Story/Emergency 8-3 (Part2)/Script

[20 minutes later, M16 connects to a terminal in the factory.]


Persica: M16, haven’t you opened the door yet?
Honestly… this won’t do at all. Can’t you detach your hand, turn it into a bomb and blow the door open?

M16A1：I apologize, but I’m not a military doll, and I’m not fitted with the high-quality parts you're expecting.
Still, with SF access, the decoding shouldn’t take too much time.
Er… for some reason, I feel like I’ve been here before, doing the same thing...

Persica: So dolls can experience deja vu as well… how interesting...
Be grateful to me. Your processing speed is much faster than military dolls. Cracking a door like this shouldn’t be any great difficulty.

M16A1：Haha… next time… you should make me dumber.
That way I can go to my death more wholeheartedly.

Persica: I didn’t make you for the sole purpose of going onto the battlefield.
Oh yes, M16… I managed to contact RO and SOP2.

M16A1：Really now... That’s good...
Keep talking. I’m listening.

Persica: They’re both in excellent physical condition, only… their digiminds are feeling a sense of loss.

M16A1：I know that, it’s because I left them and lied to them.

Persica: They don’t know the latter part yet. RO’s awake and she’s waiting for you to come back.

M16A1：*sighs* You really do know how to comfort people, don’t you… Sometimes I can’t tell who’s the doll here...

Persica: I’m sorry, M16… but you like RO very much, don’t you?

M16A1：She’s more eager and decisive than M4, a better operator, and a better choice as team leader.
She’s a little impulsive, but nobody hates her for that.

Persica: I’m also very pleased with that digimind AI.
I don’t intend to alter her. All the dolls in the AR Team can remain as they are.

M16A1：You really don’t intend to make any more alterations? SOP2 nearly went berserk last time.

Persica: That’s also… a necessary step.
You don’t hate her for that, do you?


[M16 laughs bitterly.]

M16A1：I just… can’t help worrying about her...
After all, in future… there won’t be many chances for her to make mistakes.

Persica: In that case, do you have anything you want to leave to them?

M16A1：No. I don’t have anything else to say.
I’ll leave the rest to M4. I trust her...


[Beep!]

M16A1：Got it.
Persica, I’m going in.

[M16 opens the gate and carefully passes through it.]
[And then, she inhales sharply.]


Persica: M16, what did you find?

M16A1：I don’t know, it looks like a nursery…
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised at anything I found here.
M16A1：It’s been cleared up, so there’s no way to tell what happened here...
Although… something might have been raised here…
A monster, perhaps? ...I doubt it’ll be nice.

Persica: That’s not important, M16.
Find that signal. There has to be something to it.


[M16 bends down, and searches the corners of the nursery.]

M16A1：I found the signal transmitter…
But I have no idea what kind of signal it is...
It’s not SF or Griffin. My neural cloud doesn’t have any relevant information on it.

Persica: As I thought… someone else came after the Butterfly Incident.
Check that transmitter.

M16A1：I already looked at it. Unfortunately, it’s just an ordinary transmitter.
There’s nothing inside it, I can’t really tell what that contraption is for...

Persica: That would mean… perhaps the room itself is the key.


[Persica pauses to think.]

Persica: M16, is there a momitoring device in this room?

M16A1：Yes, but it’s broken.
Persica: In that case… is it possible that there might be saved footage there?

M16A1：Hang on a bit...
… Found it! There’s a control system in the corner, and a large storage device underneath it. While the system has been shut down, it seems to be in good condition, judging by its indicator lights. If there were images from monitor cameras, they would be saved in here...

Persica: There must be… records of that day in there...
Open the system and see if you can hack it.

[M16 wipes away the dust and opens up the system.]
[An electronic alarm blares out from the system.]

M16A1：No good, it’s been locked down by SF. I can’t look through its contents.
Also, its security level is too high, so I don’t recommend a brute force approach.
Any mistakes in the process could risk the destruction of the files within as well as summoning enemies.

Persica: As I thought… the contents are locked down by the highest authorization levels...
It can’t be helped, M16…
Looks like we’ll have to use the backup plan...


[M16 takes out a transistor tube.]

M16A1：You mean this?
Will it be alright to inject myself another time? I had… a hard time controlling myself with the previous one.

Persica: Well, it is the Parapluie virus… albeit an improved version.
What you gave yourself outside the database was only a minimal dose of nanomachines.
It gave you limited SF access and only allowed very limited rewriting of your digimind.
If you had returned within 12 hours’ time, I could still have cured you...

M16A1：I ought to thank you for coming up with a plan that took such good care of me...

Persica: That virus was modified from a sample taken from AR15.
While SF will notice you after you use it, you won’t be in too much danger with the Commander’s forces to protect you.
However, the second dose...

M16A1：Hmph… it won’t be as nice as before, huh?

Persica: According to my research, the design intent of the Parapluie virus was to rewrite a doll’s digimind and neural cloud and place them under SF’s control.
This will damage the neural cloud, and once it has run its course it is irreversible.
Simply put… the dose in this second transistor is enough to swiftly convert you into an SF doll.
Your personality, your memories... everything you are will vanish.

M16A1：And you want me to transmit this data before I completely turn to SF.

Persica: ...
I told you before, there’s no turning back from this mission...
M16… after this, even if you still exist in this world, that won’t be you as you are now...

M16A1：...
How much time will I have after I inject myself?
Persica: 20 minutes.

M16A1：So… it’ll be my last 20 minutes, huh...
Persica: M16A1, I decided on this operation because I had already prepared myself.
How about you, then? Are you prepared?

M16A1：I’m sure you know what my answer will be, Persica...
But I want to make sure, one last time - will the contents of this storage device help restore M4’s digimind?

Persica: At the very least… it’ll be the final piece of the puzzle.

M16A1：Is that so...
Then what comes next… will be much simpler.
Now, shall we begin?