Ned wanted to run away.
He should have listened to Ida when she told him to stay in his room. If he'd known Team Chaos would be waiting for them at the end of the corridor, he probably would have.
But he hadn't. And now the smell of blood made him dizzy, even from the doorway where he was hiding.
The woman who'd killed Ida stood still, still aiming the gun at Darius. Paris and Ferry were frozen, and Darius hadn't moved a muscle. Corrosion and Ida's bodies lay on the floor like discarded toys, and while he'd killed plenty of enemies in games, nothing could have prepared him for the real thing.
Somehow, Ned stayed on his feet. If he fell down here, that would only make things worse.
It felt like an eternity passed between the moment Ida collapsed and the next move Darius made.
"Ida?" he asked innocently, leaning down and shaking her shoulder.
Wild Claw took a cautious step back, not letting her focus waver for an instant.
"Ida. You have to get up," Darius said more forcefully, shaking the girl's shoulder again.
Naturally, she didn't move. Her one eye stared into nothing, and Ned couldn't bear to look at the mangled remains. If he did, he was sure he'd faint, throw up, or both.
"Whoa. What happened here?" Ferry's voice seemed to break the spell, although she still looked like she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing.
"The little girl shot Corrosion. She would have shot the rest of us too if I hadn't killed her. Not sure what that guy's doing, though."
"You killed her..." Darius said quietly, leaning back on his heels as he seemed to absorb the information. "Ida..."
He reached for her wrist and held it gently, searching for a pulse.
"She isn't breathing," Darius continued softly. "She has no pulse. Her brain is half destroyed. I suppose you did kill her. Ida..."
"You couldn't tell she's dead from the caved in skull?" Wild Claw spat. "People don't survive having their heads broken like that!"
"You wanted to kill her. I tried to stop her from killing you, and you killed her instead. Is that how this works? Aren't people not supposed to kill each other? People can't change if they're dead. They can't repent, can't become better."
Finally, Darius turned so his gaze was focused on the woman who'd killed Ida.
"But I guess Ida was right. You're beyond redemption. I should kill you all. Then you'll stop."
"I'll shoot!" she screeched, hardening her gaze. "I mean it. Don't move."
Darius ignored her and slowly stood.
"What's the most efficient way to make sure all of you die?" he asked quietly.
The same popping sound echoed through the room, and Darius stared down at the hole in his chest. It must have missed anything vital for his robot body to function, as he quickly decided to ignore it.
"That was your last bullet. You can't do anything now," he said. "I'll make sure you all die for killing her. Ida was the most important person. No matter how we argued, she was..."
The expression on his face. Ned was sure that if the robot had the capacity to, tears would be running down his face.
"A world without Ida isn't worth it," Darius continued. His voice was eerily level, perhaps because he didn't possess the capacity to cry. "I know. I'll send all of Arx Nubibus to the bottom of the ocean. You can't survive down there, and neither can I. You'll all drown and the pressure will destroy me eventually. The ocean's so deep. We can all become fish food."
Ned couldn't stand back any longer. The insinuation was terrifying. Not only Team Chaos, but everyone on Arx Nubibus - Joey, Cleo, Courtney, Sawyer and himself included - would die if that happened. Maybe Cleo could get them somewhere safe, but even that wasn't a guarantee. How much of the surface could she see? Was the surface even safe for them?
"No, Darius!" Ned ran out and grabbed the robot's arm, ignoring the blood on his hands.
"Ned. Ida's dead. They killed her. Why?"
"She shot first, idiot!" Wild Claw yelled. "Ferry, can this guy really plunge the whole city into the ocean?"
"No way. Nobody would have that kind of power," Paris said, almost as if he was trying to convince himself.
"Don't test it!" Ned yelled, pulling on Darius' arm again. "Darius, you can't kill everyone! What about me? What about my brother?"
"Ida was more important. And if I drown everyone, these Miracles that made Ida so angry will disappear too. No one can hurt her precious ship anymore."
A shudder seemed to run through the ship. Terror pooled like ice in Ned's stomach. What was Darius doing?
"Let's get out of here!" Ferry said, beckoning Paris and Wild Claw to her. "We'll tell Twin what happened and figure something out." Her expression seemed to be some twisted combination of delight and horror, and Ned didn't have time to comprehend it as Team Chaos vanished.
"Darius, was Ida Odin?" Ned asked. The puzzle pieces were all there. He hadn't wanted to admit that Ida, as nice as she was, could have also been Odin. But now he had no choice but to confirm it.
"Ida...Odin..." Darius muttered. "I suppose that would make sense. So I hurt Ida even more than I thought. What was I thinking? Courtney was never on Ida's side. She turned me against her."
"No! Courtney was trying to do what she thought was right. Please, Darius. Don't destroy Arx." Ned's voice weakened to little more than a whimper as tears rolled down his cheeks. He took the robot's other hand, which was even more drenched in Ida's blood, and held them tightly.
"Why not? It destroyed Ida. Even before the Miracles. She was angry at the corruption in the city, how everyone seemed so foolish and small-minded. General Evans wanted more power than he should have been allowed. Resources were being wasted, and we had to come up with ways to make up for that.
"Arx Nubibus broke Ida's heart. I know. I saw every anxiety she had before I awoke. And now it's finally destroyed her. I can't forgive any of you."
His complacent expression seemed set. Ice seemed to run through every nerve pathway in Ned's body as he realized he probably wouldn't be able to change Darius' mind.
He let go and stumbled back, then ran as fast as he could down the dim metal corridors, hoping he could somehow find a way back to Cleo before it was too late.
Arx Nubibus was in far more danger than any of them had thought.
