To Walk Together

Oh, is that you, Velette?

What were you doing in Gemlazar's palace? Paying off debts or something?

Nope, the opposite in fact! I wanted to borrow some more money. But I kid you not, he turned me away at the door! Can ya believe it?

To be honest, I would have done the same in his shoes.

Ugh! Does NO ONE get it? Invest in me, and I'll make a huge, world-changing discovery.

I could pay the debt off in an instant! And buy the whole of Torlutan with what's left!

Don't worry, Miss Velette! Even if Gemlazar won't help you, you still got me! I don't care what the payout is, I'll always be by your side!

Yeah, yeah. Real comfortin'. Okay, let's get to work and see what we can discover today!

All right!

Sounds interesting. Mind if I tag along?

Oh, it's you. Look, I don't care how clever you are, that big head o' yours is only gonna get in the way.

Oh? But look, I have Korobo with me. I'm sure we can help you out.

Yeah, well I've got Gunce here who's trained in the art of excavation. We got enough help!

Ah yes, the girl who almost destroyed my second hometown. Real helpful.

Aldo, you traitor! You ratted us out!

Oops, sorry. It just kinda slipped out when we were talking about home.

Which reminds me, didn't you two live together before you came to Baruoki?

We did, yes. My parents and her grandfather were close, so they took her in after his tragic accident.

But you know Velette, she can be a lot to handle. It took her a long time to open up and even speak to us. Once she did, we got along pretty great. Maybe because neither of us had any other friends our age.

......

Really? Then you must be so glad to see each other again!

Yeah. We may not have seen each other since we were kids, but I'd recognize that face of hers anywhere. I knew it was Velette the moment I saw her.

Yeah, well I didn't recognize you! I'd plain forgotten all about ya!

Uh, it's pretty clear you recognized her...

What's up with you, Velette? Why are you acting so strange?

Gunce. Time is scratch. We're heading to the Sakoritas Ruins.

Velette!

Honestly, that girl can be so stubborn! Although I only have myself to blame...

Okay, this looks like a good spot! Let's get diggin'!

All right!

Hey, isn't this where we came to look for parts to repair Guilty Hades?

What are you trying to unearth today?

A relic from the age of the Hollow God.

The age of the Hollow God? Never heard of it.

It was an ancient era, long before the miu civilization. A totally mysterious, ultra explosive era filled with adventure! No one even knew it existed until the Nullgear was discovered.

So the Nullgears were created in the age of the Hollow God?

Right. They're prehistoric relics, and the best lead we have to discoverin' the secret history of this world. The place was crawlin' with Imperials before the Nullgear was excavated, but now that they're gone, we can dig to our heart's content!

Miss! Miss!

I think I found an old relic! Look!

Gizza look. Hmm...

Judgin' from the condition of the OOPArt, I'd say this was a relic from the age of the Hollow God. I feel a strong energy coming from it. Maybe it's some kinda machine? Or fuel? Or a control device, maybe?

Even you don't know what it is?

Um, who do ya think you're talkin' to? I'm Velette Murray, genius archaeologist! There is no mystery I cannot solve! Now, lemme see...

Hmm...

Miss Velette, I brought you somethin' to drink!

Just put it over there.

Got i, Ahhh!

Gulp.

Gunce?! Spit that relic out right now!

Yeah! Quick snap! I'm not done workin' on it yet!

That's not what I'm worried about!

Gggrrgg... M-M-Must recreate the w-w-world... A-A-As is the w-w-will of the g-g-gods...

Err, what? Are you malfunctionin'? Ugh, you'll be the death of me, you silly bear. Right, let's see if a little whack helps.

Huh?{lang-nuance}Err, what? Are you malfunctionin'?{/lang-nuance}

Gunce!

All right!

No, it's not all right! You can't go around hitting Gunce! She's a living thing, not a tool!

You think I don't know that? I'd never hit my tools like that! They might break.

......

Besides, Gunce is made of stronger stuff. You know that.

Well, I suppose...

Here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna clean my tools, and she'll be up and pesterin' me again in no time.

Honestly, it's like she exists PURELY to get on my nerves.

How do you clean up your mining tools? Anything I can do to help?

I could teach ya, but be warned. I teach how my gramps taught me, and it ain't a pleasant experience.

Was your grandfather really that strict?

Yeah, he was your classic grumpy old man. The only time he ever let up was for my birthday. He'd always give me exactly what I wanted. Hammers, grinders, you name it, he'd give it.

What kind of a child prefers mining equipment to toys? You really are an oddball, Velette.

Maybe, but to me, excavatin' is more fun that anythin' in the whole wide world!

Although...come to think of it, he did give me a toy this one time. Just once, you know.

We were doing this excavation, and I messed up and got myself hurt. Gramps was super mad at me. Honestly, I was close to writin' off archaeology for good. I was so upset, I flat out refused to leave my room. But then Gramps gave me this stuffed toy. And it made me so happy. It was just so funny to think about my stern, intimidatin' gramps buyin' this cute little toy for me.

Your grandfather clearly really loved you.

Well, it wasn't long before my stuffed bear started fallin' apart.

I can imagine, the way you treat thi...

Wait. Did you just say stuffed bear?

Ah, good to have ya back with us, Gunce. See? It's just like I said. Now let's get back to...

Planet reclamator Gun Cache... Resuming mission...

Huh?{lang-nuance}Planet reclamator Gun Cache...Resuming mission...{/lang-nuance}

Gunce?

Hey! What are ya doin'? Gunce! Can you hear me? Gunce!

Gggrrg...grahhh!

It stopped... What happened?

I haven't got a clue.

Gunce is always a handful, but I've never seen him act like that... He wasn't makin' any sense.

Then maybe Ashtear could help us. She seems like the type to know what's going on. Come on! If we leave now, we'll probably still find her in Torlutan.

Augh, not HER! I don't wanna...

But Gunce is your partner, Velette!

Fine. Needs dictate, I guess. Let's go.

The relic and Gunce resonated, causing her to change shape? Hmm... The obvious conclusion is that this must be Gunce's original function.

That was her original function? Then what exactly IS Gunce?

I dunno. Gunce is just Gunce. The irritatin' bear that follows me around.

My, my. Quite the treasure you've got there.

Yeah, it figures you'd be interested in this.

I saw something similar in Engineering, back when I served the Empire.

Engineering? Isn't that where the Amy of this time layer works?

Yes. They called it a relay, I believe.

A relay for what?

For Gun Caches. Tools of the Hollow God, intended to reshape the planet to their needs.

All the will of the gods who rule from the heavens, apparently.

Perhaps there's some kind of program embedded? One that can remotely manipulate relics on a continual basis.

Gun Caches have orders to eliminate anything that gets in their way, be it animal, vegetable, or mineral. Once one gets too close to a relay, they wreak havoc on pretty much everything in their path. As soon as that was discovered, Engineering dropped the project pretty quick.

Yeah, yeah. That much, I know. But what's this got to do with Gunce?

Come on. The relay reacted to your little helper. I'm sure you can work out what that means.

Gunce must be a Gun Cache created during the age of the Hollow God. That would explain why she reacted to the relay.

But... But how do we get her back to normal?

Yeah, not my department. If anyone can help you, it's probably Professor Sebastia. Or else...

Maybe some other scientist of equal genius.

Ashtear...

Please, Ashtear! Fix Gunce for me. I want my noisy, irritatin', clod of a bear back!

Of course I'll help you, Velette. We can do this together.

But first, we need some equipment. Let's see if we can borrow some tools from the engineer in Entrana.

Why? Why don't ya know anythin'?

You really can't bring Gunce back to normal?

Look, I truly believe that there's nothing that science can't explain.

But when you have no information, time, or anything to go by, it is pretty much impossible.

Then what should we do?

Velette, did you know that the Empire had other relics in their possession? Besides the ones you and your team had unearthed, I mean?

Yeah, I reckon my gramps may have mentioned it.

Then did his research notes ever mention anything about relics from the age of the Hollow God?

Nope, never saw anythin' like that. And I've read his notes so many times, the pages are fallin' apart. As a private researcher, he probably wouldn't have been aware of the Empire's secret Nullgear.

Uh-huh, so you were never informed after all.

Your grandfather was once in charge of the Imperial Advanced Technology Research Division. But he was frozen out of power after he opposed their plans to use relics as weapons.

What? No, that's impossible! He never told me any of this! And neither did my research team!

They were probably waiting to see whether your ideas would be useful to them... Or whether you'd get in their way.

Ahh. That's why they were always so interested in my work. It was all for surveillance purposes.

And because you were never told anything, the Empire deemed you innocent.

I'm sure that's why your grandfather kept you in the dark. It was for your own protection.

Gramps...

But if Velette doesn't know anything, then we're back to where we started! We don't have a single lead.

Oh, Gunce. I wish you'd go back to the old you.

Energy charge complete. Resuming reclamation.

Gunce!

Stop! Don't get too close to her!

Group of heterogenous lifeforms detected nearby. Classification: obstacles to planetary reclamation. Conclusion: eliminate all obstacles.

Eliminate? What are you talkin' 'bout? Snap out of it, Gunce!

Gunce, I'm sorry for this!

Heterogenous lifeforms resisting. Must revise strategy. Conclusion: temporary withdrawal. More efficient method of elimination required. Recalculating. Recalculating. Recalculating...

After her!

......

Velette! Pull yourself together! Are you just going to leave her to it? She'll slaughter the miu!

I...I... (What are you worrying about? She's just a relic...)

Okay, let's go, Ashtear. We gotta stop Gunce!

Phew! I think we made it in time.

Gunce, please listen to us! This isn't you! You'd never want to hurt the miu, let alone kill them! Please, go back to the Gunce we know and love! The one who only cares how she can best help Velette.

113,421 patterns analyzed. Efficient method identified with high probability of success. Interfere with brainwaves of nearby lifeforms. Incite battle. Redundant lifeforms will destroy each other.

Is Gunce controlling them?

Yes, I think so. Velette, are you ready for this?

Yeah. I'm ready.

Oh no! What do we do now?

You know as well as I do what the best course of action is here. Don't you, Ashtear?

Yes, but are you sure about this? I mean, Gunce is your...

Tool! She's just a tool...

Sure, apparently she's a tool of the gods themselves, but at the end of the day, she's still just a tool.

Tools can be repaired when they break, but a life lost is lost for good. If I gotta choose between Gunce and the people of Entrana, then the choice is easy. I'll destroy Gunce...

(Destroy her? I really have to destroy her?)

Take a look for yourself! When I crashed into the wall before, this slate fell out of it!

Yay! I did good!

Why? Why am I cryin'? Gunce is just another relic.

You know that's not true, right? Gunce is your...

Device identification code: Gun Cache. Designation: planet reclamation. Cave-in during excavation rendered device inoperable. Sleep mode activated. Following tens of thousands of hours of runtime, all functions ceased. Purpose of existence forgotten. After many years...many, many years...there was a voice. Then, there was light. Warmth... Someone callin' me...someone lookin' at me...someone holdin' me...

Whoa! What the heck is this thing? It's all tattered! And it's SO grubby.

But genius that I am, I can tell! This is the greatest discovery of the century! Thank you! Thank you for letting me dig you up.

I know... I know this warmth... The one who held me like a treasure, ragged and tattered as I was... Vel...ette...my loving master. I wanna go back to her... I gotta go back...

Please, come back to me. Come back to me, Gunce.

M-Miss Velette...

Gunce! You're back!

Back? What are you...talkin' about? I didn't go anywhere. I'd never leave you, Miss.

You don't remember what happened?

No. All I remember is some kind of warm feelin'.

Oh, that must have been from when Velette held you...

Hm!

Hey! You need to show her more affection! This is the stuffed bear all over again!

Oh, be quiet! This is just my way of showin' affection!

Come to think of it, maybe it is. I know how much that toy meant to you, yet you were always so rough with it.

I've lost count of the number of times I had to sew it back together for you.

Did you just say stuffed bear...?

Anyway, why did Gunce go back to normal after Velette touched her?

It's just part of her nature.

Ah, that whole getting possessed by relics thing?

She likes to say she gets possessed by them because she thinks it sounds impressive. Personally, I don't think that's what's going on. She's not possessed by relics. She is loved by them.

When I examined Gunce, there was one thing I found out. She never originally had a fixed form.

I knew that Gunce could change her shape whenever she felt like it... But why would she choose to look like a toy bear?

She wanted to take the form of something Velette loved. She wanted Velette to love her.

Don't be ridiculous! How can ya even keep a straight face spoutin' that nonsense?

Because it's true.

......

Let's go back to Entrana. I'd like to give Gunce a proper examination, since SOMEBODY caused her to collapse, yet again.

There. I'm done!

Right.

(After all that, it looks like they're back to their old ways again...)

Hey, um...

Aldo, would you mind doing some shopping for me?

Uh, sure.

Great! Okay, here's a list of everything I need.

......

So? Do you have something to say to me?

Pah! What could I possibly have to say to you, traitor?

Don't be an idiot! Is that how you speak to someone who's trying to help you!

Eep?!

That's what your grandfather would have said, isn't it? Gosh, you look so shocked, Velette! Was my impression really that accurate?

No, it was not! And you never even met my gramps! Don't go actin' like ya know him!

You're right. But the only things you ever used to talk about were archaeology and your grandfather. I almost feel as if I know him.

Yeah, well, that's what happens when ya talk every day. But you...

I abandoned you and ran off into Aldo's world. I betrayed you. That's how you see it, isn't it?

Well, yeah! I was s'posed to be the only one who understood ya! That's what you told me.

I did. But back then, the only other people I knew were scheming adults. You were a huge presence in my life. And I think, having lost your grandfather, I was a huge presence in yours.

Then why? Why did ya do it?

I am sorry for leaving you behind, truly I am. But I couldn't not go. Besides...

You had your excavations. You wanted to carry on your grandfather's legacy, here, in this world.

That's not what I'm mad about! Why can't you see that?!

You didn't say anythin' to me before you left! That's what gets to me.

You always take everythin' on yourself, and always make decisions on your own!

I thought we were the same! You told me we shared the same loneliness! Was that all a lie?

I really am sorry, Velette.

Why didn't ya trust me? Am I that unreliable?

I...I...

I didn't want ya to be alone!

......

Say somethin'.

I'm trying. It's just...I can't quite find the words. Thank you, Velette.

You know, I thought I'd never see ya again. Glad I was wrong.

I'm back!

Welcome back.

Hey, Ashtear. What did I miss?

That was quick.

No way did ya get everythin' on the list in that time.

Something seems different between you. Did you make up?

Make up? We were never fighting in the first place!

No? Well you could have cut the tension with a knife.

Hmm? Grhmm...

Are we... Is this Entrana? Why was I asleep?

Don't you remember?

Well, we went diggin'. And then I fell asleep for some reason. When I woke up, Miss Velette sent me flyin'... That's what I remember. Was it all a dream? Or did that really happen?

(I almost forgot! Gunce is a relic from the age of the Hollow God...) (She's what Velette had been searching for. What's Velette going to say? Is she going to tell her?)

It was all just a dream, you sleepyhead!

Then I must've been asleep for ages!

I can't believe myself! I've wasted so much of your valuable time, Miss!

Yeah, you have. Now let's get back to the dig site!

What? You're going right now?

Are you half-asleep yourself there, Aldo? Buried relics may be eternal, but my life sure isn't. There are so many relics desperate to be unearthed by me, and I don't want to keep 'em waitin'.

Besides, I gotta make a huge discovery pronto to get back at Gemlazar for refusin' to back me.

That's why you're gonna have to work three times as hard today. Got that, Gunce?

Anythin' for you, Miss! I'd break every bone in my body if it got the job done faster!

Looks like everything's back to normal.

Yep. It's the only way they know how to be.

Hurry up, Gunce! Get in behind!

Comin'! I'll stick with you till the ends of the earth, Miss!