14 Imprisoned Sight
| ← EX04 Echo Aria | EX05 Inscription of Labyrinth → |
14 Imprisoned Sight
Main Story
Upon the Gray Ravens’ return from City 075, they receive standby orders. With the insubordination investigation postponed, Kurono staff escorts the Commandant away under the pretense of monitoring their memory replays.
Two days pass in silence. The Gray Ravens receive an encrypted message warning them to be careful. They decide to “rest” while they wait for the Commandant’s return. Outside the room, they hear Murray talking to the guard, indirectly feeding them information about their predicament.
Lucia takes the opportunity to look through her newly unlocked memories. She uncovers a peculiarity in a casualty report from the Ravenge incident—there is a recent update about the deaths of two researchers, Ann and Rand, during “Project Winter.”
Meanwhile, Hassen and Celica discuss the Commandant’s situation in the hands of Kurono. They still have not discovered who leaked information concerning the Commandant’s ability to link with Ascendants and resist mind beacon corruption. For now, Hassen reassigns a recon mission to Strike Hawk.
Before setting out, Chrome visits Asimov to try out the new frame. Even with a higher synchronization rate, the frame is at risk of M.I.N.D. deviation and corruption because it lacks the Ascendant data that the Plume frame has. Since Chrome is the Strike Hawk commandant, any member linked to him will experience the same fate. While Asimov wonders what to do, he remembers the existence of Rosetta’s frame transfer data.
Chrome excuses himself. Celica calls to brief him on the transfer of Gray Raven’s mission and he senses something is going on with the Commandant. His father also calls to warn him about getting involved with the Gray Ravens, but Chrome insists on seeing the Commandant. He uses his mission as an excuse to meet, only to find them in a weak mental state. Chrome promises to help free the Commandant soon.
Strike Hawk arrives at ground zero of the Longinus strike. Camu joins them shortly after to assist in Red Tide zones. They detect a figure with a high Punishing Virus concentration concealing themselves nearby and split up to track their target.
Chrome discovers a newly evolved species of Hetero-Creatures. He immediately sends the data to Asimov. The squad reconvenes and considers blasting an opening underground. An encrypted message appears on Chrome’s terminal, asking if there is any news on Luna. He speculates it might be from someone worried about the Gray Ravens. With the Commandant’s condition in mind, Chrome thinks finding Luna might be the only way to exonerate them from the accusations of harboring an Ascendant.
Before the Strike Hawks descend into the opening, a figure dashes past them. Camu rushes ahead and encounters the Red Tide further down. The rest of the squad heads in the opposite direction into a greenhouse, where they come across a girl named Cinderelik. She does not engage and disappears to inform “der Meister.”
While chasing after her, Strike Hawk encounters Gabriel. They question him about Luna’s whereabouts, but the only Agents he knows of are “der Meister” and another beyond their comprehension. They fight in the greenhouse until Cinderelik reminds Gabriel that “Mother” is resting. Gabriel offers to let them meet “der Meister.” Strike Hawk follows him despite knowing it is a trap. When they reach the platform lift in the waterway, they fight Cinderelik and Gabriel.
An Agent named Vonnegut intervenes mid-battle. He welcomes Strike Hawk and tells them about Luna, whom he acknowledges as a pioneer in the evolution of the Ascension Network. However, he believes she may no longer qualify to be an Agent. Vonnegut laments the catastrophes humanity has caused; Agents are the only solution to weed out the strong who would survive in their new world. He notices Chrome is a perfectionist like him and hopes Strike Hawk can pass the filtering process. To Vonnegut’s disappointment, Chrome refuses. He hacks the squad’s audiovisual modules, and they relive painful memories of their past. Chrome impairs the modules and breaks free, relying on his other senses to fight until Camu arrives to back them up. By the time the rest of the squad awakens, Vonnegut has escaped.
Now, they must deal with the rising Red Tide and Hetero-Creatures. Camu and Chrome fall behind to buy the others more time to retreat. The Hetero-Creatures severely wound Chrome, but Vonnegut spares him because of his potential. He hints that Kurono has been monitoring Strike Hawk from the start which is why he had sent Cinderelik to destroy the transport craft. Before Chrome passes out on the journey back to Babylonia, he writes “A29” on his hand. Kamui and Wanshi deduce the meaning of A29 as a way to contact Asimov. A girl named Rosa answers Asimov’s comms and tells them to come to the Science Council.
Chrome wakes up to find Asimov and his father nearby. Asimov informs him that he added an inhibitor to his new frame to help stabilize his M.I.N.D. and reduce the probability of corruption. After Chrome reaffirms his beliefs and determination, his father promises to bring the Commandant to help stabilize his M.I.N.D. during the frame transfer.
Hassen and Celica escort the Commandant to Asimov’s lab and brief them about the current situation with Chrome and the new Agent. The Commandant will lead Strike Hawk to destroy the residual Red Tide and rescue a stranded team. The Commandant thanks Chrome for making good on his word to free them. Noticing the Commandant’s unease, Chrome assuages their worries about the transfer process. As it begins, memories of Chrome’s past self appear before the Commandant. After speaking with each other in the M.I.N.D. space, Chrome wakes up.
Asimov provides them with polyfurnaces to help with the mission. Once everyone leaves, Hassen and Nikola make an appearance. Despite the progress on specialized frames, recreating an Ascendant is still a faraway dream. Nikola offers to borrow equipment from “Project Winter,” but the others hesitate.
The Commandant, Lucia, and Strike Hawk go to City 075 to rescue the stranded team. The team’s captain, Percy, insists on coming with them to look for two of his missing members.
Once the team is underground, they go over the intel they have. The Red Tide’s singular flow to the greenhouse makes them think it might be related to Cinderelik’s “Mother.” They find one of the missing constructs and discover a secret passage leading to a room with a giant incubating Hetero-Creature. Since it might be part of the enemy’s primary objective, they opt to destroy it. The second missing construct, Reyna, finds them and helps Percy set the polyfurnaces around “Mother”.
Cinderelik tries to stop them from hurting “Mother.” However, they easily defeat her. Vonnegut comes to her aid and offers them a deal—if Chrome can survive an encounter with “Mother” in his new frame, Vonnegut will spare the team. He leads the rest away when Chrome accepts. While the team defends against Vonnegut’s attacks, Alpha steps out of the shadows to aid them.
Chrome disconnects his comms from everyone to protect them against corruption. Cinderelik reveals that “Mother” is made from her mother’s human DNA. She begs Chrome not to take her away. As the battle progresses, Chrome’s mind deviation worsens. Despite that, he defeats “Mother.”
“Mother’s” screams indicate to Vonnegut that Chrome has succeeded. Before he lets the team go, he collapses the area to prevent anyone from leaking intel. Amidst the chaos, crumbling debris injures the Commandant. As the floor caves and the Commandant struggles to hold on, Chrome saves them in time. The Commandant can tell Chrome’s M.I.N.D. is deviating and establishes a memory link with him. Chrome carries the Commandant to safety and rendezvous with the team as they detonate the polyfurnaces.
While they wait for the transport craft, Wanshi commences emergency repairs for the team. The team discusses the appearance of a “strange lady”—the other Agent who caused Vonnegut to retreat.
Hidden Story
On the day of the Polyphage incident, Alpha deems Gabriel a threat and leaves the Gray Ravens to stall long enough until she can save Luna. Before dealing the finishing blow, Vonnegut appears to stop her. Vonnegut tells her he is here to witness the planet’s “rebirth.” The Punishing Virus has evolved into organic lifeforms that require a new “breeder.” Vonnegut suggests Alpha find her sister before Babylonia does.
Alpha returns to the area to continue her search for Luna. She hears “noise” in her M.I.N.D. and experiences flashbacks about her sister. Luna tells her this “noise” is a catalyst for her becoming an Agent, but she’s unsure if it originates from the Ascension Network.
In a series of flashbacks, Luna commands Gabriel to stop his senseless slaughter of humans and Constructs. They only have to find those who can pass the filtering. In Luna’s perspective, humans may see her as a monster, but her actions do not have any malicious intent.
Later on, the Ascendants find one of their own killed in a transport vehicle alongside other researchers. Gabriel surveys the ARU and learns the vehicle came from a military post nearby. Alpha speculates that there might be a hidden research facility within it. She investigates the military post alone and runs into her former teammates, Murol and Xun. Alpha feels a sense of nostalgia talking to them. She lets her guard down, and when her teammates approach, she realizes they are AI recordings. A force field set up by Kaplan traps her.
When the Longinus strike descends, Alpha is investigating the surface. She returns underground to discover Gabriel’s creations but finds Cinderelik there to greet her. An Agent holding an iris interrupts them. She refuses to state her identity or intent, saying that most people call her “The Merciful One.”
Presently, Strike Hawk’s arrival forces Alpha to hide. She decides to aid them in the search for Vonnegut, hoping it would divert Babylonia’s attention from Luna.
Strike Hawk’s arrival forces her to hide. Alpha aids them in finding Vonnegut, as it will prove advantageous to her if Babylonia turns their attention to him. She sends a message to Chrome asking if they have any news on Luna. From the squad’s reaction, she is relieved that Luna isn’t in Babylonia. Once the underground passage is blasted open, Alpha jumps in first. She finds a reservoir of Red Tide, along with an injured Roland, who tells her he could not locate Luna either.
At the greenhouse, Alpha finds remnants of a battle. Vonnegut appears and notices she rejected the Ascension Network’s invitation. He does not understand why Alpha remains connected to it despite the trouble it brings. However, Alpha says her connection to the network is the only way for her to know if Luna is still alive and safe.
Vonnegut changes the subject to Gabriel, who is still interested in settling his score with Alpha. While Alpha waits for Gabriel, she recalls when she and Luna were back in Kowloong. Luna stopped her from killing Lucia then because she knew Alpha wanted to see how far her other self could go when they both had opposing beliefs.
Gabriel’s arrival pulls her back from her thoughts. She scolds him for relying too much on the power of the Ascension Network, but he counters that it is because of that power they will be able to forge their futures. To Alpha, Gabriel is no better than humans who only covet power for their gains. After she kills him, she sees Cinderelik carrying his head away. The possibility of his revival worries Alpha, so she follows Cinderelik.
Alpha reveals herself to the team. She asks the Commandant about Luna’s whereabouts, believing them when they say they do not know. Alpha alludes that Vonnegut was the one who suggested to Ravenge that commandants could connect to Ascendants. She tells Lucia this incident might have been the starting point of “Project Winter.”
Lucia is confused by how much Alpha has changed, but Alpha wants to prevent her “other self” from making the same mistakes she did. Alpha now acknowledges Lucia as her own person.
Vonnegut enters Alpha’s M.I.N.D. to keep her from aiding the team. She damages it to break free, reinforcing Vonnegut’s belief that she has the potential to become an Agent.
The Merciful One’s sudden appearance halts Vonnegut's attacks and allows everyone to retreat as the explosives go off. Alpha leaves a name tag she picked up near the team’s transport craft and drives off on her motorcycle.
| ← EX04 Echo Aria | EX05 Inscription of Labyrinth → |
00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | EX00 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | EX01 | EX02 | EX03 | 13 | EX04 | 14 | EX05 | 15 | 16 | 17 | ER00 | 18 | ER01 | 19 | ER02 | 20 | ER03 | 21 | 22
