Operation story: SV-6 (Under Tides)

Operation

Story

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Characters
Gladiia Skadi Anita High Inquisitor Inquisitor Bishop Male Inhabitant B Male Inhabitant C Male Inhabitant D Old Inhabitant
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4

Before operation

“

In her nightmare, Skadi tries to escape. Meanwhile, Anita insists on staying by her side. On the other end of the coast, the Inquisitors witness the truth behind the local ritual.

”

???	There is no end... The fog is everywhere...
A glowing mist rises from the bottomless abyss and engulfs her whole. That instant, all her senses are cut off from the rest of the world. Perhaps she can feel there is something right in front of her. Before her is the entire ocean. She puts her whole strength into striking the enormous yet almost shapeless object before her. Everything she can feel immediately crumbles away. An ice cold yet burning hot liquid swallows her. These are the ocean's currents, as well as its blood. The very last dance has concluded. The seas have calmed, and she can no longer hear her people's singing. She saved... No, she has no idea what it is that she actually saved. Likewise, she does not have the faintest idea what it is she triumphed over. She paddles her arms and kicks her feet as though her life depends on it, yet the waters of the ocean pay no heed to her willpower. Like solid blocks of iron, the water has become cold and stiff, squeezing her body from all directions. She stops moving, leaving herself to the mercy of the sea. As she sinks further and further into the ocean, a black shadow envelops her. The countless voices begin to materialize around her. Some of them are crying and some... are murmuring. The sea is talking to her. Its cold, lightless form has been restored, as have her eyes. She cannot see the path upward. She is sinking downward further and further, just as she is rising upward more and more. At a place deeper than even the sea's deepest abysses, she is lifted up by the warm waters, as though the waters themselves are the waiting arms of her family. She opens her lips. The saltwater gushes into her throat and dissolves her completely before reconstructing her anew. She has found her singing voice once more.
<Background 1>
Anita	Hm...♪
Skadi	Uhh...
Anita	Singer, you're awake! Good morning!
Skadi	Was someone just singing?
Anita	I-Is this a song? I don't know how to sing, but you were humming this while you were asleep.
Skadi	I...
Anita	Ow! Singer... You are grabbing too hard...
Skadi	You...
The girl's figure turns faint. Just like in the sea. No, the one in the sea was someone else. The dream is ripping her nerves to shreds. The musical notes are dancing, twisting themselves into the cries of her family.
Skadi	Mother...
They are dying before her eyes, and there is nothing she can do to prevent it.
Skadi	Monsters... Monsters. Monsters!
They are screaming, as is everyone around her. She must grab her weapon.
[Skadi subconsciously hits Anita with her case.]
Anita	Ah! *cough*... Singer, your box... It's really hurting my chest when you press it against me...
Her blade pierces through a monster in the midst of feeding on a person. The monster turns around. She sees a face she often sees in the mirror.
Skadi	I...
The box falls on the ground, bouncing slightly before it comes to a stop. The object stored therein tumbles inside the box a little but does not fall out.
Anita	A-Are you letting go? That really scared me... Singer, I thought you were going to kill me.
Skadi	...... If I were going to kill you, I could've done that easily.
Anita	But you don't want to kill me.
Skadi	You can tell?
Anita	I can tell.
Skadi	But I don't know.
[Skadi runs off.]
Anita	Eh? R-Running out again...? Singer, where are you going?!
<Background 2>
Inquisitor	Sir... The tides are rising again. The colors of the sea... That patch of color has changed. What is there in the water? I-Is it shells and finfish? Why would they suddenly show up in the water? And why are they growing closer and closer to the shore?
High Inquisitor	From far deeper places, they made their way here by following currents that normally would not exist.
Inquisitor	What?! I thought... the reason they headed into the sea, claiming it would get them food, was some absurd, unfounded belief. I thought, in their despair, they were fooled into doing this... But I never imagined... they are actually dealing with the sea? They are using their own men as fodder to feed the monsters of the sea, and the monsters then also feed them in return? This mutualism is horrifying... and wretched...! No wonder there are so many Sea Terrors here! But I thought I put an end to it yesterday...!
High Inquisitor	Not all corrections are fruitful. This is something you must understand.
Inquisitor	I... Am I in the wrong, High Inquisitor? I just wanted to save them.
High Inquisitor	To right a wrong, you either bring what strayed from righteousness back onto the right path–
Inquisitor	But... What do the people here even see as right? You can't grow any food in the lands and seas of Sal Viento anymore. This was a foregone conclusion decades ago, and to fight it would be futile. The nomadic city, the society, and the people who live in it... They are all slowly marching towards their death. They asked me... If... If there isn't a way out... How are they supposed to see right from wrong?
High Inquisitor	–Or perhaps make that which is wrong no more.
Inquisitor	Sir...! You don't mean...
High Inquisitor	You are doubting me.
Inquisitor	I... No, of course not. I just... They may have turned out like this... but they were once Iberian citizens. I want to protect them, and I hope I can help these inhabitants... so that they can make our country a better place.
High Inquisitor	You should have doubts.
Inquisitor	Huh?
High Inquisitor	In making a judgment, rely on no one but yourself!
Inquisitor	Yes, sir...
High Inquisitor	Look out at the sea. What do you see?
Inquisitor	I see... a threat.
High Inquisitor	Don't regurgitate your memorized answers.
Inquisitor	Yes, sir! The sea... is flowing. It's ever changing.
High Inquisitor	Remember everything that you see. Change has happened, is happening, and will happen. If you can't see it clearly for yourself, you will find yourself lost.
[One of the monsters, now known as Sea Terrors, shows up below the High Inquisitor, who promptly kills it.]
Inquisitor	Sir, what is that under your feet?!
High Inquisitor	What do you think?
Inquisitor	A Sea Terror... Did we miss one when they attacked last night?! No, doesn't seem like it... This one wandered off the beach... It looks like it's climbed a long way... It's not quite the same... I... uh... I should know this...
High Inquisitor	This is an evil that must be eradicated.
Inquisitor	I get it... I can see it... It's the whole truth of this deal of theirs. So this is what becomes of anyone who wanders into the sea... This is not just the monsters' nest. It's their breeding ground. Uhh... Doesn't that mean that all the people here will become monsters?! ...... (Grips scabbard) High Inquisitor, I need to head back to the city.
[The young Inquisitor rushes back to Sal Viento.]
<Background fades out and in>
Skadi sits on the shore. Carried by the winds, the sea waves beat the shore ceaselessly, but never reaching her dress.
[Anita catches up with Skadi.]
Anita	*pant*... *pant*... Phew... S-Singer, you're too fast...
Skadi	But not fast enough.
Anita	Huh?
Skadi	You managed to follow me again.
Anita	H-Haha... Singer, this is my home... I know this place much better than you.
Skadi	I should leave.
Anita	Leave? What do you mean?
Skadi	I mean leave this place.
Anita	Huh? Did you figure out where to go to find your friend?
Skadi	At the very least... I should keep my distance from you.
Anita	Huh? Why's that?
Skadi	The Inquisitor was right about one thing.
Anita	She talked about a lot of things...
Skadi	I am a danger to all of you.
Anita	Because of what happened last night? You saved us, Singer. We are very thankful of what you did for us.
Skadi	I saved you? Is that what you think? If I'd missed even one of the Sea Terrors, it could've torn you to pieces as it marched on. You would've been killed. I brought it here. Therefore, I killed you.
Anita	No, that's not how it is...
Skadi	How is it not? This has happened before. They died because of me. They despised me, they were scared of me, and they blamed me for it.
Anita	They... They were wrong! You didn't mean to do that.
Skadi	I didn't mean to? I don't know.
Anita	Uhh...
Skadi	After all that, I'm not sure... anymore.
She thinks back to her dream. Ever since that final battle, she has had that dream countless of times. The Abyssal Hunters never stay in one place. They always march forward. Yet Skadi was trapped there. She has no idea what is happening to her.
Skadi	I thought that if I killed it, I would find the answer.
Killing that gigantic monster. Things would get better for everyone. No one would cry anymore, and no one would scream anymore. She just had to kill it. And she killed it... Yet an even greater problem engulfed her. The Abyssal Hunters never ask why. They simply do. But Skadi wants to know why. She has no idea what is happening to her.
Anita	Singer...? You don't look so good. You are hurt, and you spent so much of your energy. You haven't completely recovered yet, have you? You should come back with me and get some rest. You will feel much better once you get more sleep.
Skadi	...... Why aren't you afraid of me?
Anita	Hm?
Skadi	Your grandmother called me a monster, while your friends all looked at me with animosity. These kinds of gazes are everywhere... I got used to them long ago. But what about you? When you look at me, what do you see?
Anita	You... You are a singer.
Skadi	A singer. That's what I told you, and you believed it. That Inquisitor, on the other hand, did not. If I tell you I'm a monster now, will you believe me?
Anita	I won't...
Skadi	...... Why are you always following me?
Anita	Huh?
Skadi	Anything that I can give you, you are free to take, yet you don't want them. You don't want to kill me either.
Anita	K-Kill you? No, Singer, why would I want to kill you?
Skadi	When I do something for you, you pay me something in return. It's always either that or the other way around. Whenever you exchange something, there exists a promise. It's only when promises exist that there's trust.
Anita	Promise?
Skadi	You don't know what that is.
Anita	(Shakes head)
Skadi	Listen up. You helped me, so I will give you what you want. This is what a promise is.
Anita	I don't want anything...
Skadi	You are lying. I can smell as much with my nose as my eyes can see.
Anita	Uhh...
Skadi	You told me this is your home, and that's how you know how to find me so quickly. That's a lie too. If you don't tell me the truth, I can't trust you.
Anita	No, Singer, don't go! It's not that I'm not telling the truth. I just... don't understand. Singer, to all of us... To me, you are still a mystery. You came from the outside, and I've never met anyone like you... You want to know how I guessed that you are here. It's not that I'm trying to lie. I'm just... embarrassed. This is... the outskirts. It's as far as it gets from the city. I know that you are hiding from us, and I thought this is where you would probably come too if you wanted to run away.
Skadi	"Too?"
Anita	I come here often myself. Of course, I don't tell Sheetmetal or anyone. They aren't happy when they find me running this far away. Look at that chunk over there. It's tall. I climb on there sometimes. The stronger the wind gets, the farther I can see.
Skadi	You are curious about what's outside.
Anita	I don't know. I... I sometimes wonder about how it's like outside. It's pretty pointless, I know, and they kept telling me that too, so all I do is imagine it all by myself here. This is the furthest I've gone whenever I go outside to scavenge. Outside... There's nothing useful outside.
Skadi	If you're curious about what's outside, you just have to walk a little further.
Anita	I used to go to the west side. Sheetmetal would warn me that there were monsters outside, and we would die if we ever stepped out. Singer, you are from the outside. I am following you around because I have lots and lots of questions... I want to know if what Sheetmetal said is actually true.
Skadi	Perhaps. If you head outside, you will die.
Anita	Phew... so it's true...
Skadi	You aren't disappointed.
Anita	Singer, if I have the chance, I think I want to see it for myself. It doesn't matter if there are monsters there... I don't think I'm scared of them.
Skadi	Hm?
Anita	The Inquisitor said I'm not afraid of monsters because I don't know what they would do to me. I think she's right about that.
Skadi	She made that up.
Anita	*cough*, *cough*...
Skadi	I'm not afraid of them either.
Anita	Haha... That's gotta be because you know the monsters can't do anything to you. Not like me. Last night was the first time I got a good look of those monsters. I didn't know what was going to happen to me. My heart was racing like never before. Then, when I woke up this morning, the weather felt so much better than I've ever experienced. I could feel the wind, and I could see the sea waves splashing ever closer. This day has been different than all the other days I've lived, because I don't know what's going to happen.
Skadi	Sounds like you're excited.
Anita	Excited?
Skadi	Fear and excitement are pretty much the same. Both get your heart racing and your blood flowing.
Anita	Am I sick?
Skadi	You are not sick. To some people out there, this is what it means to be alive.
Anita	I didn't know it feels this good to be alive. Is it like this outside every day?
Skadi	It must feel better than here.
Anita	Can I really go outside...? My box... Once my box is full. I need to... get more food. I need to make sure Grandma Petra's all set. I... Argh!
Excited, the girl loses her footing. Just as she is about to fall into the sea, a hand reaches out and grabs her.
Skadi	The monsters will eat you if you're so careless.
Anita	Singer... you saved me again.
Skadi	And you could've saved me the trouble if you didn't come.
Anita	Haha... S-Sorry...
[Suddenly a Sea Terror shows up from below Anita and hold her legs in its grasp.]
Anita	Huh? Huh? My leg... Something's grabbing my leg. It's slippery... and heavy!
Skadi	There they are again... Everywhere, too. What a pain.
Anita	Ugh... Singer, I-I'm losing my grip...
Skadi	Close your eyes.
Anita	Hm?
Skadi	And then let go.
Anita	Can I really...?
Skadi	You can either believe me or not. The choice is yours.

After operation

“

Impassioned by Anita's warm enthusiasm, Skadi walks into the crowd of locals and begins to sing for them. The music manages to tug at the still heartstrings of the inhabitants, though this moment of peace is broken when the high tide signal is sounded.

”

The girl closes her eyes and lets go as she is told. The force gripping onto her leg quickly disappears. She can hear all sorts of tiny trinkets splashing into the water. Just before she herself touches the surface of the sea, a force pulls her upward and sends her back to dry land again. –She lands face first.
<Background 2>
[Anita opened her eyes.]
Anita	*cough* *cough* *cough*.
Skadi	It's not easy to control the strength and angle while I'm dealing with a person.
Anita	I-It's okay. I'm fine.
Skadi	(Smells herself) My bleeding's stopped. Why are they still so excited? Have there always been so many Sea Terrors here?
Anita	Are these the same monsters from last night?
Skadi	More or less.
Anita	I've never seen them before.
Skadi	You should stay away from this place for a couple of days. Now go back.
Anita	Singer.
Skadi	Stop tugging my skirt... You aren't a child.
Anita	I just want to say... I think I know what it is that I want now. I want to hear you sing.
Skadi	Oh...
Anita	And that's because... I don't know what songs are like. I heard you humming in your sleep, but I didn't understand it.
Skadi	Alright.
Anita	Singer, will you do it? Is this what it means to make a promise?
Skadi	More or less. (Frowns) My harp.
Anita	Huh? Oh yeah, singer, where did your harp go?
Skadi	I'll go look for it...
Anita	Okay. I'll help. So does this mean you'll come back with me? G-Great!
Skadi	...... Is this something to be so happy about?
<Background 3>
Male Inhabitant B	......
[Anita greets the inhabitant.]
Anita	Hey, Drywall, good morning!
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal...
Anita	Oh yeah, where did Sheetmetal go? You never go anywhere without each other.
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal.
Anita	Are you looking out... to the sea? Does this mean... It was Sheetmetal who got the red seashell last night? *Sigh*...
Male Inhabitant B	Woodframe, my condition got worse. My chest is bloating like it's about to blow. I don't even want to eat. Leave me alone.
Anita	*Sigh*...
<Background 4>
[Skadi enters the local tavern.]
Anita	Singer, welcome to our home sweet home again!
Old Inhabitant	Ugh... agh...
Skadi	Your grandmother...
Anita	Grandma Petra is still sleeping. She's been lying down ever since we got back last night. She's probably tired, getting so worked up like that. I didn't expect her to run out and talk to the Inquisitor like that. She was different.
Skadi	You're right. That was very amazing. She fought off the Inquisitor.
Old Inhabitant	Hmn... ha...
Anita	She fought off.. the Inquisitor?! Singer, if the Inquisitor catches you saying that, she'll be really mad.
Skadi	I don't care if she does. But if she wants another go...
Anita	She won't come to you looking for trouble again, right?
Skadi	It doesn't matter to me whose trouble she's looking for. (Strokes case)
Anita	Oh, yeah, why don't we go look for your harp?
Skadi	Hold on.
Anita	Eh?
Skadi	You got stuff on your head.
Anita	Whoa! All this green, slimy stuff... W-What is this?
Skadi	That's seaweed.
Anita	Did it get on my head when I tripped?
Skadi	Probably.
Anita	Is this stuff... useful in any way? Looks kinda like seagrass. Can I use it as bedding once it's dried? Grandma Petra's back is hurting her, so this will come in handy.
Skadi	Give it to me. Take some seashells and use them to grind up these seaweeds. Don't wash off the slime. Add enough seawater to completely cover the seaweeds. Put it all in a jar and seal it up, then wait half a year. You can drink it once the liquid's greenish color has faded. That's when it's fermented.
Anita	Singer...?
Skadi	What's wrong? Is there something you didn't understand?
Anita	No... I just don't think you've ever talked to me this much in one go.
Skadi	Yeah. Don't throw away your seashells either. Wash them and lay them out to dry. You can use them to drink alcohol and such.
Anita	Alcohol? What's that?
Skadi	It's written right there. This place used to be a bar, a place for alcohol.
Anita	So this word means alcohol!
Skadi	Alcohol can supposedly bring happiness and help us forget all our worries.
Anita	Does it work?
Skadi	Not at all... It does taste pretty good, though.
Anita	Did you drink this stuff often back home...? Back in Ægir?
Skadi	Not exactly. I would drink something similar before dances.
Anita	It must have been very fun. Oh, I get it now! Alcohol doesn't bring happiness, but we drink alcohol when we're happy! Does everyone outside, uh, drink alcohol? Is everyone out there always so happy?
Skadi	Not necessarily.
Anita	I get it. They definitely aren't as happy as I am now. Singer, thanks for teaching me how to make alcohol. I really wanna drink it with you right now.
Skadi	Your hand movement is wrong. If you grind it like that, it's not going to grind up very well. Try a different angle. Use the sharpest point and follow the seaweed's pattern. Control your rhythm and your breathing... Make your hand and your whole body one with the sea breeze that's brushing against your skin. Like that–One stroke, and it's shredded.
Male Inhabitant B	......
Skadi	You are staring at me. Do you still want another go? Now that there's only one of you, it'll be over very quickly.
Male Inhabitant B	No... I don't think I will. This is yours.
Skadi	Hmm? This is my harp.
Male Inhabitant B	Sheetmetal found it. He saw you drop it outside last night.
Skadi	......
Anita	Oh, that's great! Singer, now we don't need to go look for your harp!
Male Inhabitant B	He brought it back to our house... and... and he told me to give it to you. That's all he said before he left...
Skadi	Thanks.
Male Inhabitant B	Huh? Oh...
Skadi	(Plucks strings)
Anita	Huh...? This melody... You were humming it while you were asleep last night.
Skadi	It's always in my head.
Anita	Is this a song that you and your partner used to sing?
Skadi	We have a lot of songs like this back home. We sing... as a way to talk to each other. When I left, the singing was gone too. I'm all by myself, and this song is all that I have left.
Anita	No wonder this song sounds so sad.
Skadi	(Plucks strings)
Anita	Singer, remember our promise?! You got your harp back. Does that mean you can sing for us now? We're all waiting. Right, Grandma Petra?
Old Inhabitant	Mmn... Uhh...
Anita	Grandma probably can't talk today. She would sing along with you if she could.
Old Inhabitant	Ah... Ahhh...
Anita	Singer, Grandma wants to hear your song.
Skadi	...... Alright.
Clad in her red dress, the wandering singer sits in the middle of the group. She closes her eyes as her fingers stroke the strings of her harp. The notes and the lyrics flow out from her naturally as she plunks away at her harp strings, permeating every corner of the rundown bar. The melody twists and expands in the air as though this is where it belongs.
A hunter is walking on seacoast way♪ With homeland left a mile behind, his path lies ahead♪ From his forebears and children, he was torn♪ Into the seas his lover was swept away, floating in the deep, dead♪
<Background black>
Gladiia	......
Bishop	I noticed a change in your expression. Did you feel something, perhaps?
Gladiia	Nothing.
Bishop	Not a surprise. Your reflexes are still rather slow. Look at the water before you. The fluctuation of the level, the frequency of the waves, and the movement of its luster. All of these are information. It'll be high tide soon. We should go.
A hunter is walking on seacoast way♪ With homeland left a mile behind, they must lament and pray♪ There is no end to his path♪ The road ahead is shrouded in gray♪
<Background 3>
[The young Inquisitor watches Skadi singing from outside the tavern.]
Inquisitor	She's singing. How could she sing in front of these people in this rundown house? And... they are listening to her. The ones who hang their heads are still looking straight at the floor. The ones who don't speak are still silent as ever. Her singing has no way to reach their cold, hard husks, but their eyes... Do they understand it somehow?
<Background 4>
A hunter is walking on seacoast way♪ ..... The singer stops her fingers, but the harmony formed by her harp and voice together does not simply disappear because of that. It yet remains with the wanderer herself, creating an open seam in the thick dust. A few sprouts land in that crevice just as others begin to sprout from it.
Skadi	......
Inhabitant	......
<Background fades out and in>
Anita	Grandma Petra?
Skadi	What's wrong?
Anita	She... fell asleep. She never sleeps so peacefully. Most of the time, she starts screaming the moment she closes her eyes, grasping at nothing. I thought she'd want to dance when she heard you sing. I mean, she's always chirping about how she wants to dance.
Male Inhabitant B	......
Anita	Drywall?
Male Inhabitant B	I'm going to die. There's seawater in my eyes... It's salty. Not tasty at all.
Anita	Whoa... Are you... crying?
Male Inhabitant B	Crying? What is that?
Skadi	It's a kind of emotion that flows out from the deepest depths of your body...
Male Inhabitant B	It is...? I don't think I understand.
Anita	Singer, I like your songs. You don't like to talk, but you have so much to tell when you are singing. Could you sing it again? I want to hear you talk about lots more.
Skadi	...... (Plucks strings)
The sea breeze envelops the singer's fingers and wafts into her nostrils. The smell here has changed. It's now high tide.
Male Inhabitant C	Food...
Male Inhabitant D	We'll have food again...
Male Inhabitant C	To the beach.
Male Inhabitant D	Priest!
The masses rush outside. The melody of her song has stopped.