3 3 301 DialogEnable After a short walk toward your destination, No. 21 walks past the precinct Noctis mentioned.
4 4 301 But unlike how he described it, the vehicles are hardly "parked" outside—they are stacked together haphazardly, like a child leaving toys behind. You wonder how Noctis managed to pull a functional car from this pile.
5 5 201 1 500328
6 6 301 1 No. 21 Cars. 1
7 7 202 1 1
8 8 301 Intrigued, No. 21 inspects the cars closely. She observes the closest one to her, the paint on the vehicle scratched, her image reflected in the car window.
13 13 301 As she watches closely, a frail and skinny palm slams on the other side of the window, accompanied by a child's laughter.
14 14 201 1 500328 5
15 15 301 PanelActor1Shake 1 No. 21 Aah! 1
16 16 202 1 1
17 17 301 Startled, No. 21 jumps back.
18 18 301 The next second, the handprint on the dusty window vanishes without a trace, leaving no mark behind.
19 19 401 2 10003001
20 20 301 Before you can stop her, No. 21 fires her laser cannon toward the window, tearing a wide hole in the car, revealing the empty seats inside with the shattered glass.
21 21 301 There is nothing there apart from a crumpled-up paper cup, half a slice of rotten bread, and a piece of yellowed newspaper.
32 32 301 AniZhuanchangEnd The precinct is filled with things, unorganized and packed, and you can smell the moldy cardboard boxes in the air. Everything is reminding you that people used to work here.
33 33 301 No. 21 knocks over a stack of folders when she enters, and they fall all over the floor. A monitor terminal on the desk seems to be awakened by the commotion as it turns on and shows a video of a football game.
34 34 302 Power is still running in the town at minimum capacity? 35
35 35 301 The top right corner of the display writes "REC", as if the owner of the terminal left the seat in the station for some reason, leaving behind the game recorded the night before and played during work.
36 36 301 No. 21 frowns and stares at the terminal. As the camera pans to the closeups of the players' faces, she raises her hand.
37 37 302 Wait... 38
38 38 401 2 10003001
39 39 301 Right after, the terminal is blasted into pieces by her laser cannon, leaving behind a wisp of black smoke among the shattered parts.
40 40 201 1 500328
41 41 301 1 No. 21 There were people inside. 1
42 42 302 ...They were recordings. They weren't real. 43
43 43 204 1 3
44 44 301 DialogDisable No. 21 Why record them? 1
45 45 302 People sometimes record things. 46
46 46 302 So that they could share it with the people who couldn't be there. 47
47 47 301 DialogEnable DialogDisable No. 21 But why? 1
55 55 301 She looks around in the dim, enclosed space. You can feel an unknown sense of familiarity capturing her through your connection.
56 56 301 There should be a photo on this desk... you think. A photo... Whose photo? Why would you think that? Were you... here at some point?
57 57 301 At the same time, an intense sentiment is prickling you, reminding you of how intimate and trusting you are of the safety this place has provided. The nostalgia is so intense that you can feel your heart aching.
68 68 301 You hear a child's laughter on the other side. No. 21 puts her hand on the window, and the feverish image clears up—a young girl in twintails, no more than five years old, has her back facing you outside, looking up.
69 69 301 Eerie Girl? ...Dad isn't in the car...
70 70 301 Eerie Girl? ...When is Dad leaving work?
71 71 301 Eerie Girl? The birthday party... is today...
72 72 301 Her voice seems to be filtered through water, the words barely coming through, sounding muffled and unreal.
73 73 301 Eerie Girl? ...I'll go find Mom then.
74 74 401 2 10003001
75 75 301 RImgBg1Shake Breaking the glass window, No. 21 does not hesitate to jump outside.
76 76 201 1 500328 4
77 77 301 1 No. 21 Wait! 1
78 78 301 But the figure has disappeared again as she lands.
79 79 204 1
80 80 301 Failing to locate her target, No. 21 looks around, stupefied.
81 81 301 No. 21 What was that? A new enemy? 1
82 82 302 ...I don't know. 83
83 83 301 The only thing you are certain of right now is that, for some reason, Vera could not see what you saw, despite being connected as well, but No. 21 can.
84 84 301 You cannot say if this is why Kurono wants you here... Have they done something to you? Is this the doing of the "third party"? Or have you been hallucinating, somehow transmitting your hallucination to No. 21?
85 85 302 Let's get out of here. 86
86 86 301 Regardless, you have no way to tackle it right now. You can only move forward.
87 87 302 Those "things" come and go without a trace. Don't get flustered. 88
117 115 301 The last thing you hear is No. 21's anguished scream. A sharp pain cuts through your head, and your vision becomes blurry again as your Mind Beacon drops until your connection with her is lost within the fall.
133 128 301 After thirty seconds, or maybe ten minutes—you cannot tell with no perception of the outside world—
134 129 301 DialogDisable You are barely awake in the dark. Between the moments when your senses are gone, you can almost hear some indistinct sound from outside.
137 132 301 DialogEnable 1 As your vision gradually returns, your dissonant perception of time fades. You are still inside the small room, except you are now lying on the chair.
138 133 301 You look up and find a masked medic holding your head.
139 134 302 Um... 135
140 135 301 Medic Just a mild nosebleed. 1
141 136 301 A cold, wet gauze lightly glazes your cheeks.
142 137 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Medic It's taken care of. You can sit back up once you're done resting. 1
145 140 301 AniZhuanchangEnd The medic puts away the gauze and releases your head, moving away from your vision. You are immediately confronted by the blinding surgery light, and your eyes hurt.
146 141 301 A few masked and armed Constructs in bulletproof vests are here as well, making the small room even more claustrophobic. In your hazy vision, you can see they have their weapons pointed at your face.
147 142 301 After making sure that you are not going to go berserk and attack them, the Constructs calmly step back and leave the room.
148 143 301 You slowly sit up on your chair, your back feeling like it has been run over by Asslam as your bone aches and cracks. Your ribs are still hurting from the injury you received in the sewer.
149 144 301 The chains on your ankles clang along your movement.
150 145 301 You peek around you to find the same depressing room with your reflection on the same piece of glass. The small window to the outside is now closed, and Rebecca is gone, leaving only a roomful of Construct soldiers.
151 146 301 Something feels off about the place, but your confused mind cannot tell what it is at the moment.
152 147 301 Suddenly, Rebecca's hologram appears on the opposite side of the desk.
161 156 301 Rebecca's hologram raises a finger and reveals a map of the town. She keeps zooming in before stopping at a point.
162 157 301 You hear Vera's voice from that spot.
163 158 301 Vera ...Isn't that tree the one we passed? It's the same place! We've been walking in circle—
164 159 301 Noctis This is the fifth time! Fifth ****ing time!
165 160 301 Noctis I swear I'm driving in the opposite direction!
166 161 301 Vera The route map says that we've been circling outside it.
167 162 301 Vera Has 21's comms reconnected?
168 163 301 Noctis Not yet. Don't worry! What can happen to that little monster...
169 164 301 Vera Stop driving. Let's get out—we can't mark our position clearly on the car.
170 165 301 Noctis Alright, alright.
171 166 301 This is... surveillance.
172 167 301 No... this is a warning. Your every move is being monitored. Despite knowing this from the beginning, you cannot help but look up and meet the silent gaze behind the narrow window.
173 168 301 Vera ...You better bring 21 back, 【kuroname】.
174 169 301 You think you heard Vera muttering for a second there.
176 171 301 And then, the projection shifts back to a scan of your body.
177 172 301 Next to the graphs that you do not comprehend is your heartbeat. The projected line jumps up and down inside this tiny room, and you feel that even ideas in your head are being dissected and watched.
181 176 301 Rebecca For some reason, we lost all signals on 21, and the Cerberus captain couldn't connect to her comms either. She just vanished like a snuffed candle. 1
182 177 301 Rebecca Since you were connected, you were also forced to disconnect, bypassing the system and stressing your mind. Others would've been out for hours, but your condition means we've only lost 13 minutes and 26 seconds. 1
183 178 301 Rebecca We're progressing nicely. 1
184 179 302 Progressing nicely? 180
185 180 301 Rebecca You seemed to have found some interesting leads, didn't you? I noticed that you had stayed for quite some time at an unrelated location. 1
186 181 301 She is trying to fish information out of you.
187 182 302 I would've reported in if I found interesting leads. 183
188 183 301 Rebecca Fine. Given the situation, the plan's changed. Vera seems to be in trouble, so you'll be connecting with her. After you deal with that, you'll return to where the leads were and continue your investigation. 1
189 184 302 What about 21? 185
190 185 301 Rebecca Our guys are investigating why she was disconnected. Just prioritize your mission. 1
191 186 301 Kurono's intention is clear. They just want you to work like a mule as fast as you possibly can.
192 187 302 Is there a Plan B? 188
193 188 204 1 4
194 189 301 Rebecca ...Excuse me? 1
195 190 301 Rebecca is slightly stunned by your question, but she quickly grins again—with the same sweet, gentle smile.
196 191 204 1
197 192 301 Rebecca The only term for you leaving this place is obeying our order. Do you not understand that? 1
198 193 302 I have a better offer. 194
199 194 301 Vera is skilled—she could not have simply gotten lost. But the fact remains that even she did not have time to search for No. 21 in Kurono's recording.
200 195 301 —More importantly, you need No. 21. You are not sure why yet, but she is the only one who can feel, hear, and see those eerie "illusions."
201 196 302 Let me connect with 21. 197
202 197 301 The Parliament's condition is to "keep the commandant safe," and members of the Task Force are not included. Given how relentless Kurono is, it is highly possible that they would abandon their search on No. 21.
203 198 302 As long as her M.I.N.D. is working, my Mind Beacon will find her. 199
204 199 302 I can do what your machines can't. 200
205 200 301 Rebecca It'll just burden you and waste our time. 1
206 201 301 Rebecca Isn't this the first time you have connected to this Construct? Let me tell you a secret—the Cerberus Commandant has never connected with 21 before. Do you know why? 1
207 202 302 I don't know. 204 I don't care. 203
208 203 301 Rebecca You know what I care about? I care if you can finish your mission, and you should care if you can leave this place alive. Getting what we both want requires the same thing—we're on the same side, not opposite, not now. 1
209 204 301 Rebecca You don't know this Construct as well as we do. Our data shows that her M.I.N.D. has never been stable. Connecting with her was risky in the first place. 1
223 218 301 Rebecca No objections, then? Operator, ready to connect the commandant with the Cerberus captain. Officer, any updates on the tracks of the third party near the target coordinates? Report at once if you find something. 1
224 219 302 You're not looking for 21? 220
225 220 204 1
226 221 301 Rebecca Isn't she a member of your elite Babylonia Task Force? Our priority should be removing obstacles that can affect the mission. 1
227 222 302 (...As expected!) 223
228 223 301 Rebecca Commandant... you don't look very well. Did you find something? 1
229 224 302 I... saw something strange in that neighborhood. 227 That town is haunted! 225
230 225 301 Rebecca ...Commandant, are you losing your mind? 1
231 226 302 I meant I saw something strange in that neighborhood. 227
232 227 204 1 4
233 228 301 Rebecca Why didn't you report it? 1
234 229 301 The smile fades from Rebecca's projection as she shifts her posture and leans forward.
235 230 302 I wasn't sure why I could see them... 231
236 231 301 Your mouth goes dry at the absurdity of reporting a haunting to your superiors.
240 235 301 Rebecca pauses for a second before smiling again. The image of the woman who has been threatening you has completely vanished.
241 236 301 Rebecca ...Very well. I see. 1
242 237 301 Rebecca Operator, follow what the commandant said and act accordingly. 1
243 238 301 Adjustment Operator But... the device was overloaded in the accident. Considering the maximum threshold of the commandant's Mind Beacon, it's best to only connect to one Construct...
244 239 301 Rebecca You heard him, Commandant. 1
245 240 302 ...I understand. 241
246 241 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Adjustment Operator Okay, then. Prepare to connect. Please put on the remote connection device.
250 245 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Your Mind Beacon traverses through muddy consciousnesses like a fish swimming deep in the ocean.
251 246 301 You soon find a dot of light in front. Unlike your connection with Vera, it is weak—a frail, cold glow.
252 247 301 Too frail... Your head hurts.
253 248 301 Managing your breaths, you concentrate, your will steadfast.
254 249 301 The Mind Beacon opens up from a thread to a net, interweaving and expanding gently.
255 250 301 The weak glow skips around, trembling, seemingly trying to escape. Weak and obscured it may be, it is still whole.
256 251 301 You struggle to catch it to reveal its entirety, but your efforts have been in vain. The stress on your mind over time has almost depleted your mental prowess.
257 252 301 No... you cannot give up yet. Just try a little harder—you reach out, your attempt as futile as trying to touch the unreachable sky. But you do not give up.
258 253 301 In the infinite ocean of the M.I.N.D., you keep walking on the endless path.
266 261 301 The pain slowly subsides as you refamiliarize with the sensation, and you find yourself back in the town. In your blurry vision, you can tell that you are indoors.
267 262 302 Thank goodness you're safe. 263
268 263 301 No. 21 Stay away...
269 264 301 No. 21 stumbles and sits down with a dreadful expression, surrounded by fallen, orb-shaped mechanoids and Medic Bots that look like her Co-Bot.
270 789 301 Like an animal, No. 21 has her arms by her body, her back bent, and she growls quietly like a wild beast. You have no doubt that she would have bitten you if you were standing before her physically.
271 265 301 No. 21 Stay... away from me!
272 266 301 Her jaw is trembling as well, muddling her words.
273 267 301 She is hurt. Bandages drenched in vital fluid lie on the tiled floor next to a half-empty bottle of isopropyl alcohol. You faintly see the wound on her abdomen, the soaked wraps failing to stop her from "bleeding."
274 268 301 She seems to have been trying to patch herself up.
275 269 302 Listen to me, 21. 270
276 270 301 No. 21 Get out of my head—
277 271 302 You shouldn't be using that... That is for human... 272
278 272 301 She keeps repeating her grumbly command. There seems to be a black fog lurking at the edge of the light, ready to devour her at a moment's notice.
279 273 302 You know me, 21. 274 Something's wrong with you, 21... What happened? 274
280 274 302 I'm not going to hurt you. 275 Vera lost your signal. 276
285 279 301 Your words seem to work. The hostility she is displaying has slightly relaxed, and she seems less tense.
286 280 301 It has taken almost twenty seconds. Silent, No. 21 does not clutch her fist nor command Buddy to attack. She seems to have been trapped inside a trance, stuck with a question she cannot answer, and so she does not.
287 281 301 The black fog dissipates, not disappearing completely, retreating to somewhere not far behind you. But it is far enough from her for now, and she is safe from being immediately devoured.
288 282 301 No. 21 ...
289 283 301 No. 21 ...【kuroname】, is that you... inside my head?
290 284 302 It is. 285 I'm sorry. 285
291 285 301 No. 21 What have you done to me...? 1
292 286 302 ...? I haven't done anything. 287 I've connected with you. 287
293 287 301 She looks left, and right, and left again—until she is shaking her head violently as if trying to get rid of the voice in her head.
294 288 301 No. 21 I don't want you.
295 289 301 All you can do is maintain your focus amidst all the pain and tiredness, controlling your Mind Beacon and reducing the sense of invasion as much as you can.
296 290 301 No. 21 Capt...
297 291 302 I can't connect with Vera for now. 292 We have to look for Vera ourselves. 292
298 292 301 No. 21 Have to find... Capt.
299 293 301 No. 21 mumbles to herself and briefly quiets down. Despite feeling her rejection, you can feel the connection stabilizing.
300 294 301 She... does not trust you. Even though you have connected before, her attitude has not softened. In fact, it has gotten even odder. The hallucinations seemed to have affected her quite a bit.
301 295 301 No. 21 I hate strangers inside here.
302 296 301 She points at her head.
303 297 302 I won't probe your M.I.N.D., I swear. 298
304 298 301 This is the best you can promise, anyway.
305 299 301 No. 21 Okay.
306 300 301 She replies concisely, her tone suggesting that she will terminate the connection forcefully if you make her feel uneasy.
