Story Reader / Floating Record / ER05 Sands of Wrath / Story
Uhm...
On the big desk in front of Max lies an open envelope, with its letter in his hand.
This is ridiculous...
Max tears the letter into pieces and throws them into the ashtray. With the cigar he just lit up, he sets the pieces aflame, instantly turning them into ashes.
Max racks his brain over what he just read about in the letter as fumes of smoke rise from the cigar—all the while wishing he could just as easily burn up the mess he has just read about.
Oakley... Am I getting too old or what?
In the drawer he opens is a yellowed photograph of a family of three standing in the middle of a wheat field.
They all seem very happy in the picture—so much so that Max can hardly tell the young man looking back at him from the picture is himself.
Max snaps back at the knocks coming from the door. People rarely visit him around this time, but he figures it's probably someone he knows, seeing that he didn't get a call from the security downstairs.
Come on in.
Max closes the drawer—and is surprised to see the person coming through the door.
Fann...
...
Max casts Fann an unceremonious look before returning to all the papers on the table, his cigar hanging from his mouth.
Say, why don't you take a day off patrol and just go out and enjoy the festivities? I mean...
Do you remember how the Harvest Festival came about in the first place, Dad?
As he keeps his stare on Fann, Max puts down the pen.
Of course... that was when this town had its first big harvest, and your mom was super happy, so we decided to make this day the Harvest Festival.
Right... and she happened to have passed away on this very same day, too.
Max looks away from Fann and once again returns to the papers.
People die all the time... especially with the world as it is right now.
You could have saved her, though.
Max lets out a long sigh at the remark, instantly appearing older beyond his age.
That's enough for the day...
No... not today.
Fann pulls out a service pistol from Babylonia—and trains it on Max.
Tsk... and I thought they hated Babylonia's guts...
Daemon and his people have made the deserted brewery outside of town their temporary gathering place.
And they just decided to call this town their home like... Hey, what the hell?!
Infuriated, Daemon tries to smack the dust off his outfit.
Just how much longer do I still need to be here...
Beats me... They've been getting along so well with the people in town that you can't even tell they're from Babylonia, and that's something I never saw coming.
We need to get rid of them before the Forsaken wreaks havoc here... but if that fails, there is this other person I'm sure you won't have trouble doing in.
Daemon shoves his weapon—a service pistol that Babylonia has given one of to all members of its operational forces—into Fann's hand.
So... who's this other person you were talking about?
Well, lo and behold... the mayor. Your father, that is.
...
Well... guess I'll take that as a no? Thought you wouldn't say no, though... after hearing you talk about how he killed your mother and all.
No... I've got this.
Fann takes the pistol and puts it into a pocket.
We just need him dead for our plan to work... and you can do whatever you see fit with the townspeople after that. Don't think they'll be able to stick together like they have with Max gone, though.
Fat chance they'll stick together. They're all just here for the food and shelter. No way they're going to put their life on the line to fight the Forsaken.
Daemon nods and sees Fann off.
Are you seriously counting on him?
Nigel comes out of a dark corner behind Daemon and slowly walks up to him.
Well, we've got you guys, too... See, this guy and us, we're not the same. He's never killed.
Have you... ever killed one of your loved ones yourself, then?
Sensing provocation in Nigel's tone, Daemon shows an irritated look—all while knowing full well that Nigel can't see a thing.
Haha... See, I can kill anyone, so long as the pay is good enough...
...
Without saying another word, Nigel pushes his glasses and walks out of the brewery.
Hey, don't you forget what you need to do! You and your people are supposed to clean up after Fann if he ever screws up...
Daemon doesn't know if Nigel heard him, but he needs to get around to his part of the plan himself now.
Man, what an oddball...
Daemon checks the time on his terminal and sees that it's time for him to get changed and blend into the festivities. There is nothing he enjoys more than toying with his targets from where they can't see him.
Looking into the barrel, however, Max remains unfazed.
The Forsaken is coming... You need to get out of here now!
People can do whatever they see fit, but I'm not leaving... This is my turf.
Fann is taken aback at Max's calm but somewhat solemn tone. Keeping the pistol trained on Max, he walks up this way.
Are you out of your mind?! Even if you could stop them... this place will still be destroyed! This place that Mom left us with!
Fann presses the gun at Max's head now, unable to keep his hand from shaking.
This is your last warning... Leave this town now, or else...
But you're wrong. People here come and go, the buildings here go down but get built back up, and there will be new wheat when the old ones die—and that's the way things here have been for years and years...
The only thing that's going to destroy "New Oakley"... this place that Oakley left us with, is if I back off now and let them take over this place.
Shut your trap. You don't deserve to say that name...
Looking straight into the barrel, Max puts the cigar into his mouth and takes a long puff.
Well... I suppose you just don't know your mother that well.
As the story goes, Fann's mother came from money—and only decided to stay on Earth with Max after getting kicked out of the family.
Mom was nice and gentle... and you and those good-for-nothing refugees took advantage of that, to the point that she had to sacrifice herself.
Oakley became severely ill after giving birth to Fann. She had a chance to go back to Babylonia for treatment but decided to yield her place to those in need—which eventually left her to die from deteriorating conditions.
Shaking his head at all of Fann's accusations, Max opens the drawer and takes out the photo—the one he's seen only too many times—and gently traces his finger over it.
You see, Oakley... was a lot smarter and stronger than I could ever hope to be.
Hey, Max, check out this wheat. It's bolting!
Say, let's make today the Harvest Festival! We'll all celebrate this day going forward. I want people living here to be happy day in and day out.
That's not true—because I'm going to make this place accessible to all so that people who want to stay here can stay and become part of this town if they recognize our principles of "equality" and "neutrality."
And they'll be able to find work and a place they belong to right here in "New Oakley", regardless of what they might have been in the past.
That's the name of this town. Thought we needed a name for this town first to make recruitment.
There is no way that we'll be able to expand the farming area with just the two of us. People want to see a sea of golden wheat fields and feast on bread.
It's true that we'll be running into a bunch of problems... but we'll be solving just as many, and I trust that you'll be there for me through it all, Max.
Hahaha! See this wheat? I'm sure my little town will be able to stick through thick and thin and come back strong, just like it.
So, what do you say? Are you in this with me?
I'm not going back to Babylonia, Max... and if any of you ever try to talk me into doing that...
Says Oakley as she turns off the safety on her gun and aims it at the people around her.
I'll kill you all and then kill myself.
Hey, easy there with that thing!
Holy ****! I think she means business there!
Oakley shakes her head with a wry smile.
I might be able to make a full recovery if I go back... except they'll never let me leave, and I'll never be able to see everything and everyone I love again.
The idea of death really scares me, Max... I'm an atheist, and I do think that death is the end of it all, but...
But the idea of having to leave you, our adorable son, everyone in this town, and the golden sea of wheat from my dream... I don't see how that's any different from just killing me.
Oakley fires a shot into the air, tears trickling down her face.
So go tell them... that I'll not be going back to Babylonia, and that this is a decision that I, Oakley Norman, have made of my own volition.
If I'm fated to part ways with this world... I'd rather that happen right here, surrounded by everyone I love.
I really like this town, because people can kiss goodbye to their past and live however they want here. So, Max...
Promise me this—promise me that you'll stand on guard for this place and the people here... and the freedom here.
Then she wobbles a few times—before her gun drops to the ground, making a loud thud.
Oakley!
Doc! ****! Doc...
But kudos to both you and her, I guess... See, you and your mother are the only two people to have ever pointed a gun at me in my life.
But if what you're saying is true... then why did you never say a thing!?
Because Oakley never wanted you to think that this place and you prevented her from getting the help she needed. She wanted you to see death as something that happens naturally.
And the fact that you made the decision to be turned into a Construct... only goes to show just how much you're like her—in that you both never follow the path people have laid down for you.
And just like how Oakley chose to stay here, so am I. I'll be keeping "New Oakley" until my very last moment... but you, Fann, are free to go for a future you want now, being the big man you already are.
Dad...
Right then, the terminal sitting on Max's desk pings with a notification.
It's from that commandant from Babylonia...
It's a message that reads, "Watch out. The Forsaken is coming!"
Something in the room catches his attention while he tries to decide if he can really trust this message.
Almost out of instinct, he flips up his desk and flings it at Fann's side.
!
The desk is sliced in half. A split second later, a dagger materializes out of thin air.
Argh...
With the dagger driven deep into Max—who now stands in front of Fann—blood soaks the right half of his body instantly.
Dad?!!!
Fann pulls Max behind himself without any hesitation and starts sending bullets flying at where he thinks the perpetrator is.
Y-you need to get out of here and... and go to... Cough cough...
Following the coughing fit, blood gushes out of Max's mouth.
And meet the commandant! They... probably had a few things figured out... and there is no way of stopping Babylonia and the Forsaken from fighting each other if they're dead.
What about you?
Ha... Boy, this almost feels itchy. I'm not gonna die...
Now, go and do what you need to as the sheriff of this town!
Pressed for action, Fann leaves Max in a comfortable position and gets out through the window.
Oakley... Please do bless our son and this town...
