2024-10-09: What If... Chloe continued going to the surface?
- Log: 2024-10-09: What If... Chloe continued going to the surface?
- Cast: Chloe, AARC Noa, Julie
- Where: Augmented Shibuya
- Date: U.C. 0099 10 09
- Summary: If you could see how one altered decision in your life might have otherwise changed the course of your fate... Would you want to?
- [ Local Date - 0099-Aug-04 ] -
- [ Location - Coco Coconoe Residence ] -
'It's as Liam says. You won't be in a condition to find the answers you seek if you neglect your own well-being.'
'I think Chloe's made her decision.'
'Grief is complicated. Especially when it's been blown wide up again.'
'Aren't you all curious at all?'
Chloe can't get what Julie said out of her head. Is that a Meteora that looks like Coco, or Coco with a Meteora's body? Sitting in her room wasn't going to bring her any answers. But going to the surface remained prohibited. Information control, she guesses.
Is it right for her to just be on stand-by?
^ / \ LIBRA /___\ Decision Support System Libra Ready... D.S.S
^ Rationality: +49% ~ Stay in room ~ V Inquisitiveness: -78% ^ Decisive: +80% ~ Go to surface ~ V Cautious: -55%
-== Go to surface ==- CONFIRMED
Chloe can't imagine Julie quietly standing-by, even if it's the council's orders. Researching that Meteora should clarify its identity. Is Chloe really supposed to just wait for the results then? The humanoid Meteora that fell to the surface. Why does it look human? Why imitate Coco's appearance? Is it really a Meteora, or...
- [ Local Date - 0099-Aug-04 ] -
- [ Location - Surface ] -
Chloe stands on the desert sands above the underground city. The sleeping humanoid Meteora is still quite some distance away, but its huge size makes it seem far closer.
Chloe stares at the Meteora. As much as she hates it, its appearance overlaps with her memories of Coco. She watches it as it continues to sleep. Until finally she asks aloud, "Why did you come here? Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
Her voice cracks for a moment as she then asks, "A-Are you Coco?" Chloe still has lingering regrets. She wasn't able to be with Coco at the end. Wasn't able to understand her.
"If you're really Coco, is the reason why you're here... Because you resent me?"
The Meteora's head suddenly moves, lifting up ever so slightly as its eyes open. Chloe lets out a gasp, instinctively stepping back. But other than that brief movement, the Meteora doesn't seem to react. It simply stares at Chloe, as if staring into her soul. A great feeling of guilt wells up inside Chloe. She quickly spins around, going into a mad dash back towards the elevator underground.
The Meteora's head simply lowers again, returning to its former position as its eyes close once more.
- [ Local Date - 0099-Aug-28 ] -
- [ Location - Elevator to Surface ] -
Chloe has been sneaking up to the surface regularly for weeks now. She's long since given up the idea that she was doing so without being noticed. She suspects that Professor Julie was allowing it as a means of experimentation. But so far, the Meteora has not moved again.
Sometimes Chloe talks to it. Sometimes she simply watches. Logically she knows that going to the surface like this is not something she should be doing. But it's the only time lately that she really feels anything... Even if those feelings are mostly regret.
Suddenly the elevator stops on its way up. Chloe glances around in confusion, wondering if it's broken. But then a familiar voice echoes in her ear.
"I was wondering where you've been sneaking off to lately."
The form of Noa renders in front of Chloe, a stern look on her face, "So you've been going to the surface to see that Meteora, huh?"
Completely ignoring her comments, Chloe accuses, "You're the one who stopped the elevator."
Noa crosses her arms, "Of course. Did you forget that access is prohibited? The General is going to come down on you hard if he finds out."
Chloe had certainly considered that. But seeing as how it hasn't happened yet, either he too is going along with the experiment or Julie hasn't told him. Which means, "He won't find out as long as you don't say anything."
"He will eventually!" Noa frowns in worried confusion, "Why would you sneak out to see a monster who looks like your dead friend? Stop being stuck in the past, Chloe. That's a Meteora. It doesn't deserve your sympathy!"
Chloe doesn't want to deal with this right now. So she decides to equivocate, "Don't get the wrong idea. Of course I know that isn't Coco. It's the Meteora that ate her. That's why I'm keeping watch over it, so I can shoot it if it starts moving."
Noa seems to believe the explanation, at least partially, as she raises a hand to her chest and offers, "Then I'll go with you!"
Chloe's hand clenches just a little as she quickly replies, "No. You'll distract me."
Noa growls a little as Chloe dismisses her, countering, "Just take me. That giant could wake up at any minute. It'll step on you like a bug... So I'll protect you."
Chloe rolls her eyes, feeling stifled by this pretender who keeps hanging around her, "How can you protect me when you don't have a real body?"
Noa raises her fists in determination as she says, "I can fight if I mobilize a fleet of Argos drones! Besides, I can't let you go alone." She then smiles smugly, "And since I don't have an actual body, I can't get stomped on. See? I'm invincible! I don't need to back down against a stupid giant."
Chloe is clearly not getting through that stubborn nature of Noa's. Yet still she tries to force the issue, "Then I'll call you if it wakes up. I don't need you now."
Noa gasps in surprise, "You don't need me!? I'm this city's greatest treasure! And the best co-pilot you could ever have. How could you say you don't--"
But Chloe cuts her off, saying sternly, "Just get the elevator working again. I'm a Designed Human. I'm tougher than the average person. Don't worry about me." Noa finally seems to be wearing down somewhat as she hums in thought. Seeing she's getting through, Chloe continues, "I'll call you if I feel like I'm in danger. Okay?"
This seems to do the trick as Noa asks hopefully, "Will you really call me?"
Chloe nods, "Yes, I promise."
Noa smiles, finally giving in as she says, "Okay. You can rely on me, Chloe." She pauses for a moment before asking, "Chloe?" Chloe tilts her head questioningly, before Noa asks, "If you just want something that looks like Coco, aren't I enough? You don't need to go to the surface--"
Chloe can feel her blood boiling at the suggestion, but she keeps it deep inside as she flatly says, "You're Noa, not Coco." Noa sighs quietly in disappointment. The elevator shudders as it starts to rise again and Noa's form vanishes from view.
As she heads towards the surface again, Chloe considers Noa's point of view. Chloe knows Noa is right to fear that humanoid Meteora. It's not Coco. But there's no mistake that the Meteora came from Coco. If that's the case, then Chloe has to go. As long as a part of Coco is waiting for her.
- [ Local Date - 0099-Aug-28 ] -
- [ Location - Surface ] -
On the surface once more, Chloe stands, staring out across the distance at the giant. She hasn't said a word yet, simply watching the monster sleep. The sight of it sleeping, looking so much like Coco, causes a flood of memories. And as she watches, Chloe starts to hum a tune. A familiar one, from a song that Coco used to sing.
As if responding to the music, the Meteora's head lifts up, eyes opening once more. Chloe doesn't run this time, she holds her ground as she continues to hum. She can't tell if it can see, the only movement it's shown is its eyes opening.
But the Meteora's gaze seems so kind. It makes Chloe feel that it's enjoying the tune. As much as Coco once did.
- [ Local Date - 0099-Sep-23 ] -
- [ Location - Julie's Lab ] -
Julie exclaims excitedly, "I finally found a way! A way to take a sample of the disappearing Meteora cells! The city council has agreed to dismantle the Meteora. Since, after studying it, I have discovered a means to extract the Black Object... The Meteora's core!" She raises her cybernetic hands, wiggling the long spindly fingers in anticipation.
She goes on to explain, raising a long finger, "It's the energy source that powers its massive frame. I'm guessing the core is similar to the Makhia's power source, the Metallic Object. Though on a far grander scale. If we can extract and use it, or figure out how it works, it would be a huge discovery and accelerate mobile weapon technology by light years!"
Julie taps her chin thoughtfully, "We'll probably need the Makhias to dismantle it, so get to work!" She stares expectantly at the other three in the room.
One of those three, the Makhia pilot Yamato, asks, "In other words, you want us to kill it, right?" He grins, placing his hands on his hips, "Well, no problem! Killing Meteoras is what we're about." He turns to look at Chloe, asking, "Right?"
Chloe is oddly silent on the matter as she simply looks back at Yamato. He seems to notice, asking curiously, "Hm? What's wrong, Chloe?" Chloe still says nothing as she looks uncertain.
This seems to get Julie's attention who asks in a mocking tone, "What is it? What's with the sour face? You want to say something? You have a problem?" With more knowing resignation in her voice she says, "Don't tell me... You think we shouldn't dismantle it."
Chloe quickly retorts, "I didn't say that, but--"
Julie cuts her off, "Good then! That is a Meteora imitating the human form. We need to dismantle it in order to extract the Black Object!" She raises her cybernetic hands to her face as if to rub her eyes, once more mocking, "I can't have you crying not to kill it just because it looks a bit like Coco."
Chloe is used to the Professor's rude behaviour, though it still stings her a little. Yet she says nothing, simply staying quiet.
It's the last person in the room, Prometheus's chief operator, Aoba, who speaks up pleadingly, "Please stop, Professor. You're going too far." Aoba then turns to face Chloe, saying with sympathy, "Chloe, I understand how you feel. You don't want to kill it because it looks like Coco. But that's not Coco."
Chloe replies quickly, "I know..." She pauses for a moment, before then explaining, "But Coco sang to that Meteora. She tried to talk to it."
Aoba scoffs a little, saying seriously, "You've gotta have a few screws loose if you think you can talk to something like that. She decided to get near it and it got her killed. That's why you hate the Meteoras, am I wrong?"
Chloe looks down for a moment as she considers how she feels about them. She starts, "I hate them, of course..." She's been fighting and destroying them repeatedly for over a year.
"... But I've been thinking this whole time... Why did Coco go out to the surface? Why alone, when she was blind with poor legs? Maybe Coco didn't wish to die... At least, that's what I want to believe. That it wasn't her wish to be killed or eaten by the Meteora. I hate the Meteora for taking her life away. But why then? Why does that Meteora seem so at peace?"
Chloe looks up again, "If that Meteora has inherited Coco's thoughts, if there's a reason it came back, then it's probably to see me."
Julie hmphs, "No, the reason that humanoid Meteora isn't moving is simply to regenerate. It's not doing anything for your sake. I mean, you went against your orders and went to the surface to see it and it didn't even try to move."
Aoba looks shocked as he asks, "Chloe, you ignored orders and went out to the surface?"
Yamato likewise looks concerned as he asks, "Are you okay? You don't actually think that's Coco, right?"
Chloe is starting to feel extremely uncomfortable. As much as she wants to outwardly deny it, she can't seem to form the words. She finally starts trying to say, "That's not--"
But Julie cuts her off again, "Even IF that humanoid originated from Coco, that's the Meteora that absorbed her. An enemy that threatens humanity. And the information we can harvest from an enemy on the surface is bountiful indeed! What we learn can change the way we fight Meteoras forever."
Julie brings a spindly finger up to her chin, her eyes wide in wondrous glee, "It could even change human existence!" She grins, "I mean that's a Meteora that's absorbed a human. We've got that treasure right in front of us! How could I not tear it apart and study it!?"
Chloe remains silent. She has no argument against Julie. The Meteoras are the enemy of humanity. If they're not stopped, the entire world could be wiped out.
But...
Unable to think clearly anymore, Chloe spins around, saying, "Excuse me..." She quickly walks out of the lab.
- [ Local Date - 0099-Oct-02 ] -
- [ Location - Coco Coconoe Residence ] -
Chloe quickly stands up from her seat as General Deiter, the commanding officer of Prometheus, enters the sunroom, "General! What are you doing here?"
General Deiter calmly walks into the room, "At ease, Lieutenant." He glances around at the various plants and flowers blooming, "I see you've taken good care of Miss Coconoe's plants since her unfortunate departure."
Chloe slowly sits down, not particularly wanting to discuss that topic right now. So she remains silent. The General seems to sympathize with her, saying, "My apologies... The reason I came by was to actually speak about the Meteora on the surface."
Chloe freezes. Did one of the others actually go and tell Deiter about her trips to the surface? Or perhaps he already knew after all? Chloe dare not ask though, quietly waiting for him to continue.
The General doesn't seem to indicate either way, maintaining a strong poker face as he starts, "Have you heard some of the talk amongst the Makhia pilots about the Meteora? Some of them say that the Thorn Waves, the devastating attacks that can turn all matter it touches into dust, can sometimes sound like a song."
Chloe looks confused, "A song?" She's been hit by a Meteora's Thorn Wave a number of times, surviving only thanks to the defensive barrier the Makhias have. And while it's true they act a lot like sound waves, they most definitely do not sound like a song.
General Deiter nods in confirmation, "Yes. A strange rumour, don't you think?" He starts to wander around the sunroom, glancing at the blooming Dahlias, "And yet, if I recall correctly, Coco Coconoe was singing to the Meteora that killed her, shortly before her death. Perhaps there's some truth to the rumour after all?"
Chloe is still confused as she asks, "What does it matter? Are you saying we should try singing to the humanoid Meteora?" Chloe doesn't outwardly admit that the Meteora had responded to her humming. She's not yet sure whether Deiter knows if she's been going to the surface.
General Deiter pauses in his wandering, giving Chloe a studious look. But he then seems to completely ignore her question, continuing, "Did you know that the Makhia's energy conversion barrier has another function? It normally functions by converting attacks it receives into energy to power counterattacks. But if you don't use the Counter Assistance while converting and instead take the Meteora's Thorn Wave with your arms stretched out, you can scan for information."
Chloe is definitely having a hard time following this conversation. Especially as she's never heard of this feature before, "Scan for information? What kind of information?"
The General doesn't give Chloe a definitive answer, musing, "Perhaps you'll get a chance to see for yourself at some point."
The man is being quite mysterious. And Chloe doubts whether attempting such a thing would be a good idea, given the danger that a Thorn Wave presents. She tries to prod further, saying, "The professor never mentioned anything like that to me before."
Not wavering from his poker face, the General replies, "Because Professor Julie doesn't want to use this function very much. She probably already thinks there's no need for us to hear the Meteora's songs."
The General begins to make his way out of the sunroom again, asking on the way out, "But if they are trying to sing to us... Shouldn't we try to listen?"
Chloe simply watches the General leave, having very little in the way of answers from the conversation. But many more questions.
- [ Local Date - 0099-Oct-09 ] -
- [ Location - Coco Coconoe Residence ] -
"No! You're wrong, Chloe! I can confidently tell you that it isn't Coco."
Chloe and Noa are arguing again over the nature of the Meteora.
Noa holds her hand to her chest, saying emphatically, "That's because I'm modeled after Coco, my feelings should match with the original's. If I were Coco, I wouldn't come see you if I turned into a Meteora. I wouldn't want you to see me as a monster, and I wouldn't make my friend look so miserable."
Chloe shakes her head, "But you're not Coco. You may look like her, but you don't think like her."
Noa reels back in painful shock, "...!"
Chloe looks down at the floor, "Besides, I even doubt if Coco and I were ever 'friends' to begin with. If we were friends, I would've realized the pain she was in fighting her incurable disease." She clenches her fist, feeling guilty and angry at herself for her failure, "I would've stayed with her until the end and not make her choose to go to the surface. I thought I was her friend, but I kept failing to understand her."
Chloe looks up at Noa again, "That's why I don't know how she feels. I don't know what Coco wants, or what I should do... Coco isn't here to answer me anymore."
Noa waves her hand quickly, "Snap out of it! It's not about what Coco wants! It's about what you want, Chloe! Didn't Coco help you become more human so you could decide that for yourself?"
Before Chloe can respond though, Noa's form suddenly distorts as she gasps in surprise, "What!?"
Chloe watches in confusion, "Noa, what's wrong?"
Noa quickly looks around, before saying, "Someone's attacking the server cluster... My quantum cores are being destroyed! I think it's--" But before Noa can explain any further, she vanishes.
"Noa! Noa!" Chloe calls out several times, but there is no response. What happened?
- [ Local Date - 0099-Oct-11 ] -
- [ Location - Hangar Access ] -
It's been a couple of days, but there's been no sign of Noa. Nor any indication about whether she even still exists. As described, all her quantum cores were destroyed in what is being labeled a terrorist attack. A faction within the city that is trying to fight against the isolationist policy that is being enforced by the council and Prometheus.
Though all that doesn't really matter to Chloe right now, because...
Today is the day.
The day that the plan to dismantle the Meteora is being performed. The plan is for Yamato to use his Mahkia to perform the dismantling. Chloe has been urged to avoid interfering.
But can she really do that?
No. That's not going to work for her. She won't be able to save the Meteora then.
Chloe makes her way through the Prometheus facility, heading towards the hangar where her Makhia is stored. She reaches the main doors leading into it, but when she raises her hand to the access screen, it flashes red with angry buzzing. Another try and it fails once again.
A disappointed sigh then comes from nearby, "Seems like that humanoid is just that important to you."
Chloe spins around, finding Julie standing there with a frown on her face, "Were you planning on launching the Alto Makhia?" But before Chloe can respond, Julie simply waves her cybernetic hand, "I don't even need to ask. Just so you know..."
Julie crosses her metallic arms, giving Chloe a hard stare, "You're going to regret getting in my way."
Chloe isn't sure what to even say at this point, simply gasping in surprise at the hostility directed at her.
Julie groans as she rubs her head with her long fingers, "What's with the disrespect? Have I been too nice lately? You're obviously prepared for your punishment, right?" She raises her hand in Chloe's direction.
A sudden intense pain hits Chloe from within, forcing her to her knees as she groans under whatever effect Julie has managed to inflict upon her. As Chloe kneels there, Julie tuts, "Chloe, you're my guinea pig, a Designed Human I created. It's time you finally realize that you're my toy. Know your place! You're just my plaything."
More pain barrages Chloe. She cries out. Julie is hardly sympathetic though as she angrily says, "Serves you right, Chloe. This is your fault for pissing me off. Maybe I'll rip you apart and rebuild you?" Chloe can't respond, her jaw clenched from the pain. Her vision is blurring, her hearing dulled. She's having trouble breathing, her lungs feeling like they're rock solid. The pain and lack of oxygen is overwhelming her consciousness as she starts to feel herself fading.
In her state, Chloe barely registers the sound of the gunshot.
The pain suddenly fades. Chloe starts panting, taking in quick breaths as she starts to recover. As things start to return to normal, Chloe looks up to find the cybernetic body of Professor Julie lying on the ground, a giant hole in her head showing wires and circuitry beneath.
Turning to look at the person standing over her, Chloe is surprised to find it's General Deiter, the smoking revolver still in his hand.
Slowly getting to her feet as her breathing slows, Chloe starts to say, "General, you didn't have to kill--"
Deiter turns towards Chloe and shakes his head, "It was necessary to do so, if we wish to prevent the Meteora's destruction. You need to launch in the Alto Makhia, now. The dismantling has already started. I've released the hangar access lock."
Chloe isn't entirely sure why the General wants to protect the Meteora too, given his position and his leadership in the defense against them for years. But she's still shaken from the pain Julie inflicted on her, so doesn't ask. Especially as it aligns with her own desires.
Suddenly there is a distorted chuckling coming from nearby. The two of them turn in the direction of Julie's fallen body. It's not moving, but a voice is still coming from it with an electronic warble, as if from a damaged speaker, "Stupid Deiter, it seems like you've been driven crazy by that humanoid too."
"It's no use. You can't launch the Alto Makhia, or any of the others. I've already locked them with my passcode. And you'll never be able to break it in time." Julie chuckles some more. General Deiter starts walking up to Julie's fallen body as she continues, "The Meteora will soon be in my hands. This marks a leap in human history. I won't allow you fools to get in my way--"
General Deiter raises his revolver and fires once again into Julie's cybernetic head. This time it pierces all the way through, creating a large hole into and out the other side. The General says, "I respect your tenacity. Professor Julie, you were unmistakably a valuable member of humanity." He then turns to Chloe, "You need to go, now."
Chloe is still in shock that the General just fired again, finishing Julie off. But she still manages to ask, "Go where? The Makhias won't work..."
Apparently undisturbed by the obstacle presented to them by the late Professor Julie, General Deiter firmly says, "To the surface. You have to convince the Meteora to leave, before the Ares Makhia can dismantle it."
Chloe nods a little, taking one last look at Julie's body before turning and heading for the elevator to the surface.
- [ Local Date - 0099-Oct-11 ] -
- [ Location - Surface ] -
Chloe runs out onto the desert sands. The familiar sight of the humanoid Meteora sleeping inside its partially broken shell can be seen in its usual place. However, the large form of a Makhia is slowly approaching the Meteora, a massive blade in its hands.
Chloe's eyes are wide as she looks at the Ares Makhia, before turning back towards the Meteora and calling out, "Please, run!"
The Meteora is motionless as the Ares Makhia continues to approach. Chloe calls out again, "Why aren't you moving!? Don't you see the danger approaching?" Still, the Meteora doesn't move, as Chloe laments, "My voice isn't getting through to it..."
The Ares Makhia continues to approach, Chloe pleading with a quiet whimper, "Please..."
There is a loud crunching sound, cracks beginning to rapidly spread out from the already broken section of the shell. It shatters, the large pieces falling atop the field of dahlias that had bloomed beneath it.
The humanoid Meteora rises up out of the broken shell, reaching its full height. It towers over the smaller Makhia, almost five times its size. Its long hair flows as its head turns towards the robot, which has now stopped in its tracks.
Chloe looks in surprise first at the awakened Meteora, then at the Makhia, "It's stopped?" She raises her hand to her ear, touching the headset she has there as she tunes into the Prometheus channels. She can hear...
Yamato says with some panic, <"I'm asking you to explain it to me! Why isn't my Makhia moving? What's going on, Aoba!?">
Aoba's response doesn't appear directed to Yamato though as he asks, <"Why are you doing this? Why are you betraying Prometheus, General!?">
General Deiter's voice replies, <"I cannot sit idly by and watch us lose such an awe-inspiring creature. I suppose it was my fate to be so enchanted. I hoped you would understand.">
Aoba tries to respond, his disbelief clear, <"You... You're a--!"> But there is a gunshot, Aoba crying out in pain.
Yamato cries out, <"Aoba! ... General Deiter, stop this, please! The Meteora's coming! I can't move!>
The Ares Makhia is defenseless as the humanoid Meteora lumbers over to it. It leans down, reaching forward to dig its fingers into a gap in the Makhia's chest armor. The cry of straining metal echoes across the desert as the Meteora struggles, before tearing the chest armor free and sending it flying.
The inner components in the chest of the Makhia now accessible, the Meteora opens its mouth wide and lunges its head down. There is the repeated sound of crunching, with Yamato calling out in fear, <"It's eating...! It's eating the Makhia!">
From her position on the ground nearby, Chloe can only watch on in horror as she calls out, "Yamato!"
General Deiter's voice filters in over the channels again, <"Incredible. It's eating the Makhia's energy source. Lieutenant, can you see this? That is the new breed of Meteoras. Can you believe it? We saved that almighty incarnation of beauty!"> He starts laughing.
Chloe squeezes her eyes shut. She can't watch this anymore. The sound of the Meteora eating through the Makhia's structure. Yamato's cries. Deiter's mad laughter.
She blocks it all out...
That's when she notices it. The sweet smell of flowers... Dahlias.
"Chloe!"
The familiar voice of Noa brings Chloe back to her senses. Chloe opens her eyes again, seeing the rendered form of her co-pilot in front of her. Noa says, "Stop spacing out!"
Chloe looks at Noa in surprise "Noa! You're okay?"
Noa glances away. Her form is still visibly fritzing in front of Chloe's eyes, but at least she's sticking around as she says, "I'm... Not exactly okay. But I managed to temporarily rebuild myself from fragments."
Chloe surprises herself at the feeling of relief she is having, learning that Noa wasn't completely destroyed. So much so she isn't really sure how to express herself, instead saying, "It's unfortunate that the terrorists targeted your cores..."
Noa shakes her head and crosses her arms, "You're wrong about that. Deiter's the one who destroyed my quantum computer. That pervert!"
Chloe asks in confusion, "General Deiter?" The General again... Chloe can't fathom what is going through that man's mind.
Noa nods quickly, "He's crazy! He tried to exterminate me! Just because I was trying to stop you from seeing the Meteora. Because that humanoid Meteora is super dangerous! Just look at it!"
She waves her hand in the direction of the Meteora, which has apparently finished munching on the immobile Ares Makhia and has backed off. Noa asks Chloe, "You see it now, don't you!? That's a threat that should be killed immediately!"
Apparently Chloe can't see it though as she replies, "Another one of your overreactions. That Meteora isn't that dangerous."
Noa seems baffled by Chloe's inability to grasp the situation, "It IS that dangerous! If that thing is Coco... Then its goal is to take you away, Chloe! I mean, what else could it be? It took Coco's form and appeared before you. There's no other reason I can think of but to take you away!"
Noa clasps her hands to her chest, eyes filled with fear, "That Meteora is trying to take you away from me!" Chloe feels a deep pang in her chest. Noa seems... So human right now. And yet...
Noa reaches a hand out to Chloe, "Now, let's go home, Chloe! I don't want to be here a second longer." She looks at Chloe with wishful hope.
...
"Go home where?"
Noa's face falls.
Chloe asks, "Back to the collapsing Prometheus? Or the sunroom without Coco?"
Noa seems hurt, but is determined to continue trying, "Anywhere! Just not here! Not with that Meteora!"
As she is saying this, said Meteora has turned and started walking towards Chloe. Its massive form looms over her, capable of killing her in an instant if it so wished.
Yet Chloe feels no fear.
She watches as the Meteora kneels down, its hands slowly reaching down towards the ground in front of Chloe, where it cups them for a brief moment. It then moves its hands away again, leaving behind an object. A replica of the flower-shaped Meteora that it once was, when it killed Coco Coconoe. But this one is much smaller, roughly human sized.
Chloe stares at the miniature Meteora, starting to say, "After losing Coco, I lived to kill Meteoras."
Chloe starts to walk towards the miniature Meteora, "I think I wanted to be forgiven by doing that, by hating the Meteoras." The petals of the Meteora fold open, revealing the shining red core within.
"The day before Coco died... She told me her memory had been failing her. That it was taking all her energy just to keep on living. And that every day, she would lose a bit of herself. She didn't want that... She wanted to stay the Coco that I knew, until the end. So... In a weak voice..."
"She asked me to kill her."
Chloe starts to reach a hand out to the miniature Meteora, "But I couldn't do it... How could I? It hurt to even think about it. And in my pain, I hurt her. The last words I ever said to her..."
"I wish I'd never met you."
Chloe has regretted it ever since. She still regrets it. Every time she pulled the trigger against a Meteora, she was wishing for forgiveness. That's why, if Coco comes back, Chloe won't refuse her anymore. No matter what.
"Why? WHY!?"
As Chloe stares into the opening of the miniature Meteora, Noa calls out with sadness in her voice, "You promised me! You promised you would call me if you sensed danger! You promised to call me!"
Chloe closes her eyes calmly, a strange serenity falling over her, "The Meteora isn't dangerous. Coco told me that, Noa."
The Meteora begins to slowly close its petals around Chloe. The sound of Noa calling her name in despair fades away. And Chloe can only think...
It feels warm...
/ \
/ ARIADNE SYSTEM \
< THREAD #24 >
\ REPLAY COMPLETE /
\ /
The screen flashes up in front of Chloe, before the augmented reality bubble fades away to once again reveal the real world within Coco's residence. Chloe falls back into the couch, a look of complete shock and confusion on her face.
The events she just witnessed... Could something like that really happen? Could there be any truth to it at all? That last date... The 11th of October. That's still two days from now.
Is this system capable of predicting the future?
It wasn't just that though, the events of the past it showed... While some aspects of them were true, others were completely different.
It's true that Professor Julie has been able to figure out how to extract samples from the Meteora... But so far there's been no talk of dismantling it.
Could one altered decision of Chloe's change things that much?
Speaking of Professor Julie... Chloe knew she had a mean streak, but could she really go that far?
And General Deiter! Chloe has seen absolutely no signs of anything like the madness he displayed at the end.
And Noa...
It couldn't all be true, could it?
Chloe clutches at her head, far too many thoughts swirling around inside it. She can feel herself starting to lose a grip on what's real or not...
No. She can't trust this system. She's not even sure where it came from. A predictive algorithm like this, if it turns out to be accurate, is insanely advanced. And yet she's heard nothing of its development or deployment. If Julie had created it, she'd be bragging about it to everyone who would listen, and even those who wouldn't. And Chloe has heard no one else mention it before.
Is she the only one who has access to it? Why her?
Chloe falls over to lie on her side, staring at the wall across from her. She can't figure it out right now... She has no answers... And whether those events were true or not, they've created doubt in her about who she can even trust anymore. Who could she tell about this?
Would anyone even understand?