The transport craft's engine roars deafeningly in the air.
I've got the basics down...
As he reads through the mission intelligence you provided, the blonde Construct pulls up a map on his terminal and marks the location of the Copperfield Aquarium.
Given the situation, pushing forward from here might be our best move. If your "vision" is real...
Speaking of the devil, Commandant, what's up with that "hallucination" thing? You all good?! Need me to...
Kamui jerks upright in his seat, only to be immediately shoved back down by Camu's firm hand. His free arm flails in futile protest as he whines.
I'm just worried about Commandant!
All this commotion doesn't seem to have disturbed the white-haired Construct.
...Zzzzz...
Though deep in sleep, his mere presence radiates a quiet reassurance that wraps around you like a warm blanket, easing the tension in the air.
It seems President Hassen and Nikola have already verified the information you "saw" and reassessed the aquarium's threat level...
Not two squads. Three.
We received an emergency notice mid-mission, ordering us to wait and rendezvous with you. Also...
During the briefing, Commander Nikola mentioned that Cerberus would move straight from their patrol mission to meet us at the aquarium.
They happen to be stationed at a conservation area nearby, so it's only a short boat ride over.
The Commander needs more solid proof that the Ascendants are actually breeding the Red Tide at the aquarium to breed some "creature" worse than the Hetero-Humanoids.
Otherwise, Parliament will hardly approve deploying the last batch of Omega Weapons recovered from the moon. Most councilors still see the moon's zero-point energy as the more important "asset."
Your "vision" alone can't serve as evidence. Even if it indirectly supports the information's credibility, you still need something more convincing to sound the alarm.
Cockpit here. We're approaching the target location.
No viable landing zones in the area. Prepare for drop.
Sea conditions update: Pressure altitude 3,225 meters, winds at 23 meters per second, temp negative 12 degrees. Heads up—offshore currents detected northeast.
Repeat, prepare for drop. Sea conditions update—
Commandant... we're almost there.
There aren't any viable landing zones for the transport nearby. We'll need to make the jump from here to reach the target location.
The Plume frame is equipped with a short-range glide device. I'll get you safely to the aquarium's perimeter.
It's the least I can do, Commandant.
Wait... You really gonna jump in your condition?
What if when we land... Nah, nah, not gonna jinx it!
After checking the protective suit and securing the safety ropes, you watch as the transport craft's jump door slowly opens.
The hydraulic system hisses, its sluggish metallic grind protesting under the strain. Salt-laden wind surges inward, tangling with the leaden sky—
—And with it, the humming returns. That familiar, dissonant resonance coils around you.
Through fissures in the heavy clouds, crimson light bleeds into view. At the periphery of your vision, the pale girl appears in silence.
...
She quietly stretches out her hand, gesturing at a direction.
Struggling to speak in the endless nightmare, you press your tongue hard against your teeth—the sharp pain is the only anchor keeping you conscious long enough to choke out the question.
...
The girl's response is the same: a silent gesture toward the distance.
This time, however, the pale girl hesitates. Her lips remain sealed, yet a soundless voice echoes in your mind.
...Chaos.
The word reverberates, inexplicably familiar yet devoid of memory.
...Chaos.
Seeing that you fail to grasp the meaning, the girl's arm jerks up again, insistent, forcing your gaze forward—
—Where towering crimson waves devour the horizon. And there, amidst the churning abyss, a colossal humanoid silhouette stands upon the sea.
You squint, desperate to discern its face. Then the tide crashes over you. When your vision clears, what stands upon the sea has become...
Her solitary figure, slight against the vastness, stands upon the sea.
Commandant...
Her voice seems lost to the roar of a tempest, rising from the far edge of the world.
...Ascendant... under the sea... careful...
Hetero-Creatures... Red Tide... into... the sea...
The winding Red Tide blooms beneath her feet as the female Construct stands poised, her expression a fusion of sorrow and steel.
...Farewell.
Your vision blurs once more, dissolving into a haze of static.
The female Construct's silhouette fades again, swallowed by the sea.
...
You open your mouth to press the pale girl named Chaos for answers, but before the words can form, your vision whirls—towering waves surge forward, crashing around you.
Commandant... Commandant!
Commandant, are you alright?
The wind howls into your mouth, sharp and unrelenting, as weightlessness twists your stomach. The world lurches, spinning wildly.
I think you passed out just now—
Below, the ground surges upward, a blur of motion, until Plume's short-range glide device activates.
The moment your feet touch the ground, you collapse in a graceless heap.
You're bleeding... We need to disinfect it.
She reaches for you with unmistakable concern, her fingers pressing gently against your nose. Only then do you realize that your nose is slick with the coppery tang of blood.
Lucia takes disinfectant from the medical kit and gives you basic treatment. Strike Hawk, who landed nearby, also regroups with you.
...Probably just capillary rupture from the impact. Doesn't look too serious.
Let's hold here and regroup for now. Camu, Kamui, scout the area and check the Punishing concentration levels. Report anything unusual immediately.
Got it!
Kamui and Camu head off in different directions. After a brief rest, the dizziness from the vision gradually fades, yet the haunting image lingers—Bianca in a dark frame standing upon the sea, her silhouette seared into your mind like a brand.
At your direction, Lucia opens her terminal and circles that patch of sea.
According to the satellite map... below the sea area where we just dropped is the Copperfield Aquarium.
Due to your previous "vision," the rescue plan for the aquarium has always focused solely on the interior of the facility.
But since the Ascendants chose a seaside aquarium as their den, their objective can't possibly be just easy Red Tide storage. What you really need to guard against isn't just the inside of the aquarium—it's the facility's large drainage outlets as well.
A moment later, the red-haired captain's voice crackles through the terminal.
This is Cerberus. What do you want?
Good, you still remember my voice.
We're about... 20 minutes out by sea from the aquarium zone, assuming Noctis doesn't screw up piloting the boat.
...The aquarium's drainage outlets?
...
So what you're saying is... you want us to take our pathetic handful of Omega Weapons and set up defenses at the aquarium's drainage outlets in advance?
...Glad to know you've decided to start thinking.
Tch.
Fine. We'll take your brilliant intel and sweep the sea for the aquarium's drainage outlets, then guard them ahead of time. Let's hope your "speculation" is not wasting our time... Gray Raven Commandant.
The terminal screen flickers a few times amid Vera's scornful laugh, then goes dark.
Copperfield Aquarium
Copperfield Aquarium.
Built solely with Copperfield's funding, the aquarium was a marvel of advanced bionics, meticulously replicating marine ecosystems and behaviors. During the Golden Age, it had been world-renowned, a testament to human ingenuity.
Now, time has reduced its glory to dust and cobwebs. The entrance bears the scars of battle: exposed rebar claws at the air, grasping broken concrete like skeletal fingers, while small patches of Red Tide seep between the wreckage.
After forcing open a barely passable route, your team moves cautiously along the battle scars.
On either side, massive ecosystem tanks line the corridor, their glass walls still intact. Inside, schools of fish cluster together, untended yet still active.
Aside from the battle damage, the rest of the facility is eerily operational.
Almost too pristine for a place that should have been abandoned years ago, when the Punishing Virus first ravaged the world...
If the aquarium really is the Ascendants' den... just how long has this been part of their plan?
Behind the glass, a glint of light flickers in the pupils of a bionic tropical fish as it watches in silence.
Then, from beyond the water displays, footsteps echo—a group emerges from the shadows of the main hall.
...
This is Chiko. We're no longer detecting any Corrupted signals at the entrance and the surrounding one-kilometer area. Beginning the investigation on the Scarlet Revelation now.
Closing the terminal used for mission recording, Chiko led the Purifying Force team in a slow advance.
Vice-Captain, the corridor ahead is swarming with Corrupted. It'll take time to clear them out.
Any readings on the life detector?
Signal interference is messing with the scans. We can't get a clear lock right now.
Focus on defense and keep pushing forward.
From the rear, no answer came from the Purifying Force members—only the faint clang of weapons echoed back.
The aquarium's labyrinthine halls, the endless waves of Corrupted, and their repeated failures to breach the surveillance system gnawed at Chiko's patience.
...Pack up, team. Check remaining supplies and proceed to the control room.
Behind her, the newly deployed recruits murmured among themselves, their voices hushed. Still, no response.
...Hey, we're moving out. Don't just stand there spacing out.
Let me give it one more try... Copperfield's encryption patterns are all similar. If I can crack it, it'll make things much easier for us.
Maybe the guy was getting creative that day... or perhaps the Ascendants altered the encryption, haha...
I really don't want to see any Ascendants today.
Hey, as long as you stick with the team, you'll be fine. The vice-captain's here with us—oh, they're calling me. I'll go ahead and clear the path.
By the way, I've requested a transferral to your squad after this mission. We can—
Called again, Norris hurried toward the front.
Don't you jinx it.
Shaking his head in resignation, Delapoer attempted yet another breach into the surveillance system. Unsurprisingly, the program rejected his access with a cold, blinking error. He exhaled sharply before falling back into step with the team.
On either side of the path, murky water shimmered, their depths alive with the mechanical glide of bionic tropical fish.
Tropical fish...
A faint, unnatural gleam flashed in the fish's glassy eyes.
Wait, that's...
Bionic? But that didn't make sense—why were they still active after all this time?
The fish drifted closer, their movements eerily synchronized, trailing along the glass as he passed...
How...
Like a sailor lured by siren song, his steps faltered, then slowed. No one noticed that he had already slipped behind the others...
Then, the glass enclosure suddenly shattered, and the Red Tide burst free—
—On your guard! Fall back now!
Despite their scattered formation, most Purifying Force members were battle-hardened veterans. Within moments, they evacuated the area now overrun by the Red Tide.
Silently, the Red Tide receded through the drainage pipes, its retreat unnervingly precise as if guided by an unseen will.
Behind the water veil, the tropical fish observed everything in silence.
At the far edge of the hall, Bianca and her rescue team approached the area cautiously.
————
This is Bianca, reporting from the Copperfield Aquarium. Beginning mission now. The objective is to locate Vice-Captain Chiko of the Purifying Force and members of the Scarlet Revelation.
Captain, the Punishing concentration here is very high.
...Let's keep moving.
The battlefield's scars mottled the ground as viscous Red Tide oozed from the drainage outlets like clotting blood.
The smell of vital fluid.
There was a fight here... The trail leads that way...
Drainage outlets.
Someone was controlling the Red Tide, making it surge from the drainage outlets... They forced the previous rescue team into that direction.
But why...
Her visual modules absorbed every detail, until her Purifying Force-honed intuition locked onto movement behind the liquid barrier. Tropical fish.
Even bionic... could they have "survived" this long?
The tropical fish...
She slowly approached...
The water's reflection blurs as the bionic fish twists its body, a flicker of crimson glowing in its mechanical eyes—
It's looking this way. It's looking at you.
Bang—
Instinct takes over. You fire at the fish in the rippling reflection. The target shatters on impact, scattering jagged metal fragments across the ground.
Over here, Commandant.
It might've been corrupted by the Red Tide. With the Red Tide leak here, the Punishing concentration is way too high.
You adjust the protective suit's port, confirming it's still functioning properly. After injecting the serum, you take another careful scan of your surroundings.
Lucia is standing beside the map near the elevator, meticulously recording the aquarium's internal structure.
Based on the battle traces Chrome found, the Red Tide most likely emerged from the drainage outlets.
The aquarium has five floors in total. The lowest level contains a large storage tank for bionic marine performances. The level above that holds ecological seawater tanks... We're currently on the lower first level.
All liquids here may have been corrupted by the Red Tide... Commandant, we must be careful.
Chrome is carefully investigating the battle traces around the area.
The Red Tide struck without warning. It was like they just stumbled into a fight.
By that point... they might've already taken losses.
With a furrowed brow, he records each predicted casualty on his terminal, ready to transmit it back to Babylonia.
Wanshi is carefully examining the overturned tables and chairs on one side. There, crimson crystal clusters have already crept up the surrounding walls.
The Punishing concentration is off the charts... And this Red Tide isn't like anything we've faced before.
It always spreads fast...
Things aren't looking good.
In the ecological tank, a few bionic tropical fish continue their leisurely swim, untouched by the chaos around them.
Their carefree movements contrast sharply with the battle-scarred surroundings—the telltale signs of some violent struggle that must have raged here.
Faintly, some subtle scraping sounds echo from nearby.
Commandant, the information we've gathered has been synchronized back to Babylonia. For the next step, we...
...
Where you point—just beyond the "Lower Level 2" sign—the passage behind the water curtain now stands open, unnoticed by anyone.
Some sound is coming from right behind there...
Rargh... Squeak...
Rargh...
