Dynamite Blue story · Main story, Episode 5
Episode 5: Journey Dikaya Part 1
A high-paying contract arrives with unusual conditions: a team of three, excluding Slaughter. Lain, left bound in the office, breaks free, but is quickly surrounded by Nataliya, Kirill, Mighty, and Yasha and taken away. Lain's armband and payment arrive at the office. Journey Dikaya is spotted on CCTV, and Dynamite Blue heads underground. When the Boss raids their base, Yuri insists it's not a kidnapping. Lain was brought in to be handed a job. Instead of compensation, he wants the whole company on it. Captivated by the Head Knuckle Nataliya produces, Lain signs a compound-interest IOU. The transport contract begins: move the tracker-equipped Head Knuckle.
10 scenes, 455 lines
1. Cutscene 1.1
56 linesBlank
[Underground Streets]
A secluded alley in the Underground streets.
A cat lounging lazily spots Yuri and Nataliya and bolts in fright.
Yuri's W-Gear chimes with a notification.
Yuri pulls up a hologram to check it.
'Dynamite Blue has accepted your request.'
...Doing charity work now?
Set something up?
Yes. A troublesome job just came in.
Blank
Left alone, Nataliya's expression turns meaningful.
A troublesome job, huh...
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[Journey Dikaya Office]
Nataliya enters the office.
Yasha is shaking Kirill by the collar while Mighty sleeps in the corner.
On the tablet on the table - Lilly's channel: 'This video has been deleted.'
I TOLD you to save a copy of the video!!
S-sorry! I forgot!
Nataliya, clearly used to this, ignores them and walks over to sit at the table.
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Is what your senior says just noise to you?!
No, sir! It's not noise!!
Yuri steps out of his room.
You've gotten way too damn slack!!
Ow!! Ow! That hurts!
Standing in the center, Yuri sends a payment to Yasha, Kirill and Mighty.
At the payment chime, everyone drops what they're doing and gathers at the table.
A brief silence falls.
We need to go to the Midground and bring a man back. Here.
How should we bring him in, sir!
Holy shit, you scared me!
Method is up to you, but no serious damage to his body or Jagear.
That's Mr. Yuri for you! So merciful!
Guy must be tough, huh? If we all have to go.
He's an old friend of ours.
Hm?
Ah, Kirill wouldn't know him.
Aww...
Who is it?
Lain's face appears in the hologram's info panel.
...!
...Lain...
Isn't that the guy from the video? You know him, sir?
Only just enough to know him.
Well then, shall we go?
As I always say, as long as the job gets done, nothing else matters.
We do what we're paid for.
What we're paid for.
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2. Cutscene 1.2
17 linesBlank
[Midground Streets]
Sulking hard, Lain wanders the streets.
Someone blocks Lain's path. It's Nataliya.
Hey there?
Whoa! Nataliya! It's been forever!
A moment of silence.
Lain bolts in the opposite direction.
Such a pain...
Nataliya's kunai slices through Lain's armband.
Aaagh!
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Tch.
Only the armband is left lying on the ground.
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3. Cutscene 1.3
28 linesBlank
Lain sends Ru a message as he runs.
hlep me bein chsed
Coming out of an alley, Kirill barely dodges the charging Lain.
Kirill realizes the guy who just passed was Lain and gives chase.
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Halt right there, sir!!
Who's that now?! A new guy?
Nataliya leaps across the rooftops, throwing kunai to cut off his path.
Lain keeps messaging Ru, but only gets 'Send failed' alerts.
Unblock me already, I sa-
Lain slams into something and tumbles backward.
Ugh... who now...!
Sensing a massive presence, Lain looks up. It's Mighty.
M- Mighty...!
...Let's go...
N- no!
Lain tries to slip down a side street, but Yasha blocks him.
Hi?
Why you-
He tries to double back, but Kirill is running toward him, waving.
Surrounded on all sides. Lain draws his weapon.
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4. Cutscene 1.4
24 linesBlank
Lain is planted face-first in the ground, Mighty's hand resting on top of him.
Still holding him down, Mighty's eyes are already half-closed.
He's back to a sluggishness that makes his earlier speed seem like a lie.
Hey, don't fall asleep. We're not done yet!
What is this, a tutorial?
Oh, right. You've been living a real fun life, huh?
Poki-Poki? That's your kid, right?
F***ing boring as hell, and this time...
Lain springs up, vaults over Yasha's head and runs for it.
Haha~! This is way too easy~!
Son of a...! Hey, Kirill. You idiot! What are you staring at!
Get him! Catch him and wreck him! Frame him! Make him a meme! Ugh, damn it!
Yasha starts to give chase, then looks ahead and stops.
Lain skids to a halt as Yuri and Nataliya walk toward him.
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Y-Yuri...!
He's cut off from both sides.
Shall we go?
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5. Cutscene 1.5
16 lines[Midground Streets]
The Dynasty speeds down the road.
Dynamite Blue, every face grim. In the middle sits the flustered Boss.
E-everyone, let's just calm down...
Step on it, Ru!
The Dynasty peels out with a hard right.
They arrive at the elevator. The disguised newsstand door opens.
Everyone rushes to get in, but it's packed full of junk.
Who's on elevator duty!
Why is none of this cleared out!
The Boss checks the cleaning duty roster. It's Lain's turn.
Of course...
Lilly! Ru! Go on ahead! I'll be right behind you!
I'll clear it out.
Alright! Advance team, go!
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6. Cutscene 1.6
55 linesBlank
A furious Lilly and Kupper smash through the door.
Which common-sense-free moron turned on a jammer?!
Shut it off now before I crack your skull with my hammer!
Kirill, Yasha and Lain cackle at Lilly's stream.
Lain is even holding the jammer, chattering away.
Smoke rises from Lilly's camera. The jammer fried her gear.
Lilly snatches a screwdriver from Ru's hand and walks toward Lain.
Kirill sees Lilly approaching.
I-isn't that dangerous?
What's dangerous about a Jacker with all her gear blown? She's just a streamer with no signal.
Right, Poki~ Pok...
Lilly ignores Yasha and lunges at Lain.
She stabs the still-laughing, clueless Lain with the screwdriver.
AAAAAGH! Are you out of your MIIIND?!!
GYAAAH!
Sh-shouldn't we stop them?
Then you do it.
Kirill scolds Ru, who is standing nearby.
H-hey! Why aren't you stopping them?! He'll die at this rate, sir!
...Malfunction detected. Commencing repairs.
Ru goes over and repairs Lain. Lilly breaks, Ru fixes, over and over.
Save me, Yashaaaa! These people are craaazy!!
Mighty and Nataliya are already standing beside the two. Kirill is startled.
Mighty and Nataliya just watch.
...Why?
She's trying to kill her own teammate!
Just saying hello. Happy to see you again.
Huh?
The Boss and Sean Terry burst in late. Sean Terry strikes a cool pose and aims his gun.
Heard our troublemaker was here?
Hand over my employee while I'm still asking nicely!
Then they see Journey Dikaya standing still, and Lain, Lilly and Ru in a total mess.
Uh...
Correction. Not a troublemaker - a trash heap.
Honestly, you really branch out when it comes to trouble...
Branch! Get it?
An awkward chill falls over the room.
...Heh...
If you're done spouting nonsense, how about clearing out?
Before they know it, Yuri is standing behind the Boss and Sean Terry.
Our Boss doesn't like that, you see.
Clearly... this calls for some damage control.
Yuri sends a payment to Mighty, Nataliya, Yasha and Kirill.
Unlike a moment ago, the four move fast and precise, pulling Lain, Ru, Lilly and Kupper apart.
Yuri walks over to the Boss.
Shall we have a little chat?
...As you wish.
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7. Cutscene 2.1
34 linesBlank
[Dynamite Blue Office]
Lain loses sleep, the Head Knuckle stuck in his head.
Lilly eyes the dazed Lain with suspicion.
Blank
Left alone, Lain scribbles something in a corner of the office.
He writes an amount on an IOU, sends it with trembling hands, and starts praying.
No word from Nataliya. Lain can't sit still.
Blank
The next day.
A message from Nataliya arrives.
You're in.
Lain yells with joy and goes wild. Lilly's silhouette approaches at the noise.
Nataliya sends a map image with a marked route. Yasha and Kirill are in it too.
The route's on the map, so just follow that.
Yasha and Kirill will tag along as watchers.
The important part: the Head Knuckle has a tracker on it.
Yasha and Kirill will block it with a jammer, but...
It's not foolproof, so if you've got a Jacker crazy enough to join you, bring them.
Remember. Never...
You look happy? Some of us are in a really bad mood because our gear got wrecked.
Hahaha...
Lain recalls the message.
'A Jacker crazy enough to join you'
I've got a sweet job lined up. Can we call it even with that?
A job?
Lain and Lilly start whispering. Lilly's eyes light up.
Right on cue, a message from Yasha arrives.
Time to move, boring.
Lain checks only Yasha's message, pockets his phone and heads off with Lilly.
In his pocket, one more message from Nataliya arrives.
Read it properly and learn it.
I said it clearly.
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8. Cutscene 2.2
40 linesBlank
[Dynamite Blue Office]
Something... something... something...
Something about this is bugging me!
Same here. It's frustrating, like an unstable network connection.
Ru and the Boss go over Journey Dikaya's request file.
In a corner of the Head Knuckle box data, there's a NETIC logo.
...NETIC, huh?
...That's NETIC?
The two of them get one notch louder.
...NETIC, huh?
...That's NETIC?
Hahahahahahahahahahaha. It's NETIC!
Hahahahahahahahahahaha. It's NETIC!
Panicked, the Boss and Ru call Lain at the same time.
Since they called together, they both get a busy signal.
The line's busy!
Right! It's busy! Who on earth! I'll call again!
Yeah! I'll try again too!
They call at the same time again. Their voices go up another notch.
Still busy!
Right! Busy again! Who on earth! I'll call again!
Yeah! I'll try again too!
A sight too good to just let pass.
Right? Should've recorded it.
Yuri transfers money to Nataliya.
Blank
Nataliya moves to stop the two.
There, quieter now. Why all the fuss? Is it such a big deal that it's a NETIC product?
Coming to their senses, Ru and the Boss go wild again.
...NETIC, huh?
...That's NETIC?
Yuri walks over to the sofa and sits down.
One piece of good news. One piece of bad. Which would you like first?
Since we're tangled up in this mess together, this much is on the house.
Just know that while you're losing your heads, the good news may turn into bad news.
Right now, this can still be contained. So please, take a seat.
The Boss and Ru freeze. Nataliya leads them to the chairs opposite and sits them down.
Sit, sit. I don't bite. Really, I mean it.
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9. Retrieving the Troublemaker
120 linesOutside the office. Checking her stream channel, Lilly's eyes go wide. The view graph is shooting up.
As an excited Lilly runs off to the Boss, the cursor on her unattended laptop starts moving on its own.
Boss~! Boss Boss Boss~!!
(Eyes glued to his paperwork) What.
You know that video I posted last time~? Guess how many views it got~?
(Nudging him with her elbow) A whopping 600,000! Six hundred thousand~!
Ow!
Jobs are probably pouring in already, huh? Maybe I should be charging a promo fee~?
What are you talking about? A promo fee?!
(Innocently) I promoted the office for you. On my stream.
Promoted...?
How is THAT promotion?!
Hmph! Infamy is still fame~!
Once you see the jobs rolling in, you'll change your...
(Eyes lighting up) A job!!
(Scrolling the screen like crazy) Oh yeah~!
Easy on it!
Let's see~ How much are they paying... Huh?
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... Wh... wh... whoa...!
WHOAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
In the end, Dynamite Blue takes the job, suspiciously huge payout and all.
(clinging to the Boss) Take me with youuuu!!
Ugh, let go already!!
The condition is seriously 'three people, no Slaughter'?
Yes. If we violate it, we receive no payment whatsoever.
Hmm...
Doesn't something feel fishy?
Fishy! Super fishy!!
Which part?
All of it. Terms nobody's ever heard of, a ridiculous payout. And above all...
Why us...?
Come on, talk sense.
We'd be lucky if they watched it and didn't blacklist us.
It's true, okay?! (Opening the laptop beside her) Wanna see the views?!
(prying the clinging Lain off) ...That does it. Ru, get the tape.
Aw, but isn't tape a bit much?
Oh, right! I'm supposed to go plant flowers today. I'll be off now!
Lain, who insisted on tagging along to the end, ends up bound tight and gagged.
Let's go! We're gonna be late!
(Tied up) ?!@?#!@?!!
(To Lilly) I said let's go!
Hold on! By now the views should be over a million...
Huh?!
(Frantically pounding the laptop) Wh-what? What the hell!!!
The screen reads: 'This video has been deleted.' Lilly faints on the spot.
Ru scoops up the unconscious Lilly, while the Boss and Sean Terry head out, shaking their heads.
Hold down the fort.
(tape slipping off his mouth) Hey, you cold-blooded bastards!!!
The office is empty. After a long struggle, Lain finally wriggles free.
Ptoo, ptoo! That tape tastes nasty.
Fuming, Lain storms out of the office and heads for the streets of Midground.
Dynamite Blue returns to the office after finishing the job.
(glaring at her laptop) It's definitely that bastard's doing...
That bastard?
There's this one. Always itching to take me down.
The pay's in~!
(coming in late) I went out and found this lying in the street.
Hm? Wait, I've seen this somewhere before...
That's the armband Lain was wearing.
Money's in, but our employee's out.
Vanished, leaving only his armband. The Case of the Missing Armband Wearer.
Did something happen to him?
I'll check the CCTV.
Ru brings up a video message from Lain.
The message reads: 'hlep me bein chsed'.
What's with that face?
(Flipping through the photos) Here's another one.
Ha, isn't that Journey Dikaya?!
Journey Dikaya?
A crew that throws its weight around in the Under.
The Under...?
I suggest we simply abandon him.
Agreed.
Still, without Lain the office would be way too quiet...
No way! He still hasn't paid off the mess he made last time!
He owes you guys money too, doesn't he!
The Underground, you said?
Let's head out right now.
(Laughing heartily) Well then, off you go!
You're not coming?!
I never lent him a cent. Gotta know who's worth trusting.
Mr. Terry, are you a robot?
Poke you with a needle and you'd bleed oil, not blood, huh?
Nope, I bleed humor~
(Angry but holding it in) Th-these things happen...
And who wrote 'Property of Mr. No-Fun lol' inside your hat?
......
Hahaha... Even pranks have a line, you know...
Sean Terry checks the inside of his hat. In crooked letters: 'Property of Mr. No-Fun lol'.
Sean Terry's expression turns dark.
(oblivious) Still, mister, that hat really suits you!
Lilly, Ru, and Kupper are the first to ride the elevator down to the Underground.
A suspicious group blocks the alley entrance leading to Journey Dikaya's hideout.
Move. I'm in a seriously bad mood right now.
Switching to combat mode.
Hiiii! It's Poki-Poki. Today's content is a real infiltration action special: 'Show Me Your Kidnapping Skills'!
Everyone! Don't panic...! Our crew member Lain has been kidnapped by some mystery fixer thugs!
This right here is their hideout! We'll quietly sneak in and rescue...
Ugh, what's wrong with this thing!
It's a jammer.
We need to find it and shut it off fast. Otherwise your gear will be completely fried.
B-because you... kidnapped our employee...
Lain is perfectly unharmed, though...
Y-yes, that's true, but...!
We merely brought him here to entrust him with a job.
(Deflating) I'm sorry... We'll pay for the damages...
(Stepping closer) It can't be helped.
Y-Yuri...?
What are you...
...You're saying we pay off the damages by doing the job?
Originally, I intended to leave it to Lain alone, but...
Now that it's come to this, I'll need all of Dynamite Blue to step up.
10. The Delivery Job
65 linesJourney Dikaya's office. Dynamite Blue and Journey Dikaya are in a meeting together.
The Air Ground.
The Air...?
(Message) Aren't these guys Black License? Why are they talking about the Air like it's their backyard?
(Message) There's a reason people say corps set them up to do the dirty work. This is why we shouldn't have gotten involved...
(Message) Still, they're way cuter than the corps lol
...If you're done gossiping about us, shall I continue?
Haha...! Gossip? Us? Never...!
This is the Head Knuckle you'll be transporting.
Huh...
What's wrong?
L-let's just stick with two...!
We'll send one of ours too. We're just as uneasy. But... does Lain really have to be the one carrying it?
This is a custom-made Head Knuckle built exclusively for Slaughters.
If someone incompatible wears it, the side effects are severe.
We could send Yasha, but as you know, the Air Ground doesn't exactly welcome Black License holders...
Oh, come on! Just follow along! Mr. Yuri surely has a plan!
(Shoving Kirill aside) Yeah. Just shut up and do as you're told. Debtors sure run their mouths a lot.
This little shit's been mouthing off since earlier, huh? Wanna die?
Little WHAT?!!! Hey! The ink on your License isn't even dry yet, you punk!
Now then, the discussion's over. Let's get moving. We'd rather not drag this out either.
(Message) Two hours from now. Junk pile out back. Bring the real thing.
(Message) Time and place are my call.
The junk piles Nataliya picked. Lain waits anxiously for her.
(stepping back) Whoa, whoa. Not so fast.
...
Know why fate is called fate?
Because you can't resist it.
Look at that...! Shining just for me! How could I possibly resist? So gorgeous! I'm blinded!
I'm gonna polish it every single day... Squeak squeak!
(Lunging) Now that you get it, hand it over!
(Mouth covered) How much are they paying you...
Can't tell you that. I've got at least a shred of conscience.
It won't be easy. He saw this coming and pays me well for it.
Just one question! How many months can I split it into? Years is fine too! I'll even pay daily!
Hm. Fine. 1% a day. Pay as much as you like each day. I'll cut you that much slack.
1%! Deal!
Compounded, though.
Compounded!?
I-I'm not crumbling at all!
(sending Lain the IOU) Fill in the amount, sign it, and send it.
Don't take too long deciding~
With the blank IOU still on his screen, Lain trudges back to the office, groaning.