𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠︱monty green

xxxi. gone forever

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

FOLLOWING MONTY BACK TO THE CONTROL ROOM WHERE RAVEN WAITED FOR THEM, RILEY WORKED ON BUTTONING UP HER JEANS AS MONTY SLIPPED ON HIS JACKET. Her blonde hair was free of a braid, the twists coming out from her earlier activities. She tucked the strands between her ears as they rushed past the open doorway, to where Raven was in her typical spot in front of the screens, still clicking at her keyboard with wide eyes.

"What is it?" Monty questioned, pacing into the control room and announcing the presence of him and Riley.

"It's right here," Raven answered without looking away from the screen, and waving the pair over to her. "Look at all these layers of security." The words didn't mean much to Riley, but she observed the screen anyways. "More than anything else in the entire ALIE code."

Scanning what Raven was motioning to, Monty was drawn in. "Firewall?" He asked curiously.

"More like a fortress," Raven responded, determined. "She calls it the Citadel. It overlooks the entire city. It's separated by water, like a moat, so - "

"Hold up and slow down," Riley interrupted, holding up a hand before plopping in the open seat next to her. "We have a non-computer geek right here. What are you saying?"

"I'm saying she's hiding something," Raven explained, spinning the chair to the side to look back to Monty. "With Becca's password, I can edit the code. I'm sure of it," she said, grinning with a willing look. Riley was impressed, and ready to agree with her.

However, Monty didn't see it that way. He immediately began shaking his head, opposing Raven's determination to hack into ALIE. "No." The two letter word came out simple, yet firm.

"Monty!" Raven exclaimed desperately, slipping off her chair. "With Becca's password, I can edit the code, I'm sure of it!"

"We've covered this," Monty argued. "We map it from the outside, we don't go in. We tell the others when they come home, and we decide together."

"What if they don't come home?" Raven shot back straightaway, her question catching Riley off guard. She winced at the idea, knowing the group that had left had no idea what Luna had in store for them. It could be completely safe, or much more dangerous than they thought. If they didn't come back, then they were on their own, Riley realized. They'd be left to stop ALIE while carrying the weight of the death from their friends.

While Riley dwelled on the negative impacts of their journey, Monty chose to remain optimistic on their friend's fate. "They're coming home," he declared as if it was already decided. "And they're bringing back a supercomputer built for this. You may be freakishly good, Raven, but you're not an A.I."

Defeated, Raven huffed, plopping herself back into her chair and slamming closed fists onto the desk. "I hate this," she breathed out through gritted teeth. Riley knew Monty was right, though. It was a difficult decision to be made, and it should be with the entire group, not just the three of them.