have time to sneak away and plant the bomb beneath the Citadel," she says. Cree sighs.
"Only problem with that is he only wants Edith. She's the SRL-human hybrid freak thing that he seems so fascinated by. Anyone else would only get in his way for a brief moment," he says. Edith glares at him.
"Watch it, asshole. And maybe Alexas has a point. If we had someone else who Alain is looking for stall him, that would probably give me enough time. He's bound to have more than one person on his list of people to annoy," she says.
Alexas looks over the map. "But who else would interest him as much as you do? And how would we go about not only finding their name, but also where they are and try convincing them to help us?" she asks.
Cree studies the map as well, his eyes darting from county to county until they land on Sage. He slowly looks up at Edith. The instant she sees the intention in his eyes, she shakes her head. "...No," she states flatly and leans away from the table.
He sighs. "Edith... aside from you, he's the only person we know who Alain would give anything to have in the Citadel. He would help us and spare us the trouble of tracking down someone else who Alain is looking for. He could be our only option," he reasons.
Edith steps back and her face hardens. "No! CLive can't go anywhere near Alain with the Pull as bad as it is. He would get himself killed!"
Alexas looks at her and shrugs. "Ty's got a point. Who better to keep Alain's attention than himself? CL-3584 has always intrigued him, so he would definitely be able to stall him for more than enough time," she says.
Edith growls and glares at her. "Are neither of you listening to me? I said this would kill CLive. There's no way we can just—"
"What's one life in comparison to the freedom of an entire species? He would die freeing his people. Most here would jump at the chance for such a heroic end," Alexas states.
Edith clenches her fists and prepares to throw a punch at her, but Cree holds her back. "Enough. Our enemy here is Alain, not each other. Let's not forget that." He sighs. "We'll think of something else if we can't use CLive. If we do this the way John would have wanted, no one will have to die. That's what we're after and that's why the rebels wanted me to lead them, so as of right now, we won't involve CLive," he says calmly and lets Edith go.
She crosses her arms. "Good." She looks away from Alexas. Cree turns back to the table and looks over the continent.
In the brief moment of silence, they hear shouting coming from outside and turn towards the entrance. One of the SRL scouts lifts the board and looks in at Cree.
He grumbles. "What now?" He frowns.
The scout points towards the entrance to the city. "It's Unity! A patrol is here and they're with a Cogency Elite! She's asking to speak with you two!" He motions between him and Edith.
They glance at each other and feel a shared anger come over them. Cree looks back to the scout with a stern glare.
"Take us to her."