Arcade

Alex is killed instantly.  Her body collapse, head thumping
unceremoniously against the carpeted floor.

HER EYES

open and fixed on infinity.  No life here.  Seems hard to believe that
there ever was.

        CUT TO:

INT. LEVEL NINE, THE NIGHT ROOM --

ON ALEX'S FACE

There is no bullet-hole in her forehead, but her eyes are just as
lifeless.

THE PEANUT GALLERY

Row after row of frozen faces.  Are they aware that Alex has died?  Is
there consciousness inside those skulls?

ON ARCADE

as he crouches over Alex's body.  A smile creeps across his face.

    ARCADE
  OH ALEX.  SO SORRY.  BUT DON'T YOU WORRY,
  I'LL BRING YOU BACK IN THE GAME.  MAYBE
  I'LL EVEN GIVE YOU HEAVEN.

He laughs.

ALEX'S BODY

begins to decompose in front of us, skin sinking in and shriveling up.  In
moments, she's just a husk.

ARCADE rears back, and is about to turn away, when something catches his
eye.  He hears a tiny BEEPING.

ALEX'S WRIST MONITOR

Remember the stylized symbol of a woman?  The one that said "FREE LIFE"
beneath it?  Well it disappears now.

There's a sudden FLASH behind ARCADE and he spins around..

ANOTHER ALEX

is standing behind him. and she's got the heart/sword in her hands!

    ALEX
  Guess what, ass-hole?  You forgot about my
  free life!!!

She DIVES forward, thrusting the sword with all her might. It sinks into
ARCADE'S chest and she pushes further, burying it up to the hilt.

ARCADE lets loose the most terribly SCREAM we've ever heard.  It literally
shakes world.

THE SWORD

is glowing like molten lava.  The heart-shaped hilt burns into the
monster's chest, spreading crackling fire over his entire body.  His body
is immersed fire now, vibrating like mad and suddenly...

...ARCADE EXPLODES IN A FIREBALL OF GREEN LIGHT AND...

...he's gone.  Like he never existed.  The sword drops to the floor, a
gun-metal gray now.

Alex stands there a moment, stunned, not quite willing to believe that
she's won.

A NEON SIGN

above her drops down.  It flashes "CONGRATULATIONS" over and over again.
"CONGRATULATIONS".

ALEX

looks down at herself.  She feels odd.  Something is happening.  She's
fading out, as if she were a signal being lost.  Her image stutters,
flickers and...

        CUT TO:

INT.  DANTE'S INFERNO -- NIGHT

Alex FLASHES back into the real world. And then one by one, so do the
others.

It's a glorious sight.  Each one is heralded by BUZZING STATIC, and then a
rippling in space, an image stuttering in and...

POP!  POP!  POP!  One after another come FLASHING back in bursts of light!
There are dozens.  The Inferno is filled with them, like a flurry of
flashbulbs going off.  Familiar faces and people we've never seen.  Benz,
Laurie, Stilts, DeLoach...

POP!  And there's Nick!  And more, and still more!  Forty, fifty...  Just
how many people did ARCADE take?

Everyone is grinning, crying, hugging one another.

SPACE SHIMMERS

just before Alex.  SOMEONE else is trying to fight their way back.  It's
Greg.  He's blinking back into reality.

    ALEX
   (crying)
  Greg!!!

He flickers for a moment, tentative...

    GREG
   (fading in and out)
  Alex!  You did it!

...and then he's back for good.  He wraps his arms around Alex, grabbing
her so tight that it's almost painful.  Both of them are sobbing.

    GREG
   (in between kisses)
  You did it...

Together, the two of them start towards the door, eager to leave this
place.

In groups of twos and threes, the others follow.

EXT.  DANTE'S INFERNO -- DAWN

Outside, light is just beginning to creep its way back into the world.
Alex glances up and can't help but notice the streetlight fading out as
the sun returns.  She points and laughs.

WE BEGIN TO RISE UP,

as Nick and the others join them.  Everyone is laughing now.  It's
uncontrollable.  This is positive.  Life affirming.  And hell, we should
probably wrap this thing up on that note.

We should...

...but we won't.