Xenogears Chapter 05: Girl In Forest

FMV 06: A Dream
[A young child is sitting in the middle of a vast desert, looking like Fei at a younger age. He is crying desperately. Figures start to walk over the sand near him. Then he looks beside him when shadows pass over him: tall, faceless shadows walking over the dunes.]

KID
"Wait! Hey! Don't leave me here! Wait!!"

[The shapes continue on, faster walking than the child is running. He gives up and falls down in their footprints, and begins to cry more bitterly. Another shadow comes up next to him, but this one stops. He looks up to see an auburn-haired woman a few years older than he is. She is perhaps in her teens, and is wearing a pendant not unlike the one that flashed over Fei before. She is a very close resemblance to Elly, at least from the shadows we can see. His eyes change from despair to wonder. Her face is hidden by the shadows, but she is smiling.]

WOMAN
"You must be lonely here by yourself."

[The child smiles meekly and reaches for her hand as she reaches for his.]

WOMAN
"Fei..."

[Screen begins to fade out as their hands meet.]

WOMAN
"Fei..."

[The name is called again, but it sounds a lot more like Elly than the woman. It turns out that Elly is trying to wake Fei up.]

ELLY
"Fei!!"
[----END FMV 06----]

[Black screen.]

[Begin music: "Back to Sleep (1)"]

ELLY
Fei?

[Scene opens on a section of Blackmoon Forest a little further south. Elly is standing next to Fei who appears to have just woken up.]

ELLY
"... Are you awake?"

[Elly walks over to Fei.]

[Begin music: "Forest of the Black Moon"]

[Fei and Elly make their way through more forest when suddenly they are attacked on a stone bridge.]

[Begin music: "Stage of Death"]

[Battle: Fei/Elly vs. Forest Elf x2, Dive Bomber x2]

[Begin music: "Forest of the Black Moon"]

[Scene opens on same spot. Fei and Elly walk slowly towards another section of forest, when Elly stops.]

ELLY
"Fei..."

[Fei turns around.]

[Elly walks slowly towards Fei, not cautious this time, but more concerned.]

ELLY
"Yesterday you said your life was worthless. What did you mean by that?"

FEI
"Why are you asking?"

ELLY
"Why? Yesterday you looked like you had a death wish.
You think it wouldn't make me wonder...? Say, how did you get stranded in this forest in the first place?"

FEI
"I should ask you the same question."

ELLY
"Huh? Well, I, errh..."

[Fei walks off to a large tree, away from Elly.]

[Fade music.]

[Begin music: "Tears of the Stars, Hearts of the People"]

FEI
"I... ran away... from my village... or what's left of it..."

ELLY
"Village...? You don't mean...!?"

FEI
"Lahan...
It was a small village that existed between this forest and the mountain range. I ran away from there."

ELLY
"That village...?"

FEI
"It was a nice, peaceful village. Everyone there treated me like family.
Then, last night, a group of Gears suddenly appeared and started fighting right in the middle of the place.
The village was engulfed in flames... I couldn't just stand there and watch Lahan be destroyed...
So to try and save the villagers, I got in an empty Gear... without even knowing how to operate it.
I just thought maybe I could do it... no... it was more like someone whispering to me...
Someone whispering to me... telling me to do it... But it was a disaster! The village..."

[Fei looks down, and his face becomes downcast and depressed again.]

ELLY
"Was it destroyed by the Kislev army?"

[An awkward pause, then Elly continues.]

ELLY
"Fei...?"

FEI
"No... The village was destroyed... by me..."

ELLY
!?

[Fei turns around, still downcast and very depressed.]

FEI
"Yes. It was me. I destroyed Lahan. I'm sure of it..."

ELLY
"What do you mean you destroyed it?
I thought you were trying to help save the villagers?"

FEI
"I did try to help. I actually took out a few Gears.
But then I came under heavy fire from a new group of Gears...
And then my friend... Timothy... was hit by a hail of bullets...
Then I lost it... Everything just went dark..."

[Fei turns away, still downcast.]

FEI
"I don't remember anything after that.
The Gear I was in went out of control... Well, that's what doc said.
When I came to... the village... and everyone in it... was...
Alice... She was such a... Alice and Timothy... Oh god...! Everybody... All such good people..."

ELLY
"Went out of control...? The Gear...? What about the village?"

[Fei is not listening. Elly tries to get his attention.]

ELLY
"Fei?"

[Fei looks up and his face returns to normal.]

FEI
"...Yes, the Gear!
If only those Gears had never landed in the village...!"

ELLY
!

[Scene change. Elly is piloting a Gear in what appears to be a flashback. They are flying at a high altitude and a high speed. Several other Gears are beside her cockpit window. A voice appears over the intercom.]

VOICE
Damn them...
They're still giving chase.
We've entered Aveh territory...
I'm not giving up now.

[A Gear moves out to the front. Then it is hit and flames sparkle as it loses altitude. Elly is startled by the explosion, as it happens right next to her Gear.]

ELLY
!

VOICE
...That's done it!
I'm at a disadvantage now.

[A thud comes up closer, and Elly looks out the side of the window towards camera as her cockpit shudders.]

VOICE
Van Houten!
What's wrong? Respond!

ELLY
"Sh, shrapnel... In my back.
My thrusters' output is dropping. I can't maintain altitude."

VOICE
Damn it! Everyone land now!
Regroup on the ground.
We'll have to engage them!

[Scene fade.]

[Scene opens on Elly's Gear and it lands on a field...in Lahan. Directly behind Chief Lee's house. Elly disembarks, and walks away quickly. Then she turns around to see two other Gears land behind it and begin firing. Scene change.]

[Scene opens on the forest in the present, where Fei and Elly are still stopped.]

FEI
"If they had never come to the village, never started fighting there...
Then I wouldn't have tried to pilot that Gear. It's all their fault... Not mine!
They're the ones to blame. If they'd never come... none of this would have... ... if not for them!"

[Fei turns and begins pounding the tree as he speaks.]

FEI
"Them! Them!! Them!!!"

[Scene cut to in front of Fei looking over him back at Elly.]

ELLY
"Enough of that!"

[Fei looks around at Elly, confused.]

FEI
!?

ELLY
"You're a coward!"

FEI
"A coward? ... Me?"

ELLY
"Yes, you're a coward. All you're saying is 'them, them, them'.
Don't talk as if you had no part of the blame, as well!"

FEI
"I'm to blame...?"

ELLY
"Yes, that's right!
Of course the direct cause of the battle was that a Gear made an emergency landing in your village.
But all Kislev wanted was the Gear, right? They weren't invading or out to destroy Lahan.
The real damage occured because you climbed in a Gear and tried to fight back!"

[Fei looks downcast again, and looks at the floor.]

FEI
"..."

ELLY
"What ever made you get into that Gear?
Not just anyone can pilot them! It takes training! There is no way a civilian could hope to pilot one!
Besides... you should have been helping the villagers flee to safety instead!
How can you blame the damage on a Gear when it was your decision to fight in it in the first place?
Why don't you take some of the responsibility yourself? Why are you putting all the blame on others?
That's just running away! That's what makes you a coward!"

FEI
"Well, if you put it that way... Yes... that's right, I am a coward!
I didn't realize my own strength and have been blaming what happened as a result of that on others.
I'm a pitiful excuse for a man. But...
I just felt this rush of blood in me and I couldn't help myself! Couldn't help myself... or help others."

[Fei puts his elbows over his face, and then collapses with his face in his hands.]

ELLY
"Fei, I, I'm..."

FEI
"Shut up!! What do you know!?
When I came to I was surrounded by piles of rubble...
I didn't know what had happened or what I had done. I remembered absolutely nothing.
All I knew was that my hands could still feel what they had done.
The only things that penetrated the Gear's barrier were screams...
Screams accompanied by the stench of blood, the sound of crushing bones, and my own curses.

[Fei gets up, his hands shaking and he holds a fist out to Elly, suppressing it with his other hand.]

FEI
Look! Look at my hands! Can you hear their voices? Can you understand this feeling?
The feeling of having destroyed your village with your own hands...?
Of not being able to do anything for the children left behind...?
Now they have nothing... I have nothing... I have nowhere... no one..."

[Fei sits back down and puts his face in his hands again.]

FEI
"I didn't want to get in it... I had no choice... There was no other way..."

[Elly walks a couple of steps towards Fei. Then she walks back a step. A few moments pass. Then, she turns and walks away. A few steps into her walk, she stops and stares back at Fei for a second. Then she walks into the next section of forest.]

[Stop music.]

[Scene fade.]

-----

[Scene opens on the next section of forest. Elly walks into the section and stops at the section where the forest opens up.]

ELLY
"Why did I go and say that to him...?"

FMV 07: Elly's Flashback
[This FMV shows a lot of people's mouths but nothing else of their face, so we will assume that the woman talking is Elly: it is.]

ELLY
"You talk as if it's not your responsibility!"

[Elly is shown in a chamber with blood, she is shaking her head in disbelief.]

ELLY
"No... I didn't do anything!"

[Her voice echoes in her head and we see her shouting at Fei again. All we see is her mouth.]

ELLY
"They died because you had to pilot the Gear and start fighting!"

[Elly is in the chamber again.]

ELLY
"It wasn't me, can't you understand?"

[Elly drops to her knees in the chamber, and the camera pans around to show dead corpses, and blood everywhere. Apparently the victims died very violently. Blood flows up to Elly's hands and on it. She lifts her hands up and looks at the blood on them.]

[Elly is shouting at Fei again, all we see is her mouth. But one of her own thoughts interrupts the accusation.]

ELLY
"Not just anyone can pilot those machines, you know!"

[A flash of the dead in the chamber again.]

ELLY
"I didn't do it!"

[Elly's shouting again.]

ELLY
"Why don't you take responsibility!?"

[Elly is standing in the forest, where she was when the FMV began. She looks rather downcast, herself. She looks up at the light casting down on her.]

ELLY
"I'm not so strong."

[Elly is yelling at Fei again in another reoccurence.]

ELLY
"Why are you trying to put the blame on others?"

[Elly is standing alone in the forest again, and looks up as the words she said echo in her head, then she looks downcast again.]

ELLY
"I'm not even all that talented."

[She closes her eyes. Blood flows down the screen and then we see her accusing mouth again.]

ELLY
"You're a coward!!"

[Fei's mouth finally responds, appearing in the same fashion Elly's has been speaking.]

FEI
"That's right!! I'm a coward."
[----END FMV 07----]

[Elly is still standing in the same place.]

ELLY
"Yes... that's right... I am a coward..."

[Begin music: "Forest of the Black Moon"]

[Elly walks further into the clearing. Suddenly, a thumping sound is heard, and she stops.]

[Fade music.]

ELLY
!?

[Elly looks several directions for the source of the sound. Scene cut to behind Elly's shoulder when she sees the source: a large green lizard-monster about twice her height. It walks out of another canyon-like opening, pauses and turns its head to see Elly. After a second, it jumps over part of the cliff and runs straight for her. Then it roars in her face.]

[Scene change.]

[Scene opens on previous forest. Camera angle directly in front of Fei, is still sitting with his hands in his face in front of the tree where Elly left him. A scream is heard from further away, which we know is Elly. Camera zooms in on Fei, who suddenly gets up, runs to the entrance Elly walked through previously, and stares down it.]

[Begin music: "The Steel Giant"]

FEI
"Oh no!"

[Fei runs through the corridor. Scene change.]

[Scene opens on the Rankar in the clearing. Fei runs in and sees the beast.]

FEI
"Elly!!"

[Elly is unconscious and is clutched in the beast's jaws like a mid-morning snack. The beast turns to see Fei, and drops Elly to the ground. It then gives out another roar after turning a step.]

[----Battle mode----]

[Camera angle on Elly at the base of the monster.]

FEI
"Elly! Are you alright?!
Darn! She's unconscious!"

[Close shot of Elly again, pull back to Fei and the Rankar.]

[Battle: Fei vs. Rankar Dragon]

[Fei attacks and avoids several times, but nothing he does has too much effect on the Rankar.]

[Scene cut to behind the Rankar. Camera rotates around the Rankar, back to front. A rotating sound is heard as the monster roars.]

VOICE
"Fe~i!"

[Citan's Land Crab flies up from behind the monster and has the same Gear Fei piloted in Lahan in its claws. Citan stops the Crab in front of the monster, above him and directly above Fei. Camera rotates to show Citan in the pilot's seat of the Land Crab.]

CITAN
"Fei! I have been searching for you! Here, You can use this!"

[The Land Crab deposits the Gear in the landing position right in front of Fei.]

FEI
"Hey! Hold on a second! To tell me I can use it is one thing...

[The Rankar turns back to the unconscious form of Elly lying prostrate on the ground, and roars.]

FEI
"Elly... Damn it!"

[Scene cut to Fei next to the Gear which is not facing the Rankar.]

FEI
"Doc. I have a favor to ask!
I will defeat this monster!
But, if it looks like I'll go out of control like last time, then shoot me!"

[Camera moves up to above Land Crab.]

CITAN
"Fei... Let us pray that won't happen!"

[The Land Crab ascends to the treetops, and Fei boards the Gear.]

[Battle: Weltall vs. Rankar Dragon]

[Begin music: "Forest of the Black Moon"]

[Scene opens on the edge of the battlefield. Citan has landed. Elly has been placed at the base of a tree. The Gear is in a landing position to the left. Citan walks from Elly over to the Gear Fei is in.]

CITAN
"Fei! Are you alright?"

[Fei disembarks right in front of Citan.]

FEI
"Yeah... I guess so."

CITAN
"That fight with the Rankar was remarkable.
An ordinary Gear could not defeat that monster. And you certainly keep yourself in good shape..."

FEI
"Why did you bring this here, doc?"

[Fei turns and looks at the Gear's foot.]

CITAN
"This...? You mean Weltall?"

[Fei turns back to Citan.]

FEI
"... Weltall? This is the Gear that destroyed our village.
Why did you bother bringing it here? I never want to see another Gear again..."

CITAN
"I understand how you must feel...
But, in order to protect yourself you need a certain degree of strength.
Even more since we are being pursued."

FEI
"I agree that a certain degree of strength is needed for self-defense.
And if it weren't for this Gear here, Elly and I'd be in that Rankar's stomach right now...
But its power goes beyond what is necessary. Does one really need the power to destroy everything?"

CITAN
"..."

FEI
"I don't need that kind of power... I just hate Gears."

CITAN
"Fei, using power or being used by power... is that not a problem of the heart...?
If humans do not use their power for wrong it can be a good thing... I believe such power can help us.
In that respect, I know you will be fine. It sure helped you out this time.
Am I right?"

FEI
"I want to believe that. But something is holding me back. This Gear..."

[Fei looks at the Gear's foot, shakes his head, and turns back to Citan.]

FEI
"Well, whatever... At least Elly is safe now."

[Fei and Citan walk over to Elly's unconscious body.]

CITAN
"She seems to have come to."

[Elly stands up and shakes her head a couple times.]

ELLY
"Huh...?"

[Elly turns to see Citan and Fei.]

CITAN
"I am Citan... a friend of Fei's.
You almost did not make it. If Fei had not have helped you, I hate to think what may have happened.
But I was not too pleased with his rashness in trying to take on that Rankar with just his bare fists."

ELLY
"Bare fists?"

[Elly turns to Fei.]

CITAN
"Well, I am glad that you were able to find a use for what I brought you."

[Citan turns towards Weltall, Elly realizes it is there and looks at it.]

ELLY
"!!"

CITAN
"Let us just say we are borrowing what the Kislev army left behind..."

ELLY
"... Oh."

[Elly turns back to Fei.]

ELLY
"Thank you, Fei. This makes twice."

FEI
"Don't mention it. I'll just put it on your tab."

[Citan turns to Fei, then to Elly.]

CITAN
"It is getting dark. Let us make camp now and start out early tomorrow.
The both of you look tired and I need to make some repairs on our friend here..."

[They all look towards Weltall. Crackling fire is heard. Scene change.]

[Stop music.]

[Scene opens on a clearing in the forest. Weltall is in the landing position, and the camera pans up to see Citan tinkering on a knee, then he shakes his head, and gets up, in thought.]

CITAN
"It is no use. The knee actuator and bypass circuit are both ruined.
The acutator can be fixed, but the circuit needs to be replaced..."

[Citan jumps down to the ground. Elly is sitting on a log in front of the fire. Fei is sleeping on the other side at the base of a tree. Citan walks over to Elly.]

CITAN
"Oh, having trouble sleeping there?"

[Elly turns to Citan.]

ELLY
"Yeah..."

CITAN
"I imagine you would. You have had quite a day."

[Citan turns back to face Weltall.]

CITAN
"This is the machine Fei used when the village was attacked.
There was another machine left sitting on the outskirts of the village...
Nil bayer dars legus? (It was yours, right?)"

[Elly is surprised by this utterance of Citan's.]

ELLY
!

[Citan turns back to Elly.]

CITAN
"Just as I thought...
The missing pilot from the Gear that made an emergency landing in Lahan...
... and the mysterious woman found wandering lost in the forest... are actually one and the same person.
Judging from your uniform, I would also say you are with the military... Am I correct?"

ELLY
"How...? Who are you?"

CITAN
"I checked the ID tags of the soldiers who died in the attack on Lahan...
The design on their tags and the design on your uniform there is the same."

ELLY
!

CITAN
"Do not worry, they were given proper burials.
But, they may not have been too pleased to die in a foreign land."

ELLY
"... Maybe."

CITAN
"Does Fei know about you?"

ELLY
"I don't think he has realized yet."

CITAN
"Most likely... Fei knows nothing of the world outside of Lahan."

[Citan turns and looks at Fei.]

ELLY
"I see... So how come..."

[Citan turns back to Elly.]

CITAN
"... In any case, it is best if we do not pry into each other's pasts anymore."

ELLY
"But..."

CITAN
"Let us just say that I know a little more about the world than most do."

[Citan keeps talking.]

CITAN
"Anyway, Elly... I have a favor I must beg you to do..."

ELLY
"... What is it?"

CITAN
"Go straight ahead and you will come to a road.
Then just keep going... Would you please leave us while Fei is still asleep?"

ELLY
!?

CITAN
"Unfortunate things keep happening around Fei.
I would like to protect him if possible... I do not want him caught up in any vain struggles.
I am also saying this for your benefit. Elly, you do not belong here.
Go back to your family."

ELLY
"Um... I..."

[Begin music: "Tears of the Stars, Hearts of the People"]

CITAN
"Do not worry. I will not tell Fei what your true identity is.
I will... just tell him you went to meet up with your family..."

ELLY
"No, it's not that! I did something terrible to him...
So... I want to... apologize."

CITAN
"Something terrible?"

ELLY
"Fei told me it was our fault your village was destroyed.
Fei kept saying... 'if only they hadn't come...'
Then, I called Fei a coward because he was trying to escape from the responsibility...
But in fact it was me who was trying to escape from taking the blame..."

[Elly keeps talking.]

ELLY
"If I hadn't crash-landed there, they would all still be living peacefully now.
All those innocent people wouldn't have been caught up in that tragedy. But I accused Fei..."

CITAN
"You are a rarity. I did not expect your people would ever think like that.
To your people, surface dwellers are nothing more than domesticated animals, are they not...?"

ELLY
"'The Shepherds, -Abel-, took control over the surface dwelling -Lambs-
... possessing the right to give life and death unto them as they see fit...'"

CITAN
"Exactly. Yet you seem to feel responsibility toward Fei and the villagers.
Why is that?"

ELLY
"I don't know myself...
At Jugend I was taught that surface dwellers were stupid and base...
... And that is why we have to control them... But..."

CITAN
"But upon meeting Fei, something about him made you feel differently?"

ELLY
"Yes. He's no different than we are... in fact he seemed more powerful.
He possesses something... ... something we don't. He also risked his life to save me... twice."

CITAN
"Most of your people would feel ashamed at receiving such an act.
Yet, you are grateful to Fei...?"

ELLY
"It's probably because of my father. He had an open mind to surface dwellers.
My nanny was... a surface dweller. No one knew about her though...
Besides... I am the same as Fei..."

CITAN
"The same?"

ELLY
"No, nothing. Nevermind..."

CITAN
"Hmm. I think I understand. I am sorry. After just saying we should not pry...
It is my nature, you know? My wife says I am too persistent and that I talk too much.
But, personally, I do not think I talk too much."

[Citan keeps talking.]

CITAN
"It is probably best if you return home to your country.
You really should not be here."

ELLY
"I'll return to headquarters. But then what..."

CITAN
"You are worried..."

ELLY
"Yes..."

CITAN
"Worrying is natural... 'Even I used to worry once too, you know!?'"

ELLY
"Oh, Citan..."

CITAN
"Anyway, let me handle what to tell Fei... You had better go now."

[Elly walks away. She stops, and turns and looks back at Fei. Then she leaves. Citan sits down on the log where Elly was. Scene fade.]

[Stop music.]

[Begin music: "Back to Sleep(1)"]

-----

[Scene opens on the same clearing Fei, Elly and Citan were in before campfire scene. Citan is standing by Weltall, and Fei walks over to him.]

FEI
"Has Elly gone yet?"

[Resume music: "Forest of the Black Moon"]

[Citan turns around.]

CITAN
"Oh, so you were awake?"

FEI
"Yes, I woke up midway, so I only heard part of what you two were discussing."

CITAN
"..."

FEI
"Elly... so that's what she is?"

CITAN
"Fei, she is..."

FEI
"I know. It's not Elly's fault.
What happened to the village is all my fault.
I took out all my pent up feelings on Elly. I'm the one who should apologize."

CITAN
"Fei, do not blame yourself. It was not your fault either.
You were just trying to protect the village."

FEI
"Thanks, doc... By the way, how is everyone from the village going?"

CITAN
"Do not worry, Yui is taking care of them.
I told her to leave soon and take them all to a certain place.
They should be safe for a while. So you just worry about yourself for now."

FEI
"Okay, doc."

CITAN
"Now to think what we should do next...
Shall we leave this forest and head for the desert town of Dazil?
We may learn what Aveh and Kislev are up to... not to mention getting some parts for Weltall.
The leader of Aveh is not going to sit back and let the other night's fiasco go by unpunished!"

[Fei and Citan head for the exit, when a rumble is heard.]

FEI
?

[Silence music.]

[Camera pans up. Fei and Citan look up and see a huge battleship is seen flying above the treetops.]

[Unmute music when battleship is out of sight. Pan back to Fei and Citan.]

FEI
"What is that...?"

CITAN
"I would assume it is an aerial battleship from Aveh..."

FEI
"An aerial battleship? I've never heard of Aveh having anything like that."

CITAN
"Of course it does not come from Aveh originally...
Most likely it belongs to the Gebler forces stationed in Aveh."

FEI
"Gebler?"

CITAN
"Special forces from the Sacred Empire of Solaris known as Gebler.
I am sure you have heard something about them.
They are an organization providing large scale military aide to the Kingdom of Aveh.
They showed up in Ignas several months ago. Until then, Aveh was being routed by Kislev.
But with Gebler's help they have managed to regain half their losses.
They are now expanding their territory and gathering resources buried in the ruins."

FEI
"I've heard the village elders talk about it... Is Elly a part of that?"

CITAN
"Quite possibly so. Their group has superior technology and power.
It is rumored they are here solely to get the resources in the ruins.
I am surprised they are using something as powerful as that ship...
It must be to supress the recent border skirmishes."

FEI
"So they are fighting the Kislev Empire?"

CITAN
"Yes. It seems they have found new ruins on the northern edge of Aveh.
Those ruins are under a five-hundred-year-old temple.
Three weeks ago Kislev took over those ruins. Most likely they are fighting over that."

[Fei and Citan exit the forest.]