Mattias
[ The air tastes like magic and lightning. He shields his eyes against the unnamable swirling colours of the overground, a stray spark of magic eating into his coat sleeve. The sky is dark around the maelstrom of energy-- ]
Dr. Bennett
--Matt? Are you still with us?
Mattias
Er, sorry. Can you repeat the qu...estion?
Dominic
There's a story on the horizon. A big one. And the DSC really don't want anyone nosing around.
Pandora
[ She pokes her head out of the box, a little dizzy, and her eyes fix on the familiar silhouette. ] Lysander!
Lysander
[ Lowering his gun, with faint exasperation. ] Pandora, dear, I'm in the midst of a rescue.
Mattias
I'm not hiding anything! I really am nobody!
Terra
[ A bead of sweat shivers on her forehead. Whispering through gritted teeth: ] Your hand.
Mattias
[ Distracted by the agent who's growling at them. ] Sorry?
Terra
[ She grips the pocket watch in her fist and drops all subtlety. ] Put out your hand!
Mattias
[ He pulls out his pocket watch protectively, holds it in front of him. ] ...But. I used to be a shard-bearer, too.
Soren
An overground shard--a piece of the overground. Magic, crystallized.
Ellie
There are only a few in the world. Highly prized artefacts of great power. [ She clucks her tongue. ] Won't the DSC be cross!
Felix
[ Ticking them off one by one, starting with Terra. ] You absconded with two of our shards and helped a higher power escape DSC custody. [ To Soren, half-hidden. ] You are a weapon of mass destruction in short pants. [ Levelling a finger at Mattias. ] And you...
Felix
[ He pauses, fishing for a reason. Shrugs. ] ...You're just kind of annoying me.
Terra
Soren's just a boy! He can be taught, like anyone can--like you were!
Hawthorn
He's dangerous.
Ellie
I know. But he's my brother, I can't simply--simply banish him from my sight on a whim!
Jackie
I guess it was scary for you to kill all those people. Even if they deserved it.
Mattias
[ Curling his hands over Pandora. ] I won't let him take you. I p-promised.
Dr. Sebastian
Daddy shouldn't make promises he can't keep.
Terra
Do you know what fey use to navigate the unpredictable, ever-shifting wiles of the overground?
Soren
[ He scowls in deep concentration, looking for the answer in the tips of his shoes. ]
Terra
[ She holds her hand out, palm flat. ] Buddy system.
Director Lennox
We psychics must rely on one other to survive. To protect each other. To keep ourselves in check. It's the nature of our unique social contract.
Ruby
People like you will do anything to pretend we're "normal." Ignore us, or harass us, or drug us out of our bleeding minds!
Dimitri
All my comrades and I want is to be on the side of divinity. Nothing more, nothing less.
Jackie
You bet on the wrong horse.
Soren
[ Evenly. ] We're not here to perform. We're not petitioning you for aid. We are offering you an opportunity to invest on the ground floor.
Tai
Hello, cousin.
Terra
You're here for my shard, aren't you?
Tai
That's the game plan. But hey, who knows how this goes? Maybe I get your shard. Maybe you give me your shard. Maybe you overpower me. I don't know how this goes.
Hawthorn
If you are to be caught up in whatever foolish thing the boy is planning... it is out of my control, no matter my wish. So be it.
Soren
The world is going to change.
Pandora
You mean... we get to try again?
Mattias
We get to try again. As many times as it takes.
BLUE DAYS, BLACK NIGHTS
Lysander
Does that help you? Waging emotional warfare on yourself with pathological levels of pessimism to convince your psychic powers you're on the verge of death?
Mattias
Er... no, I don't think it aff...ects anything.
Lysander
[ Severe. ] Then stop it.