Part 23: Shadows Inside

They left Archia again and returned to the entrance to the Signal Station. This time, they turned towards the Tower itself.

Video Record- “Inside”

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Ma paks ra exec guol FL_039x2 al noes.

Luphan’s code allowed them entry, and they found themselves in a deeply strange place, the Lymph Vessel.



We're in...
Stay alert. We're inside the enemy's nest.

A strange song resonated through the Vessel. Every time it reached a certain point it skipped and returned to the start.



...It is the voice of the person who will emancipate us from our pain...
..."Us"?
Hey!
What are you doing!?

Filament ran off towards the depths of the Tower, forcing them to chase to keep up.



Hey, Filament!
No! We can't let anyone get lost in here!
Then let's chase her!

They didn’t even notice at first that they had left someone behind.



*huff* *huff*
There's no time to dawdle. You'll die soon if you don't do anything about it.
Soma...! I know that! Just...don't come out anymore!
I can't comply with your request. This body isn't only yours. I won't let you die.
Wait! ...Maybe we can live longer without Lady Harvy's help!
Are you still thinking about what Filament told you? We have no reason to trust her.
...What?
Go to sleep for a minute. I'll have this all resolved by the time you wake up.
Hold on! Wait a sec...

And once again Soma forced her way to the surface…



They followed Filament as she tried to find the source of the voice.

Video Record- “Vessel”

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Feinne on Qoga: The Lymph Vessel
God, this place. It’s huge and full of pretty tough enemies. The video there isn’t the whole dungeon but it is a lot of it. There are some cool ideas in here, though. There are switches that move bridges around and weird one way lifts around that make navigating it visually interesting. If only it wasn’t so big and so full of enemies that take so long it would not be like pulling all your teeth out. If you want to see every single thing Filament does watch the video because you have no choice but to use her this time around.

Deep within they found a dead end.

Video Record- “The Bargain”

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Oh, hey!

They had found where Katene had called from a while back.



...Hey, what the hell is this...?

And they found the source of his excitement.



...Please! ...Please help us!
You were...born to be our savior, were you not?
...! You...are the same as me... I'm surprised. I thought I was the only one who was here.
…
...True, I was born to save you all, but I can't fulfill my destiny... Our plan was thwarted.
If you help me...then I can save you...
...Come to see me...in the Rinkernator...
Rinkernator...?

And with that, the image of Tyria vanished.



...What was that thing...? Who was that girl!?
She is Tyria, the one I have been looking for for such a long time...and the only one who can...save me.
Tyria...?
But, that was only a holographic image. A shadow alone can't save us...so I must go...
...Hey, so what's the Rinkernator?
The place I must go to meet the real her... I want to see her. I just want to...live...with you...
I don't want to die yet...and...I don't want to kill you...
What do you mean by that!? Why would you kill anybody?
...What the Clustanians and Archians have been doing are essentially the same. Neither is our way to salvation...
Then, do you know what the Clustanians and Archians are up to?
There is only one way to survive... To pay a visit to Tyria... I have to go...to the Rinkernator!

Soma had finally caught up with them.



Soma!
...You!? ...But why?
...You are...
The illusion that you still embrace in your mind is something that we've long relinquished. You should know that.
We're moving based on the Consensus. Even if you try real hard, the situation isn't going to change.
That's not true... I will change our fate...! Please, lend me your power!
What!?

And Filament began to pray.





Soma only took a glancing blow from the attack, however.



…Uh, Filament!
...I won't let it happen... We will...live together...

Filament had used up too much power, though, and had to return to Saki’s mind.



Saki…
Saki!
She's alright. She just passed out...
...Soma, today...your long, wicked life finally comes to an end.

Soma wasn’t really there for a fight, though.



Why should I listen to you...!?
If you come with me...I'll bring you to see Harvestasha.
Ngh...
Harvestasha...?
How do you know about Harvestasha...!?
That's irrelevant. Come with me, and realize your deepest wish.
I'll pass. I don't trust you.
Fine, we don't have to do this the easy way. In that case, it looks like I'll have to force you to come with me.
Why are you doing this...?
Because it's the only way for "Us" to save our life.
...!?
What do you mean...?
First Tyria and now Tatsumi...?
...What do you mean by "Us"? Who are you talking about!?
Hmph…
Soma, wait!

Just as before, Soma saw an opportunity to further her goal and took it.



What does she have to do with this...?
Soma! You son of a bitch!
I told you before. I asked you to bring Tatsumi and Finnel to Clustania.
But because you took so long, I can't wait any longer.
...! Hey! ...Whaddaya doing, Aoto!?
That's...
I don't understand! Tell me everything! What do you know!? And what's the relationship between Finnel and Soma!?
Who is...Harvestasha!? Is she a Clustanian!?
...Finnel and I share one body.
Finnel is a Reyvateil with multiple personae after all...!
...Kh!

She actually even tried to just explain some things to get them to give her what she wanted.



...What?
So what you're saying is...Finnel won't live much longer...?
*gasp*
But Harvestasha knows how to extend our life. For that, Tatsumi, we need your Core Square Ring.
...You mean...you need the Heart of Gaea...
Now do you understand? Come with me, Tatsumi. You want to see Harvestasha, too, do you not?
...How can you prove that your story's true? First of all, how do I know you even share the same body with Finnel?
That she does...I've seen it.
Aoto?
When we were camping, on the way back from Fallen Heaven Peak...
...Ah, that time.
...Even if that's true, I can't trust her! She's Soma!
…Tats.

When that didn’t work, the threats began.



If you won't give me the Core Square Ring, I'll have to resort to other means.
...Like what?
Because we coexist in the same body, we exert overwhelming stress on it. As a result, our life span is shrinking.
In other words, if we expel Finnel from this body...we may be able to survive.
What!?
How is that even possible!?
…!
...I know, Tatsumi. This decision is too cruel for you to turn down.
Stop! Don't kill her!
You don't need to worry. We're not gonna kill each other. I don't want Finnel to die, either.
Does that mean...you accept my request?

Soma wasn’t the only one willing to lay it all on the line.



What proposal?
You said that you would like to live with Finnel if it was possible.
Well, same here. I don't want to hurt her if I can avoid it. So, why don't we decide the winner without a tussle?
…
As long as it's not a fight, I don't care how we do it. It's your choice. If I lose, I'll give in to your demand.
...But if I win, you have to accept my request.
...Sure, then let's duel on V-Boards. The other day, you told Finnel that the Grand Prix was coming up, right?
I can carve a wicked sky on the V. I was actually curious about how good you really are. What do you say?
...No problemo.
So...what is your request?
If I win, you hafta stop messing with Great Fang.
…Is that it?
No. I want you to bring Harvestasha to Great Fang. I want to talk directly to her, but not in Clustania.

Soma agreed, and it seemed Tatsumi would be making his race after all.



Listen, Tatsumi. If you ditch the race, I'll expel her from this body right away.
Don't worry. Faintheartedness doesn't run in my family.
Hmph... Then, I'll see you on the day of the race.

With that, Soma left. Oh, and everyone was rightly mad at Aoto for not telling them they could be killed at any time by Soma in their sleep.



Yeah... Finnel had been acting weird lately. I should've paid more attention to her...
If you had been paying more attention to her, how would this have gone any differently?
?
It was bound to happen sooner or later. But...why didn't you tell us that Soma was actually Finnel?
...I'm sorry.
*sigh* You're so gullible... I know you care about her a lot, but what if Soma attacked us in our sleep?
I'm really sorry...!
...Well, it's over now. From now on, your life is my life, my life is yours! We share the same fate, understand?
Yeah…
Okay! Well, we can't leave Saki like this. Let's go back to the Great Fang's camp for now.
Sure, why not?

And so they had to leave the Tower and prepare to meet Soma’s challenge. Things were about to get even more exciting, too, but that will wait for another day.