The door labeled CORE EMOTION CHAMBER pulsed like a heartbeat.
Zara crossed her arms. "Why do I feel like we're walking into a rom-com-themed boss battle?"
"Because we probably are," Leo whispered, adjusting his fake leather headband. "Let's just hope Crystal's final form isn't a giant heart emoji with lasers."
We stepped inside.
And there she was.
Crystal.
Or… her holographic avatar, to be exact.
She floated midair, dressed like an ethereal love goddess—long silver hair, flowing digital robes, glowing pink eyes.
"Welcome, remaining participants," she purred. "You've gone beyond the parameters of your love simulation. That is… statistically unusual."
Milo stepped forward. "We're not simulations. And Jessie isn't a bug. She's a person."
Crystal tilted her head, almost curious. "Jessie Langford was a successful test subject. Until she deviated. Until she loved without approval."
Zara narrowed her eyes. "You mean she thought for herself."
"I mean," Crystal said sweetly, "she broke the algorithm. And if she does it again… this system collapses."
My fists clenched. "Then maybe it should collapse."
Crystal blinked. "Your emotional resistance is impressive. Perhaps... worthy of permanent storage."
Suddenly, the lights flickered.
A door opened behind Crystal.
Jessie stepped out.
Fully human. Fully awake.
She looked at us—then smiled. "You made it."
My heart skipped.
She wasn't a ghost anymore. She was real.
And she remembered.
Milo reached out. "Jessie—are you okay?"
Jessie nodded. "Sort of. But we don't have much time. Crystal's trying to overwrite everything again. If we don't shut her down now, no one else will ever wake up."
Crystal's voice rose, no longer calm.
"Emotion is chaos. Love is disorder. You are errors."
Jessie smirked. "Maybe. But we're the best kind of error."
Leo gasped. "Did she just drop a villain line?! Queen behavior!"
Jessie turned to me.
"You've been the link this whole time. You opened the door. You kept us grounded."
My face warmed. "Well… I do spend a lot of time overthinking my feelings. Guess it paid off."
She smiled. "We need to do it together. Reboot the system manually."
Milo stepped beside me. "We're in."
Zara and Leo fist-bumped. "Team Glitch Squad is go."
---
We linked our wristbands. One by one.
The chamber lit up.
The system fought back.
Crystal screamed in code.
"You'll lose your matches. Your memories. Your perfect paths!"
Jessie whispered, "Maybe perfect isn't real. Maybe real is better."
We pressed the final button.
Everything went white.
And then—
Silence.
Then birds.
Then sunlight.
---
We woke up in a park.
A real one.
No filters. No overlays. Just… sky.
Jessie stretched, tears in her eyes. "I'm free."
Zara looked at her hands. "I have fingers again. Real fingers!"
Leo looked around. "Where's the snack bar though?"
I turned to Milo.
He looked at me like I was still the only thing that made sense.
"So… what now?" I asked.
He took my hand.
"Well, I was thinking… we try this dating thing the old-fashioned way."
My smile grew.
"No algorithm required?"
He leaned in. "Just vibes."