*Dare and Atsuko are sitting on the grass, Dot's gravestone between them. Both have their knees drawn up to their chest.*

Atsuko: (looking across to Dare) ne, don't we have to be somewhere?

*Dare's head is resting on his knees.*

What's the point? It's all going to turn out one way or the other, really. So there's no point in rushing off like a pair of Chicken Littles. (lifts his head and stares ahead) Right?

*A fuzzy line appears before them. Atsuko gasps and starts up immediately.*

Atsuko: Wha-?

*Dare lowers his head a little so his face is hidden behind his knees but his eyes are still fixed on the line. When the line speaks, it mimics the frequency wave of its own speech pattern.*

Line: So you've come to your senses?

Senses? (sighs)

Atsuko: (stares at Dare) What is this?

*Dare looks at Atsuko sadly. He raises his hand and snaps his fingers. She disappears instantly.*

Line: She was a mistake too, wasn't she?

If you've finally come to hear me admit I was wrong and you were right, then fine! She was a mistake. (shouts) Everything was a goddamn mistake!

Line: The fault isn't yours entirely, to be fair. It was doomed to fail from the start. EGC is what it is.

*Dare sinks his head back to his knees*

Fair? None of this was fair to begin with. Nothing I could have done would ever affect them. It's like yelling at the storm. The storm never listens, it just keeps coming until you either run and hide or let it knock you over. (pause)

Even Rio. She took that away from me too. It was inevitable, I guess.

Line: Inevitable, yes, that you realize how foolish you were to think you could take on this task. You couldn't. Even now you are failing. Despite what EGC was and has become, you will always fail. When will you choose to do what you should have done at the very beginning?

(looks up) Tell me the choices.

*There is a pause as the line considers.*

Line: No.

(shouts) Tell me the choices!

Line: No, you know the choices. Choose.

I want to hear the choices! (tears begin to stream down his face) Tell them to me! Tell them! Tell me!

*The line says nothing. Dare stands up and shouts with fists clenched at his side.*

I choose to take responsibility!

Line: (pauses at first) The choice has been made.

*Like a television screen winking out, the line disappears. A wind blows through Dot's grave and Dare looks at his hand. Slowly, it begins to blow away with the wind. Soon, his whole hand has disappeared, then his arm and leg. His body begins to fade away as well. A tear falls from his face just as it too fades off. The tear splashes onto the grass and soaks into the soil.*

(voice) Dammit, Dot, why do you always do this?