Arknights story · Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures
CV-8 So Long, Stooge
At the very last second, Leone chooses to remain on the plate. Jessica witnesses the power plant's explosion, and after hearing the news, Woodrow decides to find Cliff alone.
2 scenes, 567 lines
1. Before Operation
275 lines
Hold on for ten more minutes. Blacksteel's convoy will be here soon.
That's not going to take us to the energy tower.
I'll stay behind... Y'all go on ahead.
How much time can you buy us?
How much time do you need?
At least... half an hour?
Woodrow draws his revolver from its holster and counts the bullets.
...An hour, maybe? You need time to set the explosives, too.
More than enough.
Woodrow...
Goodbye, Woodrow.
Hurry. Right, Jessica...
What is it, sir?
Thanks... Thanks for bringing it all the way here.
Woodrow fixes his hat and turns around to walk down the long street. Soon, his silhouette has disappeared into the night, leaving only a farewell ringing in the air.
Until we meet again, friends.
Sir, we've finished testing the propulsion equipment. The Engineering team is double checking the connection's structural integrity now.
......
Sir?
What's the ETA for our departure?
Everything should be ready by Wednesday.
Good... Very good.
P-Pardon me, but I have something to report.
I'll take my leave, then.
Alright...
What is it?
The team stationed on the plate has requested backup. They say a gang of robbers have blown open the bank's vault door and stolen all the reserve funds inside.
There are four of them... and they've all been identified. It's Mr. Bianchi and his friends, as well as...
As well as who?
As well as Miss Brynley.
...Huh.
Should we send anyone, considering that you just sent away all the security personnel stationed at the bank the other day...?
Let's prioritize preparing to tow the plate. No need to stop the work we have on hand. But... send out anyone we have to spare.
One more thing. Considering Miss Brynley's unique status, should we...?
Don't hurt her. We have to save face for the Brynleys, after all. As for Woody... I don't see us subduing him uninjured.
Forget it... Just make sure he stays alive. As for the rest, let the troops do as they see fit.
Alright, understood.
Right, which one's carrying the cash?
Still unclear.
No matter who it is, send Tila and have her keep a close eye.
H-Have you heard the news? Jessica...
We have to do something. The order from above is that, aside from Jessica and Woodrow, the teams can deal with everyone else as they see fit. That's all it says.
And you're going to follow it?
...We can help them, or we could take them in. But either way it's a race against time.
We need to find them before anyone else does.
Helena, Leone, this is as far as I can take you.
I'm hearing sounds of transports that aren't from main street. Blacksteel probably sent additional men after us, just as we anticipated.
Are we going through with the plan?
Yeah, I'll stay outside to lure them away.
Godspeed... Leave this last leg of the journey to us.
Looks like Blacksteel will be dragging the plate off to the city in the next couple days. They have only a few guys guarding the door. Bet they have everyone else working on the connection.
Perfect... Won't be too hard to deal with, then.
How are those soldiers doing...?
Sleeping like babies. Might wake up with a sore neck though.
We need to hurry. If we want to blow up the power plant and seal off that passage completely, we need to set up the explosives there.
Look at those car lights... the Blacksteel people must be getting close to the mine.
Helena... you should go. I can take care of this by myself.
Leone...
Your job is more important.
We still haven't broken through their defenses?
Not a single car can get close to the central avenue.
How many robbers are there out on the street?
Just one... a Sankta.
Is the backup here yet?
Not yet.
Let's stop the car here... Have everyone still with us bring their gear. We'll go around the road and break through from there.
Ambush up ahead...
Going by the bullet marks... That's Blacksteel etched ammo. Good news, we found our princess.
...Give me the amplifier.
Ahem... Miss Brynley. Whatever your reasons are for participating in this robbery, we won't make this hard on you as long as you cooperate and turn yourself in.
(Whispers) Draw her attention. I'll send out a drone to track her.
Stay back. I'm not surrendering.
(Whispers) The bullet came from that diner over there.
(Whispers) Let's get in position. We'll attack as soon as we're ready.
Miss Brynley, you may not understand what's going to happen to you after this. You will be sent to prison, be abandoned by your friends and family, and society will look at you with disdain... Can you really bear all that?
Sir... With all due respect, I've worked with everyone at Blacksteel for a long time now. I'm not the naive rich girl I used to be.
I know better than anyone what the price of this is.
But I still have to do it...
There are some things you just do, no matter the price.
That guy up ahead... That him?
Sure, he looks like a normal old man, but you see those transports flipped upside down? He did that.
Like a wandering lost soul, the figure stands still in the middle of the road, under the flickering streetlights.
Kid... Is there something you can't say to my face?
He can hear us from this far away?
I've lived in far noisier places than this. I only survived this long thanks to my sharp ears.
A legendary mercenary like you must have a lot of awe-inspiring stories to tell.
A legendary mercenary... Now that's the first time anyone's described me like that.
There's a long corridor in Blacksteel where pictures of our founder and his war buddies are hung. I saw one with you and our boss in it. It's inconspicuous, but I noticed it.
What a shame... My stories ain't as legendary as you think. All I've been through is war.
That doesn't matter... Actually, I've wanted to fight the boss for quite a well, too. Still, he's the boss. I can't exactly pull a gun on him.
But if you and him are in the same picture, old man, I wonder what that says about your skills.
Rotten.
You mean so rotten you could throw a dozen of our teams for a loop and single-handedly keep us pinned down on this street?
I mean so rotten that everyone I ever wanted to save died a miserable death right in front of me. Everything I ever wanted to protect fell before my eyes.
Those I loved chose to leave me. Those I despised, I couldn't kill with my own hands.
I ain't no legend... I'm just an old failure of a beckbeast.
An old beckbeast guarding the only bones that he has left.
When he sees the old man's fingertip twitch, the mercenary keenly realizes that something terrible is about to go down.
He aims his weapon at the target as fast as he can, but a bullet pierces his shoulder first.
Ugh—!
Dammit, I can't even see what he's doing.
So how come I'm starting to think this is getting fun?
Stop approaching him, you madman!
Careful. Not a step closer, kid.
...I'm putting everything on the line for this.
So you came in here anyway.
Miss Brynley, bullets can ricochet indoors. I don't want to hurt you.
I don't want to hurt you, either. Please take everyone with you and leave.
I'm sorry, but this is the mission handed down to us. Not everyone's a princess like you, who can do whatever she pleases.
I'm so sorry about all this...
The girl's voice is coming from behind the booth seats. It is soft and with a hint of doubt. Just like the mercenary's first impression of her—sensitive and cowardly.
He carefully inches forward with his handgun drawn and held up next to his face.
This...
There is no one sitting in the booth. Just a sniper rifle on the table. The device on the trigger ensures it can be remotely controlled.
A communication device sits beside it. The girl's voice can be heard through its speakers.
...I really am sorry.
The target is not in the rear kitchen.
Second floor is clear.
Not outside, either.
She's not here...
Hurry and withdraw immediately. This is a feint—
If you know I do whatever I please... why did you expect me to act exactly how you anticipated?
No, don't withdraw yet!
A fiery beam of light crashes into the ground outside the window.
All units! Get down—
Before he can finish, there is a loud explosion.
A tire crashes through the window and, still smoking and on fire, makes a few loops on the ground before falling to the glass-strewn floor.
...All blown up. Without any transports, it'll take some time for them to make it to the power plant.
That's plenty.
Were there more of them?
Looks like I need to hurry.
According to the plan, you'll leave through this secret passage, and I'll set off the power plant. Once this place explodes, no one will find the passage.
Leone...
Do you have a map of the route?
Yeah.
This path is connected to the underground sewer system. The passages there are complicated and twisty. Only one will lead you outside the plate.
Jessica hid some transports and supplies near the exit. Avoid military stations on the way to the frontier... There's bound to be plenty of thugs and bandits, too.
Leone, how many times have we been over this already? As for the dangers of the road, Woodrow's talked my ear off about them already. Yes, it's dangerous, we all know that.
I'm just worried...
I don't like making promises, you know.
But I can promise you this: No matter what happens, I'll do everything to reach my destination. Even if I fall—
You won't.
You won't, Helena. Because I'll be right behind you. I'll take down every obstacle that slows you down.
That's my promise to you.
You just need to keep running straight ahead. Remember, keep going straight. Don't look back.
I will, Leone... Goodbye...
Now go. Hurry.
He looks on as the dark, narrow tunnel engulfs Helena's silhouette. Finally, he can't help but turn around to take a look at the plant's generator in the center of the room.
There is barely anyone left on the plate, but the fire in the furnace burns as strong as ever.
The flames are reflected in his eyes. Dancing, stirring, leaping.
Yet even that is unable to melt the frigid ice lying in their depths.
Now... It's just you and me.
You're late. The old Sankta's gone.
Where did he go...?
The mine.
You're wounded...
It's fine. He held back... Ugh... I almost had him. Dammit.
...One suggestion. If you girls run into him, try attacking his left shoulder.
What—
I appreciate the advice. Now if you'll excuse us.
Faster... I have to hurry...
Leone sets the explosives on the wall and lifts his hand to wipe all the sweat that's gathered on his brow, but the heat immediately causes his skin to sweat even more.
Hurry...
His lips start chapping. His saliva no longer serves to moisten his throat and mouth.
Faster...
He sticks another one onto the wall, then another, and another...
The light of the intense fire sweeps into the bottom of his eyes, seemingly tearing his soul in two. One half supports his body's movements so that he can keep working.
While the other half has left his body entirely and stands firm in front of the furnace, staring into the raging fire.
As he attaches another stick of dynamite to the wall, he notices someone walking toward him from the light of the fire.
Come with me, Leone. We'll head to the frontier. That's where our new home is.
Miles... Don't go. Where are you going?
Another stick of dynamite is set on the wall. Miles turns toward the furnace, and a small shadow emerges.
I'm planning to leave Davistown. I don't want to stay here anymore. I'm leaving, Dad.
Benny...
Don't leave me... You're the only child I have left... Don't leave me like Carl did!
Another stick of dynamite on the wall. The fire engulfs Benny, and twists into a tall, young man.
Good news, Dad. There's a mercenary company that thinks I'm pretty good. They say I'm a good fit for the gig... I'll be leaving in a few days.
No... Don't go. I won't let you.
You'll die on the battlefield, Carl!
Another stick of dynamite. The young man turns into a fireball and explodes in all directions.
No... Carl, come back!
The final stick of dynamite is set up on the wall.
A woman emerges from the fireball. He no longer remembers what she looked like, but he never once forgot her voice.
Mom...
Leone...
I have to go now. I'm sorry... I can't support you anymore...
Mom... Don't apologize. I'm doing well here.
Leone, sorry for leaving you all alone.
No, Mom. I have a family here... Everyone here is my family.
Goodbye, Leone.
Stay here, Mom...
Stay here... with me.
Leone, how are things going on your end?
The explosives are all in the place... Once they're set off, the plant will explode in no time. Then, after the energy tower comes crashing down, no one will ever find that passage again.
When are you leaving? I've lured the nearby mercenaries away, so I'm on my way there to pick you up.
No... Don't come.
Have you already left?
No, it's just... I don't want to go.
But...
Jessica, tell this to Sylvia for me.
No... I won't. If you have something to tell her, tell her yourself.
She's... She's a clever girl, and still so young. A nice girl. If she finds a good man in the frontier, she should let herself fall in love again.
I want her to be happy... God... why'd I have to treat her like that? If I'd known Carl was going to...
Carl...?
No... Forget what I said. Tell her... Tell her I'm glad she still remembers and loves Carl...
But he's gone... He's not here anymore...
The living... deserve a choice...
The living... shouldn't be bogged down by the dead...
You deserve a choice, too. You need to live, and leave this place. You'll get to start fresh in the future.
Don't do anything stupid, I'm begging you! Think about Woodrow and Helena. They'll be heartbroken!
And Benny! He just started school. He's got a bright future ahead of him. Don't you want to see what kind of man he'll become? Don't you want to see your son again?!
And Miles... He's still waiting for you...
But... she wants me to stay...
Who?
♪She spread her arms, spread her heart, showed me that pretty face♪
♪And from that moment on, I found my dreams in her embrace♪
Listen to me, Jessica. I can't leave this place. Because... Because that woman left me here on a rainy spring day.
It was the perfect day for a seedling to take root and sprout. My... My roots have grown too deep. No one can pluck me out anymore.
Leone...
It's gonna be a big bang. Cover your ears. Don't be afraid, and don't be sad.
My life didn't begin the day I was born. It began the day I got here.
In the same way, my death won't be on the day my life comes to an end. It'll be the day I leave this place.
Leone, please...
Don't worry, Jessica. I won't die. Because I'll be here forever...
I'll live forever in her embrace...
No—!
A loud explosion rings out high up above, and its massive shockwave shoves Jessica to the ground.
She tries her hardest to get up and move her legs, to run forward, but she finds herself unable to budge. Her body has never felt so heavy before.
She lifts her head up to look into the distance. A thick cloud of smoke is gushing out of a giant fissure in the tower's body.
The rubble mercilessly pummels the ground alongside a shower of sparks, turning the nearby buildings into wreckage beyond recognition.
No...
A frigid wind blows toward her from afar, turning everything before her into nothing but a hazy blur, and leaving the corners of her eyes feeling awfully cold.
She reaches her fingers up toward the sky, as though she is trying to grasp something in the haze.
She blinks, and her vision starts to clear up. She sees a snowflake.
It's snowing.
Is that... the power plant? Hurry, Franka, drive faster!
You hear that, you stupid car?! Faster!
Did... Did it work?
Jessica... What's the situation there?
Leone... respond...
...I'm not getting a signal.
Dammit.
Helena stops in her tracks, and considers turning back to look.
The underground passage's structure, fragile to begin with, is unable to withstand the explosion on the surface. The fissures on the walls are rapidly spreading as far out as she can see.
Almost as if underlining the fact that she is walking a path of no return.
And so, in the end, she doesn't turn around. Instead, she keeps running.
She simply throws herself into the hidden tunnel, and towards the unknown up ahead.
...I really have gotten old.
Couldn't even dodge a little explosion like that...
That's... toward the energy tower.
Jessica...
Woodrow...
What's the situation at the energy tower? Has Helena entered the underground passage yet?
......
What happened?
Leone... said he was staying... He said he didn't want to leave...
I didn't see him come out...
I waited... Maybe I missed him...
Does Helena know?
I... I can't reach her...
Are you crying?
Am I? I think I am.
*sigh*... It's all over now. You'll be fine. Let's see... You're from Blacksteel, and a Brynley. They won't touch you.
Where are you going, Woodrow? Can... Can I come look for you?
I still got some stuff to take care of... Can't go bringing you with me.
...Will I ever see you again?
Maybe, Jessica... Maybe.
Woodrow leans on the wall. He feels dazed and dizzy, and the burn wound on his shoulder aches.
He takes out the bullet from his pocket. He can barely make it out under the faint moonlight, so all he does is rub its engraving.
(In Lateran) Forgiveness... Damned right.
May this bullet forgive what my heart cannot.
2. After Operation
292 lines...What's the situation?
We've already tracked down Miss Brynley, but... the mercenaries are understandably not giving this their best. However, going by how long it's been, she should be almost out of ammunition.
Any news on Tila's end?
Helena and the miner took the money into the energy tower, and... neither of them came out.
So they disappeared without a trace, right in front of everyone? There must be another exit. Tell Tila to keep looking.
Yes, sir.
What about Woody? Has he left yet?
Mr. Bianchi... hasn't left the plate. It seems he's effectively given up on their initial escape plan.
After all, according to Tila's report, he was planning to hide in the mountains with the miner once everything was over.
Where did you go, Woody...
He... He's heading toward us.
......
Should we send someone to intercept him?
Forget it. Let him come. If he insists on coming, no one can stop him.
Liskarm, there's a burning roadblock up ahead. I can't drive past it. We'll have to walk.
Are those... Blacksteel transports?
Was it Woodrow... or Jessica...?
At the very least, that tells us that not everyone was inside when the energy tower exploded.
Wait, Liskarm... There's news from command.
Warning, all fireteams. The current situation is that, after the recent explosion, the target engineer's status is unknown and Target Helena is missing.
God...
HQ's orders are to give up on Target Woodrow and focus on capturing Target Jessica. The target is currently in an abandoned alley on the eastern side of the mine.
Liskarm... What do we do...?
There has to be something we can do... Our team knows the mine better than anybody else. Let's just try to make it to her side ASAP.
You got here much sooner than I expected... Woody.
Every last building on the way was empty. Wasn't much to do but come find you.
Are you blaming me for it?
Anyone else more deserving? Sometimes, a man bears sin not 'cause of something he's done, but 'cause of something he didn't.
Then you should've shot that bullet of yours decades ago.
But you chose to flee. Why?
Because after a long silence, my godforsaken empathy finally realized that another Sankta had showed up by my side again. It was you.
I was a mess, Woody. Empathizing with me must've felt terrible.
What was I supposed to do? It's the nature of all Sankta. We share everything, always.
And compared to what I read from your brain? What I had to go through at that POW camp might've been a walk in the park.
What a cruel fate. You despise me so much, yet not even my pain can bring you joy.
Reporting. Jessica spotted. Sharing coordinates.
The target is heading outside the mines. She has a heavy energy cannon, a semi-auto assault rifle... and a handgun of unknown make.
She's carrying all that by herself?
Oh, right. She also has a heavy shield on her back. The kind that can be used as carriage if necessary.
Well, that's something. Looks like after all these years, our princess has gotten pretty... remarkable.
How's she doing? Does she look like she could put up a huge fight? It's easy to spook a cornered thief. They get jumpy if you pull anything.
Hm... She seems kinda calm. She's just walking straight ahead, not doing anything.
In the alley, the girl carries her weapons and advances arduously through the blizzard. The dilapidated walls on the sides of the streets slowly pass her by.
That is, until she reaches a fork. She freezes there for a brief moment, then tugs her collar and turns onto the path where she must walk against the wind to proceed.
Time was frozen in that POW camp. But outside, the war kept raging.
That's right. After you two were taken prisoner, I took even more men to even vaster battlefields.
In January, we had to cross the river against heavy cannon fire. In August, we had to defend our position in a scorching hot desert, ceding not even an inch to the enemy.
Sometimes, we proved victorious, and we stepped forward over the bodies of our enemies. Other times, we found ourselves on the back foot, and we retreated past the bodies of our friends.
And sometimes, things got even worse. Sometimes, I had to sacrifice some to save the others.
Just like what you did to me and him.
Right, I've done it plenty of times. Not just to you two, but to who-knows-how-many.
That's the dilemma war always puts in front of me. It may seem like a choice, but it's not. It's an inviolable rule.
But you still made the call.
I had no choice. If I didn't, all our efforts would've gone to waste. We would've faced defeat. That's why I chose to accept the rules.
......
It's a sad thing, seeing a man you used to admire get reshaped by the rules and logic of war.
You even remember what you used to be like? Before you had any part in the Revolutionary War?
Do you remember the man who was always carrying the scriptures as he travelled everywhere, promising to use the gun in his hand to end all conflict and injustice?
Of course I do, Woody. I remember what I was like, and I remember what you were like, too.
You always had a brush with you. You wanted to have one of your paintings decorate a chapel dome one day.
Have you so much as touched a brush these past years?
No... Not since I had to get four fingers reattached.
The target is turning left. She's walking pretty slow. Nearby members, prepare to take her in.
These coordinates... They're just up ahead. Hurry, Liskarm.
Phew... W-Wait.
The two turn into an alley and stop in their tracks. The girl's lonely back suddenly appears before them.
Jessica...
Hearing her name, the girl turns around.
When she notices who they are, a hint of joy appears on her face, only to be quickly replaced by a sense of helplessness and panic.
C-Captain... You two came?
Yeah, we got your coordinates, so we rushed over here.
I'm sorry, Captain... I'm not sure there's any cleaning up this mess I made.
I approved your application to withdraw from the team, so strictly speaking, I'm not your captain anymore.
Right... I guess that's true. You two must be here to capture me, then.
No... We're here as your friends.
I got a transmission on our way here. Supposedly, during the explosion, Leone... Well, I'm not sure if you knew, but regardless, I thought you'd probably want someone at your side.
Yeah... I knew. I was on a call with him right until the moment it blew up... Thanks. Thanks for coming. It's just...
Are you okay, Jessica?
Do you want us to come over and give you a hug?
No... don't. If you have anything to say, you can say it from there... I can hear you clearly from this distance.
Jessica...
Stay there and don't move, Franka.
Flustered, Jessica pulls her gun from her waist to stop Franka from advancing.
Are... Are you going to point your gun at me?
S-Sorry... I... I just... Franka, don't... Just leave me alone.
Jessica...
Where could I go...? Those drones have been following me this whole time. You two shouldn't have come... Once you get back, you'll have to explain all these things you won't be able to answer. I'm scared. I'm terrified.
Don't worry about that. If I can't explain it, then so be it. As long as we're all together, there's nothing to worry about. Don't be afraid.
But I am... I'm so, so afraid.
What are you afraid of?
That the pristine pool of water could be too warm, too wonderful.
Uh... I'm not sure I'm following you there...
Suddenly, the headlights of a transport point straight at Jessica, and she is enveloped and imprisoned by a number of giant halos.
The girl's eyes are unable to bear such intense light. All she can do is hold her gun with one arm, and shield her eyes with the other.
After a short while, she seems to have adjusted to the brightness. She puts her arm down, and stares into the distance at the convoy of cars driving toward her.
How's life treated you all these years?
In my decades on the frontier, I kept my distance from crowds and wandered around alone a herd of burdenbeasts.
Why didn't you go back to the Holy City?
Didn't want to. What about you? Why didn't you go back?
I'm a mercenary. Laterano has no place for me. So why didn't you want to go?
Hah...
Ain't nothing so unpleasant it can't be forgotten in Laterano.
But most of the POWs died in that camp. Hardly anyone still remembers. But someone's gotta.
Yet here you are, living the kind of peaceful life you say you reject. Day after day, year after year.
But I ain't never forgot. I still remember them, to this day.
I've always known there would come a day when you came settle the score.
I just never thought it would take so long.
We've surrounded the target. Repeat, we've surrounded the target.
Drop your weapon, Miss Brynley... weapons. This is the end of the road.
Look around you. There's nowhere to run. This charade is over. The snowstorm is only going to get stronger... Dammit, I was supposed to get off work early today, and catch up on my beauty sleep.
...I do want to apologize to everybody again, but after everything I've said today... it would probably come across as disingenuous.
Don't worry, you'll be fine. The company's making a huge ruckus out of this, but everyone here knows that nothing's going to happen to you.
I heard about you not long after I joined the company, Miss Brynley. Everyone warned me not to get on your bad side, because your family has more lawyers than we've got mercs here today.
...Probably even more than you're thinking.
See? You even realize it yourself. Worst case, you'll get maybe a year or two of jail time. Then you'll be released, and get to live the kinda life you want to again.
Could you put down the amplifier? It's unnecessary at this distance.
What, after I brought it all this way?
I'm begging you. Shut up.
Sure, if you've got a better idea for how to persuade her.
It's fine, Liskarm. You don't need to defend me. I know how everyone sees me.
Right. It seems like ever since I was a kid, I've never thought about the consequences before I did anything. Because no matter what, my family would take care of the mess. That's probably why I come off as selfish.
But that's not how it's supposed to go. There's always a price. And when you make a hasty, rash decision, you have to bear the consequences.
Jessica... You said you'd thought this all through when you asked to leave the team.
No. I'm not talking about tonight. I'm talking about when I arrived at Fort Barron seven years ago. When I first walked through those huge doors.
At first, I only wanted to be a tester at the Equipment and Applied Technology Department. I never imagined that one day I'd be standing on a real battlefield, pointing my weapon at a real person.
Right, that's where the root of the problem lies. We often pick up our weapons without considering the price that needs to be paid.
Take this little handgun for example. I can hold it up with just two hands. I can pull the trigger with just one finger. I learned how to use it in less than a month.
What's even more scary is that... I'd need only a second to take somebody's life with it.
But it would take me a lifetime to forget that one second.
See? That's how foolish I was. Before I picked it up, I never even considered who I would point it at in the future.
...But I'd already fired my first shot. Not fully thinking this through would be unforgivable.
Have you thought it through, then?
Because you've been holding your gun up this whole time. Hell, you haven't lowered it for even a second.
How arrogant. When did I ever say I came to settle a score with you?
You think I brought this bullet here for revenge?
Are you telling me you're not stuck in the past?
No. You're the one who's stuck.
You lived to your nineties as a merc. Can you really adjust to any kinda life outside the battlefield?
Woody. The reason I'm still unwilling to leave the battlefield is because war never ends.
Columbia's war ended a long time ago.
It did, but then Bolívar's war began right on its heels. Victoria's war may have calmed down for the moment, but there's no stopping the fallout it's started.
War is always here. It merely takes a break every now and then, before erupting somewhere else.
Then why stay on the battlefield? To be continually baptized by the flames of war?
Because if I can never end war, I have to settle for the next best thing. To hold its on-off switch in my hands.
That's why I started Blacksteel.
But can you really control it?
I've tried plenty of times, and I paid a dear price. But I did it in the end.
Was it worth it?
Even if all I can manage is to put it on pause for a few seconds, that's more than enough time for countless people like you to pick up their brushes again.
Then why can't you put what you're doing here on pause too?
I'm sure a few seconds to breathe would be plenty for folks like me, gasping for air. Sure beats getting pathetically run off to the frontier.
Because Davistown is no battlefield.
I can't put it down, because... this is the only thing I have left that still has power.
All these years, I've thought of myself as something like a blank white symbol...
The wealth, family, and influence it represents... mean nothing. They have no use in the face of the problems I want to solve.
But with this in my hand... at least I accomplished something.
With this in my hand, at least I'm not a completely useless symbol.
Nonsense.
Captain...?
Jessica, it's been five years. In these five years, have you ever once thought about why I picked you as my assistant?
This is Blacksteel we're talking about... There are all kinds of amazing people here. But I still chose you. And not because of that gun you're holding, but because of your tears.
Tears... but tears of weakness can't protect the people behind me.
Tears don't imply weakness. The work we do at B.P.R.S is dirty, tiresome, and dangerous. No one does this kind of work just for the money.
Only someone who's able to empathize with the pain of others can throw herself into a cause for a group of strangers, or a place she barely knows.
Captain... Just when I thought I was completely useless, you brought me into your team.
That was the first time in my life I ever felt appreciated, and I still remember that feeling.
To repay your trust, I would willingly brave hell and high water.
But you shouldn't... You shouldn't walk that path. No one's journey should be to earn someone's else's recognition.
Do whatever it is that you yourself really want to do. Do what truly makes you happy. You don't need anybody's recognition except your own, deep in your heart.
Captain... I... I really want to cry right now...
Then cry. Let your tears flow. No need to hold back.
Woody, your halo is flashing.
You're goddamn right it is. I want to kill you.
You keep saying that war never ends, that all you can do is control it.
But you're wrong. War can be ended. Just not by you.
War is ended by countless ordinary folks. Folks who've been encroached on by it, but like weeds try their hardest to survive.
Everywhere that's ever burned down in the flames of war has always been fixed up by untold numbers of normal folks, trying their best to get back the lives they used to live. Even in the most dire of circumstances.
You should've died on the battlefield. Would've been a much better fate than becoming the war-obsessed madman you are now.
At first, I just wanted to return the bullet to you. But now, I really wanna kill you.
A strong gale lifts up the old man's hat and tosses it into the air.
But he neither looks up nor moves to grab it.
His eyes, not blinking for even a moment, are fixed on the man standing opposite him. All his muscles, from his cheek to his neck, are as tense as can be.
And above his head, his halo is flashing rapidly.
The man opposite him keeps silent for a time, then gradually takes a deep breath. As though it is only through the sound of the roaring winds that he can understand the old man's words.
Well then. Do you know who it is you're going to kill?
Your nemesis? Your friend who betrayed you? Or a complete madman?
None of the above. It's an arrogant dick who looks down on everything.
In his eyes, everything can be weighed on scales. And to achieve his goals, he's capable of sacrificing anything.
...What about you, then? What kind of man will shoot me with that bullet?
An ordinary man.
A ordinary man who lost everything except his anger when you looked down on him.
Very good.
What's so funny?
That finger of yours always yearned to hold a brush, but in the end, you'll use it to pull the trigger. My hands yearned to hold scriptures, but in the end, they'll be drenched in blood.
It's just funny how fate makes fools of us all.
The wind lifts Cliff's coat, revealing both the firearm on his waist and the hand reaching for it.
Through the flurry of snow, he sees Woodrow doing the same.
He suddenly remembers how, all those years ago in Laterano, on the way back to the dorm, a gust of wind blew Woodrow's hat away and carried it into the sky. And for a very long time, it stayed up there.
Years have come and gone, and now that hat in the wind has finally landed back on the ground.
......
Them? Who?
Jessica doesn't give him an answer. She merely looks back at the desolate mine. After the explosion, it looks all the more devastated.
Sir, do you know what that used to look like?
I don't.
Well, I do...
I know there was a time when the energy tower burned endlessly to bring warmth to the residents here.
I know there was a time when that diner never closed. Everyone would gather around the tables over beer and sing to their hearts' content.
I know the winters here are long and cold, but with their dedication and hard work, every last person who lived here filled this place with light and warmth.
Their fierce, brilliant light enveloped every inch of this place to drive out the frigid cold and darkness of the winter nights.
They turned their bustling everyday life into burning red blood, and injected it into this plate frozen by the long winter, giving it life and vitality.
They were people whose path was uncertain, but insisted on walking it nonetheless.
They were people who were cruelly tormented by life here, their necks bent under its weight. Even then, they lived here amid the snowstorm.
They... were people who shed tears, but no one ever noticed.
My tears... can't stand in for their sadness.
The girl raises her gun, and through its sight she sees an array of faces.
Some look confused, some disapproving, some stunned, some dazed. Some are chuckling, some are lamenting.
But their faces are not important. They quickly enter the girl's eyes, and exit them just as fast, never stopping in her heart for a moment.
Instead, a few other faces appear in her mind.
The girl who prayed in the tent.
The woman who scampered away in the snowfield.
The old man who drew his gun in the dark night.
The man who departed in flames.
But my gun will cry for their sorrow.
She raises her arm up high toward the sky, and fires all her bullets in one go.
As the snow thrashes through the air, the empty casings fall to the ground, melting the snowdrifts away with their lingering heat.
The gunshots reverberate in the air for a long time. Before silence returns to her surroundings, the girl's ears catch a faint, feeble sound.
It's the sound of her tears smashing into the earth.
Huff...
Ugh......
You lose.
Sorry, Woody. I chose war. I chose never-ending war.
So... my life is like a bullet. An explosion that can't be stopped. A siege and a defense with no end in sight.
I can't end war, but you can end me.
Only when the last soldier fighting it falls, can the war finally end.
Rupert...
Now there's a name I haven't heard... in a long time.
Thanks, Woody, for still being willing to say that name. Aside from you, there's not a single person who remembers it.
Goodbye...
Cliff closes his eyes and waits for the bullet to tear his forehead apart.
But before that, he hears a ringtone.
He pulls out his communicator, takes a look, and chuckles. Then he puts it back into his pocket.
Who was it?
The military.
Don't worry about it. Go on.
Is it Bolívar... or Victoria?
Nothing you need to worry about, Woody.
Is it Columbia?
Do it!
Another war is about to start, isn't it?
...Where will it affect this time?
A forewarning, perhaps. It's not set in stone.
Give it to me.
Woody, a lot of the things I have on here are just trivial, everyday matters to me. But to you...
They'd be a whole new nightmare.
...Hand it over.
If you insist. Feast your eyes on them.
......
Who'll take all this over once you're dead?
Someone.
...They shouldn't.
There shouldn't be nobody else like you.
He throws the communicator to the ground and shoots it full of holes.
......
I can't kill you.
This sin is yours to bear.
Woodrow sets his gun down on the floor and raises his hands.
Behind him, attracted by the sound of gunfire, a crowd of mercenaries surges into the area with frantic footsteps and moves to surround him.
In the sky, the last few snowflakes of the night are fluttering down.
Okay guys, take me away. I'm ready.
The girl holsters her firearm, and lifts her hands above her head.
Put your hands behind your back.
...Handcuffs don't feel as cold as I thought they would.
Because I've been keeping them warm this whole time.
Thank you...
Can I have a word with you before we go?
I should thank you too, sir. Thanks for listening to all that.
It's fine... Before you, there was another guy who jabbered away just as much, if not more.
......
I'm sure... he'd be happy that you remembered what he said.
Oh... You knew him, too.
He was a good kid. Hard to forget once you've met him... Goodbye, Jessica.
The mercenary taps the girl's shoulder, raising a cloud of dust as the sun rises, and turns around to leave.
As Jessica gazes at the floating dust under the sunlight, she suddenly realizes that the night has already passed.
Likewise, the snowstorm had subsided at some point.
♪She spread her arms, spread her heart, showed me that pretty face♪
♪And from that moment on, I found my dreams in her embrace♪