Part 37: Takeshi - Sixth Day - Part 2

Video: Takeshi – Showdown and…

Track—Kopfsprung



Kid was breathing heavily, yelling between breaths.


"Stop what? Hey, explain what's going on."


"W-what happened?"

[Pipi]
"Woof!"

Coco and Pipi came over to see what all the commotion was about.


"The Central Control Room...! Sora and Tsugumi were gone for such a long time, I... I went to go find them... And they were in a brutal argument!!"


"!!"


"I just couldn't watch, so I..."


"This is bad news...at a time like this."


"L-let's go! We've got to stop them!"


"Y-yeah! We'd better hurry!"

[Pipi]
"Bow wow!"



We sped along the wet floor to the Central Control Room.




"Tsugumi!"

I pushed the button to open the door.




".........!"



...We found Tsugumi and Sora screaming at each other. Neither one would give an inch. They just glared at one another. It looked as though they had been fighting for several minutes. The room was filled with tension.


"Beneath us? There aren't any floors underneath Dritte stock. We can't go down any further."


"Liar... You're lying... I saw down from Qualle, and borrowing your eyes, I was able to access LeMMIH, it took a while though..."


"I finally got proof. There is more to LeMU below us. Um, there's another installation other than LeMU...and it's right below us. Really far down. I'm right, aren't I?"


".........."


"I can't answer that question..."


"Don't tell me that, just answer me! I did a Turing test, and I found out that you really are A.I."


"As long as you aren't blocked by a protect routine, you have to answer humans honestly. That's part of your functioning."


"........"


"It isn't possible to get there using normal elevators. The only way there is through a locked door."


"That room... HIMMEL...That's your name, isn't it Sora?"


"........."


"We aren't getting anywhere just sitting around."


"We're fighting against time! The truth is behind that door. Tell us the password to that door...the one leading to HIMMEL, Sora!"


"It is true... That HIMMEL...in German means sky, or 'Sora' in Japanese… But Tsugumi, I... I don't have the security access to open that door. I'm sorry..."


"That's a lie!"


"It is not!"


"Some A.I. you are! You think I'm stupid? You think you can fool me?"


"It is not a lie! I am telling the truth!! I don't have any information of what's behind that door..."


"Stop it!!"

Coco jumped between them.


"Stop it, both of you!"

Both of them flinched for a moment, but continued to look bitter.


"Coco..."


"Coco..."


"Stop it...okay? Please!"


"Coco, this is between Tsugumi and me."


"Get back Coco...or I'm really going to get mad."


"Why? Tsugumi, Sora, stop it! Why are you arguing?"


"This isn't an argument."


"We aren't."


"You're lying...it's a lie...!"


"We shouldn't be fighting...!"

Large tears welled and flowed from Coco's eyes.


"........."


"........."

The tears had a freezing effect on Sora and Tsugumi.


"Agh... Aaaghh.... Waagghh...."

Coco started gasping. She suddenly ran to the corner of the console. Or...rather fell there. She leaned against the console, barely able to support herself. Coco's body was shaking slightly. Her lips trembled. I could see that her lips had gone pale quickly. It was different than crying...


"Coco... H-hey, what...? What's up with you all of a sudden...?"

[Music—Stop]



Coco's lips were suddenly...stained red.


"Coco!!"

The Kid opened his eyes wide, looking shocked.

Track—Tief Blau




"Gah...uuuugh...uuugh... Nngagh...uuuh...uuugh..."


"Coco!"

Blood was flowing onto the floor of the Control Room. It wouldn't stop. It kept falling from her mouth.


"What's happening!?"


"Coco!"

Coco shook her head and trembled violently. She had her hand to her mouth, desperately trying not to cough.


"It can't be...!"


"These...these symptoms are...!"

Sora looked as if she were about to panic.


"Symptoms!? Who cares about that!"

Tsugumi screamed, furious.


"Can't you tell! If this keeps up, Coco's going to...!!"


"Coco, hang in there!"


"Ta-Takeshi...what are we going to do!?"


"Hang on! Everyone don't panic! You've got to stay calm!!"

I screamed out in a loud voice to everyone.


"Just calm the heck down, okay!? Oh wait...maybe I need to calm down too... Whew..."

Everyone took deep breaths trying to settle down.


"Coco, just relax. You're going to be okay..."


"Ugh... I'm...Al...right...Take...pyon."

Steadying her trembling eyes, Coco looked at me firmly.


"Good girl... Now hang onto me, Coco!"

I turned around and thrust out my back toward her.


"Can you get on?"


"Ye...yeah."

[Pipi]
"*Whine*"

Pipi looked up worriedly at Coco.


"We're going to the infirmary on Zweite."


"O-okay!"

[Pipi]
"Woof, woof!"

I realized that I was holding onto Coco.



I held Coco on my back, with You and Tsugumi supporting her from the sides. Sora went ahead to guide us, and the kid followed a short distance behind.




"Which was is it, left or right!?"


"Straight ahead!"


"Okay!"


"Don't run so fast! Stop shaking her so much!"


"I know! Just pipe down, would you?"


"........."

Coco was groaning in pain on my back. But I could still make it. There was no way I was going to fail.I wasn't going to say 'It's no use, we're too late,' and I wasn't going to let anyone else say it either. As long as there was some hope left, I wouldn't give up.





You pointed to the "L-MRI." Tsugumi and I laid Coco down on the flat table. Coco continued to breathe in her short, shallow manner. Although she had stopped coughing up blood, she seemed to be in a lot of pain. Her body lay still. The arm of the "L-MRI" soon came to life and started a laser scan. The Kid came up to the side of the table and stared at Coco, looking as if he would burst into tears.


"Sora, put the results up on the screen, so everyone can see them."


"Okay..."

Suddenly a few holographic windows appeared in the air. Images, including a thermal scan, ultrasound analysis, showing cross-sectional representations of her body, and a laser sampling, were all displayed, one after another. Of course, none of us were doctors, so there was little we could understand about her condition by looking at the pictures. All we could do was wait for the scanning equipment and LeMMIH's system to give us an answer. We stared as the images that flashed by on the screen and prayed.

[Music—Stop]

Then... The results suddenly appeared.

"Tief Blau 2017-Rev.17"


"Tief Blau...!"

Track—Gedaechtnisschwund


"...Huh?"


"What'd you say?"


"No...."

Sora hurriedly shut down the holographic window. She bit her lip and stared down in shock.


"........."

Her expression showed how serious the situation was.


"Sora...?"


"What's wrong, Sora? If you don't tell us..."


"If you don't tell us, we don't know what's going on..."


"...I can't believe it. I just can't believe it..."


"What...what don't you believe?"


"Coco's been..."


"Coco has been infected."


"Infected...?"


"What!?"


"...it's..."

Sora was unable to suppress her agitation and opened her mouth hesitantly.


"Tief Blau. It is a powerful virus with a very high mortality rate."


"Tief...Blau..."

Tief Blau...? A virus that was totally different than the one Tsugumi had...?


"Coco, Coco!"

The Kid ran over to Coco's side, and held on to the table.


"Coco, hold on! ... No! Don't you die on me!"

He held onto Coco's arm as she lay there unconscious.


"Open your eyes, Coco! Please! Get up!"

The Kid grabbed a hold of Coco's shoulders and shook her violently.


"Hey, cut it out! Stop it Kid!"

I pried his hands off Coco, and pulled him away from her.


"What are you doing?"


"Jackass! Calm the hell down! What do you think that's going to accomplish, huh!?"


"But, Coco's gonna...she's gonna!"


"If we don't do anything, Coco's...going to die!"

The Kid groaned in despair.


"Calm down. There's got to be something we can do..."


"........."


"Don't get crazy. Let's just calm down and think..."


"........."

The Kid somehow quieted down. He breathed heavily and glared at me.


"What do you think we should do, You?"

Video: Takeshi – Deep Blue


"Don't ask me...I have no idea. Sora, isn't there anything we can do?"


"...If we take emergency measures, it is possible. But in order to do this..."


"Whatever it takes! If we don't hurry, then...!"

You stopped herself just short of screaming out.


"Please Sora...you're the only one who can help us. Please tell us what to do."


"You'll need serum. A serum to lessen the symptoms."


"Serum? What kind?"


"It's...I don't know if it is here or not..."


"W-what...!"

You ran up to the wall and opened up a shelf filled with medical tools. You repeatedly asked Sora about the contents as she tore through them.


"What about this!?"


"No..."


"It isn't this one!?"


"No, it is not..."


"How about this one!?"


"Not that one either..."


"......."


"That one...isn't it either..."

You dropped bottle after bottle of medicine onto the floor. Many of them exploded into pieces when they hit.


"What are we going to do...!? What should we do? Answer me, Sora...!"


"........."


"I am sorry......"

[Pipi]
"... *Whine*"

Pipi came over to me and whined softly.


"....Oh!"

Sora's face suddenly changed colors.


"Pipi, bring that over here!! Quickly!!"


"Eh!?"


"That thing that Pipi has in his mouth! That's it!"


"What!?"

I quickly snatched whatever it was out of Pipi's mouth and lifted it up.


"T-this!?"


"It's the serum...!"

It was a transparent capsule with orange liquid inside of it.


"How do we use it?"


"Break off the tip, and inject the contents into Coco!"


"O-okay!! You, do your magic!"

You ran over to where I was, and grabbed the serum out of my hand. Coco held out a shaking arm. You silently inserted the syringe into her arm and administered the serum.

[Music—Stop]

After a few minutes… Although it was gradual, Coco's breathing became more even, and the tremors in her body settled down.

Track—Zweitestock


"It looks like it is taking effect. Her condition has improved somewhat. The danger seems over for now..."


"Thank goodness..."

Both You and Sora looked relieved. You looked as if she could cry.


"........."


"........."

The Kid looked up and let out a big sigh of relief. Tsugumi stared at Coco in silence.


"Hey Pipi. Who would've thought you'd find the serum.... When did you get this? Where'd you find it?"

[Pipi]
"*whine* *whiiiine*..."

Pipi whined pitifully.

Track—Drittestock



Everyone gathered around the "L-MRI" where Coco slept.


"Sora, tell us what you can about the Tief Blau virus. That's the first time I've ever heard of it. Does anyone else know anything about it?"

When I asked the question, You, the Kid, Tsugumi, even Pipi... all shook their heads.


"You said it has a high mortality rate... You don't have any idea when or how Coco got this do you?"


".........."


"I don't care if it is only a guess. Or, if you give me only the limited data you have. I just want to know. Coco came down with this out of nowhere. It doesn't help the rest of us to be ignorant."


"You are right..."

Sora got a strange expression on her face. After thinking for a moment, she gave us a wholehearted explanation.


"Alright. I will tell you everything I know about the Tief Blau virus."

A heavy silence descended upon the emergency room. Every once in a while the sensor from the "L-MRI" would sound out Coco's vital signs, the only noise to echo through the room.


"Tief Blau, or TB was..."

Sora started talking softly.


"TB was developed at a research facility under LeMU. It is an extremely deadly virus."


"At a research facility? Under us...?"

You's eyes opened wide.


"Yes... There's an installation called IBF, right below us.”


"IBF..."


"I knew it..."

Tsugumi frowned.


"Well, it looks like this AI's programming CAN change after all. If the situation gets critical enough...we can actually get information we need... I guess it isn't in your programming to keep a secret when someone's life is on the line."


"........."


"I'm sorry. Please continue Sora..."

After shaking her head lightly, Tsugumi let out a sigh.


"Okay... The management company that built LeMU is Leiblich Pharmaceutical. Its research facility is IBF."



LeMU and the research facility...of the two, the first to be built was the research facility. Building a theme park was apparently just a front. The researchers at IBF were listed as managers of LeMU and were able to come and go as they pleased. That way, nobody would suspect that there was actually a research facility.

At the same time, they could also get much-needed funds for research. If they set up a successful theme park, they could get pretty much all the money they needed to run the research facility... So Leiblich Pharmaceutical continued to carry out research into bacteria and viruses on the bottom of the ocean...357 feet under water.




“Only a select number of people know about it at Leiblich, even at LeMU..."


"IBF and LeMU are controlled by separate computer systems... Even I am only given limited information. I only became sure of IBF's existence after connecting together fragments of information from this accident...."


"Oh..."


"Anyway, there is a strange and deadly virus called TB they're doing research about at some research center under LeMU. That is probably in order to find a cure for TB, right?"


"Yes, you are probably correct. In addition... There is a medical center there that is far superior to this one. At least from the information I can gather from LeMMIH's database... It appears that they have a new type of 'High-pressure Oxygen Treatment Device' there... And if we can treat her with that, her leukocyte, er, white blood cell activity should increase... That should ease Coco's condition somewhat. We might even encounter more of the serum that is effective in stabilizing the symptoms.... the orange one that we found previously."


"IBF, huh...? Can we go there? How do we get there?"


"W-wait...!"

The Kid interrupted with a shout.


"Wait! This is crazy... Why would Coco suddenly come down with TB?"


"It doesn't make sense that she'd come down with that awful virus all of a sudden... You don't think that's strange?"


"........."


"Yeah. But..."


"Even if we want to help Coco, there isn't any equipment here to do that. The only lead we have for treating her is that research facility - IBF. We'll have to look for reasons afterward."


"All we can do is trust what Sora tells us for now."


"........."


"She isn't good enough at lying to make up something like this, right? I'm sorry for doubting you earlier..."


"I believe what Sora's telling us."

Tsugumi smiled slightly.


"...Thank you."

Sora nodded sincerely.


"Yeah, I believe her too. We can't just sit back twiddling our thumbs. Let's consider the best option."

I looked at You and Sora and nodded.


"Does that sound good to you? Kid?"


"Y-yeah. Okay."


"Alright, then... So it's decided then. We're going to IBF. It's the only chance we've got at saving Coco."


"However, in order to get to IBF, we have to get through HIMMEL... And HIMMEL's door isn't opening."


"I don't care, we're going! We don't have any other options. Show me the way. It might not work... But we don't know that unless we try, right?"


"........."


"Hey Kid...give me a hand!"


"O-okay."

I picked up Coco's inert body and carried her piggyback.

Track—Tief Blau





Sora and Pipi went on ahead. You brought along a first-aid kit just in case. We were headed for Dritte Stock some 17 meters below...





To where the locked door was waiting for us. Using all the strength we had. And all the power of our prayers. We flew forward.



We all stopped in front of the door. I briefly put Coco down, and leaned her up against the wall. The Kid went up to Coco, and lent her his shoulder. 'HIMMEL'—The door that wouldn't open.


"Sora, I'm just asking to make sure..."


"What...?"


"What does HIMMEL mean?"


"It means 'Sky' in German. Or 'Heaven'..."


"Heaven, huh...?"

They sure had given it an ironic name. So...the question was, how in the world were we going to open that door?



ETA: It actually completely slipped my mind that you have to choose another heroine shortly after this choice, so to expedite things a bit, choose two of them.

If you want to list first choice/second choice, go ahead, otherwise I'll take the two in whichever order.