level_act25side_04_end

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...

If you really want to destroy this body, you probably need a little more time.

I have two minutes to spare.

So, you're not even going to come out of hiding to greet me...

...Banshee?

Weren't you just talking about how unwilling you are to show yourself?

Like I said, I have no interest in watching you murder your own boss.

But he's more than just that.

Oh? Old acquaintances, are you?

Personally? Not at all.

But my blood knows him.

Fascinating. I've been over it many times, and this guy here... doesn't smell Sarkaz.

Be careful of any tricks he might play. I don't want him to resurrect right after all the trouble I've gone through to kill him.

I won't let him interfere with the next step of the plan.

Hmm... I can't do it.

A delicate trap you've laid. I had guessed that Ho'olheyak might have planted something in the sky, but I didn't expect a banshee's curse to be hidden in the noise of the construction site.

My blood has taught me the power of words, and the sound of machinery clashing and colliding is the language I hear most.

An amazing talent to have fooled even me. There are only a few banshees, including those in the Royal Court, who could make me suffer like this.

Were you born in Kazdel, or the Valley of the Banshees?

It doesn't matter. My blood is not pure enough, and I haven't experienced any grand events either.

Right now, I'm just a engineer living in Columbia doing whatever I want.

*cough*...haha... have you found a home... in Columbia?

What about you?

Ah... so many years have passed by in a flash.

I've heard, that over the past two centuries, those two youths... Theresis and Theresa have finally built Kazdel as a Nomadic city.

I don't even know myself what Kazdel looks like today.

Are the streets still as crowded, the flags hanging on the city walls unchanged for a millennium, the undying furnace in the core still as hot as ever?

Can you relight my cigarette, child?

This little spark can't hold the remaining warmth of your soul.

I know. I only... want to stay a little longer to ask you a few more questions.

What did you see, in Kristen's dreams?

...The future.

Has she actually promised you... a change to the Sarkaz's fate? Do you believe she can do what no one has been able to accomplish over the past millennium?

No, she only showed me a possibility.

A possibility... that came from within myself.

Alright, Engineer Girl, if I could just trouble you to ask my darling employer if he has any last words?

The fire is almost out.

Time moves too fast for an old man like me.

The last question is mine.

An ancient one like you must have seen the fall of many Kazdels, and surely you must have thought of and searched for a place—

(Speaks in Sarkaz) Where is the Sarkaz promised land?

Promised... land, hm...

*sigh*...

Time's up.

A silvery green tail shatters the Tin Man's sigh with a strong burst of wind.

The last spark fizzles out at the same time the cigarette hits the ground.

A bone whistle sounds.

Trimounts has never heard such a sound. Neither the residents in their deep sleep or the office workers working overtime will be aware of what has just happened.

Other than those who've made an appointment.

Rosmontis, did you hear that?

Huh?

Logos was too busy to come to Trimounts, right?

My terminal says Logos has a lot to do. He hasn't trained with me for a long time, so I haven't been using my full strength in my sessions.

Don't make things hard for Mechanist.;It's been hard for Blaze and Sharp.

I know.

My devices are like the Rhodes Island cabins, if they break down, it takes a long time for Mechanist and Closure to fix them.

Mm.

Blaze and Sharp always complain that training with me is more tiring than going out on missions.

Before we left the landship, Raidian told me that Logos would come back with Amiya soon.

I miss Amiya too. I miss her so much.

Doctor, will we be able to see them, after we finish this, and return to Rhodes Island?

I miss them too.;I hope we can see them soon too.

Doctor, did you make it there?

Yes, the message says we're meeting in this alley.;I think the Tin Man should be already waiting for me?

We'll go home soon, I promise.

The alley is dark and silent, like an abyss.

Something rolls out from the murky shadows.

Perhaps it's due to its material hardness, but as it rubs against the ground, it eerily resembles a cog out of its wheel, a frightful rattle echoing through the darkness of the night.

It rolls straight to the alley entrance, where light and darkness meet.

It turns out to be a metal head.

The upper half is usually obscured by a hat's brim, and the mouth on its lower half often has a cigarette exhaling rings of smoke while spouting words that are at times perceptive, and other times incongruous.

But now there is no cigarette, no hat, no trench coat, or even the part that should be present past the neck.

There is only a head.

The Tin Man...;...is dead?

I would take it easy, if I were you.

After all, if you <i>do</i> make any moves, I can't guarantee that your head won't end up rolling along with my old employer's there.

Let's get to the point.;You didn't come here just to banter with me.

Sure.

Two things—It's time for Rhodes Island to end your excursion in Trimounts, and the other, as you've just seen, the leader of the Maylander agents, the 'Tin Man' has been murdered. We need a culprit.

And you've picked me.;Should I feel honored?

Your frailty certainly affects the credibility of the idea.

But the mundanity and perfectly enigmatic vibes of Rhodes Island makes you an excellent target for Maylander investigations, even if just for a bit.

You want to buy Kristen some time.;You want to buy yourself some time.

It won't do you any good to look for other secrets, okay?

It's not like I can run.;It never hurts to get a better understanding of each other.

Are you going to try and call for help?

You might want to lower your gaze, my tail won't exactly agree.

Or do you want to employ your expert negotiation techniques, to list a number of reasons why I can't do anything to you?

What a pity that Trimounts is not Tkaronto, and your opponent is not some black-hearted pharma.

I've had my eyes on you ever since you stepped into Trimounts.

At first, none of this had anything to do with you... or Rhodes Island at all.

Even if you and Saria are moving in the same direction, roleplaying as heroic firefighters, why haven't you dispatched a few more men like that good old mechanic to mop things up quick?

If you're not going to talk, then why don't I... tear your chest open and take a look at the secrets hiding inside?

The silvery green Liberi approaches.

Her plumage scrapes the fabric of your hood, emanating a soft but piercing sound.

At first, I thought you were the same as those other eccentric scientists, trying to find some sort of revelation about the future in Kristen's research.

After all, we're such a silly species, aren't we? Limited lifespan and unlimited ambition.

The moment we realize the limits of what we can accomplish in our short lives, we become willing to surrender our arrogance for just a moment, and beg for a shortcut.

But on you...*sniff*...I smell no trace of that desire.

What do you dream of, and what of your past?

I'm becoming very interested in you now, 'Doctor.'

But unfortunately, my colleagues are about to show.

Hold your friend's head in your hands, and enjoy a captivating session with Columbia's top agents. You might find yourself astonished.

Think through some answers to my questions during your interrogation.

I hope I don't give you the chance to run.

Wait...

Why... are <i>you</i> here?

Heehee... did this hood ever come with a guarantee of who would be under it?

...A water clone.

Grrr. Any more tricks up your sleeve, pathetic Elf?

Doesn't matter. Dr. {@nickname} of Rhodes Island... we <i>will</i> see each other very soon.

Doctor, there are a lot of people rushing towards that alley.

They're Maylander agents.;Rhodes Island has been set up.

It's a good thing you used your brains and 'borrowed' my clone for that meeting, otherwise you'd have fallen into that horrible woman's trap for real.

She's definitely left evidence implicating Rhodes Island.

You heard everything she said over the comms, right? Did we make enemies of both Maylander and the military?

I'm afraid so.

Ah... hahaha... you're not joking, are you?

Doctor, if you and the Tin Man had any plans, now would a good time to share them, you know?

Your silence implies... Wait, Doctor, you can't mean that he...

Something really happened to that mega mysterious super agent in the trench coat with a tin can for a head?!

I heard a banshee's bone whistle.;The knell has tolled for him.

That was a bone whistle?

Wait, banshee, you say? Of the Sarkaz variety?

Was it for Kristen? Did she...?

Muelsyse suddenly falls silent. She looks up at the sky above Trimounts.

There is nothing up there besides thousands of stars.

You cannot help but recall Ho'olheyak's question from earlier.

Why did you come to Trimounts?

Kristen... What sort of person is she exactly?;What exactly is the dream that she's chasing?

Quick, Silence! Over here!

Mmm...

This alarm... did something happen to Director Jara...?

Silence, are you okay?!

I'm fine. Saria...

I'll help you carry her.

Your face is all sweaty, if Saria doesn't wake up now, they're gonna catch us!

Don't push the blame onto Saria.

But your face... you look like you're about to...

I'm fine, Ifrit. I just happened to remember what happened earlier.

I watched her fall in front of me, and my very first reaction was not worry, or surprise, but regret.

Because... you were mad at her?

Yes. If that really was the last conversation we ever had, I didn't want to think... that I was blaming her.

Actually I've never... I just...

I don't know who else can hear me out.

Then just patch things up.

...Huh?

And then, when Saria wakes up, we can go back together. How about it?

She'll return here the moment she wakes up.

That's the sort of woman she is.

Fine, I think I get it, neither of you is gonna go home, are you?

That's right.

Then, why not work together?

Work together...?

Yeah, Silence. Even though you got some new gear on, you're still a doctor. If you keep on running like this, you're gonna get hurt or even die.

I know Saria is a great fighter. Even I've started to know that teamwork's important, yet she still likes to work alone.

If it weren't for us, Saria would be in an even worse situation right now!

Neither of you wanted me to tag along, but at the very least, you gotta promise me that you'll work with Saria.

Otherwise, the two of you will worry about me, and I'll worry about you guys too!

...Ifrit.

Just say yes or no. I'll even behave and go back to the Doctor. Just promise me!

I...

Some words are easier to say when you're a team, right?

Where did you learn all this?

The Doctor passed taught me all these people skills!

...I'll think about it.

Great!

Uh, Silence, what's that over there?

A Transmitter... that just appeared?

It's all silvery and flowy. Real pretty!

Don't touch it!

Ifrit, that's... very dangerous.

Dangerous? No way, more than my flames?

It's another product of Rhine's experiments.

For real? Then I'll burn it up!

No, just wait and see. Don't be too quick to destroy it.

A small lump of silvery substance gushes inside the test tube.

Ever since it left Parvis's home, it has lingered without a target direction, as if it has lost its hub directive.

As if its only mission is to lead her to Parvis.

Profess... Parvis never does anything without purpose.

His appearance earlier, couldn't have just been him wanting to chat with me... he deliberately led me to think he was the goal in this race for the Transmitter.

Could it be... the truth was never...

Silence, the door's over here!

Agh—!

How could... did someone spot us?

Stand back, Ifrit.

Calcification...!

Saria, you're awake! Hooray!

But you're...

I'm fine.

You're not bluffing a doctor that easily.

I'm just holding this door until it's safe enough for you to leave. QED, I'm perfectly fine.

The military mechs are closing in on our position.

This path is no longer safe.

Director Jara...

She wouldn't hand over the information that easily.

And so, there is only one possibility remaining.

...Ten minutes.

They should have run into Blake's people by now.

The old Saria would have probably stood a chance to escape unscathed.

However, she's injured and carrying two extra burdens. Want to guess how long she can last in front of a fully armed special forces unit?

Your phone is ringing, ma'am.

It's me.

Of course. I'm always willing... to serve Columbia.

Thank you for the advice.

By now, you should be willing to believe me that I did try my best.

I tried my hardest just to secure this opportunity to talk. If you had agreed with me earlier, then our Defense Director's life would at the very least not be in danger.

But you still sent them on that path... to that secret passage known only to Maylander agents.

Saria might die because of you, and the next one to go may well be the one you're most concerned about.

I'm hoping from the bottom of my heart that you think the question over.

Where the hell is Kristen Wright?

Director Jara... works for Maylander?

I investigated her ten years ago and found nothing. It was only when the Tin Man showed up and I left Rhine Lab that I got more clues to confirm it.

She's been at Rhine for a long time.

She knew Kristen even before I did.

Ifrit, attack the window on your left.

Gotcha!

It's so sturdy!

The glass in the experimental labs is all reinforced, so ordinary impacts aren't going to be able to smash them.

And if we break them now, we'll attract the attention of the soldiers downstairs.

We can use my fire to cut through the glass.

I can control my flames already, so I'll be able to do it.

(The teacher mentioned this in my Originium Arts classes... fire can be tempered, be silent, and become a quiet anger.)

(Make my flames into a sword.)

(Make my flames into a single thread——)

Hyah!

It cracked... a little bit!

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

You've split the enamel.

Saria, just hold on a little longer!

I'm halfway through, I can do it!

Focus, Ifrit. Don't get distracted.

When you were unconscious, Director Jara told me that there's no way you can fight against the entire country.

Mhm.

So if it is as you say, that Maylander and the military have come to some kind of agreement, then we truly are facing off the entire country right now.

Yes.

Your heart rate and body temperature are spiking near their limits, and you've only just woken up. Your body is taking a serious toll.

Perhaps.

Saria, you're at your limit.

Silence, Jara modified your drone. I've seen... the prototype blueprints.

When did you...?

Its current load-bearing capacity is at least two adults for a short distance glide.

Get out through the hole Ifrit opened, and the drone will be able to take you to the roof of the opposite building.

You'll have to act fast.

I'll wait for you to go over, and then I'll exit through this door and divert the pursuers. Their numbers are many, and I won't be able to fend them off for long.

...Saria.

Hm?

You still haven't given me an answer.

Your inability to make a genuine stand against Rhine, is it because deep in your bones, you've always been the same as them...? The same as Control?

Sorry, Silence.

I thought it through, and I'm unable to give you a definite answer.

If Kristen's experiment violates any laws that shouldn't have been broken, I will stop her. Just like all the wrongs Rhine has committed over the years—the wrong should be made right.

For I've always believed that the stronger one is, the less rash they should be acting.

But if I were to return to the past, back to when Kristen and I first met, when everything had yet to happen...

I would not have stopped the Kristen then. I would not have stopped the birth of Rhine Lab.

Yes, even if I knew that Rhine would create so much suffering in the future, even if I could foresee the ambitions of Kristen, Parvis and Ferdinand growing out of control...

I would still stand with them.

Saria... your answer might be even more definitive than you think.

Silence, Saria! Did you guys see that? I opened it!

Go, Silence.

If there's anything else you would like to know, we can wait until this is all over. And I'll tell you.

Alright.

Silence? Silence?

Hm?

Why are you spacing out? We gotta get moving.

'Poor Liberi. None of this has anything to do with you.'

'What exactly is it that you want? Truth, justice, or peace?'

'I will tell you what you want to know.'

'And yet, even if you know it all, what can you do?'

This is not the answer I want.

No.

A drone's... belt?

Silence, what are you doing?!

The whirring of a drone starting up comes from behind.

The unreinforced door at the end of the corridor is about to melt under the impact of the energy weapon.

Saria is suspended in midair, holding Ifrit in one arm, stretching the other out towards Silence, trying to grab her.

But Silence doesn't return her grip, and retraces the path she's taken in reverse.

I should have talked with you sooner, Saria.

I only just came to understand why I can't help but get mad at you.

I thought it was from the falling out we had during the 'Diαbolic Crisis.'

Or that I'm dissatisfied with the way you insist on shouldering everything yourself.

But actually... the one I'm most annoyed with is myself.

The blame I push onto you for not doing enough, it's only because... I built a habit of depending on you.

I had hoped you could change Control, just like I once hoped the Professor could save Ifrit, and that Control could change Rhine Lab... I had hoped every deadlock would be solved by someone stronger.

I'm so weak, aren't I?

On the one hand, I loathe the powerful figures that manipulate everything and treat innocent lives like expendable resources and numbers.

On the other hand, I still pin my hopes for the future on people stronger in not just power, but also morality and empathy.

Only now do I understand that no one can truly carry everything on their own, that it's beyond the capacity of a single individual.

Everyone who has been willing to help me on the way here, Rhodes Island, Director Muelsyse, Director Jara, and you...

All of you want me to stay out of it.

If you hadn't collapsed in front of me, if Ifrit hadn't been in danger, I might have just obediently thrown in the towel.

But now—I won't back down.

I refuse to allow myself to stay under your wings. I refuse to accept that I can only stand in vain as the gunfire rings right above us and open my arms to the injured.

This time, I will step into the flames before any of you.

The drone sends the two to a lower floor of the neighboring building. Saria smashes a window and they land smoothly.

There must be more of Ferdinand's people on the lookout downstairs, but as long as there's room for action, she believes she can find a way to break through the encirclement.

However...

Silence... what are you doing?

Silence, hurry up and fly over here with your drone!

Ifrit anxiously yells at the room across, but Silence takes a long look at them before turning her back.

Just as Silence begins to turn, Saria gets a look at her eyes.

They are brimming with regret.

But more than that, is determination.

Ferdinand, we've got someone in the corridor.

She says she has business with you.

...Silence?

Why are you...?

I'm sorry, Director Jara. I've already made up my mind. I have unfinished business, so I can't leave just yet.

I remember you, Parvis's stellar student. You and Elena gave me such a headache back at Site 359.

Yes, my name is Silence.

I would like to make a deal with you.

A deal? Do you really think I would let Saria go?

This isn't up to you.

No, this is the only thing that's up to me.

That's... Transmitter, from Site 359.

What are you doing?! Even if you put the Transmitter into your body, it's not going to work, Dorothy's 'hub' was destroyed!

The new 'hub' is in Kristen's hands.

That's impossible. That was my experiment, mine and Dorothy's...

A short while ago, I met Dr. Parvis. His laboratory was storing a large amount of Transmitter.

Director Clooney, you must have realized it long ago. You just don't want to admit it... You would rather believe your failure was owed to a bad move, than to believe that Control was playing you the whole time.

Did you really never consider the possibility?

She's the one that's working more closely with the military, she had countless ways to kill your experiment with Dorothy in its infancy—

—But then why did she only show up after your experiment succeeded?

We still have a chance.

Whatever Kristen is trying to do with Transmitter, she hasn't succeeded yet.

Director Clooney, bring me to her.

The Transmitter is inside me. I'll become your beacon to locate Kristen.