Awestruck, James sees Matilda calmly striding toward the beast.
Towering over Matilda, the howler raises its shoulders and puffs out its chest, glaring levelly down at her. Its mouth opens, revealing rows of discolored, razored fangs, and it sucks in a long, shrieking breath.
Matilda stares the creature down and quietly says, “No.”
Frozen, the howler’s eyes dart back and forth, the dawning alarm evident in what passes for its face. The giant tries to move but can’t. Frantic, the beast’s eyes become more panicked as it starts to levitate off the floor. Speechless, James slowly walks towards Matilda. She stares at the creature, muttering words James can only hear as he gets close to her.
“Deny connection. Close ports. Delete.”
The howler’s scales start to flake away as a fire burns it from within. As it shrieks into nonexistence, James feels the very fabric of the Deep shudder and start to buckle. The lurkers on the stairs let out a painful, collective scream, scattering blindly in all directions.
James reaches Matilda. She turns to him, hair still afloat, bright eyes still redly afire.
“Matilda?”
She gazes through him and doesn’t respond, but a wracking cough from Tor’s crumpled form draws his attention. James races over to find Tor badly bloodied and broken at the base of the pillar. Tor manages a smile when he sees James. His words come in difficult breaths.
“Hey, man… what’d I miss?”
Matilda appears next to the Taciturn’s side.
“Hey, hero,” Tor says to her. “You still ready to change the world?”
She replies with a simple “Yes”, but James is relieved to see a small, familiar smile begin to form.
They both help Tor to his feet and enter the doors to the Deep’s Pyramid. Crossing the threshold, Tor collapses to the ground, spitting up blood.
“Look, guys, I don’t know how much help I’m going to be from here.” He looks over at Matilda, “But I think you are going to be fine.”
James tries to help Tor to his feet.
“We’re not going to leave you here.”
Tor glares at him, alarmed.
“Fuck no, you’re not. I just gotta open the gateway soon.”
Matilda slowly turns about, taking in the room around them.
“Open it.”
Tor and Taciturn exchange looks, but Matilda only repeats the words, calmly.
“Open it.”
Tor looks around at the Dark one last time and spits blood onto the ground.
“Good riddance.”
Tor activates his console, and a gateway appears, revealing a mirror image of their location in the real Cyberside – the reception area of the Enclave Headquarters. Matilda walks through first, with James shouldering Tor in one arm and holding his pistol in the other.
Exiting the portal, James reverts to his normal appearance. Expecting to see surprised security guards, the Taciturn scans the room to find it deserted.
“What the hell?”
Tor gasps, and then James sees it too. Matilda’s eyes still glow red. Helping Tor gently to the floor and holstering his pistol, James raises his hands.
“Matilda, are you okay?”
Calmly, she responds.
“I’ve never felt better. Come on. Simmons is downstairs, in the archives. He knows we’re here.”
With his raised hands, James gestures to the empty room around them.
“What happened here? Where are all the guards?”
She looks at him. He waits silently for her to respond.
“They’re gone. We don’t have to worry about them anymore.”
James frowns. “What does that mean?”
Matilda tilts her head.
“I mean, I turned off all communication channels to the Pyramid. All security systems are shut down, and the doors are jammed. It’s just him and us in this building.”
James crouches to look Matilda directly in the eyes.
“Matilda, you’re kinda scaring me. What happened to you back there?”
Matilda’s eyes twitch slightly.
“The Deep allowed me to see more clearly. I just have a few more questions to answer. And…”
She turns to the elevator at the end of the hall, and it opens.
“…the only thing stopping us is down there.”
Matilda looks back at James
“Shall we?”
Tor coughs up more blood, settling down on the marble floor.
“Go get him, Matilda. Wish I could see his smug face when you get there. Just be sure to let him know that Alex brought you.” He grins weakly.
Matilda laughs softly.
“Thank you, Alex, for everything you have done. Truly, I would not have made it here without you.”
Lying down on his back with a small groan, Tor laughs, raising a thumb. He stares at the ceiling.
“I’ll be fine…”
James hears a ringing in his ears, and his right hand starts opening and closing. Matilda gently places a hand on his, and the flexing stops. Sliding her hand into his own, she leads the way to the elevator.
Too many questions run through James’ mind. He follows the Scry, hoping that everything will be made clear soon.
Chapter 22: “Revelations”
As James and Matilda descend into the data center of the Enclave Pyramid, a storm builds above the city of Metropolis. As it intensifies, the citizens race to take shelter. Throughout the Cyberside, similar storms begin forming. A lonely Hermit in Babylon stands in the doorway of his motel, watching people run for cover. Muttering to himself, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cigarette. If any passersby were to take the time to look, they would see him do something a Hermit rarely does. They would see him smile.
Far away in Ohana, two demi-humans sit on their porch and watch the storm gathering out at sea. The woman moves closer to her husband, hugging him ardently. He kisses the top of her head as more water is drawn into the sky. They both feel the software components of their being starting to malfunction slightly. She squeezes him tightly and says, “I love you.”
He answers softly, “I love you too, darling. It’s going to be okay.”
She rests her head on his chest.
Rain falls to the ground, rivulets turning into streams, streams turning into rivers, sweeping away what’s left of the ash in Neverland. The information dust washes away – healing waters erasing the final signs of humanity from the ruins of Amazement Square.
In Delaware, dark clouds engulf the Spire, snuffing out the fires of a kingless domain plunged into chaos. The deluge washes the grime of the lower levels away in a cleansing torrent, extinguishing the widespread bloodshed, looting, and destruction.
Wharton Forest greedily drinks in the leading-edge wave of the flood, absorbing it down to the woodland’s grasping roots, to the deepest layers of its dark, rich soil. The overflow surges forth, forming hundreds of new, successively-branching rivers and tributaries. The spectral multitudes of those already lost to the Cyberside feel an unutterable anticipation in the air, wishing they could feel the inundation with their bodies, on their faces. A young boy sits on the edge of a stage in an abandoned amphitheater. He makes a small boat out of paper and places it in the inexorable flow of the new, coursing stream surging into the trees. He follows it as it vanishes into the flooding forest, saying to himself, “Good luck, now.”
The final data storm has come to the Cyberside – the Storm of all Storms.
The elevator stops with a jolt as it reaches the lowest level beneath the Pyramid. The doors slide open to reveal a dimly-lit, elongated room filled with humming servers, the winking lights of display panels, and the airy rush of unseen fans frantically trying to keep the whole room cool. At the far end of the room is a workstation surrounded by monitors and an office chair with its back to them. The Taciturn pulls out his pistol. Together, he and Matilda slowly make their way towards the desk, their footfalls ringing on the grated floor.