6-2 Misunderstandings

I... I wanna fix this terminal.

Six years of memories up to last year... I saved them all in here...

This morning, I went to read the log from June 12, but the screen wouldn't turn on.

What if... what if I can't ever read them again...?

The March 14th log, when I went to the botanical gardens with daddy, or hiking in July, or the time when mommy...

...Mommy...

Scout...

Is Scout that one operator who moves around all quiet?

Yeah.

With that perfectly polished look... like a porcelain doll.

There he is.

I had yet to hear your estimation of me. I now understand how weak it is.

You could say I have always been here. I am used to concealing myself.

So Mr. Scout was here all along.

Why didn't Blaze sense it?

Forgive me. We are mere moments from undertaking a mission. I must focus my energy on calibrating my weaponry.

You might ask Closure, or the good Mechanist to assist you.

Yes.

It's me we're talking about. If I didn't go, what kind of joke would Rhodes Island's elite operators be?

And what did Ascalon say?

The usual. She's not going. Always there with Kal'tsit, that one.

Did it ever occur to you... That now is perhaps not the optimal time?

But it might be our last chance.

Chernobog is probably going to turn back deep into Ursus to avoid that Catastrophe. And a rescue operation in the Ursus interior is going to be damn near impossible.

Worth as much as Amiya and Kal'tsit.

Have I met the Doctor?

Not yet. But you will soon.

Good. I want to know what the Doctor is like too.

I really, really want to.

You will, kitten.

I'm aware. She's been training in isolation.

Listen, Blaze. I've been working with her for a few months now. She has trouble expressing herself, but she's not a bad person.

I know. But it might have been a legitimate question to her. She might really be curious.

It's not my place to demand an operator turn her opinion on a dime. And GreyThroat has never once questioned orders.

Now's not the time. I can see the rage you're holding back. But really, not now.

Take a breath, Big Cat.

You have a task at hand yourself.

When you take that tone, I start to think maybe you're screwing around.

She may very well be mocking you.

Ace's beard is very manly.

...Hm.

Try not to puke this time.

Misery spent two hours scrubbing the floor. I wager he would vomit himself when faced with that task again.

I'll definitely remember! Bye bye!

Don't burn yourself!

...How is it you went before me?

Ace, was some uninfected girl like GreyThroat really worth training?

How much trust did we earn? And how much trust did we give?

If the Doctor...

I'm saying bad things about you. To your face.

If there's a Doctor hanging around here, hurry up and come out already. You'll need some fancy Arts to hide behind that wall if you don't want me to find you.

Then I'll string you up on a lamppost as bait for Reunion. Don't worry! You won't die. A few bolts and a knife or two never hurt anyone.

....sigh.

Sigh!

Did Amiya send you?

Whatever. That's what she's best at. And what she's worst at...

I keep trying to remind her, to get her thinking about how she's still just a kid... it always seems to have the opposite effect.

I guess she'll never be able to put down that grown up persona of hers as long as she's the leader of Rhodes Island.

Of course, if it wasn't Amiya who sent you, if you decided to come keep me company all by yourself, I'm not against the idea.

...Hold me back? Haha! I could carry three of you on my back and I wouldn't even notice. One little Dr. Doctor can't hold me back.

Hey, look over there.

Go on! Get out of here! We don't want to fight!

Hmph... we won't yield to the Infected!

You're outnumbered! What's the point?

Duty!

Don't blame us for what happens! You see those monsters behind us? Just run already!

What monsters?!

See that Reunion group cutting through the alleys? They're picking at Lungmen's vanguard units. They won't hold for long...

Give me a path.

The fastest, of course!

Don't give me that look. It's not like I've never carried you before.

Here we go! Smash Reunion and save the Lungmenites!

Nnnng...

I'm sorry.

Now, me beating on you doesn't mean we aren't on the same side.

Haha! Yeah, no, seriously. It does. We're not on the same side.

This is Blaze. Come in, Team Blaze-4. Captured a dozen or so Reunion.

Come recover them when you can. Otherwise just hand them over to Lungmen.

Hey, Lungmenite, do me a favor and lower your crossbows. We're all friends here.

......

You still don't trust me? I saved your life.

Get back...! I mean, y- you're... you're Infected...!

Yeah. Yeah I am.

Ugh.

Come on, Doctor.

Move!

Sigh. All right, Dr. Doctor. Hop on. It's faster this way.

Hah. You've gotten used to my piggyback rides?

Don't look at me like that. How many times have we been treated like this? It's no big deal.

Let's head to Waang Saan Plaza in District 16. If Reunion wants to break through the line, that's where they'll have to do it.

If we're going to wipe out Reunion's main force, we can't let any of them slip through our zone of control.

The way Amiya and the cranky old cop lady worked it out, we'll just be whittling them away little by little until we can finally wipe them all out in one swift stroke.

So we go chase the bad guys out of Waang Saan Tower, herd them into a pincer attack, then meet up with Amiya and crush Reunion once and for all. Piece of cake, right?

...You and your faces. I told you I'm fine.

Fine. If you keep staring at me like that, I'm pulling this cat over.

Hold on tight.

Huh... Look over there.

Isn't that Mephisto's herd? But how. They need Mephisto around, don't they?

Wait a minute. They're... they're killing their own?

...What's going on?

I'm getting vitals, but no reports? And no sign of any distress signals either.

Something's not right...

Shouldn't you be, like, commanding? What are you standing here staring at?

None of your business, 'Little Miss.'

Hey, shouldn't we be sharing intel?

Not this time.

I'm thinking you lost contact with a spy.

Could you not waste your intuition on stuff like this?

At least you own up to it when I guess right. Infected?

Yep.

You think he turned?

Impossible.

You think the impossible happened?

If she turned... Well, I don't even want to think about it.

If she betrayed us, then there's absolutely no one left in Lungmen we can trust.

I think I know who it is.

Wait... Would she really be willing to do this?

Her? Really?!