Arknights story · Episode 6: Partial Necrosis
6-6 Leave it Behind
An account of the childhood of Mephisto and Faust, and their encounter with Talulah.
1 scenes, 203 lines
1. Interlude
203 linesEno, what's this book about?
Ah, I read it. So I brought it for you.
I think you'll like it, Sasha! It's a book about ideals.
Ideals?
Yes.
What are your ideals, Eno?
...Ideals, huh.
I don't know. Can I have ideals?
Of course you can! Why couldn't you?
Ah, crap, it's time to go home...
You don't want to go?
...I don't want to go home.
But Eno, you said that if you didn't go home, your father would beat you...
But I'll see you tomorrow, right? I can still see you tomorrow.
I know. I'll put the book and some bread in here.
...Sasha, I don't want to go. It's terrible. I'll get beaten even if I go back now.
........
So come out tomorrow. If you get hit, you can hit me.
Huh...? Hahaha, Sasha, did you get in another fight? Did they knock your head around?
You have bruises, so many wounds.
This way, people know you're hurting. At least someone will know.
Well, I know what you're thinking. But I won't.
If those kids are still picking on you, let me know! I'll take them all down!
I know!
See you tomorrow! I'll come and sing to you again!
I don't even know what happened to him.
All I know is that he gave me food.
I only know that he could read, and I wanted to read, and he taught me.
I only know that the other kids liked to bully him because he gave me bread and I was stronger, and I hit them and they hit me.
But I don't know what happened to him.
I'm scared. Sasha, I'm really scared.
I think.... I don't belong in that home. I overheard that my mom.... My mom isn't even in the house.
The way they look at me, they're all terrifying, and I don't want to go back. I don't want to go back....
But there's no food, or anywhere to stay here, it's just.... Just sewers.
I don't care.
But....
........
Do you hate me too?
What...? Why?
Because I like to laugh?
No.... No. Why would I?
Because I shouldn't laugh.
Nonsense! Eno, you should keep laughing.
Really?
Really.
Would things be different if he didn't go back that day?
Just because I thought my place was too cold and dirty, I sent him home?
If he hadn't gone back, would it have changed everything?
You're hurt! The wound on your stomach.... What happened, what happened?!
Sasha.... I've been laughing.
You see, you told me I could laugh, so I kept laughing.
I never stopped laughing....
Sasha, do you still want to hear me sing?
After that, he visited me from time to time.
And each time he had more and more scars....
So many more.
I realized how much the things I said influenced him. So I started talking less.
Would that make things better?
Your back!
Your back....
........
......Does it hurt?
........
This can't keep happening.
Who the hell did this?! Why are they doing this to you?!
Whoever it is.... they need to be punished! Whatever it is, it needs to be destroyed!
Eno, take me with you!
...All right.
Huh?
I will.
I didn't know what I'd said.
I didn't know if I could say anything anymore.
What did I do? What the hell did I do?
I've read a lot of books too, but no book ever told me.
Nothing ever told me.
Look. Look at it, Sasha...
You told me you wanted to destroy everything that hurt me, didn't you?
........
Come on.
Your wounds...
They're not important. It doesn't matter.
You see, with one little breath.... It's all better. It's all fine.
Come on, I'll bandage you up! There must be some cloth around here...!
That man cut my leg.... Then with one breath, it's better.
An old man slashed my back. One light touch, and it was fine.
And it's all thanks to that Originium rock that fat woman shoved down my throat!
That's enough, Eno. Really...
I can't sing anymore, but you see, it's all from the Originium!
There's nothing I can't do!
Eno!
...You're unhappy. Why? I only did what you told me.
Why are you unhappy?
Obviously they're all happy. Just do what they say and they'll all be happy....
...Because all of your family are assholes. All of them.
Yes!
So the kids killed them.
...What?
The Infected kids who hadn't been driven out of town....
What did you do to them?
They hit me, too. They hurt you too.
Now, they are like pieces on a chess board. My literal pawns.
As soon as I healed their wounds, they obeyed my every command.
I'll take that bunch of ugly, disgusting people, all of them.... All of them!
You see, Sasha? You see what I've done?
We'll burn it down in one magnificent blaze! All of it!
........
Sasha, what's wrong with you?
Don't do anything like that ever again.
But I thought you said....
I didn't think it would turn out this way.
Eno, do what you really want to do. Not this.
I can help you. You don't have to do this.
But I....
That's enough! Just do what you truly want, Eno!
Not what you're forced to do. Not the bloodshed, not the heartbreak, not the revenge!
You don't even like this kind of thing...!
...Sasha...
I....
I want to.... Sing....
Ugh....
........
I couldn't do anything.
I was useless.
Eno....
I can't sing anymore.
We'll go together. We'll survive.
Survive?
What's so great about that?
........
Nothing.
But we can do it together.
What are you going to do?
This is the Originium I stole from the mine, I was going to sell it for some food.
Sasha!
Mmm!
This way, we're both infected.
Let's survive together.
Such things? I'm not interested.
There is no reason for anything you do. There is no meaning to your life on this planet.
No, you don't need anyone to save you...
Pick a name you like.
This one? Good.
Mephisto...
Mephisto. From now on, you are Mephisto. You are no longer what you were.
I don't trust you. I have no right to trust you. The only person you can trust is yourself.
What you did cannot be written off. You will always carry your past, even if you forget, even if you cannot understand what you did.
Everything you do, everything you go through, will become your kindling. They compel you, to keep the fire burning within you....
Until the whole earth is free, until you throw away all that others have given you, until you finally understand yourself.
At that point, you can even discard the name. It's your choice whether you stay or go, live or die.
Mephisto, I can't change your ideals. If you don't have it, go find it. We'll help ourselves.
Who am I? That's not important.
What should you call me?
......Talulah
I'm a rebel, an ordinary woman. I'm nobody. But for now, you can call me Talulah
And Talulah didn't say much to me.
She held me tight and rapped three times on my back.
Talulah trusted me. Yelena, Buldrokkas'tee, Lyudmila. They all believed in me.
I thought I could put the childhood I spent in that city behind me.
Only, things changed quickly. It started with what happened in that village.
It was a tragedy. But why did that tragedy make her this way?
Why did things turn out like this?
I'll do whatever you want me to do....
No need. Do as you please.
I allow it. You are Mephisto, after all.
But, you said before....
That was years ago.
It's only natural that some things change over the course of a career.
If we don't keep up with the times, we're doomed.
So we, and our fellow Infected, must fight for our collective future.
Anyone can be sacrificed for that ideal.
I can trust you, can't I?
Yes. Because I am Talulah.
Then I will!
You will, I'm sure you will.
We can't do it without you. You can do anything, and you can accomplish anything.
Come in.
........
You should have seen it all.
Who are you?
I am Talulah, of course.
The Talulah I knew... is not you.
Talulah is just a name. Talulah is just Talulah
Help him. Mephisto needs your help. Mephisto needs you to give him value. He trusts only you and me.
Talulah would never do that. You're taking advantage of his trust in you!
None of us have the power to choose.
........
You'll do it for him. Everything.
Or would you rather watch him die?
Don't you realize what happened? After passing through that village, Talulah changed completely! She's not the same person!
I know.
Then why are you doing this?
I don't trust anyone but you and her.
And I don't want to choose.
........
Faust, where are we going?
........I........
Faust, tell me. What should we do?
......We survive.
Isn't it painful to be alive?
It's painful.
But we can do it together.
This book, it's a book about ideals.
My ideals are....