Story/Emergency 8-4 (Part2)/Script

[...]
[......]

M16A1: Per...sica.
I’ve extracted...the file.

Persica: ...
Well done, M16.
Deliver it to 16Lab with your drone.

M16A1: I’ve already dispatched it along with the equipment you gave me...
I’ve never used it, and I hope M4A1 will never have to use it either...

Persica: ...She’ll use it as she sees fit.

M16A1: Ha, true... She’s a smart girl...
A bit TOO smart, unfortunately. An indecisive AI isn’t fit for command. You really should’ve designed her to be more assertive.
Or if I’d been more strict with her... Sadly, that’s no longer possible...

Persica: Perhaps... But you’re certainly still helping her.
You know...M4 is right behind me. Everything you say is directly transmitted to her neural cloud.

M16A1: Why are you doing that?

Persica: To stabilize her mental state.
I’m attempting to break her seals, but forcing her to awaken with technology will make her neural cloud go haywire.
Your voice is keeping her calm and at peace. That’s crucial to repairing and recalibrating the personality of her AI.

M16A1: Seal? Recalibrate? I don’t think I’m following...

Persica: M4A1... This time, I won’t just wake her up.
When she awakes, she’ll be stronger...and more dependable...
That’s...how she used to be.

M16A1: Ha, I just can’t picture...an M4A1 like that.
Too bad...I won’t get to see it...

Persica: Will you regret this, M16A1?

M16A1: Why would I? It’s a bargain for me!
If I really mean that much to her...

Tsk...

Persica: What is it? Your neural cloud...is starting to act up.

M16A1: My head...is throbbing...
It’s a very dull ache, nothing too bad, but it’s kinda annoying... Is this how it feels to be rewired by Parapluie?

Persica: Possibly... But AR-15 never reported this.

M16A1: Maybe she didn’t want to. That girl...is always acting brave.
And...now there seems to be interference in my channel...

Persica: That’s Sangvis Ferri rewriting some of your modules. The channel will be jammed.
Very soon, you won’t be able to hear me...

M16A1: Ha...
So I won’t even get to say goodbye?

Persica: The link is still there. If you want to say goodbye, do it now.

M16A1: Haha, will I wake her up, like in your fairytales.

Persica: Do you want that?

[M16 falls silent for a moment.]

M16A1: M4A1...
No matter what I’ll turn into...wait for me.

Persica: M16...

M16A1: Ha, that’s a bit embarrassing...
But it’s all I want to say...

[With that, M16 gives herself a good stretch.]

M16A1: In any case, I’m done here, right? What a relief.
Then let’s bid each other farewell while my mind is still my own...

M4A1: M16...

M16A1: ...!

M4A1: M16...
Don’t go...

Persica: ...!

M4A1: M16...don’t go...!
M16A1!!


[At last, I see hope in this labyrinth.]
[It is the form for a familiar and dependable figure, burning all alone in the distance, and I know that is the exit...]
[I run after her. The flame grows rapidly, and bursts into a blinding light...]
[Until at last, it turns into a surgical lamp in the ceiling...and I make my way back into reality from what seemed like an endless dream.]

M4A1: (Gasps) (Pants)

Persica: M4A1...
You’ve finally...

M4A1: ...
Where...am I...?

Persica: You’re home, M4. Welcome back...

M4A1: I see... I have finally...
Also, Miss...Persica...
...Where is M16?
I heard her voice...

Persica: M16...
Is out on a mission... She isn’t here for the time being...

M4A1: Is...that so...
I want to...see her...

M16A1: Really? Then you’ll have to wait for quite a while...


[Statics crowd out all correspondence in the channel, and the signal is completely lost. It’s time to leave. Leave everyone behind...]
[I get on my feet and dust myself. I’m starting to feel rather attached to the room.]
[Not because of the deleted memory, but because this is where I bade my last farewell...]

[I am bugged. I am monitored. I am used as an anti-communication weapon... What will I turn into, now that I’ve been marked by Parapluie?]
[The person who comes to mind right now isn’t myself or anyone else. It is none other than AR-15...]
[That girl... What would she be thinking at a time like this...?]
[I’m losing my train of thought. I take a deep breath and hug my weapon tight.]
[I leave the room behind as the old iron door creaks shut.]

[“Most people won’t realize it’s the last day of their life as they wake up that morning.”]
[Sometimes, things are actually easier when there’s nothing else to lose.]

[Thud!]
[My neural cloud can no longer propel my limbs. I fall on my knees in the long corridor, like a cat with its bones taken out.]
[Time’s up...]
[Now...I just have to await my fate...]
[......]

M16A1: Singing...?

[I start to hear the singing of a clear, female voice. I can no longer tell where it’s coming from.]
[Maybe it won’t hurt to just listen... I’m truly exhausted...]

M16A1: Beautiful...
Have I finally...started dreaming as well...?

Dreamer: Not really, M16A1. This is neither a dream nor a delusion.
You’re merely completely immersed in the Sangvis deep web.

M16A1: Dream...er...

Dreamer: My, my. You know...I really, really hate handling stuff like this...
Things that make me work overtime on short notice really ruin my mood...

M16A1: Well...? Not gonna...shoot...?

Dreamer: Now let’s not be hasty. Let me tell you something interesting.
Just now, you see, a modular drone flew over the area...
That kind of thing can be spotted from above really easily, you know...

M16A1: You mean... WHAT?!

Dreamer: Relax. It has certainly been shot down, but it has fallen somewhere beyond my territory.
It’ll take a while to see who’ll get to it first.
But then again, it no longer has anything to do with you, does it?

M16A1: Humph...
Don’t underestimate...our Commander...

Dreamer: Whatever. After all, I don’t really care about that sort of thing.

M16A1: So...what...do you want?

Dreamer: Technically, it’s our Mastermind that wants to see you.

M16A1: What?
I’m not seeing her here.

Dreamer: She isn’t here, alright...
But she’s there in your mind...
Didn’t you just hear her?

M16A1: ...!


[The next day. Griffin HQ.]

Helian: Welcome back, Mr Kryuger.
Was everything sorted last night?

Kryuger: Thanks to Persica, it’s dealt with for the time being.
But we can’t let down our guard. The military will pressure us time and time again in the future.

Helian: By the way, Mr Kryuger...
Regarding the T-Doll M16A1...

Kryuger: Her sacrifice will not be in vain.
Reward the Commander in charge of the operation. Comfort the other T-Dolls and keep a close eye on their mental states.

Helian: Understood. I’ll follow up on the matter. However...if I may be frank, sir, aren’t the AR Team’s neural clouds a little inconvenient?

Kryuger: Everything comes with a price, Helian.
We’re on the battlefield. There are always things that matter more than others.
Let’s head to the office. I need to make some changes to the working plan. Are the preparations we’ve discussed ready?

Helian: Yes...
Mr Kryuger, is the final showdown...about to begin?

Kryuger: Just get on with the preparations...
In any case, it won’t be very far off.

Episode 8 - Spark. END.