Chapter 97: Nightmare in the Sakoritas Ruins

The Sakoritas Ruins... They're a lot bigger than I expected...

No kidding... Is it even possible to find the parts in a place this big?

It probably wouldn't have been if it was just us. That's why we brought her.

Phwah! Get a whiff o' that fresh dig site air!

...Smells like damp dirt to me, Miss.

Poor Gunce... Keep trainin' that sniffer o' yours an' one day you'll be able to smell the treasure in the air, too, I promise!

Follow me, mates! You'll be drownin' in jewels before ya know it!

Adventure awaits! C'mon, Gunce!

You got it, Miss!

I didn't come here to get rich y'know...

Don't worry, when it comes to archaeology she really does know what she's doing. And she's worked these ruins for a long time, so I'm sure she's got some idea where to look.

How do you know each other anyhow?

We lived together for years. She was staying with my parents.

Wow! Really?

So you were roommates?

Kind of. We were still kids, but a lot had happened. We were pretty close, too, hard as that might be to believe now.

That explains why Velette was so surprised to hear Ashtear's name...

Even back than she was interested in archeology. Looks like she's finally living the dream.

Well, we better hurry up and go before we lose sight of her.

Ooh! Whadda we have here?!

Did ya already find something, Miss?! You're amazin'!

Gimme the thing, Gunce.

The thing?

The demolition digger deluxe! You oughta know that by now!

S-Sorry, Miss! Here ya go!

What in the, ?!

That sounded like it came from Velette's direction! Let's go!

Velette! Are you alright?! We heard an explosion!

Hm? I was just diggin'. I think somethin's buried 'round here.

J-Just digging? Did you use explosives or something?

J-Just digging? Were you using explosives like last time?

Urk... I'd rather not remember last time...

I call this beauty the demolition digger deluxe. It's a bit tougher to use than explosives, but it packs an even bigger punch.

The name says it all...

Aaand there's the treasure...

Really?! You've already found what we need to fix Guilty Hades?

Even better, Check this out.

......

Ugyaaah!!!

What's wrong, Amy?!

Gross! It's some kinda animal carcass!

It's a fossil!!! And it's incredibly well preserved! A collector'd pay a fortune for that!

Nice goin', Miss!

A fortune? Do you just do this to make money?

Of course not! Miss Velette is an extraordinarily passionate archaeologist...er...paleontologist?

Both. Anyhow, I'm not in it fer the money, but a little cash can go a long way when chasin' yer dreams, yeah?

But if that fossil is so well preserved then shouldn't it go to a museum rather than a private collector?

Sigh. You people just don't get it, do ya? Perfectly preserved fossils have already been thoroughly studied. It's the imperfections I'm after. Like, let's say the poor bugger was badly wounded before it fossilized. That'd probably hurt its collector's value, yeah? But it'd be a treasure trove of information to a scientist. You could learn all about it's natural predators and ecosystem.

Huh. She actually takes her work pretty seriously...

Oi! Whaddaya look so surprised about?!

Hmph... Now that I think about it, I found Gunce 'round these parts, too.

You found it? Did you used to live around here, Gunce?

Not exactly...

Gunce was one of the many relics I've excavated in this area.

Huh? What do you mean you "excavated"? Gunce is clearly alive...right?

Probably? I don't really know myself. When I first pulled 'em out the poor sod just looked like some dirty piece o' junk. I usually wash off my finds back at camp, an' the second it touched the water it changed into, well...Gunce.

The water...transformed Gunce?

Miss Velette saved my life! I owe everything to her!

...Okay. I get it. Kinda.

(He just gave up...)

Is this as deep as the ruins go?

It's kinda creepy back here...

It would be quite a tragedy if we didn't find what we came for after journeying all this way.

......

Oh we'll find it, trust me. See? There's a wrecked Nullgear right over there.

Huh?

AHHH! I-I-Is that a skull?!

You're telling me that THING is a Nullgear?!

It doesn't look anything like Guilty Hades's head...

Maybe the Empire built a different head unit themselves? All I can tell ya is that this was only partially excavated before they abandoned the project and left it here to rot. Said they found a better preserved one elsewhere.

Ah, so Guilty Hades was based on the other one?

Yep. But they're still basically the same thing.

That means we should be able to find parts for Guilty Hades around here then!

Is this thing the reason you remained in this era?

Yep! Problem is...

...You can't exactly run an excavation of this magnitude without the right equipment. I've gotta raise some money first.

Looots of money. Before the debt collectors show up.

Debt collectors?

Well anyhow, why don't we split up?

Hold on.

Are you alright Kamlanage? You look pale.

...I'm not sure. I've felt strange since we got here.

Huh? Well you better man up, bucko. The real work is just gettin' started.

Actually...I feel kinda strange myself.

Feinne?

It's like I've got chills on the inside of my body... It feels horrible.

......

If it's affecting both of you then there must be something to it.

Think we should head back aboveground for a bit?

No. We can't waste any more time. We need to get the parts and...

Wh-What is that thing?!

Oops. We woke it up.

Woke what up?!

The excavation team was always whinin' about "ghosts" down in the ruins. I never saw one myself, so I thought it was a load of bollocks, but I guess not.

I was briefed on those reports as well. A number of units dispatched to the lost age were obliterated by something they called the "Hollow Ghost".

The Hollow Ghost...

Well whatever it is, it wants a fight! Let's do this!

Time to end it!

A worthy opponent indeed.

You okay Feinne? Kam?

Y-Yeah. I'm okay.

I'm fine. Sorry to worry you.

I wonder how long it was sleepin' here... Were you dreaming of the Hollow God's era? If only you could've shown it to me...

Velette...

The Hollow God and the Nullgear... Some kind of ancient, divine power? What does Emperor Chronos want it for? Who, or what, is he planning to fight?

We can worry about that later. Let's find the parts we came for and get out of here. I'm worried about Feinne and Kam.

Hah! Don't you worry yer little head. My hyper-electric hammer and demolition digger will have this job done before you can say...

No, we won't be needing those this time. Korobo?

Yes! I got it!

Huh?! Ashtear, is that...

Yeah, these are the parts. I had Korobo grab them off of the enemy we fought earlier.

Wh-Whoa!

You two are amazing!

HEY! I was just about the get to the good part!

Isn't that what you were doing when you ran ahead earlier, Velette?

Urk?!

Grabbing all the good stuff for yourself before we got there? Consider that your payment.

Miss! She's onto us!

Shut yer trap, Gunce!

Ohhh, so that's what she was doing...

Well, whatever. Thanks to Korobo we got what we came for.

Right. Let's get back to Entrana and start the repairs on Guilty Hades.

...Yup. With a few modifications these'll work just fine.

Awesome! We'll have Guilty Hades back up and running in no time.

I thought you'd never worked with these kinds of parts before... You're making me look like an amateur over here.

Tinkering with machines is my hobby, so I've got a lot of experience.

Hmph. Guess that's one thing that hasn't changed about ya.

Yup. Kinda like you and your excavations.

So how long is this going to take?

Not long, but you don't have to wait around here if you don't want to.

I'll stay here just in case they need a pilot.

Alright. Looks like we've got some free time until they finish up the repairs.

We're gonna need to decide on a plan for after Guilty Hades is fixed.

Agreed. We know almost nothing about this world yet.

If it's information you're after then I'd suggest we start by finding a large settlement.

Indeed. If only there were a big central city like Omegapolis...

I'm more worried about those red meteors, personally. They said the meteors would drive the miu to extinction, but it doesn't really make sense.

Yeah. I mean it clearly wasn't the impact itself that caused it.

We might already have the answer to that question. Do you remember what Gardos told us at the Lightspark Hollow?

This here is our founder, a precious gift of red stone descended from the heavens. I care not how many of you there are. You may not touch it!

A big red stone from the sky?

So mineral life was born from them? And that created this civilization of mechanical lifeforms?

So the red stones must be the foundation of everything in this world. Its genesis.

That meteor impact must be what they meant by "descended from the heavens".

You're right. So much has happened that I'd completely forgotten about it.

If the red météores brought mineral life here from somewhere else, perhaps it simply replaced the miu in this world.

If we know the cause then isn't there something we can do about it?

How many times are you going to make me repeat myself? You cannot change destiny.

Suppose you did change history somehow? What would happen to the meks? What would become of Yuki? Of the Ironheart?

I...

There's just too much we don't know. We need to learn more about this world before we can decide on a plan of action. Once we get our bearings we can start thinking about a way to save the miu. Will that work for everyone?

You won't find any dissent from me. Gathering intelligence should be our top priority right now.

So you've returned.

Did you find a way to fix the Nullgear?

Yeah, it's under repairs as we speak. Thanks for introducing us to such a talented engineer.

It was my pleasure. What will you do now?

Actually we were just discussing that. We'd like to learn more about this world. Are there any large settlements nearby?

You guys should check out Torlutan!

Torlutan? Is that the name of a town?

Yep! It's a big, colorful city that lies across the plains!

Torlutan, city of pleasures. As one of the two largest settlements in the world, I must agree it would be a good place to gather information.

Torlutan, huh? Thanks for the info!

Yeah, about that... Debris from the meteor impact has completely blocked the road out of town.

Debris? I wonder if we can clear it out somehow...

Hmph. Of course we can. Did you already forget about Guilty Hades? A few rocks may as well be grains of sand in the face of such power.

Aren't you being a little overconfident?

No, he's right. We can probably do something about it with the Nullgear.

You can?! That'd be a huge help to everyone in the village!

Travel safely, and know that our village will always welcome you with open arms.

Looks like we've found our next destination. I still have a lot of questions, but for now all we can do is keep pushing forward.

Right. It's too late to turn back now.

There's no need to fret over it. This is how it's always been for us.

I can't just sit here and do nothing. Emperor Chronos's ambitions are completely at odds with Professor Madoka's ideals!

He thinks he has us wound around his little finger, but he's got another thing coming.

Exactly! We'll show those imperial jerks!

I will not sit back and watch as they meddle with the god of order's seal on this world.

The Chronos Emperor... He might look like our dad, but he's not.

Feinne...

Mom and Eden might not exist in this world, but I'm sure we were brought here for a reason!

Yeah. It's time to face my past.

Looks like everyone's made up their minds.

Ashtear! Is Guilty Hades ready?

You bet it is! And quite a bit ahead of schedule, might I add!

Kamlanage is on board giving it one last test run. Everything looks good to go.

That's great! I can't wait to ride it again!

I guess this is where I make my exit. I've got a brother workin' as an engineer over in Torlutan. Send him my regards if you run into him.

Will do. Thanks again for all your help.

Alright, let's head back to the coast.

Those red meteors... They came down at the exact same moment we time traveled to this era.

Could it really just be a coincidence?

The Hollow God, sealed in this world for eternity by the god of order... I wonder how it felt? Did it bear a grudge? Dream of revenge? Or maybe it was just lonely? That ghost we fought before... That was definitely born from the Nullgear's lingering desires, and now those feelings are swirling inside of me.

Feinne said it made her feel sick, but I...I feel some kind of connection with it. The others will never be able to understand...not even Aldo.

...Can you hear me Guilty Hades? Will you accept me as your pilot, a fellow child of ruin?

Kamlanage!

We heard Guilty Hades got fixed. Did you already take it for a spin?

No, I was waiting for everyone to get back first.

Let me give you a little refresher on how to pilot this machine.

Guilty Hades and Grand Hades were both built to be controlled by a single pilot.

That's what the flight sticks and meters you see around the cockpit are for.

The fact that they have designated pilots should tell you all you need to know about how complicated they are. It must require extensive training.

I do not have the required drivers installed!

We're piloting it via Kamlanage and Feinne's psychic resonance, so it's not a problem. We won't need to use the main control console unless we're attempting a particularly difficult maneuver.

And what are we supposed to do if those two aren't around?

Even if we did somehow get separated, their powers have formed a link with Guilty Hades that we can all tap into. We'll be able to move it with or without them.

I get it... I think. Anyhow moving it isn't going to be a problem.

Hmph. So that means we're all pilots, too...

Shall we fly over to Torlutan?

Unfortunately the machine isn't equipped for sustained flight. It was designed for localized combat. But I did find one particularly useful function, an interdimensional storage capsule.

A what now?

Guilty Hades is too big to follow us around everywhere, right? The I.D.C. will allow us to store it when we aren't using it. Here, it'll be easier to just show you.

And there you have it. Guilty Hades is now safely tucked away in a pocket dimension. Just let me know whenever you want it back.

As they say, big things come in small packages.

REALLY big things, apparently. Shall we head out for Torlutan?

......

SIIIGH! I guess this is goodbye, yeah? Losin' me is gonna be a helluva blow to yer offense, but what can ya do? Come on, Gunce!

......

HEY! Not a single one of ya is gonna try an' stop me?!

S-Sorry, I just forgot you were here...

Velette... Could it be that you...

I'll take this one, Feinne.

...Come with us, Velette.

Huh? Why should I?

(She was just moping about not getting invited!)

Don't you want to try and help the miu? They've done a lot for you.

Me? Why? Even if I did help, it wouldn't do any good.

Maybe not. But the Velette I remember wasn't the type to just sit around and do nothing, even against impossible odds.

......

Ya know, I heard that the Hollow Clock was reactivated in the mek era. Was that you?

It was, yes.

I guess if I followed you blokes around, I'd probably learn a lot about the secrets of this world... It's not a bad offer.

Alright! I'm in! But I'm doin' this for my own reasons, got it?

Heheh. Sure, that's fine by me.

Hmph. Better not go thinkin' this means we're best mates or anything.

This is great, Miss! Now we won't have to eat weeds and grass when we run outta cash!

Shut it, Gunce! You're makin' us look bad! And what're YOU starin' at?! Weren't ya in a hurry to get to Torlutan?

Sigh... I guess that wild streak of yours is never going anywhere.

Hahah, yeah... Anyhow lets get over to the plains.

...It's not like you've changed either, little miss Goodie Two-Shoes.

Can you bring out Guilty Hades for us, Ashtear?

You got it. Just a sec.

Let's take the Nullgear over to where the rocks are blocking the road.