Karla

[Karla still hasn't gotten over that dying in Zompania thing. The memory of drowning in death flashes through her mind over and over again, especially at night.]

[One such night has her springing up in her bed with a shriek.] Brother!

[Oh...it's just that same nightmare again. Karla pulls her knees to her chest, sobbing for a brief moment. When she pulls herself together, she stands, pacing around the room. Eventually, she wanders over to the journal lying open on her desk. As tempting as it is to call out to someone, most people are probably asleep at this hour. Al of her fellow draftees must have been as worn out as she was. Karla shuffles a page or two in the journal, unintentionally starting the video feed. Of course she would only call out to the one person who can't hear her.]

Dear Brother...I still cannot reach you. I'm so afraid...afraid that I'll never find you. I always was afraid...I just never knew it until now.

[The battle is also fresh in her mind, the heat and ferocity of it all. While she was fighting, she was able to forget her pain and her fear. But the thought of relying on violence to comfort herself from such things isn't exactly comforting.]

What have I become...? I don't want to be like this...but I still want to find you! I...I don't know what to do...!

[She clutches her head as if to contain an explosion, sobbing again all the while. She plops down on the edge of her bed, gradually pulling herself together again.]

I'm tired...but so restless. I don't want to spend my whole life fighting...but I can't stop either! [The sooner she finds Karel, the sooner she can lay down the sword for good.] So I'll keep searching for you...it's the only answer I have...

[She falls silent for a moment, feeling as though she was being watched. She glances around the room slowly. Throughout her journey, she would tell herself that Karel was watching her somehow. It was mostly wishful thinking on her part. But now that she's actually feeling this, it's very unsettling.]

...Brother...?

[Karla finishes yet another boring bandit attack simulation in the Battle Dome and exits the room with an exasperated sigh. She needs something more. While she could join others in whatever scenarios they do, she really doesn't want to impose on anyone. She would need to create her own training sessions. And so, she picks up her journal.]

...Is there anyone who can teach me how to create more challenging Battle Dome simulations? What I know is very little, and not nearly enough.

[There might be a hint of frustration in her usual serene demeanor.]

[And she will be at the Battle Dome for anyone who wishes to answer in person.]

[Karla seems to be recovering from her mallynap effect now. She's beginning to remember the people she's met in the past week, remembering them for who they really were, rather than the image of her brother. They had corrected her countless times, giving her their names, but it didn't matter. She still only saw them as her brother. What's happening to her? Is she losing her mind?]

[Still, she ought to address those people now that she's come to her senses.]

I feel...strange. I had been taken by those things...those sleek, armored things...and then I awoke, injured in the forest. And then, I thought I saw my brother...everywhere. No matter who I saw, I could only see my brother.

But now I remember clearly. I remember the people I saw, who they really were. I remember only seeing them as my brother at the time. And now I wonder how I could have been so foolish. So, to everyone I met during that time...I apologize for my mistake.

[Now she can get on to the next thing, something that's been on her mind for a while.]

I am curious about something, though. For a long time, I've traveled throughout Elibe. I've visited many arenas, and claimed countless victories. I have my skills with a sword, but I hate it. It must be different for the other fighters, though.

[Otherwise, there would be no arenas.]

So I've always wondered, why do the fighters enjoy fighting in the arenas? What good are skills that can only be used to kill? I don't mean the soldiers who fight for their countries or the like. I mean in the arenas, fighters come to fight because they choose to. They enjoy it. But I'm curious to know why...

[Karla was used to wandering around. She didn't have much direction, but most of the time it didn't matter. As long as there were arenas, she knew where to go. And normally, she'd have her sword with her.]

[But now she has no idea where she is. She's wearing some kind of white sundress...which isn't bad, but she'd very much prefer her own clothing. And she has no sword. Alone in the woods of some strange new place without her sword, she feels quite lost and vulnerable.]

[Then she notices the book nearby with her name on it. Curious, she picks it up and flips through the empty pages.]

I'm lost...if only you could carry me home, Brother, like you did before...

[But she knows that won't happen this time. She lets out a sigh of longing.]

Oh Brother...where could you have gone, Brother...?