Super Robot Wars/Z2/Story Summary/Part 2
CHAPTER 10A. Pierce the Heavens with Your Drill!
[I kept Chapter 9F.]
Sumeragi is letting Shiroda have a seat on the bridge, as part of his duties as forward commander. The Ptolemeios still has many secrets, and Sumeragi knows that all the "keep out" signs and masking tape over bits of the control panels won't work if the tide of battle gets rough enough. After all, the ship is going to the DAAAAA~aark Continent! And it doesn't get much spookier than that.
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"The Dark Continent... a region of South Africa created from the Great Spacetime Quake, cut off from the rest of the world by dimensional walls. It is an unexplored place, shrouded in mystery, and now unveiled by the latest global dimensional tremor. Elgan Roddick, head of the UN Security Council, has elected to send a search party into this no-longer-Dark Continent, knowing full well that it will become a new front in the wars gripping the world."
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Diary time! "My job is to dig. Every hole I dig makes my village bigger. The village chief gladly lets me eat pig-mole steaks." Truly gripping stuff, and worthy of a Pulitzer Prize in one of these alternate universes in which everyone is moronic. But don't be fooled: Simon digs for more than just steak. He digs for TREASURE. That's important, because by some estimates -- the village girls', for instance -- he's lame and stinky and good for nothing _but_ digging.
Fortunately he's got a friend in Kamina, an upstanding guy who styles himself Simon's soul brother. He tells Simon not to sweat what the pig bitches have to say, and to focus on what's really in his soul: the almighty Drill(tm). And speaking of which, Kamina's crew has decided they're finally gonna drill clear through to the Surface. Kamina is SO ready to leave this hellhole behind, and says that Simon's power will be needed too. And don't forget: Simon's Drill(tm) isn't something the village chief owns -- it's Simon's own to do with as he pleases, and will one day pierce the very heavens above!
How's that work again? Kamina instructs his little bro not to sweat the the small stuff: the Gurren Gang is invincible!!! First though, there's the village chief to deal with, who tries to divert Simon from following in Kamina's delinquent footsteps. Kamina claims that his father took the both of them to the Surface once already, a miraculous place with a clear blue sky in place of a ceiling, but Shaku the chief claims it's all lies. He means to throw Kamina in jail, sans rations, but before he can haul Simon off an earthquake strikes and all the villages scatter to safety.
This is a very serious, perennial threat in this village: Simon's own parents were claimed by one. Kamina for one isn't about to die until he sees the surface, and neither is Simon if he has anything to say about it. As they scramble to avoid falling debris, Simon sees that a giant face has fallen from above. Proof of something above, like the Surface maybe? Or just a monster?
The gibbering Shaku seems to think it's the latter, but Kamina is totally unfazed as he strides over to give the massive object a talking-to. It's actually a machine with a pilot, who turns out to be a Beastman and not very charitably disposed towards Kamina's bragadocio. Before he can pay for his boasting, Kamina's butt gets saved by a barrage of long-rifle fire, courtesy of an unfamiliar, and very... _well-ventilated_ girl named Youko. She tells Kamina to come her way, and Kamina drags the bewildered Simon along too.
Kamina hits it off right way with the rifle-toting babe, thrilled that someone from the Surface is here. He offers straight off to aid her throwdown with the mechanical menace, finding out that she's from the next Hole over, Littnar. That she was raised underground somehow lowers her in Kamina's eyes, but before they can argue Simon hauls them over to what he found this morning: an even bigger face buried in the ground that Youko calls a a Gunmen. Kamina tells Simon that it's his since he unearthed it, and tells him to go get rid of the enemy Gunmen before it levels the whole city. Simon is severely deficient in the self-confidence department, so Kamina tells Simon to believe in him, who in turn believes back in Simon. Youko is confused, but Simon gets with the program.
The little drill-shaped pendant he unearthed before the Gunmen turns out to be its key, and the fracas gets started for real with the three humans aboard. Kamina christens it the Lagann, and orders Simon to finish the evildoer off with a frontal assault. Given that it's quite a bit larger than the Lagann, Youko recommends evasion and sniping, leading to a tiff between her and Kamina about male-vs-female fighting styles. Ultimately, how to fight is left up to Simon himself, who does pretty well for himself.
As the Beastman tries to flee, Kamina orders his fellow Gurren mate to vanquish the fiend with his Drill(tm), piercing all the way to heaven as they pursue the thing upwards. Works like a charm, and Simon gets his first taste of the surface, which just as Kamina had said is covered by an endless blue sky. Youko introduces herself properly, then gets surprised by a little fuzzy thing that's hiding between her breasts. It's Simon's pet "Buuta".
Unfortunately, all the commotion has brought a lot more enemy Gunmen from all around, and Simon for one is itching to go hide underground again -- all that hero stuff he just did has to be a fluke, right? An exasperated Kamina strides out onto the Lagann's roof, announcing to all commers that once a man leaves his homeland, he never loses, never looks back, never regrets a goddamn thing and only looks one direction: forward! The bad guys aren't so impressed, but Kamina points out to Simon that there really, literally is no turning back now -- if he's ever going to cast off his old self, now's the time to do it.
As the bad guys draw ever closer and Simon's terror level rises, the unexpected sight of a flying ship graces the scene. It's the Ptolemeios, and the evil Gunmen seemingly don't like its paintjob by how quickly they open fire on it. _Not_ what the CB's expected first thing into their exploration of the Dark Continent. All attempts to call for a cease-fire are ignored, and Sumeragi is forced to sortie the troops. Simon wonders if they're here to save him, but Kamina is adamant that since he and Simon started this fight, they must be the ones to finish it.
The team is more than a little startled when they see the pilots of the giant mechanical heads: "beast-men" in every sense of the word. Crow has to marvel at just how far-out that sentence sounds -- what's next, flying pigs?
After the bad guys are dealt with, the CBs are wondering what to do next when Youko's comrades show up: Dayakka and Lee Long. Youko explains that all her fellow villagers were forced to trade their hole for the surface when poisonous gasses flooded the place. It's reassuring to the CBs that there are regular humans in this Dark Continent too, but everyone can tell that they're in for one surreal ride.
Parlay commences with the Littner folks, and it's confirmed that the marrauding Beastmen are the reason most humans reside underground. The conflict can't really be dignfied with the name "war" -- the Beastmen mostly just hunt those humans foolish enough to stick their necks above ground. Littner was apparently an armory in the ancient times before the migration underground, so its residents were better prepared than most when the gas forced them above ground. Lee Long is even a skilled mechanic (and androgynous enough that Sumeragi is afraid to ask after his/her gender) so that their weapons can stay in reasonable repair. Lee Long is impressed to see humans piloting a Gunmen, but doesn't hold out hope for negotiations with the Beastmen -- while they're capable of speech, their only interest is in killing humans.
The gist is that mankind is living a fragmented existence here, with no signs of a central government and little idea of the global threat landscape. The CBs are going to need a lot more information than this, and Dayakka and Lee Long offer to help out. Lee Long in particular is itching to get a look at the newcomers' mecha, capable of standing up to the stalwart Gunmen. She(?) is also interested in Simon and his Lagann, telling him to call her(?) "Beautiful Queen". (S)he is actively coy about his/her gender, but finds Kamina's boundless energy interesting and agrees to help him scavenge the fallen Gunmen for parts. He wants to finish before more Beastmen arrive, but between Sumeragi and Shiroda they manage to convince him to "lend them his strength". He's especially impressed by Sumeragi, a bona fide woman of the skies, and soooo much more refined than Youko's outsided personality (and tits, and ass, and... you get the idea). Even Shiroda pales at the vehemence of Kamina's self-introduction, but Kamina and Simon are now on the team for good or ill.
CHAPTER 10B. Close Encounter
[I kept Chapter 9G.]
"To understand how the mysterious fleet of spaceships came to appear so suddenly in Earth Sphere, let us rewind the clock a bit.
Among the many parallel worlds in this universe is one whose Earth was assailed by giant humanoid invaders: the Zentradi. Their onslaught brought mankind to the brink of destruction, but at the end of the conflict the two sides forged a lasting peade. Those humans who had eluded death resolved to preserve their seed throughout space, and set in motion an interplanetary colonization project. Over ten million souls ventured out into the stars in immense starfleets, seeking a new life on the new frontier.
Among them was the 25th Macross-class Ultra Long-Range Colony Fleet "Macross Frontier", the course of whose voyage was to be drastically altered by spacetime waves..."
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A battle is raging near the colony fleet, and the news isn't good: the enemy has broken through the New Allied Force's lines and is heading for the fleet proper. Howard, fearing the worst, has put in a call to Mr. Biller, a course of last resort. The enemy are "Code Victor"'s -- aka "Vajra" -- and are far beyond what the New Allies can handle. The Skull Squadron is a different story: led by Ozuma Lee, they've got firepower to burn despite being civilian military contractors. Among them is Alto, whose nickname "Princess" (from the likes of "Michelle", no less) reflects how he's still basically a rookie. He's about to gain experience fast. Alto insists on fighting, so Ozuma orders him to stick close enough to his ass to smell what he had for dinner last night. How appetizing!
The Vajra are responsible for the utter destruction of at least one of the colony fleets (the 117th) and the death of Ranka's parents eleven years ago. Ozuma couldn't stop them before, but damn if he isn't going to stop them this time!
In the middle of the battle, a gigantic ripple in the fabric of space passes through, Folding the entire fleet (and its attackers) to some totally unfamiliar part of space. Several of the Vajra make their way inside Island One, and the S.M.S. defenders rush to stop them. All the shaking isn't helping idol singer Sheryl Nome's day any, but her manager Gleiss tells her to hang on while she eavesdrops on military radio to see what the deal is. She's been told not to use that little cyber implant, but hey, this is an emergency right? Besides, it's not Gleiss' fault that this fleet is so resistant to cybernetics, RIGHT?
Anyway, the military is in total disarray, and they don't have to wait long to see why: Vajra penetrate the residential arae, with the S.M.S. in hot pursuit. Definitely _not_ what Sheryl signed up for when she came here from the Galaxy fleet. As they scramble to evacuate to safety, the S.M.S. get busy defending their loved ones.
Gleiss finally gets some coherent info on who the S.M.S. are, including the fact that Sheryl's friend/love-interest/who-knows? Alto is among the pilots. Of course Sheryl's concerned about his safety, but she's sure he'll be okay given that he's got her good-luck charm with him.
The Vajra put up quite a fight but don't last long... all except for one, which Ozuma plans to keep at death's door until the scientists can study it and learn more about this mystery foe. Unless he's greatly mistaken, they'll be back again. Unfortuantely, he doesn't have very good idea of where "death's door" is for the Vajra, and the one survivor springs to life enough to endanger Ranka, who's suffering from dissociative amnesia with all this fighting going on. Ozuma manages to save her, and Alto can only clench his fists and wonder what will become of the Frontier fleet...
President Howard's administration is working hard on that. To avoid general panic, they've managed to squelch all accounts of the battle from the press, telling the public for now that the ship had to perform and emergency Fold for unspecified reasons. That won't hold long though, as this fleet is now cut off from any communication with its sister fleets, and in an unfamiliar part of space to boot. When the results finally come in, the news is grimmer yet: the Frontier has been tossed to an alternate universe's Earth. Given that the Earthlings are likely to try to make contact, Howard will have no choice but to prepare his own people for the contact. Fortunately, the Vajra shouldn't be able to follow here -- or so he hopes... Mishima, his crafty aide, will have to alter his own plans in light of this latest development.
CHAPTER 11A. What the Hell is Up With Having Two Faces?!
Ian and the new mechanics have a lot to discuss about each other's mecha. Ian is especially interested in the Gunmen, which despite their comical appearance are actually quite fearsome in battle. The million-dollar question is why the Beastmen are so interested in eradicating the humans, espeically since the Beastman assault is likely to spread with the opening of this continent. Lee Long does have a request for his colleagues, from Kamina: he wants a new Gunmen of his own so he can fight by Simon's side. The team managed to salvage quite a few spare parts, so building it will at least be technically feasible. It's worth noting that in all Lee Long's years, he's [I'm going on voice here...] never heard of anyone trying to turn the Beastmen's own strength against them -- this Kamina kid has _potential_. Speaking of Kamina, he and Youko have already started bonding with the team and are currently busy surveying the area. Lee Long slyly says that he wants someone to bond with, so long as it's not someone as young as Watta...
Kamina's way of "bonding" would seem a bit strange to most: he's locked in a staring contest with Ryouma, and impressively he hasn't lost some ten minutes in. Hayato and Musashi tell the others that this is how Ryouma greets everyone, and warns that trying to break up the staredown could have dire consequences. This place, where only the strong survive, has Ryouma's blood up, and even Takeru with his telepathy might not be safe if Ryouma saw him as interfering. Just as well for the volatile Kamina to get any thoughts of starting static out of the way up front, much though that dismays the meek Simon. Youko can only shake her head at Simon's persistent lack of confidence, supposing that his victory before really was just luck.
As the tension continues to mount, Lockon entices Crow to break them up with the promise of cash. He bets 20 G that Crow succeeds, and several others lay money that Crow gets decked by both Kamina and Ryouma. Crow isn't into betting his own money, but he does get Lockon to agree to pay half the winnings for Crow actually going through with it. Kamina and Ryouma meanwhile have escalated to giving their fully gangsta-style self-introductions, and no one is quite sure what some of Kamina's mighty-sounding words mean. Johnny does, thanks to one of his men's magazines devoted specifically to masculine idiom.
Crow's attempt at diplomacy doesn't start smoothly. He tries to propose an _indirect_ competition, but it takes Youko to introduce the idea of hunting. Kamina thinks that no mecha pilot (i.e. Ryouma) stands a chance at bringing down game on foot, but Ryouma is the type of guy who can go toe to toe with a bear. Kamina chooses the feeble Simon for his second, so Ryouma decides to go with the far more trustworthy, but still feeble, butler. The race is on! Youko shows she's got brains as well as T&A when she asks for ammo and medicine equal to half Crow's share, since it was her idea that saved the day. None of this is making Crow's instinctual dislike for women any less.
Simon really likes these newcomers with their flying ship, and asks Kamina if there isn't some way he can end up friends with Ryouma. Kamina says that all depends on how convincingly Ryouma kneels in humiliation after losing to the almighty Team Gurren. In fact, Kamina is not a complete squeeb with a bow and arrow, and hits his prey with the first shot. However, another arrow hits at the same time, fired by a weird-looking dude named Viral. He claims to be the commander of the Human Subjugation Army's Far-East batallion, whose job is making mincemeat out of any humans on the surface. He ALSO claims that Kamina just appropriated his dinner.
Kamina draws his sword [what is this, D&D?] and meets Viral's first stroke, but there's no way the amateur Kamina can hold out against a trained soldier. Fortunately, he won't have to: Youko's sniping and Ryouma's furious entrance seemingly make Viral think twice about confronting them on foot. He'd rather use his mech, which he runs off to get. Ryouma tells Kamina to leave the ensuing fracas to him, but Kamina insists that he's going to finish this fight that he started. It's time for his own mech, the Gurren, to see some action!
Viral doesn't seem to worried that the humans have a ship from the outside world: his job is to kill them all, period. Ryouma orders Kamina to take his new Gunmen (which Lee Long says has a little problem) and kick Viral's ass, since Kamina insists on talking so big. The problem, as it turns out, is that Kamina has no idea how to pilot a Beastman mech. Simon only manages it last time because instructions flooded into his head when he inserted that little glowing drill. OH, so it's a matter of POSITIVE THINKING, is it?! In that case, Kamina doesn't want anyone lending a hand as he masters the thing. Note that Viral isn't the type to just twiddle his thumbs until Kamina figures it out...
Apparently Viral's qualifications as general extend beyond archery and swordsmanship: he's planned an ambush for the Gurren. Wouldn't it suck to die after only two days on the surface. Youko tries to get Simon to move aside so she can try to help Kamina out, but Kamina shouts at her to stay the hell out of Simon's captain's chair. Now why would he prefer an unproven kid's skillz over the battle-hardened (or, inflated, or something) young woman? Again: he believes in Simon because Simon believes in him. And vice versa. Amazingly, this circular logic serves to invigorate the hapless kid, who in turn -- plus a good word from Ryouma -- further pumps Kamina up.
Say this for Kamina: he's got morale to spare, enough in fact to actually figure out how the hell to dirve his Gunmen. The results are things like the "Who The Hell Do You Think I Am?! Kick" or the "Cain't Nobody Mess With My Little Bro! Punch". Viral is borderline impressed, but still confident that the Puny Humans(tm) are going down. After all, Kamina's still a total noob where piloting is concerned.
He proves it with the first shot he personally fires at Kamina, which totally disables his Gunmen. Youko yells at Simon to not lose hope, and though Simon is scared shitless to face Viral, he's even more scared to lose Kamina now. Kamina loves what he's hearing, and after managing to stand up again announces to the world that he's about to _combine_ with Simon's mech, facing Viral's two-faced "Enki" with two faces of his own. Note that his mech doesn't actually have combination capability, but he seems to think that stacking the Gurren and the Lagann is good enough.
Amazingly, there's more to it than that. Through a mechanism that nobody understands, the two mecha actually _do_ manage to intertwine in response to their pilots morale. The result is the "Gurren Lagann", and Ryouma's gut tells him Kamina is now about to kick ass. Viral is both furious and aghast, realizing that he's badly underestimated this human.
Before the victory over Viral can be complete, a host of Invaders crash the party, only attacking the humans. Viral scurries off to report this turn of events to Lord Chimilf, and Sumeragi is quite sure that the Invaders' arrival is no coincidence.
Battle over, Kamina and Ryouma get back to hunting up dinner. It is, surprise surprise, a draw, with each of them bagging over fifteen animals apiece. The mutual animosity has given way to a mutual love fest, and a truly massive barbecue prepared by the Gundam Meisters (who've done more than their fair share of camping thanks to their renegade lifestyle). Sumeragi even busts out the booze, and Shiroda's objections don't last long. Even Setsuna gets lured in by the food and Lockon's kind words, and only Tielia insists on remaining a loaner. Does this bunch actually have time to be dicking around like this? Yes. Next question.
Hayato has the better question rolling around in his head: why did the Invaders ignore the weakened Beastmen, when all data to date shows that the Invaders will attack anything and everything. Does this mean the Beastmen are somehow related to the Invaders?
The Beastmen do have government, and the man atop it is Lowgenome. He tells his subordinate Gwarm that the long-awaited apocalypse is at last at hand. This is only emphasized by the reappearance of the starving Destroyer in the land, and from the fact that the interlopers from outworld seem likely to head to the Pole. It is said that when a billion monkeys cover the land, the moon shall become the emissary of Hell and destroy the Helical Planet. Only one thing to be done: kill all the monkeys in the land!
CHAPTER 11B. On Your Mark
Sumeragi relays news from the UN about the mysterious space fleet, supposedly a colony detachment from a parallel universe's Earth. This would certainly be the largest influx of space people since the Astrageus refugees arrived, and points to a marked difference in tech level between the two worlds. There is a reason for this: their Earth had been embroiled in an interstellar war, and brought to the very brink of annihilation. The ball got rolling when the massive alien spaceship "Macross" crashlanded on Earth -- the "Overtechnology Of the Macross" (OTM for short) greatly accelerated Earth science. And good thing too, since the refurbished Macross became the core of an armed conflict between the Earthlings and the giantoid Zentraedi.
Despite a minor sacrifice or two (or three, or ten million, but who's counting) the two sides eventually forged an enduring peace. Mankind then decided to spread its seeds to all corners of the galaxy lest another, more successful, extinction event fell them all. But what are the odds that one group of Earth colonists would eventually find... another Earth to try to settle? Upon hearing all this, certain warlike elements among the Three Great Nations recommended a show of force to the new guests, lest those guests get any funny ideas about becoming invaders instead [o/~ Space Invaders, in the air... o/~] Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and the Security Council has opted to try actually talking to the Frontier fleet first. SHOCKING PLAN, THAT.
The credit/blame goes to Elgan Roddick, a man of iron will and, according to Veda anyway, little compunction when it comes to doing what he believes is right. More than likely he's the one who's contracted with Boatman for the CB's services, and he who continues feeding information through. The latest word is that ambassadors Dorian and Conner will be sent to negotiate. Hiiro is shocked to hear that Rilina's dad is involved (she and he have some history from Hiiro and Duo's stint in Area Eleven). Hiiro is a little _too_ adamant that he has no further connection to Rilina after leaving Area Eleven, and Duo has to wonder what's going on with the usually unflappable guy.
Sumeragi has no way to get realtime updates on the talks, but given that global thermonuclear war hasn't erupted she can conclude that they aren't going disastrously yet. The colony fleet apparently includes at least one full-sized city, with conditions similar to those on Earth: just the thing for a multi-decade civilian voyage. The fleet is, in essence, a brand new country in the Earth sphere, and one with technology far beyond anything else on the map... Think that might cause some friction somewhere? Crow points out that these new folks could just as easily become new friends, and Sumeragi figures that they should simply go over and find out -- after all, the CBs have a rich tradition of acting outside the law...
Meanwhile aboard Island 1, Alto is keeping himself extremely busy. Not only is he a full-time student, he's also (clandestinely) a pilot for the S.M.S... who have had their hands full tangling with the Vajra. He's also got friends to hang out with like Nanase, who's avidly following the unfolding political drama with this new Earth they've discovered. Alto is fairly certain that war can be avoided -- after all, how stupid would it be for a fleet whose purpose was to preserve human life to instead start trashing it. Instead, he figures that the fleet will simply set sail for the galactic center again if conditions deteriorate. The better half of the people aboard are already resolved to never see their own Earth again, so leaving this one behind would be a relatively minor issue. That said, he personally would love to at least visit this Earth first before leaving it.
Before long, Alto's classmates Luka and Mihael (aka "Michelle") show up. Michelle seems to have a bone to pick with Alto, who turns out to be a famous kabuki star in addition to everything else(!). He taunts Alto by saying that Alto's nowhere near his level in their "other" job, and says solicitously that he'd better quit before he gets himself or someone else killed. An infuriated Alto stalks off rather than take any more of this, and since Michelle seems to be in an especially vicious mode he also taunts Luka about his lack of romantic success with Nanase.
The CBs have arrived inside Island 1, finding the city to be a vast upgrade over the Space Colonies. They're here to find out what the people on the street think about being teleported to this Earth, while Veda busily hacks into the fleet's main databanks. Setsuna and Hiiro would seem to be an odd choice for helping infiltrate the totally placid town, but they're both trained agents and should come in handy in case things go pear-shaped. The plan is apparently to pose as a roving survey team, propositioning anyone they run into...
...Or, as in Alto's case, who (literally) runs into them. Alto's got a lot on his mind and would normally pass on a survey like this, but Setsuna unexpectedly portrays a forlorn student about to fail their assignment without enough respondees that Alto relents. As he starts filling out the survey, Michelle comes trailing along behind. Lockon asks him to take the quiz too, and with a funny look on his face Michelle asks if Lockon has ever studied firearms... sniping, perhaps? Lockon regards him for a moment, then smiles and observes that it takes one to know one. Michelle tells Alto sharply that he needs to talk to him, and Alto is forced to abandon the quiz half way.
Lockon sighs, wondering aloud what the odds are of running into a fellow "tradesman" in the middle of a strange town. Michelle is no mere student, but rather a trained sniper -- a _military_ sniper at that. Rather than throwing in the towel and going home, Lockon decides to follow Alto and Michelle instead. Hiiro wonders if they need to be "neutralized", and Crow manages to convince him that that would cause more trouble for the mission than it's worth. Is this why Sumeragi sent Hiiro along, his ability to kill in cold blood when circumstances demand? Yes, Hiiro asserts, even as the doubts about his inability to kill Rilina grow. Lockon's reasoning is that these two unusual students may be connected to the deeper workings of the fleet...
Once alone, Michelle explains to Alto why he pulled him away from the survey: the surveyors might not be from Frontier. It seems a strange particulate discharge was detected by L.A.I. Labs near the fleet this morning: it disrupted radar for the span of several minutes, during which point an object could have theoretically made contact with one of the ships. Michelle figures it would only be natural for this Earth to try to espy the fleet, and says that it's not their job to try to figure out who the spies might be. That's for the military. As for the S.M.S., they've been ordered to fly a special patrol at 1200 hours. Michelle and Luka have been ordered by their commander to keep an eye on the new recruit, and Michelle tells Alto that that won't fly on the battlefield. He reiterates his warning that Alto is going to get himself or someone else killed, and Alto is about to yell at him to shut the fuck up when a song wafts by.
The singer is Ranka, who's been hanging out nearby and didn't want to hear any more fighting. Her song quells Alto and Michelle's animosity at once, and Alto recalls how Captain Ozuma raised Ranka like his own sister after the Vajra killed her parents. She's a long-term amnesiac, and the song she just sung is the one thing she's remembered ever since. Also lurking somewhere nearby is Sheryl Nome, determined to get her earring back from Alto. Sheryl is about as "V" as "VIP"s get in this fleet, and the CB team are astounded that she'd be roaming around these parts. Crow desperately wishes he could get her autograph, so he could turn around and sell it for a small fortune. Lockon asks the right question: what are a pretty boy, a sniper, and an idol star doing together in the same place at the same time?
The answer will have to wait, as air raid sirens blare and orders to head to the shelters come across the loudspeakers. The Vajra are back, and Alto vows to protect the Frontier from them. Michelle can only glare at that... Howard explains to the emissaries from Earth that the alarms are about the Vajra, space monsters that appear to have been pulled to this universe along with the fleet. Mishima assures them that once the Frontier military eliminates them, there will be no further concern for the Earth.
Actually, it's not the official military the Frontier has sent, bur rather the S.M.S. The gambit is that the regular military is poorly equipped to deal with the Vajra, a fact which won't have to be revealed if the S.M.S. win. And if they lose, the regular army still won't have directly lost face. The immediate concern for the S.M.S. is, assuming these Vajra really were brought along in the pan-dimensional incident, how many of them there are. There certainly aren't that many to start with, but Ozuma warns the team not to screw this one up, especially given the audience they've got. them, there will be no further concern for the Earth.
Actually, it's not the official military the Frontier has sent, bur rather the S.M.S. The gambit is that the regular military is poorly equipped to deal with the Vajra, a fact which won't have to be revealed if the S.M.S. win. And if they lose, the regular army still won't have directly lost face. The immediate concern for the S.M.S. is, assuming these Vajra really were brought along in the pan-dimensional incident, how many of them there are. There certainly aren't that many to start with, but Ozuma warns the team not to screw this one up, especially given the audience they've got.
It appears that Michelle may have been genuinely worried for Alto's welfare with all those warnings -- warnings that appear unneessary given Alto's growing still at the controls.
A second wave of Vajra show up with the worst possible timing, and the S.M.S. fear they're about to be overwhelmed. At this point the CBs appear, offering anonymous aid to the Frontier forces. Ozuma sees no option but to accept under the circumstances, and Sumeragi for one is glad to help out some fellow humans. Suberfuge with the Frontier or not, leaving these new space monsters to roam around lose would just endanger the Colonies and the Earth. Elgan evidently forecast that the CBs would get involved, and told Dorian that he'd arranged for some backup "just in case".
The battle proceeds pretty smoothly, and the S.M.S. pilots are duly impressed with their mystery allies' prowess. The highly assorted nature of the CB's mecha suggests that they're not typical of this Earth's defenders though. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse when a passel of Invaders appear. They start attacking _everyone_, forcing the humans into a three-sided fight they'd rather have avoided.
The CBs, at Tielia's recommendation, bug out as soon as the battle is over: Crow's account of the inside of a real starship will have to satisfy the rest of the team's curiosity for now. This leaves the S.M.S. to ponder their saviors, and the scary new menace that seems to prowl this Earth. On everybody's mind is the question of just how many more Vajra came with the Frontier fleet...
The rest of the team is impressed that Crow and friends scooped a top artist's secret private meeting. Everyone knows Crow well enough by now to guess that he wanted her autograph, and at least Chris seems to be wishing the same: she's heard quite a bit of Sheryl's music in the process of hacking the Frontier fleet for information. While Crow didn't manage to hear Sheryl sing in person, he did hear another song that... moved him, and the rest of the team. He can only wish that it would be able to stop fullscale war as easily as it did the argument he witnessed.
As for the mentality of the Frontier residents, Lockon estimates them to be very similar to Earth's own humans: some interested in world events, others blaise -- a crew that could either become friend or foe depending on how they're treated. The team can only wait for the top-level talks to finish, and pray that the results are peaceable.
CHAPTER 12A. I Got No Clue!
The Beastmen are certainly wasting no time visting their pestilence upon the land, as it were. The closest parts of Africa come under fire with such alacrity that Sumeragi suspects the Beastmen somehow know of the collapse of the dimensional walls that held them in. The Security Council has to work fast to come up with a counter-strategy, and the CBs' data and firepower will be crucial to whatever the plan becomes. Shiroda promises that the team will return as soon as investigations on the scene are done.
Word of the imminent departure reaches the group of pilots who are out on recon, which includes the Gurren crew. Kamina is bored as hell looking for Beastmen (who seem to be suspiciously absent) on someone else's say-so, though his inflated sense of self worth doesn't mesh with the reality that he's working for a paycheck just like Crow. Youko doesn't want to hear Kamina's faux-masculine whining, but any argument is averted when the team spots something heading their way... something _not_ of Beastman origin.
It turns out to be a group of humans, who initially mistake Crow and friends for Beastmen. This pisses Kamina off immensely, but his mood improves when he grandly introduces himself to the womenfolk. They are Kiyou, Kinon and Kiyaru, who with their pugilistic brother Kitan form the Black Siblings, Beastman hunters extraordinaire. Kitan can be forgiven for not knowing that there's at least one human who pilots a Gunmen, or that the wall at the edge of the world has come down. Introductions gets cut short however when a large batch of authentic Beastmen arrive. Kamina and Simon try to spring into action and almost immediately fall into a hole in the ground. Crow and the Getter team will have to hold the fort until reinforcements arrive, while Youko enlists the Black Siblings to help seek out where the Gurren and Lagann ended up.
As the battle rages overhead, Kamina and Simon have found themselves in another underground village. They meet someone named Roshiu, who implores them to take Gimy and Dary with them back to their "country in the ceiling". The local priest shows up to explain: the two kids have been blessed, and hence must go to the Heavens. Apparently this is part of a system to keep the population of the village from rising past 50 people, though the priest phrases is as the kids being freed from the sufferings of the world to go dwell with God. Kamina has no fucking clue what this guy is talking about, pointing out that the Surface sure as hell isn't Heaven. The whole ritualistic system of sending kids out to die infuriates him so much that he actually agrees to take the kids off the villagers' hands, telling them to keep up the fucking ceremonies till Hell freezes over for all he cares.
Roshiu asks the priest whether they shouldn't tell everyone the truth about the Surface, and he replies that the TRUTH(tm) is something most people can't handle. The Truth is that this village literally can't support more than fifty people at once, and any attempt to do otherwise would simply result in _everyone_ perishing. He owns up to using God's name as a pure artifice to cover the hard decisions he has to make. In Gimy and Dary's case, they were chosen because they have no relatives -- their deaths will cause the minimum amount of sadness in the community.
That means that the priest is the same person who consigned Roshiu's own mother to death, and any regrets he might have had about it were buried long ago. Roshiu resovles at that moment to accompany the two kids on their journey, and the priest presses him to take the holy book he's always carried. Roshiu reminds the priest that he can't read, but the priest, Magin by name, startles him by admitting that he can't read either. The book will be a memento, perhaps, and when he offers Roshiu his blessing, it appears that he actually means it for the first time.
Simona nd Kamina get back on the scene, handing the kids over to Youko while they join the Gunmen hunt. One of the Beastmen tries to take out the two kids (since, you know, harmless kids make the best target practice), but Youko and Kamina rebuff his ass at once with a little help from Roshiu. Roshiu's got enough guts that Kamina lets him into the Gurren Gang, and Kamina assures Ryouma that he'll make up for lost time in this battle. Ryouma's taking more of a liking to the spunky Kamina than he'll readily admit.
The Beastmen stand little chance against the CBs, but there's no telling what mayhem they could wreak on the average inhabitants of the outside world. The team wants to head back to the outside world at once, but plans get derailed when Dimensional Beasts storm the area. Their horns suggest that these are the industrial-strength version of the DBs, and among them are variant-color versions of the dreaded "MD". Crow is now deadly serious, warning Kamina that these are no ordinary opponents and vowing to wipe them all out.
According to reports, these new-and-improved DBs haven't made up a very high percentage of the total DB sightings world-wide. That means that the DBs seem to be directing their best and brightest at the CBs: how considerate! Crow admits to the team that he's a bit disappointed "MD" didn't show up, but given the caliber of the DBs that _did_, he's confident he'll run into "MD" soon. And when he does, it's tiemz for teh payback. When he hears that these kind of beasts are swarming all over the outside world, Kamina immediately decides to accompany the team outside to fight them.
As the team flies off, a man in the shadows muses over his first glimpse of his target -- and a mighty big target it is. A bouquet of flowers dampened by the rain, and the sighing of the Sun and Moon -- be these aught but the mirages of Chaos?
Once again, Kamina impresses by thinking a bit more deeply than it seems he should be capable of. He reminds Simon how they once led their lives only to get to the Surface. Now that they're here, it turns out that the world is an even bigger, more interesting place than they thought? What man worth his salt wouldn't want to explore all of it? Anyway it's his duty as the head of the Gurren Gang to think big, and it's Simon's drill that is destined to pierce the heavens (ooh, bet you forgot about that part, didn'tcha). The kids Kamina adopted will be coming along too, but the Black Siblings part ways amicably and will presumably keep up hunting the Beastmen. ...And better believe that the three sisters can't wait to see more of Kamina again! Even Lee Long and Youko go along with the CBs (whose collaboration with the Dancougar team and everyone seems about to end shortly once they finish their report to the Security Council), leaving the Littner villagers in Dayakka's capable hands.
Elgan promises Ootsuka that he'll look after all the new hangers-on that the Crushers have picked up. He tells Ootsuka to have everyone head to Dragons' Hive, where he's already fixed things up via Boatman. He means to link the Crusher folks up with the Macross Quarter people from the space fleet, making a new and even more powerful team to confront the innumerable threats facing mankind. Elgan privately thinks he has no other choice but to bet on this motley crew of warriors, hoping they can help him steer mankind away from disaster. He seems to be in touch with someone else, via unspoken means, and he tells that someone that he won't brook any interference. He believes that they, and this world they live in, can ride out the current danger.
CHAPTER 12B. First Attack
Alto and Ranka meet again atop their favorite scenic hill, a relatively unpopulated place where, for instance, a budding-yet-unconfident idol singer can sing without being overheard. Ranka's had words with Alto and the indomitable Sheryl over the past few days, and she's decided that her songs -- among which is her only memory of her past life -- are worth trying to sharing with others. Au contraire! Do, or do not, there is no try! With that sorted, Ranka bursts into song, and Alto has the distinct feeling that music, her music in fact, has been his salvation all along. It seems only right to him that he fight and thereby return the favor.
Sending Dorian was definitely the right move for the UN chief. He's negotiated the sanest possible treaty with the Frontier fleet, recognizing them as a sovereign nation in return for equal, unbiased access to their technology. Mishima also chips in what his people know about the Vajra: beings equipped with Fold capability, missiles and laser blasters -- all apparently organic! Even weirder, the brains controlling all that are vestigial to the point of non-existence. Either they're so primitive that everything works purely by reflex action (no, not Reflex action), or else they're somehow being controlled by someone or some thing. In any case, Howard reckons there can't have been too many more brought here with the fleet, and vows that the Frontier will spearhead efforts to wipe out any that remain.
It looks like the fleet won't be going anywhere for a while, their Fold engines damaged by the shock of arrival. Once repairs are complete, they mean to head towards the center of this universe's Milky Way, realistic (-ally pessimistic) about their chances of returning to their own universe.
Down in the hangar, Alto is doing some serious pushups as punishment for dying 25 straight times in the simulator. From the sidelines, the womenfolk are marveling at the 17-year old hunk... as is Bobby, openly gay _and_ non- monogamous (though there is someone specific who he's secretly loved for years). Alto's simulator woes turn out to be Michelle's doing; he's deliberately cranked up the difficulty so Alto won't have too easy a time of it. The Pixie Squad members walk over (gigantic footfalls echoing everywhere) and offer to "help" Alto out further with a training regimen of their own designing. Given that _they_ are Zentraedi and he isn't, Alto wisely passes this time around.
Just then, Gleiss shows up with a letter for Alto from Sheryl. She assures Michelle that it's not a love letter, and lightly banters with him to ensure he doesn't spread word of the missive to the tabloids. She seems to have heard of Michelle's surname "Bran", and excuses herself by saying that she's sorry about his sister. That seems to disturb Michelle deeply, enough that he actually demurres when Alto challenges him to serve up more training. Alto wonders what's gotten into his nemesis, and Klan says that the Jessica incident must still be hanging over Michelle heavily. She knows that Michelle likes Alto much more than he lets on, and fills him in.
When Michelle's parents died, his sister Jessica was the one who raised him. The siblings were the best of friends, and even shared the same avocation: sniping. Jessica's commanding officer was also her clandestine lover, until a fight right before a mission, on which Jessica actually shot her commander. It was widely suspected to be something other than accidental friendly fire, and during the ensuing court martial Jessica took her own life. Klan believes that Michelle is still obsessed with finding out what really happened to this day.
Sheryl's message to Alto was an invitation to a little meeting, hidden in plain sight in ways that that rock star wouldn't normally do. Sheryl makes it clear that Alto is _not_ some romantic interest of hers or anything (despite the incident where he saved her life, and inadvertently snagged one of her earings in the process). She says she wants that earring back, which he's more than happy to return. As for how she knew, her manager's senses are all recorded by her implants: standard fare for the cybernetically-enhanced residents of the Galaxy fleet. Sheryl however has specifically not had any "work" done, that being one of her selling points. Alto has to marvel at how many posters of her are up around town, and she says that she's throwing a concert tonight to do what she can to allievate stress over coming to this new universe. She gives Alto a ticket for himself and another to pass along to Ranka, figuring them for a couple. Alto says they _totally_ aren't dating, which seems to greatly intrigue the brash idol singer.
Alto ponders the singing to come tonight, and wonders aloud why people do things like sing, or try to fly. Sheryl's heard about him entering the S.M.S., and asks if he's regretting the decision. He's not, but maybe a little guidance would help? Obviously, she says, people sing, fly and so on because they can't _not_ do those things. That's how it is for her and Ranka, and indeed for him as well. She smiles and says that while he gets on her nerves a lot, there's one thing about him she really likes: he doesn't treat her like CHERYL(tm).
He hands her her earing, which she confides is her only remaining memento of the mother whose face she can't even remember. She asks if Alto dislikes this ship, and after pondering he replies that he hates the entire colony fleet for its lack of a real sky to soar in. Maybe he'd be better off on Earth, which does have a real sky? He asks Sheryl in turn if she wants to go back to the Galaxy fleet, and she does in fact feel some degree of homesickness. But she also knows that one cannot turn back the clock, and is more interested in finding a new stage to sing on. Just then Michelle radios Alto to say that "they" have turned up again: the Vajra, whose existence the government won't be able to keep a lid on for long. Alto promises Sheryl that he, or rather, he _and_his_comrades_ will make sure to take out the Vajra so her concert can go on as scheduled. He _is_ a pilot after all. Sheryl purses her lips, then tells Alto he can hang onto that earring for good luck, so long as he promises to protect the people who call this place home. Oh, and to give it back to her one day.
The Macross Quarter braces for the upcoming onslaught, as do the S.M.S. The main military have sent Cathy along as an "advisor" (more like observer) to Ozuma's team. Not exactly the most pleasant duty Cathy's father Howard has got her mixed up in, never mind her poorly-kept-secret relationship with Ozuma himself. Cathy says that she's been asked to help keep the Frontier fleet safe and to gather whatever information may help get rid of the Vajra menace once and for all. Oh, and to see to it that Sheryl's concert doesn't get disrupted.
The CBs are suitably impressed by the sight of the private S.M.S. forces, seeing in them kindred spirits on the outs with the regular powers that be. As the concert starts inside Island 1, Ranka realizes that Alto must at this very moment be tied up with his S.M.S. duties.
After the first few Vajra go down in flames, a new batch show up, incluing a gigantic mothership-class one. The team figure out that the Vajra seem to be bred for different complementary roles, like bees or ants. Take out the big bastard, and victory is assured.
Michelle is upset with himself for having his cool blown so badly at just the mention of his sister. He seeks calm via the discipline of battle, trying to regain his sniper's equilibrium.
When the big Vajra takes enough damage, it beings to flee(?) the battlefield. Luka rushes over to try to analyze it while it's still in range, not realizing that it's still very much a threat. Alto is the only one in position to rescue the guy, rookie pilot or not, and the going is not easy.
Back aboard Island 1, Sheryl's concert is coming to a close. She leaves the crowd with her wish for all of them to figure out how to live the lives they want to live in this new world. She dedicates the final song to "him", or rather "them", who are risking their lives this very moment somewhere far from here. Ranka realizes with a start that Sheryl knows what Alto is doing, and is singing anyway -- no, is singing _because_ of it. Sheryl looks directly at Ranka, and her question to the crowd to sing with her is obviously meant to be personal.
Alto's got at least one of the Vajra clinging to him by this point, and is about to go down in flames. Suddenly he hears singing, and asks Michelle to help him by shooting the Vajra off him. Michelle is afraid to take the shot lest he hit Alto by mistake, but Alto reminds the sniper that both he and his sister are the best damn shots there are. Michelle fumes that Klan would spill the beans, but Alto yells at Michelle to _pass_ his sister. This, of course, works.
Alto pulls free of the stricken Vajra, and gets ready to head for Luka when some help appears from an uncertain source, someone calling themself "Antares 1". No time to check out who that is now. Alto grabs Luka, and the bridge bunnies calculate that Alto can make it to safety if it flies absolutely flat out. Jeffry means to pull out the Quarter's biggest weapon: Trans-Formation. The Quarter may be only 400 meters long, but it's not called a Macross-class shpi for nothing! Or more to the point, why is it that a Macross would be made to that size??? Time to let the enemy find out!
Most of the team hasn't the foggiest inkling that the battleship can _transform_ into a collosal humanoid mecha, much less one so farsome. After making sure the last Vajra is dead, the Antares-1 pilot "Brela" flies off, satisfied that the Frontier now has all the data it needs about the Vajra. But wait, the fun's not over yet! Cue the arrival of some strong DBs [see Chapter 12A for the details.]
As with the other side, the new DBs are not to be trifled with but also aren't infinitely dangerous. They haven't appeared too many other places in the world, which gives the team the dubious honor of receiving the DBs' "special attention". Crow has to admit that he wanted another crack at M.D., and isn't too worried about getting another chance at the rate things are going. Sumeragi makes it clear to Jeremy that the CB's help is a only a temporary thing, telling him -- a kindred outcast -- that she may never see him again. Alto meanwhile is left to ponder the song he heard during battle -- a song he could swear came from Sheryl and Ranka. He's acquitted himself well -- well enough that Ozuma and even Michelle don't have too much to complain about.
[Also check out the other path for the mysterious, portentious quote from the mystery adversary. Ooh so spooky...]
Mishima and Howard confer about what to do going forward. Mishima recommends keeping the regular army close at hand to keep the fleet safe, which would mean sending the S.M.S. to fulfill the fleet's obligation to the Earth's forces. Said S.M.S. are busy deplaning in the hangar, where Alto gets a crash course in what happens when the Pixie Squad members miclonize. Due to some kind of genetic anomaly, the assertive (and _stacked_) Klan turns into an impatient adolescent, and quite a bit shorter than her good friend Michelle. Alto finds the odd couple a strangely good match, though Michelle would never admit to it (he prefers stacked, intellectual women).
In short order, Ozuma returns from a trip to the bridge, accompanied by Jeffrey himself. Jeffrey announces the scientists' conclusion that the Vajra should become much less active now that their mothership-class member is destroyed... assuming that is that the Vajra in the recent attacks were teleported here in the same event as the Frontier, as Howard believes. Jeffrey makes a point of complementing Alto on his inspired, if rough, flying -- a sight that reminds him of a certain other somebody when they were young. In any case, Howard has issued direct orders to the S.M.S. to go to Earth and aide the UN Security Council. Alto will get to soar a real sky after all, and Sheryl's earring may be to thank...
Ozuma breaks the news to Ranka, who makes him promise to come back safely. The both of them know that he won't be able to play elder brother to her forever, so the temporary separation isn't that bad a shock. Ranka suspects Ozuma won't approve of her dreams to become a singer, but she's already made up her mind. She _will_ share her songs with everyone.
[As per the other side, Elgan announces that it's time to put all his collaborators together into one massive team to combat the Earth's enemies...]
CHAPTER 13. The Black Knights
[I kept Chapter 12B.]
Lelouch has managed to get himself into a literal chess match with Carlos, at Axion HQ no less. It may not be "playing chess with Death", but given the stakes Carlos is said to command, it's pretty close. Lelouch demures on just how he, a schoolboy, got an intimate appointment with one of the richest men in the world, and perhaps something about the improbability is what made Carlos take the bet? To wit: if Carlos loses, Lelouch gets a no-strings- attached debit card for Carlos' bank account. And if Lelouch loses... he offers up his life. Carlos laments that this would normally be a most unequal exchange -- NOT because lives are worth more than money, but because _his_ money, down to the last yen, is worth more than anyone else's life.
Carlos is also pretty confident in his chess prowess, seeing as how the only person to beat him so far is Britannia's #2 prince Schneizer. Carlos muses that Britannia's so-called constitutional monarchy is a sham, and that the king pretty much does as he pleases. Schneizer appears to be the willing agent of making the king's words reality, as Lelouch knows all too well. Lelouch also knows that if Carlos can't beat Schneizer at chess, he surely can't beat him either. Ka-CHING!....chung....thud. "NOT SO FAST", says Lee Corso in some alternate dimension.
Carlos duly hands over the card, but _not_ the PIN number. If Lelouch wants that too, he'll have to play Carlos again. Lelouch realizes that Carlos has deliberately staged this charade after hearing of Lelouch's reputation as a chessmaster, and declines to go along with this farce any longer. Carlos "apologizes" for using his rich-person skillz in battle, and Lelouch "accepts" the apology by Geassing him into giving the PIN and forgetting about him. C.C. then walks in, not exactly impressed that Lelouch ended up falling back on his Geass after all. She tells him that she's basically his partner in crime after he accepted her contract, and that he should expect her watching over him.
He doesn't like her implication that he needs her protection, and she presses him to tell her which is more important to him: destroying Britannia, or finding his mother's killer. He replies that the two are one and the same, thanks to the way those in line for Britannia's throne are constantly fighting with each other... or rather, he adds with a scowl, _being_made_ to fight with each other by their father the king. C.C. observes that that is also what makes Britannia, and whoever lives to claim its throne, strong. Indeed -- and all those weaker than that are made to grovel. Lelouch is, shall we say, a bit peeved that the good-old Law of the Jungle has led to his mother's assassination and his and his sister's expulsion from the royal ranks and use as diplomatic objects. He means to return the favor by destroying Britannia with the Geass C.C. gave him, and make the world a place where Nanaly can live in peace.
That's all find and dandy with C.C., but she needs him alive if he's to fulfill his promise to her... whose contents she intends to keep secret till the time is right. She adds that the Geass won't work on her, so there's no point in Lelouch trying to force it out of her. Lelouch notes that her Geass immunity, and her apparent immunity to lethal levels of physical harm, would seem to qualify her as the "witch" some rumor her to be. This is actually a sort of gratitude on his part, for giving him the chance to shed his virtual death and convenient lies, and lead an honest life where he can actually decide his own fate. And now he's got a new revenue stream, and new KMFs from "Kyouto": just the ingredients he needs for his plans to enter their next phase. C.C. tells Lelouch to show her just how far he can go, and he replies that he is Zero, and he'll show her what it looks like to change the world!
The Dragon's Hive is by far the largest building the hole-dwellers have ever seen, and Lee Long is in heaven. The rest of the team watches them stumbling around in awe, pondering what monstrous scheme could lead to generations immemorial of humankind being forced underground. As introductions are made, Lockon compliments Youko on her rifle, glad to have another sniper on the team. They'll need one, given the hordes of murderous beastmen that are starting to spread to the rest of Africa. They won't spread far if Kamina and the Gurren Gang (which he now seems to think includes everyone else on the team) have anything to say about it!
Tielia's greeting of Kouji is far colder, as he makes it clear that Photon Power could well become a target for the CB's war-ending campaign. Kouji is so effusive in his assurances that Photon Power will only be used to fight villains like Dr. Hell, that even Tielia can't immediately think of a rejoinder. Cue the rest of the introductions, which we can imagine proceeding on fast-forward. Kenji gets the job of explaining that Takeru is an alien, and one that people _really_ want to keep alive lest the Earth get obliterated by his mech.
The Frontier pilots enter next, and unlike Youko Lockon and Michelle quickly decide they'll have to have a (friendly, we hope) competition to see who's the #1 sniper in the team. Alto meanwhile gets mistaken for a girl _again_, and starts kicking himself when he learns that he fell for Setsuna's acting back in Island 1. He, a famous kabuki actor himself, should know better... or something. The miclonized Zentraedi explain how their race were created by the ancestors of mankind as warriors through genetic engineering, and as such it's possible for the two races to interbreed. The other pilots can be forgiven their astonishment at hearing this come out of what appears to be a elementary-schooler's mouth (Klan is actually 19 and in college), given the unusual way Klan miclonizes.
Before anyone official can tell this motley assortment of pilots why they're here, Ru rushes in with news that Area Eleven's Fuji base has been taken over by the WLF and the Japan Liberation Front. This bodes very ill for Area Eleven's largest resistance group's future, especially given how quickly they are adopting WLF's tactics: they've taken a number of civilians and Sakuradite miners hostage.
Guess who are among the hostages? That's right: the Ashford student council! Guess it had to be them, since we don't have elementary schoolers from Gaogaigar to emperil. Niina's beside herself with terror as the WLF operatives deliver a sermon about how each and every person's lack of self-awareness brought the world to this rotten state. The WLF seem genuinely proud that some innocent blood will be spilt along the course of their crusade to wake the world up. Too bad for their rhetoric that Rilina is on hand, pointing out that brutalizing the innocent isn't exactly the best way to win sympathizers over to their cause. One of the terrorists shouts that that's just the kind of pacifistic horsehockey that Hiiro Yui once used, and Rilina has to wonder where the boy with that codename is now. She needs a Hiiro, she's holding out for a Hiiro till the-- oh never mind.
Niina lets the word "Eleven" slip from her mouth, and then is too terrified to even correct herself when the terrorists yell at her to do so. They're about to drag her off and show her just how tormented their shit is when a new player intervenes: none other than Princess Euphemia herself! Why she's here is a little unclear (perhaps she was participating in the latest round of Sakuradite allocation talks?), but Niina -- whose life or at least virtue she just saved -- is an instant fan.
Back in the Shinjuku Ghetto, Zero has procured new uniforms for his followers, not all of whom are terribly eager to get changed. The Astrageus folks in particular are only here to help demolish the governing body of the ghetto, not follow Zero all the way to the liberation of Japan. Kiriko tells Zero that he's content to cooperate for now, since it seems to be to their mutual advantage; in return for his help, Zero offers him a new AT to pilot. Zero explains that the uniforms are part of his intent to reveal this group's existence to the world.
Tamashiro thinks Zero means to go join up with the terrorists currently occupying Fuji Base, but Zero says that they'll be doing the opposite: the plan is to strike down those terrorists! He reminds the troops that they're not just resistance fighters, but rather Allies of Justice, and there be a whole lotta IN-justice afoot at Mt. Fuji.
While this is going on, Ootsuka is briefing the heads of the various teams about Elgan's plan for a new, joint special batallion acting directly in the best interests of all mankind. The S.M.S. are already on board, and though she has concerns about openly working with the UN, Sumeragi says that Veda has agreed too. Jeffrey is very interested in the photonic computer, which has enabled the CBs to take on the whole world, and Tanaka is even more interested in why Tielia is able to directly access the thing. She's adamant that her cooperation is contingent on the current situation, which would only incur unnecessary chaos if the CBs went back to attacking everybody's armed forces. Jeffrey isn't sure what to make of the implication that the CB's activities are "necessary chaos".
In any event, the team is now together and will be baed out of the Dragon's Hive by permission of its ultimate commander. If things feel rushed, it's because they are: the team's first mission will be the tricky hostage crisis at Fuji. Frontal assault is out of the question, but before any deliberations can proceed, Tanaka gets a call from Boatman... _Zero_ wants to talk directly with them!
In fact, Zero is burning through celphone minutes at a hideous rate, his next contact none other than his sister Cornelia. Cornelia wants to know why an enemy of the state, and the killer of her brother, would contact her directly. Zero asks if she'd rather choose her dead brother Clovis, or her living sister Euphemia. Cornelia's momentary surprise tells Zero what he wanted to know: Cornelia's forces have yet to storm the Fuji Base precisely because Euphy is still in there. He knows well that Cornelia has always had a very soft spot for her sister... Cornelia tells Zero that she can't see what he's getting at, and he vows to save Euphemia for her
The media are on the scene, reporting on the unfolding hostage drama. The leading newscaster reminds the world of the strategic importance of Sakuradite, indispensible in the manufacture of high-temperature superconductors and equal in global influence to the distribution of solar power. A good 70% of the world's production comes from Area Eleven, and given that several of the ministers in charge of divvying up the Sakuradite are among the hostages, the scene seems extremely grave. From the sidelines, Lloyd's special forces are awaiting their chance to strike. He takes a positive view: if the hostage crisis can but be solved, Cornelia is more than ready to send in the heavy artillery to finish the job. Suzaku has a personal interest in saving his fellow Ashford students, and like his colleagues is desperate for some kind of opening.
They get it when Zero appears at the base's gate, which the terrorists open for him. Diethart seizes a camera and trains it on Zero, fascinated by what the charismatic masked man will do next. Zero knows full well that the terrorists have to deal directly with him, whether they view him as an ally or a nuisance, and with the gate opened, all is in readiness. He is taken to see Major Kusakabe, leader of the Japan Liberation Front, who's quite curious about Kyouto's newest collaborator. Kusakabe tells Zero that he views the WLF as mere pawns in his plans, recruited for nothing more than their firepower. Zero asks if he's interested in joining forces, and Kusakabe demands that Zero remove his mask before any alliance can be made. Zero is fine with that, but first asks what Kusakabe's ultimate goal is. Kusakabe sniffs that he's intent on showing the world that the "Japanese" are not yet dead. This strikes Zero as irretrievably old-fashioned, and he tells them so. When they move to strike him down, he Geasses them into killing themselves, letting him free the hostages.
Zero has his men rush the hostages to safety, which is harder than it sounds due to Britannian distrust of the Elevens. It takes Rilina to point out that this isn't the time for that, which impresses Zero as good upbringing on her part. Zero then meets Euphy, telling her that he's not surprised she stuck her own neck out for the hostages. Having greeted Area Eleven's governor before, he's quite happy to meet its vice-governor now. He tells her to her face that he's the one who killed Clovis, the man who begged for his life with the same mouth used to order the slaughter of Elevens. But that's not why Zero killed him -- Zero killed him because he's the Britannian emperor's child. So, come to think of it, is Euphy herself -- yet, Zero has no intention of laying hands on her now. He tells her to go, as the the confusion among the WLF ranks grows.
Zero gets on the horn, telling the WLF that Kusakabe has taken his own life. He muses that Kusakabe may have finally realized the futility of his actions. What about them? Well, there's a lot of dying in their future thanks to the sudden entrance of Britannia's white knight, a player Zero hadn't been counting on. He's already deployed his rook to protect his king, by which he means the UN combined forces. Commander Ootsuka informs the WLF that the UN Security Council sees them as terrorists, and asks them to lay down their arms and surrender. That neatly short-circuits any chance of the Britannia army attacking the team at least. Duo has to hand it to Zero: he's been as good as his word at freeing the hostages.
Everything is going according to Zero's plan, including the fact that -- with him in possession of the hostages -- Cornelia can't afford to attack him. Zero _sternly_ orders his subordinates not to lay a finger on the hostages while evacuating them, hopping aboard his KMF in order to give further orders from the front lines. He tells Kiriko and the others to ignore the white knight, and he and Karen are glad to see their old comrades-in-arms from the UN team. Karen is especially proud of the fact that her Guren Mk.II is entirely Made in Japan(tm). Suzaku gets orders to focus on the WLF (and not Zero) as Britannia's sole representative, and Zero thinks that with _this_ kind of firepower at his fingertips, he really _can_ change the world! Watching through his camera's viewfinder, Diethart marvels at how perfectly all this is unfolding for Zero -- could it be that he's the man Diethart has been seeking?
Move Crow onto the lower-right part of the radar dish for an event. Crow will run into a mysterious old guy who got so caught up in saving his spare parts that he almost neglected to spare his life. To thank Crow for providing cover, he gives him an Auto Repair Machine. It would seem that the old guy is some kind of repairman... and a pretty enthusiastic one to try to fix things in the middle of a firefight...
The terrorists stand less than no chance against the this team, whose firepower probably exceeds that of an entire small nation's army. The challenge will be ensuring that said power is used for Good(tm). With the hostages rescued and the cameras still rolling, Zero springs his propaganda coup, announcing to the world the existence of the Black Knights. While Lloyd smirks at the irony of terrorists naming themselves "knights", Zero proclaims that they are the enemies of all those defenseless people, be they Eleven or Britannian! He describes the actions of the Japan Liberation Front as foolish and meaningless, and for the slaughter of Britannian civilians, he has brought judgement upon them. The same policy guided his killing of Clovis, who had ordered the obliteration of countless innocent Elevens. He does not shun battle, but utterly rejects the notion that the strong should dominate the weak. Let only those with the courage to take a bullet themselves step onto the field of battle, for the Black Knights will appear again when the powerful assail the powerless... no matter how large the enemy, no matter where in the world. Let the powerful fear, and the powerless seek out the Black Knights!!
Holy smokes: Zero's taken this Allies of Justice(tm) thing to a whole new level. After the battle, he contacts Dragons' Hive again, offering the aid of the Black Knights to the UN Security Council. Jeffrey is astute enough to ask about the freeing of Japan part; after all, the Black Knights are a resistance movement. Zero says that to truly free Japan, the hearts of its people must be united, and the Black Knights must become a lofty enough symbol to serve as the nucleus of that process. Sumeragi knows how this game works: Zero is trying to gain legitimacy via the UN while leveraging the underworld contacts of Boatman, and score himself a fighting force in the process. Zero concurs without a moment's hesitation, saying that the time for sugar-coating is long past. If this team sees mutual benefit in the relation, they should welcome his aide... and if they see him as a threat, he will oppose them to the best of his not-inconsiderable ability.
This is an impressive showing, and Tanaka leaves judgement of this case up to a higher authority: none other than Elgan himself. He's shown up to Dragons' Hive unannounced and unguardes lest certain difficulties arise, which duly impresses Zero. Zero's figured out that Elgan is Boatman in the flesh, ideally placed to keep a lid on the scandalous connections the Security Council is making between legitimate and illegitimate sources of warpower. He's also in the best position to facilitate the rapid flow of information between all interested parties.
Well, the cat's out of the bag now. Elgan tells Zero that he's put together this team for the same reason Zero himself stated: Justice. In Elgan's dictionary, that means conferring peace and prosperity on all mankind: the very mission statement of the UN Security Council. Elgan believes that such ideals should be backed by real power, and that's where the motley crew comes in. Zero doesn't entirely trust this at face value, which Elgan turns around with a question whether Zero's declaration of Justice isn't actually backed by faith that mankind can achieve it. Zero ponders that quickly, and states that he wouldn't be here if he didn't agree with the principle. Zero offers Elgan -- UN rep, or shadoy "Boatman", whatever -- his help in the interest of Zero's own objectives.
Elgan then puts the question to the Celestial Beings. Sumeragi allows that there is some room for interpretation in what Justice means, but so long as things proceed like this, she can promise him her people's help too. That puts the last piece into place, and Elgan christens the new combined force "Zexis", which awkwardly enough stands for Z EXtra International Savers. The "Z" bit is there because it is neither "X" nor "Y", but some third, neutral power. Elgan trusts the judgement of this team's members enough to leave tactical command to them -- besides, he can't be seen hanging out with them either. Ootsuka will serve as his main forward commander...
Some time later, the Celestial Beings' Observers gather virtually, Alejandro among them. Some of them aren't thrilled that the CBs have shacked up with some of the very people they're supposed to be erasing, and with Veda's approval no less. Maybe Veda isn't all it's cracked up to be in this world? Well, no matter -- it seems all is going well enough. Alejandro them asks if they approve his new plan (which they all do), and thinks that he's got to start acting too if he's to guide the world in the proper direction.
CHAPTER 14. Trust, and Resolve, and...
Kinue and Isabelle are comparing notes after the mess at Fuji Base, and have reached the unsettling conclusion that the UN Security Council has joined forces with Area Eleven's terrorists. Isabelle tells Kinue that Elgan has done more or less exactly that, having kept the Three Great Nations pacified so far. Keeping folks like the Celestial Beings tied up battling mankind's common enemies means that they _won't_ be shooting up the Great Nations' armed forces... which is good enough for them to give Elgan little hassle. Still, Elgan's private army is strictly illegal, and Isabelle is certain that someone is going to try to oppose them sooner or later...
Zero breaks news of his deal to act internationally to the other Black Knights, who are understandably worried about leaving Japan. He assures them that while they're widening their sphere of influence, Japan will remain their main focus. He then introduces their newest members: Diethard and C.C., neither of whom are Japanese. Zero couldn't give a damn about nationality: he wants talent, such as Diethart's flare as a documentarian. As for C.C. (who tells Karen not to worry: she's _not_ Zero's lover), Zero says she's a longtime collaborator of his, and trustworthy. Yes, that means she knows a bit about Zero's past, and no she isn't planning to spill any beans about it. In reality, Zero plans to have C.C. stay here and relay messages from him, while looking after Nanaly -- whom C.C. knows is his main reason for living. Among those he'll take with him is Kiriko, who's main concern is eventually facing that red A.T. again. For the first time, he'll actually have this place to call "home" to return to eventually. As he leaves, Zero tells the team once more that their overall objective is freeing Japan.
When the pilots get their first look at Zero's whole mask-and-cloak bit, there is more than a little apprehension. The innocent-seeming Watta asks what the deal is, and while Zero has to admit that such doubts are reasonable, he isn't planning on showing anyone what's under said mask. It is his intention to build the team's trust via his actions, which puts him in the same boat as any number of other folks in Zexis with checkered pasts. Zero does welcome anyone on the team (such as the CBs) to shoot him if they think he's out of line. He knows he can fall back on his Geass if need be, but doesn't want to do so unless there's no other choice. He suspects that he'd lose the Black Knights' faith in him if all the miracles he's performed are shown to be the work of mind-controlling magic.
The other Black Knights introduce themselves, and there's an awkward moment when the free Japan folks complement the "other Japanese" ace on her skill in battle. It takes Hayato to remind everyone that that "other Japan" is currently occupied, and none too pleased about that fact. Tamashiro is emboldened enough to ask why the other Japan never came to Area Eleven's aid during the invasion, and Hayato says that the two Japans were in fact bound by a mutual defense treaty, which his Japan was prepared to honor. The other Japan surrendered so fast to Britannia that there was no time to intervene: this is the fruit of Kururugi Genbu's fateful decision as prime minister. Hayato isn't convinced that his death was really a suicide meant to calm the military, but what is certain is that Japan rapidly collapsed after the top of its chain of command was gone. The other Japan couldn't even begin to help their stricken brethren, and were forced to withdraw almost immediately. The question becomes why the Britannia Union didn't attack the second Japan as well... and though Oogi figures Britannia had sated its hunger for Sakuradite with the first, Hayato suspects there's more to Britannia's strange invasion patterns than that.
The underground dwellers are listening to all of this from the sidelines: the world is a lot more complicated than they knew. Kamina isn't happy with the naming collision between his and Karen's mecha, and knowing him he wants to settle it by force before recognizing the newcomers as part of the Gurren Gang. Karen hears that, and comes over to call him on it. He doesn't quit though, and in a sure sign he doesn't know what's good for him, Kamina proceeds to call Zero out. Zero realizes that Kamina has somehow instinctively twigged to the precarious game he's playing -- for all that Kamina can be a moron, his ubiquitous, brutal honesty doesn't give Zero much to work with.
He cuts short Karen's attempt to stick up for him, and the interest of peace in the new team, Zero proposes that his people and the Gurren people agree to ignore each other. Suits Kamina just fine! Zero withdraws to ponder what to do next. Should he Geass Kamina into submission? The CBs were willing to accept the Black Knights for rational reasons, but people like Kamina act on instinct, not reason... As he ponders, mask in hand, a cat comes out of nowhere and starts a replay of the most pointless part of the anime...
Back in the hangar, tensions have _not_ lessened any: Kamina is not budging on his negative assessment of Zero, and Karen isn't having it. The repartee is interrupted by the sight of Zero's mask walking along the hangar floor on kitty-cat feet. This galvanizes Kamina, who intends to get a look at Zero _and_ get Zero in his debt for returning the mask. He quickly mobilizes the Gurren Gang (Kouji included), and Karen counters by drafting Hiiro and Duo to help her get the mask first. As the teams fan out, they run into Lelouch himself!
He has to think fast to explain what he's doing here, and the best he can come up with is that he's come to a supposedly uninhabited area to blow off stress from his job as vice-student council chairman. Asking them to keep it a secret from the others at school, he runs off just as Sumeragi radios in with a forecast for the cat's location. Karen finds out that Lelouch was here, renewing her doubts about the connection between him and Zero. The cat's location is quickly narrowed down to a dead-end corridor and the crew charge in... and stop almost immediately, as Zero walks over from a different direction and asks what's going on. Guess Lelouch can't be Zero then, right?
Sumeragi radios Lockon at this point: some Area Eleven Britannia Union forces are headed their way. Somehow they've got wind tha the Black Knights are here, and Sumeragi fears that trouble could result. The pilots race for their ships, and Zero tells Karen that he'll be appearing in person too, after he's done preparing. Once the pilots are gone, "Zero" reveals herself to be C.C. with a spare mask. She isn't exactly thrilled to have to play Zero, especially after a cat loused things up, but that's the way the ball bounces it seems. Zero's decided that it's time for these oncoming Britannians to add flavor to his string of "miracles".
Karen is clearly worried about Zero's well-being, telling him that she believes in him as her leader. Zero means to engender similar trust in the rest of Zexis, and it so happens he's forecast this little Britannian incursion. Before joining up with the team, he's been busy Geassing the workers in the underground portion of this city, setting up one spectacular "miraculous" demonstration indeed. The Britannian commander Dalton is vaguely impressed that Zero isn't atempting to hide behind his new UN friends. Zero can tell from the new model of KMF he's facing (the Gloucester) that these must be troops close to Cornelia. Zero tells Karen not to fear such seemingly lopsided odds and follow him into the heart of the city. Dalton isn't a fan of urban combat, but he also sees no reason not to try to bag Zero here. Suzaku thinks he can stop all the fighting if he can defeat Zero, and the troops advance, just as Zero planned...
...Until a wave of explosions breaks out, courtesy of the same mecha-beasts that were trashing the other Japan. Ashura is in command, and seeing that Kouji isn't immediately in evidence, (s)he decides to burn down the city in a show of Dr. Hell's force. All the residents have been evacuated by the Britannians, but that's still a pretty grim prospect. Dalton orders the troops to pull out, not wanting to lose any of the firepower he's borrowed from Cornelia. Even Suzaku has no choice but to comply.
The city is now wide open to the tender mercies of Ashura's forces, save for Zero and Karen. To make matters worse, a large contingent of Dimensional Beasts appear, followed closely by Zexis. They reckon Zero could use a little help, but Zero says that the enemy are already under his spell. Ashura isn't buying it and orders his/her forces to wipe out both Zexis and these interdimensional interlopers. Zero sets his plan in motion, which involves destroying the pillars that support the underground ceiling and thereby catching the enemy up in one ginormous sinkhole. Unfortunately one of the pillars doesn't detonate, thereby holding up the entire parade. Zero orders Karen to stay put as he rushes over to finish the job, concerned more than anything else about losing one of his pawns. He's bold enough to fix his own mistakes with his own hands, but unfortuantely a barrage from Ashura keeps him from his destination. What can he do?!
Kamina then rushes to his side, yelling for Zero to tell him what to do next. He's sensed Zero's resolve to fight, and in honor of that is _not_ planning to run from this battle. Zero is amazed, and quickly says that he needs Kamina's drill. With Zero's instructions, Kamina and Simon nail the pillar, ensnaring all the enemy in an enormous sinkhole. Zero then has the commanders sortie their forces, who are totally in awe of this turn of events. They'll have about three turns of uninterrupted fragdown before the enemy start to gather themselves, during which point Kamina and Karen will get to settle their differences. Zero commands everyone to charge and smite all who dare threaten Japan.
Crow makes an interesting observation during the battle: the DBs almost seem to have been lying in wait here, since there's no evidence of a recent Quake nearby.
Refurbishing the mecha-beasts from Atami hasn't helped Ashura much, though to be fair (s)he wasn't counting on Zero's plan, or Kamina and Simon's help. (S)he leaves with the usual promises of vengeance on its lips, letting Zexis appreciate what they've accomplished here. Kamina helped Zero, so Karen's happy, and Kamina in turn finds the gutsy rebel every inch [...every inch? where are we measuring again?...] worthy to be a "Guren" pilot.
The real trick is Zero, who makes sure the team remembers it was his plan that led to the hasty victory. He tells Sumeragi that he's got similar traps in place for the unwary all over, in recognition of how many enemies the Black Knights have. Takeru points out that he destroyed pretty much an entire city in the process, and Zero says that all the residents had been evacuated beforehand: no human casualties resulted. This doesn't quite click with everyone, but Zero tells them there's a better target for their frustrations: the aliens, beasties, and other random bad guys who are threatening world peace. He's not saying that any sacrifice is worth the cost of restoring that peace, but there are times where hesitation leads to defeat. And if Zexis are the Allies of Justice, defeat is something they must never suffer.
...Sounds reasonable-ish, and under the circumstances Sumeragi and the others are willing to keep their doubts about his methods in check. Jeffrey recommends clearing out before anyone else shows up to fight, and as the team packs up, C.C. observes from the sidelines that Lelouch managed okay on his own today. But will things continue to go his way in the future? Zero, for his part, inwardly bids farewell to Nanaly and says he believes firmly that he can build the kind of future she would want. From even deeper shadows on the sidelines, a figure observes that Carlos' little whim seems to have brought about a fine result. And so much the better that "he" has so much warpower gathered to him...
As the pilots unwind, Ibuki observes that the best part about the battle was not having to directly fight the Britannian army. That would be a sure way to get labeled terrorists. Karen at least is plenty prepared to face the oppressors of her people, but the other pilots manage to talk her out of her tension: they're all on the same team now, and are fighting for Justice for everyone. In fact, Karen is extremely glad to have comrades she can relax around -- Area Eleven for her is a constant exercise in guarding against unseen adversaries. Now, maybe she can open up more... maybe, she can ask about what the other Japan is like without jealousy.
Zero is observing this from the sidelines, commenting to Oogi that he's never seen a genuine smile from Karen before. Oogi replies that he's not seen it for a long time either, though it used to be her norm. He tells Zero that Karen's older brother was a childhood friend of his, and with even Kamina warming to Zero, Zero faces an unexpected prospect... that he too could actually become friends with these people. He instinctively tells Kamina that while he doesn't intend to "fraternize"... he's more than happy to indulge in the bonds of mutual Justice with his comrades-in-arms. That's semantics, but good enough for Kamina. Kamina accepts Zero as a "member" of the Gurren Gang, and Zero in turn extends to him and Simon special adjunct membership in the Black Knights.
Observing in turn are Crow and Lockon, both of whom are mildly amazed that this rag-tag collaboration could actually work for now. Neither of them are best suited to this kind of love-fest, but both could get used to it quite nicely. It would certainly be nice to believe in that higher thing that brought everyone together...
Back in the Tokyo Settlement, Isabelle and Kinue continue to compare notes about the Security Council's private army, "Zexis". Of course the UN won't confirm that they've offcially joined forces with the Black Knights, but the camera doesn't lie. The two journalists see in Zexis a perfect microcosm of the state of the world: overt and covert elements coming together for the common good. It's a story they feel must be told, and a Truth worth chasing.
CHAPTER 15. The Shadow Covering the World
It's a damn good thing that Zexis actually feeds its pilots; otherwise, Crow was planning on a diet of water for breakfast half the week, and Sleep For Dinner(tm) the other half. His money problems seem small compared to his interpersonal problems though, given that it's Carlos who's running Axion. And it's Carlos who sees Crow as an interesting plaything, even though Crow isn't officially an Axion employee -- this would be related to the VX inside Crow's mech. Carlos has tired of trying to detach Crow from the Blaster, and instead is amusing himself by watching what kind of creative ways to screw up Crow discovers. Take that gaffe with the white DB back then, for instance. He mockingly tells Crow that he's pulling for him and Zexis, and starts a sort of cheerleading routine before Crow hangs up. Yup, that's the richest man in the world, whose humanity seems inversely proportional to his bank balance. Lockon slyly asks if that applies in reverse to Crow, and Crow smirks back that he isn't going to go that far. As for why Carlos phoned up in the first place, Crow reckons he just gets a kick out of watching Zexis' whole Justice crusade.
Off to the side, all these shenanigans are making Alto's brow furrow. This Earth is a heck of a lot more complicated than his own, and with all the obvious threats to mankind, Alto can't comprehend how the humans would make time to squabble among themselves. With a glint in his eye, Michelle observes that this Earth's people might decide to stop fighting too, if pushed to the brink of extinction. Yikes. Guess it's a good thing that there's an anti-Extinction squad like Zexis around, eh? Ozuma recommends that Alto try to go with the flow of his new comrades even more, and Alto points out Kiriko as someone even more detached than him. To the untrained eye, Kiriko in fact appears to be sound asleep.
Klan's eyes, however, are not untrained. She knows that Kiriko is in fact deeply aware of everything around him, readiness to strike pervading every fiber. And if he strikes, it's to kill. This is the mark of a hardened mercenary, and Luka is more than a little impressed that Kiriko's simplistic A.T. still has all the capabilities needed for battle. Its "survivability" is near zero though, which minimizes production cost and lets its makers crank out a _lot_ of them. Ozuma's heard them described as walking coffins, but Duo can attest that they're fearsome in the right hands... and given that Zero made a point to bring Kiriko along, his hands must be right indeed. From what Duo's seen, it's less that Kiriko's A.T. is a dangerous military machine, and more that Kiriko _himself_ is a dangerous military machine. Hmm...
Elsewhere in the world, Sarches has a little job for Riemann: gauging the strength of the Security Council's new private army. Sarches claims that his masters at the PMC Trust haven't told him who the secretive client is, other than that he's got his sights set very high. The world might not have recognized it yet, but Zexis are _not_ to be fucked with lightly. Riemann guesses the client to be a member of one of the Three Great Nations, concerned with what the UN is up to, but Sarches doesn't much care so long as the PMC Trust get paid for waging war. And Riemann is being given the assignment because of another request from the client: besides recon, he is to crush the Zexis if he can. Sarches can ask for nothing better, and he's calling upon the best Astrageus had to offer: the Red Shoulders. Riemann has his own reasons for accepting the job, and Sarches means to accompany him in order to tangle with the Gundams. The setup is this: the client has leaked the location of one of the WLF hideouts to the UN, and when Zexis moves in, Sarches will follow like a ravenous beast. Riemann can sense no principles or sense of duty in the man, only fondness for battle...
Apparently this is a very well-hidden hideout, as Veda wasn't even aware of it. Whoever leaked the information seemingly wanted the Zexis to wipe the WLF out, and with no media watching all the various members can participate freely. Zero is worried about contingencies though, and recommends a hasty conclusion to the fight. Setsuna seems on edge, which Sumeragi ascribes to this being close to his homeland.
The WLF forces stand no chance against the Zexis' might. However, once they're dealt with, the PMC Trust forces move in, presumably hired by someone who sees Zexis as a threat. Kiriko snaps out of his habitual pseudo-stupor when he sees the PMC commander, Captain Riemann. If anything can be said about the crimson nightmares from Astrageus, it's that they're even more dangerous than the rumors claim. They clearly don't intend to let Zexis leave the area intact, and as Zero puts it, anyone who attacks the Allies of Justice must be an Ally of Evil(tm).
Riemann's presence makes it clear to Kiriko that he'll never be able to run from his personal nightmare. Fortunately, this wave of PMC troops is easily-enough rebuffed by the combined might of Zexis, with the possible exception of Sarches. Setsuna in particular is shocked to see the same technology that ravaged his home being used against him now. As Sarchez tries to leave, Setsuna recklessly dashes after him, only to get blasted for his pains. He then takes the astounding step of asking Sarchez to step out of his cockpit, exiting his cockpit first.
This fascinates Sarchez, but not enough to derail his plan of killing Setsuna and stealing his Gundam. Lockon can't stop him from this range, and things look grim until Quatre and Trois intervene. With no other choice, Sarchez flees. He remembers kids with swords once before: back from when he helped destroy Kurjis... Setsuna now knows for sure that Ali Al Sarchez is his long-lost nemesis, though his getting distracted by it makes Trielia predicatbly figure he's unfit as a Meister.
Cathy is having a bit of a crisis of faith as the battle winds down: can the Macross folks really afford to stay here, when there are people obviously gunning for them? Jeffrey figures they've already integrated entirely into this world, and for every enemy they find, they also have an ally. Certainly that includes Quatre and Trois, who mean to join up with Zexis for the long haul. Unfortunately, Setsuna seems driven to distraction by Sarchez -- how is it that he's ended up with the PMC after Kurjis? What became of his "god"? Tielia yells that if he keeps up this stupidity, he'll shoot Setsuna in the back, in the interest of protecting the Gundams' secrets.
In the royal court of Azadistan, Xielin reports to Queen Marina that the battle has finished. Marina isn't much interested in the battle, since she dislikes settling disputes by force, but Xielin chides her that she needs to develop that interest if she intends to govern her country. Marina hasn't mustered that resolve yet, and Xielin tells her gently but firmly that this nation has little time left.
Back at Zexis' base, Lockon punches Setsuna in the face, reminding him that all the Celestial Beings are tasked with protecting their own identities as jealously as the Solar Reactor: meaning top priority. He demands to know why Setsuna revealed himself to the enemy, and Setsuna steadfastly refuses to speak. Tielia draws his gun, intending to rid the world of this dangerous threat to the CB's plan, but Setsuna quickdraws at him, finally stating in no uncertain terms that he isn't going to relinquish his Gundam. Lockon orders them both to lower their guns, and Allelujah observes that all of them were chosen by Veda: there's got to be a reason why. Tielia peevishly asks to see what that reason is in Setsuna's case, and Setsuna spits that his very existence is reason enough. Say what?
The rest of the team is of course nearby, watching the drama unfold with considerable unease. The drama is particularly poignant for the Dancougar Nova folks, whose team structure is more ad hoc and less determined by any a priori bond (that they know of). As such, Aoi in particular can't bring herself to intervene with the CBs, and that fact bugs her quite a bit. The whole Nova crew opt to go wait outside rather than watch the drama any longer, even as the new Colonial Gundam pilots make introductions. They're fighting for Colonial freedom, and have decided to bet on the Security Council as the best way to achieve that with the fewest consequences. There is one more Colonial Gundam yet to enter the fold, and Crow -- who's had dealings with him in the past -- is quite curious as to his identity and objective.
Speaking of Gundam pilots, Hiiro has gone to chat with Setsuna after the showdown ended. He demands that Setsuna tell him why he did what he did, and after a moment Setsuna admits that he wasn't thinking at all: his body acted on its own. Hiiro muses over this action motivated by emotion, and declares that he's learned emotion can be a perfectly fine motivation. It seems that the two poker-faced pilots are on the cusp of a beautiful friendship. The other pilots' spectating is cut short by a summons for Zero to the bridge to hear Elgan's new orders. What will the UN chief make of today's battle with the PMC?
Information from the PMC has reached Zechs and Schneizer: clearly, they weren't able to crush Zexis. Schneizer figures there's little to do but honestly admit the power of Elgan's batallion. Alejandro's also present, and he wonders aloud of the other Great Nations deliberately undervalued Elgan long enough to let him get to this point. Schneizer certainly did, using fear of the HLF to distract other eyes in Britannia. Zechs and Schneizer are quite happy how things have turned out, and as a sort of Plan "B" intend to have Zexis' power serve their interests. They might give them a little prodding every so often, but fundamentally they want Zexis to act as it pleases for now. The stakes are higher than ever for their ambitions to change the world, and at least Alejandro thinks he can be at the helm of the new order to come. That means that Zexis can't be allowed to fail until the new order has arrived...
CHAPTER 16. (Route Split)
Ootsuka has a bold proposal for Zexis: split in two! This might sound like a diseconomy of scale, but there's a method to this seemingly mad plan. He believes that two targets will prove more tempting to Zexis' enemies than one, luring them out into the open. By the same token, two units can swiftly cover a wider area than one, which would be nice given how the beastmen have started acting up all around the Pacific. Sightings of new types of DBs have also increased, and Veda is sounding alarms about heightened WLF activity. The Macross Quarter and Ptolemeios will make the ideal motherships, for overt and covert operations respectively. Crow will get to choose which side to travel with, presumably favoring the more lucrative course -- Jeffrey at least finds Crow's dedication to paying off his debts a more trustworthy motivation than many out there.
Crow meanwhile is being debriefed by Traia. He's been working nonstop in accordance with the old addage that "The poor are never bored", though of course he hadn't originally planning on anything like this. Traia hasn't had any luck deciphering the secrets of the VX, nor in tracking down the M.D. Esther is lurking behind Traia, and openly questions Crow's commitment to getting her her revenge. Crow tells her that piloting the Blaster is harder than it sounds, and that it doesn't take gum-chewing like a baseball player to be serious. Traia tells Crow that Esther has been assigned as her assistant, poring over analysis of the DBs in search of clues.
To go on the overt route, go to Chapter 16O. For the Covert route, go to Chapter 16C.
For Crow's efforts, his debts are reduced by 200k.
CHAPTER 16O. Bird-Human
The Macross folks are all too happy to share some of the culture of their Earth with the people of this one: the movie "Do You Remember Love?", dramatizing the war between Earth and the Zentraedi. Pretty gripping stuff, as Crow finds out when he accidentally interrupts it. Off to the side, the Macross folks explain to him that "music" played a central part in the drama, epitomizing as it does the "human" culture that the Zentraedi warrior race had never encountered before. The resulting rift in the Zentraedi created the opening the Macross fleet needed to strike down the leader of the belligerents, while paving the way for many of the Zentraedi to forge peace with humanity. The interstellar war, with Lynn Minmei's songs as its soundtrack, was also Lynn's personal love story, and Zexis folks of all gender identities seem totally infatuated with Macross's siren.
All that is some fifty years in the past though, and some suspect that the time has come for a contemporary singer to take up the mantle of Eternal Idol(tm). That would be Sheryl Nome, whose new album has just come out and is already creating Internet traffic jams like you wouldn't believe. The "Galactic Fairy" has vocal superiority, dance moves to burn, and has already made her self at home on the stages and pop charts of this Earth. Alto views all that with mixed feelings as he secretly fingers Chery's earring, knowing that he's not going to be able to return it any time soon...
Suffice it to say that the team are star-struck, and would love it if Alto can get them an "in" into the behind-the-scenes world of music. Ozuma shows up with a mission that should at least temporarily satiate this love of theater: providing cinematic services for an international movie production: "Bird- Human". This is supposedly based on something that happened on Frontier-Earth some 50 years ago, and what makes the production "international" is the cooperation between the peoples of the two Earths. It was going to be filmed on the resort ship Island-3, but since there's a whole planet on hand, the producers figured they'd use it instead.
The producers' main interest in the Macross pilots is actually their mecha, which are similar enough to their prototype -- the VF-0 -- to stand in for it in the variable-geometry combat sequences. The rest of the Zexis folks are mainly on hand to provide "logistical support", meaning hauling crap around for free. Crow was hoping for at least union wage for their troubles, and as if on cue Carlos shows up. Those Zexis members who haven't run into the world's richest man are pretty amazed, but Crow treats his nemesis and his "look at how rich I am" act fairly indifferently. Carlos, as it turns out, has not taken time out of his busy schedule specifically to needle Crow: Axion is involved with the Bird-Human production effort, and he's here to see that his investment is being well-spent.
Sionny then shows up, feisty as ever and fairly rude when Aoyama tries to help. She makes it known in no uncertain terms that she, yes she, is Limonia's Foreign Minister. Oosugi has heard the small Pacific nation's name before, mostly in conjunction with its production of rare metals whose management Sionny has overseen. She's also overseeing Limonia's involvement in Bird- Human, which explains why she's here disrupting the crew's work schedule. Her claim is that this movie will determine the very future of her nation, which sounds just a tad outlandish. As she stalks off to chat with the producers, Oosugi tells Crow that this rare metal seems to have something to do with energy production -- though just what he can't say.
Elsewhere on the set, Ozuma makes a shocking discovery: Ranka is here with new manager Elmo. Unbeknownest to Ozuma, Ranka has garnered a substantial following and several commercial spots after turning in a good showing in the Miss Macross contest, and she'd originally come for a small part as one of the village girls. Ozuma is clearly upset to see her foray into the shady world of movies, but after a long staring contest he growls that she can do as she damn well pleases and stalks off. Ranka confides to Alto that she's actually gotten a bigger part than planned due to the original actress getting injured: "Mao", the heroine Sara's older sister. Alto tells her to give it her all, and Ranka and Elmo retreat to get some more rehearsing in.
Alto stands around looking concerned, and Sheryl of all people pops out and tells him to go after her if he's worried. Turns out she's here to do a photo shoot for her new calendar, continuing her string of commercial success on Earth. Rather than take Alto to task for mooching her earring, she thanks him for helping to defend the skies over her previous concert on the Frontier, and tells him he can keep it as a reward. Just then one of the producers comes over to offer the beauteous Alto a part in the film, but he angrily tells the producer that he's got the wrong guy and goes off to check on Ranka, whose likely whereabouts Sheryl tells him. She playfully tells Alto that he owes her for this one.
Ranka, as Alto feared, is fretting over Ozuma's angry rejection; after all, he's the one she most wanted to be happy for her. It was hard enough for her to summon enough courage to come this far... Alto finds her, and assures her that Ozuma was not mad at her; rather, he was trying to be protective of her. It will take Ozuma some time to see her as something more than a child in need of protection... Alto has the knack of saying exactly what she needs to hear when she needs to hear it, and that even extends to explaining what the strange sound preceding a Dimensional Quake implies.
It implies, among other things, that the cliff they're walking along is about to collapse. Alto manages to grab Ranka's arm with one hand and the remains of the cliff with the other, leaving them dangling hundreds of feet above the beach below. Alto isn't for a moment going along with Ranka's plea to let her fall so he can save himself, but what can they do instead? The answer comes in the form of a mystery man who sprints up along the beach and then _leaps_ high enough to catch Ranka and deposit her safely on terra firma. He introduces himself as Brela Starn, and chides Alto that he'd better get going to join his comrades' sortie. There are DBs nearby...
Among the DBs is Crow's quarry: the M.D.! The team will have to act fast if they want to keep this island in one piece for filming. On the sidelines, they have at least one very interested observer, wanting to see if they can prevail or must be forced to withdraw...
After observing how readily the DBs are getting trashed, the observer decides to take matters into his own hands. There is a localized Quake at his location, and the man emerges in a giant mech. He tells Crow that he is a special sort of DB, and that he's here for Crow's life. He claims that by doing so he will save the world, and Crow has no choice but to meet this swift new foe's offensive head-on. To make matters more complicated yet, Antares-1 shows up, piloted by none other than Brela! He'a acting on some unseen boss's orders, and tells Ozuma and friends curtly that he wants no thanks for his help.
During the battle, the mysterious new foe tells Crow -- possibly as a bad joke -- that he's his "brother". Crow of course has no time for this. Getting rid of the guy is no mean feat, but when the team finally manage it the guy seems incredibly pleased at the thought that Crow might offer him a challenge. Crow tells his fellows not to pursue the guy, and instead to concentrate on the M.D.
The M.D. does not in fact _perish_ when defeated, but beats a hasty retreat. For a moment it looks like Crow is determined to rush off after it, but he then relents in deference to the team's already depleted warpower: this is about as good a victory as he could hope for... for now. And just who was Crow's new opponent, anyway? The other problem is Antares-1, who informs Alto that he's unworthy of Ranka before flying off. Luka thinks he recognizes Antares-1 to be a VF-27, which would make it of Galaxy origin...
At Ranka's request, Alto does get involved in the filmmaking process, but not, as some of Zexis had hoped, in front of the camera. He'll be helping shoot some of the underwater scenes, keeping him firmly out of the limelight. Unfortunately, some of the otaku on the team have dredged up pictures of the time he acted the part of Sakura-hime in a noted kabuki performance three years ago. He is, in fact, seriously hot as a guy-playing-a-girl, and apparently had a _serious_ love scene (colloquially referred to in Japanese as a "damp spot", which causes serious consternation among the womenfolk when Watta fecklessly asks for a definition) that has fans screaming to this day. Apparently Alto had a massive falling out with his father, which diverted his career path from the stage to the cockpit.
His friends inform him that the scene he's going to help film is an underwater love scene where Ranka has to kiss someone (that someone, it turns out, is him). First of all, it's a good thing Ozuma isn't around to hear that. Second of all, isn't Alto going to try to stop Ranka from going through with it? He angrily snaps that he will _not_ try to stop her: after all, it's only a kiss! Sheryl shows up then, saying that's surprisingly mature of Alto. She hauls him off for some private confab while the rest of the team gape at Alto's links to such celebrity.
She takes him to Ranka, who's been having her hair done by Bobby -- who turns out to have been a superstar makeup artist before entering the S.M.S. Ranka is fretting heavily about whether or not she can act, and whether or not she can kiss Alto as the scene actually calls for. She can't seem to get the hang of Mao as a character, who in the script falls in love with her elder sister's significant other and goes so far as to kiss him. Bobby observes that Ranka's never really been in love, and tells her that in love, you have to consider the object of that love a lot. Apparently that's the explanation she needed.
Sheryl meanwhile asks Alto if the Earth's skies are what he hoped. The skies themselves, yes. The selfish humans who try to circumscribe them? Not so much. Mankind seems to insist on trying to divide up the one thing -- the heavens -- that should instead bind them all together. If this Earth is a disappointment to him, it's the same kind he feels toward his own Earth and the Frontier fleet. Sheryl wonders aloud whether that's what the birds think when they're flying aloft. In her view, the birds live only to fly, period, and wouldn't stop for any borders in the sky even if they could see them. Ah ha! thinks Crow, and suddenly sees the title "Bird-Human" in a whole new light. What it would be like to live without thinking, only feeling!
That finally brings a smile back to Alto's face, and Sheryl asks if he's any less nervous. He claims he wasn't nervous to begin with about a kiss, and unexpectedly she takes him up on it. Right as Ranka appears. She smirks broadly at his startled reaction, reminding him with a musical laugh that he's the one who just claimed a kiss was no big deal. Bobby, who's been walking with Ranka, can only facepalm at the ultra bad timing...
In the Foreign Ministry, Mishima has finished negotiating with Sionny for supplies for the movie. We finally get to learn the real game: among its many natural resources, Limonia has Fold Quartz (aka "Dimension Energy Crystal" or DEC). And in exchange for it, Mishima is prepared to modify the "equal access" provision regarding the Frontier fleet's technology. He's promised Sionny and Carlos nothing short of the plans for the Fold System itself, and used the Zexis' participation in the Bird-Human filming as cover for making the handoff. Serious Business(tm), and very bad for all involved if word of it got out.
After Mishima leaves, Carlos tells Sionnay that this greatly speeds up their Project Vortex, at the cost of a little more of their DEC reserves -- which, if things continue according to plan, won't be necessary to assure Limonia's future any more. Sionny seems to be having some second thoughts, but as Carlos has it it's far too late to turn back now. He's doing this for fun, and of course she's doing this for her country. Now it's time for Carlos to plow a little cash into the WLF, and for a visit from today's interloper: Eim Reiard, with orders for the two of them.
It turns out that Mishima's tricky dealings have only just begun. He next meets, alone as promised, with Grace. Just what is it that the assistant to the president of Macross Frontier would want with Sheryl Nome's manager? Well, all the data she's got on the Vajra, for one thing. And in return, _she_ gets the Fold Quartz! She promises to keep helping him, and invites him to watch the filming of Bird-Human... he may just see the birth of a new star. Mishima is mildly interested in Ranka, but not very much in the film itself. He excuses himself, and Grace has to wonder where he's getting all this Fold Quartz from. The better question is whether she's got enough to breach the dimensional walls and contact the Galaxy fleet... Evidently she's the one holding Brela's leash, and orders him to tail Mishima and see whether there's anything fishy going on. She orders him never to violate her orders -- in this case, to guard Ranka but not contact her directly -- ever again, if he wants her to give him his past back...
Along the way, Ozuma has come to terms with Ranka's career aspirations, not needing any prodding from Cathy. He still finds himself bemused by how Ranka got to play Dr. Mao as a kid, of all roles. Is it fate? Meanwhile Alto and Ranka are preparing each other for the big scene, and Alto shares with her a little old-school drama theory from kabuki: "Think not and be a flower, or think and be not a flower." Acting with one's head is always doomed, because something of the self will tug from within. Acting on instinct, on emotion itself is the way to an honest performance.
Far from bad timing, the scene Ranka saw has provided her with just the insight she needed into Mao's character. And Alto's acting theory lesson has given her the "how".
CHAPTER 16C. Contact
Treize has decided that the best way to shake up the world is to prod Zexis with a stick, and his stick of choice is Zechs. He's of the opinion that Elgan won't be able to complain if Oz's forces attack Zexis' covert branch, UN affiliation or not. He's also smart enough to assume that _Zexis_ is smart enough to have thought through its division into overt and covert: the covert branch is clearly being dangled as bait, to lure Zexis' enemies into clearer view. However, just because something is a trap doesn't mean it's always to be avoided, and neither man would be who and where they are today if they weren't willing to take some risks.
Zexis is a _major_ risk, however, so Treize has called in a little help for his comrade: Zechs' old trainee Noin! Noin has been counting the days (literally) since they saw each other last, and tells Zechs that rumors of his exploits as "the Lightning Baron" have regularly reached her men. Zechs frowns at this, saying that it's seldom a good thing to have one's reputation precede one that much: it makes one's enemies know where to shoot at, and one's allies expect more than is feasible.
In fact, Noin is not the warmongering sort, and was preparing for a career as an astronaut at Victoria Base... until a Colonial Gundam trashed it. Treize notes that said Gundam hasn't been spotted as part of Zexis, but is clearly of Colonial manufacture. Noin lost a lot of her own trainees in the fracas, and she feels she owes it to them to pursue the trail of the Gundams. She also wants to help Zechs out once more, and he'll gladly accept her aid. Treize wishes Zechs good hunting, and adds that he'll be getting some additional collaborators joining up soon. Just who they are is something he can look forward to. After Zechs and Noin leave, Treize wonders aloud just how well Zexis will do versus his comrade's forces. If Zexis can't hold their own against _them_, they certainly won't be able to change the world...
So what exactly is the covert half of Zexis supposed to be doing? Whatever they damn well please, is Elgan's exact wording. The CBs are willing to take that as reopening hunting season on the Three Great Nations' armed forces, assuming that Elgan's got something in mind. Zero opines that they'll have little time for wayward base-trashing, what with all the anti-Zexis forces this team is meant to draw away from the overt group. The team can expect the Three Great Nations, or other comparably-powerful organizations, to come calling of their own accord. Lockon asks Tielia for Veda's assessment, and the WLF keep showing up at the top of the threat scale.
Duo's been wondering for a while why Tielia, seemingly just one of the pilots, is routinely part of group strategy discussions. Sumeragi explains that the CBs' missions are decided by Veda, a photonic computer whose decisions the actual executors (that would be Lockon and friends) have the right to interpret or question. Only specially-qualified people can access Veda directly, and Tielia is one of the qualified. _Why_ is a secret that Zero agrees rather drily to not pry into: after all, this group of uneasy allies has plenty of secrets to keep. Everyone seems fine with accepting Veda's suggestion to go after the WLF, and Sumeragi is okay granting Zero's request to make Area Eleven the engagement area. Zero's got a revolution to motivate, after all.
Lockon's opinion of the WLF and its hired army of unprincipled terrorist thugs hasn't improved over the past months, and it's plain that letting such people stay armed is dangerous. What Zero wants to know is how such a rag-tag bunch of goons has gotten the funding to become a world-wide menace. The deliberations are interrupted however by Ian, who reports a certain argument in progress in the main briefing room. The two sides seem to be Tamashiro and Setsuna, and the issue is whether armed resistance to Britannia is really the best way to free Area Eleven. Tamashiro turns that question around and points out that the CBs are considered terrorists the whole world over, and as much as challenges Setsuna to a fistfight.
Crow wonders if someone should intervene, and Allelujah recommends staying out of it: Setsuna is at "fault" for being the first one to question the motives behind one of the other Zexis member organizations. Musashi smirks and tells Crow to get in between them himself if he's really worried, and Crow says that he isn't enough of a philanthropist to intervene when there isn't a single G in it for him. Let there be even 1G though, and he'll risk his entire life for it. His point -- and Ryouma agrees wholeheartedly -- is that the two would-be pugilists have been building up to this for quite a while: if violence is the only answer they can find, let them just fight it out.
The Nova team aren't so sure, noting that Setsuna seems to operate under a sort of personal logic that others seldom grasp. Aoi describes it as a set of buttons that, if pushed, will cause Setsuna to launch into a given action regardless of anything else going on around him. To be sure, Setsuna's not the only Zexis member with cryptic motivations, but he is the most cryptic short of Kiriko. Kiriko is in a whole other league when it comes to personal cipher-hood, and even though Karen hung with him for weeks and months, she can't really pinpoint anything of note about him. He doesn't seem to be fighting to repay a debt like the much-maligned Crow, and Aoi has to wonder what he _is_ fighting for. Maybe it would shed some light on what her team, none of whom have a particular reason to charge into battle, ought to do. She's not interested enough to try asking Kiriko's nominal master, the arms merchant who's been contracting with the Black Knights, and that may be part of her problem.
Oogi comes in at this point to tell the team to prepare for battle. The team is going to be hunting wabbits^WWLF terrorists in Japan, and it's known that they've got the dreaded Red Shoulders among their ranks. Mention of the Red Shoulders in Area Eleven brings Kiriko out of powersave move: the thread between the mercs and the occupied country is a slender one, but he believes inwardly that he could follow it to the eventual Truth about that woman who altered the course of his life on Lid...
Time to Justly kick some WLF ass, which they're sure to hate all the more for their own habit of claiming that Justice is on their side. Kiriko is keeping mum on what's motivated him to sortie today, and nobody wants the fracas to drag on any longer than necessary.
To no one's real surprise, there's more to this battle than meets the eye. The same A.T. that Kiriko fought in Shinjuku shows up again briefly, and when it runs off Kiriko dashes off after it. Before anyone can follow, a detachment of Oz, the AEU special forces, show up. Even odder, a batch of Britannian soldiers show up from a different direction -- is this a coincidence, or...? I'll pick "or", even though any public accounting of the battle would claim "coincidence". Who knew that the covert Zexis would hook two fish this big, this quickly? Only one thing to do: kick _all_ their asses!
I suppose it felt like a good plan to Treize to send all these folks to battle Zexis. Unfortunately for him, the only result is a vast amount of busted hardware and seriously bruised egos. Zechs, Noin, Graham and all their forces don't begin to stand a chance. Zechs wisely has any survivors pull out before things get even worse, but Zero's sharp mind has already noted the most damning fact: AEU special forces have been _allowed_ into Britannian territory. This points to the existence of a puppeteer with enough moxie to affect international military politics. Zero actually thinks this is a good thing: proof that their street cred in the underworld is rising. Whatever the case, Ryouma likes the fact that he won't have to hold himself back when battling whoever is responsible.
The team then go to where Kiriko's A.T.'s beacon shows, in part so Zero can find out why Kiriko disobeyed his orders. Kiriko meanwhile is beginning to see this enemy A.T., which is singling him out, as part of the pattern he's caught in. Maybe if he beats it he'll learn something new? Aw hell, it's worth a shot (or several).
The enemy A.T. seems to harbor hidden reserves if kick-assfulness, pulverizing Kiriko's mech long after it should have been out for the count. Its pilot opts not to finish Kiriko off though, opening her hatch and stepping out for a moment. Just then the Zexis arrive, seemingly startling the pilot and driving her away. As Kiriko's consciousness fades, he seems to find the woman he saw on Lid and the pilot just now to be the same person. Somehow the thought that the woman who changed his life is now out to take it, is strangely satsifying to him.
Back at Oz HQ, Zechs is chatting with Graham. Both know this isn't much of a time for pleasantries, and Zechs laments that he simply doesn't have mecha of a caliber that can stand up to Zexis. Graham causally asks if the new Oz mecha, "Torres" or whatever they're called, will be available soon, having heard all about them from his genius (and world-renowned) engineer Leif Eifmann. He's confident that Leif will use today's combat data to somehow overthrow the Gundams next time, and as a bit of a consolation prize offers Zechs some information Leif told him. It seems there's a certain mech in Oz's past, one with fearsome combat abilities and a nasty habit of exceeding its pilots' limits. It lives on in substantially detuned form in the Leo... and possibly in the ancestry of the Colonial Gundams too. Its name: the Tallgeese. Graham tells Zechs that he reckons they'll be fighting more joint battles from here on out, and whatever else the government may do, he intends personally to lay his life on the line to defeat the Gundams. Zechs feels the same, and vows not to waste the information his new international friend has told him. Whatever this "Tallgeese" is, he means to master it, and thus the Gundams.
Kiriko regains consciousness in the Ptolemeios' sick bay, watched over anxiously by Karen and... Kokona, who's come along with the Goat to drop off some new weapons. Kiriko's POS Scope Dog is a total loss, but Kokona promises him she and the others will fix something up out of spare parts in no time flat. Kiriko gets up and makes to leave sickbay, despite the fact that he's in no way healed. Zero asks why he disobeyed orders, and Kiriko says that he had... no reason at all. He makes no further reply to Zero's demand for a better answer than that, and Zero is left with the unpleasant realization that Kiriko is even more dangerous than he thought. Kiriko possesses something inside, some resource with which he can confront any political menace or physical threat. The thought seems at once terrifying and thrilling to him, but his reverie is cut short by Crow, who says that Kiriko was merely _re_acting to what the enemy unit did.
Zero then asks if Kiriko knows why the other mech attacked him, and has no choice but to believe him when Kiriko says he doesn't know. However, he tells Kiriko that he'd better be prepared for consequences if any of his personally- motivated acts put Zexis at risk. Kiriko is glad to have the third degree over, and leaves at once to see to his A.T... the only home, and the only coffin, someone like him knows.
Kiriko's fellow pilots are certainly glad to see that he's not dead when he gets to the hangar. Kiriko asks Goat if he's brought any weapsons (yeah, boatloads), and plans to incorporate _all_ of them into the next incarnation of his A.T. Ian protests that that would toss manoverability right out the window, but Kiriko doesn't care one bit. His friends have the mainframe ready to go, and Vanilla has even attempted to paint it in colors matching the famous Red Shoulders (he got the wrong shade, and on the wrong side). Duo is surprised when Kiriko actually answers a question about the Red Shoulder commander who targeted him in the previous battle: that is Kiriko's former commander. That makes Kiriko a former Red Shoulder, or more specifically the "X-1 Special Operations Batallion, Melkian Strategic Armor Division", aka "The Vampires".
Kiriko's determination to sortie now makes sense: he craves a showdown with his former comrades-in-arms. It also makes sense why he's such a tough S.O.B., and presumably why he was in no hurry to volunteer the information. One presumably does not simply _resign_ from such an outfit. As the others revel in Kiriko's newfound celebrity, Kiriko thinks to himself that none of them could understand how much being a Red Shoulder pains him now. Nor would any of them understand the sliver of joy in his heart that he can go on fighting, as fighting is the only way he can forget. And if he goes on fighting long enough...
CHAPTER 17O. The Battle of Shinjuku, By Night
Esther takes the news of Crow's failure to finish off the M.D. surprisingly well, all things considered. She remains pissed off at herself for not being able to exact revenge for her family with her own hands, and at least on the surface at the fact that she has to count on a doofus like Crow to do it for her. We all know that she wants his love. But for now, Crow asks her to have Traia look into the mysterious interlopers in the previous battle: some rich bastard probably bought their help to mess up Zexis' day.
Bird-Human has wrapped shooting and entered post-production, and none other than Ranka has been tapped to sing its theme song. Said theme will be that one song from her past life that Ranka remembers, natch. Alto's teammates warn him to watch his step as Ranka's stardom grows: they've seen Ozuma watching Alto with some strong but inscrutible emotion that could easily turn ugly if Alto steps out of line. Then again, can anything associated with Alto be _that_ ugly, wonders Bobby. Yipe!
The Dai Guard find themselves a bit jealous at the ease with which the S.M.S. folks have integrated themselves with their Earth comrades: that sort of adaptability befits galaxy-scale colonists. Aoyama and Ibuki seem to be rather out of sorts, and when (nicely) pressed, Aoyama admits that he's got a personal problem to work out... one that might result in him quitting the company. Ibuki isn't in any mood to quit her role with the Dai Guard, but she's having reservations about fighting as part of Zexis. She signed up to battle the Heterodynes, and that's far from all Zexis is battling.
As if on cue, Shiroda materializes and points out to her that Dai Guard isn't the only thing battling the Heterodynes. If she wants to transfer, she should just up and do so. Akagi lightly doubts that anyone else is up to the task, which is a longstanding bad habit of his. His former instructor at the Defense Academy, Iidzuka, chides him about that before informing him that he's retired from the university in order to pilot Dai Guard's "sibling", a refined version built by the Security Insurance Army named the "Kokubouger". ....The _what_??? "Kokubou" is "National Defense", and apparently "-ger" is compulsory for any self-respecting super robot (or "-on", or "-der" or whatnot).
Shiroda tells Ibuki that the Kokubouger is assigned to Japan's Self-Defense Force, and that most of its missions will most likely be Heterodyne interdiction. If her goal is throwing down with the big H, she would be well served to apply there. Then again, it's his personal view that she shouldn't strain to join the army -- in fact, if Ibuki would prefer, 21st Century could try to fill her seat with a military man. Akagi (who his former prof insists on calling "Akaten" in deference to all the red pen required to grade his assignments) protests that even salarymen should be able to fight for peace, and Iidzuka tells him that the time has come to prove it. The military has basically sent him to test, and fail, Akagi out of his pilot's seat, and maybe Kouji and Watta too if they aren't careful. Now why the hell did Shiroda stage something like this? Well, it is the duty of the military to keep civilians safe...
On the battlefield, the Dai Guard team's unity seems in serious jeopardy. When Ibuki said "Heterodynes", Akagi didn't know she had so much reason to hate them. None of his beeswax! Aoyama's problems seem to be family-related (an ailing mother, perhaps?) from what Kouji saw of him talking into his celphone. But all of that will have to wait till the Kokubouger is pounded into (repairable, hopefully) scrap. Crow is so (not) worried that he's busted out the hot dogs and beer to help him spectate, and calls on guest analyst Kamina for some color commentary. CLEARLY this is all about who's the bigger man, since the Dai Guard and Kokubouger are basically the same machine beneath their paintjobs.
Shiroda thinks he's about to demonstrate the difference between salarymen and hardened combat professionals, which draws a snort from Ozuma. He knows far better than Shiroda that victory isn't about pro-vs-amateur, and that even the mighty eagle must first begin life as a chick. He wouldn't be surprised if today was the day these chicks fledge, much as he's seeing Alto do. Certainly they're going to need some teamwork if they're going to prevail here...
As the battle begins, Nishijima demands to know why Taiganai greenlighted this mock combat. A defeat for Dai Guard would reflect very poorly on his company, after all. Taiganai isn't expecting a defeat, but he assures Nishijima that he's got contingency plans just in case.
Iidzuka certainly makes it clear that he means to show the youngsters how inadequate they are, though he finds himself impressed by Kouji's mettle in particular. He, like Tsubasa, recognizes that Kouji isn't accessing all of his mech's power, and when Kouji yells that he'll make up the deficit with guts, opines that Kouji's mentor must be very old school indeed.
Iidzuka does his level best to school his opponents, even having the bad manners to come back from the dead in the event you're a good enough player to defeat him. Shiroda stops the fight before things get totally out of hand: his objective wasn't to determine a victor, but rather to force Akagi and the others to understand fully what their situation is. What Akagi knows is that he's busting his ass this much not for any company, but for the sake of peace on Earth. Is that so wrong for a wage-slave to wish for?
The posturing gets interrupted by an alarm klaxon, telling of nefarious doings in Shinjuku. The result of the latest Quake is a truly massive Heterodyne that... does utterly _nothing_ for three days in a row. This is long enough for the jittery residents to go back to ther businesses and homes, and apart from whatever hapless folks got mashed flat by the thing, all seems well. Everyone is waiting for the folks in labcoats to figure out where its Fractal Knot is, and praying that nothing screws up in the meantime. The maintenance squad have taken this opportunity to overhall Dai Guard, finally swapping out its theatrical "armor" for something that actually offers some protection. Doesn't that remove the all-important Knot Buster from the arsenal? Nope: Kokubouger has one too! ...Joyous (in quotation marks) if you're one of the Dai Guard's crew.
Watta's family show up with snacks to help the team pass the time, and the thought of "mothers" sends Aoyama off to make another clandestine phone call. It's also got Ibuki thinking about her father, gone these past twelve years. Once she and Akagi are away from the crowd, she tells Akagi her father's date of death, and A little math confirms to Akagi that it was the Heterodynes what done him, he a researcher in the Quakes who was tragically close to the epicenter when all Hell broke loose. Her mother remarried and changed their surname, but Ibuki's never forgotten about her father, and has quietly cherished dreams of revenge all along. Akagi's innocent curiosity is what convinced her to tell him, and with a smile she guesses that Aoyama must have something equally as profound tugging at him now. Shiroda then shows up and tells Akagi to come grab a meal with him, leaving Ibuki to eat her store-bought sandwich in peace.
Aoyama is on the phone with his mother some distance away, who is having some unspecified medical problems that her doctors aren't entirely leveling with her on. Aoyama knows her situation is far more dire than she admits, and when Crow happens by and overhears, he admits to him that his mother's got a weak heart. Crow certainly isn't the kind to blame Aoyama if he wants to step down from Dai Guard to help care for his mom, nor is he the type to spill this candid moment to the rest of the team. Aoyama asks Crow to cover for him while he goes and visits his mom's hospital (not like Dai Guard is ready to sortie anyway). As Aoyama heads off, Crow looks up at the moon above and muses that all this talk of mothers is making his own eyes misty.
As Crow walks, Eim steps out of the shadows, saying that Aoyama has made the right decision to return to his mom. He introduces himself as her attending physician, and says that that the woman isn't likely to last the night. In fact, Aoyama might not even make it in time to see her die. Crow is aghast, wondering why Aoyama would keep something that crucial to himself. Eim finds Crow's furor hilarious, and re-introduces himself properly as the dude who Crow fought back in Limonecia.
So uh, wtf is he doing here now? Ein claims that Crow was his lover in a past life, who pledged to spend eternity together with him. This is of course more horse-hockey, but once again Crow can't entirely contain the shock of hearing it. That, it turns out, is Ein's assignment: disrupting Crow in any way possible. On whose orders is something Ein won't easily divulge, and Crow quickly knows to distrust Ein's claim that he's a good friend of Carlos. Crow would love to beat some truth out of the guy, but unfortunately Ein is not entirely without weapons. In this case, Dimensional Beasts!
Blocks away, Shiroda has brought Akagi to a part of town he used to frequent. It's got plenty of good restaurants, and Akagi could see himself becoming a regular too if the Dai Guard team parts ways with Zexis. That's got Akagi's enjoyment of the food at a nadir, and Shiroda tries to explain his own reservations about this Zexis gig. What they're doing now is far outside the bounds of a "civilian collaborator", at least one that's got shareholders and a balance sheet to worry about. That's the main thing that separates Akagi from Kouji or Watta: he's not in a position to decide his fate by himself, or confront his enemies alone. They overhear Watta's assistant berating some of his underlings for the exact same things, and Shiroda does manage to say one thing on his own: it's the job of the military to keep civilians safe. That's his main reason for wanting Dai Guard's civilian pilots to step down.
The conversation is cut short by the distinctive whine of a Quake. The team rush to their posts, and Crow has to work hard to not let Ein's words disrupt his concentration. Iidzuka sorties in the Kokubouger, determined to make up for the hole in the lineup left by Dai Guard's absence. As this is a residential area (and not fully evacuated yet), the team had better finish this up as quickly as possible.
That won't be so quickly, since Eim is determined to keep experimenting with Crow to see how far he can push him. He's got the power to comingle spacetime and matter, and he merrily whips up... a Heterodyne! Iidzuka's superior Dokujima orders him to charge straight in and defeat the thing, lest the military somehow be shown as inferior, and Iidzuka grumbles to himself that this will hardly constitute the kind of education he wanted to give Akaji.
Sure enough, this new Heterodyne _eats_ the Kokubouger, attempting to combine with it and absorb its power. This presents the team quite a dilemma: simply blowing it away would kill Iidzuka... and _failing_ to do so will let the whole city be wasted. WHAT TO DO?!?!?
On the sidelines, the civilian evacuation is proceeding at (terrified) full tilt. Akagi is cheerfully pitching in, assuring one and all that Zexis will see that the monsters are defeated. Shiroda seems to be having a crisis of his own, observing a helpful, constructive side of Akagi that isn't often apparent when he's aboard Dai Guard. Perhaps, muses Oosugi sagely, it's a sign of how important Dai Guard is to him that he's willing to leave this sort of thing behind to sit at its controls. One supposes, if one is thinking clearly, that Akagi sees Dai Guard and Zexis combined as the best way to help the largest number of people. That's what all this "Allies of Justice" stuff really boils down to, isn't it?
The current batch of evacuees are from a nearby hospital, and among them is a portly woman who gets one of the fleeing boys to pull himself out of his terror. She recognizes Akagi as one of Dai Guard's pilots, and tells the boy that Akagi's about to go and help get rid of the scary monsters and save the day. She can tell that Akagi is the straightforward, line-of-sight-to-Justice type that her son described, and she for one is a fan. She tells Akagi that her son's always been one to hide his true self, and says to tell Aoyama "good luck" from her.
No sooner is the evacuation over than Aoyama and Ibuki meet up with Akagi. They've now got a mech to pilot too, since the Dai Guard is fully repaired and rather upgraded to boot. Akagi is overjoyed, and his teammates can't help but ruefully agree. As they prepare to leave, Shiroda tells them of Iidzuka's plight, and has them promise to rescue the guy. This new Heterodyne should be a tractable foe with the new Knot Punisher.
This is not a short order, but it _is_ doable with an appropriate application of guts. Iidzuka has to hand it to his former student: quite a rescue! He personally assures Akagi that he and his teammates are worthy of carrying the banner for Japan, as part of Zexis. And that goes for Watta and Kouji too. With all that out of the way, the only thing left to do is to take out the final Heterodyne.
[FWIW, the Skill Point here is obnoxiously hard to get the first time around, especially since the game's math is defective. Even if the Dai Guard appears on turn 1.5, destroying the final Heterodyne on turn 4.0 doesn't count as "defeat the final Heterodyne last within three turns, with the Knot Punisher, after Dai Guard appears." Aggravating as hell.]
Back at HQ, Ibuku tells the triumphant Akagi that she's planning on sticking with him and Zexis, "Justice otaku" to the last (wo)man. Aoyama is in too, planning to honor his mother by "playing" the way he wishes as her child. It'll help pay the medical bills too, come to that. Shiroda has been conferring about what to do with the Dai Guard, and the final decision has been handed down to let Kokubouger handle the Heterodynes menacing Japan, and to let Dai Guard continue its work on an international scale. He informs his subordinates that this decision was only made possible by Kokubougar's petition to the top brass, and adds that said brass has noted that the Dai Guard, Mazinger and Trider's pilots all show signs of needing further training. Ozuma will take over the job, and from what Alto's already experienced at his hands it ain't going to be easy. Still, Akagi wants to be able to meet his former instructor on equal footing one day, and isn't likely to give up easily.
Of course, Shiroda had more to do with keeping Akagi and friends than he will easily let on. The party line, and he's sticking to it (with a knowing smirk) is that he merely handed down an impartial optimal decision as an observer. And he'll be more than happy to help fine tune Ozuma's training simulations going forward.
Just then, the fabled genius behind 21st Century's engineering division shows up: Domeki Rika! She's still just a kid... but a very _smart_ one. She's got no problems telling the chief tactical engineer that she's smarter than him, or with calling her own CEO by pet names, and is eager to study Crow's spacetime traces from today's battle. If she can figure out what these localized distortions and the bigger Quakes and Tremors have in common, she expects to come up with better ways of fighting off the bad guys. Hell, it might even help validate the ideas in "Introduction to Spacetime Resonance", a book by Ibuki's dad. Crow is left wondering if Eim was really telling the truth, and that he can summon both Heterodynes and DBs at will. And who on Earth could be capable of such a feat?
CHAPTER 17C. Carrying on the Dream
Renton is remembering a time when Dominic took him and his fellows mountain climbing on a certain peak behind the nearby mountain range. He didn't know then why his normally strict teacher would do such a thing, but it was the first and last time he would see the look of relaxed joy on his teacher's face. He showed them a certain flower, the "Snowmoon Blossom", which only blooms right before the end of winter. It is said that once every hundred years, stardust rains down to form a flower that blooms with rainbow-colored light, and those who wish upon that flower will surely have that wish come true.
Dominic told his students, Renton and Eureka, that he had to go run an experiment, and asked Renton for a favor: guard this hill and its Snowmoon Blossoms in his stead. He left the town the following morning without so much as a word of goodbye, and it was another week till Renton learned of his death. Details were sparse. All he knew was that he died in an experiment drawn up by my father as part of hsi work to defeat mankind's enemy, the invaders known as Emerge. Even as a little child he knew that much, and on that same day the military took away his best friend Eureka. Eureka pleaded for help then, yet Renton was too scared to lift a finger. It was his first lesson in how little skill or courage to defend those important to him he has. Have the following eight years lent him any of that strength?
The covert squad's next mission has to do with a Top Secret somethingorother relevant to mankind's battle with the Emerge. The mission, coming straight from Elgan, is supporting a team of specialists in their bid to recover whatever it is... which is exceedingly odd, given that the Security Council has the authority to conduct anti-Emerge activities overtly. Something heavy must be afoot for Elgan to contract with the covert team, and Zero figures that the team are being asked to fake a robbery. Sumeragi's heard that Elgan means to give this Top Secret to someone not on the up-and-up to further the war effort, and if Zero's right, Zexis' role will be to loot the target after the "specialists" have ravaged it. One supposes that the Emerge are aware of whatever the Secret is and will move to stop its theft.
So what is this Top Secret, exactly? Sumeragi doesn't get a chance to say, as word comes in of a UN transport under Emerge attack. Sumeragi expected this action, but not so quickly. "They" are already heading to the operation site: people that Crow knows well. That would be the Gekkostate [in their movie guise as a special forces batallion of sorts; I'll use Gekkostate since it's shorter], who believe the Top Secret to be aboard the transport in question. Talho tells everyone to prioritize recovery of the Secret above all else, using their collaborators however they have to to pull the theft off. This is the first step in their master plan! Holland tells Talho not to push herself too hard, especially after collapsing yesterday, but she's determined to make his dreams, and indeed all of their dreams, come true. His crew remind him not to push it too hard either, especially since he's got to look after a certain kid for their operation to come to fruition...
The Gekkostate show up just as all hope seems lost for the shuttle. Among them is Renton aboard Nirvash, which seems to be somewhat sentient and responds to Renton's assurances that, yes, they can do this. Holland seems both impressed and possibly envious of Renton's ability to converse with the KLF, and orders the team into action.
The Emerge certainly have the numerical advantage, but the desperate Holland won't hear of any defeatist talk. Nor is he pleased to see how late Elgan's helpers are to the battle. Crow defends his rather rude "greeting" by saying that he owes Holland for helping defend an Axion lab back in the day. As Zexis deploy, Renton finds himself wondering just what this top secret thingie could be...
Vanquishing the Emerge is just the tip of the iceberg as it turns out: the next wave is comprised of DBs. Among them is none other than the M.D., which promptly rushes over and shoots down the transport. Renton wants to rescue its pilot, but Holland says to fuck that: if they don't rescue the Top Secret, none of them has a future at all! Renton prepares to join his commander when Nirvash exclaims that it's "found it". It rushes over to the transport on its own and enters the damaged hold.
Inside is... Eureka! Eureka recognizes Renton straight off, and even weirder, she recognizes Nirvash too. The two kids are amazed, and grateful, for the miracle that's brought them together again at last. Renton tells Eureka to come with him to safety, but she initially refuses, saying that if she does he'll get dragged into it all. And if he does, he'll die... which is something she wants to prevent at all costs. Unfortunately with the DBs on the offensive Renton is the only one who can shield her, despite her pleas that she's worthless. Renton certainly values her, having vowed to never repeat the suffering he felt when she was taken from him the first time.
She tearfully agrees, and hops aboard at the last moment. The strength of Renton's determination to protect her sparks something within Nirvash, a new interference pattern whose rainbow colors are just like a certain previous occasion Holland remembers. Whatever's going on, it emboldens Renton and Eureka to _demolish_ the onrushing Emerge. As the Zexis circle the wagons and Crow prepares for his showdown with the M.D., Holland radios to Renton that the girl with him is the Top Secret they've been seeking. Best believe Renton'll keep her safe! Meanwhile, a Certain Someone(tm) is overjoyed to have run into Crow here, figuring it to be fate or some such.
See the other path for Eim's introduction to Crow.
As on the other path, Crow bests but does not kill the M.D. Well, there's always next time... As Crow ponders who his new mystery antagonist is, Holland marvels over the Stardust he saw displayed in the battle. Woz tells him that the data doesn't positively confirm that, but Holland and Talho are still optimistic: now they have the Holy White Thingamabobber(tm) [yes, that's the technical term for it] needed to get their "Neverland" Plan rolling. Now what could that be...?
After the hostilities cease, Holland gets on the phone to Elgan. He promises to help Elgan out, in return for which Elgan will see to it that Eureka is listed as officially deceased. Elgan personally guarantees that Holland and Eureka are now totally free, but Holland warns him that this newfound cooperation will only last until Holland's own timetable says it's time to move on. Elgan doesn't mind, since even temporarily borrowing his firepower will help safeguard the world. So long as Holland's designs for Eureka don't go against Elgan's principles, Elgan promises to keep his hands off. After Holland hangs up though, Elgan intones to no one in particular that there _is_ no Neverland, no matter what World you live in.
Insofar as the Gekkostate's alliance with Zexis is temporary and forged on "give and take", they seem to fit right in with the rest of the crew. Introductions are made with the anti-Emerge squad's motley crew, which have gathered from the world over: again, much like the rest of covert Zexis. Zero makes sure that the Gekkostate know that treachery will cost them dearly, and asks them what they know about the Emerge. Not much, as it turns out: they're monstrous life forms from another dimension, much like the DBs in that they're impossible to communicate with and that they seem to instinctively attack humans. They bear the very highest special threat rating from the UN, and all research regarding them is directly overseen by the Security Council.
Zero then asks what makes Eureka a "Top Secret" in the battle against these foes, given how little seems to be known about them. Holland would love to know that himself, actually. The Gekkostate's superiors are extreme sticklers for secrecy, which engendered doubts among the Gekkostate themselves. They learned of Eureka's existence while running their own little investigation, and Holland for one is ready to kick someone in the nards for treating any person like a guinea pig. He decided that he and his team were going to save her and find their own way to save mankind from the Emerge, which is why they've allied themselves with Zexis. Eureka's existence was so secret that even Elgan claims to have had no knowledge of her, and Holland is happy to let Zero and friends do some sleuthing into her past. He plans to keep her physically protected in the meantime.
Jobs then explains to Sumeragi that Renton's strange-sounding "copilot" is in fact Nirvash itself (himself?). The KLFs used to battle the Emerge contain a lifeform called an "Archetype", which starts out smaller than a human child and grows to over ten meters tall. Add some armor and _voila_, a KLF. Most Archetypes lose their personality in this process, but Nirvash has somehow retained his. He's been with Renton since he was brand new, which is why he and Renton can communicate heart-to-heart. It also explains how Renton can pilot him as well as he does.
As for Eureka, it turns out she and Renton were both growing up in Warusawa together eight years ago before the army took her away. Holland agrees with Hap's suggestion to let Renton look after her: being with someone she knows is the best way to put her at ease. ...Or, is it? Zero's keen senses detect something out of place in this conversation, as though all the dialog was pre-scripted. He realizes that they, like him, are acting out characters and keeping their real selves hidden. Caution is definitely warranted around this bunch.
After the introductions are over, Holland and Talho think that they've pulled things off nicely. Now all they need is the Stardust, and their dreams will come true. Holland especially cares for Talho, wanting to avoid putting any more strain on her. She's longing for the day when the White Holy One, garbed in Stardust, stretches forth a bridge to the stars alongside the missing Moon, and the Maiden and Man shall return all thsoe born of the earth to the Blue Sphere. _That_ is Neverland, and that is their last hope.
Elsewhere aboard the Gekko (the ship, that is), Eureka marvels at how big Renton has gotten. He smiles and marvels back at how pretty she's gotten. That's exactly what he said the first time they met in Warusawa, and she's overjoyed to hear it again. Her mood dampens when he asks why the army took her away, though he quickly says that it doesn't matter any more now that he and Nirvash are here to protect her. HAPPINESS, for now at least.
CHAPTER 18O. Opening Stage
It's good times in Shibuya, with a live Sheryl concert and trailer for Bird-Human on tap for the evening. Thank goodness there's no Heterodynes around, eh? Kamina isn't so thrilled by the images of Sheryl everywhere, but most of the world has fallen under her spell. In fact, Sheryl is out enjoying the town today too, walking over to the group and seemingly reveling in their astonished adulation. That is, until Kamina decides to confront her with some kind of primordial display of Alpha-humanism. Sheryl stands up to his bravado like a wild animal defending its territory, and the group concludes that the two free spirits are a lot more alike than either would admit.
Poor Ranka is along with Sheryl too, finding it hard to get a word in edgewise. Spending as much time as she has close to Sheryl has brought out Ranka's bad habit of being down on herself, and to Simon it looks like she's hiding in Sheryl's shadow... perhaps like him in Kamina's. Youko meanwhile sees that Ranka is developing feelings for Alto -- feelings which she struggles to express when Alto and Sheryl's strong personalities are on display together. When Sheryl finally stops quarreling with Kamina, she and Ranka head back to rehearsal with assurances from Alto that they'll be well protected by Zexis.
Sort of kind of, actually. The pilots drew straws to see who would get to watch from inside the arena and who would have to stand guard outside. Crow _really_ hoped he'd win so he could sell his ticket for some extra cash, which probably explains why he lost in some sort of cosmic way. And what a show he's missing: Sheryl is a luminous presence on stage, singing the unity of the people of two Earths with her songs.
Wouldn't you know it though: the bad guys don't stay at bay forever. A group of beastmen have chosen this evening to attack Japan, and Alto promises Ozuma that they'll see that Sheryl and Ranka stay safe. In fact, the beastmen have been sent by their king specifically to kill Sheryl... who is consumed not by terror, but by indignation that these scruffy herf-nerders would disrupt her concert. NOBODY disrupts the Galactic Fairy's concert and gets away with it!
...At least, not if Kamina is around. He triumphantly strides onstage (to thunderous applause), and a furious Youko busts out her sniper rifle [which was stored _where_ exactly??] and plans to give him a flesh wound to make him stop. The thing is, he puts up such an impressive front that the beastmen decide to run and get their Gunmen instead of face him head-on. Kamina tells Sheryl that he's paying her back for throwing such an awesome concert, and as Alto runs up with Ranka she thanks him in turn. After seeing them off safely, Alto and the others dash outside to stop the ensuing Gunmen rampage.
These Gunmen are depressingly strong to the team, but Sheryl seizes the chance to turn the whole scene into one big concert. Her song calms the panic of the fleeing townspeople, and as if magic restores the confidence of the pilots.
The beastmen are feeble beyond compare, but not so the people who follow in their footsteps: marauders from Gishin! They've been sent to investigate a strange energy course (that would be Sheryl) which they briefly attack before taking Takeru on. Making matters even worse is the arrival of a bunch of Mecha-Beasts led by Ashura. As the two groups prepare to squash Zexis in between, Sheryl crawls toward her microphone, having been barely saved by Grace's quick action. She sees Alto and the others busting ass, and intends to do what she can to help. That thought pierces Ranka's fear, and she takes up the microphone instead.
Her song, like Sheryl's is calming and encouraging to the people. Balen, the Gishin commander, detects Ranka as a second source of this mystery energy, which underscores Zhul's assertion that the people of this planet are dangerous. Especially dangerous is Simon, who sees Ranka overcoming her fear as a major inspiration. He singlehandedly trashes a number of the Mecha-beasts, and when Ashura sends Torros D7 over for revenge Kamina assumes control to finish the job. ZOUNDS but he's powerful when the stars are aligned.
Balem flees her exploding mech without explaining why Zhul fears Sheryl and the other Earthlings so much, and Ashura is pretty much the same-old Ashura in vowing vengeance in the name of Dr. Hell. With two goddesses of victory at the mic, what chance did either of them stand anyway?
Dr. Hell does not take the news of Ashura's latest failure well. Brocken sues to have command of the next sortie, but Dr. Hell defers that discussion until after dealing with an uninvited guest: Saghoul, one of Zhul's lackeys. Actually, "lackey" is a bit too unkind: he is in fact Zhul's chief of intelligence, and certainly capable of at least slowing Pigman down with his shockwave powers. That Pigman is not now in a thousand pieces is an example of what makes Earth so fascinating. He's come today not to fight, but to parlay with Dr. Hell: Zhul, he says, is willing to reconsider destroying the Earth. An alliance, then -- Dr. Hell's assistance in return for the "power to fight the gods", which Zhul has told Saghoul Dr. Hell will not refuse. Zhul was right. Dr. Hell sees in this the help he's been long seeking, and is willing to take a risk or two to make his dreams come true.
Zhul has also sent an emissary of sorts to Lowgenome's lair: a robot to serve as a means of communication. Lowgenome isn't exactly impressed with the self- styled "ruler of space", and asks what the hell he wants. What he wants is Lowgenome's help in fighting that abominal power called "Life". Zhul claims to know what will happen should it reach full bloom, at the "end of the spiral" as it were. That gives Lowgenome a clue to Zhul's identity, and on that basis Zhul demands that Lowgenome bow down before him -- he knows what this Earth means to the galaxy as a whole. Zhul means to use the Earth's power to battle "Them", and emerge victorious. Lowgenome scowls and says that "victory" is an unreachable dream, and doesn't trust Zhul to be capable of delivering it to him. He tells Zhul's emissary to get lost so he can get back to handling things his own way. This involves attacking humans with beasts that actually lack life force, and Zhul promises Lowgenome that refusing his help is something Lowgenome will regret -- just like he did "that day". Zhul's emissary vanishes with dire threats of what Lowgenome has just sentenced himself to, and Lowgenome mutters to one of his underlings that Zhul is one of those who know of The End. He's really got to hurry things up now...
Zhul isn't happy about this latest turn of negotiations, but before he fills Warl in on the details, he forces Marg out of hiding in his throneroom. Marg, Mars' elder brother, has been skulking around trying to figure out what Zhul is up to now that Saghoul is on Earth. Does Marg hate Zhul for sending Mars to Earth, and killing his father Idea to boot? Gee, let's think a moment. Zhul informs Marg that he's only been left alive because Zhul decided capriciously to see how much of a threat Marg could become. Today is _not_ Marg's lucky day, given how bad a mood Zhul is in. And instead of just killing Marg on the spot, Zhul's got a little "mission" in mind...
Back in Shibuya, a serious lovefest has broken out between Kamina and Sheryl, who are now in awe of each other's power. Let's not forget Ranka, whose singing was a major factor too. Both she and Simon enjoyed something of a coming-out party today, and that cofidence will come in handy when the two singers perform a makeup-concert. As they leave, Youko pulls Ranka aside and tells her to give Sheryl a run for her money not just on the singing front, but on the romantic front too *winkwinknudgenudge* What Youko hasn't noticed, however, is the crush Simon has on her.
Zexis' next mission is going to be a doozy, and Ootsuka is going to have to get both halves of the team back together to pull it off. The Security Council is about to have a special conference on how to wipe out the WLF once and for all, and Elgan wants Zexis to launch an advance strike on a secret WLF base deep inside HPL territory. After hanging up with Ootsuka, Elgan confers with his unseen ally again -- said ally sounds worried that those who've been dogging Zexis' footsteps are sure to strike. He views this as the pain necessary to lance a wound, and is confident that Zexis can handle it. Besides, it's not like he's got any other choice...
CHAPTER 18C. Intersecting Tomorrows
Crow and Esther have their conversation from the other path about her helping Traia out and his failure to finish M.D. off.
Meanwhile, Xielin has seen Ambassador Dorian and his entourage off from the Azadistan capitol building. Maria isn't having an easy time of it: her nation needs outside support to continue existing at all, but too much support from any one side could also act as a trigger for war. She's been thrust into this whole "queen" gig quite unprepared, raised in a commoner's household until the revival of Azadistan's royal system. Some of her own people are in armed revolt over her decision to allow outsiders to meddle with the country's affairs, and Xielin tells her childhood friend that she herself must change if she's to have any hope of reforming the nation. "Can happiness be bought without sacrifice"? Kusama Daisaku wasn't able to find that answer, but perhaps Carlos and Sionny can help. And by "help", they mean to make Maria their sacrificial lamb...
Lurking in the streets nearby is Setsuna, with Hiiro trailing a short distance behind. Hiiro reminds Setsuna that his superiors don't trust him as much as they used to after his little stunt before, and adds that this country only ups the odds of him doing something stupid. Setsuna cuts this line of conversation of, and asks Hiiro why he became a Colonial agent. Hiiro reluctantly answers that he's been a guerilla since before he was old enough to remember -- qualifications enough for "them" to recruit him as a Gundam pilot. Setsuna's backstory is much the same, but he thinks that there's a difference between himself and Hiiro at the moment. He won't say what.
Just then Rilina wanders by, here with her father's delegation. Hiiro passes Setsuna off as a local he's asking directions from, but another passer-by snarls that Hiiro will learning nothing from this "Cursisian". Cursis was a neighboring nation of Azadistan until six years ago, and its members are certainly not welcome in Azadistan now, judging by the flash mob that springs up after Setsuna is fingered as one of them.
Meanwhile Karen and the others have wandered their way to the plaza in front of the royal palace. Ougi isn't sure the team should be away from their mecha when it's known that the WLF have infiltrated this country, but Kurara tells him to leave that to Zero and Sumeragi. This is a good chance for sightseeing, which in Renton and Eureka's case is more like a date. A _long_ overdue date, given that Eureka has been locked in the same room for the past eight years. Renton is quick to assure Eureka that he's here to protect her and the rest of the team point out that he won't have to shoulder that alone.
Renton isn't the smoothest stone in the creek, but his fumbling honesty (noting that the Getter team are much nicer than their scary faces might indicate) endears him to the other pilots. Apart from him and Eureka, the rest of the Gekkostate have made a concerted effort to avoid contact with the rest of Zexis -- even more so than folks like the Dancougar Team or CBs. Now though the Dancougar folks are out in public, which makes them a target for the itinerant journalistic duo of Isabelle and Kinue. Isabelle doesn't know who they are, but feels in her gut that something big is about to happen here that Dancougar will be involved in. She says she's willing to stake her life on the pursuit of the truth behind Dancougar's true motives, and those of the CBs for that matter.
The Dancougar team express curiosity as to what tipped them off to come here, saying that they'd rather terminate their "sightseeing" early than get mixed up in some crazy fracas. From what Isabelle has heard, the WLF have slipped into Azadistan at the behest of the isolationist faction, apparently bent on staging a coup. Even ruling a piss-poor nation like this one would give the WLF considerable political power and add legitimacy to their murderous rampage, and if there's ever a perfect time to strike, it's now. The journalists expect Maria to be in the crosshairs, and the Dancougar folks announce that they are _totally_ cutting their little vacation short. With thanks for the tip they run off en masse, just as Isabelle suspected they'd do. She has somehow connected former model Aoi's disappearance with the resurgence of Dancougar activity, and intuitively expects that the red-haired woman has something to do with their journalistic quarry...
Setsuna, with Hiiro and Rilina in tow, beat a retreat away from the mob rather than invite any "complications" (such as numerous mob members ending up shot). Rilina now knows that Setsuna is an acquaintance of Hiiro's, and sees in his eyes the same sorrow, and same inner strength. Setsuna wants to rub out this woman at once, but Hiiro won't let him, even going so far as to stand in the path of Setsuna's gun. Why he's doing that even Hiiro himself doesn't understand, but when pressed he states matter-of-factly that he's letting his emotions overrule his better judgement.
The tableau is interrupted by none other than Maria, who had been hiding nearby in an attempt to put her problems behind her for the moment. This spot has been her hiding place since she was a little girl. Setsuna isn't thrilled at the sight of the queen and after telling her he's a Cursian walks off before Maria can make any reply. Hiiro isn't interested in listening to anything Rilina might have to say and walks off too, leaving Rilina to explain that he's both her best friend and the person who most wants to kill her. No sooner have the boys left, however, than WLF agents show up and apprehend Maria and Rilina as part of their bid to "protect" this nation.
The WLF intend to make Maria their puppet, which is _not_ what the isolationist Azadistanis had in mind. They simply wanted to force Maria to abdicate so they could have their shot at governing as they see fit -- which is so much twaddle to the WLF lunatics. In fact, they expected the Azadistanis to be weak sauce, and preemptively bumped off all their commanders. The decks are thus cleared for the WLF to make this nation their base of operations... unless you count the Zexis forces lurking nearby.
The WLF are operating under the sad misapprehension that the Colonial Gundams and CBs are just another bunch of yahoos with guns that are changing the world. They're about to get schooled like a trainful of Hogwarts recruits, and Zero is the brother-trucking Headmaster. He quickly points out to them the futility of threatening the life of their hostage, given the whole point of kidnapping her is using her in government. Besides, if Maria -- source of all the civil unrest -- were to die here, it would make the country that much harder for the WLF to take over! They can't refute the rhetoric, and it's unlikely they can stop Zexis from pounding them into scrap... letting Setsuna and Hiiro rescue the hostages. Strange that the taciturn duo would volunteer for the job, but stranger things have happened. Crow is along to ensure that they stay safe. As a reminder that Renton is not in fact idiotic, we see him fret about why Holland really rescued Eureka -- no time to ponder too deeply now though.
Once the WLF are smote, Setsuna and the others rush to free the hostages. Rilina has been trying to cheer Maria up, telling her that her father the ambassador highly values Maria's constant attempts to find peaceful solutions to her nation's problems. Maria has been modeling her approach on the Absolute Pacifism advocated by Cinq Kingdom, a nation that shunned armaments and was gobbled up by neighboring countries for its pains.
Setsuna and Hiiro blast their way in soon enough, and Maria is appalled by the ruthless way Setsuna has dispatched the terrorists. Maria once again says that perhaps they could have been reasoned with, and likens his actions to those of the CBs. He asks what she would know of them, and she knows enough to point out that innocent people are getting hurt by the CBs' crusade, even if their stated goal of ending war is a noble ideal. What gives them the right to charge in, all guns blazing, without even giving their targets a chance to talk things over?
Setsuna states that people die while others talk things over, and points out that it was Azadistan that destroyed Cursis. In fact, people even died while the two sides of that were were suing for peace. Maria realizes that he must have been alive in Cursis during the war, and both then and now was part of the battlefield. Setsuna reveals himself to be a Gundam Meister for the CBs, and says that her attempts at a peaceful solution are merely protracting the conflict and resulting in move lives being lost.
She can't refute him, but Rilina can. He is quite positive that the CBs can _not_ change the world as they claim, and that those who have lost loved ones to the CBs' crusade will never forgive them. Fighting only engenders more fighting. It appears that this concept has never occured to Setsuna. Nor has the thought that there's more to ending conflict than taking away people's weapons. Could it be that Setsuna's been doing it wrong, never destined to become Gundam after all??
Even Hiiro's got a lot to chew on, and it falls to Crow to get everyone back on track and evacuated to safety. He takes up the rear and runs into Eim, who like the other path feeds Crow a ruse to get a rise out of him (in this case, that Maria is going to be blown up by explosives planted by the terrorists in case their plan should fail). As on the other side, Eim resorts to summoning a little help in his fight with Crow.
The team now have to deal with both DBs and Invaders, some of whom decide to take potshots at Rilina and Maria. Hiiro throws himself in the way to shield them, and yells out to Setsuna that he's not Gundam... but he can _become_ so if he chooses! That spurs Setsuna into action, and gives the girls a chance to escape. Sumeragi sends Ian to see that their safe (without disclosing the CBs' involvement), and as Maria watches the fight she realizes that Setsuna (and Hiiro) are risking their lives with no hope of reward. So what _are_ they fighting for?
Whatever they're fighting for, the task gets harder yet when a new interloper shows up, wrecks a couple of the DBs, then starts attacking Dancouger Nova. It and the Nova's energy signatures are nigh-identical, seemingly making it another Dancougar. Zero lets Team D tangle with it while the rest of the squad focuses on the DBs and Invaders.
With all the other enemies gone, only the scarlet Dancougar remains. It moves off to the side as though to set the stage for a showdown with Nova, and Aoi and the team move to answer. As they do, two more Invaders show up from behind: a momentary distraction that the other Dancougar exploits to get a shot in. This strikes a certain observer as unfair, and he moves in to do something about it. The Red Dancougar is rebuffed by "the power of the gods, beyond beast or man", and the black Dancougar's pilot will only tell the Nova folks that they can think of him as "the final trump card, the final Dancougar".
Hoookay then! Before the team leaves, Setsuna goes over to Maria for a little "chat". Hiiro keeps everyone else, especially Tielia at bay even though he himself doesn't know why. All he knows is that Setsuna has a measure of whatever it is that lets Rilina face down those stronger than her. Setsuna tells Maria that she's got to fight from now on, for the sake of whatever god she believes in.
Once back to base, Team D demands to know who the hell the other Dancougars are. Tanaka professes no prior knowledge of them, but analysis of their fighting style shows that at least the red one seems to have a solo pilot. Units with multiple pilots tend to show the imperfect teamwork of their riders in various ways, and the red Dancougar didn't. The implication that Team D suck by contrast isn't lost on them, and they angrily demand that Tanaka give them single-pilot mecha too if he wants them to be on even footing. Tanaka replies that this unit will remain four-person for the forseeable future, at the behest of people far above him on the org chart. Kamon quickly realizes that Tanaka isn't going to divulge anything useful, and peevishly tells him to tell his bosses to take the fucking security down a notch or several.
Amazingly, said boss is right there watching, and not disturbed by his pilots' inquisitiveness. In fact, he's glad that they're finally getting interested in what's really going on around here. Tanaka breaks down the capabilities of the long-expected red Dancougar: optical stealth, high manoverability, and aerial-combat capacity. That it's a single-seater means it's not geared toward Dancougar's original mission. Will this new menace light a fire under the Nova team? The mystery boss hopes so, and imagines that "they" are looking forward to it too. The boss, unlike Tanaka, knows the red Dancougar's name: the R-Daigun. The pieces are now in place for whatever the master plan is, accelerated a bit by Ragna Harvey buying the Zolbrain Corporation. Ragna is not to be trusted, that's for sure...
After packing up the mecha, Zexis is lingering in Azadistan for a bit more R&R/recon. Tielia is giving Hiiro and Setsuna a serious talking-to after Hiiro proved less than the most responsible guardian for Setsuna. It's always the quiet ones, isn't it? The pilots once again encounter the reporter duo, passing off their continued presence in Azadistan as an active interest in Maria's reenactment of Cinq's Absolute Pacifism. It might not work well today, but who knows about tomorrow. Tomorrow's what matters, after all. Isabelle and Kinue thank the team for the insight and walk off, promising to see them "on another battlefield" someday. Secret identity? What secret identity!
Speaking of which, there's Maria to think about. The CBs have sent her the usual legalese about her life possibly being forfeit if she spills the beans, but don't intend to actually kill her lest the entire region be destabilized. They've decided to treat the whole mess as a sort of anomaly, though Tielia is on record as wanting stronger sanctions. His seriousness is something the CBs need, though they also need Setsuna's loose-cannonism. Lockon's got a rough job keeping everything balanced, and Crow wouldn't trade places with him unless there was a _lot_ of money involved. Before the team can move on, Rilina comes over and -- having guessed that this motley bunch must be somehow connected with her erstwhile love interest -- tell them to tell Hiiro that she's looking forward to seeing him again. The polite fiction is that neither Duo nor she know each other, and insofar as she doesn't seem inclined to jeopardize Hiiro's mission, the team leave her be.
The big loser today seems to be Carlos, whose help Maria has decided to refuse. Maria tells Carlos and Sionny that she will not be hurried as she considers how best to incorporate foreign aid into her nation's recovery. She's gotten strong enough to resist vigorous "moral suasion" by the two politicians, and when they realize they can't budge her they leave in a serious huff (with the usual sour grapes "you'll regret this") speech to boot. Maria is still uncertain enough to immediately second-guess herself, bue Xielin assures her she did the right thing for the nation and for its people. Maria's got a long road ahead of her if she wants to follow Setsuna's directive...
Sionny is in fact fit to be tied that the plans to take over Azadistan failed. Her own nation's used up almost all of its DEC to get the plans for the Fold system, and that means Project Vortex will entirely decide if Limonecia lives or dies. Carlos advises her to settle down: it's not like any amount of fuss will extricate her from how deep she's gotten herself. The best she can do now is to trust that Carlos will work in Limonecia's best interest while working in his own. And that means taking orders from Eim...
See the other side for Elgan's new orders to Zexis.
CHAPTER 19. Everyone's Justice
[I kept the covert route because I like Shin Getter Robo ^^;;;]
Cue the typical "what was the other side up to" palaver. Interestingly enough, Sumeragi has been absent since Zexis rejoined, likely off on some private errand unrelated to the CBs. The CBs' presence on Zexis hits some of the people from 21st Century with renewed force, and tensions begin to rise once more. Yokozawa manages to extricate Akagi from an argument with Tielia via the promise of a little volunteer work for Dai Guard.
The plan is passing out supplies for an area ravaged by the DBs, at ambassadors at the recommendation of the Japanese government (who, after all, are the ones who built Dai Guard in the first place). Ibuki is distracted though: she's gotten her head wrapped around the Colonial Gundams and the Black Knights, but not the enigmatic CBs. It would seem they plan to return to trashing the world's armies once mankind's common enemies are dealt with, and even before that there have been plenty of terrorists to tangle with. Ibuki has serious reservations about fighting mecha piloted by other people, which even the go-getting Akagi shares.
The humanitarian aid is disrupted by reports of Heterodynes appearing in the area -- guess they appear other places beyond just Japan, huh? Know who else appears all over the place? The WLF, who are counting on Dai Guard to be tied up with the Heterodyne so they can take over the city. Since the rest of Zexis aren't around yet, Akagi exclaims that Dai Guard will have to stop both the Heterodyne _and_ the terrorists lest this conflict spread any farther. Dai Guard will do its level best to avoid shooting at its opponents' cockpits, but the terrorist rampage must cease!
The terrorists get irate at Dai Guard interfering, and send their big Genocidron in to settle the score. In the process it nearly steps on a load of people, including 21st Century Employee Nakahara. Proving that Akagi isn't the only reckless one around, Lockon dashes to the rescue (since it wouldn't be safe to snipe with all the people under foot). He buys enough time for the rest of the team to show up, and after that both the terrorists and the monsters buy the farm in record time.
The WLF continues to prove how assholic its "liberation" moniker really is, at least if the damage to the city and terrorized citizens are any indication. Few in Zexis would disagree with the team's next mission, which is striking down the WLF stronghold in the Takramakan Desert. The question is just how bad the world's dimensional instability must be if the Heterodynes could appear even here, far from Japan. In any case, Akagi's feeling great for all the heroism he got in today, and that's worth quite a bit.
Tielia? Not so much. He claims that the CBs should have stayed out of this fight, as Sumeragi and indeed Veda itself hadn't specifically authorized participation. Lockon levelly tells Tielia that he judged it necessary to intervene, and gets increasingly aggravated at Tielia's implication that he should have left his comrades and indeed the common people to the tender mercies of the terrorists (in the interest of keeping himself and his mech from harm). Setsuna of all people points out that the WLF are practicing armed conflict, and that it's part of the CBs' job description to intervene directly. Tielia scowls that Setsuna is in no place to say that after all the times he's disobeyed orders and stalks off. Setsuna walks off too... surely not to go after Tielia, right? Allelujah shares some of Tielia's doubts, and Lockon asks him to let the matter drop: he's got his reasons for disliking terrorists.
To Lockon's surprise, Nakahara comes and thanks him -- not in spite of his being a de facto terrorist, but as a comrade of hers via Zexis. Lockon protests lightly that his crew are hardly the Allies of Justice type that Akagi and friends are, but Aoyama tells him that everyone has their own brand of Justice. It's what you believe in, what makes you tick. The thought helps dispell Lockon's funk, which he shows by thanking the various 21st Century functionaries by name for the first time. He also thinks to his mother, father and "Amy" that he'll keep on fighting alongside these new comrades till judgement eventually finds him... as a Gundam Meister, as a Celestial Being, and as a Zexis.
So what has Sumeragi been up to? Meeting someone named "Barry" in a nearby town. The occasion isn't exactly pleasant: Sumeragi's in quite a state after a certain dossier she's seen: a military simulation plan he's come by. He asks for her opinion as a strategist, coyly dancing around her actual day job. The plan amounts to an overwhelming barrage of firepower and troops, designed to tire a Gundam's pilot out and exhaust his weapons stores. Sumeragi cautions him that just driving the pilot unconscious might not be enough: what if the mecha are designed with capable autopilot, or even self-destruct mechanisms? He expected such a trenchant analysis from her, given her past role in the military. He's not exactly the model soldier for showing her (a civilian, as far as anyone knows) top-secret stuff like this, but she promises him she's not made any copies.
He tells her that Eifmann would welcome her back to the Britannia Union army, but she tells him that she's got her own life to lead now. She's coy on whether she's got a romantic interest as well, in part to help him disengage from their conversation. Mentally though, she apologizes to him for no longer being the Lisa Kujou he used to know. In fact, as a CB, she's now one of his bitterest enemies...
