act25side

You wrote the letter? You wanted me to come here?

Yes, my child. I even wanted to go looking for you myself.

But time is short, so I had no choice but to have a friend deliver that letter to... Rhodes Island. Yes, Rhodes Island, that's what it was.

And after the disaster... I heard that organization took you in. Have they been treating you well?

They are... my family.

Dr. Kal'tsit, Amiya, the Doctor, Blaze, Raidian... and everyone in the squad, they're all my family.

So you mean... you've found a new family...*cough* *cough*

The frail man coughs violently, and his naturally crooked body seems to droop even lower.

He stares at Rosmontis, as if wanting to go move to her, but a thin wall of water stops him in his tracks.

Muelsyse knows who he is, and so do you. This is the very same name that cropped up many times in Rosmontis's files.

The criminal that should have been well behind bars has suddenly appeared before you, acting as a grandparent rushing to visit his grandchild after work.

You came alone?;You came here alone... to find Rosmontis?

This is what I wanted. Nothing to do with anyone else.

Let me... let me get a good look at you...

You've grown up, girl.

Over the past four years... no, it should be five soon enough...? I've thought of you so many times while we've been apart.

Whenever I think about the time we were separated from each other, I just feel so... sorry.

*cough* *cough*...... *cough* *cough* *cough*...

I'm sorry... that I couldn't protect you from them. Those mediocre hacks with their superficial goals... they destroyed the future we could have had together.

A future? Were we supposed to live together?

But I don't remember you.

Um... should I have remembered this? I record everything I don't want to forget in my terminal.

You've forgotten who I am? Have you lost all your memories, and forgotten the wrongs I've done?

Are you a bad man? Did you do something bad to me?

That's not for me to answer, my child. It would make this meeting meaningless.

Your memory loss... it should not have been an effect of the experiments. Could there have been another party? Maylander, or perhaps Rhine?

Don't aim those eyes my way, Mr. Williams. I'm just the teensy weensy Director of Ecological.

Besides, even if the old goat was here, his precarious code of ethics wouldn't be any worse than yours, right?

This has nothing to do with ethics.

Rhodes Island, did you wipe the girl's memories and manipulate her emotions?

I won't dignify that with a response.;It's not something Rhodes Island would do.

Yes, you couldn't have done that. It was my work after all... I was so meticulous that no one could have possibly stripped away such an important part of her when her vitals were functioning normally.

Oh, I see now... it was me after all? Perhaps I didn't make enough observations... Yes... We didn't have the luxury of time... The pressure of consciousness is honestly beyond anything a layman could comprehend...

Or could it be... that you passed your memories onto your sibling?

Um...

I... don't know how to answer you.

There must be a way, let me think...

Any fragment of that incident is beyond meaningless, same as the records and data, they all belong in the garbage dump. But emotions, shapes, scents... oh yes, smells, that's it.

A... floral scent?

This smells like... crushed juice... smeared on the walls, and on my hands...

No... no...

Stop, stop thinking about it! I don't want this!

Yes, I knew it! I'm still somewhere in your memories!

Please, child, bring out those memories, remember your hatred for me, let your anger fill your body, your mind, your omnipresent spirit!

Ugh...

Stop.

Get out of here.;You're hurting Rosmontis.

Hurting her?

No, her pain comes from the past, not the present. I only want to give her the gift she's been longing for.

This is not a gift.;This is torture.

Do you actually understand her pain?

Everything you know about her and her experiences is second-hand information from Maylander. Don't you think she has the right to be angry, to hold resentment?

Oh, I know. Haha, both you and Maylander are walking the same path. You want her easy to control, because you're afraid of her, afraid of...

...A weapon of reignited anger.

'Weapon.'

Everything you experienced with Rosmontis in Chernobog comes flooding back before your eyes. The fights desperate with determination to live alongside the pain of farewells.

Yes, you've heard the term used many a time in the past to describe the Feline girl by your side. She felt it was harsh before, but this time it's unbearable.

Because it came out of Loken Williams's mouth, the root cause that led Rosmontis here in the first place.

You have many ideas on how to refute his claims. It also occurs to you that if Kal'tsit were here, she would be capable of coming up with an even more extensive response.

But another thought comes to mind before your words.

(Punch him);(Kick him);(Slap him)

Gah...*cough*...haha...

I see you're outraged by my words, that's fine. You're not willing to think of her as a 'weapon.' But, just look at her... She's standing in front of you, even wielding a sword for you.

Gah...*cough*...haha...

I see you're outraged by my words, that's fine. You're not willing to think of her as a 'weapon.' But, just look at her... She's standing in front of you, even wielding a sword for you.

Doctor, please get behind me.

My sword might be about to pierce through the building's outer wall.

Rosmontis, you...

Enemies.

There are enemies closing in quickly.

I will protect you, Doctor. My mind still feels like... it's a mess. up. But Dr. Kal'tsit and Amiya told me my mental state is a lot more stable now. They allowed me to protect you.

And this is one thing I can definitely do.

Thank you.;......;I know.

Doctor... of Rhodes Island.

If you truly care for her, then you should know what she really needs.

Just ask yourself this... what are you trying to protect? A soldier that would die for you, or a child with a traumatic past?

The question is not difficult to answer, but it is obvious that Loken is not interested in your reply.

From the moment he stepped into the room, he has been staring directly at the white Feline girl next to you, his turbid gaze full of enthusiasm, sorrow, and a certain kind of anticipation.

They're here!

Such a pity that this is the end of our meeting.

You're not ready yet, my child... but I know you will be.

I'll be waiting for you at 'home.'

Hold it.

You actually caught up... no, you were waiting for me.

Which one of you is your true self? The silent one in the room earlier, or the one right here?

That's not important.

Your Originium Arts are quite interesting, or perhaps... no, forget it, I don't have time for this curiosity.

Do you have business with me, Director of Rhine Lab?

Where's Kristen?

Ah...... but <i>you're</i> the Rhine one here. Are you sure you should be asking me that?

The only way you could have gotten out of prison is with her help.

Your being here means the work she entrusted to you is already complete.

She's done preparing, right? She's really planning to...

Pitiful girl.

Hey...

I'm not about to let a rotten geezer who looks like he hasn't showered in three days call me pitiful.

Astonished, unwilling, and anxious... you're afraid, little girl. You're afraid of being betrayed by those you trust, and of being abandoned by others.

Well, the worst is your confusion... You're at such a complete loss that you have no choice but to ask an 'outsider' like me.

Such a familiar feeling it is...*cough*, *cough* *cough*...

When my teacher handed all my research to Maylander, when he expelled me from the academy...