[...Several battles later.]
[In the S.F. base.]
Welrod MkⅡ: Hmph, these are what you call upgraded units?
They fell so easily.
Spitfire: Welrod, we're almost there. Alchemist...should be inside that bunker up ahead.
Welrod MkⅡ: Yes...
The one who spread this terrifying evil has come out to welcome us.
[Spitfire wrinkles her brow and looks forward. Alchemist is standing at bunker entrance with a cold smile on her face.]
Alchemist: Welcome, little mice. Would you like to take a rest first?
Welrod MkⅡ: Surely you jest. That was nothing more than a warmup.
Alchemist: Eavesdropping on your transmissions was really quite amusing. I didn't think you'd come here at the behest of that lump of scrap.
This is truly...laughable.
Welrod MkⅡ: Our mission has always been the extermination of Sangvis Ferri.
Alchemist: Oh? What a grand statement; the Griffin Dolls in my memories said similar things.
And one could also say that...you inferior Griffin Dolls haven't improved even after all this while.
Spitfire: Heh, that's not for you to judge.
Alchemist: What are you if you're not inferior Dolls?
You lot... You probably don't even know what thinking is, do you? Haha...you actually thought that a human sickness could spread to Dolls, and blamed ME for it? Hah!
Well, you deserve it. You're nothing more than scrap metal that should have been cast aside by the passing of eras. I wouldn't be surprised if you were in fact infected by some idiocy disease—
[Bang!]
[A gunshot interrupts Alchemist's taunting speech.]
[The bullet seems to cut through Alchemist's hair. Her strands of hair follow a somewhat unnatural arc before settling down.]
Spitfire: You shut your dirty mouth!
If you insult big sis 75 one more time... If you keep insulting my dear comrades, I'll tear that mouth of yours to bits!
[Alchemist says nothing. She simply steps back, and her laughter grows wilder and wilder.]
Spitfire: It doesn't matter whether you're responsible for what happened or not, we'll find out once we kill you and bring you back to the base to pick your brain apart...
Now die!
[...Halloween. At night.]
[In the Griffin base.]
[Like a little bat, P7 darts between the shadows of the buildings.]
P7: Don't tell me ghosts really do appear on Halloween...
Even though it didn't sound like it came from a bad person, that encrypted transmission I got out of the blue was too spooky...
Hey, stay behind me! Don't let anyone else spot you!
[P7 commands the Dinergate beside her with a whisper before carefully inspecting her surroundings. She starts moving again and darts into another patch of shadows.]
P7: Ah, there's another security camera up ahead.
The encrypted transmission told me to check the base's security cams, which kind of makes sense.
...Although I can't access certain monitored areas, I did notice some weird things in the security footage from the previous location...
[P7 looks around to check if she's being watched, then she orders her Dinergate to connect to the security camera high above them.]
P7: Alright, the data's downloading.
Hehe, turns out I've got a hidden talent for being a secret agent. I need to show off my skills to the Commander once I'm done with this whole thing...
[While muttering to herself, P7 opens her tactical tablet to check the footage from the previous location.]
P7: How weird, how weird... It feels like the base has been cursed today.
Huh, this video clip is... FF FNC escaped from Vector? You big dummy! Why are you stealing from the same warehouse again! See, now Vector's chasing you again...
Huh? How come m45 is getting captured too? Didn't I see her trying on makeup with a Doll that had a knife through her head...? Wow, P90's really vicious. She's taking m45 away just because she got a bit of makeup on her...
And what's going on in this corner?
Oh my, Gr Mk23 is sitting down and crying while firing her gun in every direction! Good thing I'm nowhere near her...
Hm? What is she saying? Let's zoom in... Judging by her lips, she seems to be saying "I want to see the Commander, let me see the Commander"... Hehe, dream on, I wouldn't be scurrying around like a thief if I could see the Commander too.
[P7 is so absorbed in watching the footage that she doesn't notice her Dinergate has already finished downloading the security data and has walked up beside her. ]
[The Dinergate, in its miniature pumpkin disguise, looks at P7 before stepping on her shoe to get her attention.]
P7: What the heck? Watch where you're going!
...Uwah! What am I doing getting excited over this stuff again!?
Time to work, time to work! Let's see, the next security camera is over at... Ah, I can't enter that area. Nothing I can do, then. Let's look for a place to watch the footage we just downloaded.
[...Fifteen minutes later.]
P7: Uwah—!
My instincts were correct! No wonder I kept feeling that someone was watching me all afternoon.
This Doll is... Darn, she's moving too quick in the footage, I can't make her out...
Also, something is weird with this footage. It's all choppy and intermittent, as though... As though...
[P7 scratches her head. The word is right on the tip of her tongue, but she can't quite put her finger on it.]
The Dinergate looks up at P7, and its camera lens makes a mechanical whir as it opens and closes.
P7: Oh, that's right! It's as though there was some kind of signal interference!
Dinergates have the same issue when drones are nearby... Oh, drones!
[P7 fast forwards through the security footage again several times.]
P7: Hehe, I knew it...
There were so many drones in the base today, but...what exactly does this mean...
Let me inform that mysterious signal of the situation first...
[In these few short hours, P7 has exhibited caution and focus to a degree that she has never shown before.]
[Loud footsteps were to be avoided, and drawing others' attention was equally dangerous.]
[From time to time she grumbled in her heart...]
["If only I could use my minimap to see which direction the enemy is looking from!"]
P7: Hmm... I haven't been spotted yet, right?
I must not get caught. I must not run into an infected Doll. I don't want to get infected. I don't want to die...
[Beep—]
P7: They replied! Let's see...
Hm? Go to the command center and access the main security terminal to obtain the Dolls ID data to construct a holographic map of the paths taken by each Doll today?
D-Do I really have to go? If the Commander were to find me poking around in the command center without permission, I might get scolded...
[P7 chews on her sleeve as she thinks about it for a moment.]
P7: Fine, let's do it! We'll cross that bridge when we get there!
Besides, in all likelihood, the Commander probably wouldn't even notice me... Hehe...
[In front of the command center.]
[Whum— Whum—!]
[After a long, hard journey to the command center, P7 finds herself panicking in front of the door.]
P7: How could I have set off an alarm?! I barely touched the door!
[P7 is so flustered she doesn't know where to hide her hands. Suddenly, her communicator starts ringing.]
P7: What are you doing sending me a message at a time like this? Come and save me—
What? The base's internal security has been beefed up due to various reasons, so in order to access the security terminal, I'll have to...force my way through?
P7: Come on, what kind of joke is this? Are you really telling little old me to force my way through?
???: Freeze!
I've got you now, you sneaky little thief.
P7: Uuu...!
[P7 reflexively puts her hands up, and in the next moment she suddenly remembers something and pulls her hands back down before stiffly turning to face the voice behind her.]
KSVK: Your hands... You're an infected Doll!
P7: No, no, I'm not!
KSVK: No drunkard would admit to being drunk. Your words are unreliable.
What are you doing standing around so suspiciously, little miss?
P7: I-I... Transmission...!
[P7 is briefly at a loss for words, as though all the data in her neural cloud is jammed up.]
["I must not get infected... I must not die..."]
[These are the only recognizable thoughts inside P7's head.]
[Standing in the corridor outside the command center, which is intermittently lit by red flashing lights, P7 speaks without thinking—]
P7: I need to get into the command center! Or else we'll all be scrapped!
That mysterious transmission...is destiny... That's right! God sent me here! Everything will be sorted out if I can get access to the data I need!
[After listening to P7's appeal, KSVK slowly puts her gun down and eyes P7 suspiciously.]
KSVK: I'm sorry, are you talking in riddles?
Everyone's going to get scrapped? And God sent you here to...trigger the alarm?
P7: No no, the transmission told me to break in...
KSVK: Excuse me, but...
Would you happen to be referring to Mr. "God Jackstar, the Unfathomable Abyss, the Dancing Stardust of Sagittarius, the Blazing Inferno of the Frozen Hell, Second Principal Leader of the Incomplete Brigade"?
P7: Hah? What abyss? Jackstar?
Call him whatever you want, but I need to get inside the command center!
Urgh... Could you wait until I sort things out before you detain me... Although I'm truly not infected, uuu...
[KSVK knits her brow and mutters to herself.]
KSVK: Hmm, this might have been ordained by fate...
I didn't expect to meet a fellow believer in Mr. "God Jackstar, the Unfathomable Abyss, the Dancing Stardust of Sagittarius, the Blazing Inferno of the Frozen Hell, Second Principal Leader of the Incomplete Brigade" in a place like this...
Yes, this must have been planned by destiny. I see, I see, so this is the reason for my existence here...
P7: What the heck is she talking about? I feel like only Miss Welrod would understand her... And do these delusional Dolls even have a hearing module installed?
[Just as P7 is muttering to herself, KSVK suddenly walks toward her with a slight smile.]
[P7 promptly tenses up again.]
KSVK: Little miss, I am truly happy to come across you here. When I was posted here for temporary patrols, I had the feeling that something would happen, and perhaps you are that something.
Leave this measly alarm to me. Once we finish here, we can take our time to discuss the teachings of Mr. God Jackstar!
[P7's neural cloud is still jumbled up, and she did not anticipate the situation to turn out like this.]
[However...this development suits her just fine.]
P7: Y-You're going to help me deactivate this alarm?
I... You... Ah, whatever, let me give you a hand!