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solradguy · 2 years

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GUILTY GEAR BEGIN (ENGLISH) = Chapter Four 『DOUBT』

Word Count: 8425 Warnings: Human death, animal attack, blood Previous Chapter > Chapter Three 『HOPE』 Next Chapter > Chapter Five 『AWAKENING』 Chapter Index & Credits Page ・ Mobile Friendly Version

“Because unlike us, Viidia doesn't work here.”

As soon as Frederick asserted this, the eyes of everyone gathered on the staircase landing focused on Viidia. The only one with a half-smile on their face was Viidia herself.

“No, no, Frederick, what are you talking about? I work here just like everyone else.”

She tried to cover it up, but once she started, Frederick had no intention of stopping.

"The explosion before I woke up set off the evacuation alarm. That's why I didn't see many strangers after I left the lab. Of course, everyone had already evacuated, just like when we met in front of the elevator hall. And yet I ran into you.”

“So it was just a matter of being trapped, is all."

“What were you doing in an empty lab?"

Now to get to the bottom of Viidia’s true identity.

“There is more to the story. The scientists here basically don't get enough exercise," Frederick continued determinedly, “That's why there's dust in the gym. You look like you've had some kind of training, haven't you?”

But, above all, Frederick had already secretly confirmed suspicions with his first test. He didn’t dare mention it at this stage considering he could use it again in the future if he had to.

Now, how will this go?

Convinced, Frederick quickly continued.

“I think you are connected to the people who are causing all this trouble. What's the real story?”

“I can tell you for sure that's not the case….”

When Viidia immediately denied Frederick's suspicions, she looked thoughtful for a moment and then sighed loudly.

“Oh, God," she said, "I've got it now, I get it. I understand, so don't look at me like you're looking at the real suspect in an important case, okay?"

Viidia raised her hands in a pose of surrender.

“So, Viidia, are you really...?”

Dustin interrupted her fearfully, and Viidia put her hand on his shoulder.

"No, I don't work here."

Frederick had expected her to be a bit more deceptive. He was surprised at how easily she admitted the truth.

“Even I don't have the luxury of time anymore. I just decided that if I was going to get into trouble because of suspicion, it would be better to prove my innocence by revealing my story.”

"Then I'd like to…request a more detailed explanation?"

“Okay, then.”

Viidia then pulled out a board-type terminal for personal use from the pocket of her lab coat. The personal possession of devices like that was forbidden to the staff of the facility for the purpose of information management control. The light emitted from the terminal's screen illuminated its surroundings like a small flashlight. While operating the terminal, Viidia began to speak.

“I belong to the Central Intelligence Agency. I've been undercover here as an intelligence officer for three days now, and I'm involved in this situation today, just like everyone else.”

“Central Intelligence Agency…CIA? What's someone like that doing here?”

“I'm here on a top-secret internal investigation.”

"What's this investigation about…?"

Viidia showed everyone the terminal screen in response to Serge's question. What was displayed there was one of the monstrous owls that attacked the group in front of the elevator and…. No, that wasn’t all. As she scrolled down the screen, the next thing she showed was the hound that Frederick had first encountered. Then, the crocodile they had just seen was also listed.

What?!

“Wait a minute, why is that monster's data on…?”

Frederick was speechless and Dustin was surprised almost simultaneously.

“The investigation was about the diversion of Gear cell research to weapons.”

Viidia's answer gave Frederick goosebumps.

The threads of Frederick's memory, which had been so nearly connected, were partially reconnected.

I remember this…. It looks familiar.

The document Viidia had just shown him was a detailed account of the leaked information Frederick had received from Asuka and given to Professor Vince. In other words, if Viidia's words were true – no, they were true. But, in any case, the research information leak that Asuka had entrusted Frederick with had led to the CIA's action.

“The CIA had been concerned for some time that the military was out of control, but there was no decisive step to take to actually go undercover. It was because of this leak that someone sent me through a certain person so that the undercover investigation could begin. If this is true, the country absolutely has to stop it. So, it's my mission to find out what's really going on and to support the leak.”

But still.

You mean it's too late?

Frederick thought he must be imagining ridiculous things. But with Viidia's words, his brain began to form a dim picture of the worst that could happen in the underground laboratory.

“When I met with Frederick, he was looking for a large terminal that could be used to contact the outside world for a situation report. I knew right away that the worst-case scenario had been set in motion much sooner than I had expected at the start of this whole mess.”

“What's the worst-case scenario…?"

Dustin asked fearfully, and Viidia sighed.

“Can’t you imagine that the ‘experimental individuals’ I was looking for turned out to be the ones attacking and killing lab personnel?”

He was immediately at a loss for words.

You’re going to go that far? Really…?

If so, this wasn’t an accident. Of course, it was not a terrorist attack targeting the results of some research.

“There is only one possible escape route…that is blocked by the unfortunate explosion.”

Viidia gave the answer to Frederick, who was still in disbelief.

“This is a military coup to keep the diversion of Gear cells to weapons a secret. It’s a big cover-up against the Next Generation Medical Research Institute. From what Dustin has told me, they’re likely going to take all the important data and personnel out in an escape craft, then blow up the facility.”

"That's…insane…."

“It's not possible that they would go that far….”

The station staff were puzzled by Viidia's prediction.

“But what about Frederick? Does that mean Frederick is also a product of military research?"

Perhaps he did not mean to offend, but Dustin's words completely changed the game.

“Yes, that's right! It's funny how his wounds heal!”

“So you're saying this guy is a spy for the military?"

The suspicion turned on Frederick as Viidia’s true identity was almost uncovered. The suspicion that he was a traitor.

“Wait a minute! I’m-!”

“Don't worry, I don't think Frederick has anything to do with it, okay?"

And, surprisingly, Viidia offered to help him out of this.

“I doubted him at first, too. After all, he was involved in the Gear Project. But when it comes to a person with superhuman abilities such as healing wounds, strength, and good hearing, of course I had my suspicions.”

With that said, Viidia went behind Frederick and put her hand on his shoulder.

“But if he’s a runaway military official, there should be no reason for him to take the initiative to help us out, just to make us disappear later. You should remember that."

“Yes, I agree.”

The person who said this was the same person Frederick had saved when the elevator shaft collapsed. Regardless of what the others thought of Frederick's previous actions, he was the only one who clearly witnessed that Frederick had risked his life to save him. Looking back on it now, Frederick thought he had done something quite reckless, but he never imagined that his actions would come back to him in this way.

“He’s a victim, too. Just a little different from us, and has some special abilities, sure.”

As Frederick's suspicions began to move in the direction of being cleared, Viidia said, “As an intelligence officer, I think it's about time you remembered something, because that may be closer to the heart of the matter than you realize. What do you think, Frederick?”

“I'm not so sure. Unfortunately, so far…”

And when Frederick began to answer, Viidia whispered in his ear, “I'll take over the rest. Stay alert."

What?!

Those words reminded him. Having been cornered into this situation of losing his way, Frederick had decided to try to uncover Viidia's true identity, and he had two possibilities in mind. There was still one more possibility left.

“Hey, Frederick," Viidia said, “You really can't remember anything? Think about it. With your memory, you might be able to put a stop to the military's rampage if you could just get out of here.”

It was precisely with this in mind that Viidia's continued encouragement seemed so terribly clear in his ear.

“Maybe we don't have much time left.”

It began abruptly. With a single word from Viidia.

“Hey Serge, what time is it?”

"Right now…?”

Serge looked at the watch in his hand and replied nonchalantly.

“It's just past 1500.”

Huh?!

“Hey?"

“What?"

“...Pfft.…"

The reaction of Frederick, as well as Dustin and the two station staff, was exactly the same.

Viidia narrowed her eyes at Serge for his response.

“I guess I was right after all.”

“What is it? Viidia, what do you and the others mean by…?”

Serge looked around at everyone with a puzzled look on his face. But now he was looking at Viidia and Frederick with the same skepticism that he had been looking at them with earlier. The fact that these two facility personnel were said to be innocent before this turn of events only deepened his suspicions.

“The answer is simple. You don't work here either.”

“Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me in a situation like this."

“Are you serious? I didn't know and neither did you, so we were exposed. I heard that this institute has an unwritten social custom. I'm sure it's a very antiquated method and not very accurate.”

How she could have noticed that without asking anyone was a mystery, but that's what the CIA does. Viidia's comment, which sounded as if she had just caught the devil's head, was right on the money. There was a little local rule among the staff in this underground laboratory. It was to judge the other party's affiliation by checking the time. When asked what time it was, they simply responded, "Ten minutes before the hour.” No one knew who started it, but it was a laboratory that also handled highly classified research. It must have come about naturally as a precaution against people coming in and out of the building.

The rule already existed when Frederick was transferred to Next Generation Medical Research Institute, and he had actually learned about it during a lunchtime chat with Aria and Asuka. In a sense, the rule was a failure, because it had a flaw in that the newcomer may have just arrived at the institute, but if they answered a casual question about the current time from a staff member in a normal manner, they were suspected of being an outsider. So when Frederick first became suspicious upon seeing Viidia's physical abilities, situational judgment, and calmness, he asked and confirmed it. On the other hand, when he met Serge, he did not ask it; instead, Dustin did. Frederick's answer cleared his suspicions about Viidia with him, but perhaps Serge was also put out of the question by the response of someone else who was with him in the group.

“So," Viidia said, “Serge, it's your turn to come clean."

Like Viidia, Serge was physically strong and fit. Looking back, it was true that he, too, was not like the scientists of the institute. He didn't think Viidia would confirm it, but now at least Frederick's suspicions were confirmed. So who was this Serge?

“Hm….”

Frederick waited for his next words. But it was Viidia who spoke first.

"Can you tell me about it? How to avoid being attacked by that monster that has Gear cells implanted in it, and where I can go to escape?”

What?

Viidia suddenly asking such a question was, to say the least, unexpected.

“What nonsense. What makes you think I know that?”

On this point, Frederick agreed with Serge. Viidia, however, was confident and did not stop her pursuit.

“I have a lot on my mind,” she said. “Why did you go all the way into the potentially dangerous ducts in the elevator shaft in the first place? Did you know at the time that there was going to be an explosion?"

“That's a wild guess. It was just a coincidence.”

Serge shook his head in disgust.

“It's strange to be brave enough to patrol outside the gym room alone when you don't know where the monster might be. But if there is a way to avoid being attacked, I want to know about it,” she continued.

“Viidia, I'm just trying to…for God’s sake."

“I think you were in that position because you knew we were going to be pinched from the front and back at the flooded bottom level earlier by the crocodiles. I suspected as much, and I'm sorry for Frederick, but I thought it would be safest between him and you. And, in fact, it was."

It was like watching an interrogation. Frederick had a mild suspicion of Serge, but not to this extent. But now that Viidia had told him, he was beginning to think that was the case. In fact, Serge had been the first to act and reach a safe zone at the time of the owls, at the time of the elevator shaft collapse, and when they were attacked by the crocodiles earlier.

Wait a minute. If that's true….

He was reminded of Viidia's earful earlier. Increased vigilance. Frederick's heart beat faster.

“Damn, I don't think you’re going to believe me no matter what I say.”

“Yes, that's right. Well, actually, there are a lot of holes in my hypothesis. If it's not my worst imagination, I'd like you to come clean here. So, Serge, who are you?"

“Okay, I'm in trouble, Viidia….”

Serge sighed slowly.

“Here's your answer.”

And in no time at all, he was in the pocket of his lab coat….

…This guy!

Immediately after, a sound Frederick would never get used to hearing reverberated through the hallway and staircase. But it was a sound he still knew. It was the sound of two gunshots. If he had not been alerted in advance, he would not have been able to react. Frederick had immediately pushed Viidia away from him as soon as he heard the gunshots.

"Guh!"

A bullet pierced Frederick's outstretched second arm. But there were two gunshots. At that moment, the other shot that remained was....

“Ah–!"

A small hole was punched in Dustin's forehead. A huge flower of blood bloomed all over the wall. No time to think. Instant death.

"...Dustin…?"

“Oh, my God!”

The remaining staff members began to scream once it sank in what had just happened.

“Tsk….”

Serge clicked his tongue, perhaps because he had failed to finish off his target, Viidia. Frederick endured the pain and immediately stood up to protect Viidia behind him. But more gunshots rang out.

"Argh–!"

“Stay calm, anomaly.”

Heat in both legs. A wobbly body after being shot through the thigh. But still…. Du-dum. For Frederick, who clenched his teeth, his throat was burning hotter.

"Fuck you…!"

He jumped at Serge, not caring about the pain. More gunshots rang out, and Frederick felt heat in his side, but strangely he felt no fear. He didn’t want to admit that he was a monster, but if he didn’t stop Serge now, they would all be shot dead here. With this in mind, Frederick gathered all his strength.

"What the…?"

Frederick grabbed Serge's wrist and with his momentum he twisted it.

"Tch! Let go of me!"

Almost simultaneously, Serge's knee slammed into the newly created gunshot wound in Frederick’s side, but that didn't stop him.

"UOOOOOAAAAGHHHHHHHH!"

He endured the dull pain and leaned forward with his remaining hand on Serge's shoulder. Frederick pushed Serge down to the hallway floor, then climbed on top of him. Serge's struggling body was held down with all his might.

“You monster!”

Serge's face showed his astonishment. A monster. That word, “monster,” pierced Frederick’s heart. Frederick, who was still moving with bullets in his arms, legs, and even in his side, was certainly doing enough to be called a monster. But whatever they called him, now….

Du-dum. An impulse that sprouted in his chest.

Frederick's body was overwhelmed by the sensation that his thoughts were being overtaken and controlled. Gasping, he put all his strength into his right hand, which gripped Serge's wrist, and with a dull recoil, snapped the wrist that gripped the gun with ease.

“Gaaaaaaaaaahhhh?!”

Serge screamed and suffered in agony. The gun spilled out of Serge’s pulverized fingers that could no longer grip it. Frederick involuntarily smiled and, on impulse, raised his freed fist. Then he swung it towards Serge’s face with all of his strength….

“Don't kill him!"

Argh!

Frederick's fist, redirected just in time, shattered the floor of the corridor. But what if this fist had struck Serge, who was powerless beneath him, in the face? If Viidia, who was behind him, had not shouted to stop him.

I'm sure I would have…killed him.

With this threat, which was unthinkable for a human being.

Oh, I’m….

Even for the sake of self-preservation, he tried to kill someone, following his impulses. Even with a smile on his face. As soon as he recognized that fact, the urge that welled up from within his chest quickly faded.

“Someone give me something to tie him up with”

He mouthed the words as he squeezed them out, holding Serge in his grasp still. The pain gradually receded from his body. The blood from the fresh bullet wound had already stopped flowing, and the wound was beginning to close up, as if it were a video recording playing in reverse. It had happened several times before, but this was the first time he could actually see the process, his abnormality.

No. No, I'm not a monster, I thought…. I want to believe.

But the more he thought about it realistically, the more he realized that he was nothing more than a monster. He felt as if this abnormality was invading his human mind as well. Frederick continued to grit his teeth while the staff tied Serge up.

◆ ◆ ◆

Gently closing the eyes of Dustin's corpse, Frederick stood up. There was no way to prevent Dustin's tragedy when Serge had a gun in his hand. Still, Frederick felt self-conscious about his thoughts from when he attacked Serge, but he could no longer ignore that his thinking went out of sorts when he got like that now.

I’m not a hero. Without a doubt, I am a monster.

But anyway, they were still alive. They survived. So he decided to do what he could now to survive to the end and get out of there in one piece.

“This is what it means to be caught flat-footed. I failed, badly. “

Serge's hands were tied behind his back with an ID lanyard. His wrist that had just been broken by Frederick hung limply in the strap, but he did not seem to be affected by the pain. Perhaps that was why he was sitting in the corridor with a large drop of greasy sweat on his forehead. In front of him, Viidia, who had picked up the pistol, was pointing it at him.

“The military has officially adopted this pistol. I feel like I don't need to ask who you are. Serge, why would someone from the military be in the middle of a situation like this?”

“I'd say they're here to make sure everyone is dead. What you just said is pretty much true. This is a covert military operation. We don't want any survivors. Especially someone like you, Viidia."

"Well, I'm surprised you're so open and honest about it."

“I may be a special agent of the military, but I am not a pawn in their game. If I am left here to interrogate people for too long, I will run out of time and end up dead myself. Whether I return or not, the operation will be carried out as planned, and this entire laboratory will collapse.”

The entire vast underground laboratory was a big secret that needed to be destroyed. Viidia had predicted this earlier, but when it came from the mouth of someone in the military, Frederick could not help but be horrified.

“But you have a way out of a situation like this, don't you?”

“Of course I do. This, too, is the same as what you might have already guessed: the escape boat in the Gamma Section.”

“You shot and killed Dustin, so his biometric ID won't work," Viidia said. “How are you going to get into the Gamma Section?”

Viidia's question was valid, but Serge replied with a smug look on his face.

“I'm not going to spill the beans. As long as I'm the only one who knows the way, you won't kill me.”

This was what Viidia meant when she shouted at Frederick not to kill him earlier. Without him, Frederick and the others would not know the escape route.

“So, how about you let me be your guide?”

"I could torture you and make you talk.”

“Then you should try it. I'll do my duty to the very end. If I choose to run out the clock without telling you, you will die as a result. That's all.”

Viidia sighed at the answer, as if she had no choice. And then, with the barrel of the gun still pointed at Serge, Viidia moved a little away from him and called the survivors close together. Then she said in a whisper,

“The situation is unfavorable. We'll have to follow his lead, but there's too much room for things to go wrong. Stay on your toes."

“You mean he’s still up to something?”

“Yes. I think he's trying to outsmart us somewhere.”

"Even though his wrist is broken and he’s tied up?”

“And she's got a gun pointed at him….”

When the staff members expressed doubt, Viidia shook her head lightly and then said,

"People like this who act alone have special training.”

“Like you, huh?”

Frederick said, and she looked at him for a moment, but then immediately smiled.

“That's what I meant. Anyway, don't let your guard down. I don't know how you do it, but I don't think the monsters will attack you if you stay close together. But there's a chance they'll suddenly run and escape, so I'd like Frederick to stand in the lead and pin them down….”

Not again, Frederick thought for a moment, but then nodded his head

“Thanks. I believe in you.”

Viidia lightly patted Frederick on the shoulder and returned to the front of Serge again. She then helped him to his feet with the gun to his back and began to guide him along the escape route. With Frederick in the lead, they walked through the dimly lit floor, still lit only by the emergency lights. Flanked by Viidia behind him and Frederick in front, Serge first requested that they search for a floor map of the wall like the one they had recently seen on the lowest level, and then confirm their location.

“Are we on the right floor?”

“Well, I doubt it."

Serge brushed off Frederick's question. Apparently, he was not willing to give them more information than they needed to prevent them from trying to predict his next move before he could escape. Serge, as one might expect, remembered the general route they took to the stairs to escape from the lowest level, and led them to the location on the floor map they had seen on the lowest level, albeit on a different floor. He led them to the floor map he had seen at the bottom of the building, even though it was on a different floor.

“Hey, Frederick," he said. “I wish I could remember, but if you don't mind, could you tell me what you're doing here?”

He suddenly came up to Frederick's back and said these words.

“Did you and the doctor have this kind of backup plan in place from the beginning?”

“Backup plan…? Who do you mean by ‘the doctor’?”

Frederick walked away and asked the question back frankly.

"Doctor Asuka. You know who I'm talking about, don't you?”

The face of his best friend suddenly flashed through his mind. Asuka was indeed the project chief in charge of the Gear Project. It was not surprising that he was acquainted with people in the military who were promoting the conversion of Gear cell research to weapons.

“I know, but a backup plan? What the hell are you talking about?”

“From my point of view, you've become a monster and interfered with my operation. A man who should have been shot dead right in front of me. I'm thinking that the doctor was playing a trick on me. I'll be the first to question him when I get back.”

“Did Asuka trick you into…?"

“If you remember everything, we'll get to the bottom of this.”

Frederick's lost memories. He could recall a few things that happened during that period of about a month, but it was inconsistent. Before that, though….

Was I shot and killed right in front of him?

Serge just said that for sure. Then, inevitably….

“Serge, have I ever met you?”

“Yes, earlier this morning, with the doctor. I must admit I was a bit nervous when you appeared in the emergency elevator hall. If you didn't have amnesia, I would have been very suspicious at that point.”

Wait, wait…wait!

As Serge spoke, Frederick involuntarily put his hand to his forehead. This morning, that is, before Frederick woke up in his own laboratory. The memory of the time just before that had already returned, albeit only briefly. He had been shot in the neck, was writhing in agony, sprawled on the floor, and had lost consciousness. Such was the memory.

Then…I am…!

His head ached. A thumping heartbeat. Was this a sign that he was remembering something? Frederick suddenly became dizzy and stopped.

“Was I shot by…Serge?”

“Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me."

The answer to the question was quite shocking.

“It was the doctor who shot you.”

Ah!

It didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t believe it. But the moment he said that, a flashback occurred in Frederick's mind, just as it had several times before.

The image, the memory, connected with that which had happened before.

—

“GUH, AH, AAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!”

This is the memory of rolling around on the floor of the lab, holding my head with both hands. My throat was so hot. I soon found myself unable to scream. I arched my back and convulsed…and then my vision faded to black. Just before that, I was sure I was looking up. My best friend looking down at me as I was dying, with a gun pointed at me.

Asuka R. Kreutz's cold eyes.

—

"You idiot…!”

Frederick found himself shouting at the top of his lungs. But now that the threads of memory were connected in that way at last, it was an undeniable fact. It can't be, it can't be, and he was tempted to deny it, but now he remembered. He now remembered clearly.

Asuka had shot Frederick.

"Why…why?! Asuka!"

He shouted to his best friend, even though he didn’t know where he was. Frederick desperately held his head, looking for a reason, but the flashback was the last thing he saw. All other memories, even the conversation before, were in the dark.

Serge snickered for a moment and then said, “I was told by the doctor that you were against the diversion of the research to weapons and that we would deal with you because you were a dangerous one who had even leaked classified information, but I guess not?”

It was true that Frederick was against the conversion of Gear cells to weapons, but he was sure that Asuka was the same way. Based on Frederick's partial recollections, Asuka had requested Frederick to leak the information, and Frederick had obliged.

I'm the dangerous one? How do I even process all this?

Why did Asuka say such a thing to Serge? Why did he shoot Frederick? The questions were endless, and Frederick had no answers to any of them, but it was hard to believe that Asuka had actually had a change of heart and was promoting the diversion to weapons because they had known each other for such a long time.

But anyway, he said he was tricked by Asuka and, unlike Frederick, he did not lack memory, according to Serge, who knew what really happened.

“I don't know what kind of magic trick you used to turn yourself into a monster, but I can't think of anything but the doctor's handiwork, if not your own preparation. Maybe he shot you to make it look like a kill. They even have a stash in our military, some special Gear cells or something. But that's just a guess, if such a thing really exists.”

Frederick agreed with that suspicion, as to whether or not special Gear cells really existed. The late Dustin was also amazed at the way Frederick's wounds healed, but as far as Frederick knew, simply having Gear cells transplanted did not give something this kind of regenerative power. And cell research does not make dramatic progress in such a short period of time as a single month. But the reality was that Frederick's wounds could not have been regenerated without the help of Gear cells. It seemed natural to assume that there was something more than that. That was why it was even more confusing.

What are you thinking, Asuka…?

If he had only shot Frederick, it might be enough to say that Asuka had betrayed him. However, if he then turned Frederick into a monster like this, there’s no idea what he was trying to do.

What were you planning, by making me like this?

He was frustrated and distrustful of his best friend, because there were so many things he couldn’t understand. Frederick unintentionally punched the wall with all his strength. The roar of his fist, which slammed into the wall, seemed to prove that he was a monster, and it made him feel even more horrible.

Hah. It’s so ridiculous it makes me want to laugh.

But there was no use thinking about all the things he didn’t know. Frederick shook his head and decided to put his doubts to rest.

“It's rough. I would have liked you to remember everything, to see if the doctor was really a traitor.”

“Even if I do get my memory back, I’ll have to hear it from Asuka himself.”

As long as this military soldier, this Serge, in front of him felt cheated, Asuka must have some kind of agenda that Frederick didn’t know about. He believed it now, and he wanted to survive and meet Asuka to pry the truth out of him.

“I hope can get such confirmation," Frederick said to himself

Since Serge, who claimed to be a military man, used such words as “join us,” Frederick hoped that meant Asuka might still be in the Gamma Section. It seemed Serge did not doubt the possibility of escape in the slightest, even in a situation like this, based on what he had said earlier.

Now that he knew that the military was behind this series of events, it was safe to assume that Asuka and Aria, who were at the center of the Gear Project, were more than a little safe. They didn’t know Asuka's unexplained behavior, but considering the forlorn expression he showed outside the institute that day and the details of the research leak Frederick recalled, he may have been forced to do so, as if he was threatened by the military. Frederick wanted to confirm this directly with him. Or, as he had hoped, to change his situation through external pressure with Viidia’s help.

If we survive, we have a chance.

Frederick believed this and started down the corridor again. Then Serge suddenly approached him and said in a strange whisper, "Oh, Frederick, by the way, what time is it?"

Frederick looked at his watch and replied,

"Right now? 15:47, about ten minutes before the hour.”

"Tell me exactly to the second."

“Seconds? Now 16 seconds to…."

“Stop!”

Viidia suddenly interrupted.

“Serge? What were you going to do when you heard the exact time?”

“I'm just confirming the time of the operation, Viidia. It's important. Let's proceed. Frederick, ahead of you, to the left. Then right.”

Serge's guidance resumed. Viidia furrowed her brow for a moment, but when Serge moved, Frederick, in the lead, had no choice but to move as well. As he walked along, a new T-junction appeared in front of them.

“Frederick, take a left there and you will reach the objective”

“Objective? It's a dead end, Serge.”

Frederick, standing at the turn ahead of him, could see the end of the corridor. But then Serge grinned.

“That's all right, three, two, one….”

Suddenly Serge's voice began to count down, and at that moment it reached zero. Serge quickly rushed out and slipped past Frederick's side. Frederick ran after him.

What are you going to do, head for a dead end?

Just then, it happened. Instantly, there was an explosion and vibration, forming a roaring wind and a cloud of dust.

What the hell is…?

The sudden pressure of the storm caused Frederick to collapse. The red and green of the emergency lights reflected in the cloud of dust, and the yellow mixture of the two together. He knew what had happened. An explosion had just occurred. It was right behind Frederick and the others, very close by.

Could this be the end?

Amidst the noise of the explosion, Frederick heard a loud boom. To be precise, his hearing was distinguishing between two sounds. The screams of the station staff, lost in the noise of the explosion. And the sickening sound of bones shattering.

“Damn…. Viidia! Everybody! Are you alive?!"

Frederick shouted, but no response was heard. Only someone coughing from nearby. He followed the sound through the smoke and found Viidia sitting on the floor.

“I wonder if I was lucky or unlucky….”

Viidia was apparently unharmed, but one of the staff was lying in her lap, folded over.

Argh!

In the aftermath of the explosion, Frederick wondered if the scientist was hit in the back by debris or something that blew up. The back of his white coat was covered with blood, and he was already not breathing. If this was the true source of the sound of bones shattering, then the other scream that remained, the one that was lost in the explosion, must be…

I'm not sure if this means he took a direct hit.

He couldn't hear his breathing, couldn't feel his presence. As the smoke from the explosion gradually thinned out, he could not see the other worker, but instead he could see a large hole in the wall. It had been pitch-dark up to this point, relying only on the light from the emergency lamps, but there was a sooty glow coming from the other side of the hole. It was, as it were, a light of hope shining from the heavens.

“How reckless…to blow up the wall to create a route."

“Is the Gamma Section connected to…?”

"Yeah, it is."

And then a presence passed next to Frederick again. Viidia was right in front of him, then it must be the other one who had fled just before.

“Serge! You!”

He must have turned the corner just before the explosion and escaped, slipping out of his bonds in the meantime. The lanyard of the ID that bound him was thrown away in front of him.

“Ha ha ha! As you wished, the escape route is open! Let the finale begin!”

With that, Serge entered the Gamma Section.

“Sorry, thanks for saving my life!”

Viidia also noticed and stood up, sending the last word to the station staff on her knees.

“We're going after him! Frederick!”

“I know! If we let him go, we're done!”

Frederick and Viidia followed Serge and dove into the large hole in the wall. The glare of the lighting, which would usually be the norm, made them squint. The floor of the Gamma Section was a single corridor, like a gentle slope spiraling up. The doors of each laboratory were lined up around the perimeter of the corridor. Looking down from the cavity in the center of the spiral, one could see that Serge was already several floors ahead. Frederick ran after him.

If I jump down, I can catch up with him, right?

For a moment, he thought so, but then he quickly shook his head.

I'm not some comic book hero!

Even if he was already a monster, he was still as scared as anyone else. He thought it would be more realistic to run and catch up with him since he had time to think about it. Frederick put all his strength into his legs and took each step as fast as he could, and the distance between him and Viidia quickly increased. While running, again and again, he could feel vibrations coming from above. The military's plan was to silence the entire underground laboratory, and since Serge had just called it a finale, it probably meant that a full-scale explosion – a collapse – had begun. However, either the Gamma Section was solid, or it would be the last to be blown up after Serge’s escape; and no major explosions had occurred, only vibrations from the other sections. Frederick continued to follow Serge, believing that it was not too late.

Looking around the main corridor, it was immediately apparent that the Gamma Section suffered the same unusual events that Frederick and his colleagues had experienced before. Several researchers in lab coats, covered in blood, were lying in the middle of the corridor. The corpses were inhuman to look at, with parts of their bodies missing and entrails protruding. On the other side of the automatic door of the laboratory, which opened and closed repeatedly on corpses caught in it, the gruesome scene began to unfold even further.

Although the power source was alive and the lights were on, it looked worse than many of the tragedies that had occurred in the Beta Section. On the contrary, as they made their way to the bottom of the Gamma Section, they passed more and more corpses in the corridors. The lower they went, the more damage was done.

Why is this happening?!

The answer became somewhat predictable as he ran. The blood of the corpses was almost dry. First, there was an explosion in the Alpha Section, and then the anomalies began. Then, the military bombing blocked the escape route, trapping the staff in the Beta Section, but where did the monsters that had been there come from? Perhaps this was the answer.

Did they come from here?

It all started here in the Gamma Section, which he thought was a safe zone, a path of hope. As Frederick ran down the spiral corridor with this thought in his mind, he suddenly looked at the lab doors that lined the perimeter of the corridor. Looking down from the center of the spiral, there was no longer a long way to go. Then he came to a door with the number "1" written in large letters. This probably indicated the number of the special laboratory on the lowest level. When Frederick saw the door with the number "2" on it, he thought of Dustin's face. If it were true, he would have escaped from here. Looking in through the half-open door, he saw that the room was a mess, as if there had been an explosion here too. It was clearly not the work of a monster, but rather human sabotage.

Even the emergency elevator in the Beta Section had been sealed off by an explosion. Now that he knew the heart of the situation, that is, that the entire underground laboratory had been silenced by the military, he could begin to understand what was going on. From the opposite point of view, escape boats from other special laboratories should have been the first means of escape to be sealed off. But his means of escape, to which Serge was now heading, was surely different. With this in mind, Frederick ran past Door 2.

He then ran through the spiral corridor in the order of "3" and "4", and saw Serge ahead of him entering a laboratory. This was the end of the spiral corridor, literally at the bottom in terms of the depth of the basement. It was a special laboratory marked with the number "6." Frederick followed Serge and, a few seconds later, stepped into the sixth special laboratory. He was surprised to find an unexpected scene. Frederick gasped.

What is this place…!

It was not a room. The ceiling was high, and it was the size of a large gymnasium or a hall of some kind. There were several large screens on the walls, and an unusually large number of fixed terminals buried in the desks. What's more, there was a large, fenced-in hole in the center of the laboratory for whatever purpose. A big, deep, hole with no bottom in sight. Surrounding the circular hole were a number of huge cylindrical capsules filled with green liquid, but nothing else. This must have been the epicenter of the situation. Perhaps it was from these empty capsules that the other monsters they had encountered so far were unleashed and the tragedy in the facility began.

Where is he?!

The disorderly amount of capsules blocked the view from the entrance. Frederick looked around the too large special laboratory, searching for Serge.

“Frederick! Where's Serge?”

In the meantime, Viidia had caught up.

“Hey, this is….”

Like Frederick, Viidia took in the unusual scene of the laboratory, her eyes scanning over the capsules and the hole in the center.

“I didn't think there was such a facility here. No matter how many other places I looked, I couldn't find it.”

And then, from the shadows of a distant capsule came the voice of the one they chased.

“I'm sorry, this is getting a little tedious. Now, where’s that deactivation key?”

Frederick's hearing detected the voice, and he caught a glimpse of Serge behind the capsule. He was communicating with someone, dexterously operating a console under one of the huge capsules with only his left hand. Eventually, he found it. Frederick and Viidia quickly caught up with Serge, and he slowly turned to face them.

“Oh, I knew you'd come after me. Welcome to the military's secret laboratory."

The capsule he was next to, unlike the others, was filled with something. Intuitively, Frederick understood that the contents were the same kind of altered creature he had encountered before.

“It’s…a bear…!"

Viidia said in alarm.

“Good answer. It's a species called the grizzly."

Was that the source of Serge's confidence? The green liquid started draining out of the giant capsule.

"The whole secret is out now. There's an escape boat at the end of that airlock, just like you wanted."

Serge indicated with his thumb at the wall behind him. A thick door, like the one on an airplane or a submarine, was buried in one corner of the wall.

“The boat’s maximum capacity is one person, however. I'll sit in that seat, of course.”

By the time Serge had finished, all the liquid in the capsule behind him had disappeared, and the transparent partition lowered with a mechanical noise.

“I hope this experimental weapon kills you both."

The grizzly bear's eyes opened, red and glowing suspiciously. Just as Frederick braced himself, Viidia screamed.

“But as long as it's an animal, if you shoot it in the head…!”

Viidia then fired at the bear with the pistol she had taken from Serge. Three shots echoed in rapid succession in the spacious special laboratory. All of the bullets hit the grizzly, two in the head and one in the shoulder, but for a moment, all that could be heard was the animal's yelp.

"It’s ineffective?!"

“The conversion of Gear cells into weapons is now at the practical stage. If you want to kill this thing, you'll need explosive shells, not bullets.”

Despite a few splashes of blood, the grizzly slowly descended from the capsule's pedestal as if nothing had happened. The few bullets that failed to penetrate spilled from its body and clinked onto the floor.

Perhaps it was an animal instinct, but the grizzly flexed its claws, scratched its head, looked around, and sniffed the air. In the meantime, Viidia kept firing.

“I guess that means he's just like someone else….”

The fresh gunshot wounds to the grizzly's head, shoulder, and torso disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if recorded images were playing backwards. Just as Frederick's wounds had closed up before.

◆ ◆ ◆

An oval escape craft shaped like a small submarine sat docked, unmoving.. Asuka was sitting in an aircraft-like seat inside, together with military researchers. Small vibrations came one after another. It was probably caused by the explosion and collapse of the underground laboratory, as was the military's plan, but it was somewhat surprising to Asuka. He had expected to escape immediately after Aria was placed in the cryosleep capsule and all the materials to be taken out were transported to this escape boat. However, after putting on his seatbelt, the situation had not progressed at all.

(Are you waiting for something…?)

If so, what was it?

“There seems to be a lot of explosions, why haven’t we escaped yet?”

Asuka asked the man who had been pointing a gun at him, precisely the one who had been sent by the military to watch over him.

"Don't worry about it. Just a little bit of a miscalculation.”

The man on watch said as he faced a fixed terminal by the wall of the escape boat.

“Well, it won't take long to clear up.”

“Something troublesome going on?"

When Asuka asked again, the man kneaded his shoulder and snickered.

“Well, I won't deny it. Do you remember the man who was on your watch earlier this morning?”

“I think he said…Serge. What's wrong with him? He's been out of sight for some time.”

As a result, Asuka's warden had been replaced by this man, but it was indeed Serge who had informed Asuka of the military's urgent instructions first thing that morning, and had been watching him to make sure he did not do anything strange. His disappearance was also the cause of quite a bit of tension that continued to build for Asuka, who had made a deception that was as good as a gamble.

“I had an additional mission for Serge, and I don't know where I went wrong, but it seems I brought a terrible case of bad luck with me”

The warden rolled his shoulders in disgust.

“We'll leave as soon as we're done over there. Oh, yes.”

The man grinned as if he had just thought of something good to say.

“If that’s the case, doctor, would you like to see what’s going on? An interesting experiment was about to begin. The findings may be useful for future research.”

The man then got up from his seat in front of the fixed terminal and asked Asuka to look at the monitor of the terminal.

(After all this time, the experiment…?)

Asuka wondered for a moment, but there was only one individual left in that special lab. A huge bear that was created without Asuka's knowledge, an experimental weapon of the military.

"I understand. Let me see it."

The Gear Project was no longer in Asuka's hands. The extent to which the military had been able to achieve this was an important factor. Asuka unbuckled his seatbelt without prompting and moved to the seat the man had given up. Then, turning his eyes to the monitor in front of him, the first thing he saw was indeed that huge bear. Serge was standing next to it, but now facing him was….

“Huh? Frederick?!"

If these watchdogs were to find out Asuka's intentions, the whole thing could be ruined. Not to mention the fact that Serge was over there watching the process. He was the one who was in charge of monitoring in the morning, and now he must be having doubts about Asuka. Asuka must act like a fool for the time being, even if it meant betraying Frederick, his best friend.

“It is rather interesting to see the results of the military's research. Let's see what you can do.”

Asuka almost sat up.

“What, do you know him?"

“Ah, he’s a staff member with whom I have a very close relationship. I didn't think he was still alive.”

Asuka, who was smiling, was so happy that he wanted to jump up and down with all his heart.

Frederick Bulsara. The best friend who had been engaged in the research of Gear cells with him and had supported him from the beginning with the construction of the basic theory. That can only mean one thing: He was now able to see his best friend standing alive on the other side of the monitor.

(Thank goodness, Frederick, you were able to conform to the "seed.”)

For Asuka, it was the confirmation of the greatest achievement of all. A gamble, won. No matter how much time it would take, this would avoid the worst-case scenario. Asuka's vision of the future was not far off.

(Even if only minimally, this is now….)

Hope was connected. With this in mind, Asuka clenched his trembling fists and stifled his joy.

“Don't you want to see a killing show of people you knew?”

“It’s not a problem. I told you, I have a history with him. It would be better if he died.”

Asuka put on his researcher's face and stared intently at the monitor. But his gaze was never on the military's experimental weapons.

(Live, Flame of Corruption….)

He was simply turning to his best friend, who was the link of hope.

Chapter Index & Credits Page ・ Mobile Friendly Version Next Chapter: Chapter Five 『AWAKENING』

#guilty gear #guilty gear begin #guilty gear begin english translation #my translations

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