$94-03-45-01-1-0 [soundStopAll] [charaSet A 5005002 1 "H. C. A."] [charaSet B 98025000 1 NPC] [charaSet C 98025000 1 NPC] [charaSet D 98025000 1 NPC] [se ade186] [seVolume ade186 0 0] [seVolume ade186 3.0 0.3] [scene 71200] [fadein black 1.5] [wait fade] [bgm BGM_EVENT_54 0.1] [wt 2.0] ?1:Huh? Where am I...? ?2:Did I take a wrong turn somewhere...? ?! [wt 0.4] [seStop ade186 2.5] [charaTalk A] [charaFace A 0] [charaFadein A 0.4 1] @A:??? Mistakes were made. What were you thinking,[sr]leaving SE.RA.PH under these circumstances? [k] @A:??? Ever hear of curiosity killing the cat? Or did the sight of this deep-sea beauty make you go soft in the head? [k] [charaFace A 2] @A:??? Not that either case says anything good about your intelligence! Now I've got to step in to help clean up your mess, stupid! [k] ?1:...Do I know you...? ?2:...Who are you again...? ?! [charaFace A 1] @A:??? Hmm. So, your perception is just as shot as I thought. You aren't able to reconcile what you're seeing now with your own memories, huh? [k] @A:??? Your mind and memories are both still sharp, but they're having trouble accessing what happened here. [k] @A:??? You're now essentially back to square one...a rookie Master who barely knows what [&he's:she's] doing. [k] @A:??? Ah, well. I suppose I'll have to pull out all the stops to help your sorry ass! [k] @A:??? I'm H. C. A., the electronic fairy in charge of this trash compactor...the Cage of the Fallen, Klein Cube. [k] @H. C. A. You can think of me as an acquaintance of BB,[sr]since she's the one who summoned me, not Chaldea. [k] ?1:An acquaintance of BB...? [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. That's right.[sr]We've only ever talked online, though. [k] @H. C. A. But I'm not a digital demon like her.[sr]I'm more like a Rogue Servant. [k] @H. C. A. I have plenty of time on my hands, and I only want to spend it working on my stories at your world's outskirts. I really don't have any desire to get involved with your world. [k] ?2:I'm sorry, what was your name again? [charaFace A 3] @H. C. A. ...I'm H. C. A., an electronic fairy. Ugh, it's[sr]kinda hard to actually say that without cringing. [k] @H. C. A. I know no one else is going to hear this,[sr]but still, it's really damn embarrassing. [k] ?! [charaFace A 1] @H. C. A. Anyway, let's start by breaking down[sr]where you are and what's going on here. [k] @H. C. A. Right now, that building sinking to the bottom of the sea that looks like a bad joke... Sorry, Freudian slip. [k] [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. That building used to be an oil rig called Seraphix...but now, it's called SE.RA.PH, and none of the standard laws of physics apply to it. [k] @H. C. A. In SE.RA.PH, time doesn't flow in only one direction. Instead, it's something that can be measured in some interesting ways. [k] @H. C. A. And the spacing on the calipers used to measure it is nothing like your conception of physical space. [k] @H. C. A. That's probably because time and space are both measured from a one-dimensional perspective there. [k] @H. C. A. Sometimes, you can even be in two different times while in the same space. This area we're in now is proof. [k] [charaFace A 1] @H. C. A. Here, neither BB nor SE.RA.PH can touch us. Why?[sr]Well, think of us as being a failed timeline. [k] @H. C. A. Even though Seraphix is currently in the process of being reborn as SE.RA.PH, a purely digital structure... [k] @H. C. A. ...this place we're in now was produced as a sort[sr]of nonexistent space, even in the original SE.RA.PH. [k] @H. C. A. What for, you say?[sr]To get rid of anything unwanted, obviously. [k] @H. C. A. Think of it as the oil rig equivalent[sr]of sweeping things under the rug. [k] @H. C. A. Humans have always been good at ignoring things they'd rather not think about. It's one of their best defense mechanisms. [k] @H. C. A. This is rather like that, only more so. Like sweeping things under a rug, then destroying both it and the rug so thoroughly it is as if they never existed. [k] @H. C. A. Now this place is beyond all things, outside thought and knowledge, a place where one cannot normally reach. [k] ?1:So...it's like the Trash Heap? ?2:Does that mean it's like that one pitfall? ?! [charaFace A 1] @H. C. A. Good! That's pretty much the right idea! This place[sr]is basically a hole, like a cave or a tree hollow! [k] [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. That gravitational field continues on to a place absolutely no one knows about. It's almost like a trash can where the bottom is thousands of light-years away. [k] [charaFace A 4] @H. C. A. However...while this cage was originally[sr]supposed to sink into the void forever... [k] @H. C. A. ...the one who recreated SE.RA.PH, unbelievable as it may be, seems to have also gone to the trouble of recreating its surrounding data. [k] @H. C. A. She knew about the danger involved, and went ahead with it anyway because she thought it seemed fun. [k] [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. This kind of reckless laziness is just like her. She wants everything she sees, but she can't even be bothered to get out of bed. [k] [charaFace A 1] @H. C. A. I knew she had a cow's tits, but I didn't know she had a cow's brain too! Hell, maybe those horns of hers are actually something she was born with! [k] [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. Still, that alone wouldn't be too much of a problem.[sr]It's only now that another idiot's got [&himself:herself] mixed[sr]up in all this that it's become such a mess. [k] ?1:Another idiot...? ?2:What idiot? ?! [charaFace A 5] @H. C. A. You're the idiot! It's you! [k] @H. C. A. What else would you call someone who just waltzes into a place they don't even need to be during an ultra time-sensitive emergency!? [k] [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. Now that you being here has accidentally proved this place exists, the proverbial gates of hell are about to be thrown wide open! [k] @H. C. A. That gravitational field didn't even exist until you showed up. Same with the path that brought me here. [k] [charaFace A 1] @H. C. A. Oh well. I hate physical labor, but I love seeing idiots get what's coming to them. [k] [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. Now listen up, [%1]. There's a Servant[sr]sleeping at the very bottom of this hole. [k] @H. C. A. A monster so awful that even BB threw her hands up[sr]pretending not to see it, and so dreadful even that lazy cow gave up on it. [k] @H. C. A. She's still sleeping right now, but it's only a matter of time until she starts looking for you in her dreams. [k] @H. C. A. Now that you've opened this place up,[sr]you two have practically already locked eyes. [k] @H. C. A. If you leave here now, she'll sort of wander outside in her sleep, looking for you. [k] @H. C. A. And if that happens, it's game over. You and everyone on SE.RA.PH will be utterly obliterated. [k] ?1:Th-that's awful! ?2:So, then...what should I do? ?! [charaFace A 1] @H. C. A. Oh. Finally starting to understand how bad this is,[sr]are we? Good. Now is the time for action. [k] @H. C. A. You're the one who opened this hole,[sr]so you're the one who has to close it. [k] [charaFace A 0] @H. C. A. And to do that, you need to defeat the monster who's been relegated to the bottom layer of the trash compactor. [k] @H. C. A. Once she falls at your hand, she should remember that no one needs or wants her, and go back to sleep. [k] ?1:...Okay. So I just have to get to the bottom, right? ?2:By the way, what are you doing here? [charaFace A 1] @H. C. A. Oh, that? I'm just the odd spirit out. SE.RA.PH might be summoning Heroic Spirits from throughout all of history... [k] @H. C. A. ...but it's also set up so that I can never get inside. Call it a mental block made tangible. [k] @H. C. A. Who knows why she even bothers! I can only guess she must have something she really doesn't want me to see, though I couldn't even begin to guess what might be worth hiding at this point! [k] @H. C. A. If she's gonna be that embarrassed about it, she could start by giving her mind a good, thorough scrubbing! [k] @H. C. A. Of course, she'd need to work AWFULLY hard to get all the dirt out! Hell, she could probably spend a lifetime in a washtub and it still wouldn't be enough! [k] ?! [messageOff] [charaFadeout A 0.1] [wt 0.1] [bgmStop BGM_EVENT_54 0.7] [shake 0.05 3 3 1.4] [se ad14] [wt 1.5] [charaTalk off] [charaTalk depthOff] [charaDepth B 3] [charaDepth C 2] [charaDepth D 1] [charaFace B 0] [charaFadein B 0.4 1] [wt 0.1] [charaFace C 0] [charaFadein C 0.4 -312,0] [wt 0.2] [charaFace D 0] [charaFadein D 0.4 312,0] [wt 0.2] [se ad23] [wt 1.5] [seVolume ad14 1.0 0.5] [charaFadeout B 0.1] [charaFadeout C 0.1] [charaFadeout D 0.1] [wt 0.1] [bgm BGM_EVENT_3 0.1] [charaTalk on] [charaTalk A] [charaFace A 0] [charaFadein A 0.1 1] @H. C. A. ...Anyway, enough chatter. You've got a long way to go before you reach the bottom. [k] @H. C. A. The whole place is full of things that were tossed out for being too dangerous, just like her. [k] @H. C. A. You'll have to defeat all of them before you can reach the Cage of the Fallen. [k] [charaFace A 2] @H. C. A. Now go, [%1]! Whatever you accomplish here,[sr]it better be at least good enough for a special edition book's cover art! [k] [messageOff] [seStop ad14 0.5] [bgmStop BGM_EVENT_3 0.4] [fadeout black 0.5] [wait fade] [soundStopAll] [end]