ER03 Left Unsaid
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ER03 Left Unsaid
Kurono researchers prepare Bambinata for adoption, with one mentioning her soon-to-be parents are renowned doctors and acquaintances of Kurono. They instruct her to behave, so as to not be replaced and discarded. Vanessa’s parents, Petra and Raymond, are esteemed researchers who adopted Bambinata to study her case of amnesia. A Kurono assistant takes a photo of the family to commemorate the addition of a new member. As time passes, the young “Nessa” grows displeased with Bambinata as her parents dedicate their attention to the Construct. When Bambinata replaces an older family photo with the recently taken one under Petra’s orders, Vanessa smashes the photograph to bits.
Collapsing onto the floor in tears, Vanessa asks Bambinata whether her parents hate her. Bambinata assures her only purpose at the house is the M.I.N.D. research that Petra and Raymond can carry out, which serves to secure Vanessa’s future. Vanessa finally calls Bambinata by her name, having her pinky swear not to reveal her crying to anyone. The two sisters clean up the broken photograph frame.
Bambinata undergoes a frame reboot. Her parents fix her tendency to randomly shut off and implant a partial memory storage device, although wiping her memory in the process. Petra and Raymond catch Vanessa spying and scold her for snooping around instead of studying. After lunch, Petra instructs Bambinata to nap with Vanessa in her room once they finish, in the hopes it will help the Construct recreate the memories of her sister.
Vanessa helps Bambinata learn ballet. The sight of her dance enthralls the junior sister. Bambinata progresses in her dance practice despite her memory problems and outshines Vanessa. Vanessa concludes that Bambinata must like ballet, unlike her, who practices it because of her parent’s wishes. As Vanessa resumes her practice, Bambinata questions whether she understands what “liking” feels like.
Dissatisfied with Vanessa’s suboptimal performance in her ballet lessons, Petra gives her a lecture about the importance of being valuable. Raymond joins the conversation and convinces Petra to allow Vanessa to focus on other tasks with Bambinata.
Vanessa asks Bambinata whether she wants to be with her or if she only does it because her parents tell her to. At first, Bambinata does not see the difference between the two options but eventually states that she wants to stay with Vanessa. Vanessa orders her sister not to forget the promise.
Pursuing another education route, Vanessa applies for a laboratory assistant position. She nearly misses it if not for her father’s influence. Fearing she is talentless, Vanessa berates herself, but Bambinata assures her that she will support her sister wherever she may go. They lay down wordlessly, listening to music through a pair of headphones.
A few days later, Vanessa refuses to go to the lab, infuriating both of her parents. She announces that she will study at F.O.S. Military College and asks Bambinata to join her. Bambinata, however, responds with silence, unable to “misbehave.” Vanessa storms out with her belongings, leaving Bambinata behind.
As Vanessa studies in Military College, Bambinata’s memory of her sister erodes. She attempts to piece together who her sister is through clues and notes she stores in a diary.
Years later, Vanessa returns to her house after graduating from the Military College with a requisition order for Bambinata to join the Task Force. Vanessa finds Bambinata, her parents having removed the Construct’s memory chip. Petra begrudgingly hands over Bambinata to Vanessa and tells her daughter not to return.
Asimov outfits the Construct for combat and installs an external memory module, which stores basic information and combat data that the Construct can recall at any point. Once finished, he hints that Bambinata’s amnesia is a symptom of “the experiment” and laments that he cannot remedy the issue without more knowledge of the Inver-Device. He assures that the memory data is not destroyed but locked inside Bambinata’s Deep M.I.N.D. Vanessa remarks that she needs her Constructs to be obedient and does not protest Asimov’s handling of the situation.
Sometime after the battle at Copperfield Aquarium, Vanessa inspects Bambinata’s memory data to find the read time of the combat data slower than before. While looking back to the last recorded date in Bambinata’s memory, Vanessa feels compelled to reproduce the data and play the events after the Egret squad stayed behind to protect Gray Raven and the refugees near City 043.
In the memory scene, the Corrupted surround Vanessa and Bambinata. Although she planned to order Bambinata to self-destruct, Vanessa changes her mind at the last minute. Before the Construct and the barely-conscious Vanessa are completely overwhelmed, the Corrupted halt their assault, and Teasell appears, much to Vanessa’s surprise. Despite Bambinata’s protests, Vanessa lets him come closer, and he treats her wounds. Teasell confesses that he waited to see whether Vanessa would detonate her favorite Construct. He tells her that he is abandoning the name “Teasell” permanently. Bambinata reluctantly helps the traitor tend to her commandant’s wounds, refusing his offers of freedom.
The memory simulation ends, leaving Vanessa to wonder if her Construct would accept freedom once she can understand it. She once more orders Bambinata to go to Asimov.
Nikola and Hassen brief Vera about a sudden mission for her and Bambinata to investigate an orphanage. The unexpected decision came after Collins disclosed secret Kurono data related to the Inver-Device. Before the ship departs, Vanessa steps onboard, announcing herself to be the commandant of the mission. The tension between her and Vera briefly brews as the doors of the transport ship close.
The three arrive at the location to find dozens of experimental Constructs hanging from the trees. Entering the orphanage, they soon realize someone is watching them. Vanessa deduces that a security room is nearby. Once located, Bambinata connects with the security surveillance system. However, someone or something blocks her communications and takes over her voice module to divert the attention of Vera and Vanessa. As the two fight against the experimental Constructs, they take Bambinata away to a secret Kurono facility within the orphanage.
Bambinata wakes up to find herself resting with the abnormal Construct Dottie and Madorea—the large mechanoid referred to as “Mother.” After she resists rejecting her name and becoming “family,” a dose of the Punishing Virus knocks her unconscious. It sends her into her Deep M.I.N.D., where she recalls her scattered memory fragments.
Bambinata awakens in her dream to find a single butterfly. She follows it, gathering her memories as she goes. Memories of Vanessa begin to surface, with Bambinata deciding she wants to tell Vanessa what she had left unsaid for all the years they spent together. Now determined to reunite with her Mistress, Bambinata defeats Dottie.
With Dottie defeated, Madorea discards her and nearly erases Bambinata’s M.I.N.D., if not for the sudden intervention of Vera. They emerge victorious against Madorea and retrieve critical data on the Inver-Device. Vera notices that Bambinata is in grave condition and instructs Vanessa to care for the Construct while she grabs necessary supplies from their transport craft.
Bambinata lies on Vanessa’s lap, confiding her remorse and a wish to express her love for her sister. Vanessa hides her face in the shadows, regretting her choice to take her sister back by force.
Sometime later, Asimov briefs Vanessa on Bambinata’s recovery. He notes that her memory is untouched, and only her Inver-Device was damaged. Even with the recovered code of Madorea and theories about its potential causes, Asimov remains unable to explain Bambinata’s sudden memory flashbacks. Noticing that someone other than her Mistress operated on her memory, Bambinata asks whether she has done something wrong. Vanessa tells her to return to the Egret lounge and assures her everything is alright.
Meanwhile, Nikola authorizes Vera to perform “private interactions” when needed, increasing her autonomy. The two discuss a plan to attract Kurono’s attention.
| ← 20 Across the Ruined Sea | 21 Spiral of Chronos → |
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