The elevator is roughly the same as you remembered it - pretty roomy, way more than you'd expect. Everyone takes a corner - you take the one with the buttons, pressing the one for floor 42. Mako takes the corner to your left, Toby, to your right, and Edgie takes the corner opposite of you. Everyone feels so divided, but you feel like you need to unite them again. You start with your girlfriend. She is, after all, your priority. You feel like you could probably openly talk without Toby overhearing. "Everything alright, Maks?" Mako sighs. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little much, that's all." You nod. "I get it. Can I ask you a question?" "You may", she replies. You breathe in, and out. "Well, it's actually more of a statement. Uh..." You scratch the back of your head. "I'm not really worried about you being calibrated or not." Her antenna droop, like the ears of an animal. "I know, I know, but..." Mako holds her arm, trying to get the words out. "It's a bit of a taboo thing in Synth culture..." "Well, isn't being a Cyborg also a taboo thing? Seems to be it's just people being mean for no reason." Mako laughs to herself a bit, wiping away a tear. "Haha, maybe..." You give her a hug and pat her on the back. "It'll be okay, Maks... We can figure all of this out after this is all said and done, okay?" "Okay...", she replies, kind of wistfully. "I love you, Ika." "Love you too, dear." You look down at the ground, kind of flustered. You never thought that you'd be deserving of someone so loving, and yet, here you are. You feel bad that Mako had to be dragged along here, but a part of you wouldn't have it any other way. The elevator dings. The 42nd floor is upon you. You and your group hastily make your way to your old room. The door, strangely, is unlocked. You open it. You open it? You put your hand on the doorknob and turn it. It's turned. You push into the door. You open it. ``` YOU: Is something wrong with it? JE: the papers are overheating JE: hold on i know what to do [JE slams his hand firmly onto the papers. The sound of rebooting is heard.] JE: that aughta fix it YOU: Dude. ``` You grab hold of the handle and turn it, opening the door. The room seems largely unchanged - despite the aeons it's been, your stuff is still here. It's unexplainable, but you're glad. You rifle through your bag. It has everything - some potions, a couple of first aid kits, the works. Mako, likewise, pulls out some useful items too. Toby is still a little stern about the whole thing. "Alright, alright, you got your stuff. Now can we get on track?" You look wistfully out the window. You're pretty high up - not as high as in the casino, but if you could draw a line from here to there. "Aha! I think I got an idea." Everyone turns to look at you. You pull out your dagger, turning it into its whip form. "If we use the Line, we could easy soar to the top of the Casino from here. It'd be pretty bumpy though." Mako taps you on the shoulder. "Are you sure it can go that far? What if we fall?" "Trust me, we won't fall." Mako looks to the side. She *does* trust you - so does everyone else. But it seems like a foolish plan. In spite of that, you press on, whipping the Line as far as it'll go. You know you can steer it, but the issue will be making sure everyone can ride it. You drop the handle, and it extends out into a platform, long enough for four people. "There's no time like now", you remark, as everyone boards. It's you in front, then Mako, holding onto your shoulders for dear life, then Edgie, and then Toby, who probably misses his pole by now. You depart, pushing the floor along like a skateboard, before you release yourselves into the open air. You've gotten pretty adept at this thing. You can steer the creation of new gems by just shifting your body weight, and everyone else follows smoothly. You're about to curve it upwards when you notice a flash of light from the top of the Casino. "Team, up there!" You point upwards, and everyone's gazes follows. There's another flash, then another. The top of the Casino seems to burst open, and some kind of amorphous mass of energy starts spooling out. "Ika, that's- that's an Outburst!", stammered out the mage. You've never heard them stutter, but now's not the time to ponder. It's time to plan. "We don't have much time then!", you point out. "Edgie! Give toby a platform so he can work below the platform. Toby! See if you can get this thing to split off into fours, so we each can have a ride." "I don't think I can do that, I-Ika!", objects Toby. "This is already g-getting to me a little..." "Toby!", you call out, "I know that you're scared, and I am too, but right now, the fear should *not* control us! That's what they want from us! We are good friends, sure, but right now, we are a Team! And under my watch, *nobody* gets left behind!" Toby sighs. "Edgie, platform me." As instructed, Edgie creates an intricate glass platform, and keeps it up to pace with the line. You dutifully keep it level as to allow Toby the least resistance in his work. As you listen to the whirrs of screws and such being done, you look toward the Casino. The light blob seems to have grown... an arm? No, two. And legs? And *wings*? It takes shape. A thousand scales runs down its back, in a reddish color. The back seems to have a tail, ending in some kind of thousand-blade flare. the head is pointy, snouted, like a reptile, you recognize the shape from your false memories. A Dragon. By then, Toby is just done with his tinkering. He hops back on the line, and the platform he was standing on shatters. "Alright, everyone, make sure to lean with your body! It gets pretty tricky using this thing!" You hear a click, and can physically feel your part of the platform break off, along with everyone else's. You look down, and to your surprise, the Line itself has also split, letting each member of your crew have a rail of gems to themselves. You turn around on your segment and address everyone. "Alright, I'm flying by the wind here, but listen up. You three are all adept at ranged weapons - I want you all to keep the Dragon busy, while I try and go in for the top." "Is that what that's called...?", remarks Mako. "But still, are you sure that's the best idea?" "It worked for that giant fish back in the day. Why not one more try?" Everyone nods in agreement, and takes off, but you hold off Mako for just a moment. "Mako, my love?" "Yes, sweetie?" "We go down together." "Hmph!" Mako takes off with Toby and Edgie, flying through the air on their Lines, weaving between buildings. There's only one option left. ### -> Fight the [[Dragon]]!