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Speaker 1: [theme music]

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Speaker 1: Mortal Steel, episode four.

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Speaker 1: Archbishop Gabriel stared at the
projector screen in disbelief, watching Ethan

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Speaker 1: charge the class A demon through the
man's own eyes. It had been such a promising

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Speaker 1: start, too. When he'd descended the
building, somehow still intact, they'd broken

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Speaker 1: out the wine. Technically, it wasn't
supposed to be used in celebration,

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Speaker 1: but Lord knew they needed a win. The
conference room was crowded with people.

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Speaker 1: A few of the nuns had been brought in
to advise on technical issues, if any had

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Speaker 1: arisen. The wine glasses either sat
in front of people, completely forgotten,

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Speaker 1: or their owners drank the rare treat
shockingly fast, eyeing their neighbors'

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Speaker 1: glasses with a nervous itch.

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Speaker 1: Bishop Erica turned to look at
Gabriel, her face solemn.

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry, Gabriel. When he gets
close, I'm detonating him.

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Speaker 1: Gabriel Klein nodded slowly. It was
the rational thing to do. Some of

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Speaker 1: these people probably thought it was
a net victory to kill something that dangerous

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Speaker 1: in trade. He watched as Ethan ducked
an unnaturally fast swing aimed at the

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Speaker 1: cyborg's head, then swung the trinity
blades, only for the weapon to get lodged in

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Speaker 1: the creature's thick armor. Ethan
struggled and failed to pull his arm free.

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Speaker 1: Erica flipped the clear plastic lid
on the detonator.

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Speaker 3: You should have a little faith,
Erica. By the way, I resign my position.

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Speaker 3: [laughs] It seems proper to do that
first.

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Speaker 1: Erica glanced over at him, detonator
still in hand.

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Speaker 2: What?

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Speaker 1: Then Gabriel Klein stood up from his
chair, brushed off his

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Speaker 1: robes, and tackled her.

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Speaker 2: Ah!

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Speaker 1: [crowd murmurs] [upbeat music] The
trinity blades, still stuck in the creature's

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Speaker 1: armor, tore free from his arm with an
awful ripping sound. Blood and mechanical

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Speaker 1: fluids dripped from the wound as he
was hung upside down. His second mind tried to

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Speaker 1: tell him exactly what the fluid was
and what it was for, but he pushed the

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Speaker 1: information away.

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Speaker 3: You put your metal on the inside.

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Speaker 1: Ethan swung around, trying to get
leverage, but he was unable to reach the
creature.

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Speaker 1: It was infuriating being helpless. It
felt like... Well, it felt like

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Speaker 1: being human. Then he heard and felt a
crunching

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Speaker 1: sound above him. Warm fluid dripped
down his body. There was a flash of

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Speaker 1: pain data in his foot, and then
nothing. The demon

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Speaker 1: snarled and spat something to the
ground beside him. His foot.

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Speaker 1: Ethan looked away, trying to stay
focused on what looked like an increasingly
futile

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Speaker 1: battle. The demon's motion let Ethan
swing to the side, and he caught a glimpse

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Speaker 1: inside the church. He rewound the
footage in his mind, and there he saw

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Speaker 1: two things that changed everything.
First,

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Speaker 1: there were people in the church. The
doors may have been destroyed, but there were

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Speaker 1: faces peeking at him from behind the
overturned pews. 17 people.

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Speaker 1: And if there were 17, maybe there
were more. Whoever those poor souls were

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Speaker 1: outside, they weren't his makeshift
congregation.

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Speaker 1: The second thing he saw was the faint
shimmer at the threshold of the church,

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Speaker 1: a barrier of consecration. They
believed in him.

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Speaker 1: They were alive, and they believed in
him.

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Speaker 1: 1,745 combat simulations completed.

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Speaker 1: One victory. Chances of success,

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Speaker 1: 0.00057%.

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Speaker 1: A smile appeared on Ethan's face.
That's all I need.

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Speaker 1: Hey, you still hungry? Why don't you
have another bite? Ethan saw the

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Speaker 1: demon's head turn to the side in a
very human expression of curiosity. Then it

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Speaker 1: lifted his other foot underneath the
slab of dark armor that covered its face. Ethan

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Speaker 1: scrolled through his mods and
selected hydraulic heel with his mind, waited
for the

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Speaker 1: moment the creature bit down-

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Speaker 1: And eighteen and a half tons of force
exploded the demon's face.

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Speaker 1: The hand holding him went limp, and
Ethan fell to the ground. He lunged for its left

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Speaker 1: leg and placed the tree-sized knee
joint in the crook of his elbow. Then he engaged

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Speaker 1: the neck cracker mod. A wedge of
hardened steel welded directly to his

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Speaker 1: endoskeleton ran along the inside of
his bicep and forearm. It was very much

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Speaker 1: like a hydraulic nutcracker. It may
as well have been called The Guillotine.

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Speaker 1: Ethan turned on the hydraulics, and
the neck cracker strained against the demon's

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Speaker 1: armor for a long moment. Then cold
man-made steel crushed the joint

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Speaker 1: and severed the monster's leg at the
knee. The demon fell over, and Ethan rolled out

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Speaker 1: of the way. He rose and stumbled
toward the church on one good leg, but

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Speaker 1: stopped in the doorway, slumping
against it. The sound of armor scraping on the

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Speaker 1: concrete made him turn around.

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Speaker 1: The demon sat on the ground looking
at its stump of a leg. No,

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Speaker 1: that wasn't a stump. It was
regrowing.

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Speaker 1: And its face, mostly an enormous
sideways mouth filled with glowing orange
molars,

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Speaker 1: was healed.

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Speaker 1: A moment later, the leg had healed,
and the demon stood up with casual grace for

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Speaker 1: something so large.

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Speaker 1: Ethan's tired mind noted that the
armor had not regrown, however. Maybe

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Speaker 1: he could use that. He could have
anyway, if he had

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Speaker 1: anything left. Nothing. Nothing but
words left now.

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Speaker 1: Sorry about your face. Didn't realize
it was already messed up.

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Speaker 3: Get out of my way, broken toy.

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 3: You are already defeated.

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Speaker 1: He could hide inside with the others.
The consecrated building would protect him.

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Speaker 1: It would protect him until this thing
tore the building down on top of them all.

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Speaker 1: It didn't matter if it was
consecrated if there was no building. He could
still

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Speaker 1: run. The demon reached out to pull
Ethan from the doorway in much the

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Speaker 1: same way you might move a misbehaving
toddler. Unthinking, Ethan

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Speaker 1: grabbed the monster's enormous hands,

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Speaker 1: threaded his own fingers between the
creature's talons. He forced the hands away

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Speaker 1: from his body, away from his people.
He would

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Speaker 1: not run. Every pressure sensor in
Ethan's body was reporting critical

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Speaker 1: failures. Ethan fought the
overwhelming force with everything he

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Speaker 1: had, but there was no higher effort
than one hundred percent.

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Speaker 1: There was no limit beyond maximum.
Ethan braced himself in the

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Speaker 1: church's doors with what remained of
his body. The creature continued

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Speaker 1: pulling.

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Speaker 1: You will never get

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Speaker 1: through me.

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Speaker 1: Then it tore Ethan's arms from his
body.

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Speaker 1: Pastor Cutter sagged to the ground
before his enemy. He'd

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Speaker 1: given everything.

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Speaker 1: He could die knowing he'd given
everything. He was picked up by the front of his

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Speaker 1: shirt and brought face to face with
the demon. Putrid, bloody breath washed over

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Speaker 1: him. Ethan felt the demon's words
forming in his mind. He felt his own

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Speaker 1: second mind, chipper as always, ready
with its own final quip.

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Speaker 1: But instead of speaking, Ethan reared
his head back and smashed

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Speaker 1: his forehead into the demon's face.
Then again, the

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Speaker 1: beast stumbled backward, dazed and
alarmed. Ethan slipped from its grasp, then

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Speaker 1: lunged at the monster with his one
good leg and slammed it against the creature,

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Speaker 1: knocking it to the ground. He jumped
on its chest, not giving it a single second to

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Speaker 1: recover. Then he brought his head
down in another savage headbutt. Titanium

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Speaker 1: alloy met bone again, and again, and
again.

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Speaker 1: Ethan pounded its skull over and over
with his own. Like a hammer to the nail, the

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Speaker 1: beast's head sank into the concrete.
The sound was wet and vicious. In

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Speaker 1: that moment, he was not a man or a
machine. He was pure violence.

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Speaker 1: Ethan drove the creature deeper into
the concrete, ignoring the warnings, ignoring

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Speaker 1: the damage reports, ignoring the
shouting voices, and even his very own human

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Speaker 1: terror. He pounded the demon's head
into an unrecognizable heap

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Speaker 1: of tainted flesh. Then he lifted his
face to the gray sky and

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Speaker 1: screamed.

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Speaker 1: When he looked down again, the
creature's flesh was already knitting back
together.

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Speaker 1: So he bit down on the edge of the
demon's armor above the shoulder and dragged the

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Speaker 1: body inch by grueling inch toward the
church. A

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Speaker 1: moment later, people he didn't know
streamed out of the church. A dozen hands

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Speaker 1: grabbed the hulking monster and
heaved with him. Strangers.

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Speaker 1: No, not strangers. Humans. People.

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Speaker 1: Like him. At last, they reached the
threshold of the church where,

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Speaker 1: blessedly, the creature's body
ignited as they dragged it through the barrier.

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Speaker 1: [fire whooshing] Even as the corpse
burned beneath him, Ethan dragged the

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Speaker 1: thing by his teeth. He pulled until
there was no enemy, only a

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Speaker 1: pile of ash blowing around the floor
of the consecrated church.

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Speaker 1: Only then did he stop. His second
mind told him the threat was

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Speaker 1: eliminated. Only then did he allow
himself to

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Speaker 1: slump to the ground.

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00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:22,460
Speaker 1: Many hands pulled him deeper into the
church. People were screaming in his ears,

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Speaker 1: except that wasn't screaming. It was

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Speaker 1: cheering.

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Speaker 1: Cheering?

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Speaker 1: Red text flashed on his HUD. He
hadn't even noticed it until now.

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Speaker 1: Emergency shutdown. Three, two,

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Speaker 1: one. Then there was black, and
shortly after that,

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Speaker 1: nothing.

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Speaker 1: [gentle music]

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Speaker 1: Part 6: Paradise

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Speaker 1: [static crackling] Ethan's mind
turned on before he was truly awake. He had no
body,

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Speaker 1: not yet. Text scrolled down his
vision. He could read it, but couldn't turn

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Speaker 1: around. There was nothing to turn. It
was a diagnostic report.

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Speaker 1: Biological status, severe cerebral
hemorrhaging, stable, recoverable,

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Speaker 1: four days. Frontal lobe damage, minor
impedance, recoverable,

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00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:56,340
Speaker 1: 140 days. Left arm, missing, not
recoverable.

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Speaker 1: Right arm, missing, not recoverable.
Left leg, foot

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00:15:02,940 --> 00:15:07,740
Speaker 1: missing, not recoverable. Right leg,
nominal.

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Speaker 1: Endoskeleton, multiple fractures, not
recoverable. Other

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Speaker 1: systems, severe damage, stable, not
recoverable.

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00:15:20,940 --> 00:15:26,780
Speaker 1: Followed by a list of dozens of
subsystems responsible for everything from
digestion

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00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:32,340
Speaker 1: to circulation. Why was he seeing
this? Electronic

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00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:37,460
Speaker 1: status, Hail Mary implant, minor
damage, not recoverable.

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00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:43,540
Speaker 1: Followed by a list of hundreds of
electronic systems, most of which were damaged
or

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00:15:43,580 --> 00:15:48,540
Speaker 1: destroyed. The implant was damaged?
That couldn't be good.

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00:15:49,740 --> 00:15:55,040
Speaker 1: As if in reply to the thought,
another line of text scrolled into view.
Estimated

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00:15:55,140 --> 00:15:57,920
Speaker 1: lifespan, 46 days.

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Speaker 1: Proceed with boot sequence.

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Speaker 1: Y/N. Then there was a flashing
cursor.

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Speaker 4: I don't understand. Are you asking me
if I want to live?

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00:16:13,860 --> 00:16:19,580
Speaker 1: Proceed with boot sequence. Y/N. For

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00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:24,540
Speaker 1: reasons he found difficult to
explain, Ethan hesitated.

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00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:32,040
Speaker 1: But there were still people counting
on him. There was only one

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00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:33,059
Speaker 1: real answer.

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00:16:34,580 --> 00:16:34,999
Speaker 4: Yes.

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Speaker 4: [electronic sounds]

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Speaker 1: Ethan stared up at the support beams
of a dark room. A tiny hand waved

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Speaker 1: around in front of his face.

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Speaker 4: Are you alive? [clapping] Hello?

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00:16:54,740 --> 00:16:58,380
Speaker 4: Ugh, Fleabag, when was the last time
you bathed?

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00:17:00,180 --> 00:17:03,780
Speaker 4: Last time I did what? Ugh, never
mind.

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00:17:03,900 --> 00:17:08,540
Speaker 1: Ethan tried to sit up, but as soon as
he did, alarms, both biological and

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00:17:08,620 --> 00:17:10,080
Speaker 1: technological, sounded.

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Speaker 4: You're pretty beat up. Hold on, I'll
help.

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Speaker 1: Fleabag put his small arms behind
Ethan's neck and pulled.

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00:17:20,380 --> 00:17:26,180
Speaker 4: Holy crap, you're heavy. What do you
eat? I'm sustained by an internal drip of a

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00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:30,900
Speaker 4: nutritional paste. That and hydrogen
isotopes.

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Speaker 1: With some effort, they got him
propped up against the wall behind them. The

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Speaker 1: congregation had brought him to a
back room somewhere. It was only him and Fleabag

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00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:44,800
Speaker 1: in the room. Were they trying to hide
him?

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Speaker 4: Where's everyone else? Sleeping. I
told them to go home, but they won't leave the

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Speaker 4: church.

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Speaker 1: That was wise, considering it was
nighttime. Humans were an unfavorable matchup

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Speaker 1: against almost anything wandering
around out there. Darkness would not help those

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Speaker 1: odds. The kid laid down next to
Ethan.

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Speaker 4: I can't sleep. Yeah, me either.

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Speaker 1: In this case, he literally could not.
But he wasn't about to try explaining the

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Speaker 1: difference between being off and
sleeping to a nine-year-old.

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00:18:21,016 --> 00:18:22,336
Speaker 5: Can you tell me a story?

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00:18:23,276 --> 00:18:25,636
Speaker 1: Pastor Cutter narrowed his eyes.

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00:18:26,796 --> 00:18:29,376
Speaker 4: Okay. I know a bedtime story.

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00:18:30,176 --> 00:18:31,456
Speaker 1: Fleabag's eyes lit up.

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00:18:32,476 --> 00:18:37,936
Speaker 4: Now, once upon a time, there lived a
small village. They lived in abject

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Speaker 4: poverty. Conditions were unsanitary
because they were ignorant of germ theory and

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00:18:43,716 --> 00:18:44,876
Speaker 4: basic hygiene.

201
00:18:45,396 --> 00:18:46,116
Speaker 5: What's that?

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00:18:46,336 --> 00:18:51,836
Speaker 4: Hey, pay attention. So one day, their
troubles compounded.

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00:18:52,776 --> 00:18:58,216
Speaker 4: A monster attacked the village,
carrying the weak and the sickly back to its
cave to

204
00:18:58,256 --> 00:18:59,116
Speaker 4: devour them.

205
00:19:00,156 --> 00:19:01,236
Speaker 5: What did they do about it?

206
00:19:02,356 --> 00:19:07,656
Speaker 4: Well, they surrounded the mouth of
the cave with explosives and waited for the
beast

207
00:19:07,696 --> 00:19:13,696
Speaker 4: to exit. And when it finally did,
they detonated the trap. The monster was

208
00:19:13,776 --> 00:19:18,856
Speaker 4: ripped to shreds by the explosion.
Bloody chunks rained down everywhere.

209
00:19:20,296 --> 00:19:23,036
Speaker 5: Whoa. So they lived happily ever
after?

210
00:19:24,516 --> 00:19:30,416
Speaker 4: Hell no. They lived in abject
poverty. Life was short, brutal, and filled

211
00:19:30,456 --> 00:19:32,076
Speaker 4: with unnecessary suffering.

212
00:19:34,796 --> 00:19:35,796
Speaker 4: So are you tired now?

213
00:19:36,216 --> 00:19:42,036
Speaker 1: Fleabag's tan face was covered in
shadow. Ethan switched to infrared. He did not

214
00:19:42,096 --> 00:19:45,356
Speaker 1: look tired. Perhaps another story
then.

215
00:19:46,116 --> 00:19:47,416
Speaker 5: Are you really a preacher?

216
00:19:48,696 --> 00:19:52,376
Speaker 4: I used to be. Now I preach a
different gospel.

217
00:19:53,276 --> 00:19:53,636
Speaker 5: What?

218
00:19:54,556 --> 00:19:55,996
Speaker 4: The gospel of lead.

219
00:19:58,616 --> 00:20:00,596
Speaker 5: Why do you say things like that?

220
00:20:01,296 --> 00:20:06,116
Speaker 4: I don't know. It just kinda comes
out. Think I might be sick.

221
00:20:07,276 --> 00:20:08,116
Speaker 5: In your brain?

222
00:20:08,116 --> 00:20:10,676
Speaker 4: [laughs] I guess so.

223
00:20:12,776 --> 00:20:13,516
Speaker 5: It's okay.

224
00:20:14,636 --> 00:20:19,856
Speaker 1: Then the kid leaned against Ethan and
closed his eyes. And even though he didn't

225
00:20:19,896 --> 00:20:23,396
Speaker 1: need to sleep, Ethan closed his eyes
too.

226
00:20:24,916 --> 00:20:28,196
Speaker 5: Can you protect us from the real
monsters?

227
00:20:29,056 --> 00:20:31,255
Speaker 4: I'm going to try.

228
00:20:33,176 --> 00:20:38,996
Speaker 1: Fleabag let out a long breath, and a
minute later he was snoring, his

229
00:20:39,116 --> 00:20:45,016
Speaker 1: small head resting on Ethan's armless
torso. If he didn't get repairs soon,

230
00:20:45,116 --> 00:20:51,076
Speaker 1: though, he wouldn't be protecting
anyone. It was unlikely he'd be

231
00:20:51,156 --> 00:20:56,936
Speaker 1: able to kill a second demon with his
teeth. Then this

232
00:20:57,036 --> 00:21:02,596
Speaker 1: tiny person would die. A knife of
pain made it through his pain

233
00:21:02,656 --> 00:21:07,776
Speaker 1: filters. This was not a physical
pain. It was something

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00:21:08,736 --> 00:21:14,636
Speaker 1: unfamiliar and far more frightening.
What if

235
00:21:15,196 --> 00:21:16,976
Speaker 1: he could not save them?

236
00:21:17,036 --> 00:21:32,016
Speaker 1: [gentle music]

237
00:21:32,096 --> 00:21:36,156
Speaker 1: Sometime before dawn, Ethan stirred
to the sound of a voice.

238
00:21:36,816 --> 00:21:39,436
Speaker 5: Number Four? Number Four, can you
hear me?

239
00:21:40,516 --> 00:21:46,376
Speaker 1: He scanned the room, careful not to
stir the sleeping Fleabag. There was

240
00:21:46,456 --> 00:21:47,916
Speaker 1: no one in the room.

241
00:21:48,816 --> 00:21:49,716
Speaker 5: It's Sister Fran.

242
00:21:50,856 --> 00:21:56,156
Speaker 1: Coming from his mind, then. Great.
That was the last place he needed more

243
00:21:56,336 --> 00:21:56,956
Speaker 1: voices.

244
00:21:57,836 --> 00:22:00,076
Speaker 4: Fran, this is Pastor Cutter.

245
00:22:00,816 --> 00:22:04,396
Speaker 5: You're alive. Ha. I told you it would
work.

246
00:22:05,196 --> 00:22:06,656
Speaker 4: What is this?

247
00:22:07,336 --> 00:22:09,696
Speaker 5: A radio. You have a receiver in your
spine.

248
00:22:10,956 --> 00:22:12,516
Speaker 4: And why?

249
00:22:13,456 --> 00:22:16,656
Speaker 5: So we can monitor you, obviously.

250
00:22:17,696 --> 00:22:18,816
Speaker 1: They'd been watching him?

251
00:22:19,696 --> 00:22:25,036
Speaker 5: Listen, I don't have long. Things
have gone crazy in Last Respite. Gabriel went

252
00:22:25,456 --> 00:22:31,016
Speaker 5: rogue. The advanced clinic is done.
Me and the other nuns got out, though. Oh, and

253
00:22:31,056 --> 00:22:32,056
Speaker 5: you have a bomb in you.

254
00:22:35,536 --> 00:22:36,076
Speaker 5: Number Four?

255
00:22:37,396 --> 00:22:38,056
Speaker 4: I'm here.

256
00:22:38,795 --> 00:22:41,136
Speaker 5: Okay. Whew. I thought she blew you
up.

257
00:22:41,716 --> 00:22:42,436
Speaker 4: Is that a risk?

258
00:22:43,556 --> 00:22:48,296
Speaker 5: Yeah, for sure. That's why I'm
sending you a patch. Erica can probably hear
this,

259
00:22:48,376 --> 00:22:54,076
Speaker 5: though. They know everything you're
doing, even if they can't blow you up, yet. So

260
00:22:54,416 --> 00:22:58,696
Speaker 5: you should probably come up with a
reason why they shouldn't blow you up until the

261
00:22:58,756 --> 00:23:03,216
Speaker 5: patch is done. The patch will totally
disable your receiver, so you're going to have

262
00:23:03,256 --> 00:23:03,816
Speaker 5: to go dark.

263
00:23:03,876 --> 00:23:06,716
Speaker 4: [sighs]

264
00:23:06,796 --> 00:23:12,496
Speaker 1: He hadn't even realized he had a
radio receiver. What else did he not know about?

265
00:23:13,096 --> 00:23:18,536
Speaker 1: Why play games like this? And a bomb.

266
00:23:19,136 --> 00:23:21,696
Speaker 4: Because I haven't completed my
mission.

267
00:23:22,836 --> 00:23:23,616
Speaker 5: Your what?

268
00:23:24,236 --> 00:23:26,436
Speaker 4: I'm going to kill the Stalker.

269
00:23:27,236 --> 00:23:32,756
Speaker 5: Listen, we've treated you more like a
project than a person since you woke up,

270
00:23:33,036 --> 00:23:38,156
Speaker 5: and I wanted to say sorry. You don't
have to do this.

271
00:23:39,176 --> 00:23:44,396
Speaker 1: She wasn't doing a very good job of
not getting him blown up. Another voice entered

272
00:23:44,416 --> 00:23:49,716
Speaker 1: his mind then, because why not? That
made four now, by his count.

273
00:23:50,576 --> 00:23:54,216
Speaker 1: Bishop Erica Long said only one word.

274
00:23:54,876 --> 00:23:55,116
Speaker 5: How?

275
00:23:56,576 --> 00:23:58,516
Speaker 4: I need ammunition and repairs.

276
00:23:59,876 --> 00:24:00,036
Speaker 5: No.

277
00:24:01,916 --> 00:24:06,556
Speaker 5: You have 48 hours, then we're sending
a salvage crew for your parts.

278
00:24:07,676 --> 00:24:10,176
Speaker 1: Erica said nothing else after that.

279
00:24:12,396 --> 00:24:12,776
Speaker 4: Fran?

280
00:24:13,676 --> 00:24:17,676
Speaker 5: I'm here, but not for long. We're
heading for New Hope.

281
00:24:19,156 --> 00:24:21,216
Speaker 4: Is that, uh, wise?

282
00:24:22,076 --> 00:24:27,956
Speaker 5: Probably not, but it's not like we
can survive in the outskirts. It hasn't worked

283
00:24:28,016 --> 00:24:29,756
Speaker 5: out too well for you, has it?

284
00:24:31,266 --> 00:24:36,306
Speaker 2: If you survive, come find us and
we'll patch you up. God go with you, Number
Four. I

285
00:24:36,366 --> 00:24:36,586
Speaker 2: mean,

286
00:24:38,146 --> 00:24:40,906
Speaker 2: Ethan. You want to be called Ethan,
right?

287
00:24:42,046 --> 00:24:42,906
Speaker 4: That is my name.

288
00:24:44,026 --> 00:24:46,606
Speaker 2: Right. Bye, Ethan.

289
00:24:47,766 --> 00:24:53,446
Speaker 1: A moment later, an icon appeared in
his HUD. Secure patch. Update

290
00:24:53,986 --> 00:24:54,986
Speaker 1: Y/in.

291
00:24:56,026 --> 00:24:57,266
Speaker 4: Oh, hell yes.

292
00:24:58,266 --> 00:25:01,966
Speaker 1: Permissions error. Admin approval
required.

293
00:25:02,686 --> 00:25:07,446
Speaker 4: You gotta be kidding me. And who are
the admins?

294
00:25:08,306 --> 00:25:11,586
Speaker 1: Hiro Saitama, Gabriel Klein.

295
00:25:12,186 --> 00:25:13,006
Speaker 4: Wait, that's it?

296
00:25:13,926 --> 00:25:19,826
Speaker 1: There were only two admins, and one
of them was already dead. The other,

297
00:25:20,086 --> 00:25:22,446
Speaker 1: from the sound of it, wasn't far from
it.

298
00:25:22,846 --> 00:25:27,006
Speaker 4: And what happens if I try to remove
the bomb myself?

299
00:25:27,866 --> 00:25:33,286
Speaker 1: Never mind that he didn't have any
arms. The answer came back from his second mind

300
00:25:33,346 --> 00:25:34,266
Speaker 1: immediately.

301
00:25:35,866 --> 00:25:37,086
Speaker 1: Detonation.

302
00:25:39,066 --> 00:25:44,586
Speaker 1: 48 hours to kill something nearly
unkillable, with no arms

303
00:25:45,406 --> 00:25:50,746
Speaker 1: and no weapons. He looked down at
Fleabag, who was stirring awake,

304
00:25:52,126 --> 00:25:57,006
Speaker 1: and nine-year-olds notwithstanding,
no allies.

305
00:25:58,946 --> 00:26:04,806
Speaker 1: Sometimes the Lord giveth, and
sometimes the Lord took you for all you were

306
00:26:04,886 --> 00:26:08,546
Speaker 1: worth. Sure would be nice to have a
little more of the former.

307
00:26:09,366 --> 00:26:12,746
Speaker 4: Say, Fleabag, do you know any
mechanics?

308
00:26:13,886 --> 00:26:19,486
Speaker 1: The boy stood up, walked over to the
side of the room, and began peeing against the

309
00:26:19,566 --> 00:26:19,986
Speaker 1: wall.

310
00:26:21,226 --> 00:26:25,126
Speaker 6: Oh, sure, I know a guy. He makes
weapons for the king.

311
00:26:27,086 --> 00:26:30,206
Speaker 4: And this person, can he be trusted?

312
00:26:31,186 --> 00:26:31,626
Speaker 6: I don't know.

313
00:26:32,826 --> 00:26:38,825
Speaker 1: Ethan sighed and leaned his head back
against the wall. He looked up at the ceiling

314
00:26:38,906 --> 00:26:44,126
Speaker 1: rafters, uncertain whether there was
any divinity in that direction,

315
00:26:44,626 --> 00:26:49,846
Speaker 1: or just termites. Then he muttered a
prayer under his breath.

316
00:26:50,786 --> 00:26:55,926
Speaker 4: God, if you're up there, you know I'm
trying to go to bat for you,

317
00:26:57,646 --> 00:27:02,446
Speaker 4: but I'm gonna need arms to swing it.
A little help would be nice.

318
00:27:04,366 --> 00:27:10,246
Speaker 1: Only silence answered. Well, that was
how most prayers went.

319
00:27:10,926 --> 00:27:14,806
Speaker 1: Ethan guessed there was only one way
to find out if they were gonna get answered.

320
00:27:15,666 --> 00:27:17,846
Speaker 4: All right, take me to this
weaponsmith.

321
00:27:19,086 --> 00:27:22,206
Speaker 1: Fleabag turned around and grinned.

322
00:27:22,786 --> 00:27:26,526
Speaker 4: And wash your hands, boy. Didn't you
learn anything from my story?

323
00:27:26,526 --> 00:28:08,886
Speaker 4: [rock music]

324
00:28:08,946 --> 00:28:12,946
Speaker 1: Bishop Erica Long poked at her black
eye in the mirror.

325
00:28:13,746 --> 00:28:15,026
Speaker 2: Seriously, Gabriel.

326
00:28:15,986 --> 00:28:21,386
Speaker 1: Who had known the old man could throw
a punch like that? He didn't really think she

327
00:28:21,426 --> 00:28:27,406
Speaker 1: was going to detonate the cyborg at
full power, did he? It was variable strength.

328
00:28:28,146 --> 00:28:33,586
Speaker 1: In God's name, there were people in
that church. She wasn't a monster. Except,

329
00:28:34,926 --> 00:28:39,906
Speaker 1: the cyborg hadn't failed. It had won
the day,

330
00:28:40,886 --> 00:28:41,566
Speaker 1: somehow.

331
00:28:43,326 --> 00:28:46,046
Speaker 2: No, you are not the bad guy here.

332
00:28:46,326 --> 00:28:48,066
Speaker 1: There was a knock at the bathroom
door.

333
00:28:48,666 --> 00:28:51,826
Speaker 6: Madam, there are several urgent
matters that need your attention.

334
00:28:52,486 --> 00:28:53,466
Speaker 2: I'll be out in a moment.

335
00:28:54,066 --> 00:28:59,326
Speaker 1: Couldn't she get a moment's rest? Why
did everything fall on her?

336
00:28:59,986 --> 00:29:04,706
Speaker 6: Bishop, we found an undocumented,
unsanctioned weapons system in the advanced

337
00:29:04,766 --> 00:29:05,046
Speaker 6: clinic.

338
00:29:06,346 --> 00:29:10,466
Speaker 2: That's redundant. If it's
unsanctioned, it's obviously undocumented.

339
00:29:13,286 --> 00:29:15,426
Speaker 2: Ugh. Fine. Fine.

340
00:29:16,146 --> 00:29:20,746
Speaker 1: Best to deal with this right away.
Lord knew if she took the time to put on some

341
00:29:20,826 --> 00:29:25,646
Speaker 1: makeup, there would be a hostage
crisis, a strike, and maybe the Lord of Darkness

342
00:29:25,726 --> 00:29:27,306
Speaker 1: itself would pay them a visit.