act25side

Hm... how nostalgic.

Would you like something to drink? Red wine, or should we pop open the champagne?

Is there an occasion?

Of course. Mr. Ferdinand Clooney is enjoying a career upgrade, and also returned to Rhine Lab... Sounds like a cause for celebration?

You think I'm here as the army's guide?

No, they have their own plans for Rhine, and I don't approve at all. Because I know that if something happens to the Vice President while he's here, that's the end of the company.

Kristen can ignore the existence of Rhine Lab, but not me.

The event today went off without a hitch.

Don't play dumb with me, Jara.

You may not know just what kind of people run the army. They could repeat today's adventure anytime they want.

So before those savages rip a dozen years' worth of time and effort to shreds, can you just tell me the truth—what exactly is Kristen doing?

Did Colonel Blake not tell you?

The very first day Dr. Wright disappeared, I handed every document about Control and her projects right over to them.

And for the record, it happened more than once. I worked days of overtime just for this.

Heh, 'Dr. Wright,' as if you two have the most ordinary collaborative relationship.

Should I show Blake the picture hidden in the darkest corner of your office drawer?

Or has our dear HR Director already come up with an explanation for why she's hidden the New Year's card little Kristen wrote her two decades ago?

...That's just an old photo.

Kids aren't as cute and well-behaved after they grow up. Ferdinand, you know that better than me. That sock in the jaw at Site 359 still smarting?

...Heh.

She's gone into hiding, like a child clinging to her favorite toy. Except it's not a toy, it's a goddamned superweapon, with some real forbidden secrets behind it.

So you should find and drag her out, if you still care about her.

Or would you rather watch her die for the vaguest of ideals?

Even if... I couldn't bear to watch her go that far ahead, how do you suppose that stopping her is within my power?

This is Kristen we're talking about, Ferdinand. She'll take everything you have.

Do you think she would ever leave such a major weakness—if you really want to treat the relationship between me and her as a vulnerability—so easily within your grasp?

Good... great. You refuse to cooperate.

And what about the others? For example...

Saria.

You rescued her, and you've hidden her somewhere around here.

You're so willing to talk to me, just to buy her more time to escape.

Let's say she manages to escape. Who could she even go to?

Rhodes Island, caught up in the same mess, or that group of Maylander agents who love spinning webs just as much as you do?

...I have no idea what you're talking about.

The military just picked up a new piece of intelligence.

Saria... as well as the company behind her, Rhodes Island, are suspected of helping Kristen steal classified information pertaining to national security.

Maybe working at Rhine Lab for more than a decade has made you naive enough to... assume your old boss was some hero of justice?

Hmm... the usual stench of the sewers, and spots where the light doesn't reach.

These alleys are all the same.

Urban planners probably can't afford to invent new ways to do their jobs at the speed these cities pop up out of the barrenlands.

It's just too bad that you miss out on the local scenery if you use these nooks and crannies too much.

Am I right, my good subordinate? Isn't it better to get a view of the city from above?

A gust of wind blows through the empty alley.

All the un-exhaled smoke rings swirl back into the cracks in his metal. The Tin Man wonders if this is an opportune time to hack a few coughs as if choking.

A lighter floats right in front of him as soon as the embers of his cigarette die out.

'Banal' is such a lamentable assessment for a city like this with no history.

...Ho'olheyak.

You were supposed to make contact three days ago.

Oh? I had the impression that you're not particularly punctual yourself.

If you could just tone down your volume. Why did you pick this place for our meeting?

Did you forget? The factory in District 13 is close by.

Did you find the item from the other day?

Yes, but unfortunately there are only fragments left. Fragments of... stars, with no way to guide the lost.

And Kristen? Where is she?

Well...

Are you watching the sky?

You get a clearer view of the sky without the skyscrapers around.

Do you think Kristen might be hiding in a star up there? If so, then how are we supposed to find her?

Ho'olheyak, you went into the library two months ago.

I'm a historian, isn't it basically my job to visit libraries?

We're talking about Maylander's 'library' here.

I don't recall authorizing that.

You know I can't contain my curiosity.

Just like right now...

If I could trouble my employer with... a question that I've been awfully curious about...

What is it?

Your smoke.

Other than the clouds you puff out, the few wisps that slip into your body... where exactly do they go?

Is this why... you have the tip of your tail on my chest?

I smell my favorite scent on you... history.

So if it's at all possible, I'd love to get a good look at every little piece of your body for my research... Where should I start? Your head? Chest? Extremities?

...Ho'olheyak.

Do you really think... betraying the Maylander Foundation is the right choice here?

Of course... not.

Maylander holds most of this country's secrets. And in Columbia, secrets can be traded for wealth... or used as murder weapons.

I spent three whole years before I finally managed to get into the Historical Society, and spent another three to gain your trust.

Do you know what six years means to me? Being a Maylander agent has already taken... one-seventh of my life.

Then you shouldn't be wasting the rest of it behind bars or on the run.

Yes, yes... I know.

And yet... if my time here isn't enough to embrace what I've been yearning for my whole life, then what difference does it make if I live another ten years or one more minute?

Maylander won't allow anyone, least of all a defected agent, to access information they shouldn't be accessing.

A shame you only have me to see in your last moments.

Then I can only pray to the stars... that the dead won't speak so easily.

Fine, let me switch up the question—

—Do you really think you can kill me?

I'll never know... until I try.

Hrgh— Huh?

Your air manipulation shouldn't be affecting me... no, this isn't a K'uk'ulkan ability at all.

You know me just <i>so</i> well, don't you.

But, fortunately, I'm not exactly completely clueless as to what you are. Ordinary Arts have no effect on you, but...

...A curse.

The power of the oldest Sarkaz witchcraft, a soul-imprisoning curse.

It's been an awfully long time since you've had a taste of something like this, hmm?

That one year when a Maylander agent went deep into the Bleached Wasteland to investigate the ruins of the Sarkaz Royal Court, and suffered an unprecedented, life-threatening injury—

I didn't expect Maylander to leave those files intact.

You can't have thought that I ventured into Maylander's top secret database just for Kristen?

I did remind him that documenting everything isn't necessarily a good habit to have, all the time.

Hmph... According to you, only the long-lived would have such an extensive memory, while the rest of us just want to grab as much knowledge as we can, so naturally come up with different methods.

Otherwise, how could we short-lived beings hope to resist the control of people like you?

Huff... hah...