EX02 Firn Night

← EX01 Grand Blue

EX03 Lost Chapter →

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EX02 Firn Night

MainHidden

Main Story

The Gray Ravens prepare for a round of data collection on Plume’s frame in Babylonia’s reserve area when Rosetta arrives, asking for the Commandant’s help to defend the ARU. Whilst mid-air, their transport craft is shot down upon approaching ARU territory, leaving the Commandant knocked out for over half an hour as Rosetta defends them against hostile bionic machines. After fending off the bionics, the duo proceeds to locate other surviving forces from Babylonia. Rosetta explains that since the Punishing Virus cannot spread well in the Arctic environment, the ARU only needs to defend against small groups of Corrupted and the occasional “tide” of bionics. Despite this, the scale of the current tide is unprecedented and the duo speculates that the bionics may be under someone’s command. They are located by Simon, the Commandant’s former classmate in F.O.S. Military Command College, and Atiel, a Construct under him, both of whom have already been in the ARU for a week and have located the others.

The party is met by the captain of the ARU, Staessen, upon arrival at the base. He then explains that the ARU is on the verge of collapse since the bionics have managed to capture their warehouse. To recover key areas efficiently, Simon and the Commandant decide to split up. Rosetta inserts the Commandant in a Polar Soldier unit to provide them protection while on the battlefield. After saving some fishermen, they are treated with hostility due to Rosetta being labeled as a “sinner” and the Commandant as an outsider from Babylonia. Diana meets up with the pair upon hearing of the arrival of Babylonian forces when Simon calls up and asks the party to rendezvous in a nearby residential area. They find Atiel playing with the children and Evan, who lights up upon seeing Rosetta after a long time. Not for long, they were led away by one of the fishermen who was saved by Rosetta earlier and seemed to accept the Forest Guards more. Simon recalls the group and explains that he, Atiel, and the fishermen will take the rear since Atiel’s leg is injured while the Commandant leads the Forest Guards.

After reclaiming the area, the Commandant questions Rosetta about “Amberia”, a name mentioned by one of the bionics. During the outbreak of the Punishing Virus, the ARU remained untouched, leading them to perform various experiments on military science on Construct technology. This led to the creation of Amberia, a humanoid-hybrid Construct able to command bionic machines. Unfortunately, she went berserk upon activation and the ARU had to use innumerable amounts of ships and narwhals, like Derek, to contain her. She was eventually defeated but at a great cost to the ARU. Afterward, all engineers related to the experiments were either executed or imprisoned while their family and friends were labeled as “sinners”, some of which were turned into Forest Guards. Rosetta speculates that Amberia might have been alive all this time and is the cause behind the rise of the bionics. Her hypothesis is confirmed after meeting with Staessen, who eventually admits. Every captain upon taking office is sworn to secrecy to this fact. The previous leaders of the ARU used a code to suppress Amberia to place her in a deep sleep and hid her somewhere in the tundra. The nightmares she has causes the bionics to attack people. Simon noted that the bionics earlier were taking energy tanks away and speculates that they are waking Amberia. Meanwhile, the code is hypothesized to be hidden in a research lab.

Outside the laboratory, the party finds bionics emptying it of research equipment. They make use of roadblocks to take care of stragglers and make their way into the database room. Simon finds files on Amberia and plays the code, which is revealed to be Derek’s voice. The party then remembers that Evan had a shiny gadget with Derek’s voice recording and immediately rushes back as the bionics head for the residential areas. Rosetta explains that Derek’s voice was designed to resonate with the frequency of humanoid-hybrid M.I.N.D.s. As an example, she was not corrupted during her last fight with Alpha. There are also specific times in which Derek chooses to return to the Arctic in its migratory cycle but it has since malfunctioned during its last encounter with Alpha and is nowhere near ARU territory. Before the party can reach Evan, he has already fallen to the ground and Atiel has snatched the recorder. Luckily, the Commandant is able to scratch her torso and place a tracker using the Polar Soldier’s grappling hook before she escapes.

The Forest Guards use Atiel’s tracks, as well as her leaking vital fluid and Construct parts to chase her down. Her tracks stop amidst a structure hidden in the snow. The hidden base is revealed to be an underground cave, with a production line to create bionics and signal jammers to remain hidden. They are interrupted by Lamia, who plans to use the code to control Amberia. Unfortunately, they are caught in a trap, separating the Commandant and Rosetta from Diana and the rest of the Forest Guards. Rosetta tells Diana to head back and tell the others of the presence of the Ascendant Lamia and Amberia. After some time, the pair eventually reach Amberia and see her grotesque form, just as detailed in the records. Lamia reveals that the very same figure is Atiel and both parties have agreed that the latter will find a way to control Amberia without using the Punishing Virus, while Lamia ensures her safety so she could exact revenge on the ARU. Atiel was a descendant of a researcher who worked on humanoid-hybrid constructs and was the only one in her party to have escaped the ARU. Despite this, she was forced to become a Construct due to the existence of the Punishing Virus outside and to exact revenge at the ARU. Atiel then enters the next phase of M.I.N.D. integration while Lamia uses the code to activate her frame before escaping.

Back in the base, Simon’s effective leadership manages to hold off the bionics before he starts vomiting and forces Staessen to take over. Meanwhile, in the underground cave, Rosetta collapses due to her M.I.N.D. being forcefully linked with Amberia’s. She suggests the Commandant do a remote dive into her M.I.N.D., use it to hop into Amberia’s, and suppress her with the help of the voice recorder she somehow stole back from Lamia. The Commandant meets the real Amberia in the virtual M.I.N.D. space, where she is still adamant about destroying the ARU and regaining her freedom. Their success causes Rosetta’s M.I.N.D. to get out of Amberia’s hold. During the battle, the distinction between Amberia and Atiel exists no more. She asks Rosetta to join her in taking revenge against the ARU but Rosetta disagrees, as this would bring more tragedy. She utters the words “I’m sorry…” – the words which Amberia wanted to desperately hear. Then she proceeds to transform her spear, releasing a huge blast of energy at the Amberia-Atiel hybrid’s core and destroying it.

The pair evacuates through an emergency exit as the cave collapses in the aftermath. Before they manage to get out of the base, they are trapped beneath the collapsed rocks. The Commandant is ejected out of the Polar Soldier suit and shielded by Rosetta from the debris. She revealed that she chose the Commandant to aid her since the Constructs under them always seemed happy despite the challenges they faced. Staessen hears their voices and manages to rescue them from the debris. As the sun rises over the Arctic landscape, they return to a world where humans, bionics, and Forest Guards work together toward a brighter future.

Hidden Story

In a snowy forest, Nanami attempts to communicate with a sentient bionic bear named Martin. It explains that it came here to shoot down aircraft from Babylonia but Nanami insists she helps out, damaging them without hurting the people inside. After accomplishing its mission, Martin states that it doesn’t know what to do anymore since it lost contact with Amberia, the mother-frame. All arctic bionics are equipped with a receiver device where they receive the thoughts, feelings, and commands of Amberia. Martin broke its device during its last retreat against the ARU and is now free. Nanami then decides she will help stop the conflict by breaking the receivers of each bionic.

The duo surveys a nest where the bionics are transporting tanks. Before they can communicate with the overseers, Nanami leaps out of cover and kicks a hidden Corrupted. After she rescues the bionic mechanoids, some express their anger at her since they cannot hear Amberia’s voice anymore. One of them reveals that Amberia is a construct – just like Nanami and that the ARU used terminally ill or dying people to turn them into humanoid-hybrid constructs. As the first successful prototype, Amberia was weaponized against her will. Her anger coursed through her M.I.N.D., spreading through the receivers of the bionics. Even if they do not hear her, they still wish to help free Amberia from her nightmare and proceed to leave Nanami behind. Nanami still has not given up despite their rejection and calls the attention of the remaining bionics. She plans to ask Amberia to stop attacking humans and to figure out the Corrupted’s plans. With their help, the party locates Amberia at an underground place nearby.

On their way to the objective, they see an ongoing clash between the joint forces of ARU and Babylonia versus the angry bionics earlier. Nanami deduces that there are Corrupted hidden amongst the machines and that someone is controlling them behind the scenes. While she engages in battle, Simon recognizes her and orders everyone to pull back. Likewise, Diana and the rest of the Forest Guards arrive to aid the frontline after leaving Amberia in the hands of Rosetta and the Commandant. Nanami then senses the culprit trying to escape, which is revealed to be Lamia. She claims to have only done this for entertainment and does not know of the other Ascendants' plans before disappearing. A voice rang throughout the battle, “I’m sorry…” as they heard an explosion over a distance. Everybody slowly began to realize these were Rosetta’s final words to Amberia and that the fight is over. Staessen admits his involvement in the cover-up of Amberia’s existence in the underground base and commands everyone to lay down their arms before crying. Among the bionics, Martin concludes that in her last moments, Amberia said, “Thank you”.

After the battle, some of the bionics decide to follow Nanami instead of staying behind at the ARU. Just like the pied piper in the story, Nanami raises her chainsaw as a flag and leads the parade of bionics.

← EX01 Grand Blue

EX03 Lost Chapter →

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