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Gathering of Heroes
Cut. Cut the potato open, and put it into the water piece by piece. Skulls are much harder to cut.
Tear. The softest tissues in the human body are like cotton candy, easily scattered by a gloved hand.
Crush. Flowers are crushed in the trembling palm, the juices sticking to the skin, dripping onto new leather shoes.
Scream. The instruments sever the nerves so quickly that it can take a life without its owner noticing, just like the use of anesthetics.
Cry. My dead brothers cry on the operating table. Why were they the ones who had to be killed? Why was I the one who was made to live?
No. No.
They are not dead yet. They are behind me, hammering and crying.
There was never a garden. There was only cruel imprisonment and cutting, the cage that treated our lives like toys.
They want to destroy the cage.
As do I.
- Muelsyse
The lab walls are being torn apart? They're made of advanced reinforced materials... how they be sliced apart like potatoes?
- Muelsyse
Th-The ground is being peeled like an apple!
- Muelsyse
We'll be crushed into pulp!
- Muelsyse
You don't mean you're going by yourself, do you?
- Muelsyse
Did you see how she shredded that power armor like paper? You're just a regular human! You are human, right?
- Ifrit
...I'll go.
- Muelsyse
This is no time for jokes, Iffy!
- Muelsyse
The Diαblo within you... well, your power is plenty dangerous too. Don't tell me you mean to...
- Ifrit
No.
- Ifrit
I won't use its power. I'll do it myself.
- Ifrit
That's a promise between me and Rosmontis.
- Power Armor Operator
Requesting... support...
- Power Armor Operator
The communicator... it's crushed?
- Power Armor Operator
What the heck are...
- Ifrit
Don't.
- Power Armor Operator
What?
- Ifrit
I know what you want to say. Don't say it.
- Ifrit
She's my friend. My good friend.
- Ifrit
We're more than friends. We work together and fight together.
- Ifrit
Rosmontis...
- Rosmontis
...I'll destroy everything that's not right.
- Rosmontis
A lab like this...
- Ifrit
It should never have existed.
- Ifrit
I get it.
- Ifrit
Damned lab coats, damned labs, all those damned things that tormented us should have been burned to ashes a long time ago!
- Ifrit
Of course we have the right to be angry, to yell, to destroy it all!
- Ifrit
But we don't have to do it!
- Rosmontis
Why?
- Rosmontis
Are you going to stand in the way of what's right?
- Ifrit
You're tough... but it'll take more than that to stop me!
- Ifrit
I won't let you become like Darya, Rosmontis... we promised to see the city together, and go back to Rhodes Island together!
- Ifrit
I don't want to admit it, but you've always been better than I am! You're an elite operator, and you've done so many amazing things.
- Ifrit
Think of Amiya, think of Blaze the big cat, think of the Doctor! They have soft palms, their clothes smell clean, and they hug like warm blankets!
- Rosmontis
Blankets...?
- Ifrit
There are people who love us. Life isn't fair, but after all the scum we had to put up with, we still ended up meeting some really good people.
- Ifrit
Silence's stories always have a happy ending. I know, she made up a bunch of them.
- Ifrit
Saria is always strict about my homework, but she helps me up when I fall down.
- Ifrit
Don't destroy these memories.
- Ifrit
You can stop now, Rosmontis.
- Rosmontis
Stop...?
- Rosmontis
I-Ifri...
The vibrations weaken.
Ifrit grabs Rosmontis' hand.
- Ifrit
Yes, Ifrit. You remember me. No way you could forget. You didn't find out I ate those cookies you hid yet.
- Rosmontis
Yes... I think you're right.
- Rosmontis
It wasn't the Doctor who ate the cookies. I should correct the terminal entry.
- Ifrit
Hahah... hahahaha!
- Rosmontis
You look like you're hurting. Why are you laughing?
- Ifrit
I want to laugh.
- Ifrit
You didn't lose control, right? Even the Doctor was worried about it. But you just wanted to do what you wanted to do in your own way.
- Rosmontis
...Yeah.
- Ifrit
It's okay, Saria's worried that I'll lose control too. It's not a lack of trust. They just worry too much.
- Ifrit
As for the bad guys... the power they planted in us, the scars they left behind, none of that can control us.
- Ifrit
We're the only ones who can.
- Ifrit
We can turn the tables and laugh in their faces.
- Rosmontis
Like... like this?
- Ifrit
Yes. Lift the corners of your mouth, find that Loken, and tell him he's nothing to you!
- Rosmontis
...Loken.
- Rosmontis
Alright, I'll find him. I know what to say now.
- Muelsyse
...Things have calmed down.
- Muelsyse
Ifrit did it. She calmed Rosmontis down. Talk about a close one...
Rosmontis's Arts left cracks in the walls around you.
The walls of the maze have been destroyed, revealing a hallway deeper into the building.
- Muelsyse
Huh?
- Muelsyse
......
- Muelsyse
Kristen remembered...
'Sarcophagus.'
You are sure you saw the Sarcophagus.
It is unmistakable. It is the starting point of all memories you have.
Even the dizziness is exactly the same.
Muelsyse does not answer.
You reach out and touch nothing.
There is only a small splash, the reflection of bubbles.
The real Muelsyse stands at the heart of the vivarium.
- Muelsyse
Doctor... I promised to take you and Rosmontis to see Loken.
- Muelsyse
Our cooperation is over, now that its goal is complete.
- Muelsyse
You can't go any further. We say goodbye here.
- Muelsyse
...No.
- Muelsyse
I lied again. I really am evil, aren't I?
- Muelsyse
That hard-head, Nasti... I told her I made my choice, when I really hadn't.
- Muelsyse
I only just now made it, the moment I saw this vivarium.
- Muelsyse
I'm sorry.
- Muelsyse
I came only to confirm one thing... yes, this is where my dreams are. The vivarium and the future it carries... this is my dream.
- Muelsyse
It's the answer for me and my people.
- Muelsyse
Kristen promised to take it with her.
- Muelsyse
She didn't lie to me. She just didn't tell me... maybe she got tired of my cloaks and daggers, how a part of me never seems to be there. Maybe she never stopped believing in the trust between us.
- Muelsyse
She really did it...
- Muelsyse
So I should keep my promise.
- Muelsyse
Tell Saria... I'm sorry.
The water pushes you away. It is soft, but irresistible.
You return to the outer hallway, the lab doors closing before you.
The water disappears, leaving no trace behind. Your hand is empty again, but this is no longer just an intermission in the middle of a dance.
- Ho'olheyak
It's time. Can I go now?
- Kristen
The deal is done. You can leave at any time.
- Ho'olheyak
You promised me...
- Kristen
You'll find it on your terminal.
- Ho'olheyak
Is this the entirety of Loken's research?
- Ho'olheyak
No, there's another address... a blurred one. It looks familiar. You've really done a lot right under Maylander's nose. I'm starting to actually respect you.
- Kristen
What a shame.
- Ho'olheyak
What's that?
- Kristen
You won't see the sky that you should have gotten to see.
- Ho'olheyak
The stars? My people have played with them long enough. I've given you all the information I should. Do you really think those twisted spots of light are worth looking at?
- Kristen
No, not the sky we see today.
- Kristen
Its true aspect, in the future.
- Ho'olheyak
Enough. I know about your great plans, but that future doesn't belong to me. As long as your data is legit, I'll be able to fulfill my ancestors' dream and recover my true power—
- Kristen
The power that you desire could not even overcome time. You understand that it could be machines that fly the skies of the future, or other evolving lifeforms...
- Kristen
But not a shadow from ten thousand years ago.
- Ho'olheyak
Are you mocking me... mocking my blood, my memory, my destiny?
- Ho'olheyak
You—
- Kristen
Sacrificing your entire race just to return to the past... is it really worth it?
- Ho'olheyak
......
- Ho'olheyak
Whatever. I've got what I wanted. Let's say goodbye in peace.
Ho'olheyak jumps down the monitoring platform.
She does not turn around to look at Kristen. She does not want Kristen to see the look on her face.
- Muelsyse
You.
- Ho'olheyak
We meet again.
- Muelsyse
......
- Ho'olheyak
......
They are silent for a moment.
Past and future pass by each other, without making contact.
Five minutes.
- Silence
I can't get the door open!
- Jara
Here.
- Silence
Huh?
- Silence
It's... the weapon you lent me?
- Jara
Not lent. Gave. It's yours. You just need practice.
- Silence
Practice... er...
- Jara
You're free, once you go out from here. The agents and soldiers are too busy to bother. They've found H.A.M.H.R.R. and achieved their goal. They won't bother you anymore.
- Jara
Run to Trimounts. There, you'll still be Researcher Silence.
- Silence
Um...
- Jara
You want to go in the most dangerous direction, don't you? You could put your life in danger. You may never be able escape Maylander's gaze ever again.
- Jara
It'll be a struggle of a lifetime. You may lose some things forever. Freedom, the life you know, the trust of your family and friends, the right to live under the sun, and yourself.
- Jara
Are you sure you want a life like that?
- Silence
I don't know. I haven't seen the problem resolved with my own eyes. I don't want to give up halfway.
- Jara
You're a talented scholar, a good doctor. Have you made up your mind to become a warrior?
- Silence
Maybe I'll never be a warrior.
- Silence
But I'll grasp the weapon you gave me tight, if necessary.
- Jara
Very well, child. Go forth with my blessing.
- Silence
Thank you, Director Jara.
- Silence
By the way, Control... Kristen could be just ahead.
- Silence
Don't you want to see her?
- Jara
Do I? Of course I do.
- Jara
But I doubt I can catch her.
Jara gazes at the laboratory.
Then, she turns her gaze toward the sky.
- Blake
You got it yet?
- Columbian Soldier
Not yet!
- Blake
Keep going. The core of H.A.M.H.R.R. should be in here.
- Blake
And Kristen... she couldn't have escaped right under our noses.
Three minutes.
- Saria
...Ifrit?
- Ifrit
Saria! Did you find a way in?
- Saria
Not yet.
- Ifrit
This place is weird. Even after Rosmontis crushed most of the outer wall like a cookie, it's not revealing any of the stuff inside.
- Saria
...It's not a complete building.
- Ifrit
What?
- Saria
You're right, Ifrit. It's not a lab.
- Saria
This is... it's...
- Saria
Did she install her parents' propulsion device on... how could it be? No... how did I not think of it until now?
- Ifrit
Saria! Where are you going?
- Saria
......
- Saria
If I break the wall...
- Saria
She must have expected me. It's pointless.
Then what has a point?
You can't change anything.
Would we be too late?
- Saria
No.
- Saria
I have to...
Have to what?
- ???
Saria.
- Saria
Si...lence?
- Saria
You need to get out of here... it could be...
- Silence
No.
- Silence
Saria, I didn't come here to listen to you talk like that.
- Saria
......
- Silence
I know how far a scientist would go for her dream. I know that feeling of rapture, which is why I know the strength it takes to fight it with morality.
- Silence
You've long been seeking a balance between science and order. You do well; perhaps too well.
- Silence
Your order is falling apart. But if you're willing to let balance go... perhaps you'll find your roots amidst the chaos.
- Saria
Find my... roots?
- Silence
I believe you can.
- Silence
We have all things to do. Let's part here.
- Saria
......
- Silence
I can tell you now, Saria.
How much I looked up to you.
How much I wanted to walk by your side.
One minute.
- Muelsyse
......
- Muelsyse
Well, there goes a rare friend.
- Muelsyse
How do you plan on making it up to me, Kristen?
Thirty seconds.
- Rosmontis
......
- Loken
Narcissa... You've returned. Are you ready to pronounce judgment?
- Rosmontis
Yes, I want to kill you.
- Rosmontis
Not for revenge. I hate you, but Amiya and the Doctor both say that revenge won't bring back the ones I love.
- Rosmontis
Not for destruction. You want to use me to destroy you. I won't. I'm not your weapon.
- Rosmontis
You're just a criminal. You're nothing to me.
- Rosmontis
I'll do what the law and prison could not do.
- Rosmontis
I hereby sentence you to death.
- Loken
Good... good.
- Loken
How does that song go again?
- Loken
Country roads♪ Take me home♪
- Loken
To the place I belong♪
- Loken
Soon. Very soon.
Severe tremors shake the earth.
Like something very strong and resilient is about to break out.
You gaze at the rising inner corridor, and see a figure through the windows.
- Kristen
—
Kristen.
A name that has been on many lips these days.
Lunatic. Genius. Foe. Friend.
Or perhaps a dreamer who does not belong to this time.
You see her with your own eyes for the first time. She continues to look up at the sky, as though the blank emptiness is the only thing she should care about.
A familiar silhouette appears.
- Kal'tsit
Mon3tr!
- Mon3tr
(Screeches)
It unfolds in an instant, grabbing your shoulders lightly with sharp claws, the massive figure covering you fully.
Then, an even more massive shadow rises behind Mon3tr.
H.A.M.H.R.R..
Now you can see that the mysterious ring corridor and Muelsyse's vivarium are both part of H.A.M.H.R.R..
Maylander and the military fought over it, then made peace over it, but no one could have predicted that it would reveal itself in this way.
The bright flames of the thrusters feel blinding. The blast throws you off your feet.
If not for Kal'tsit and Mon3tr, you would have been cast to the winds, like those around you, and the broken remains of the lab.
- Kal'tsit
Hang on, Doctor.
- Kal'tsit
I know.
The figure in the air casts her gaze at you.
No, not at you. The dark monster that is protecting you.
- Mon3tr
(Growls)
Kristen moves her lips, seemingly inquiringly.
You hear Kal'tsit repeat her answer to you.
- Kal'tsit
—I know.
