Part 74: You Good End - Part 1
"........."
"Hey, TSUGUMI!"
"Shut up!"
"........."
"Don't talk to me. Do me a favor and just sit still. Because there is nothing left to worry about. There can't possibly be anything else you want to ask me about, right?"
"........."
"It's a good thing that my prediction was off, huh?"
"Th-that's what I wanted to ask..."
"........."
But, after that, Tsugumi didn't say anything more. Well, just one more thing...
"Geez... What the heck is going on...?"
Since we’re locked on the same ending regardless of who we pick here, I’ll include You’s segment as well.
"........."
"Hey, YOU!"
"Eh? What...? Did you just call me?"
"Yeah."
"Uh...would you mind leaving me alone right now? I don't really feel like talking about anything."
"........."
"I'm sorry...but there is something that I want to think through."
"I understand...I'm sorry to bug you."
"........."
I figured that it must have been a real shock for her... to find out that the lady had been pretending to be her mother. It looked like all of our guesses had been right on target....
Track—Tief Blau
Then we began walking to the central core...Finally we reached a dead end. The watertight door was shut from there, because the area had been filled with seawater before. The door swung open.
The corridor was dry and we continued heading toward the center.
....
Sara, Takeshi and Tsugumi walked ahead....You, Sora and I walked a few dozen meters behind them.
....
"Hey! We're going ahead!"
It seemed like Takeshi had already reached the emergency stairs. Sara, Takeshi and Tsugumi disappeared up the stairs.
Track—IBF Notfall
But immediately after that -
"Oh no!"
"This is bad! Water is flooding in! ...Sector 3...the partition on the emergency corridor is collapsing...! Water is rushing in 103 feet ahead!"
The door leading to the emergency stairs was swallowed in water.
"You, what're you doing? Run! Now!"
"...Okay..."
"Now hang on!"
I grabbed You's hand and doubled back.
Track—Kopfsprung
You, Sora and I were there. It looked like the flooding had subsided.... According to Sora, there were only a few dry areas left in the complex. A message came from outside.
[Man]
"The other three are fine! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I think so..."
[Man]
"That flooding was apparently a miscalculation on our part. I don't think we got the partition strength wrong. So...we don't know what caused it."
"What do you want us to do now?"
[Man]
"For now, you wait there. We'll come up with something soon."
"Can't you use the high pressure gas fan to get rid of the water again?"
[Man]
"Actually....no... The thing won't work.... And we're not sure why..."
"Huh? What? I'm having trouble hearing you."
Static had broken up part of the message and I hadn't caught it. It looked like another crisis had struck. From the speaker on their side we heard a lot of hurried noise and a rush of air.
[Man]
"What is...is that...real...? Is that...lick...kel... Blick Winkel...is...here..."
And then communications were cut off.
"Sora...?"
With a solemn look, Sora shook her head.
"...Damn it! We were almost there! Why this? Why did this happen to us...?"
I punched the console.
"I don't get any of this... What is that...? Blick Winkel? Hey, Sora...what does this mean...?"
"............"
Sora shook her head again. I sighed and sat down in a chair. You sat slumped in the chair next to me. I looked at the monitor.
'Life readings: 3'
".........Huh?"
Three? I wondered why. Only You, Sara and I were left in LeMU... And Sora...the bio scan shouldn't pick her up...
"What does this mean? Sora?"
"I...I don't know... I know that something is happening... But I haven't been informed what..."
"........."
I stood up from the chair. Just then, my elbow bumped an empty can on the table.
Kabang!
Clatter, clatter, clatter....
The can fell to the floor and rolled to the wall.
"...Is the floor...?"
(The floor is tilting!)
"Hey, Sora, can you display the map of LeMU? Something that has a cross-sectional display of the structure."
"Yes."
"It's like I thought... LeMU is...slanting..."
But the tilt of the complex didn't really mean anything. Thankfully it didn't look like it was affecting our chances of survival.
"...................................."
"You...?"
You was completely spaced out. It didn't even look like my voice was reaching her brain.... It seemed that the light from this world had been extinguished from her eyes.
[Music—Stop]
Video: Kid/You – Amrta I
From this wiki footnote: ‘A specific example might be that nirvana is 'amrta', or the deathlessness [in Buddhism], but it is important that this refers to the nectar that confers immortality upon gods [in Hinduism]’
Since that time, we hadn't slept at all. I was starting to feel badly again. A headache, dizziness, nausea and coldness felt like they were seeping from deep in the core of my body. I felt a dull, severe fatigue sweep over me...I was only half-conscious. Exhaustion...I had reached my limit. But I tried to keep my energy from being sapped away. Surrounded by darkness...and endless fear, we had fought our way this far... And there was no sign that things were going to get better. Communication lines with the outside were still down. And... We had yet to find a clue leading to possible escape.
Track—Drittestock
Our optimistic leader that helped us through the days of distress was nowhere to be seen. Someone had to save her... But who? Of course, it was up to me. At this point, I was the only person who could help her. Yet still...
‘Yeah, I promise.’
"Uh, Sora...?"
"Yes, what can I do for you?"
"I'm sorry to ask, but could you leave me alone with You for a second?"
"Certainly."
"When we're done I'll call you."
"Okay."
"I'm really sorry."
"Please, don't worry about it."
"Thanks."
[Music—Stop]
Sora vanished. All traces of her completely disappeared. Sora, who had no dimensional limits, had removed herself from our field of vision. Now then... Before continuing, I went to set the coffee machine to make fresh coffee.
"You? You're drinking coffee, right?"
"........."
Ignoring her lack of response, I set it to prepare two cups. Then I sat down beside her.
Track—Heilmittel
"About your mother...I mean, I don't know what to say but... Don't you think you it's important to talk things over with her?"
"........."
"There may have been some reason why she did what she did... Look, she did say she'd explain everything once you're back on the floating island. So..."
"How dare you say that...like you know how this feels."
"........."
"There's nothing left for me to say to her. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore... I don't care what happens..."
"Look, we've still got to find a way to escape this place...somehow."
"Yeah, why?"
"Because I made you a promise."
"How are you going to keep it? Do you have some great plan to get us out of here?"
"Well that's...what I want to figure out..."
"I bet..."
"Look, we have to survive. You, over these last seven days, I've learned so much from you. In so many ways I can't even begin to count. But out of everything I've learned from you, the most important thing is... How to live. You have to live life to the fullest - that's what you've taught me."
"........."
"So I want to put that lesson into practice. I want to live! To the fullest, to the end!"
It was a heartfelt plea.
"Listen, Kid..."
"Yeah?"
"What does it mean... to live, anyway?"
"...Well, living means... To learn and to know, I think."
A child is born in innocence...gains knowledge through the years...only to forget it all when it is old...and dies. Over the previous seven days, my life had been filled with things that I had learned. From amnesia and emptiness my life began. But looking back over the last seven days, there was one more thing...
"I also think that to live also means...to lose something."
They say "nothing ventured, nothing gained," but to gain something you must lose something. Like me losing the past by losing my memory. Even though I had lost much...I had also gained...
"To learn? To lose something?"
"So you're saying, that we live only to get hurt?"
"...Maybe. I don't know."
"Well... If living means to be hurt... Then I've had enough... I've had more than my share of hurt. And I've had enough of life...so..."
"H-hey, wait a second! What are you trying to say, You...! You're not saying you want to die...?"
"............"
"...You can't be serious! What the hell's that all about!? I can't believe you're saying that! It's not like you at all! What happened to the You a little while ago... who was so ready to get out of here? What happened to that You?"
".........."
"Come on, what gives...? What came over you all of a sudden...? Why do you think you were born anyway...!?"
"Stop it... Would you stop with the stupid, two-bit sermon... "
"No, it's you who's talking stupid... All this selfish crap, as if your life belongs only to you!"
"That's not what I was thinking! I don't think that, it's just... All this time, the mother who I thought brought me into this world...she's gone."
"But that other lady said she was your real mother."
"Well she's obviously lying!"
"How do you know?"
"Because..."
"Don't you think that's a little pointless right now?"
"........."
"I mean, you do understand, don't you...? That until you hear her side of the story...you can't go jumping to conclusions."
"........."
"I think you should live the best life you can, for all the people around you who care about you. For your mother...and for Sara and Takeshi as well... And for me..."
Video: Kid/You - Amrta II
"...For you?"
"I said it before, but there's so much that I've learned from you. I'm so very grateful to you. Really."
"........."
"You, you're a friend, a guardian, a teacher... And... And..."
"......"
I walked back to the coffee machine and poured two cups of coffee.
"You said earlier that you've already lived enough, right? But I don't think it's enough. Because I think there is still stuff you need to learn."
"...you mean about my mother?"
"That's one thing, yes. By the way, how much sugar do you take?"
"Ah, I..."
Not listening, I added two spoonfuls.
"I was thinking...don't you think sugar in coffee reminds you of something?"
"??"
"You know, something that life depends on."
"Huh...?"
"Do you have any idea?"
"I guess not."
"See...that's two things? Things you don't know that you should learn."
"........."
"Makes you want to know, doesn't it?"
"A little...I guess."
"Well, if we get out of here alive, I'll tell you what it is."
I added milk and sugar and carried the two cups over.
"There you go."
"...Thanks."
You took the cup and silently sipped from it.
"How does it taste?"
"........."
Were my feelings... Finally getting across to her?
"It's...very sweet."
She had a clear gentle smile, like the sun shining just after a rain.
Track—Hologramm
The three of us began to discuss new strategies. The walls of LeMU would only hold two more hours at most. Our last possible escape route had been shut off, filling with floodwater just a few hours earlier. All hope of communicating with the outside was gone. The situation had become so desperate that I could no longer expect You or Sora to find an escape route.
"Isn't there anything we can do...?"
You lifted the coffee cup to her lips as she spoke. Her cup now contained only black coffee. She had refilled it herself. Watching her drink I went to take a sip from my own cup, but found it empty. To pour myself more, I walked back to the coffee machine. The machine...was an interesting contraption with a lower chamber containing boiling water heated from an alcohol lamp. The steam from the boiling water was siphoned into the upper chamber through a central pipe.
Siphon...
Siphon......
Siphon.........
[Music—Stop]
"I got it! Sora? Could you show me that cross-sectional diagram again!"
Track—Das Absuchen
"It's an emergency stairwell."
"This area wasn't dry earlier...?"
"No, but I was able to drain it yesterday so... When the flooding started, the watertight doors in the emergency stairwell automatically closed. Therefore, the emergency stairs did not allow water in after it had finished draining. It was thanks to the safety doors closing automatically that Takeshi, Sara and Tsugumi survived."
"How far is it from this room to the emergency stairwell?"
"Really...... 240 feet...huh...? I just want to confirm this but...if you were to climb those emergency stairs, you could escape up to the floating island, right?"
"That is correct."
"And...the safety doors to the emergency stairwell can be opened manually..."
"It is possible."
"S-slow down Kid! What are you saying?"
"What I'm saying is... To escape by going through the emergency stairwell...maybe..."
"There you go again! Coming up with another stupid idea! Look right here! Can't you see the blue color there?"
"So?"
"That means the corridor leading to the emergency stairs is totally under water!"
"Yeah, I know that."
"Come on! You can't be serious... There's no way you're thinking about swimming there, are you?"
"Ah...I think that's the first time I've ever heard you make a mistake. I wasn't going to say that. There's no way I can swim 240 feet underwater!"
"Well, how do you expect to reach the emergency stairs then?"
"Then lets call the Sector 4 emergency stairwell here, 'Staircase B'... And the emergency corridor connecting to 'Staircase A' will be 'Corridor C.'"
"And?"
"The point is, we need to drain the water out of the corridor, right? Once that's done we could just skip our way to 'Staircase A.'"
"You say it as if it is the easiest thing in the world, but... there's no way we can do it if you ask me."
"We can do it!"
"Yeah, how? First of all, there isn't anywhere to drain the floodwater in 'Corridor C.'"
"But there IS a place. The dry area in Sector 4."
"*sigh*... Are you really that dumb? Water only flows from high to low with the help of gravity. This is the third time you've made me say that."
"I know, I know."
"So why do you keep up this stupid argument... What? Are you thinking about scooping out all that water with a bucket?"
"Not scooping it out. Just the opposite."
"Huh?"
"We're going to release the floodwater from Sector 8!"
"........."
"........."
"Sure."
"Wouldn't doing that put this Security Office and the entire surrounding area completely under water...?"
"That's right."
"*sigh*...I should have noticed the warning signs..."
"It's okay. There, there, Kid... There's nothing to worry about now... Everything's going to be okay... I'll take care of you... Now be a good little boy..."
You started patting my head.I snapped with anger.
Video: Kid/You - Amrta III
"Alright then! I'll prove it to you!"
I found a bucket and a clear plastic hose, and drilled a hole in the bucket. Sticking the hose into the hole, I used duct tape to wrap and seal it. I then hunted up two more buckets. With the goods in hand, I returned to the Security Office.
"It's something I threw together to test my idea."
"I don't get it. What does that thing have to do with what we were talking about?"
"Next, the hose part that's filled with water represents Corridor C leading to Staircase A. Finally, the bucket set down low represents the fourth block on the third floor. And the empty hose part hanging down to it is Staircase B. Just to let you know, the bent hose part represents the connecting the corridor joining up Corridor C with Staircase B, okay?"
"Uh...okay. I got you so far...so then what?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Alright! Let the draining begin!"
"????"
"Remember what I said earlier?"
"I think you said...'We're going to release the floodwater from Sector 8, right?"
"So let's release it."
Glug, glug, glug...
In no time at all, the top bucket was full.
Except for a negligible amount left in the hose, all the water from the top bucket drained completely to the lower bucket.
"This is how a siphon works."
"........."
"Okay, let's prove this one more time by looking at the map."
"So we can assume that all these areas are protected from outside seawater. Isn't that right, Sora?"
"Yes."
"What will happen if we simultaneously open all the watertight doors in this submerged area in Sector 8 of Zweite stock...this room without any cracks or damage...?"
"So an enormous amount of water is going to flow into Corridor C?"
"And then, what next?"
"The water accumulated in Corridor C will drain into the dry area in Sector 4?"
"And then what will happen?"
"Probably something like your experiment just now... All the water in Corridor C, as well as Sector 8, will flow into Sector 4, I guess."
"Yep, that's the plan."
"But do you really think it'll work?"
"It's a hell of a lot better than nothing. I'm pretty sure it'll work."
[Music—Stop]
Track—Tief Blau
"Sure."
According to the color-coded map on the monitor, Zweite stock's Sector 8 and Corridor C had changed to green. The color green meant it was a dry area. Meaning the drainage...had worked perfectly.
"There is very little time left before the estimated implosion time. You must hurry."
"Yeah, we know."
"Well, be careful."
"...Huh? What about you, Sora? You're not coming?"
"Listen Kid. Sora.... She can't leave LeMU."
"........."
"...What?"
"Have you forgotten? I am an RSD-generated image.... I'm just a computer program."
"........."
"I am not able to join you. So I wanted to say goodbye and wish you the best of luck."
"Sora..."
"Every encounter must have a parting. And even if I accompanied you as far as the floating island, we would eventually have to say goodbye there. In my case, the parting comes a little earlier than with everyone else."
"But..."
"Kid, think about it like this. When you go to visit a friend's house... When it's time to leave, the friend may see you to the door, but the friend can't accompany you home, right? This place... LeMU is...my home."
"We'll meet again, won't we?"
"Yes. I am here, and I am also elsewhere at the same time. Even if the 'me' here disappears, the 'me' there will still go on existing."
"Don't talk about disappearing."
"Heh, heh. This is merely an example, you see. Don't worry. I'm sure that, yourself, You and I will meet again. And it may be sooner than you think..."
"Do you promise?"
"Yes."
"It's a promise then?"
"Yes, it's a promise."
Looking over Sora's shoulder at the monitor, I could see the number of life readings displayed there.
Giving a wave to the smiling Sora as she saw us off, we climbed the stairs to the emergency corridor.
"Hey, I was just thinking but..."
"What about?"
"Surely Sora isn't planning to take responsibility for the accident by dying here..."
"Don't be stupid...Sora doesn't plan to sacrifice herself."
"Sora, you know, is different from us."
"No way! Sora's not..."
"Umm...I don't mean it that way, umm..."
"Anyway, what you're worried about isn't going to happen to her."
"How can you be so sure? Maybe that's the way Leiblich programmed her?"
"...*sigh* Here we go again... Listen, this is what I heard from Mayo, but..."
"Before, when she was hacking the source data, Mayo said she rewrote one line of code. In Sora's programming there is a priority list of preferential actions. Mayo rewrote one of these."
"What was that?"
"She must protect above all else...herself. She must value herself most."
Video: Kid/You - Amrta IV
"Alright, I'm going to open it!"
"Okay."
You put her hand on the door's handle.
"Come on! Help me turn it!"
"Oh...right."
Together we gripped the handle. It was then that it happened!
[Music—Stop]
Claaaaang...
A sudden metallic sound resounded behind us. I turned around quickly.
Track—Drittes Auge Nehmen
"Ah!"
At the end of the corridor...stood the girl. Our eyes met. And then a name flashed in my mind, as clear as a bell.
"...Coco!"
"Huh!? Coco...who's Coco!?"
Turning on her heels, Coco ran off in the other direction. I turned to chase after her. But You grabbed my arm, holding me back.
"C'mon, let go! There's still someone here! We can't just leave her here!"
"You're just imagining things! Forget about it!"
The walls began to creak and groan. Here and there, water began to leak in.
"Cocoooo!"
"Kid! Stop!"
You came dashing after me. Through the voice alternator came Sora's warning voice.
"The pressure on the partitions has increased beyond their limit! You must return quickly!"
"No way!"
"How long!? How much longer will they hold?"
"10 to 15 minutes! But there is no way to be sure. The wall could collapse at any moment!"
For one instant, I saw the back of the girl. She continued to running down the corridor. With all my strength, I burst after her.
With the help of the pale lights I kept up chase.
I ran and ran with all my power.
It was there that I caught up to her.
I had caught her.
"Come on, we're going together!"
The girl shook her head. Inching forward, I pressed close to her. But to my surprise...!
"...Huh!?"
Script is funky here for some odd reason. It should read as “After a moment...As if being absorbed into the door, the girl disappeared...”
"Whew! I finally caught up with you..."
"And? What about the girl, or whatever?"
"............"
I stood there as if in a trance. Coming back to myself, I tried to open the door to HIMMEL. But the door wouldn't budge.
"Sora! Open this door!"
"That is impossible. That door is out of my jurisdiction."
I pounded on the door.
"Coco—!"
Ssssssss—!
From the surface of the walls, water began to gush in.
"Less than five minutes left! They won't hold much longer!"
[Announcement]
"Emergency warning...all patrons in the park...and all staff...are advised to evacuate immediately. Five minutes...until...implosion."
The announcement repeated itself in German, French, and Japanese.
"Damn it! Open up! Open this door!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! I struck with my fists.
"Open up—————!!"
"Listen, Kid, you've got to snap out of it! Wake up!!"
"Ugh...!!"
I pounded fiercely against the door again with my clinched fists. But no matter how hard I tried, it was in vain.
(Is she just...just my imagination? If I keep this up, what's going to happen to You...?)
I thought that You would die if I don't do something!
"........."
[Music—Stop]
"Kid...?"
"I'm so sorry...You."
I strained to speak, squeezing out my words.
"OKAY, LET'S GO!"
I reached out my hand to You.
"Whew, finally..."
You gave my hand a squeeze back.
"........."
One last time, I looked back at the door... And then turned and ran with all my might. We sprinted as hard as our legs would carry us. Splashing through the water as it gushed like a waterfall, I ran with everything I had, You's hand gripped tightly in mine.
[Announcement]
"Three minutes...until...implosion."
Track—IBF Notfall
[Announcement]
"Two minutes...until...implosion."
We applied our strength together and pushed open the emergency stairwell door.
[Announcement]
"One minute...until...implosion."
In the distance the sign read Erste boden. First floor! Just 50 more feet!
[Announcement]
"Thirty seconds... Twenty seconds... Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven..."
We ran toward the final door...
Clink, clank. Clink, clank.
The door...the door would not open!
[Announcement]
"Six, Five, Four, Three...Two...One......"
The darkness was pierced by a ferocious sound... Like the roar of a dragon. Or possibly...the last agonizing cry before death.
[Music—Stop]
Track—Wiedergeburt
The morning sun stained the sky, land and ocean... It was the first time we had laid eyes on the blue sky and bright sunlight in seven days!
It appeared as if they were pretending to swordfight with a couple of sticks. Apparently, Takeshi had been routed by Sara's sword. I gazed dreamily at the two as they played. Tsugumi was nowhere to be seen. After the escape, she had disappeared. And as for You...?
Her eyes misted with tears... It was her first time to see the sun in seven days. Long shadows, from her figure and mine, cast at length behind us. Yes, we had successfully escaped from that water entrenched labyrinth.
"I kept my promise...don't you think?"
I turned and asked You.
"Well, the first one at least."
You kept her gaze on the rising sun as she answered. The first one... To protect her. And the second?
"The thing that reminds you about life, sugar in coffee."
"Ah...that..."
"The thing that life depends on, didn't you say?"
"Uh, huh."
"You promised to tell me."
"Okay, in that case let me ask you. What are some things on which life depends?"
"Water, air, food, housing, clothing...money..."
"Okay, what else?"
"Knowledge, maybe."
"Well, I guess there's that, too. Humans can't live forever in innocence, though. To live comfortably, humans also need certain impurities, things that are granted by knowledge. I guess you could compare those things with the milk you put in coffee. But there's one more thing... Like the sugar in coffee, we need one more thing..."
"What could it be?"
"How does sugar taste?"
"Sweet."
"It's a wonderful taste, right? So humans...can never live entirely alone."
"????"
"You still don't get it? People can only know sweetness when they join together... Love."
And I pulled her close to me. You buried her face in my chest. From You's long hair I could smell her fragrance. The fragrance of sunlight.
"It is sweet...isn't it."
The sun, my sun, which was clear and fresh, flowing with brilliance... Tinged with sweetness the smell of spring enveloped us completely.