Chatting and riding. That’s what you do when you’re riding the mysterious, color-coded streets of the Warring Core. Francis holds onto Julie with probably too tight of a grip, but she’s driving this thing a little too fast for his helmetless comfort. (Always wear a helmet when riding bikes and motorbikes!)

The labyrinthe streets are very easy to get lost in. Hardly anything’s marked, and the stark color divides makes it difficult to differentiate any specific part of town within a single faction’s territory.

It’s a more difficult trek than they expected.

But decent for chatting.

“I’m glad you came,” Julie says.

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t think we’ve had much time to speak one-on-one,” she tells him. “Always felt like there’s a barrier between us.”

“To be honest, I thought you didn’t like me.”

“Well.”

She’s silent for a second.

“Well,” Julie continues, “if not for Delta, I’d have never given you a second glance. I don’t think we’re natural friend material.”

“Definitely not.”

“But Delta loves you. So I guess I love you too, at least for that. You’re the light of life for my wife. Basically, you’re my friend because you make her happy.”

“Aww. I proxy-love you too, Julie.”

“I talked to Eryk a few days ago too. I don’t know what you really see in the guy, but I know he’s special to you and Delta both.”

“Super-duper special. He’s going to save all of us.”

“I don’t think so. But I’ll trust you if your conviction is that strong. I don’t like him at all. But if he’s going to save us, then I’ll get over myself.”

“That’s unpretentious and kind of awesome of you,” Francis says. “A real big strong point in that mysterious head of yours.”

“Mysterious?”

“Yeah, you know. The whole aloof quiet kind of thing you’ve always got going on. You never say one hundred percent of what you mean, and you’re always kind of inscrutable.”

“I’m what?”

“...It’s on purpose, isn’t it?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Julie says.

The somewhat heartfelt moment is cut short by Francis’s idiot joking comment. Maybe this is why they’ve never been able to grow close. Because Francis always blows it.

Now Julie spends the rest of the ride quietly contemplating the fact she often quietly contemplates. Or at least that’s what Francis assumes.

Then, after a few moments of awkward silence too many, they arrive at a giant tower right at the center of the city.

This has got to be where the Warring Core itself is stored. It’s white, which must count for something . And it sure took a very long time winding through the maze of a city to get here. This tower is far from the tallest building in the city, but it’s tall enough that it sticks out once you’re in this central area where all three faction colors meet.

It’s completely empty out here, though. For such a powerful magical artifact, it’s strange that there’s no foot traffic. Nobody protecting it, either. Is this the only place where the Warring Core’s warm-ish war doesn’t storm? Or is it warning more?

Just an elevator sitting there for the taking. Sure, fine, that’s not eerie and suspicious.

Julie and Francis get off the magic motorbike, step in, and Julie presses the top floor number button. The machine whirs into magical action and the elevator lifts towards the sky.

Pretty slow, pretty foreboding.

It’s too bad the two of them didn’t have their heart-to-heart here instead of the motorbike. It’s the perfect setting to stop letting unsaid things be unsaid.

Actually...

“Julie, I’m sorry,” Francis says.

“Hm?”

“It was rude of me to suggest you’re a mysterious enigma of a woman.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah. We’ve all got our hidden stuff going on. Your relatively stoic attitude is totally normal and I’m a jerk for—”

“Francis.”

“Sorry...”

“Francis, it’s okay. You’re not wrong. I’ve been wondering about it all myself, lately. There’s so much about me that even I don’t know. A kind of cosmic joke by The Goddess, except she’s not competent enough to have made it herself.”

“Then who did?”

“Someone higher up. Whoever created her, I guess.”

“Who creates robot deities, anyway?”

“One day, I’m going to find out,” Julie says. She opens her mouth again like she is starting to add onto this thought, but in the end she says nothing. Nothing necessary to stop letting be left unsaid, Francis imagines.

The city is really beautiful from up in the sky, by the way. The three colors are confusing down below, but it’s an art piece of architecture and bold colors from up here. A fantasy mega-city on top of the world’s highest mountain. Just incredible, this view.

Then Francis sees it a few floors from the top of the tower. The elevator makes a temporary stop to let new passengers in... When the door opens, there’s a whole buttload of guards.

Except they’re all laying on the floor dead.

“That mystery sure is solved, at least,” Francis says. “Now it makes sense why this place was weirdly unguarded, huh.”

“We should keep going.”

“Are you sure...?”

She presses the button to close the elevator doors, and they continue upwards.

And then the elevator stops at the top.

They step out. They’re on a platform at the top. The roof is held up by magical support beams that radiate a special energy Francis can’t get a grip on. And in the center of the platform, there’s, as you might expect, the Warring Core itself. (The sphere, not the city, but you knew that.)

It’s got the same kind of energy flowing out of it. Bizarrely captivating.

And... One more totally different aura up ahead.

When Francis sees the source, he gasps.

A man in a nice-cut suit, with short pink hair, and bright pink eyes.

On top of the tower, on the other side of platform, is one unmistakable figure glowing in the moonlight:

“U.S. Transporation Secretary Pete Buttigieg?!” Francis shouts. “What in pink blazes are you doing here?!”

“Welcome to the Warring Core, Julie Rafati,” Pete says.