()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BIN>260</BIN><黑屏2><BGM>GF_xGS2_27</BGM>:I lean Henrietta gently against the back of the bench. +Even though she looks endearing as she sleeps, I have a mission that I must complete. +Having gone through the first Vita, I now have a general idea of the rules of this place. +The neural clouds of the Cyborgs that inhabit this space are all waiting for their own Handler's return, but those accounts haven't logged in since a long time ago for some reason. +Our Dolls somehow wandered into this space and became a part of the Vitas in here, but there is some kind of malfunction in said stories. +In addition, their neural clouds will be trapped inside forever if the stories aren't resolved. +Now that I hold all the key information, the rest shouldn't be too difficult. +Since the whole thing isn't a calculated attack, all I have to do is help these girls dream their sweet dreams. +To be honest, knowing their circumstances, I can't really bring myself to harm them in any way.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Kalin, I'm about to head to the next Vita.</color>
NPC-Kalin(0)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Alright. I'm running a full diagnostic on Cano's neural cloud.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Found any clues?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>All her memories in the Vita are still intact. Nothing strange happened in there, but there is no record of how she ended up in the Vita in the first place.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>All I can find is the part where they were gathered around a pizza in the dormitory.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>...It got deleted?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Dolls don't have the authorization to edit their own memories, so that leaves only one possibility.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>So someone is behind this after all?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>With the amount of information we have so far, that's the only assumption we can make.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>I see... But if someone's doing this deliberately, what do you think they're after?</color> +<color=#00CCFF>The Cyborgs we've met so far don't seem to have any ulterior motive.</color>
NPC-Kalin(4)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>I don't know even if you ask me...</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Still, we haven't been in there for long, so there must still be plenty to find out.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Anyway, I'll keep investigating. Maybe I'll be able to gather more clues.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Please do that.</color>
NPC-Kalin(0)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Leave that to me~</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Now hurry onto the next Vita. You might find something new, too. The faster we get this done, the sooner we can all go home with our Dolls.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Of course, tell me anytime if you run into any kind of trouble. I'll be enjoying your play-acting.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>...Sheesh.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Well, off I go then.</color>
()||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM><黑屏1>:I rise quietly. Henrietta's chest is still rising and falling evenly.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN><BGM>GF_xGS2_16</BGM>:I slip out of the garden, careful not to wake her from her dreams. +Playing the part of the Handler that Henrietta trusts and respects is much more challenging than I'd thought. Even though I'm not in her company at the moment, I'm still hyperaware of my own behavior. +I look towards the building I had entered not too long ago. Now that Henrietta has shown me the ropes, I think I can figure out how to find my way into the next Vita. +The hall is still absolutely pitch dark, but I can perceive something calling out to me on a subconscious level. +I close my eyes and walk forward in the dark, feeling my way towards the invisible door. +I copy what Henrietta did and let myself be absorbed into the portal. I sense myself passing through, then I lose my center of gravity and hurtle into another realm of darkness.
()||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM><黑屏1>:Space seems to have lost all meaning. I can't tell if I'm falling or rising. After god knows how long, I can finally feel the earth firmly beneath my feet.
()<Speaker>???</Speaker>||<BGM>GF_xGS2_27</BGM>:Excuse me, Signore. Are you feeling well?
()||:Someone seems to be talking to me. As the voice grows clearer, my surroundings also start registering inside my head. +The scene has finished manifesting itself at last. I'm sitting at a dining table.
()<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:Signore, can you hear me?
()||<BIN>139</BIN><睁眼>:I squint at the sudden brightness, but I can gradually make better sense of what I'm seeing. +My table is by the window; the sun is just high enough to shine pass the roofs onto my face. +The rest of the sunshine illuminates the table before me and casts glistening patches of light through the glass. +It feels like a warm and pleasant afternoon.
()<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:Did you fall asleep?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Hmm?
()||:I'm jolted out of my disorientation. I look towards the voice and see a blonde girl with beautiful eyes dressed in a waitress' uniform.
()<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:Are you awake now? +Is there anything I could help you with?
()||:I freeze. I did not expect her to appear right in front of me just like that. +I rub my eyes and rack my brains, trying to recall what I've read. +This girl is indubitably the Cyborg I'm looking for.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Rico?
()||:The name slips out almost instantly, probably due to shock.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Huh?
()||:Rico looks confused for a second, but she maintains her professional and polite smile. +I regret that immediately. I shouldn't have called a girl I've never met by her first name – I might as well have written "SUSPICIOUS WEIRDO" on my forehead.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Um, have we met before?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:(Clears throat) ...Sorry. +I'm probably still a bit sleep-addled. +Where am I?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:This is the Villa Gaddi, a hotel. If you aren't feeling well, would you like me to escort you back to your room?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:I'm fine, just a little tired. Besides, I'd like to sit here for a while.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:I see. +Then shall I get you a coffee?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Yes, please. Sorry about that.
()||:Rico gives me a small bow and walks away, and I take the opportunity to organize my thoughts. +I take another look around. This is quite a fancy restaurant in a high-class hotel. I can see the concierge beyond the entrance. +From the way Rico just reacted to me, my current identity as "Jean" doesn't seem to mean anything to her. +Is it just like what happened to Angelica? Have her memories of being in a Fratello also been wiped? +If I manage to fix that and drive the story forward, will I be able to solve the problem in this Vita? +Unlike last time though, the Doll with the hijacked neural cloud hasn't shown herself yet, so I have no idea how she's affecting this story. Come to think of it, I don't even know who exactly it is that got stuck in this Vita.
()||:I glance out of the window offhandedly...and lock eyes with someone familiar.
SPAS12(4)<Speaker>SPAS-12</Speaker>||:(Chuckles)
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:SPAS?
()||:I jump to my feet, ready to run after her, bur Rico is already back at my table with a serving cart. +I only took my eyes off the figure outside for a brief second, but she has already disappeared into the crowd and is nowhere to be found.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Signore, your coffee is ready.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:It smells quite extraordinary. I don't smell coffee like that very often.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Oh, have you noticed? +I just brewed this ristretto myself. I apologize for taking so long. +You seemed rather drowsy so I took the liberty to serve you something more invigorating.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Is... that so? +Much appreciated. I'll help myself then.
()||:The aroma of coffee is overpowering. I take a small sip. It tastes quite bitter, but is surprisingly nostalgic. It reminds me of how my coffee tasted like when I went to the café with my first crush back when I was still a student. +The warmth spreads rapidly through my body, then comes the relaxation. Coupled with the mild sunlight, I feel like I don't have to think or worry about anything... If only this tranquil afternoon could last forever. +I pour just a dash of milk into the ristretto and stir it with the spoon. The foam starts swirling in the demitasse cup and gradually blends into the coffee. +Rico stares intensely at the demitasse in my hand with a peculiar look in her eyes.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Is something the matter with the coffee?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Uh, no... It's nothing. +I just find this scene...exceptionally real.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Real?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:I apologize for saying something so strange, Signore...
()||:Rico looks at me, then she looks down at her feet. Finally, she musters the courage to step forward.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Um, may I ask you a question...?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:What do you want to know?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Is your name, by any chance, "Jean"?
()||:I freeze again. Maybe she does know the owner of this account? +But if her memories are intact, why would she be waitressing here?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Your face...seems to imply that I'm right.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:You're a keen one.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:So it's true...
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:What's true?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:I had a hunch that a familiar person would show up today, and as usual, my intuition came true not long afterwards. +I can sense that you're the familiar person, and I just suddenly had this feeling that your name might be "Jean". +So am I right?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Hmm... +You can indeed call me Jean.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:I knew it! +Is that also how you know my name?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:...You could say that. +I knew you were "Rico" the moment I saw you.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:T-That's great! +I couldn't believe it was true so I never dared tell anyone. +I never dreamed that there'd be someone like me. Is that why things feel so real when I see you?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Is your intuition akin to something like a premonition?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Not exactly... +Actually, I'm not too sure either, but whenever I want something to happen, it ends up happening. +If I have to explain it, I guess I'd say it's the ability to make my wishes come true?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Make your wishes come true?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:That's right... No matter what it is I wish for, it will eventually come true exactly how I want it to. +But maybe it's just an illusion because my life is so good. +Also, when I first saw you, for some reason I really wanted to tell you that I'm very happy now, that I love the life I'm living. +Oh, sorry. This must be very abrupt coming from a waitress...
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:No, feel free to speak your mind.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:You're a very kind man, Signore Jean... Even your kindness feels so familiar... +I'm sorry, I know this is a very strange thing for me to say, but I have a feeling that you can definitely understand.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:And why is that?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:I don't know... Just as I have no idea why I know your name either. +Somehow I think if I tell you about my life, you might be able to solve the mystery. Would you like to hear me out?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Please, I'd like to know more.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:O-Okay! +So...I usually go to school, and I do my part-time job delivering parcels on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. The man who sorts the deliveries always gives me the smaller ones since I'm scrawny and tend to struggle with big packages.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:He sounds really nice.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:He is, so sometimes I'll bring him cookies that I baked myself. He's always very happy to get them.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:What a lucky man.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Haha... Then in the evening, after I get off work, I take violin lessons with my music teacher. Signora Ferro is very strict, but she says I have talent and urges me to keep practicing. +On the weekend, I work at this hotel. I eat my mother's egg sandwich in the morning before I set off. Since the hotel is in the other direction of my school, I have to head west and cross the Tiber. +It's a long walk across the bridge, but you can see Santa Cecilia's Basilica from the bridge! +Seeing the basilica always makes me shiver in excitement!
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians, so perhaps you really do hold talent for music.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:You think so? +After crossing the bridge, I take the bus from the river bank and it takes just a little over ten minutes to get here. +I was really nervous when I first started; it's a fancy hotel, after all... +But the manager has always treated me well, and the signorinas working here are all very kind. The kitchen even gives me some quality food to take home every now and then.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Isn't that nice?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:It really is... Everything is absolutely perfect. +But the problem is...things always go exactly as I expect them to. Whenever I'm worried or encounter any problem, someone always comes along and helps me out. +No matter what it is I want, I can have it not long after – without having to work for it.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:That's pretty enviable.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:But this kind of life is TOO happy – so happy it doesn't feel real. +Sometimes I just can't help but feel troubled. It bothers me to think that I don't actually belong in such a happy life... +That everything here is just an ephemeral dream, and it will all disappear the moment I wake up.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:...
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:I'm not certain if I even deserve such a life. +Signore Jean, is this life of mine normal?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Hmm... I'd say you're slightly more fortunate than children around your age. +But that's probably just because you're surrounded by people who love you.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Really...? Every time I feel anxious, they all tell me I worry too much and reassure me that my life is pretty ordinary. +But no matter what they say, it still doesn't feel real or substantial.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:An ordinary life is worth more than anything. Young people often forget this and only realize they've let their simple happiness slip away when they're grown up, long after it's too late. +The fact that you cherish ordinary life makes you a very clever child, Rico.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:But that's different... What I'm feeling is a strange kind of fear... +I'm afraid that everything I see is a sham, that one day it will all come crashing down. +I feel this scary emptiness, but I don't want to lose the happy life I have either...
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Don't worry, you'll always live a happy life.
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:Really? +Even if this happy life of mine isn't truly real?
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Haven't you just said it yourself, that you don't ever want to lose this happiness of yours?
Rico(2)<Speaker>Rico</Speaker>||:If that's what you think, Signore Jean, then it must be so. You've put my mind at ease.
()||:...
()||:She gives me another small bow and pushes the serving cart away. +I watch as she takes her leave and take another sniff at the uniquely bold aroma of the ristretto. +It really does smell of happiness that's one-of-a-kind, a scent that could only be created by a girl who lives in happiness. +Seeing her so happy, even for just a short while, has made me deeply gratified.
()||:However, the problem still remains. There is a mission that I must complete.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Kalin, are you there?</color>
NPC-Kalin(0)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Yep, been here the whole time, Commander.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>You heard the conversation?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Yes...that child seems completely different from the Rico in the files.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>If she had been born healthy, would she have lived a happy life like this?</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Contemplating the hypothetical would solve nothing. All we can do is overcome whatever misfortune life throws at us and make the most out of what we have.</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>True... If we can make the world a better place, perhaps the children in the future will get to live in more fortunate circumstances.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>That's why we need to get our Dolls back.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>I saw SPAS looking at me outside the window. Did you see her too?</color>
NPC-Kalin(4)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Really? I didn't notice at all.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Was it just my imagination...?</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Other than Rico, you must've found something else that's odd.</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Indeed... The cars and pedestrians outside the window may appear random, but there's actually a pattern to their movements.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Besides, not a single person can be seen if you look farther into the distance.</color>
NPC-Kalin(0)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Hmm... I have a feeling this space hasn't been fully constructed. All the people and things that move can also be found on the route that Rico just described, as if they're just projected from her memory.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Everything here is just a very basic visual simulation. I would even say it resembles someone's dreamscape more than a virtual space on Level II.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>A dreamscape...? In other words, we aren't even in Rico's Vita.</color>
NPC-Kalin(0)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>I've been scanning this space for a while...and I just got the result. The space that you're inhabiting is a simulation WITHIN the Vita's simulation.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>A simulation within a simulation? Isn't that still just a simulation?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>It's like walking into a WcMonald's with a KXD signboard. They're both fast food restaurants, but completely different.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Thanks for the plain metaphor...</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Hmm... I might be able to remove the simulation.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Huh? But didn't you say you can't interfere with the subroutine from the outside?</color>
NPC-Kalin(0)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Theoretically, that's true. However, this simulation doesn't seem to be the creation of this Vita's authorized user... I can detect our Doll's algorithms in the source code.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>You mean this simulation is generated using a Doll's computational capability?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>That's right, everything is a simulation.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Even the Rico you saw might not be the real Rico.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>That wasn't her?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>They may look the same, but that doesn't mean they're the same person. That girl has a very different disposition from the Rico in our files.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Since this whole place is a simulation, this "Rico" is most definitely part of it.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Is that so...</color>
NPC-Kalin(0)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>It's like a nice dream.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>The real Rico in this Vita is living an alternate life by harvesting the computation capability of our Doll's neural cloud.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>...So Rico is making the most out of what she has for herself.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>That would explain her confusion.</color>
NPC-Kalin(6)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>If only I could build myself a dream like that...</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Don't start daydreaming. What can we do about this?</color>
NPC-Kalin(3)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Gosh... You're so impatient.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>I've already got that figured out. I can use the Doll's authorization to shut down the processing.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>I doubt the simulation will be able to hold for long without it.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>It'll just disappear...? Won't she be terribly disappointed when she wakes up?</color>
NPC-Kalin(4)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||:<color=#00CCFF>Commander... Don't dwell on that.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>These are all simulations. We can solve the problem without causing any harm to these Cyborgs' neural clouds, but that doesn't mean we should take pity on them.</color> +<color=#00CCFF>Even if you can't steel yourself and do this now, this space will still disappear when we eventually get our Dolls out.</color>
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>I understand... Thanks for the reminder.</color>
()||:I can't actually see Kalina, but I still give her a nod subconsciously.  +If it could be helped, I'd rather that happy Rico live on forever. +But now I remember – an illusion is, after all, an illusion. This kind of simulated happiness is nothing but a pipe dream. +One would only lose themselves indulging in it. This is true for both me and the real Rico.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:<color=#00CCFF>Kalin, tear it down.</color>
NPC-Kalin(4)<Speaker>Kalina</Speaker><通讯框>||<黑屏1>:<color=#00CCFF>Right.</color>
()||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Kalina gives her acknowledgment, and my surroundings start shifting immediately. +Just like when I first entered the invisible door, everything turns indescribably dark. I feel myself falling for an eternity away from that world of warmth and bliss. +There seems to be no end to my descent. It feels like I've been falling for an entire day. Just as I start to think I'm going to be trapped in this darkness forever—
()||:Thud!
()||<SE2>Gunfight</SE2><黑屏1>:I crash onto the ground so heavily it feels as if I've broken into a thousand pieces. +Before I can even orient myself, my ears are assaulted by piercing shrieks and bursts of gunshots.