Liberi Reader

The lab walls are being torn apart? They're made of advanced reinforced materials... how they be sliced apart like potatoes?

Th-The ground is being peeled like an apple!

We'll be crushed into pulp!

You don't mean you're going by yourself, do you?

Did you see how she shredded that power armor like paper? You're just a regular human! You are human, right?

...I'll go.

This is no time for jokes, Iffy!

The Diαblo within you... well, your power is plenty dangerous too. Don't tell me you mean to...

No.

I won't use its power. I'll do it myself.

That's a promise between me and Rosmontis.

Requesting... support...

The communicator... it's crushed?

What the heck are...

Don't.

What?

I know what you want to say. Don't say it.

She's my friend. My good friend.

We're more than friends. We work together and fight together.

Rosmontis...

...I'll destroy everything that's not right.

A lab like this...

It should never have existed.

I get it.

Damned lab coats, damned labs, all those damned things that tormented us should have been burned to ashes a long time ago!

Of course we have the right to be angry, to yell, to destroy it all!

But we don't have to do it!

Why?

Are you going to stand in the way of what's right?

You're tough... but it'll take more than that to stop me!

I won't let you become like Darya, Rosmontis... we promised to see the city together, and go back to Rhodes Island together!

I don't want to admit it, but you've always been better than I am! You're an elite operator, and you've done so many amazing things.

Think of Amiya, think of Blaze the big cat, think of the Doctor! They have soft palms, their clothes smell clean, and they hug like warm blankets!

Blankets...?

There are people who love us. Life isn't fair, but after all the scum we had to put up with, we still ended up meeting some really good people.

Silence's stories always have a happy ending. I know, she made up a bunch of them.

Saria is always strict about my homework, but she helps me up when I fall down.

Don't destroy these memories.

You can stop now, Rosmontis.

Stop...?

I-Ifri...

Yes, Ifrit. You remember me. No way you could forget. You didn't find out I ate those cookies you hid yet.

Yes... I think you're right.

It wasn't the Doctor who ate the cookies. I should correct the terminal entry.

Hahah... hahahaha!

You look like you're hurting. Why are you laughing?

I want to laugh.

You didn't lose control, right? Even the Doctor was worried about it. But you just wanted to do what you wanted to do in your own way.

...Yeah.

It's okay, Saria's worried that I'll lose control too. It's not a lack of trust. They just worry too much.

As for the bad guys... the power they planted in us, the scars they left behind, none of that can control us.

We're the only ones who can.

We can turn the tables and laugh in their faces.

Like... like this?

Yes. Lift the corners of your mouth, find that Loken, and tell him he's nothing to you!

...Loken.

Alright, I'll find him. I know what to say now.

...Things have calmed down.

Ifrit did it. She calmed Rosmontis down. Talk about a close one...

Huh?

......

Kristen remembered...

Doctor... I promised to take you and Rosmontis to see Loken.

Our cooperation is over, now that its goal is complete.

You can't go any further. We say goodbye here.

...No.

I lied again. I really am evil, aren't I?

That hard-head, Nasti... I told her I made my choice, when I really hadn't.

I only just now made it, the moment I saw this vivarium.

I'm sorry.

I came only to confirm one thing... yes, this is where my dreams are. The vivarium and the future it carries... this is my dream.

It's the answer for me and my people.

Kristen promised to take it with her.

She didn't lie to me. She just didn't tell me... maybe she got tired of my cloaks and daggers, how a part of me never seems to be there. Maybe she never stopped believing in the trust between us.

She really did it...

So I should keep my promise.

Tell Saria... I'm sorry.

It's time. Can I go now?

The deal is done. You can leave at any time.

You promised me...

You'll find it on your terminal.

Is this the entirety of Loken's research?

No, there's another address... a blurred one. It looks familiar. You've really done a lot right under Maylander's nose. I'm starting to actually respect you.

What a shame.

What's that?

You won't see the sky that you should have gotten to see.

The stars? My people have played with them long enough. I've given you all the information I should. Do you really think those twisted spots of light are worth looking at?

No, not the sky we see today.

Its true aspect, in the future.

Enough. I know about your great plans, but that future doesn't belong to me. As long as your data is legit, I'll be able to fulfill my ancestors' dream and recover my true power—

The power that you desire could not even overcome time. You understand that it could be machines that fly the skies of the future, or other evolving lifeforms...

But not a shadow from ten thousand years ago.

Are you mocking me... mocking my blood, my memory, my destiny?

You—

Sacrificing your entire race just to return to the past... is it really worth it?

......

Whatever. I've got what I wanted. Let's say goodbye in peace.

You.

We meet again.

......

......

I can't get the door open!

Here.

Huh?

It's... the weapon you lent me?

Not lent. Gave. It's yours. You just need practice.

Practice... er...

You're free, once you go out from here. The agents and soldiers are too busy to bother. They've found H.A.M.H.R.R. and achieved their goal. They won't bother you anymore.

Run to Trimounts. There, you'll still be Researcher Silence.

Um...

You want to go in the most dangerous direction, don't you? You could put your life in danger. You may never be able escape Maylander's gaze ever again.

It'll be a struggle of a lifetime. You may lose some things forever. Freedom, the life you know, the trust of your family and friends, the right to live under the sun, and yourself.

Are you sure you want a life like that?

I don't know. I haven't seen the problem resolved with my own eyes. I don't want to give up halfway.

You're a talented scholar, a good doctor. Have you made up your mind to become a warrior?

Maybe I'll never be a warrior.

But I'll grasp the weapon you gave me tight, if necessary.

Very well, child. Go forth with my blessing.

Thank you, Director Jara.

By the way, Control... Kristen could be just ahead.

Don't you want to see her?

Do I? Of course I do.

But I doubt I can catch her.

You got it yet?

Not yet!

Keep going. The core of H.A.M.H.R.R. should be in here.

And Kristen... she couldn't have escaped right under our noses.

...Ifrit?

Saria! Did you find a way in?

Not yet.

This place is weird. Even after Rosmontis crushed most of the outer wall like a cookie, it's not revealing any of the stuff inside.

...It's not a complete building.

What?

You're right, Ifrit. It's not a lab.

This is... it's...

Did she install her parents' propulsion device on... how could it be? No... how did I not think of it until now?

Saria! Where are you going?

......

If I break the wall...

She must have expected me. It's pointless.

No.

I have to...

Saria.

Si...lence?

You need to get out of here... it could be...

No.

......

Well, there goes a rare friend.

How do you plan on making it up to me, Kristen?

......

Narcissa... You've returned. Are you ready to pronounce judgment?

Yes, I want to kill you.

Not for revenge. I hate you, but Amiya and the Doctor both say that revenge won't bring back the ones I love.

Not for destruction. You want to use me to destroy you. I won't. I'm not your weapon.

You're just a criminal. You're nothing to me.

I'll do what the law and prison could not do.

I hereby sentence you to death.

Good... good.

How does that song go again?

Country roads♪ Take me home♪

To the place I belong♪

Soon. Very soon.

—

Mon3tr!

(Screeches)

Hang on, Doctor.

I know.

(Growls)

—I know.