"So this is it? Is this when the future comes to crush us and replace us?"
From the center of the arena, Shymphony watches the blue sky rip open.
"If they are the harbingers of evolution..." Her voice, hoarse but unwavering. "...I will make them remember that this world will resist."
Ships of all sizes drift through the portal, claiming the sky and stealing the courage of all who witness the anomaly. Her gaze drifts toward Meter, but all she can see is a silhouette beside the Tree.
"So that's your answer, then?"
She feels the deafening silence that has consumed her Mother.
"Very well. I know exactly what I have to do."
Shymphony turns her gaze back to the portal as smaller ships begin descending toward the ground across all of Atlantis.
Before the metal even touches soil, they drop.
Androids.
Animals and humans run in desperation. Some hide, others throw themselves into the raging currents.
Shymphony leaves the arena, heading for a nearby ship.
"Hey, wait! What are you going to do?"
Sarah, dagger in hand, catches up to her in the chaos.
"I don't have time to explain. But I'm asking you again: dance for me!"
Though she doesn't understand, Sarah accepts the request and runs after Shymphony once more.
As they near the ship, several androides block their path. Sarah takes the lead. Her dagger glows intensely, arcs of lightning beginning to fill the area. When the first android is struck and hits the ground hard, the others are forced to dodge—almost as if dancing—as they lunge to attack.
One after another, the androids fall. Then, with a focused blast of energy, Sarah aims upward and strikes the ship, which plummets, powerless.
"No more!" The whisper is almost inaudible, a mere breath from her lips.
"Good work. Now, I have to get up there!" Shymphony points her fist and shield toward the rift in the sky.
Sarah is beginning to understand what must be done. She sees the ship as her answer. Once they're airborne, they head for the portal. Standing atop the ship, Shymphony vibrates her fist with such force that it generates an energy field, growing more intense by the second.
"It was an honor to know you, Sarah. I hope one day you reach your goal. I wish I could have seen you dance again." Tears stream down Shymphony's face.
Sarah's gaze never leaves her, not for an instant. Her clenched fist opens, reaching uselessly to grasp her.
"One more time..." she whispers again.
"Sarah..." Shymphony begins, then pauses. "...you know what you have to do. I'm counting on you."
Only a silence, both physical and mental, echoes through the ascending chaos. Every android, in their ships and on the ground, watches that shooting star defy the sky. Even the animals, the humans, and the non-humans cease their desperate flight to witness the sheer insolence of it.
Close to the rift, the ship begins to break apart. As they near the threshold, Shymphony gives one final push, leaping toward the portal and sending the already-fragmented vessel on a new trajectory, toward the north.
"Survive!"
"Survive!"
A final, mental plea echoes from them both in the same instant, before everything collapses.