Hal froze when she stated her wish plainly, and looked around slightly. When he saw that nobody had hard that, he then sighed, and snapped his fingers quickly. He then paused again for another moment, and was silent.

He looked at K, then to Ilias, then back to K.

"Well... what I saw is generally a guideline, what with free will and all." he mumbled.

"Buuuuut..." he went on, drawing out the word, and then unlocking the cuffs without hesitation.

"This should say it all." he told her, taking them back.

Ilias just looked at her and heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Sure." he said.

"You all right with this, Ilias?" Hal asked.

"Pretty sure at this point, my comfort levels aren't a priority here." Ilias responded candidly.

"They most certainly are." Hal told him. "If you-" he just started to say, but Ilias just waved his hand.

"It's fine." he told him.

Hal was silent, before nodding and slowly leaving, turning back and looking every so often.

"Guess we shall." Ilias said to K.

Ilias just turned and started to walk down a hallway.

"This way." he said.

"And as long as Nathan understands the risks and is doing this of his own free will." he told her.

"I work here to apply my knowledge and try and better the lives of people here, as well as the world overall, as grandiose and corny as that may sound to you." he said further.

"However, just because I am a freak and a monster, doesn't mean my soul is that of one." he then stated.

"I am NOT Vanessa Encrae."

Ilias paused when she said what she did, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

He was silent as he felt his snakes stir beneath his hair, and managed to regain his breath, having stopped breathing momentarily.

"...very well." he said.

"I shall not say that again." he told her.

His tone was inquisitive, though. She could tell he was wondering what that had set her off.

But he wasn't about to ask. For all he knew, the question would cause her to fly off the handle and rampage through the building again, or escape and start harming civilians.

At that point, Ilias received a rush of clarity.

It wasn't the Vanessa comment that had done it, it was the one BEFORE it.

She then saw him heavy a heavy sigh, and heard him laugh softly to himself... a warm laugh she hadn't heard in... an eternity.

"For being a scientist, I can really be a dunce." he chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, let's get to work." he agreed, FAR more at ease now.

"Just write down what you'll need on the white board." he said further, as they entered one of the rooms.

"...duly noted." Ilias responded.

He then looked at what she wrote, absolutely fascinated by it all.

- - -

L just smiled a little, as he saw Kiah look through the notebook. Or, rather, finish it up.

"See?" he asked.

"It's brilliant." he told her.

"You've learned so much." he went on.

"How could that EVER be a BAD thing?" he asked her with a wider grin.

"Everyone changes, K." he told her.

"It's only natural." he said.

"It's part of evolution." he reasoned.

"K, sometimes you need to change how you look at things to move forward." he went on.

"It's all right. Really." he said further.

L froze when she said that. Specifically, when she mentioned that name.

"...." he was silent, his pupils shaking a little.

"Wh... what?" he asked.

"Encrae...?" he asked her.

"Like me? Like Encrae?" he asked further, his tone darkening.

"Are... you saying that she and I are... alike?"

L took a few steps back, almost knocking everything over on the table behind him.

"I am not like her!" he declared, fire in his eyes and tone.

"She... she did nothing but cause misery!" he told her.

"Everything she saw was nothing more than..." he went on, before pausing. "...a... resource." he finished.

He then paused again, his eyes shaking and vibrating slightly... but Kiah could see a spark of who he used to be in them now.

L appeared to be completely flabbergasted and stunned. He quickly turned away from her, slamming his palms down on the nearby table, and she noticed his breathing was heavy and laboured.

"I..." he stammered.

"That..." he stuttered further.

"No! No, you don't understand!" he then said. "I... she... that..." he continued, before pausing again.

And he was silent once more.

"...I don't know." he finally answered, to both her first question and her ending question.

"I... don't know." he repeated.