Part 5: Takeshi - First Day - Part 1

I quietly opened the door.



[Announcement]
"System wiederaufnahme."

I heard the mechanical announcement, but didn't understand what it meant.


"The battery...is probably dead..."

I pushed the button, but my PDA didn't respond. Thanks to the help of the backlight of my display, I had found the emergency manual opening mechanism for the door...


"Hey, are you alive?"

I spoke to the girl.



She looked a little tired.

The floor was silent. I heard the sound of water flowing somewhere. It was a muffled sound.... But there was no sign of anyone around.


"What's going on here?"


"...I don't...know."


"Let's go see if we can find anyone else."



Most of doors were locked as if to keep us from intruding. We found a floor directory, so we decided to look around the rooms listed on it.



Track—Traum In Der Dunkelheit

It was called the 'rest area.' On the floor, there were scattered a mess of bags, a pair of shoes, wrapping paper from the souvenir shop and other stuff. As I had expected, there was no one there. There was a thick set of shutters in the circular space in the center of the area.


"...Ah, ha, ha, ha."

I laughed an empty laugh.


"I wonder if this area is under construction. That's probably why nobody's here. Yeah, I'll bet that's why."


"........."


"Let's try the next place."



The door down the corridor was shut firmly.


"Doesn't this door open?"


“I don't think it will. I don't see a switch."

We chose a corridor, which was open and walked slowly down it. We didn't come across anyone. It felt like we were walking a route that someone had set up for us....



There was a stand selling tuna sandwiches. It smelled like they had been cooking until recently.


"Hey, mister, I'll take two of the sandwiches that are half-price on weekdays... If only someone were here. Looks like he ran off and left his stand. Doesn't he have any pride? Huh? There aren't any other customers here! Business isn't exactly booming, is it."
I would definitely have to say the lack of milling people in the background should be a glaring clue that nobody else is around, yes.


"........."


"I'm hungry... I wasted too much energy walking around… And my friends take off somewhere without telling me... Don't you think that's rude?"


"...Not really. We just met, and I don't particularly care about you."


"Okay, okay. Whatever you say."






"I wonder if everyone is hiding somewhere. Maybe they are trying to surprise us."


"What? Why do you think so?"


"Well, it's just kind of a feeling..."

I had to speak to stay calm.

I felt like if I went quiet, I would return to the darkness of before.



"Lemurian Ruins..."

They were filled with silence. If it weren't for the paper garbage strewn across the floor, it would have been hard to believe that anyone had been around.


"Where is everybody...? Hey! Gimme a break here! Where did everybody go? ...There's a limit to how far you can take a joke..."


"........."


"..."

Video – Takeshi – Erste Boden
Same as before, the material in the video is the same as the rest of the update, but with all the fun effects that don’t show up in the screenshots.




"Why doesn't anyone come out...?"

I sank to the floor. I didn't know why but I was having trouble breathing. Against my will, I started to sweat.


"What do you think? What happened here? Why haven't we seen anyone...?"


"I don't know...there's only one thing for sure."

She said this without changing the expression on her face.


"This is not normal. If this keeps up... We could be in danger..."


"Don't you think so?"


"........."

She stared at me with calm eyes.

[Music—Stop]

I thought I heard a low groan from somewhere.
I swallowed nervously...
I nodded uncomfortably...



Track—Gedaechtnisschwund

I quickly stood up and followed her. I was exhausted, but I used every ounce of my power to push ahead.

We jumped into a small entrance on the side of the corridor.



We started climbing up stairs at top speed. We ignored our pounding hearts. We simply ran. We ran without looking back. We ran...

We reached the top floor and I put my hand on the emergency hatch connected to the floating island. The knob didn't budge.


"Damn, why won't it open?"

Gabaaaang!

The whole structure rocked. The hatch gave off a squeaking sound and the knob bent unnaturally.


"!?"


"This way!!"

The girl screamed.



We had no time to go down each step.

We jumped down toward the direction where we could see the corridor. The impact with the ground rattled my knees terribly, but I ignored the pain.




"Phew, *pant* *pant*..."

I was out of breath. I gasped.


"Haaaa, haaaa, haaaaa. Fwaaaa, Huuuu, haaaaa. Hiihii, Huuuu, haaaaa."


"...Safe place, pokopon."
Some sort of good luck charm, I’m guessing.


"...?"
”You’re seriously out of breath from that much running? Wimp.”

The girl's expression didn't change.

(Anyways, she hasn't lost her breath much after the running that hard...)




"I want to rest..."


"Go ahead. Do what you want..."


"...Fine then."

I sat down on the floor. The girl walked slowly ahead down the corridor.

We could see hundreds of colorful fish swimming comfortably outside of the windows. The room was quiet, too. It was just the two of us. Me and her.
It’d be a shame if something suddenly happened, wouldn’t it?

Then I remembered that I still didn't know who she was. She had told me to 'do what I want,' but... Until then we'd been trying to escape together. I wondered what she was all about. It was all...a mystery to me.



Her voice caused me to look up. She hadn't said it to me.


"Hey, was somebody there?"

I asked this as I stood.


"..."



I followed her gaze.



I hadn't heard any footsteps.

(What in the...? When did she get here?)


"...from here. This area is not safe. Please escape... Please. Please you must escape from here. It is dangerous, it is dangerous..."

She looked slightly panicked.


"Hey, hey. What's happened? What's dangerous? Stay calm. Explain what's going on..."


"You need to escape...we have had... unexpected...trouble. Level...Delta...Tief...Blau."

She mumbled this again.


"Please escape. Please. Please get out of here!"

[Music—Stop]



Track—IBF Notfall

Fwaaaaaash!


"UuuuwwWWAAaaaahh!!"

Glass shattered. A massive amount of seawater... And countless fish came flooding in. It was as if they were attacking me!






"W-whoaaa!"



The approaching swell mowed down everything in its path. It swirled and swallowed debris on the floor, someone's dropped purse, a floor guide for the facility, anything and everything it encountered.

(I wonder how fast that water is moving...)

Ridiculous thoughts flashed through my mind.
Thank you for being aware of this for once. No, really.

(And, I wonder how fast I can run.)

There was no guarantee the water wouldn't catch me.


"Whoa! Whoaaa! Whoaaaaaa!"

I ran frantically. And jumped in the air. There was water flowing underfoot.


"Whoooooa...."

I slipped. I knew this was bad. If I took a spill, I would be sleeping with these fish!


"You are so much trouble...!"



The girl had grabbed my arm and yanked me forward with incredible force. She ran lithely, like a tiny gazelle....And her speed? It felt I had just hopped into a car. It almost felt as though she might rip my arm off. Her strength was unbelievable.


"Over here! Hurry! Hurry!"


"I know!"


"!?"

And even harder to believe was that the park attendant was running ahead of us, leading the way.

(When did she...?)

It looked like she had just been sucked into the swirling waters ahead, but...no...




"This is no good! It's not functioning! Go back!"






"Crap. Which way do we take to get outta here?"

We all ran without stopping, looking for an exit.






"Yes!"


"I'm going!"







It was a sloping pipe-like tube. We shot down the incline stumbling. It sounded like there was a crazed froth of angry water roaring behind me. No, I was already caught up in it. Everyone was just flushed along. We were spun in circles. I had no idea which way was up and which down. And then we were all spit out in a corridor on the lower level. Saved by a hair, the shutter on the duct clanked shut solidly behind us.

[Music—Stop]

The flow of water finally stopped.



Aaah....

It was solid ground. It was a floor. I was safe. I wasn't in the water. I was alive. That was good...

(Good?)
Maybe? I dunno.

Track—Drittestock




"This sector has been confirmed drained free of water... However, 30 percent of the facility is already..."


"Believed to be submerged or completely flooded..."


"Hey, wait just a second... I thought we were going to escape UP!? If we go down...! Hey! What are we supposed to do now?"




"I'm sorry, but..."

The employee looked extremely sorry and was bowing.


"It is my responsibility."


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