Story Reader / Festival Event Story / The Destined Surprise / Story
You find yourself stopping in your tracks in a corridor in Babylonia, feeling too scared to take another step forward.
Mostly because something up ahead doesn't feel right.
The massive armed mech that stands in the center...
Looks imposing, while at the same time donning a coating the color of a cake...
With burning candles on its shoulders...
And a huge birthday hat on top of a round astronaut helmet in the cockpit...
It looks incredibly bizarre... and vibrant...
Hehe, just in time! Ready to give it up for me as I come through the door?!
Turning around, you see Nanami standing confidently with her hands on her hips and her head held up high.
Commandant, are you ready? I'm not going to go easy on you!
Yup, of course... I mean, battling is always the only way to win even in action games.
Well, you see, it's your birthday today, and I wanted to spice it up with a little "challenge." Now, if you want to beat me in this challenge...
Then I'm going to give you this super awesome birthday gift!
So, are you ready, Commandant?
As Nanami shouts, she lifts her left foot, raises her right hand, and points her fingertips skyward. She now stands as straight as a vertical antenna.
Beep, beep. I'm reading everyone's signals here...
Beep, beep...
Beep, beep...
Beep... Terrible signal reception here...
Keeping her one-hand-one-foot, straight-up stance, Nanami hops left and right, apparently trying to find the "right" reception spot.
You don't really understand what Nanami is doing, but you have a feeling that something big is about to happen.
Beep, beep, beep, beep...! There, it's coming, Commandant! I just picked up the signal!
Having been keeping her eyes closed to stay focused, Nanami opens her eyes wide as she stomps her left foot. Then, she launches herself into the air and spins several times, before hopping over you and landing on your other side.
Seconds before she lands, Power, with its engines and thrusters roaring, swooshes past you and catches Nanami precisely in the cockpit.
Before you even have the time to clap for their amazing performance of maneuvers, Power has already sped down this way. A split second later, Nanami pulls you into the cockpit.
Com—man—dant—hold—tight—to—me—
You can barely make out what Nanami is saying as Power picks up speed, but judging from how fast things are speeding past you in your surroundings, you can tell that Power is heading from Babylonia into space.
You struggle with every ounce of your being to get close to Nanami's ear to let her know that you're not wearing a spacesuit.
Nanami, however, just looks at you with an "Oh, don't worry" look.
Before long, Power launches itself off Babylonia into space while carrying you and Nanami. From what you hear from Nanami after the shenanigan, things only went as smoothly as they did because she'd notified Babylonia of the trip well in advance.
Now in space, you feel just fine without wearing a spacesuit—and you have Power to thank for stuffing you into an astronaut helmet right before it launched off Babylonia.
There is plenty of oxygen in the helmet and the temperature is just right, except...
You find yourself and Nanami cramped into the one-person space like canned sardines.
...Oops, totally forgot to make it a little bigger.
But hey, feel free to scoot over a little, Commandant. I'm super soft and malleable.
Because I'm trying to get a better view here.
Hey, see that thing over there?
With Nanami sitting on your lap, you look at where she's pointing...
And see a sprawl of stars.
The sprawl of stars looks so surreal that you can't help but doubt your own eyes.
Every birthday is unique, and there is no reliving a birthday once it's gone, which is why I want to make every single one of your birthday count and make it the best ever.
Nanami spreads her palms and presses them against the inner wall of the helmet. Beyond the wall, a pure, radiant white light emerges from the stars. This light, a remnant of the past, transcends time and space, traveling millions of light-years to reach both of you.
I got everyone's signals loud and clear!
In the flowing radiance, it feels like you're looking into the past and everything that's happened over the year, whether big or small, familiar or not, and all the people you've met along the way.
The radiant white light eventually converges into Nanami's palm. Through the wall, Nanami gently closes her hand, then opens it to reveal a small chip.
She hands the chip over.
Following Nanami's instructions, you insert the chip into your terminal and play the audio file in it. At first, you hear nothing but an overlapping mix of sounds. Through the confusing mix of sounds, you can still sort of make out what you're hearing.
You seem to be hearing blessings, some of them by voices you recognize, some by voices that you only sort of remember, and some sound like greetings from mechanoids. Among them, however, is a voice that you can't quite decide if you recognize or not...
People say that birthdays are about saying goodbye to the past, and I find that very depressing.
But fortunately, that's just the first half of this saying, and the second half of it is "Birthdays are about greeting the future, too!"
As far as I'm concerned, I believe that friends who celebrate your birthdays with you are those who are willing to walk the path with you in the future.
It's a shame that we can't all be together in one place to celebrate your birthday this year, Commandant.
Which is why I got you this as a pleasant surprise!
The audio in the terminal pauses momentarily—and with it, all the blessings synchronize.
Commandant...
Happy Birthday!
...
When you and Nanami are back from the shenanigan, you ask her what these "signals" were all about. This is what she says...
That's just meant to spice things up. I mean, I asked everyone to record a "Happy Birthday" video for you, but I didn't want to just give it to you. Would have been super boring and lame!
And the light? Well... that's one of Power's special effects, and I was just playing along...
Hey, stop asking already! Magic tricks are lame once you know how they work, right?
...But I totally don't mind showing you more of these "tricks" I have up my sleeve!
