4 4 301 DialogEnable The dawn is gray and dark. Heavy clouds linger in the sky, an unbearable depression interweaving with the fog, affecting everyone stepping into these woods.
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6 6 201 2 500328
7 7 201 3 500336 4 -600
8 8 301 1 Vera Progress report, 21. 1
9 9 301 No. 21 Roger. 2
10 10 301 No. 21 Based on the target coordinates, we're 30 minutes from our destination at our current speed. 2
11 11 301 Noctis Gosh, why am I feeling cold... When will this fog dissipate?! 3
12 12 301 Moist vapor scatters in the air, forming water droplets on the artificial skins of the Constructs. Their footsteps draw a line amidst the fog, and they shiver as the vapor draws on their exposed skin like a cold finger.
13 13 301 Vera ...It's just your regular fog. Visibility is low, sure, but the Punishing Virus concentration is still normal, so calm down and keep moving. 1
14 14 301 No. 21 ...Aargh! 2
15 15 202 1 2 3 1
16 16 401 2 10003001
17 17 301 No. 21, who has been staying at the back of the team, suddenly screams like an animal. Her cry is immediately followed by a beam from her hovering laser cannon.
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21 21 301 1 Noctis What?! What the hell?! 3
22 22 301 As the fire and smoke dissipate, the rest of you find out what No. 21 was shooting. It is a tall tree, withered and dry, and, with the laser strike, it now has a big, burnt hole in the center, its edges sizzling.
23 23 301 Vera What's wrong?! 1
24 24 301 No. 21 ...I sensed eyes. 2
25 25 301 Noctis Don't scare me! I can't do surprises! 3
26 26 301 Vera Zip it, Noctis. Did you see someone? 1
27 27 301 No. 21 thinks for a moment before shaking her head.
28 28 301 No. 21 I... sensed eyes. 2
29 29 302 Do you mean someone's gaze? 30
30 30 301 No. 21 Gaze? 2
31 31 301 Noctis It means someone's watching you. 3
32 32 301 No. 21 Yes. Someone's watching me. 2
33 33 202 1 2 3 1
34 34 301 Quickly inspecting the back of the tree, Vera shakes her head, not discovering anything out of the ordinary.
35 35 201 1 500168
36 36 301 1 Vera No alarms and I'm not seeing any tracks. Everyone, stay alert but levelheaded. Let's keep moving. 1
37 37 201 1 500336 4
38 38 301 1 Noctis You're mistaken, I say... You're too nervous, 21. Just a little fog, and you're startled. 1
39 39 202 1 1
40 40 301 No. 21 does not argue. Still standing before the tree, she holds her hand up and gently touches the dark, burnt parts.
41 41 301 Withdrawing her hand, she finds her sleeve covered in blood-like marks.
42 42 201 1 500328 3
43 43 301 1 No. 21 ... 1
44 44 202 1 1
45 45 301 She puts her sleeve to her nose and sniffs, noticing the smell of rust. It is not blood but the scent of rusty metal in a humid environment.
46 46 301 Looking down, she finds a rotting doll lying in the bushes next to the tree.
47 47 301 Shaped like a stuffed animal, it is too dirty to tell its original color, save for the bright red of its cracked lips. The two stiff, sad eyeballs, poorly sewn, are staring straight at No. 21 like melted glass orbs.
48 48 301 Noctis Hey, come on!
49 49 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Noctis calls to her from afar. Shaking her head, No. 21 forgets about that gaze hiding in the fog.
52 52 301 AniZhuanchangEnd After a while of moving forward, the team is finally through the mist, as the view of the empty town reveals itself before you.
53 53 301 Solemn and gloomy, the European-styled buildings, as well as the sparse scenery, the deserted walls, and the dying trees covered in white, all display sickly tiredness.
54 54 201 1 500336 4
55 55 301 1 Noctis This fog is finally leaving... 1
56 56 301 Noctis ...Huh? Where's 21? 1
57 57 202 1 1
58 58 301 AniZhuanchangBegin That is when you realize No. 21 is not by your side. You all turn around and find her crouching at the cross-section you just passed, staring at a shop window by the road.
69 67 301 No. 21's expression reminds you of a time when two young girls also stopped for a doll mid-mission.
70 68 302 Do you want it? 69
71 69 301 She looks at you, expressionless, before reaching out her hand. Her arm goes through the glass window, shattering it, and she retrieves the doll.
75 72 301 AniZhuanchangEnd No. 21 takes off the doll's head with a "snap," and the broken wires spark at its neck. With that, the doll's eyelids close, unable to stay up.
76 73 301 Casually, she holds up the doll's head toward you, and you find the sight fairly terrifying.
77 657 401 1 201
78 74 201 1 500328
79 75 301 1 No. 21 It moved. 1
80 76 201 1 500336
81 77 301 1 Noctis Great, now what? 1
82 78 201 1 500328
83 79 301 1 No. 21 I didn't sense "wrong." 1
84 80 301 No. 21 I saw it in the shop window at the last cross-section. 1
85 81 302 Could it be that there's one in every shop window? 82
86 82 301 No. 21 I didn't sense "wrong." It was following me. 1
87 83 203 1 0.25 -450
88 84 201 2 500168 450
89 85 301 1 Vera Stop arguing. 2
90 86 401 2 1509
91 87 301 Vera takes the head from No. 21's hand and taps her receptor, and her eyes project a ray of light, scanning the head before displaying a bright green "CLEAR".
92 88 301 Vera Tsk. 2
93 89 301 Grasping the doll's artificial hair with two fingers, Vera flings the head to the side.
94 90 301 Vera I trust your instinct, 21, but now's not the time to disrupt the operation by these unproved, trivial hunches. 2
95 91 204 1 3
96 92 301 No. 21 ...Okay. I understand. 1
97 93 301 No. 21 says so as she looks down at her hands before shaking her head again.
98 94 301 No. 21 I don't understand. 1
99 95 301 Vera What don't you understand, now? 2
100 96 301 No. 21 My hand is itchy. 1
101 97 202 1 2 1
102 98 301 She raises her hands high, and her big, puffy sleeves slide down and cover her head, making her look slightly foolish. Still, she points her hands toward Vera, and Noctis also walks up and looks.
103 99 301 But there is nothing on them except some dust she has picked up accidentally.
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106 102 201 3 500336 4 -600
107 103 301 1 Noctis Whoa—you should wash your hands, 21. They're dirty. 3
108 104 301 Vera ... 1
109 105 301 Vera frowns, seemingly deep in thoughts. But she soon waves her hand.
110 106 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Vera Focus on the mission, 21. Don't get sidetracked again. 1
113 109 301 AniZhuanchangEnd After that brief interlude, you all travel for another short while, and you start noticing remains of strangely-built mechanoids on the sides of the road, long immobilized.
114 110 201 2 500328
115 111 301 1 No. 21 This... 2
116 112 301 No. 21 crouches before a damaged mechanoid. Most of its body is destroyed, leaving behind half a fractured orb. Inside the crack are wires and blades, as a few broken mechanical tentacles extend from within.
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118 114 201 3 500336 4 -600
119 115 301 1 Noctis What the hell is that... 3
120 116 301 Noctis, walking to No. 21's side, bends down and touches the remaining half of a tentacle.
121 117 301 The mechanoid seems to detect Noctis touching it, shaking violently as the half-tentacle stands from its core with a long needle at its end, glistening chillingly under the sun.
122 118 302 Watch out! 119
123 119 301 Reacting quickly, Noctis catches the needle with two of his fingers and snaps it.
124 120 301 Noctis What the hell is that?! 3
125 121 301 Vera Let me see. 1
126 122 301 Vera takes the needle from him, sniffing it, even tasting it with her tongue.
127 123 301 Vera Drugs, for humans, probably expired for centuries. Can't mistake the smell. 1
128 124 302 ...Is this how Cerberus operate? 125
129 125 301 Vera What do you want? Pack it up in a nice package and ship it to Asimov for analysis? Or are there other insights you want to share, Commandant? 1
130 126 302 Can I take a look at the whole thing? 127
131 127 202 1 2 3 1
132 128 301 Vera picks up the damaged mechanoid and spins it around.
133 129 301 Rusty as it is, you can still vaguely recognize the few pointed objects inside its mutilated frame. The widest crack on its body is lined with rugged edges, seemingly broken apart by a blunt object intentionally.
134 130 301 Its base is completely busted. You surmise that it would have been connected with "legs" that support the orb's body based on the configuration of its couplings.
135 131 301 —This kind of analysis is usually done by Lee, you think. But after so many missions together, you have picked up a thing or two about the construction of machines.
136 132 302 It kind of looks like 21's orb, no? 133
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138 134 201 2 500328
139 135 201 3 500336 4 -600
140 136 301 1 Vera Co-Bot? 1
141 137 301 No. 21 It's "Buddy". 2
142 138 302 It got a name, huh? 139 Right. 139
143 139 301 Noctis They don't look alike except for both being... round. 3
144 140 302 (Point out the missing parts at the base and its back) 141
145 141 301 Vera Now that you point it out... I do see the resemblance. 1
146 142 301 Those pointed objects are mostly pincers and scalpels, as well as hemostats and parts of the injection device Vera discovered. This mechanoid was a Medic Bot responsible for emergency human surgeries.
147 143 302 It's a mechanoid used for medical purposes. 144
148 144 301 Vera I recall something like that during the late Golden Age—portable Medic Bots that were quite popular back then but more or less obsolete now. You won't find them on Babylonia anymore. 1
149 145 204 2 4
150 146 301 No. 21 ... 2
151 147 302 21... what's wrong? 148
152 148 301 Her unusual quietness has caught your attention. Still, she only frowns and shakes her head, not answering you.
153 149 301 Noctis We know that now, great. Then what? 3
154 150 302 These mechanoids... seem to be destroyed deliberately. 151
155 151 301 As you observe the members of Cerberus, you find No. 21 to be especially sensitive to anomalies.
156 152 301 She has been acting strange since entering the town. You cannot tell if it is her affecting your subconscious or if it is your experience in battles warning you... you know that this town is more than meets the eyes.
157 153 301 "Those people" would not have sent you if this is just a normal small town.
158 154 301 Vera Noctis, check the map. 1
159 155 301 Noctis Sure. Um, hold on... where are we now? Here? 3
160 156 301 Vera 21, cross-reference the coordinates of the objective with that map. 1
161 157 204 2
162 158 301 No. 21 Copy. 2
163 159 301 No. 21 opens the holo-map on her terminal, displaying the location of Cerberus, not far away from the blinking red light that denotes their destination, which is—
164 160 301 Vera's finger glides right along their route on the brittle paper map until she stops on a single word.
200 194 301 AniZhuanchangEnd The building in sight rises, hovering over the ground, transforming and reconstituting. The plants around are blooming anew as if fresh seeds suddenly blossom, bursting out of the soil into a massive tree.
201 195 301 A bewildering familiarity with this place enthralls you.
202 196 301 Eerie Voice? Hehe... hehehe...
203 197 301 Within the canopy, a burst of strange and distant laughter zips from branch to branch, giggling nonstop, like a signal transmitting in a nervous system.
204 198 301 Eerie Voice? ...Wait... wait for me...
205 199 301 Amidst the ringing, the unfamiliar phrase elapses before disappearing.
210 203 301 But the apparition lasts but a moment, and soon your vision and hearing return to normal as the hospital building becomes its old, crumbly self again.
211 204 302 What was that... 205
212 205 201 1 500168
213 206 301 1 Vera What's wrong with you? 1
214 207 302 Did you see that?! 208
215 208 301 Vera ...Did I see what? 1
216 209 301 Normally speaking, connected Constructs and commandants would have their senses affecting each other, but Vera does not seem to be affected by whatever you just saw.
217 210 301 Although you have been getting memories replayed from your corrupted Mind Beacon after your last battle with Luna... this kind of twisted vision is unprecedented. And that sense of familiarity... What is going on?!
218 211 301 Besides... what you just experienced kind of felt like a memory replay, but not entirely. For a moment, you are flooded by the feeling of nostalgia, as if you had been here before, having seen this place at its prime.
219 212 301 Has the corruption worsened? Or was the illusion a result of your mental stress?
220 213 301 Vera What is it? 【kuroname】? 1
221 214 302 ...Nothing. 215 This place feels... familiar. 216
222 215 219 301 Before you can figure out what is happening, you should avoid stressing the team over nothing.
223 216 301 Vera Familiar? Like... deja vu? 1
224 217 301 Deja vu, "already seen," is a condition describing the sense of recollection over an event or a place not experienced before.
225 218 302 I... I'm not sure. 219
226 219 201 1 500336 4
227 220 301 1 Noctis Vera, I think the town is cursed. First, it was 21 being all paranoid, and now the commandant is acting weird? I feel... 1
228 221 204 1
229 222 301 Noctis I feel so fricking excited! Come on, town! Show me creepy stuff as well! 1
230 223 301 Eagerly he paces around you, his eyes beaming with a spark like a hound.
231 224 201 1 500168
232 225 301 1 Vera Something doesn't line up indeed. Even though the Punishing Virus concentration is within the norm here, it doesn't make sense that we haven't run into any Corrupted at all. Things are going... too smoothly. 1
239 232 302 Is Cerberus a zoo? 233 I'm not detecting Corrupted signals. 233
240 233 201 1 500336
241 234 301 1 Noctis It's our gifts, gifts we've carried since we were humans. Animal instincts. 1
242 235 202 1 1
243 236 301 Noctis lies on the floor dramatically and puts his ear to the ground.
244 237 201 1 500336
245 238 301 1 Noctis Dormant animals are like machines, incapable of detecting slumbering storms... but instincts can foresee when machines are blind. 1
246 239 302 I've no idea what you're talking about. 240 Sounds very... Cerberus. 240
247 240 201 1 500168 13
248 241 301 1 Vera This is why we're so effective. If you want to keep up, Gray Raven Commandant, you'll have to work harder, 'cause we aren't slowing down for anyone left behind. 1
249 242 201 1 500328 5
250 243 301 1 No. 21 They're here. 1
251 244 301 No. 21 extends her arms while her legs move back, acting like a wild wolf ready to prance.
252 245 202 1 1
253 246 301 At the same time, the screen on the terminal is abruptly awakened as a swarm of tiny dots lights up, like a horde of locusts migrating.
254 247 301 1 AniZhuanchangBegin The Corrupted, unseen since you arrived in this small town... are finally here.
