Act II: The False-Stepped Coppélia (4/5)

Oh, yay! You're all back! I'm so glad to see you!

Nothing noteworthy has happened around here. I see you have found another Servant, though.

Hey there! I'm Tamamo Cat! You look good enough to eat!

Anyway, I'm just a teeeeeensy bit mortally wounded here thanks to Edgemiya mercilessly shooting me after our battle was already over, so I'm just gonna take a catnap on one of these nice benches.

Can you get the complicated stuff out of the way while I curl up?

...Lady Cat makes a good point. Now is the time for us to plan our next move. We can rest afterward.

We have explored every area to which we have access, but there is no route that leads to the Central Command Roomthe Chest area.

Should we continue with our expedition? Or should we consider finding a way to escape from SE.RA.PH?

What do you think, Fujimaru?

...Yes, if we were to return to Chaldea. Remember BB's other "victory condition"?

...I am impressed you noticed that, Fujimaru. Remarkably observant.

I was just thinking the same thing.

If SE.RA.PH is modeled after a woman's body, you have reached the inevitable conclusion.

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Hmm... Lady Mable, allow me to ask you something.

So far, we have been to the front gate, the cable area, this dock, the robotics control area, and the separator area.

It may be twisted, but SE.RA.PH is based on Seraphix.

Were there facilities in Seraphix besides those I mentioned?

Uh, well... The soil survey room, the resource compression and drying area, and the dump, I guess?

...You know, that's a good question. It feels like there SHOULD be more facilities here.

I thought that might be the case. You have my thanks.

Meltryllis, I believe it is time for you to come clean with us. You know about these other areas, don't you?

True, I guess we're not going to find anything new just searching the front side. I suppose it's time I tell you about the other side.

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SE.RA.PH has a two-layer structure. And I don't mean like a two-story building.

I mean that it has a front side, and a rear side.

I was originally a rear-side Sentinel, but BB ended up scrapping me after I disobeyed her.

...Scrapped, eh.

Why would she do such a thing? You made it quite clear that you are no friend of humanity.

No, but I'm even less a friend of BB. If I worked for her, I could never be the one on top, right?

So I decided I was going to work towards getting everything I wanted for myself.

And if you are all trying to stop BB as well, it only makes sense for us to cooperate, right?

...

A rear side, huh... No wonder I haven't seen any other Servants around here.

But how do we get there? I didn't see any route that looked like it would lead there.

That's because humans and Servants can't cross the border between the two sides. Only we Sentinels can.

If you wanted to get there...well, the only way would be to have SE.RA.PH itself turn over.

So how do we do that?

That you'll have to figure out yourselves. I haven't the foggiest.

Hmm. I guess we'll just have to put our faith in my twenty-seventh secret technique.

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This cat is always listening! Tell me, why do you think the mochi you have on New Year's Day is so yummy?

It's because baking it underneath also bakes it on the top. If it won't turn over on its own, you can use your paw instead.

Attack the weakest part. Fortune comes to merry homes. Turn the link, and the link turns you.

I didn't understand a word of that...

...Now I see. I am chagrined... Rarely have I heard such beautiful lyrics...

You must have been a great poet. Are you in fact a manifestation of Murasaki Shikibu, perchance?

Close, but no cigar! You'll have to try and guess my real name again later, Sir Tris!

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I-is that so. Very well then, I shall leave the matter of reaching the rear side to you, Fujimaru.

Still, our ultimate goal is the Central Command Room. Will getting to the rear help us in that regard?

It will, yes.

Once you get to the rear side, just head to the same coordinates as the Command Room. Then, all you have to do is flip the body back over, and you'll be on the Chest.

That way, you can get there without going through the route that Lip destroyed.

That said...

Passionlip herself is there. Which means we will have to fight her.

...That is a difficult proposition. That Alter Ego is effectively invincible.

And unlike Meltryllis, we cannot reason with her. Even if we all work together, our chances seem slim.

...

Um... Isn't it kind of ridiculous to even think about trying to reason with Alter Egos?

I mean, the one with the claws and the one...with us are both completely inhuman monsters, right?

Honestly, just being near one scares me... It's like being around a bomb that could go off at any time, you know?

I agree with you. But Fujimaru isn't afraid of them at all.

Why is that? I can at least partly understand with Meltryllis, but Passionlip is nothing but a monster.

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...Are you serious? Did I really just hear you say that?

...

...You're an idiot, you know that? I've heard of being softhearted, but you're something else.

Still, if you're looking for some insight, or a bit of advice...

The restraints are what's controlling Passionlip. If you can break their hold on her, I'm positive she'll help you out in return.

She's not like me. She's a good, honest girl, the sort who'll spend the rest of her life paying back someone foolish enough to save her.

...How can you be so sure?

Just look around. We're talking with two Servants who joined us after we thrashed them.

How is that not enough to convince you?

That proves nothing. There's no comparison to be made between Chaldea Servants and SE.RA.PH Servants.

I'll come along to the rear side with you, but I'm not going to bother fighting Passionlip.

Boy, Edgemiya is so mistrustful. I don't know why! After all, Sir Tris is completely trustworthy.

Right, Sir Tris?

...Indeed. I would like to think so...

At any rate, now that we've decided our next course of action, I suggest we all rest up.

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...And, if I may, Fujimaru, allow me to pay my respects to you once again.

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Oh, if you didn't notice anything, then no matter. It's just that you helped me remember that my own training is far from complete.

Now, I suggest that we begin by freeing Passionlip, then find out to what she has to say.

...I'm sorry I haven't been of any help. If anything, I've just been keeping things from you.

I know you said I could just work on taking back a bit at a time...

...But honestly, I don't know if I can. I may be an Alter Ego, but I was also scrapped.

There's no way I'd be able to take on 128 Servants all by myself...

Just look at how much it took out of me to only beat one. It's hopeless...

...Hm? I don't have enough faith in my specs, you say? No, that's not it...

I'm worried I might not be able to protect you... That I might fail to live up to your expectations...

...I want you to like me. And my performance in battle is all I have to offer you...

What!? That's not true! I'm more like the perfect Alter Ego than anything else!

...I know my hands aren't very sensitive, so I'm not the best at delicate operations...

But my other stats are the best out of all the Alter Egos. I'm sure that if I regain my full power...

...Only...if I go back to being who I used to be...we won't be helping each other out like this anymore...

...I don't know who I am now. Do I want to go back to who I was, or do I want to stay like this...?

Still, SE.RA.PH isn't going to wait around. I need to help you get out of here as soon as possible.

And to do that...we need to defeat more Servants, and use their resources to return me to my old self.

Once I defeat every Servant here, I'll defeat BB, and take control of SE.RA.PH myself...

...Will you please stay with me until then, Master?

So, they're all sleeping now. ...I don't get them at all.

It's hard to believe a bunch of pacifists like them managed to survive this long.

You shouldn't be doing things like exploring SE.RA.PH or trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Seraphix unless you've got time and energy to spare.

Compared to that, BB's proposal couldn't be more attractive. It fits perfectly with my own desires.

The Mooncell's an unlimited Holy Grail. Here in the Spiritron world, it can even be used to falsify the past.

We'll never get a chance like this again.

Even most Heroic Spirits can't resist that kind of temptation.

I am, of course, no exception.

You can believe people are innately good all you want, but you're only fooling yourself if you think everyone is acting purely out of the goodness of their hearts.