Kamuta: What are you doing?!
Kamuta: How could you side with our enemies? Against your own people, against the ones who would rebuild our home?!
Incredulous severity colors his tone.
Kamuta: You've brought shame on our people. You've disappointed me.
Kamuta: Stop all this now, and come with me. We will beg Ms. Grace to cleanse your soul!
Like the countless times before, he waits for her to grasp his outstretched hand.
*thwack*
Kamuta: ?!
An unexpected act of defiance.
Fatutu: Joining Manus Vindictae was a mistake, Kamuta.
Fatutu: Their masks blinded our people, they tricked us with their lies and empty promises, but look! So many precious lives lost for nothing.
Kamuta: It wasn't for nothing. They died for the resurrection of Nukutaeao!
Kamuta: Isn't it your dream, too? To rebuild our home in a land free of humans and their wickedness?!
Fatutu shakes her head.
Fatutu: No. Not anymore, Kamuta.
She looks around at her people, their faces marked with pain and confusion.
Fatutu: We may have lost our islands, but what we've done here lost us something far more precious.
Kamuta: ...
Fatutu: There's nothing in this so-called "new era" that Ms. Grace promised us that is worth becoming monsters and corrupting our Spirit Shells.
Fatutu: Our pride must be in ourselves and who we are.
Fatutu: The shells around our necks, the words we speak to one another, the way we treat others with kindness, not hatred. That is what defines us.
Fatutu: We are more than just how the outsiders can use us, more than our Sea Mother's Eye. We are the wisdom of our elders, and the traditions we keep sacred.
Fatutu: And if our islands all sink beneath the waves, we will remember them in our craft and in our stories, we will remember the story of the brave Nukutai girl fighting off the Serres, we will remember them in the songs of Nukutaeao!
Fatutu: No matter whether it's an island or a ship we stand on, as long as we're together, Nukutaeao—our home—lies beneath our feet!
Kamuta: ...
Fatutu: Didn't you say you would always have faith in me, Kamuta?
Fatutu: You believed I could lead our people to a better future.
Fatutu: Now, I believe in myself, too.
She raises her head, the shells on her chest heaving with every breath.
They tremble in unison, resonating with the collective energy of the Nukutai.
Kamuta: Heh heh.
Kamuta: You'll be a better leader than I ever was, Fatutu.
The expected reprimand never comes. She stares in shock at her brother,
at his lips curled into a faint smile, at his trembling hand still extended out to her, and ...
at the black blood seeping from his eyes and ears.
Fatutu: What's happening to you?!
*crash*
The towering figure before her falls to the ground.
Kamuta: I'm fine, Tutu. I'll be alright.
Kamuta: You're right, dear sister. The words you spoke have opened my eyes.
Pained words are forced through his blackened lips.
Fatutu: Brother!
As she cries out, heads turn toward her.
The mask remains tightly affixed to Kamuta's face, its black liquid nearly covering it entirely.
Vertin: It's the mask's punishment!
Fatutu: I-I don't understand!
Vertin: Manus Vindictae use their masks to sift out their most loyal followers. Those who pass the trial can retain their personality and memories.
Vertin: However ...
Vertin: If they should show any signs of faltering in their faith, the mask will punish them. Their consciousness will be devoured by the fathomless depths of arcanum.
Vertin: Until they become nothing but a walking corpse, caught in eternal agony.
A slow clap breaks the silence.
Ms. Grace: Well, well, I am stunned by the breadth of your knowledge of our operations, Ms. Vertin.
Ms. Grace: But I must remind you: gossip like that is terribly bad manners.
Ms. Grace: Is it any wonder why our guests look so terrified?
Ms. Grace: Though it does pique my curiosity. I wonder, even with all you said, do they fear us more than they fear death?
Her commanding gaze hovers over the ship's passengers before finally landing on her former follower.
Ms. Grace: What a pity, Mr. Kamuta.
Ms. Grace: I had high hopes for you. It seems our friendship has come to an untimely end.
Her words are cold and emotionless, instilling a new fear in the crowd.
Vertin: The people here know the truth about your masks. There's no sense trying to deceive them any longer!
Ms. Grace: Oh, is that so?
Grace slowly advances, her steps poised.
Sonetto: Timekeeper, stay behind me!
Sonetto imposes herself between the two, poised to fight.
Ms. Grace: Oh, what do we have here?
Ms. Grace: How adorable, the ever-loyal deputy leaps into action! chuckle
Ms. Grace: But we're on a tight schedule, and I don't have time to play games.
Ms. Grace: There's no power in your shiny little badge here.
She glances at the Foundation emblem on her chest.
Ms. Grace: Mr. Kamuta, Manus Vindictae will forever remember your contribution.
Ms. Grace: Farewell.
Vertin: Fatutu, watch out!
Ms. Grace: *Slæstu í djúpan dvala.
Fatutu: Brother! No!
COMBAT
The arcane fluctuations gently dissipate around Grace.
Barcarola: Captain Grace!
Ms. Grace: What is it now, Ms. Barcarola?
Ms. Grace: I'm sure you've already guessed this, but you've been relieved of your duties here.
Vertin: Gaining the support of the Nukutai was never your purpose, am I right?
Fatutu: Ms. Grace, give me back my friends!
Grace ignores Fatutu's shouts and slightly furrows her brow.
Ms. Grace: ...
Ms. Grace: Oh, Vertin. I could almost delight in your cleverness, if it wasn't so damnably frustrating.
She snaps her fingers.
*clink*
A worn, oddly shaped Spirit Shell rolls to Grace's feet. She picks it up, as if greeting a long-lost friend.
Ms. Grace: A pity.
Ms. Grace: But there's no turning back now.
The room falls silent once more. There is no sound but the howling of the wind outside.
A burst of static echoes from the lobby's speakers.
Ulrich: Hello! Hello?!
Ulrich: Can't anyone hear me?
Ulrich: This is Ulrich from Laplace's "Storm" Research Group.
Startled Guest: Oh, dear!
The radio broadcast jolts the already frazzled guests.
Tinnitus-Stricken Guest: Whoa!
The tinnitus-stricken guest looks up, the broadcast still hissing incomprehensibly.
Ulrich: Everyone!
Ulrich: We've found a material that ...
Ulrich: Our "Storm" problem is ...
The room falls briefly silent.
Then, it breaks into thunderous cheers and applause.
Tinnitus-Stricken Guest: What?