At first, Shilo was worried about how to get things started; she had never been in front of a bunch of reporters at all, never mind calling them all to see her in the first place. She quickly gave up on trying to figure out how to start things on her own, though, and decided to just tell Amber that she'd made up her mind, and that she wanted to tell the whole world all at once. Amber quickly called a press conference, and it wasn't even noon before Shilo found herself in front of a bunch of cameras, all the eyes in the world on her to see what she would do.

Strangely, she wasn't nervous. She had never been the direct, sole center of nearly so much attention in her life, but she wasn't scared. Maybe she was just too overwhelmed by everything to be scared.

Of course, another strong possibility was that she was just too annoyed to be scared, because she started her speech like this:

"I know everyone in the world wants to know who I'm siding with in this war because, even though I'm just a kid and don't want to have anything to do with any of this - two things that apparently don't mean anything to anyone - I somehow became the arbitrator for this whole thing. Well, I'll get to it, but before I tell everyone what I've decided, I want to fully explain why I've made the choice I've made, so that if, god forbid, something like this were to come up again, you'll all know how to figure things out for yourselves and won't have to find a scapegoat to dump everything on!"

A few people in the crowd glanced at each other guiltily, and that was more than enough of a reward for Shilo.

She took a breath to calm down, then went on.

"I've talked to both Jack Manson and Amber Sweet to some extent, and they've both told me things I wish I hadn't needed to know," she said. "Taking what they've both told me put together, I've managed to get an idea of who Rotti Largo was and what exactly it was he did to the world.

"I now know that Rotti Largo murdered both my mother and my father, as well as Blind Mag, my godmother. He poisoned my mother, cut the cord that held Mag up during the opera, manipulated and blackmailed my father into becoming a monster, then tried to manipulate me into killing my father when my father refused to repossess Mag's eyes."

The crowd of people started to rustle and mutter among themselves, but Shilo ignored them and just kept going.

"This is the sort of person he was, and what he did to my family was just a few instances of the sort of evils he did to people," she told everyone. "The people on both sides of this war - and indeed, everyone in the world - were all Rotti's victims. Amber and Jack both suffered at the hands of Mr. Largo, and all of this is only happening because of the evils done by one man. It doesn't even make sense that there are two sides to this war, as both sides want essentially the same thing: the end of Rotti's influence on this world. Be that as it may, they've chosen to fight, so one side has to win, and one side has to lose, and I'm sorry for that."

Shilo looked up then and met Amber's eyes; she would have met Jack's eyes, too, had he been there, but he wasn't, so she settled for just looking straight into some of the cameras.

"As I've said, both sides have told me what they've suffered, and asked for my help to get some sort of compensation," Shilo said. "The suffering on both sides makes me very sad, and when it comes to choosing which side deserves more sympathy, I am unable to do so."

There was a disturbance at this, and Shilo paused and waited for the crowd to quiet down.

"Both sides have also appealed to the suffering I myself endured thanks to Rotti," she went on at last; "Jack has offered me revenge, while Amber has sworn that my family's sacrifices will not be in vain. Both of these things mean a great deal to me, and when it comes to choosing between them, I am once again unable to do so."

There was another disturbance at these words, louder this time, and Shilo moved her gaze across the crowd, trying to meet as many eyes as possible, while she waited for silence. Amber, she noticed, looked worried, but she had made up her mind, and that was that.

"Furthermore, both sides have expressed a desire to see Rotti's way of ruling this world end," Shilo continued when again there was silence. "They have both told me that they hope for the world to heal, and be led out of the darkness Rotti cast the world in. When it comes to choosing between the two sides' visions for the world, I am, once again, unable to do so."

This time, to say that there was a disturbance would have been an understatement; the people were getting impatient. Shilo heard one or two people ask her, exasperatedly, whether she had made up her mind or not, and she had to work hard not to smile; after all, she knew how to hold a grudge, and in a way, this was her revenge on the people for forcing her to decide the fate of the world.

At last, there was silence. Shilo took a breath, then continued.

"This choice was not easy," she told the world, "but I finally found a place where I could comfortably take a side. You see, I realized that, in being given this choice, I am, in a way, being forced, if only for this moment in time, to rule the world…and I asked myself, What would Rotti do in my place?" Shilo looked at Amber. "Well, that answer was simple enough," she said: "Rotti ruled this world with hatred; with chaos; with anger and pain and death. I decided that I will not rule that way. I decided that I will rule with love." She swept her gaze across the crowd. "With compassion." She looked into the cameras to express her desire to look Jack in the eye. "With integrity." She looked at Amber again. "With mercy." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "And, yes…with forgiveness."

The world held its breath.

"Therefore," Shilo said, "I have made my choice…to support GeneCo."

A cheer erupted from the crowd, and Shilo could almost literally hear it being echoed all across the world. It lasted for about a minute…then died down when the people realized that Shilo wasn't finished.

"I have made my choice to support GeneCo," Shilo repeated when there was silence again, "but there is something more that I have to say, to both sides." She looked Amber in the eye again. "To Amber, I have this message," she said: "Do not make me regret this. I am giving you your one chance, and it is the only one you'll get. If you fail, then so help me, I will lead a revolution myself."

She saw, rather than heard, Amber reply, "I won't."

She turned back to the cameras.

"To Jack Manson, and all the Repo-men, I have this to say," she went on: "I am sorry. I'm sorry I can't join your side in this fight, and I'm sorry you can't have your revenge for what Rotti did to you. That said…" She took a breath. "I do not believe that things have to be like this," she told them. "I do not believe that you have to be monsters, that slaughter really is all you know. After all, you know that it's wrong - whether you feel it or not, you know it." She sighed. "I will not deny that you have your urges," she said. "I've seen it myself; you do have the compulsion to torture and kill. Be that as it may, you don't have to give in to them." She smiled. "We all have our…" Her smile widened, and she wished she could meet Graverobber's eyes. "…our vices," she said; "that doesn't mean we have to give in to them. They are no more powerful in determining how we live our lives than our genes are…and this goes for everyone watching, Repo, GeneCo, and common people alike: It is the choices we make that determine who we are - not our genes, not our vices, not fate, and not even our pasts; our choices determine who and what we are…and it is never too late to make a different choice." She sighed. "Jack, you've told me that there is no going back for you," she said; "I don't believe that's true. I believe that we can always go back, no matter who we are. We may not be able to change the past, but our future is up to our own selves, and nothing and no one else can choose our legacies for us. Maybe the choice is a bit harder for you and your people, but make no mistake - it is always a choice, not fate."

She paused, letting her words sink in. The silence was completely global.

"That is all," she finished at last. "Thank you. I hope this is the last anyone hears of this conflict."

And with that, she turned her back to the world and walked away for the last time.

~X~

Shilo stood on the shore back on the mainland that night, looking, once more, across the channel to where Sanatarium Island stood.

It was strange; she didn't hate being there anymore. She no longer felt the urge to turn and run. Not that she didn't want to leave, but for some reason, the place felt like home for her in a way it never had before.

Of course, she also knew that, now that everyone knew what she looked like with short hair, she wouldn't be able to escape the people's reverence for her, either, whether she went far from the island or not.

She sighed, breathing in the sea breeze. Oh well. Being pestered wherever she went was still better than getting surgery.

"Shilo?"

She jumped at the soft voice, then turned to see Jack Manson standing behind her, wearing normal clothes, his gray eyes - the eyes that were his only distinguishing feature - fixed on her.

"Jack," she said softly.

He nodded.

There was silence between them for a minute.

"I'm sorry," Shilo finally said. "I really am."

Jack nodded again. "Me, too," he said.

Shilo nodded, too. "You're here for revenge, then?" she asked him, strangely unafraid.

"No," he replied. "I mean…" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

She waited.

"Did you…did you really mean what you said?" he finally asked her. "Do you really believe it's not too late for me?"

"I told the truth as I see it," Shilo replied. "I've seen a human being in you, whether you admit there's one in there or not. I know you can always make a choice."

"How do you know?" he asked her.

She smiled. "You chose not to hurt me," she pointed out.

"But Shilo…" He shook his head. "You're…special," he said.

She shrugged. "You still made a choice," she said. "You told me yourself that you had the urge to hurt me, yet you were still able to choose not to do it. You could have. I was completely helpless; you could have hurt me any time you wanted. You didn't."

He closed his eyes and nodded.

They were both silent for another minute.

"Then let us work for you," Jack finally said.

Shilo blinked. "What?" she asked.

He opened his eyes and smiled at her, and this time, his smile did manage to meet his eyes. "I know you want to see the world," he said. "My kind have a lot of skill in the areas of stealth and secrecy; we can help you see without being seen. There are tens of millions of us across the globe - we are, literally, everywhere. You can go wherever you want, and there will always be at least one of us there to help you. So…" He walked over to her, got down on his knees, and took hold of her hands, just as he had when he'd asked her to hear him out. "Let us work for you," he pleaded of her softly. "Give us something good to do with what we were trained for. Let us help you. If you do, no one will come to harm by our hands or our blades, ever again. On behalf of all of my kind, you have my word on that."

Shilo looked into his eyes, and there, she saw nothing but honesty and, maybe, a tiny spark of hope.

She took a breath…and nodded.

"I will hold you to that, Jack Manson," she said to him. "You, and all of your people. So long as none of you harm anyone again…then yes, I will let you work for me. I will let you help me chase the morning."

"Thank you, Shilo," Jack said, and the gratitude she saw in his eyes was almost heartbreakingly real.