()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>15</BIN><narrator><BGM>10213</BGM><回忆>:A year ago, Massegis Pass, captured enemy command center.
()||:"All is meaningless."+Time and time again, she hears Annett mutter beside her.+With a trembling hand, she takes out her pocket watch, the instrument reading 08:35.
NPC-Lae(0)<Speaker>？？？</Speaker>||:...
NPC-Reynard(0)<Speaker>Captain Reynard</Speaker>||:Position successfully captured, mission complete.+We can all go home now.
NPC-Lae(2)<Speaker>？？？</Speaker>||:Ha... +Is that so?
()||<SE1>AVG_21Winter_Phone_Crash</SE1>:Laughing bitterly with mockery in her voice, she slams the watch towards the solid wall.
()||:Time would stop at this very moment.
NPC-Reynard(0)<Speaker>Captain Reynard</Speaker>||:Why do this?
NPC-Lae(0)<Speaker>？？？</Speaker>||:Captain Reynard...
()||:She takes aim at Captain Reynard.
NPC-Lae(0)<Speaker>？？？</Speaker>||:Put down the gun. Hands up.
NPC-Reynard(0)<Speaker>Captain Reynard</Speaker>||:...
()||:The Captain's figure freezes for a few seconds, slowly releasing their grip on the gun in their hand.
NPC-Reynard(0)<Speaker>Captain Reynard</Speaker>||:Do you know what you are doing?
NPC-Lae(0)<Speaker>？？？</Speaker>||:...
()||<黑屏1>:The soldier tightens their lips, making clear their resolve with action.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN><SE1>AVG_rifle_finalshot_n</SE1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Bang—
()||<黑屏1>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>463</BIN><narrator><BGM>GF_22W_BGM_1</BGM>:This is my story.+It resides in the depths of my neural cloud, and I speak not of it, but never has it gone forgotten.+Like a fallen leaf trapped between the pages of a book—when one happens upon it, even after years, it evokes memories of that afternoon, burning with the vivacity of a flame, clear as if it was yesterday. +Even if that leaf would be stained brown by time, and even if I could never return to that afternoon. +How everything started should perhaps be told... from that moment.
()||<黑屏1>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>159</BIN>:It is some distance from the frontline, but the ephemeral smell of smoke permeates the air regardless.+I put down the gun in my hand, watching the slaughter before me with some degree of appreciation.+Five T-Dolls newly dispatched here from HQ encircled a human, cautiously choosing their method of approach. +After a mere few dozen minutes, with the help of infrared imaging, we pinned down the target within the ruins. +Getting hands on her, however, would take another few dozen.
()<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:Don't hit too hard. I want them alive.
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid1</Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Punch</SE1>:<color=#20B2AA>Yes!</color>
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid2</Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Slap</SE1>:<color=#20B2AA>This damn human...</color>
()||:I silently observe the cornered yet composed target. She is clearly an expert in the ways of concealing oneself, is bound to have plenty of experience in hunting in the wilderness, and knows how to avoid the searching methods employed by military T-Dolls. +Adding an individual such as this to the retinue would doubtless greatly increase the chances of success in the mission ahead.
NPC-Lae(0)<Speaker>？？？</Speaker>||:...
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid3</Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Combat_Hits</SE1>:<color=#ffcc00>Get her!</color>
()||:With just a moment of inattention, the target was restrained on the ground, only able to struggle meaninglessly. +I approach this problematic lady, intent on observing her. +A woman, adult of age. Bewilderment is written all over her face, surely apropos of the stimulus she received just moments earlier. She hid no weapons on her body, and her attire was that of a fleeing civilian. +From her display just then, however, she was obviously far more than that.
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid2</Speaker>||:<color=#99cc33>Report, she's a deserter; we found a military ID on her!</color>
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Lae Fritsch...
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:I took into my hands the woman's ID, reading the name on it.
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid2</Speaker>||:<color=#99cc33>Out with it. Which division did you belong to? Why desert?</color>+<color=#99cc33>Don't you know how the rules are around here and how deserters are all executed on the spot?!</color>
NPC-Lae(1)<Speaker>Lae</Speaker>||:...Hahaha.
()||<SE1>Rope</SE1>:Affixed to the ground by several T-Dolls, she starts to chuckle as if such circumstances were of no concern.
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid4</Speaker>||:<color=#808000>You want it the hard way?!</color>
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid3</Speaker>||:<color=#ffcc00>Where's your squad? Where is what's left of it?!</color>
()||<SE1>AVG_Combat_Hits</SE1>:A rigid gun stock slams into her body. The woman named Lae left the most vulnerable parts of her body unprotected, tightly clutching her coat's pockets.
()<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:Enough.
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid1</Speaker>||:<color=#20B2AA>Captain, do we put one in her head, or should we hang her up by the roadside as an example to all the others?</color>
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker><同时置暗>||:No. Allow her to return to her unit.
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid1</Speaker>||:<color=#20B2AA>What?! But...</color>
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker><同时置暗>||:We'll leave the matter of desertion to the Wayfarer's Court. +We are in need of competent soldiers to structure a counter-offensive. The Doll squad has already torn a hole in the enemy's lines for us, and this opportunity is not to be squandered.
()||:I crouch down beside Lae, who rapidly drew breath on the ground. I procure an old pocket watch from that pouch she protected so dearly. +The workmanship could be stated to be fine, but the base's glass has been worn down with time, and the hands no longer work their magic. Nothing of value. +Seeing the watch in my hands, however, prompts a low roar from Lae, still powerless in her futile endeavors.
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Sentry Droid2</Speaker>||:<color=#99cc33>I think she is highly dangerous, and may attack...</color>
NPC-Soldier(0)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker><同时置暗>||:I will be sure to keep that in mind.+Now, soldier, stand up. Return to your post.
NPC-Lae(0)<Speaker>Lae</Speaker>||:...+Your voice... it's familiar.
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The woman slowly clambers to her feet, her eyes meeting mine, intricate emotions surging through those orbs. +Not unlike a once-wooded forest at night, disturbed by a mad gale, revealing the life that dwelt beneath.
()||<黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>313</BIN><narrator><关闭蒙版>:Today, the town of Falzheim, at a bar.
()||<BGM>GF_EV9_Story</BGM>:Night has yet to fully set, and the better part of the bar's seats remain empty. +I drag my finger across the orbs of water coalesced on the cup in front of me's exterior, waiting for the Commander to speak.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:So, all of this started with you saving a deserter?
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:I thought as much, yes.
98k(3)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:I've heard little of this campaign that ended a year ago, but as the files would tell me, this campaign expended a terrifying amount of resources. +Such a minor strategic point, and yet such a fierce battle...
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:A trivial matter, all things considered. Few paid attention to it, and it is no fault of yours that you did not know of it.
98k(3)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:The search engine's returning mostly things about a captain named "Reynard Renfield."
()||:The Commander sat in silence for but a second, observing my reaction.
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:I went out of my way to confirm. Her status is still MIA.
()||:I smiled slightly, partaking of the beverage in front of me, allowing the beer's freshening taste to wash over its ever-so-slightly bitter scent. +Seeing that I did not mean to speak, the Commander placed a photocopy of something on the table. It was a copy of a postcard depicting the likeliness of a pocket watch, pointing towards the time of 08:55.
()||<narrator>:My Dearest Soldier, +It has been an entire year since the campaign for the Massegis Pass, and I must thank you again most sincerely for your extraordinary contributions to that offensive. +As such, I would like to cordially invite you to the celebratory event happening today in PFalzheim.+And at the same time, to fulfill the request I made of you. +Regards, Captain Reynard Renfield
()<Speaker>Commander</Speaker>||:Anything you'd like to tell me?
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:Shouldn't you tell me first why you have a photocopy of a personal belonging of mine, Commander?
98k(3)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Well, this... +I was worried about you... Since you disappeared from the base without a sound and everything...
()||:As the Commander enters a seldom-seen state of dismay, it took me a great deal of effort to hold back the urge to laugh.
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:Chances were it was MP41, right?
98k(3)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:...+Let's get back on topic. Kar, your files indicate that you once served under that Captain. Did you leave the base today to see her?
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:...
98k(3)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Your modifications were scheduled for today. Did you dodge it on purpose to meet Captain Reynard here in the form they would recognize?
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:The story's only just begun. Are you in such a hurry to skip to conclusions, Commander?
98k(3)<Speaker>Commander</Speaker><同时置暗>||:No, let's leave that for last.
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:We are in accord, it seems.
()||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Cheers</SE1>:Raising the glass once more in toast, my memory returns to that smog-suffused afternoon.
98k(3)<Speaker>Kar98k</Speaker>||:Though there are a million ways to tell this story, I think it's best to start from Lae. +When we first met, we didn't get along well at all...
()||<黑屏1>: