Operation story: GA-4

Operation

Story

Previous GA-3	Next GA-5
Characters
Ezell Federico Fiammetta Mostima Cecelia Friar (Andoain) Lemuen Devout Follower Pondering Follower Sarkaz Woman (Rosella) Smiling Follower ???
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4 5 6

Before operation

“

Cecelia hums an old Sarkaz nursery rhyme upstairs, scattering the melody of her song far and wide. The friar, known as the "Guide" to his people, asks Ezell a question: Why are the Sankta the only ones allowed happiness?

”

<Background 1>
Fiammetta	......
Mostima	You look horrible. Did you pull an all-nighter?
Fiammetta	He's back. I saw it, and it couldn't have been anyone else... That light... It was Andoain's Arts!
Mostima	Ah... so that's why you vanished in a puff of smoke yesterday afternoon. He came to you directly, though?
Fiammetta	He wasn't there for me. When I was bringing the mixed-blood girl back to the Basilica... I bumped into a Sarkaz.
Mostima	A Sarkaz? Now, of all times? And in broad daylight on the streets of Laterano, too?
Fiammetta	That's right... I went after the Sarkaz and told Ezell to take the girl back to the Basilica. I chased the Sarkaz all the way to the edge of Pagus Faber... but Andoain covered her with his Arts and she got away. As for Ezell, I thought he'd have made it to the Basilica by the evening. But he never made it. This is his terminal. It was stuck to the bottom of a vehicle transporting envoys.
Mostima	Heh, our trainee kid's a good enough actor to fool you?
Fiammetta	I doubt he was acting. Though it's true that I don't understand why he did it... Maybe... Andoain kidnapped him, too...?
Mostima	Fiammetta, I think you really ought to calm down a little.
Fiammetta	I'm calm. I'm calmer than I've been in the last eight years. But none of you ever told me what happened the day after I left. It was a simple mop-up mission... and it went so much better than we expected... All I did was answer a call for backup... I left the rest of you for four hours... And by the time I got back to the ruins, it was all too late.
Mostima	I've already told you everything I could.
Fiammetta	What exactly did he get from the Lock and Key that gave him the nerve to do that to Lemuen?
Mostima	I would tell you if I could... but I don't know myself.
Fiammetta	......
Mostima	Fiammetta, this is Laterano, the Lateran Basilica. We aren't running around ruins in the wilds of Kazdel anymore. You need to get some rest, Fiammetta. How about I help you apply for some leave? If you don't use your annual leave, it just expires.
Fiammetta	Are you serious?!
[Fiammetta continues explaining in anger.]
Fiammetta	The conference is in two days, and Andoain brought a Sarkaz here to Laterano to kidnap a mixed-blood Sankta girl. He might have even attacked an executor... I really let my guard down this time... The Sarkaz clearly knew her way around Pagus Faber. They must've infiltrated Laterano a long time ago... What is that maniac planning this time?!
Mostima	I'm serious. Calm down. The old man's already heard about the Astray, and so has Velliv. I was working in the Basilica yesterday too—Not that I like to think of meetings as work. In any case, Laterano is really not in as much danger as you think. Andoain's just a Sankta. He's not a monster with six eyes and four arms. If you really want to take him on, go lie down for two hours. We'll talk to Lemuen after that.
Fiammetta	......
Mostima	Looks like you're not completely out of it just yet.
<Background 2>
Friar	Did you get enough rest last night?
Ezell	I'm very well-rested. Thank you for taking us in, senior.
Friar	The Ecclesia Requietum's doors are always open, as long as you don't find it too depressing. After all, both the living and the dead visit this place.
Ezell	Given the circumstances, we're fortunate enough to have a roof over our heads. Speaking of which, where is Cecelia?
Friar	The girl you brought with you? The sisters told me that she slept very well last night. She must have been exhausted. She's had a long day.
[Cecelia opens the door.]
Cecelia	Mister Ezell, Mister Friar. Good morning.
Ezell	Good morning, Cecelia. You're full of energy today.
Cecelia	Yeah... We have stuff to do.
Ezell	Hm...?
Cecelia	I asked Mister Friar to help me with something. He told me that... there is a ceremony for the family of the dead... to say their goodbyes. I want to... say goodbye to Mamma...
Friar	We will hold a funeral for Miss Feoria.
Ezell	I see... A funeral...
Friar	It's both a way to pay the dead our respects and for us to find closure.
Ezell	I'll help you, Cecelia. Allow me to thank you again, senior.
Friar	No, not at all. It is my honor, actually. There is nothing more beautiful than finding the courage to take that step forward. She is still young, and already she is saying farewell to a loved one. Not many grown men can handle this journey she is about to take.
[Someone knocks the door.]
???	May I come in?
Friar	Oh, it's you. At last. Please, come in. She's here.
[The Sarkaz woman from before enters the room...]
Ezell	?!
Cecelia	It's the singing cotton candy lady!
[...prompting Ezell to grab his shotgun.]
Ezell	(You...)
Friar	(Put your gun down. This is a heartfelt reunion.) (It is no different from the countless emotional meetings that have taken place across the land.)
Sarkaz Woman	I knew it... It's you...
Cecelia	Cotton Candy Lady, I didn't get to talk to you yesterday. I actually really, really wanted to! But I don't know why... everyone started to fight... Your horns look just like Papà's. So pretty! I wish I had horns like Papà too... I'm jealous.
Sarkaz Woman	Hehe... Really? But your halo is very pretty.
Cecelia	It's so bright that I sometimes can't sleep at night! It helps me read storybooks, though... Cotton Candy Lady, are you from the same place as Papà? Why can't Papà live in the city? Why aren't there other Sarkaz in Laterano? Oh... My name is Cecelia!
Sarkaz Woman	Hello, Cecelia. Call me... Rosella.
Ezell	(Friar... Why is there a Sarkaz here?)
Friar	(Sarkaz... No Sarkaz have ever been allowed to set foot in our holy Lateran City.) (But then, what is Cecelia?) (Let's go. Give them some space.)
Ezell	(What are you people trying to accomplish?)
Friar	(We're only... seeking our path forward.)
<Background 3>
[A group of followers greet the friar.]
Devout Follower	Good morning, Guide.
Pondering Follower	Salutations, Guide.
Smiling Follower	May God bless you and keep you, Guide.
[Ezell asks the friar,]
Ezell	They call you their guide?
Friar	I don't presume to be any sort of guide or leader. You may call me by my name, Andoain.
Andoain	If being a leader helps my brothers and sisters feel at ease and points them in a direction, then I am willing to serve as their Guide. That's all.
Ezell	I hope that's all it is.
Andoain	I know what you're thinking. The mastermind of a heretical cult, lurking in the shadows of Laterano to lead its citizens astray. A man plotting a shocking conspiracy during this important conference that the city spent so much time to prepare?
Ezell	......
Andoain	No, we wish only to throw open the doors. To those who are rejected, harmed, insulted, and desecrated. The Ecclesia Requietum will open its doors to them all.
Ezell	But...
Andoain	But both you and I are "angels." They are not. The sacred cathedrals and churches of the Sankta have no place for them.
Ezell	......
Andoain	Look at this old man. The Ursus hammering away at the coffin. He lost his family, his friends, his land, and his home during the war. What does he have to rely on, to believe in? Where can he find comfort and salvation? After a long journey, he made his way here to Laterano, the land of peace and radiance he heard about from passing travelers. But what did this place offer him? How did the glorious Lateran City treat this foreigner who had long been a toy of fate's cruelty? See the Caprinae woman watering the herbs? She was branded a whore and a blasphemer for offending a noble, only barely escaping her home when it was set alight. All she wanted was peace and quiet, or, if fate would allow her a bit of luxury, a brief moment of leisure and joy every now and then. Do you think the saints in the Basilica will think her their sister? To these men and women, our glorious Lateran citizens might perhaps offer them a sympathetic smile, perhaps even passionately hear their woes, maybe even open up their wallets to show their kindness and virtue. Yet, to the Sankta, all of this will always be somebody else's problem. As for the Sarkaz, the "cursed devils," the "crafty devils..." The "devils" have never had a choice. Our hatred of them has lasted thousands of years. For as long as history books go back, the Sankta and the Sarkaz have been slaughtering one another. The origin of this conflict is long gone. Our mutual hatred has become common sense. Father and son slay father and son. Sisters murder sisters. The Sarkaz attack Sankta caravans for sport, while the Sankta shoot their Sarkaz enemies through the chest with greatest pride. We are only ever concerned with how we see them, yet we are never interested in how they see us. Vengeance for vengeance grew into custom, and those customs eventually became tradition. But, if you are willing to spend the night with them under the same roof, you will find that their joys and sorrows are no different from ours. They rejoice when reunited, they weep when one passes, they tease their friends, and they grow bashful when they fall in love. Some of them love drink, others love song. Some of them even choose to dedicate their lives to their faith. How are they any different from us? In Laterano, even the most devout Liberi friars who carefully follow the Church's teachings, who dutifully carry out their tasks in each ceremony, even those who are made saints and created cardinals... The Church has never truly accepted them. The Liberi are only there to lend a helping hand. They are tools to be used in the Church's day-to-day affairs. They don't have halos, which means they... heh, they aren't "chosen," they aren't Sankta. Laterano is a place of peace and beauty, a place full of joy and laughter, but only we are deserving of this "grace."
Ezell	What you're saying... is apostasy.
Andoain	Young executor, let me ask you. Why— Why are the Sankta the only ones allowed happiness?
Ezell	You know who Cecelia is...
Andoain	We've known for years. She's the child of a Sankta and a Sarkaz. If grace actually existed, she would be it.
Ezell	So you're trying to kidnap Cecelia now because of the conference?
Andoain	We are not concerned with the conference at all. We came to take Cecelia now because, as a child, she should be by her mother's side. As soon as we are done with what we came here for, we will leave Laterano.
Ezell	What are you trying to accomplish?
Andoain	You seem very tense. First things first, we must hold a funeral for Cecelia's mother. Do you see the place up ahead with all the flowers? That's where the gravesite is. Tomorrow, that's where Feoria will be buried. If all are equal when they pass— Then so should they be when they live.
<Background 4>
[Federico is watching from the rooftops...]
Federico	...... Come out.
[...and a Sankta Legatus reveal himself upon being called out by Federico.]
???	Executor Federico.
Federico	Your Excellency, if I may ask, did you provide the Sarkaz with a path to infiltrate Laterano? If indeed you did, I would be required to take you in to the relevant Tribunal of the Lateran Curia for questioning.
???	Must we make things so difficult between us?
Federico	I suggest you cooperate with the Notarial Hall. Should you resist arrest, regulations stipulate that I can and will temporarily suspend your rights as a Lateran citizen.
???	How exactly do you explain this encounter of ours with canon laws and teachings? Should we interpret it as a test, or does it mean we have lost our way? Or perhaps... losing our way is part of the test?
[Several armed people comes to the Legatus' side and pointed their weapons at Federico.]
Federico	...... It is clear that you are resisting arrest. Unfortunately, this encounter will not be resolved peacefully.

After operation

“

The Sankta can feel each other's emotions, and Fiammetta was the only Liberi in her four man squad. Can Mostima and Lemuen understand Fiammetta's anger?

”

<Background 2>
Cecelia	Tell me more!
Rosella	Oh, be careful with the candle! Don't get burnt!
Cecelia	Ah! Can't mess up the shape... It won't look pretty. I need to... make it look nicer... for Mamma.
Rosella	Alright, I've told you a lot already. It's all boring adventures and the same old day-to-day life. As for Kazdel in the legends... It's kind of embarrassing to say, but none of us have ever been.
Cecelia	Kazdel is to the Sarkaz... like what Laterano is to the Sankta, right? It's the Sarkaz homeland... Everyone's gotta be very happy. There are cotton candy food trucks, right? And candy stores, too... There are lots of happy Sarkaz on the streets, all of them saying hi to each other!
Rosella	Maybe... It could be like that, one day. Why don't we talk about you instead, Cecelia? What are your papa and mama like?
Cecelia	I... I don't actually know... I haven't seen Papà that many times... Every time we went to see him, Mamma did a lot of work to prepare, and we always left at night... We walked very far... to the forest. We met him in the forest, and he wore a big cape, like he hurried to us from somewhere far away... I don't actually remember what he looks like very well, but I remember his horns! They're black and straight, and they twinkle bright under the moonlight! He took me by my hand and walked around the forest. He told me the names of the trees and how old they were... It gets very quiet at night outside the city. You don't even hear fowlbeasts. But I was never scared. He grabbed my hand so tight. It kinda hurt... but I didn't say anything. Every time we saw each other, he looked like he was even happier than I was! And he also looked... a little nervous? When I got tired, Mamma would carry me on her back and take me home. When I looked back, Papà would be there under the big tree. He kept looking at us. Even after we got very far away, he would still stand there...
Rosella	Your mama and papa are both wonderful people.
Cecelia	Mamma's amazing! She knows how to do everything! Look. This is Mamma's guardian gun! Ezell gave it to me. Mamma said that Papà couldn't beat her in a fight if he tried... She always let Papà win! But I know Papà's really amazing, too!
Rosella	Haha, Cecelia. When I say "wonderful," it probably doesn't mean the same thing as what you mean by "amazing."
Cecelia	Really? I'm sure Papà and Mamma are both wonderful and amazing! Mamma never told me how she met Papà, though. Every time I asked her, she would start talking about something else... Why didn't she want to tell me?
Rosella	When you're still a kid, there are a lot of other, more important things. Do you like watching tea brew? When I was your age, I loved looking at brewing tea. The water would get darker and darker by the second...
Cecelia	...... Rosella... The way you're talking about something else now is just like Mamma... I may look like I don't know a lot, but actually... I know a little. I ran all around the city yesterday, but I didn't see any Sarkaz besides you... Sarkaz aren't supposed to come to Laterano, are they? That's why Papà and Mamma shouldn't be together... No, I mean, there is somebody who doesn't want him to be with Mamma, right?
Rosella	No, there's no such thing as two people who shouldn't be together... All this will change. And it won't be too long from now... It will happen. Love isn't a crime.
Cecelia	I understand...
Rosella	That's why we are here.
Cecelia	And when that day comes, can I walk around Laterano all I want?
Rosella	Of course.
Cecelia	I won't have to hide in my room anymore? I can visit all the candy stores in Laterano one at a time?
Rosella	Just once? You can go as many times as you want.
Cecelia	Wow... I want that day to come soon... I wanna grow up soon!
Rosella	Right, maybe if you grow up soon, it'll just... No, Cecelia, there's no hurry. When I was your age, I also thought that growing up would solve everything, but when I finally grew up... Growing up is very, very, very tough, Cecelia, and it will be even harder for you. The burden that you'll carry on your shoulders... No, never mind. You're still a kid. Let's not think about that.
Cecelia	Even though everyone grows up?
Rosella	Right... We don't have a choice but to grow up.
Rosella, who has been smiling the whole time, suddenly seems somewhat lonely, all of a sudden. She looks out the chapel's window at the graveyard outside. It's full of blooming flowers, and in the distance, the tall statue in the center of Lateran City makes a faint impression. She starts humming a song, sorrowful but with a hint of hope.
Cecelia	Oh, that song! You hummed it yesterday too... When Mamma taught me that song, she said she didn't know the words anymore, so she always just sang it with lalalas, but I really like how it sounds... What is the song actually about?
Rosella	This is a Sarkaz song. It's about a hero who's about to go on a journey to do something really amazing, and that's why everyone sang this song to say their goodbyes and send him on his way, hoping he'll come back safely. The hero of the song is going somewhere far away to fulfill his dreams... It may be a long, long journey, but he will surely, certainly...
[Ezell and Andoain returns.]
Cecelia	Mister Ezell! Mister Friar!
Andoain	What are you chatting about?
Rosella	Good day, Guide—Nothing important. Just old stories about the Sarkaz and a few trivial topics.
Cecelia	I'm having fun... I've never talked to someone so long. Mister Ezell, did you pick these flowers?
Ezell	Yes, I thought... we could extract the flower's fragrance and give the candles a little scent.
Andoain	Fragrance can help guide the departed in the right direction.
Cecelia	That's so nice! Thanks, Mister Ezell! Um... Actually... I'm... I'm a little scared. When I say goodbye to Mamma at the funeral... That's going to be the last goodbye, right? Does that really mean I can't see her anymore? Not even on holidays? Not even once in a long while, like Papà? Even... if I just want her to pat my head? Even... Even if... There's still a story about an angel and a burdenbeast... that she hasn't finished telling me?
Ezell	Cecelia...
Andoain	Tonight's the last time, Cecelia.
Rosella	I'll stay with you in your mama's room tonight, okay? All of us will be there. You won't be alone.
Ezell	A Sarkaz watching over a Sankta child and her mother...
Andoain	The candlelight may be feeble, but it too can light up the path to the other side.
<Background 5>
Mostima	Lemuen, we're here to see you.
Fiammetta	We brought you some dessert.
Mostima	A fruit tart I swiped from the Basilica.
Lemuen	Welcome. By the way, that cactus looks disgusting.
Mostima	That's our girl, Lemuen. You've got fine eyes.
Lemuen	Do you two really miss me so much that you have to visit every day?
Mostima	We could come see you every hour, if that's what you want.
Lemuen	Trying to curry favor, are you, Mostima? And you, Fiammetta... That's a terrible smile if I've ever seen one. Did something happen?
Fiammetta	It's Andoain...
Lemuen	...... You ran into him.
Fiammetta	We encountered a Sarkaz who had infiltrated Laterano, and when I was chasing her... I saw his Originium Arts firsthand.
Lemuen	I see. It's good that you aren't hurt.
Fiammetta	Lemuen, are you sure you're okay here? This is a normal hospital. If he...
Lemuen	He's paid me a visit already.
Fiammetta	What did you just—
Mostima	*Sigh*...
A silence descends upon the room. Lemuen looks at the flowers on the table.
Fiammetta	...... The way you two talk about him is like... you're talking about a picnic you had over the weekend. Lemuen, I'm not mad about you... But, whenever we talk about him, you... and Mostima too. Each and every time, whenever I bring it up, you two always have that same look. Whenever I see that expression on your faces, it makes me think... maybe it wasn't him who went crazy that day. That I lost my mind.
Mostima	We felt it, is all...
Fiammetta	Your Sankta hive mind again? Fine, you felt what he felt. Why did you point your gun at him, then?
Mostima	That has nothing to do with this. It didn't matter how... out of it he was, I couldn't let him take the Lock and Key.
Fiammetta	What about after that? You fell because of him! Does that not bother you? Lemuen, it was his Arts that put you in this hospital. You fell into a coma for five whole years... does that not bother you?
Lemuen	Fiammetta... Trust me, I'm on your side. It's just that I could really feel...
Fiammetta	I don't want to hear that word anymore. Do you think I'm mad about all this for no good reason?
Lemuen	Of course not, I understand...
Fiammetta	Right, of course. All of you understand. I'm the only one who doesn't.
[Fiammetta runs off...]
Mostima	Hey, Fiammetta!
[...and Mostima goes after her.]
Lemuen	*Sigh*...
<Background 6>
[Mostima pursues Fiammetta through the streets.]
Mostima	Fiammetta, Fiammetta! Shimmering Vigil!
Fiammetta	You want me to bash your face in?!
Mostima	Listen to me!
Fiammetta	I've got something to say to you, Mostima!
Fiammetta	I'm done with you stinking Sankta already! Your empathy? The way you understand each other? I don't want to hear any of it! Did those halos fry your angel brains? You and Lemuen almost died in those ruins! Why aren't you angry? Why aren't you mad? Why am I the only one... the only one who's mad? Don't give me that arrogant smile and that "nothing matters" attitude! You had to leave Laterano and drift all across the world, bum out in the boonies. Whose fault do you think that was?! I followed you all the way to Victoria, to Leithanien, Sargon, Yan... What do you think that was for?! You, Lemuen, Andoain... our team. There was a time... when we trusted each other. What kind of God Almighty reason does he have anyway? What gave him the right to betray our trust? And what gave you two the right to understand him? Why should I have to understand him?! Do you know how much I miss those days? All those times we finished a mission after all those close calls... all those times Lemuen took us out to drinks... all those times we tried out a new dessert shop... Even those times he fixed our reports... What gave him the right to ruin it all?! Those days... Those days... mean a lot to me...
<Background 6>
Mostima	I understand...
Fiammetta	......
Mostima	...... Fi...
Fiammetta	Lateran irises.
[Mostima removes her hood.]
Mostima	......
Fiammetta	They grow only in the Central Garden of Saint Marcel, the Sunset Chapel, and the Ecclesia Requietum in Stevonus.
Mostima	Yeah. Come on, we'll go together. You're my warden. Better make sure I'm not hurt on the job.
Fiammetta	......