Chapter 9: Now I Know Everything

Head... hurts. But for some reason, everything seems to be... familiar. I see these scenes playing in my head. Very familiar scenes playing in my head. I can see the Gespensts, some strange people looking at me through a looking glass, and a pretty lady standing beside some intimidating man with a cloak. I can also hear someone calling my name faintly... or at least something else. Something like a codename. "W Minus 4". "W Series."

• ??? - Hey, I think we're getting it open.

• ??? - How long has sleeping beauty been in there?

• ??? - He's been in the cockpit for roughly 3 hours now. Anti-Intrusion Seizure Locks were engaged. Probably to avoid someone hijacking the unit while the pilot is out of commission. Should be able to crack the protection to open it up.

• ??? - Well then, if you got the energy to blab about it, then get to it, Pointdexter.

• ??? - Ladies. Let's stay calm and composed here. Our Prince Charming is stuck inside. And whoever gets to him first gets to ki-

• (BOTH) - SHUT UP, SION.

• Sion - I kid, I kid.

Oh, they're trying to rescue me. Though, my head is starting to feel a little clear. There was so much fuzz in my head. Almost like there was stuff I tried to remember was being jammed. But seeing that Gespenst seemed to have unlocked something in my head. Something greatly familiar. I figured that I can get my answers from ACE, but something tells me he already knows what I'm thinking of. After all, something like him can read my brainwave patters easily, and discern exactly what I'm thinking of. No, only he can do it. Not sure why, but I have a gut feeling that he's the only thing that is capable of doing much more than just that.​

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I feel myself finally coming to and noticed something on the cockpit monitor. "Anti-Intrusion Seizure Lock active?" Palisade has something like this? Not many mechs have this kind of security measure, especially for incapacitated pilots. So my mind was not playing tricks on me. Someone is trying to get me outta here after I passed out.

• Otsdarva - Pal, disengage security

• Palisade AI - Voice recognition detected. Biometrics confirmed. Brainwave link detected. Disengaging A.I.S.L.

• ??? - Cockpit seems to be opening up on its own. He must be awake. 

• Sion - Good, looked like you were having a bit of trouble there.

• ??? - These security measures are out of this world. Every time I made a breakthrough, I get denied and instantly resets to a new cryptopattern. This is beyond Quantum-class firewalling.

• ??? - Well, I woulda brute forced it open if that was the case.

• ??? - Well, aren't you the little amazon woman that could.

• ??? - Keep this up and you'll find more than lips on that face of yours.

• ??? - Threat or promise?

• ??? - Wanna find out?

• S - Ladies, as much as I'd like to see some sexual tension, I think welcoming Ots back into the waking world would be much better.

There was a brief moment of silence. From that point onward, I decided to make my grand appearance. I opened up the cockpit​ and was greeted with two unfamiliar people standing beside Noa on a lift platform.

• Otsdarva - Well hello and good mornin' everybody. Noa, mind introducing me to our unfamiliar guests?

• Noa - I'm not your bell hopper, bitch. You ask them.

• O - Mind INTRODUCING me to our guests... N-O-A?

• N - *sighs* The buff cueball with the porn stache over is Sion. And this lovely piece of blue-haired braininess right beside him is Ayla, an auditor.​

• S - I'll take that bit as a compliment. The ladies do dig the stache.

• Ayla - And I'm not just all brain too. I can hold my own in a fight.

• N - These two came to your rescue after those Lions tried to hijack the base. You never exactly woke up for some reason, but your mech right here just went back to base on its own.

• O - Excuse me?

• S - She ain't lying. I was about to carry you myself to the hangar, but your mecha just practically dusted itself off and went back inside.

• O - ACE, did you have anything to do with this?

• ACE - Negative. I do not have superior clearance to override the main control AI of the unit. Despite my functionality, I cannot do much to take control, let alone operate it myself.

• O - So this thing really does have a built-in AI. Never thought it would be THAT advanced though.

• Ayla - Most likely due to the nature of Karakuri-types.

• O - Kara-whatnow? 

• A - Karakuri. Puppets that have an AI built into them to function on their own. They can be reprogrammed to benefit the pilot, but sometimes there are instances where they are in self-defense or search mode where they act on their own. Seems like Palisade here has one programmed to assist you at every step of the way based on its behavior.

• O - So, you're familiar with these things?

• A - Who wouldn't? There was one instance a band of adventurers managed to roam around with some high-spec Karakuris. Fought tooth and nail to get them. 

• S - And they're still somewhat active to this day from what I've heard. Goes by the name of Browning or something.

Upon hearing that name, there was a sharp tinge of pain that shot through my brain. A tremendous headache was rippling through my head upon hearing that name. But why? Why am I feeling this now? And then... it hit me. The Gespenst, Browning, the little echoes of memories... I had to check something important.​

• N - Hey, are you alright Ots? You don't look so hot.

• O - It's all starting to make sense now...

• N - What are you talking about?

• O - The pain. It's... relative to something I should remember.

• S - You an amnesiac?

• O - I dunno. But when I woke up, I could probably classify as a fish outta water. Had no memory of something in the past. But there was something that stood out when I did wake up.

• ACE - The letter. The mention of the Good Doctor. I pinpointed something in relation to the letter and something interesting came up in my results. A set of logs.

• O - Go with the most relevant one.

• ACE - Accessing... Opening audio file titled "Now I Know Everything". Playing now via loud speaker.

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