Operation story: 6-15

Operation

Story

Previous 6-14	Next 6-16
Characters
Doctor Amiya Blaze Frostleaf Jessica Meteorite FrostNova Mr. Yeti #1 Nesti Yeti Squad Member Reunion Caster
Backgrounds
1 2

Before operation

Summary Returning to the time after Doctor and FrostNova fell... The Yeti Squad did not hesitate to cooperate with Rhodes Island in order to save FrostNova.
<Background 1>
12:21 P.M. Ruins of Chernobog "District 14" Sector Surface
Reunion Caster	What the hell? Yeti Squad, why have you stopped firing? What are you waiting for?
Yeti Squad Member A	...Dig out those ruins, huh?
Reunion Caster	Didn't you plant the Originium? Why not collapse the whole plate and wipe out Rhodes Island all at once?
Yeti Squad Member A	Are you kidding? FrostNova is still down there!
Reunion Caster	Then we'll deal with Rhodes Island. You guys keep digging. We'll be right there.
Yeti Squad Member A	Not on this block! The superstructure in this sector is completely shredded. An untrained team fighting here could induce a total collapse!
Reunion Caster	Wiping out Rhodes Island is a top priority. You take care of it.
Yeti Squad Member A	I'm not gonna argue with you. We'll fight what we gotta fight. Who decided on this priority anyway?
Reunion Caster	It's obviously our most important strategic goal.
Yeti Squad Member A	Were you thinking about strategic goals when you vented your anger on the Ursus? We'll do what we can. Give us some space.
Reunion Caster	Did you... communicate with Rhodes Island? You're betraying the Movement!
Yeti Squad Member A	......
Blaze	(What's going on over there?)
Yeti Squad Member A	(I think we have to fight.) If you think communication is tantamount to betrayal then that's your prerogative. With that kind of tactical thinking, it's no wonder you're getting led around by the nose.
Reunion Caster	...Yetis! What are you up to?! We outnumber you a hundred times over, don't be stupid!
Yeti Squad Member A	...Come on, we fought the Ursus Standing Army like a million times, who's getting excited over a big angry mob?
Reunion Caster	Just you wait!
Yeti Squad Member A	(Static) Hey, Rhodes Island. We might have to teach those unruly bastards a lesson. You should probably stay out of it. We don't want to be accused of collaborating with the enemy.
Blaze	Huh? Collaborating? What are you talking about? Amiya, what happened in the ruins, and what's the official party line on it?
Amiya	......Nothing happened. We were fighting Yeti Squad and no other Reunion units joined the battle.
Blaze	Acting? I'm a phenomenal actress. What do you say we put on a show and then take care of these guys in the ensuing chaos?
Yeti Squad Member A	Sounds good to me. What does your captain think?
Amiya	...... Excuse me, sir. How should I call you?
Yeti Squad Member A	...Um, well, you're a really cute girl, but I'm not sure I'm ready for anything like that...
Yeti Squad Member B	Ready for what? What are you thinking?!
Yeti Squad Member A	Oh, sorry. I'm just playing around. You can call me Yeti #1, I guess.
Amiya	All right, Mr. Yeti #1... We've got lives to save, don't we? So let's subdue the Reunion units that could interfere with our rescue mission.
Mr. Yeti #1	Yeah. I'm plenty motivated now.
Blaze	...And where exactly did you get that motivation?

After operation

Summary FrostNova, who was rescued first, did not kill the Doctor, hoping that the two sides would never cross paths again. However, reality can be cruel and unforgiving.
<Background 1>
Amiya	...... (Blaze. I need you to lead the team to seize the advantage.)
Blaze	(You want to organize a raid?)
Amiya	(I'm very worried about our current situation.) (Both we and the Yetis have used our respective skills to locate the Doctor and FrostNova. Thanks to your Arts, they are now safe.) (And... The two are very close. If you can save one, you can save the other.) (There are two things we can't be sure of right now.)
Amiya	(First, who will reach them first...?)
Blaze	(Second, FrostNova's attitude.)
Amiya	(Exactly.) (If we get the initiative, we'll have to subdue FrostNova immediately. But we also have to trade her for Yeti Squad's cooperation.) (That way, we avoid fighting, and also deepen the opportunity for communication.) (But if they get there first...)
Jessica	Um, Amiya, the heartbeat detector found something. We have a position, but we don't know the depth...
Amiya	Right!
[Amiya runs off.]
Blaze	Hey... Wait! Where's the fire? Aww.
Meteorite	As soon as the Doctor comes up, she gets all panicky and forgets herself. I'm not sure if this is a bug in Amiya or a feature...
Blaze	You know, the stuff she just said, that's not like her at all. She came up with it too fast.
Meteorite	At least she didn't come around to a sneak attack. This one's on us.
Blaze	Not quite. If we ambushed them, the Yetis would just fight to the death. I'm here to rescue you all, not cause more casualties. She didn't give up on her winning outcome.
Meteorite	...I guess I should apologize. It's the mercenary in me.
Blaze	You didn't do it, did you? Keeping a level head after her victories and keeping to her tactical goals are what makes me trust Amiya as field commander. I'm gonna go check on the Yetis.
Meteorite	Huh?
<Background fades out and in>
Yeti #1	This structure... It's so complicated. It makes my head hurt.
Yeti Squad Member B	Describe it to me and I'll draw it up.
Yeti #1	Huh? I didn't even finish my eighth grade textbook in middle school. Give me a break.
Yeti Squad Member B	What did you do instead of class again?
Yeti #1	I went to train. Why not let Nesti try? He's got some Arts, doesn't he?
Yeti Squad Member B	He's all about reciting poetry and writing essays. That's not your structural probing business. Well, why not try to express it through numbers?
Yeti #1	Good idea. I'm okay at math. Let's try it.
Yeti Squad Member B	Does it feel hot to you?
Yeti #1	No. I'm wearing this thick heavy thing and even so I still feel Sister's Originium freezing my skin off... Oh. Hi, Rhodes Island cat.
Blaze	Sorry, but when I sweat, the air around me heats up, and then I just keep sweating. Thanks to you guys, I'm feeling a lot cooler than usual.
Yeti Squad Member B	Are you nervous?
Blaze	A little. I never thought I'd be working with the enemy.
Yeti Squad Member B	For now, at least, we aren't enemies. After digging out our Sister, we'll do what she says. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Blaze	...You guys really aren't anything like the other Reunion folks.
Yeti Squad Member B	You think the rest of Reunion is all the same? Are you and the bunny the same?
Blaze	Hey, yeah. Good point. We've got all kinds on our side.
Yeti Squad Member B	Everyone's got all kinds.
Yeti #1	At least you're willing to listen to us. The Ursus soldiers all just shoot us on sight. The arrows start flying and they don't stop until one side is dead.
Blaze	Good thing we're a pharmaceutical company and not a bunch of Ursus soldiers.
Yeti #1	Do pharmaceutical companies all have equipment like yours?
Blaze	The world is a dangerous place and we have to protect ourselves, right?
Yeti #1	It would be nice if you spent your time farming instead of battling. If you can grow a harvest of red wheat, you'll feed half a town's starving Infected. If they weren't starving, they wouldn't have gone into that little town. Then they wouldn't have been shot. If only.
Yeti Squad Member B	Enough of that.
Blaze	He's pretty sentimental. You know, I think all Ursus are pretty sentimental.
Yeti Squad Member C	No slacking off!
Yeti #1	Oops, sorry. Time to get back to work.
Blaze	No big deal. Go back to your work. But that thing you're carrying, it's got a powerful smell.
Yeti #1	Oh? This...? I...
Yeti Squad Member C	What's she talking about?
Blaze	Nothing. Don't worry. Hey, a mite peckish.
Yeti Squad Member C	Oh...?
Yeti #1	What are you looking at me for?
<Background fades out and in>
15:22 P.M. Ruins of Chernobog "District 14" Sector Surface 3 hours into the excavation operation
Meteorite	Amiya, stop! Your fingers are bleeding! Stop digging with your hands!
Amiya	But... I can feel something down there... Right down here! I can't feel it if I'm using a tool... I have to use my fingers to pick up on that tiny whisper of a feeling...
Meteorite	Amiya!
Amiya	It's close!
Blaze	(Meteorite...)
Meteorite	(But...)
Blaze	(Leave her be.)
Amiya	If we let them get there first...
<Background fades out and in>
Yeti #1	It's okay, you can do it!
Yeti Squad Member D	Use Arts! I- I can't. I really can't!
Yeti #1	We can do this even without our Sister, right? Hurry up and make the temperatures nice and different. The bigger the difference, the better!
Yeti Squad Member D	I'll try... But don't blame me if it doesn't work!
Yeti Squad Member B	Who else can we blame besides you...?
Yeti Squad Member C	Don't tease him. He has to concentrate.
<Background fades out and in>
Amiya	Here! Right here! ...A wall? Did I get it wrong? Just smash it! Break through...! But if it collapses, I... I... got it wrong.
Yeti #1	It's open!
<Background fades out and in>
Amiya	......! Blaze! Meteorite!
Meteorite	On it.
Blaze	Get ready.
<Background fades out and in>
Doctor	You win.
FrostNova	Said I won't lose.
Doctor	You didn't give me a winning choice.
Yeti #1	Sister! .....This one...... This is the one they call the Doctor.
Doctor	So am I being shot or hanged? / ......! / Hi.
FrostNova	The leader of Rhodes Island.
[Amiya approaches FrostNova.]
Amiya	That's me. You can call me Amiya.
Meteorite	(Her rings... are turning red?)
Blaze	......!
Meteorite	(Aren't you going to stop her?)
Blaze	(Why would I stop our only chance at winning?)
Meteorite	Blaze!
Blaze	I respect Amiya's decision.
Doctor	Amiya, no.
Amiya	Doctor!
FrostNova	Nesti, is Rhodes Island not fighting you?
Nesti	They're not.
FrostNova	Then here on this battlefield, we are not enemies.
Amiya	FrostNova...
FrostNova	There is no reason to fight if we are not enemies. Go back, Doctor, to your people.
Yeti #1	...Our Sister is so magnanimous.
Yeti Squad Member B	Like she needs your approval.
FrostNova	Quiet down. Little rabbit.
Amiya	Uh, my name is Amiya...
FrostNova	You're going to Lungmen too, aren't you?
Amiya	...That's right.
FrostNova	Then we will be enemies before long, little rabbit. Just, not yet.
Amiya	FrostNova, you and your team aren't as destructive as the other Reunion units.
FrostNova	Don't blame my people. You don't know what they've been through.
Amiya	But you don't want them to go on like this!
FrostNova	...Oh? It seems you can read my mind?
Amiya	I can't. But I do sense your unease and your consternation.
FrostNova	All of this will be swept away after the fall of Lungmen.
Amiya	Rhodes Island, we can honestly understand you and your squad. You may think I'm wrong, and that we don't understand you at all... But FrostNova, ma'am, I know exactly what you've been through.
FrostNova	......Childish.
Doctor	FrostNova, those clothes aren't yours, are they?
FrostNova	...... They're not. This was once the cloak of the "Patriot." I wove it into a coat.
Amiya	......Oh......
FrostNova	How can you tell? Never mind... ...... Everyone has some things they can't say, I suppose.
Amiya	FrostNova, Rhodes Island does not seek out conflict. We want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
FrostNova	And which bloodshed was necessary?
Amiya	At the very least, we don't want to fight your squad! They are all good, decent people. We absolutely cannot hurt them, or let them hurt innocent people!
FrostNova	...Then you must pray we do not meet again.
Amiya	FrostNova!
FrostNova	I think I don't much want to hurt you either. But if I have to, I will kill you all.
Doctor	You can come to Rhodes Island. We don't have to fight.
FrostNova	Then you can try to beat me. Defeat me in battle, and I will consider it. But of course, once we meet on the battlefield, we are enemies. And as enemies, we will fight to the death.
Amiya	......
FrostNova	Oh yes. This one, for the fox.
Frostleaf	...What?
FrostNova	A special remedy for frostbite. One-of-a-kind recipe. It relieves the burning and pain. I've studied these things for a long time. And you fought very well back there. Warriors willing to sacrifice themselves are the strongest, in my eyes.
Frostleaf	...... Thank you.
Amiya	FrostNova...
Blaze	Hey, wait. I have something to say too. Yeti #1!
Yeti #1	Oh... huh?
FrostNova	......? What's happening?
Blaze	Let's get a drink next time! Your vodka smells great!
Yeti #1	Don't say that out loud!
FrostNova	...... Hm. Haha... Goodbye, Rhodes Island. I hope we never meet again.
<Background 2>
Lungmen Substructure
Amiya	...... Here you are, after all.
Doctor	Hello, FrostNova.
[FrostNova reveals herself.]
FrostNova	...... Hello, Rhodes Island.