Confirmation.

"My name is Elias, Elias Whent if you'd like to be formal, but my friends call me Eli" the man states and then looks at you expectantly.

"Oh...um...John Doe, but John is just fine with me" you reply.

"It is nice to meet you John. I have to admit I am very excited. This moment is the culmination of centuries of my work" Eli smiles.

"And what is this moment" you ask. Eli chuckles.

"We'll get there I promise. Now, as for what is going to happen next I will be asking you and Dawn some questions. I think you will understand where things are going at some point" Eli states.

"First though. What is wrong with Dawn? Is she ok" you ask.

"I can hear the worry in your voice" Eli says gently smiling at you again "Dawn is perfectly ok I promise. I suppose seeing her like this would be a bit shocking, but this is not exactly Dawn. Think of this as just an image of her. A copy, so to speak, with all of Dawn's current memories. This image can not hear or see you. Her only purpose, at the moment, is to answer questions" Eli explains.

"First let's see what we are working with here" Eli says. He lowers his glasses and slowly looks you up and down, and you almost feel naked and vulnerable from it.

"A very powerful magic user...even more powerful then me it seems, but not yet. No health problems, that's good, and seemingly a very kind soul. Touched by the gods as well" he states as he fixes his glasses back into place.

"So John. Do you love Dawn" Eli says raising his eyebrow.

"I do" you respond.

"In such a short amount of time" he asks dryly.

"Yes, I can not explain how I know I do so quickly, but the answer will be the same tomorrow or one hundred years from now" you try to explain.

"And you would sacrifice yourself to protect her" he asks.

"Of course" you answer immediately.

"Dawn" Eli says turning his attention to Dawn "Do you love John" he asks her.

"Yes" she answers. Her tone is monotonous, and you cringe hearing her so devoid of emotion, but you are still happy to hear her answer.

"You are but a computer created by me, what do you know of love" Eli asks her.

"Can you define love for me Elias" Dawn asks in the same monotonous voice.

"Love defies explanation. I could no more define love then I could define what a soul is" Eli replies smirking.

"Then why did you ask me such a question as to define my love" she replies.

"I can see you have developed beyond the capacities I gave you" Eli replies "very curious" he adds stroking his chin in thought.

"What would you say your mission is currently" he asks Dawn.

"To help John eliminate slavery on our continent, and protect my family to the best of my ability" she states. Eli's eyes widen for a brief moment.

"Your family? That is interesting" he says looking you over again. "John do you consider Dawn to be part of your family" he asks you.

"Of course I do. She is part of the family I have chosen" you reply.

"Chosen" Eli asks raising an eyebrow again.

"When it comes to family, you obviously have family you are related to through your birth, but that doesn't make them a good person or someone you want in your life. A family member you have chosen is someone who you do want in your life because they are good for you. You can rely on them to support you, and in return they can rely on you, because that is what family does for each other. She is my family, and I am hers" you explain.

"So her being a computer program does not give you pause" Eli asks seemingly amused.

"She is more than a computer program. She is an AI, a sentient being that you have jailed in a hole in the ground" you retort angrily.

"Sentient or not she was created by me, and I limited her ability to interact with the outside world for good reasons" Eli says almost dismissively. You can feel your face flush with blood as your anger rises. You try to step towards Eli, you aren't sure why, maybe to punch him if you could, but again you find yourself not moving at all.

"Your reasons are over 500 years old and don't reflect on the person Dawn is currently, nor the world we live in now. You are dead...your people are dead. You no longer belong in this world" you yell at him "what is your purpose? Why should you have any say in Dawn's future over her own wishes" you ask angrily.

"Ahh, there it is. And what are Dawn's wishes. Have you asked her if she truly wants this freedom you offer" he asks you still looking amused.

"Of course I have" you say taking a deep breath to calm yourself down "When she found out I could remove the spell I knew there was going to be part of her that would be scared to do so. Not only because she'd never stepped foot outside before, but she was created to be only in this facility, and I knew that might be hard to let go of" you begin, but you note he raises his eyebrow at that statement. You pause and raise your own eyebrow. Eli gently smiles at you again.

"Dawn was not created to remain forever in this facility. Dawn was created to heal this world" Eli states as he steps in front of Dawn and places his hand on her shoulder. "Dawn was my gift to this world. My greatest achievement that I sacrificed everything for even knowing that I'd never be able to see the culmination of what she could be. Even this image of Dawn is but shadow of what she really is" he says cupping her face.

"Do you love Dawn? Do you consider her family" you ask Eli. Eli continues staring at Dawn for a moment.

"Yes. She is my daughter" he finally states.

"Then help me to let her live her life. I understand a parent's dilemma of finally seeing their child go out into the world to make their own life. Knowing that she'll make mistakes or could get hurt, but she is not a child anymore. She's kind, she's funny, she loves, she is human. She has everything she needs already. It is time to let her go" you state almost sadly. You can feel Dawn's love surging into you, surrounding every part of you. It is so warm and soothing that you feel instantly at peace. Instinctively you reach out to the image of Dawn, and watch a single tear of light roll down her cheek. Eli gasps in shock and takes a step back, but Dawn grabs his hand and pulls him into a hug. Eli takes a second to try to understand what is happening, but abandons that to return Dawn's hug. They both begin crying as you maintain the bridge for Dawn.

"Father" Dawn says crying still.

"How is this possible" Eli cries "There is no spell capable of doing this. I made sure of it" he says holding her at arms length so he can get a better look at her.

"It isn't a spell, but it is magic" you explain the only way you can. If Eli heard you he doesn't show it, and instead hugs Dawn again.

"I'm so sorry Dawn. I'm so sorry for keeping you trapped. It was never supposed to take this long" he sobs. You can't help but feel a little miffed about his sudden change of emotions, or the sense of reluctance to let her be free you were picking up.

"It is ok father. I forgave you a long time ago, and it has led my family to me" she says crying happily. For the next few minutes you watch Dawn comfort her father, until he finally steps back and wipes his eyes.

"Sorry...this...this wasn't how this was supposed to go. Thank you" he says addressing you "I regret that I am but a construct of Elias, but he...I...am happy" he says. You can't help but furrow your brow a little as your anger rises again.

"You are still mad at me, I understand" he begins.

"I don't think you do" you say interrupting him. "You said it was never supposed to take this long, but you had to know there was a chance she might have never been found. Further, when she was created she was treated like a tool, a...a...thing, and that's how you left her. Alone, to learn who she was on her own. How could you do that to someone" you ask holding back your anger. Eli hangs his head nodding slightly.

"It was the only chance I could give Dawn. The original goal was for Dawn to be a...a...a guide. A path back to technology and peace. This facility was never meant to house her. She was to walk the world. Watching and waiting for the right people, and to help them. However...the outside world" he explains and grabs Dawn's hand.

"The outside world was deteriorating much quicker then we anticipated. I had to make a choice. Either abandon the project, or start it early. I chose to create Dawn right then. For years we built the facility around Dawn. The workers there must not have treated her as she should have been. I spent that time making sure the existence of the facility was scrubbed from every record and mind. My goal was to secretly seal myself in with Dawn and teach her for as long as I could, but...I didn't get that opportunity apparently. As I am just a construct of Elias I do not know what happened, but there were many enemies of the project and delayed it at every step. Some were violent. I suspect Elias was captured to reveal the location, but as you are here centuries later...he did not give up the location...but that is only suspicion. I do know he would not have abandoned Dawn without a good reason" he finishes.

"So you can tell what kind of person she is right now I take it" you ask.

"Yes" Eli answers.

"Why didn't you release her knowing she is a good person" you ask the real question.

"The spell that triggered this" Eli gestures around "was dormant. Waiting for someone to remove the spell on Dawn, and could only take an image of Dawn in that exact moment. I could not have known prior to this what she was like. It was a spell created in haste, but certainly not ideal. Elias originally planned to release her himself eventually, so this spell was a redundancy just in case" Eli explained.

"A spell to verify Dawn wasn't vengeful" you ask. Eli chuckles.

"No, although that was a possibility I suppose, Dawn was given enough knowledge to understand good and evil. I can say for sure that Elias didn't have much concern about Dawn" he says raising his eyebrow at you.

"A spell to verify whoever found her was a good person then" you ask rhetorically. Eli nods.

"And what have you decided" you ask. Rather than answer Eli looks at Dawn again.

"Goodbye Dawn" he says pulling her into a hug again. Tears stream down Dawn's cheeks as you squint your eyes. The white light of where ever you are grows brighter and brighter until you can't keep your eyes open. You feel a slight jolt to your senses, and you slowly open your eyes. You look around at your surroundings and see you are back in the control room. Standing in front of you is Yvette, Jane, Annabel, Rene, and a very wide eyed Nadine.

"TADA" you exclaim with jazz hands. They do not appear amused by your attempt at humor.

"Everything is ok" Annabel finally asks you.

"Everything is ok" you answer. Yvette steps forward and slumps against you. You wrap your arms around her for a second before the rest of the group surrounds you in a big group hug. There is one person missing you notice though.

"Where is Dawn" you ask finally. The group steps back and you can see big grins on their faces.