Super Robot Wars Original Generation Gaiden
Mark Neidengard (mneideng at ugcs dot caltech dot edu)
version 1.0, 10/22/08

Quick intro: This guide is one-and-a-half steps removed from a full
translation, intended to allow people to appreciate the plot without having
to know the language.  It is not a strategy or game-mechanics guide; for
those I refer you to other FAQ authors.  As the game system is very
similar to the other components of SRW OG, I have no notes on it to include
here.  Feel free to contact me with comments.  Enjoy!


1. Frozen Past

The opening movie takes place at the Earth Cradle in Africa several months ago,
during an action by Albero and his Black Wolf squadron.  Their mission is to
guard the upper portion of the Earth Cradle, and neither Folia nor Hugo are
pleased.  It's not clear what kind of carnage took place within, but the
external signs alone aren't promising.  The group inside had "Special" machines
and late-model Army models, and are hogging at least as much glory as their
risky mission is worth.  Hugo doesn't care about glory, just getting his
assigned mission done and coming home in one piece.  That's how his dad did it,
that's how Japan does it... and it's worked pretty well so far.

Unfortunately, some bogeys have survived the purging underground.  Mitall
figures that the "Head" might be among them, and tells Albero to act according
to plan.  The bogeys turn out to be Einsts, including "armored", "glass" and
"horned" ones.  Albero orders his men to worry about the latter group while he
takes on the former two, but Folia has extra plans of his own.  Hugo isn't
clear what his partner has in mind, but he's willing to go along with it.

The Einsts go down without much of a fight, possibly still reeling from their
previous defeat.  Folio thinks that they won't need the Blue and Brown Wolves,
but his delusions of grandeur are cut short by Albero.  The Cry Wolves don't
need anyone interested in their own glory.  The lecture is cut short by the
appearance of a much larger Einst, the "Head" that Albero feared.  This type
once tried to absorb the SRX, and might still be after the Water Mirror - but
the Kurogane is already elsewhere, in space.  Folia thinks he can win, and
boasts of sending the bill to the Kurogane.  Nothing doing on that front.

This boss-class Einst is putting up quite a fight, and rather than wait for the
Blue and Brown Wolves to arrive, Albero plans to use a "special" munition that
Mitall invented: the HCC Munition.  Albero orders his men to disperse and draw
the Einst's attention, and fires a weapon that somehow freezes the Einst far
more solid than he expected.  Rather than destroy the Einst, he's captured it -
- part of the operation that his men weren't exactly filled in on.  Mitall
shows up, glad to see he made the right choice "including" the Wolves in his
project.  Albero doesn't like being ordered around by this guy, but he follows
the order to finish securing the area.

Mitall gets in touch with Sophia, the superintendent of the Earth Cradle.  He
introduces himself as a research rival of Sophia's former colleague Pfeff,
though one several steps behind what that eminent(?) scientist achieved.
Mitall's assistant Dona informs him that Tergram is ready to go, but recommends
using the Wendigo 2 for safety's sake.  Mitall frowns and asks if what she
really wants is data to get her "son" walking sooner.  To avoid further damage
to the Cradle, and to allow recovery of any survivors from the rubble, he
orders her to use the Tergram.  Sophia wants to know who the heck he is, and he
will only say he's from a special Federation research team, acting on orders
from Staff HQ.  While the Cry Wolves take care of any nearby bad guys, he
orders Sophia to give him the same Earth Cradle data that she gave the Neue
DC...

Meanwhile, Folia isn't happy at all with the orders the Wolves have been
getting from Mitall lately.  He thinks nabbing an Einst is a sucky idea, and
doesn't plan to die a dog's death for Mitall's fool errands.  Albero tells him
to fight on even when dead, adding that he regards all his men as capable of
bursting through any trap set in their path.  Folia, Albero's son, gets
infuriated worse, but Hugo is sure the old guy isn't happy either -- if they
can't believe in their commander, who *can* they believe in?  Turns out the
reason Folia's here is to somehow surpass his dad.

Mitall spits out more orders about the disposition of the Head, still thinking
he's in charge.  Among them are orders for Albero to select some of his Brown
Wolves to take to White Star at Eric's behest...


2. Because of a Disposable God

"Eric" turns out to be Eric Wong, a member of Central Project whose former
exploits include a seat on the Granzon design team in the EOTI days.  Whatever
this big fish wants from the Wolves at White Star, it can't be anything good.
The only silver lining for Folia is that this mission frees him from cleaning
up in the wake of the Kurogane and Hiryuu-Kai, a job for cadets in his view.
Hugo tells him to stop complaining and start thinking about how to carry out
their orders, earning him a derisive "honor student" from Folia.

Eric fills Albero in on the target: the "Horned Man", also known by other
names.  This is a Special mech with a secret: a warp drive.  Eric wants this
mech, or at least its "corpse", from White Star so he and Mitall can build a
weapon capable of taking down the Granzon.  According to the old geezer, should
its pilot wish it, the Granzon alone is capable of wiping out the Federation in
a single day.  He certainly isn't counting on Shuu's continued good will
towards the Federation, and thinks that his intimate knowledge of the Granzon
should let him defeat it -- given the right ingredients.  Feigning senility,
Eric also offhandedly says that Shuu seems awfully easygoing in letting him,
with Granzon's secrets, live.  Whatever Eric wants with the Shadow Mirror
general's mech, Albero is secretly starting to agree with Folia.

No sign of the enemy, or the Kurogane fleet, outside White Star, and Hugo
figures they've gone inside.  Pretty tranquil given that the Final Battle(tm)
must be raging and all.  There's an odd energy pattern going on, and in short
order the Cosmo Lion and the Series 77 "Kalion" show up.  And by show up I mean
"breeze through in pursuit of the Shirogane".  Intrigue in the shadows galore.

Albero leads his men inside, and Folia is still having doubts about the
mission.  Why is Central Project so keen on having the Wolves capture, and not
kill, the enemy commander?  For Folia's ongoing doubts, Albero orders him to go
work with other squad members elsewhere to secure the escape route -- meaning
away from the main fighting.  Albero won't take anyone with doubts farther in,
and says he regrets bringing Folia in the first place.  Before Folia can storm
off, a batch of enemy robots surround you.  Albero doesn't plan on slowing his
march to the White Star core, and tells Hugo not to fall behind.

As the mecha advance, they encounter some wreckage similar to what the Shadow
Mirror general piloted.  There's little time to investigate, as a gravity wave
erupts from the core area and washes over everything.  Albero suspects that the
White Star is about to explode, and orders all his other troops to get the hell
out.  He shouts at Folia and Hugo to gather what wreckage they can on the way
out...

The White Star has in fact vanished, though Eric suspects it's warped somewhere
rather than simply exploding.  No one except maybe God knows what truly became
of it, but Mitall would find it convenient if the Kurogane and Hiryuu-Kai were
gone for good, since that would mean a greater demand for Central Project's
premier invention.  In any case, Albero wasn't really able to make it out with
much wreckage in hand, and Eric seems to be counting on a certain someone to do
the Granzon destruction for him...

Elsewhere, a certain familiar person is back to muttering about needing to
purify the universe.  Except this time, she can't hear the voices in her head -
maybe the power of human will isn't all that bad after all?  She can't
remember, other than that she's lost the place she belongs.  The silence is
broken by someone in a mech floating nearby: it's the Soulgain, still kind of
in one piece to its occupant's amazement.  Unfortunately, that piece is badly
damaged, and the pilot can scarcely move from all the internal injuries he's
sustained.  He can still laugh bitterly to himself and to Lemon, saying that
this world where silence is a daily occurrence might not be so bad after all.

Strong, and sad, though Axel's will may be, it and his life are about to
expire.  For that matter, Alfimi feels herself starting to vanish too.  Like a
neighbor in need, she needs to borrow a little sugar from Axel.  Their tableau
attracts Hugo and the other Wolves, though from what they can tell the Soulgain
is all but inert.  Folia's sure that whoever is aboard the Soulgain must be
dead meat, unless they're a cyborg or something.  Albero orders his men to form
up, since it seems the Kurogane and the Hiryuu-Kai have teleported back from
wherever they went... leaving the Inspectors and Shadow Mirror in the dust.
All traces of the Einsts have vanished, presumably including the one the Wolves
captured.  Is it can be peace on Earths tiem now?

3. Rocking Cradle (Part 1)

SUPER ROBOT WARS 2.5 Unified Wisdom

It is the year 188 of the New Western Calendar.

The Inspectors, who mounted an armed incursion of the Earth --The Neue DC, a
military organization that staged a rebellion against the Federation government
--Shadow Mirror, the shadowy special forces unit who joined forces with them --
And the mysterious life forms known as the Einst Series --

All these powers were laid low by the valor of the Federation?s almighty
battleships Hagane, Hiryuu-Kai, and Kurogane.

Thereafter, the string of upheavals that would come to be known as the
"Inspector Incident" drew to a close, and peace began to return to the Earth.

The Federation government, learning from repeated invasions by
extra-terrestrial intelligences, inaugurated the Aegis Plan, which sought to
reorganize and strengthen the Federation Military.

As part of this plan, the various military vendors were all contracted to
develop a new main battle mech to succeed the mass-production Huckebein Mk.II,
and tests were begun immediately.

But the people were unaware...

Unaware that they had not seen the last of invaders from other worlds...
Unaware that those invaders began acting the moment the Inspector incident
ended...

A new bell is about to toll the beginning of a new conflict...

-----------------

Eric has been working on plans to rebuild the Soulgain, and is trying to get
the budget extended a bit.  Although it lacks a teleporter, it provides some
valuable insights for the humanoid TEA's he's trying to build: and might even
serve in their stead if need be.  Eric suggests that Mitall get Steinbeck to
loosen purse strings a bit, but Mitall would have to go through Nibuharu just
to get an appointment.  A tall order, considering the request he just filed for
money to work with the containers they just uncovered in the Earth Cradle.
AND, some of their resources may get sucked up into the "Flat Fish Plan" if the
cells they recovered from the Head pan out.  Eric wryly suggests that if their
"space flounder" is tasty, maybe they can sell it to raise some funds.  The
best Mitall can do is send some of the funds from the currently-frozen Wendigo
Plan Eric's way.

As for the Soulgain's pilot, he's physically fine and still unconscious.  While
quite the specimen, there's much about this pilot that has Mitall worried -
like how he was found, naked and uninjured, despite the wreck his mech was in.
Dirty old man Eric whines that it's a shame the pilot was male, and promises to
keep a sharp watch on the guy.

Mitall then fills Dona in on his decision to freeze the Wendigo Plan, which
hasn't exactly dazzled with its results lately.  He admits that units 2 and 3
seem physically okay, but their "control systems" leave much to be desired --
too much to participate in the next-gen trials.  Dona begs for a chance to show
what Wendigo 3 can do, but Mitall tells her that he's not running a
rehabilitation clinic.  Not to worry though: the plan isn't being cancelled
entirely; it just needs... a change of management.  Mitall plans to give it to
Eldy Mitty, and tells a flabbergasted Dona to take some time off while he
decides what to do with her.  Dona expects Eldy to discard a certain someone
from the project she cares about...

Elsewhere, Aqua is talking with Eldy as Eldy looks over some combat AI design
documents.  Aqua's learned enough from her teacher to appreciate the motion
anticipation and pseudo-personality modules, though Eldy figures that
completion is a long way off.  This program, "AI0", is practically Eldy's child
given all the work she's put into it.  The thing Aqua can't figure out is why
Eldy is quite *this* wrapped up in her work, when her good looks could get her
her choice of boyfriends.  Eldy sniffs that AI0 is all she cares about, maybe
even including her students.  Besides, she'll be going away soon (though she
won't tell Aqua where).  Eldy pauses a moment, then asks Aqua if she really
means to become a PT pilot.  That's always been Aqua's dream, despite her
father's long-standing opposition.  Aqua is sick of being sheltered by her
famous family, and wants to make her own way in the world.  Eldy thinks this is
a waste, and that Aqua could have achieved more if she'd just accepted what she
was given and used it to the max.  When Aqua won't listen, Eldy tells her that
her greatest weakness, gifted though she is, is that she can't control her
emotions.  Eldy maintains that what pilots need most is the ability to
dispassionately judge their situation and act accordingly.  Unless Aqua learns
that, she'll die.  Aqua promises her teacher that she'll remember that.

Meanwhile, Kai is taking some new recruits through urban combat simulations.
He'll be the aggressor, and orders his men to take him down within ten minutes
using the prescribed formation.  Kindly but firmly, he reminds his men of the
hard lesson they learned last night, and says that he'll treat anyone who
shoots him to a bottle of hard liquor.

The recruits are certainly catching on quickly, though not enough to bring Kai
down.  He gives his men some homework and calls a halt to further practice for
today.  He heads to the bar, unhappy to be drinking alone but unwilling to say
hi to the only other single in the vicinity.  As he frets over how to better
train his men, Dona takes the initiative and says "hi" first, as in: "My, the
Japanese really are workaholics".  She quickly smoothes this over by noting
that so few people here in the Middle East can drink for religious reasons --
she's pretty tired of drinking alone one week after coming here.

In fact, they drink so much that Kai, who was out of the habit, is feeing a bit
hung over the next day.  He tells General Mustafa, the base commander, that
several of his youngsters show promise for motion data generation in the
upcoming series of practical tests.  Mustafa notes that Kai didn't say they
were ready for use in the Instructor Squad, but Kai quickly says that they're
still being trained.  That's about what Mustafa figured, given how short on
real combat experience they are.  He does hope that some of his men might one
day make the grade, especially if the rumors he's heard are true about the new
Instructor Squad members being all female.  Mustafa also asks Kai if the change
in commanders in the Far East, from Reiker to Kenneth, has caused problems.
Kai assures Mustafa that he's not currently looking for a change of posting,
but appreciates Mustafa's offer to help if he ever needs it.

Word from Oreana is that the new modifications won't be ready for another four
days.  This may mess with the next-gen trials, but Mao Industries isn't really
in a position to send their units out.  It's been decided to send Number Three
to the Cry Wolves.  Kachina might get mad at not having first dibs on the
prototype, but Kai wants some outside opinions and promises to send Kachina the
next mech available.  Kai's biggest worry is the theft of some raw materials
from the base, a very *atypical* stunt for regular terrorists.  With everyone
focused on the trials, there's no telling who might be up to no good.  Radha
reminds Kai to call his wife, and promises to send him a list of souvenirs his
wife and daughter are sure to love.

Back at the bar, Kai hopes that Radha isn't going to send a list of yoga
supplies.  Dona overheard the conversation and has noticed Kai's wedding ring,
but of course Kai wasn't talking to his wife as such.  He tells Dona that he's
got one child of his own and three foster kids of sorts, and she says that
she's got one son, though she's not married.  Said son has come with her, since
circumstances require her to keep an eye on him.  The poor kid got caught up in
an alien attack, and needs constant care pretty much from the neck down.  Dona
doesn't think she's being a very good mother, but Kai tells her to rest while
she can and to not blame herself for everything.  That might not fly, since it
was her being in the military that put her and her son in harm's way.  She then
draws a gun, agreeing with Kai on one thing: it's best to do certain things
lest one regret them later.


4. Rocking Cradle (part 2)

Yes, Dona has sided with the terrorists, and has one of the Wendigo mecha ready
to go on a 30-minute rampage of destruction that will, hopefully, wipe out the
whole base.  The terrorists are looking forward to kicking off their jihad
against the foolish violence of the Federation (with some foolish violence of
their own).  The terrorists seem to be peeved that the Federation makes its PTs
and AMs in humanoid form.  This nuttiness may be why they accepted her request
-- it's certainly not on account of Dona's spiritual health (she?s an atheist).

Dona was a civilian researcher on man-machine interfaces at the time of the
attack, and had even heard Kai's name.  Their meeting here was pure
coincidence, and Kai's worries about the materials theft nearly wrecked the
plan.  Kai points out that Dona's employers won't let this incident slide, but
Dona's already got a new employer lined up: one she's got to impress first.
Kai will be her hostage, just for extra insurance during her escape.  She
advises him not to do anything that would bring Kai?s family grief.

You finally get to meet her son, whose massive metal body is tough enough to
withstand both Federation and alien interference.  She thinks.  In any case,
her goal isn't really to destroy the base with one mech, just all the PTs
they'll send to fight her.  She tells Kai to sit tight while she goes and
handles business, but Kai isn't the sort to just heed such an order...

Dona gets off to a pretty formidable start, aided by a strong ASRS jammer.
She's so close that she can be targeted by sight, and Mustafa orders his troops
to show how Kai's drills have helped them.  They won't have any air cover, and
they're in for a really rough time if they continue to rely on TC-OS.  Dona
wishes for "Tony" to rampage to his heart's content, and prove just how useful
the Wendigos are.  Mustafa wants to send Kai in, but he seems to be off base
and incommunicado.  Mustafa orders Kai's mech made ready and for Kai to be
found at once.

Kai shows up on the next round, ready with the old saw that it's not the
machine that decides the battle, but the pilot.  Too bad Dona and Kai won't get
to drink together anymore...  He quickly realizes that this child he's fighting
is learning his moves quickly -- but adults have the advantage of vast amounts
of experience they can use.  He switches his mech to full manual motion, and
shouts that the PTs are humanoid for a reason, as he's about to demonstrate!

Kai has no grudge against this boy, who's likely done nothing wrong, but he
*is* a soldier.  Dona lets out an anguished cry, and Kai radios the tower to
report an intruder.  Said intruder isn't going to resist, so Kai has her
captured instead.  He shows Dona what he salvaged from within the Wendigo: the
still-living core that is her son.  As a soldier, he doesn't plan on causing
death needlessly...

The general offers his thanks, sure that his men have learned many valuable
lessons from what they've just seen.  Upon hearing that Kai is an acquaintance
of Dona's, he allows him to see her.  Kai wants to know how someone so
seemingly gentle could side with the terrorists.  She repeats that she was
trying to demonstrate how capable the Wendigo is, but he presses for the real
reason.  She figures that neither she nor Tony are going to be in much shape to
talk afterwards, so she agrees to tell her true reason to Kai and Kai alone.
She tells him of the Central Project, an effort to create mass-production
mobile weapons that's been in the works for the past decade.  Its true purpose
is the construction of a mech capable of long-term, independent,
maintenance-free operation: that is, unmanned.  This goal seems like fantasy,
but so did alien attack before the L5 War and the paradigm shift it caused.
Now, certain elements in the military and government think defeat is assured
unless PTs, AMs and Special mecha are replaced with something better.  The
program's target was high, and results were few and far between, which is why
Dona got kicked off the project.  For Tony's sake, Dona simply couldn't step
aside -- and now she's just made things even worse.  Kai pauses, and says that
he'll talk to his friends in the Intelligence division to try to keep her and
her son safe if she's willing to take a plea bargain.  She doubts her limited
knowledge will be of much use, but Kai tells her not to be quite so
pessimistic.  Dona finally thanks Kai for showing her what Tony needed: not
results, but someone to stop her own foolishness.

Mitall fills Eldy in on the recent developments, and tells her he's already
taken steps to ensure that nothing that could damage Central Project will leak
out.  Eldy for her part rejoices in Dona's self destruction, which saves her
all kinds of time.  Mitall is sure that the Project's product is still valuable
to the Federation for the coming war in the stars; however, his sponsors want
some sort of progress indicator to know they aren't just throwing their money
away.  That's where Eldy comes in, and she's confident that she can make the
improvements Mitall needs.  She does get a gleam in her eye when she asks to
change the plan name though: to the AI1 plan.


5. An Encounter with Wolves

Sophia has effectively been barred from returning to the Earth Cradle by Mitall
and his cleanup team, likely something to do with the ominous Central Project.
Most of its members aren't from the EOTI or DC, or Mao or Isurugi for that
matter, and there's very little information available about what the project is
for.  Given that the secrecy extends all the way up to the top Federation
brass, there's little way to dig further just now.  Sophia suspects that Mitall
and friends are after Meigas and the Machine Cells, though both of those should
now be inactive thanks to Zengar and his comrades.  In any case, Jonathan will
have Gilliam look into it while Sophia does her best to prepare to restart
Project Ark.  After all, there's still the Moon Cradle.  Jonathan will be more
than happy to host the striking scientist here, though Eri may have to keep a
sharp eye out to prevent any shenanigans.  And while she's there, maybe she can
help Eri wake up the Choukijin, which have been slumbering ever since the
previous war.  Maybe "slumbering" is too mild -- half-dead is closer to the
truth.  Sophia will be glad to help her old schoolmate check into things.  It
turns out that they met each other in an "investigation" club that did lots of
spelunking and other outdoor survival stuff, and that vitality seems to have
served them quite well so far...

Lamia has come to help prevent another terrorist incident, and has brought
three mecha and a couple of F2W Beam Cannons with her.  Kai has her send them
over to the Cry Wolves, who've sent two pilots over for their new armaments.
Hugo is impressed by the mass-production Gespenst Mk.II Custom, and Albero
loves how solid they seem.  On top of that, their layout should be similar
enough to their old Gespensts that very little settling in should be needed.
Hugo is a bit worried about why he was chosen though: Mao Industries
deliberately chose both the longest and the shortest times in the time trials
for the new pilots.  This is about survivability, or as Hugo sees it his
ability to run away from danger.  It's not just about raw combat ability,
Albero tells him, or else anyone from any number of different squads would do.
What the Cry Wolves value is completing one's mission, and coming back home
alive, even if from hell.  Death might mean something to others, but there's
nothing it can teach the person who's died.

Albero tells Hugo that while he still has a lot to learn, he's already got the
most important fundamental balance down.  Folia has that balance too, but
Albero wanted to be sure someone other than a blood relative was present in the
squad to balance his own paternal instincts out.  In short, Albero is testing
himself, especially in the wake of his "mistake" during the White Star
investigation.  Hugo protests that it was Mitall and Eric's fault for giving
bad orders, but Albero stops him and says that their job isn't to dig into
their commanders' motivations.

Kai and Lamia come in to meet the new pilots.  Lamia thinks to herself that
Albero's circumstances are the same as on the Other Side, and from her formal
introduction it's clear that her vocabulary centers are still screwed up.  Kai
assures Albero that Lamia is a skilled pilot, and tries without much success to
deflect Hugo's admiration for his being in the legendary Instruction Squad.  In
any case, he reveals that he had a hand in these modifications, and describes
them as mecha "by Gespenst pilots, for Gespenst pilots".

Your people quickly set up mock combat so that Albero and Hugo can get used to
their new steeds.  Kai likes how his mech feels, and Lamia can tell just by
looking that it's a more natural design.  The frame has also been strengthened,
though that puts a bit more strain on the servos than Kai would like.  Given
the thing's fresh off the assembly line and deliberately not tuned up to the
max, Kai isn't too worried.  The real potential of the mech depends on what you
mount to its numerous hard points, and optimizing that will take data.  Albero
and Hugo like what they feel too, though Albero is quick to realize that
Huckebein pilots won't be accustomed to the Gespenst's increased weight.  This
is a mech for true aces to pilot, and Hugo just hopes he can be one someday.
Albero reminds Hugo of their mission, and tells him not to send the brand-new
mech back to the factory this soon.  Hugo knows that he'll need everything he's
got to have any hope of winning.

Lamia likes what she sees of Hugo's motions, and Kai says that Albero has
taught him well.  He first met Albero after the Instruction Squad's
dismantling, and has worked with Albero on motion patterning several times.
The Instructors made all the TC-OS's single and dual-unit data, but it fell to
Albero's and Irm's teams to flesh out most of the larger squad data.

Just then, Albero gets a call: someone has attacked Folia's squad, and are
kicking their asses.  He tells Hugo to stay here while he rushes to the scene,
but Hugo persuades Albero to let him help out.  Albero doesn't want Kai knowing
about his links to Central Project, but helping his other subordinates takes
top priority.

Folia did what he could to let the others escape, but now the enemy are focused
on him.  The only thing he can think of is that the bad guys know what Unit 1
is carrying.  Albero and the others show up in the nick of time, and Albero
orders Folia to concentrate on guarding the transport ship.  Folia doesn't like
the fact that Albero gave Hugo the new mech, and with the Instructors here he
figures he can't wait any longer to show how heroic he is.  The enemy are DC
stragglers, but their numbers suggest someone new is backing them.  And their
attack pattern seems to suggest that something very valuable is in the
transport ship...

Albero won't say what that thing is, other than that he's been ordered to
transport it and that its origin is secret.  Kai and Lamia don't like that
much, but they're willing to withdraw and let Albero handle it.  After they
leave, Folia tells Hugo that even he doesn't know what's inside, only that
Mitall ordered him to deliver it.  Hugo wonders if Albero has been informed...

There's no telling exactly where the Cry Wolves went, thanks to the AA-class
protection applied to all their missions.  Lamia frowns and recalls how the
Shadow Mirror of her world were once veiled with similar secrecy, leading to
their eventual revolt.  Kai doesn't think Albero would go that route, and even
in Lamia's world the Cry Wolves were enemies of the Beowolves.  Kai is
reluctant to poke around AA-secret material without some more advance planning,
especially with the Trials coming up so soon.  Lamia volunteers to take over
more of Kai's work load, but Kai tells her she's got to take a break every once
in a while too.  Her diction is bad enough as it is.

A very flustered Aqua interrupts their tete a tete, demonstrating what bad
diction really sounds like.  She's looking for Kai, and manages to ask for his
autograph, though she doesn't have anything for him to sign *on*.  Lamia offers
a memo pad, and Aqua marvels at her beauty, almost like that of a doll (what
were the chances?)  She asks if Lamia is Kai's wife, and now it's Kai's turn to
be flustered.  Lamia says that unfortunately she's merely Kai's subordinate,
and Aqua quickly starts fretting that there's no way she could hack it in the
Instructors if she'd have to wear an outfit that sexy all the time.  She asks
for Lamia's autograph too, getting a good look at JUST how impressive her
(autograph's) measurements are.  Kai struggles to find space for his autograph,
and Aqua happily floats off with the great pilot's signature to treasure.
Lamia muses that the W-series never had that sort of newborn enthusiasm, and
rather likes what she just saw.  Kai scrutinizes Lamia's face, and notes that
she looks and sounds almost "maternal" just now.  That gives her pause, even as
Kai gets up and tries to head in search of those souvenirs.  A summons to
general Mauro's office kiboshes that.

Mauro decrees that Lamia, Latouni, Arad and Zeora will participate in the
Trials being held at this base.  Mauro is quite reasonably surprised by the
fact that three of these pilots are still bona fide *children*, though he
doesn't want to second-guess their ability data.  Kai refers the general to
their record in the previous war, including the fact that they weren't killed
along the way.  Mauro doesn't see fit to press the issue, merely instructing
Kai to firmly remind his men how important the next-gen mech will be to the
Aegis Project.  Kai asks if he should participate in the trials himself, but
Mauro says he doesn't want to be any further in Kenneth's debt.  Kai then asks
if any of Central Project's mecha will be in the Trials, and even Mauro says he
knows nothing of them but their name -- certainly they have no submissions in.
The Wendigo certainly appeared worthy of production testing; why aren't they
willing to let their work out into the open?

The item Mitall and Eric have received from the Earth Cradle shows that their
persistent searches have paid off.  Eric isn't sure the thing can be
reactivated, but Mitall says that Razmunanium might take care of it.  And if
there's any rejection reaction, they'll just keep the thing on ice until "that
man" awakens.  That's their second "sleeping prince", though in this case it's
more like a sleeping lizard.  Mitall is sure he'll be able to control him when
he awakens, preferring to think about what a mighty weapon he'll get once
everything succeeds.  Eric reminds him that he'll have one hell of a mess on
his hands if it fails.  He's already uneasy about using the Einst as a weapon,
especially since its appearance changed after the Razmunanium injection.
Mitall tells him that they _must_ make this work, since this thing might well
become their main weapon.

The kids welcome Kai and Lamia back.  Arad is hoping for a special kind of
high-calorie rice as a souvenir; just the sort of thing his voracious appetite
would recommend.  Radha expected that Kai wouldn't have time to get souvenirs
for his family, so she got some in his stead.  Arad, gourmand extraordinaire,
is overjoyed to hear he gets to go to Italy for the Trials, though he's gonna
be working his butt off while there.  Kai orders everyone to take two days'
rest, since there's going to be non-stop simulations and combat in store.  Even
Lamia gets leave, though she's not sure what to do with it.  Two hours sleep
per day leaves 44, and Radha recommends she spend one day hanging out with the
kids and the other on maintenance.  The kids decide that day one will be a trip
to the sea, and day two will be a visit to Garnet and Giada.  There's a hidden
benefit too, Arad will get to see what Lamia looks like in a swimsuit!!

Everything goes according to plan, and even Latouni seems mesmerized by Lamia's
figure.  It doesn't hurt that her daring swimsuit was a present from Excellen:
a bit tight, but still comfortable.  Zeora asks for Arad's opinion of her
swimsuit, a present from Radha, and Arad judiciously tells her it looks great
on her too.  Arad even tries the "let me put on your sunscreen? ploy, but Zeora
happily tells him not to take too many lessons from Irm and heads for the
water.  Lamia isn't sure what she's supposed to be doing here, but it seems
from watching Zeora that running around and doing cardiovascular exercise is
the standard.  Arad actually tries the sun lotion ploy on Lamia, who doesn't
have the knowledge or any particular reason to refuse.  Arad explains this as a
sort of skinship ritual, but Zeora intercepts Arad just before things really
heat up and drags him off to play in the surf.  This leaves Lamia and Latouni,
and Lamia decides to apply her newfound knowledge on a stunned but not
unwilling Latouni........


6. Flames Reborn

Kouta is having "that" dream again, wherein a mysterious figure, awakened by
the ripples from the opened Gate, wants to chat.  Kouta gets roused from the
dream by Shouko, who's on her way to the Houzuki-Shi festival, and after that
to Garnet's place.  Kouta notes that there's big crowds today and insists on
going along.  Shouko assures him that she's not going far, and tells him to say
hi to their grandfather downstairs in the lab.

It's taken Kisaburou a long time to get his invention moving, wondering if
"that man" will now awaken.  He'd be happy to fight at that man's side if he
were thirty years younger, but under the circumstances his only choice is to
tell his grandchildren the truth.

Things are going great for Giada at his and Garnet's new house.  The twins are
growing with all due speed, and have already started quarreling among
themselves.  Arad has predictably spent all his allowance on tasty food, but
Giada is willing to treat him to some fried bread: the least he can do for a
growing boy.  Latouni notices an altercation nearby, which Giada rushes
everyone over to...

..Everyone but Arad, who's just had a tray of fried bread knocked from his
hands by a strange man passing by.  To his defense leaps Shouko, who demands an
apology.  The man thinks it's absurd that the dwellers of this world could
quarrel over something this petty, and isn't about to let a commoner like this
girl live through insulting him.  Arad takes the blow meant for her, staggered
but basically intact.  Arad yells to Shouko that this guy is serious, telling
her to run.  Before the man can strike again, Kouta shows up from nowhere and
decks him, demanding to know what this punk is doing to his sister.  Even if
God in heaven above forgives those who hit girls, Kouta won't.  Especially one
of his own family!

The man finds this fascinating, and after deflecting Kouta's strike asks what
his style is.  Kouta don't need no stinking style: his moves are pure Asakusa
street punk.  Initial surprise over, the man is poised to take the entire crew
out, without even announcing where he's from.  But when Kouta tells him his own
name, the man says that there's more than enough scum who die without leaving a
name behind where he's from.  The man runs off, and Shouko begs Kouta not to
chase after this obviously dangerous guy.  His arm is hurt, though Kouta
maintains that his grandpa's spankings hurt far worse than this.

Giada then shows up with the other kids in tow.  Turns out he's been helping to
look out for Kouta and Shouko, the grandchildren of the head of the city
council.  Now that things have calmed down, Kouta has the time to scold his
sister for not picking her enemies a bit more carefully.  The more the two of
them quarrel, they more it reminds Latouni and Giada of Arad and Zeora.  It
seems like this meeting must be fate or something, and the two Azuma kids offer
to show you around Asakusa.  Fortunately, Shouko is the one holding the purse
strings, since unlike her brother (or Arad) she actually knows how to hold to a
budget.

By the waterfront, a mystery man notes that Alko seems to be acting under
Mizal's orders.  He's unimpressed with the thought of someone unfit as a "God
of Carnage" skulking around, but his conversation partner says the only thing
they've got to worry about is their orders.  Not that he expects to find what
he's looking for in a world as suffused with warmth as this.  The fact that
they're here at all must count for something.  If so, the first man wants to
turn this place into a sea of fire right away, but the second man tells him to
wait until their fortress, the Tenkuuma Demon Castle, is back online.  The
first man is willing to accept that order, and adds that every breath he draws
is shame: shame that the second man gave him.

Shouko wants to stop by the temple before renewing their quest for food, saying
that today is 46,000 times more propitious than normal to visit.  Everyone
pitches in with wishes for a safe delivery, and Kouta goes on ahead to reserve
a table.  Meanwhile, the mystery man is finding no clues for the "key" that a
certain someone is seeking.  "They" said it must be around here somewhere, and
with nothing but irritation for all the warmth around, he decides to ring the
gong and start the war.  He teleports in several Inspector-style mobile weapons
and starts blasting, sure that this will reveal the Key.  In the process, he
spies Kouta and extracts a bit of revenge for the earlier fight.  The man
thinks he's just inaugurated a new world, a time without order, only blood,
flesh, bone and iron.  A world where might makes right.

Kouta is back to dreaming again, but the figure he sees says that the time has
come to awaken.  It grants him "power", fusing with him into a warrior of
Flame.  The man names himself as the warrior Roa, and says that their enemies
have come from another world to destroy this world's order.  Kouta will need
Roa's soul and armor to fight back, and to save Shouko.  That's good enough for
our Asakusan brawler, and after a quick little set phrase he emerges in full
powered up form, brimming with "Ouki".  Roa, whose soul resides in the crystals
on the armor, will give the orders.  He tells Kouta that he's already lost his
body, and something else precious to him, in a previous battle... but Kouta can
fight, and save what's precious to him, now.  He draws the enemy mecha away
from his sister.

From the sidelines, Kisaburou realizes that Roa has awakened, sad that he
wasn't able to tell his grandkids the truth before they got mixed up in this
mess.  Roa tells Kouta to concentrate on the crystals: when their souls are as
one, the power of flame will come forth.

More enemies materialize, from across the dimensions.  Kouta has no idea why
Asakusa, mainly a tourist spot, is getting pummeled, but Roa suspects they may
be after the Kaiser.  He urges Kouta to hurry, lest his town be wiped out.
These new enemies can fly, and Kouta is having trouble [no, he's not having
trouble] dealing with them.  The Roa Armor can jump really well, but can't
actually fly.  Roa thinks there might be a way: if he's awakened, Kaiser might
have awakened too, and hopefully remembers its promise to Roa.  Kisaburou then
radios in, saying that he's finished repairing the "Compatible Kaiser" and is
going to return it to Roa.  Kouta has no idea what's going on, or how Roa knows
his granddad, but the prospect of having a giant help him fight is...
compelling.  The Compatible Kaiser makes quite a scene as it sorties, and Kouta
hurriedly fuses with it.  He quickly grows to love the thing, though he prefers
to cut two syllables out of its name.

This is the Key that the mystery man has been searching for, Roa's gift to this
world.  The men by the waterfront are now interested, and one plans to bring
this thing's head back as a trophy from this otherwise boring mission.  The
second man tells him to stop, since it appears this is what Alko is after.  The
first man scoffs at this, saying that they're under no obligation to help
"Him", and plans to call his Carnage God.  The second man tells him to stop,
reminding him that there's only so many times teleportation can be used -- and
pointing out that the first man doesn't have a teleportation blade on him.  The
first man won't be denied, insisting on calling his Carnage God: the god of
resounding attacks!

Kouta fends off the remaining bad guys handily, proving once and for all that
the Kaiser is the thing that Alko's employer is after.  A new face tells him
that that might be so, and orders him out.  He's done enough just by making the
thing appear.  Alko doesn't like being bossed around, but the girl says that
without her folks' aid, the teleportations wouldn't be 100% reliable.  She
decides to verify for herself if she's dealing with the real thing, and sends
lots more troops in.  Also appearing are the Carnage Gods of the two mystery
men, which the first believes appeared because of divine intervention.  If it's
carnage they want, it's carnage they'll get...


7. Prelude to Carnage

The adversaries seem almost like the Thunder and Wind God statues that guard
the Thunder Gate.  Roa sort of knew this was coming: even though it's
incomplete, use of the Compatible Kaiser was sure to draw certain enemies to
it.  He's quite worried that Kouta, for whom this is his first battle, can't
hack it against such formidable foes.  But Kouta is planning to stake his life
on protecting his sister and his city, and Roa is willing to let him try.

Things take an unexpected turn when one of the new foes blows away one of his
own "comrades".  Alko realizes that the guy is working under a different chain
of command from him, and the girl with him furiously orders Alko to stop the
new assault.  Alko knows he's no match for these guys, and they know he knows
it.  Only someone stronger than them can order them, Carnage incarnate, around.
Folka lets his hot-headed colleague have his way as a demonstration to the
little girl with them.  She's pissed, and vows to make sure Alko feels her pain
when she reports this to his superiors.  The good news is that this lets Kouta
focus on fighting everyone *but* the Carnages.

The Carnages are getting sick of the small-fry, and quickly turn their
attention to Kouta.  He's good enough that the Carnages actually enjoy fighting
him, though it looks like the city is toast for sure at this rate.  Kai and
Lamia show up with some extra troops in the nick of time.  At the sight of this
world's army, Folka tells his comrade that it's time to leave, having already
met their main objective.  The other man protests that it's the Carnage way to
kill everything in sight, but he relents when Folka threatens to bring him back
by force.  As they vanish, Lamia wonders if they're Inspectors or something,
given that they can teleport -- no one knows at this time.

Kai makes contact with Kouta, and things immediately get off on the wrong foot
when Kouta tells the "old guy" that he's fighting the bad guys of his own
volition: he's not some lackey of the army.  Kai furiously orders Lamia to take
care of the forces threatening the city first, and saves the tongue-lashing for
Kouta for later.

The girl contents herself with confirming the red "god"'s existence, and
hurries home to write up her report.  Alko is still fuming over the disgrace
he's suffered at Folka and Fernand's hands, not to mention the red god.  Kai is
more concerned about the new unmanned weapons that nearly trashed the city, but
before he can make contact with the new red mech, Kouta goes "later!" and bails
the scene.  Both the red mech, and the long-haired bogeys that fled earlier,
have disappeared completely.  Kai and Lamia both realize that it's war season
again.  Le sigh.

Kouta is downright bushed after the combat, and although he desperately wants
to be sure Shouko is safe, he can't manage to keep his eyes open.  Kisaburou
shows up and tells him to rest easy, hoping that his grandson can sleep well
before the battle is really on.  Elsewhere, the Carnages' report has convinced
a certain someone that the world they visited is the "promised land".  This
personage asks Mizal about the "Key" that that Certain Someone is looking for.
Altis certainly thinks they found it, and the commander leaves negotiations
with that Someone to his subordinate, along with a warning not to get mixed up
with Him too deeply.  Subordinate thinks that His power could be of use to
them, but the commander only wants the Subordinate to buy enough time for
Tenkuuma Castle to come back on line and the "Distant World Gem" to activate.

Garnet managed to weather the attack okay thanks to Kisaburou, and is wondering
if the old inventor is behind the mystery robot that came out of the park.  Kai
comes over and says hi, though unfortunately there's no info to be had on any
of the super robots from the parents-to-be.  As former pilots, they both have
an interest in these new invaders, but Kai tells them to worry about their
upcoming twins, and leave the fighting to him.  The kids promise to come back
to visit again when the babies are born, and give their regards to Kouta and
Shouko for Giada to pass along.

Shouko is at Kouta's side when he regains consciousness, gushing about the
mystery red figure who saved Asakusa.  Kouta doesn't let on that it's him,
which is exactly what Kisaburou wants him to do.  As Shouko goes for some fresh
towels, Kisaburou tells Kouta how he knows about Roa: he's the one who repaired
the Compatible Kaiser over the past many years.  Kouta knew his grandpa was
once an eminent scientist, but never knew he was _this_ eminent.  Kisaburou
hadn't expected Roa to pick Kouta, but now that he's done it he tells Kouta
that he's got to become Fighter Roa and save the world.  It all started the
first time Kisaburou met Roa, but Kouta isn't interested in hearing it.  He
doesn't wanna get mixed up in even more annoying crap, and was only trying to
protect his sister in the first place.  He heads out, saying he'll be back by
dinner.  Kisaburou is left shaking his head, wondering if Roa really made the
right choice: can Kouta really bear the burden of saving not just this, but
many worlds?

Tis is visiting the Hellgate to report to her superior in person.  Said
superior is interested in this new red armor, which reminds her(?) of
something.  The superior believes the bearer of this armor has a blood
relation, though she wants Tis to let Mizal be the one to capture her.
Instead, she wants Tis to look for the "Gears of Time" while the superior
continues working with the professor.


8. Concerned Guardian

Raoul and Mizuho have finished some upgrades to Carla's mech, better suiting
her personal style.  It's up to her to fulfill that potential, and Carla grins
that she never misses her target, including in love.  If she's talking about
Yuuki, she's up against someone with very high Armor and Dodge.  Raoul and
Yuuki are going to return to working on the Excellence, their main objective.
As they do, Yuuki lets on that he's rather suspicious of Raj's activities of
late: too much of what he's up to doesn't seem to fit in.  He's a little too
curious in how some of your mecha's power sources work, even for a scientist.
Carla isn't worried, figuring that Ratsel would have figured out long ago if
there was anything suspicious about Raj.  That said, even Carla thinks it's a
bit unusual for Raj to want to stay aboard the Kurogane... What is it about the
Excellence that so stokes his passion?

Raj is in fact impatient for Raoul's time, wishing Raoul had just left Carla's
mech on default and not spent the extra time tweaking it.  He doesn't let Raoul
protest, and instead shows them some new data from their Time Stream Engine:
its output is far greater than before.  So much so in fact that the whole
theory of turning the Time Turbines with chronons seems to have come to pass.
It'll take more than that to make a controlled return home though, unless they
want another uncontrolled incident like the one where Fiona was lost.  This may
be as good as they can do under their own power, and Raj is dead set against</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
letting the other members of the ship in on the Time Stream Engine's secrets.
His stated reasoning is to prevent the misuse of the technology, lest another
Shadow Mirror-like incident occur.  Raj's strategy is to squeak by with a
minimum of research facilities on a ship beholden to no one: the Kurogane.
Raoul is sure that they'll be able to return home eventually, and looks forward
to today's test.

Gilliam's been asked about Central Project by both Kai and Chief Kazahara, and
is doing his best to look into their shadowy dealings.  As previously noted,
info about them is very hard to come by given their membership, and even Ratsel
hasn't heard anything of value.  Gilliam's best lead is Dona herself, who seems
to have been cut free by Central Project after two or three requests to have
her back.  Even though her knowledge is limited, she's told Gilliam enough
about efforts like the Earth Cradle "cleanup" to have him worried.

Another worrisome development is the Skull Head, EOTI's secret orbital
production facility.  Neither the DC or the Colony Federation were able to
locate it during the previous war, and even the Federation hadn't located it...
until after the Inspector Incident.  Turns out the Inspectors had found it
first and were using it for making their own weapons.  Ironic, if not for the
under-the-table dealings Gilliam suspects went on between the EOTI and the
Inspectors.  It's even possible that the Inspectors contacted the EOTI before
the DC war, and that the Skull Head was specifically constructed for their use
-- as a pledge of good faith.

After the fragdown with the Einsts, Isurugi and Wong corporations have been
refurbishing it as part of the Aegis Project.  The ominous part is that an
ostensible Stealth Shade test that started three days ago hasn't yet ended.
The only communication from within stated that they wanted to extend the test,
and Staff HQ's suspicions haven't been aroused, but Gilliam himself is quite
concerned.  There's no telling what Isurugi might be up to besides making
repairs, and it wouldn't take much for Skull Head to turn into an undetectable
base of operations for terrorists.  Ratsel might get called in to investigate
at this rate.

There's no further word on the massive teleportation signature from the very
end of the Einst conflict.  Gilliam only just received the report, and none of
the recon ships dispatched to the site of the teleport have found anything.
Even weirder is that the ES Wave from the area has already vanished, something
which none of your previous foes should have the technology to do deliberately.
After Gilliam hangs up, Ratsel tells Zengar that he hopes no one is trying to
revive the technology to cross between worlds, something that mankind is
demonstrably not ready to hold.  In fact, it's their job to see that no one
gets a hold of it.

Just then some Neue DC stragglers turn up, and Ratsel lets slip the dogs of
war.  Raj reminds Raoul that their mission is perfecting the Time Stream
Engine, and says that he'd better be prepared in case the three of them ever
fall into serious danger.  The enemy aren't moving, almost as though they mean
to draw you into a trap.  There aren't many people who can avoid the wrath of
your people, but if there were such a foe among the enemy... Raj orders the
Excellence prepared in case.

It turns out Multa is lying in wait, impressed to see such formidable prey
wander into his territory.  He contacts Zengar, taunting him with the fact that
Zengar isn't the only one with a battleship-cleaving sword.  Despite Ratsel's
best efforts, Multa is able to seriously damage the Kurogane's engines, every
inch worth his former stature as an Instructor.  As he readies another stroke,
Raj notes that his bad feeling seems to have been right on.  Raoul orders the
Excellence ready to sortie, but not to escape a sinking ship: to save it.  Even
though the Excellence was originally intended for humanitarian aid, Raoul
maintains that it's quite humanitarian to fight to save the people that have
given them all food and shelter all this time.

Multa fights for the sake of fighting, of mastering his sword and cleaving his
foes.  And for the sake of his employer.  He leaves after tangling with you for
long enough to fulfill his contract, vowing to Zengar that he'll be back.  Bad
enough that Multa and his Garlion named "Nameless" are after you, but the fact
that he deliberately came after the Kurogane can only mean bad things.  If he's
acting on behalf of the Neue DC, he sure didn't show it.  Ratsel withdraws
everyone, leaving behind a mysterious person watching from the shadows [oooh,
ahhhh].  This person has found another "Key", and thinks her mission is now
done.  Time to go report to Mother dearest...

Ratsel extends his thanks to Raoul, though Raj seems to have his panties in a
bunch.  He allows that, post-facto, Raoul's decision to intervene seems to have
been the right one.  Heedless of Raj's disdain, Raoul pledges to keep the
Excellence available for the Kurogane's future battles.  It's clear to him that
the war isn't really over in this world, and Raoul won't shy away when there's
people to protect.  Battle is, after all, a way to protect people -- the
essence of "Katsujin-Ken".  As his master once explained, the killing of one
person in battle results in another being allowed to live.  These two outcomes,
"Setsunin-Tou" and "Katsujin-Ken" are in fact one in the same, and are the very
essence of the Way of the Sword.  Raoul hopes that this explanation will help
Mizuho feel better about the Excellence being used in battle, and promises to
pass it on.  Zengar smiles and says that he, still a trainee himself, deserves
no thanks.

Raj then protests, saying that he wants Mizuho's vote as well.  Ratsel agrees
to this, noting that *if* the Excellence officially decides to join the
Kurogane's crew, he'll be more than happy to divert some real resources towards
improving it.  Raj curtly says that he cannot decide that by himself and walks
out, despite Raoul's protests to wait.  It's now quite clear that Raj is hiding
something about the Excellence, something above and beyond its value as a mere
weapon.  Yuuki wonders what Ratsel does and doesn't know, but Ratsel is quick
to head off his doubts.  Instead, Carla suggests that Yuuki brew up some of
that GTO-or-whatever tea.  Yuuki corrects her spelling, adding that he got it
specially from Takakura the last time they were at Tesla.  Carla suspects him
of having a "special" relationship with said officer, and it takes all the
willpower Yuuki can muster not to offer a sarcastic rejoinder and only make his
position worse.

Raj and Raoul get into the predictable argument about whether or not the
Excellence should be used in battle, given the danger of the Time Stream
Engine's secrets falling into the wrong hands.  Mizuho breaks it up by siding
with Raoul, buying the whole "fighting is saving people" argument.  Raj
certainly doesn't seem happy about being outvoted, but he does admit that
Ratsel's offer will help get the Engine fully up to steam faster.  He sternly
reminds Raoul of their mission: completing the Engine and protecting the
secrets of time-space travel.  Should anything happen to jeopardize that, he's
going to act as he sees fit.  Raoul is fine with that, and walks off with
Mizuho to fill her in on Katsujin-Ken.  Raj is left behind, furiously trying to
figure out how to finish the Engine before full-scale war breaks out...

Turns out that Lorenzo is in charge of Skull Head, and was the one who put
Multa onto the Kurogane's whereabouts.  The little girl who acted as messenger
seems to be one of Dr. Jurgen's people, but even Lorenzo doesn't know the full
details.  It was they who actually contracted Lorenzo for the job, saying
something about they needed the data to help build their next-gen mech.  Given
that, it's rather odd that they didn't want Multa to simply *capture* the
thing, and Lorenzo figures he'd better find out what Jurgen is really up to.
In the meantime, he's renamed the Skull Head as the "Hellgate", a portal to
lead the degenerates of the Federation to Hell itself.  He's quite grateful to
Mitsuko Isurugi for leading him to the place, and is sure that nobody in the
Federation would ever dream that he's in control.  Jurgen meanwhile is
mass-producing the new mecha in places the Federation won't find, in
preparation for sowing the world chaos Lorenzo needs.  He thinks he can
collapse the structure of the Federation government and re-enlist all the anti-
Federation sympathizers to his cause, but even he admits that this will take
some time.  If Lorenzo thinks he can fulfill Vian and Meier's wishes, he's got
another think coming -- especially given how he has to kowtow to Mitsuko just
to get his hands on the Gestalt.  Even more menacing are the mystery
collaborators, without whose help the whole plan seems likely to fall apart...


9. Guardians, Put to the Test

Brit and Kusuha have been helping with tests of the T-Link system in an attempt
to reawaken the Ryuu-Ko-Ou, but so far to no avail.  The trip to Tesla hasn't
been entirely wasted, since Robert wanted to tinker with the new R-series
prototype, the ART-1.  This is what the SRX Project has come up with, though
they won't be entering it into the Trials.  With its pilots' permission, Eri
will continue trying to wake the Ryuu-Ko-Ou up while Brit and Kusuha return to
their other duties, which so far have largely consisted of patrolling
out-of-the-way border regions.  Kind of a sad fate for the legendary ATX team,
but still better than what Ryuusei's crew are dealing with.  Robert insists
that the two pilots enjoy their brief time off while they can, since he himself
sees no break in sight...

Ibis is taking an enforced break herself after her Astelion got wrecked during
an operation to mop up an unmanned Inspector satellite.  As for the Ryuu-Ko-Ou,
Kusuha can't help but wonder if it's somehow their fault that it's gone to
sleep, much though Brit insists there must be another explanation.  As they get
ready to go grab some real food, they run into Rishuu, whose question "how's it
going" (meaning with Kusuha) goes over his young pupil's head.  Much though he
hates to interrupt their date, he asks them to head to the control room.

Kyousuke tells the two to head to Abiano, on orders from the general in charge
of the Trials.  They're being asked to participate in the Grungast Type 3, and
Kyousuke and Excellen don't mind holding the fort in Kamchatka while Brit and
Kusuha head directly to Abiano.  After all, their exile in the snowy North is
about to end with a reassignment to Izu, and Kyousuke asks the others to
rendezvous with them there once the Trials are over.  In fact, Ibis's machine
will be ready in time for her to go along to Abiano too.  Jonathan tells Brit
that he's heard of four candidates for the next-gen mech, though one of them is
kind of a dark horse from Wong Heavy Industries.

Speaking of whom, testing of the new mech isn't going very smoothly.  In
simulation, one of them has gone out of control and started attacking, with no
regard for its pilot's safety.  Though the mech was able to dodge all the
rounds fired at it, its pilot went into cardiac arrest before the mission was
over, pretty much dead on the spot.  Rick Wong seems inexplicably pleased with
his VTX-000 Mironga, and informs Mauro that he'll be in the trials as planned.

Elsewhere in China, Viletta is filling her team in on the ReEOTH plan, a
stratagem to increase the trustworthiness of the EOT used in the SRX.  The ART-
1 is part of the plan to make the whole R-series more available, by cleaning up
everything right down to their finicky Tronium Engines.  The final result will
be mecha that improve on the experiment that is the SRX.  Mai notes that in
every robot anime Ryuusei's shown her, it's always the prototypes that are the
strongest -- is the SRX going to actually get weaker by emerging from the
research phase?  This may not be very factual, but it sure was fun for her, and
she's especially looking forward to finishing Ultra-Mecha Fusion God Burnblade
3.  Viletta, noting that they're still on duty, recommends that Mai at least
view the digest version.  All indications are that Ryuusei has drawn Mai deep
into the shadowy world of mecha fandom already, and Irm's offer to escort Mai
back to "ladylike elegance" gets rebuffed.  Since even Ryouto is a mecha anime
watcher, Aya thinks that maybe she'll have to give in and watch some herself.

Rai explains to Mai that it's not that foolish a notion for a prototype, the
apple of its creators' eye and generally unconstrained by budgetary concerns,
to be mighty in battle.  That said, the true strength of a weapon is in how
easy it is to maintain, how dependable its output is -- basically, its
trustworthiness.  That's what the SRX team is about, and Aya is privately
aghast that Ryuusei stands to be Mai's guiding light along the way.  Ryuusei
gets called away to the radio room for a transmission from Latouni in Abiano.
After he heads out, it seems like Mai might almost be getting jealous...

What Ryuusei finds out is astounding: only one of the candidate mecha will be
taking part in the Trials.  Not much of a trial, izzit?  Ryuusei's got that
look in his eye, wondering what the hell became of all the other mecha that his
team personally escorted to near Abiano.  None of the those three mecha have
turned up, and in fact the one mecha that Latouni's team is supposed to
evaluate hasn't shown up either.  Ryuusei's sorry he doesn't have any info for
her, and wonders why Latouni is still wearing her loliloli-wear.  Latouni
stammers that Arad and Zeora thought it'd look good on her for chatting with
Ryuusei, and there seems to be some chemistry going on between them (especially
from Latouni's side).  This gets rudely interrupted by bad guys on Ryuu's side.

It's a Federation Ladybird, without a registered flightplan and with bogeys on
its tail.  Tetsuya's is the closest ship, and he heads to the scene.  Said
bogeys are *likely* remnants of the DC, and want what the transport is
carrying.  Jiji was just fuming over how her secret mission left her
vulnerable, but now gets to watch the Federation's finest in action.  Depending
on what she sees...

Gee, what's in the transport?  It couldn't be one of the mecha bound for the
Trials, could it?  Of course it couldn't not be.  Whatever it is, it's got
assloads of bad guys gunning for it, and when the large second wave shows up
Tetsuya orders your people to protect the transport's retreat, while
withdrawing themselves.  Before Jiji flees, with data proving how necessary her
new mech is, she wants to sortie it and get some practical data.  Your people
are amazed that whoever's piloting the transport would risk the crown jewels in
a fight with the Neue DC, and even more amazed when the mech turns out to be
seriously bad-ass.  Jiji orders her pilot to ignore your people's request to
know what the hell is going on.

 This new mech might be an even greater threat to Mao than the Inspectors
 were.  In any case, there must be some heavy weight backing this much Neue DC
 firepower.  Even odder, Mai thinks that the new mech is unmanned despite the
 obvious life signs coming from it.  Rai too notes that its moves seem oddly
 patterned.

It seems you've been saved by the thing you were trying to save.  That said,
there's something very unsettling about this new mech: unless it's got a *very*
studly G-canceller, it's in serious trouble.  Very serious trouble.  Jiji drily
observes that real combat seems far more stressful than testing, and when the -
001 goes out of control, she self-destructs it without hesitation.  And without
concern for the pilot who she ordered into its cockpit, who Jiji says was as
good as dead anyway.  She's already got the data she wants for the other
prototypes, and orders her pilot to resume course to Abiano.  Is *this* what
Latouni and the others are going to be evaluating?

The brass are being *extremely* tight-lipped about the Trials, even to your
people who physically protected one of the entrants.  Something majorly fishy
is going on, and the most likely culprit is Brigadier General Mauro himself,
maybe with input from Kenneth.  Kai tells Ryuusei that Latouni and the others'
part will be to pilot existing mecha in mock combat against the new
candidate(s).  It's clear that the candidate (singular) has some singularly
weird tech going on inside, but no one outside the submitting company has been
given any details: definitely weird.  In fact, given how this thing went off
half-cocked into battle and subsequently self-destructed, Rai wonders if the
thing is even fit as an entrant at all.  Irm wryly notes that if all you care
about is winning a battle, the mech's combat abilities were fairly impressive.
Though it was obviously not part of the Lion series, its Tesla Drive probably
means it's from Isurugi...

Gilliam's good enough to find out more about the mystery mech, the "Gestalt".
He learns out that it's got something called the "AMN System", and figures that
"AM" is "Armored Module", meaning it's from Isurugi or the DC itself.  That
tells him who to ask next.  Meanwhile, Rick is trying to explain to an
irritated Mauro why his people broke secrecy and sacrificed one of their
prototypes in real battle.  Rick says there's more where it came from, and is
mostly interested in proving the usefulness of the AMN System.  Mauro points
out that unless he passes the Trials, even the data he's just gathered will all
be for naught -- and the top brass can be very hard to deceive without solid
results.  Rick is glad Mauro prepared the Trial opponents he asked for, and
says that if Mauro gives him data on them as well, victory is assured.

[you have a route split.  The Earth Route includes participation in the trials
with Lamia and Arad, and throwing down with the Mironga.  This is recommended
for those playing episode 2.5 for the first time.  The Space Route involves the
Hiryuu-Kai with Kachina, Ryuune and the others.  What is this mysterious object
they find while investigating a newly-discovered base in space?]


10E. Proffered Sacrifice

Kyle has called Celcia to a spot overlooking the sea, the first time they've
seen each other in some time.  He tells her that he's currently busy at Wong
Heavy Industries working on "that" system along with Jiji and Doctor Jurgen,
neither of whom are supposed to be alive.  For that matter, neither is he.  For
old times? sake, he plans to drag his one-time girlfriend back into their
nefarious world.  Celcia tells him there's no need to complete the system
anymore: Earthlings protected the Earth anyway, and both the DC and Arrowgaters
are gone.  Kyle scoffs and tells her that those aliens were only the first
wave: there's no telling what will happen if they get serious.  Celcia counters
that there's no guarantee that the system will prevent that invasion either,
but Kyle is sure that Doctor Jurgen and their new backers (even better than the
DC) can make things succeed.  He reminds her of how Ardler once buried their
good work with his foolish ambition, and wants her to take the chance at
bringing that work into glorious light.  But didn't *he* leave *her* back when?
Sure, but some people have a hard time locking deadbeats out of their lives for
good, and Celcia is apparently one of them.  When she relents, Kyle arranges
for her to join Tesla Reich and become a mole...

Gilliam and Ratsel confer about Wong's dark horse entrant into the Trials, an
event shrouded in far too much secrecy for its own good.  Good question number
one: why did Wong, a company with no prior record of making humanoid mobile
weapons, get permission to enter at all?  Even with a technology infusion from
Isurugi, it's too fishy.  Good question number two: what's the Gestalt doing
with the "Armored Module Network" (AMN) System, vintage DC tech from the EOTI
Organization?  The entire project was halted when the EOTI was transferred to
the DC, and all members supposedly disbanded before the so-called "ODE System",
of which the AMN was the core, could be completed.  The project leader, Wilhelm
V. Jurgen, has been missing since the L5 incident, and should be considered
highly suspicious.  At least you can cross Raoul and his crew off the list of
suspicious people, for now...

Elsewhere, your young pilots are preparing for their role in the trials and
reuniting with old friends.  Arad assures Ibis that he's still eating like a
garbage compactor, adding that if he had boobs like Zeora all that food would
surely help him shake it on the dance floor.  Blushing furiously, Zeora insists
that she's never done any such thing, adding lamely that her breasts aren't
huge because she wanted them to be.  Ibis never even knew people worried about
stuff like that, and Tsugumi assures her that the world is full of people both
"blessed" and "impoverished" who pray for change.

Getting back on topic, your pilots are also concerned about how so many aspects
of the trials seem to have been decided at the last minute.  The pilots are
prohibited from contact with the outside world, for starters.  As for why
Tsugumi is here, it turns out that she's a pilot too for the Astelion -- but
Lamia walks in and asks her not to discuss its secrets further for now.  Mauro
has issued orders that the New Instructor Squad and the Grungast Type 3 are to
battle the new Astelion: fighting among yourselves even before the Trials
begin.  Beyond the official prohibition, Lamia wants to treat this like a
serious training exercise: meaning minimal information exchange.  This
last-minute mock combat is supposed to fill the time until the rest of the
Trial machines show up, and maybe silence some critics of the New Instructors.
Given all the food Arad's been scarfing down, he sighs and says it's the least
he can do to prove himself.

The Project TD folks have their own worries: the whole "going to the stars"
thing seems a bit more unrealistic now that you know the "stars" are swarming
with hostile folk.  Some in the government see Project TD as useful only as a
weapons pipeline, but that hasn't discouraged Ibis.  In some sense, this
pre-combat will also be a chance for validation of Project TD itself -- meaning
that both sides of your team have good reasons to win.  But hey, since it's
MOCK combat, everyone can start blasting to their heart's content!  Isn't that
sweet?  As the other pilots leave, Tsugumi shares her doubts with Lamia: why
are the other arms companies mature designs, several of which Tsugumi reviewed
herself, not being represented?  The only conclusion can be that the outcome of
these "Trials" is already decided, but your people still have the chance to
give their own seal of (dis)approval from inside their cockpits.

As Lamia heads toward her mech, Kai sends her an encoded message describing the
mess with the Wong prototype mech.  He orders her to gather information, adding
that she's probably being watched.  It's now crystal clear why no outside
communication is being allowed.

Poor Arad wishes they'd let him and Zeora use their real mecha instead of these
toys, but everyone else assures him (some more kindly than others) that the
whole point is to gather info that will let the military improve their entire
fleet, not just a mech or two.  Brit and Kusuha show up in the Type 3, but
*separated* for what feels like the first time.  The new Astelion Advanced-X
shows up too, with Ibis in the main pilot's seat and Tsugumi flying REO.  The
AX is advanced indeed, no longer needing conventional supplements to its Tesla
Drive propulsion... and instead needing a second pilot just to keep track of
everything.

One battle will pit New Instructors Arad and Zeora against the ATX members Brit
and Kusuha.  The other pits Lamia and Latouni against the Astelion AX, a fair
fight given the AX's highly customized state.  The pride and dreams of the
whole TD team is riding on Ibis and Tsugumi's shoulders, and Lamia ponders how
it is that the younger generation, which values such things so highly even in
battle, is being led by a "thing" from the past which does not [i.e. her].
With an ironic smile, she guesses that Axel would be laughing at her if he
could see her now.

Watching from the shadows is Rick Wong, who's sure that the Mironga will become
even more effective as a result of this fracas.  As the Wong contingent watches
with eager eyes, Lamia recalls Kai's message and steels herself for whatever
trickery is sure to come.

 Brit may not have a sword in his hand, but he's still got one in his heart.
 He consoles Arad with the fact that had he been in the Bilgar, Brit might
 have been the one to lose.  Arad mopes, recalling Kai's lectures on not over-
 relying on one's mech.

 Kusuha will have it rough against the airborne Zeora unless she carefully
 anticipates her moves.  When she does so, Zeora is astounded at how effective
 the ATX team is, even when their mech is separated.  She'll take her defeat
 like a big girl, and asks to duel them again sometime.  Kusuha will be happy
 to do that, just so long as it's not on opposite sides of a real fight.

 Lamia is sure to get the most out of her mech, and the TD girls have to be
 aggressive if they want to win.  Lamia warns them not to get *too* aggressive
 or else they'll tire more quickly.  When Ibis wins, she tries to credit it to
 the machine, but Lamia says that it's up to the pilot to make that machine
 work: she ought to give herself credit too.

 Latouni is quick to dissect the AX's new abilities, realizing that she's
 still got a chance to hit it.  Especially since she's in a mech that Ryuusei
 once piloted... Unfortunately, the new AX turned out even better than she
 expected, and Tsugumi promises that the final form of Project TD is something
 even better yet.  Latouni is sure that Ibis and Tsugumi will be able to get
 the most out of it when the time comes.

Mauro scoffs that these underage Instructors aren't worth their big talk, but
Rick is sharp enough to realize that they mainly lost due to the discrepancy in
armaments.  In some sense, it's better for him if the general is too stupid to
realize that.  It's evident how good all your pilots are, and the data just
gathered has now completed the 000-series' combat programming.  Jiji supposes
that there's all but zero chance of losing the trials, though she's got her
trump card ready just in case.

Your pilots have their own discussion about what the results just meant.  Lamia
has the final word: in battle, results are everything, even if they came about
because of bad luck or problems with one's armaments.  However, it's up to the
pilot how to maximize what armaments he's given.  Mauro cuts off their
conversation, figuring that none of your mecha can cut the mustard, least of
all the Instructors'.  He then kicks off the Trials for real, sending out seven
of the creepy-looking Mirongas.  They're well-balanced between close and
distance combat, with several optional armament packages.  They may be ideal
for mass-production, but Ibis is sure she's still faster.

Lamia orders her people to be careful: "accidents" can happen even in mock
combat.  She also orders Brit and Kusuha to combine and wait on standby.  Jiji
knows she'll have to bring the funk if she wants to beat your people, and
orders her pilots' link level raised to the dangerously high "7".

 As you fight, Lamia feels something out of place: the enemy are *too*
 efficient in their motions, almost like she herself.  Are there really people
 aboard those mecha?  Tsugumi has been busily reading the specs for the new
 mech, and realizes the danger it must pose to its pilots.  Latouni knows
 instinctively how capable these new mecha are -- and how few people could
 actually handle them.

Despite their prowess, your folks steadily mow them down.  Rick hastily
contacts his command team and orders them to do whatever it takes to win, and
Jiji orders the ODE System activated.  Rick isn't aware that such a thing has
been installed, but Jiji smiles and says that she's just obeying orders.
Meanwhile, your people gasp at how quickly the Mirongas move, and even Ibis
realizes that no G-canceller extant can entirely cushion the shock the pilots
must be feeling.

Jiji gives a command that could result in the Mirongas actually destroying your
units, and orders that all monitoring of the test pilots be halted.  The
Mirongas speed up by at least 25% and almost go berserk.  This is what Lamia
feared, and her requests for a sitrep from command are denied.  She realizes
that your people have been chosen as sacrifices, and she for one isn't about to
let that happen.  She orders your people to focus their attacks on a single
Mironga to break their formation.

 As the fight continues, Lamia becomes convinced that your opponents aren't
 being controlled by humans, but by a machine -- and they all have a pattern
 in common.  Of course, to exploit that you'd have to move faster than they
 can.  Alternately, you'll have to move in ways the enemy can't predict.  Brit
 takes point there, moving in for close combat and relying on his Psychic
 Field to absorb the enemies' attacks.  The rest of your people will try to
 disperse the enemy and avoid concentrated fire.  This is a reckless plan, but
 Lamia's learned that such daring can be the way to win.  She smiles and gives
 him the green light.

 Your people spring into action, and the Mirongas' motions become confused.
 This is the moment Brit's been waiting for.  The enemy have no data on what
 happens if the Type 3 attacks separately, since Brit's never tried it himself
 either.  Brilliant, and effective!  Unfortunately, a second Mironga heads in
 faster than Brit can dodge.  But if it's a question of speed, there's the AX,
 which also has an attack the enemies haven't seen before.  An impressive
 feat, considering again that it's never been done before.

The AX isn't really ready for such heroics yet, and is forced to make an
emergency landing with engine trouble.  The Mironga it just trounced can
somehow still move, but it too konks out before attacking.  It seems the battle
is over, with frightening revelations on both sides.  Lamia is starting to
wonder if your people really were the sacrificial lambs, or...

Good guess.  *All* the Mironga pilots died, and even the slow-thinking Mauro is
aghast.  Rick promises to fix this little glitch in the VTX-001, noting that
it's already proven to have gone toe-to-toe with "historic pilots in latest-gen
equipment".  Mauro sniffs that the upper brass will only buy it if the death of
the pilots isn't made public.  Rick adds that Isurugi Mitsuko and a certain
other someone are personally interested in advancing the -001.  Mauro isn't
exactly in a position to turn back now, and declares that the next-gen machine
will have to get cleaned up at Izu... and these problems *better* be fixed by
then.  As Mauro walks out, Rick's business-face cracks, and he fumes that the
problem may not be with the machines, but with Jiji Lee herself.

Ibis and Tsugumi are going back to Tesla to fix the AX and continue Project TD.
We finally get to see what a few of the Lion acronyms stand for:
Gravity-control Rapid Acceleration Maneuvering (GRaM).  This is what happens
when the Tesla Drive reaches its true potential, and every TD pilot has to
master it.  Ibis has been practicing non-stop, but this is the first time she
didn't crash and burn.  That there was machine trouble afterward anyway makes
it a qualified success.  Lamia was hoping Tsugumi could go over the Mironga's
data too, but Jiji walks over and says that won't be necessary.  Tsugumi thinks
she's heard the woman's name somewhere before, and Ibis quizzes the woman
directly on what became of the test pilots.  Jiji assures everyone that they're
just fine, which is hard to believe on many levels, and says that for fighting
on equal footing with you the Mironga's successor (the -001 Bartall) has gotten
the next-gen contract.  THAT is really bizarre, for a mech that isn't even
shaped like the one that just fought, to win the Trials without even
participating... same "basic concept" or not.  Jiji says that the Bartall's
rollout wasn't quite in time, but is sure that it'll be posted to the
Instructors sometime soon.  Lamia says that that's great news -- assuming the
story about the pilots being okay is true.

The only conclusion is that the Bartall was the real winner from the start.
Isn't it great to help run a rigged race?  Well, your people have a lot of
digging to do if they want to unearth what's really going on here.  For now,
Brit noticed something somehow different about Lamia today.  Everyone figures
it must the fact that she's not using honorifics, which Arad quickly parodies
and thereby earns himself a trip to Lamia's office...

Wong's people are ready to ramp up production at any time, including at
Hellgate.  But first, Wong quizzes Jiji on what she's really up to.  She
maintains that she wants to see the Bartall finished: exactly the sort of
project that people *don't* get to do every day.  Wong orders her to doctor the
existing Mironga documents and fix the remaining problems, before Isurugi and
the Federation brass find out.  For good measure, he reminds her that her
beloved project would be forever buried if not for him and his company.  After
he leaves, Jiji gets the report that the prototype Bartall will be ready in two
days? time.  And after that, the path to it becoming the Earth's guardian is
clear... just as Jurgen planned.

At Hellgate, meanwhile, intrigue abounds as Jurgen tries to take Lorenzo to his
collaborator.  The implication being that he won't come back.  The military man
is quick on the trigger, but the wounded Jurgen shouts that if he dies, no one
will be able to stop "it", whatever "it" is...

10S. Swimming Oddity

See other route for Elzam and Gilliam's worries about Wong.

It looks like smooth sailing to the moon, so smooth that Sean recommends Lefina
go take a nap.  She refuses in order to avoid a repeat of a certain
embarrassing incident from before.  That's a pity for Sean, who says he wanted
another glimpse of that stuffed bear... and maybe of some other goodies as
well.  Unfortunately, what's currently on display is a battle going on in an
unassuming debris field some short distance away.  Lefina has the ship head
there with all speed -- maybe not such smooth sailing after all.

You spot the wreckage of a Huckebein, but no sign of its pilot.  Whatever
happened here, you apparently missed it.  There's a lot of noise in this area,
and not necessarily of natural origin.  Ryuune finds another Huckebein, which
doesn't appear to have been fighting PTs or AMs when it went down.  Rather, it
appears to have been *chewed* by something.  Recovering the wreckage will be
hard with all the asteroids, but what bothers Sean is that the biggest asteroid
chunks appear to have burst from the inside, not the outside.

Speaking of which, Kachina has spotted a very interesting structure that
appears to be the wreckage of some kind of facility.  There's no public records
of such a base existing, but Kachina can prove that it's not of Inspector
origin.  The giant flasks in the center has a names written on them: "Torchika
2", "Flatfish", "Donald Hofstadter"...  The resemblance to a SF/horror flick
grows much stronger when a swarm of disgusting beasties pop out, unlike
anything your people have seen before.  Lefina orders your people to attack,
and Kachina takes a moment to regain her composure before rallying the troops.
Leona and Tasuku may not be here, so it's double work for all!

The first wave of these things go down fairly easily, leaving your people
scratching their heads and wondering what the hell they're dealing with.  The
bad guys have faces like people, but bodies like some kind of fish or bug.  The
most similar thing you've run into yet are the Einsts, and Ryuune wonders if
these creatures were manufactured using Einst cells or something.  Whatever the
case, it's clear this is the remains of some secret bioweapons lab you've
stumbled upon.  Sean advises against trying to take samples of the enemy
aboard, lest they start preying on the crew in the middle of the night
(especially the ladies).  Lefina is rattled by such talk, and the normally
assertive Kachina seems unusually bothered by grotesquerie like this.

Sean recommends incinerating any of the aliens' bodily fluids that have gotten
on your weaponry.  As your people take care of this and withdraw for now, a
certain little girl is delighted to have stumbled upon this useful ruin, though
she too finds the critters more than a little disgusting.

Back at Kolmana Station, Tasuku has been spending a lot of time fine-tuning
Leona's mech, all for the sake of love!  Leona sort of appreciates this, but
tells Tasuku to rework his own mech's attack patterns.  Sure the Gigan's armor
is thick, but relying solely on jumping in and thrusting is dangerous.  Looks
like both of them have been watching each other very closely indeed.  As for
why the adjustments had to be done on the station and not the Hiryuu-Kai,
Tasuku actually had an inspiration for his tuning that required using the
base's computer.

The two get summoned to the control room due to reports of a
half-kilometer-long asteroid on course to hit the base.  First contact happened
*after* the thing cleared the base's outer perimeter, thanks to a certain
breach in the line and the feebleness of the probes stationed there.  Tasuku is
looking forward to going and taking it out, and Leona sighs that someone's got
to go and keep an eye on him.

Tasuku isn't a total idiot, and knows without Leona reminding him that they
don't need to destroy the asteroid, just alter its course a little.  Suddenly,
some kind of interference begins, and you barely make out that the target is
accelerating.  Man, asteroids these days: way too genki.  In fact, it's not an
asteroid at all, but some kind of uber disgusting THINGIE that had been using
the rock as cover.  Tasuku correctly(?) identifies it as a Space Flounder.
ICKY POO!

Tasuku is once again acting as Leona's shield, used to the close-in rough and
tumble stuff.  He directs her attention to the wreckage of the asteroid:
smaller critters lurk there.  He tells Leona to head over and get rid of the
babies while he takes on the mother flounder: his propulsion systems are shot
and he can only go a little distance anyway.  Leona's genuinely worried about
her partner, though it'll take even greater peril than this for her to own up
to it.

Leona takes out the babies, which makes mommy mad.  But that makes it charge
the immobile Tasuku, which was just what he was waiting for.  As the one who
personally tuned his mech, he's got an intimate knowledge of how to best
utilize it.  The effect won't last long, but odds look good for him to turn the
tables.  Turn the tables he does, but Tasuku pays a heavy price as well.  Leona
is worried sick, but it turns out to be a (failed) ploy to get a kiss from her.
Well, there's always next time.  Anyway, Kachina's heavy training regimen has
paid huge dividends for Tasuku, who has to keep up his end of things if he
plans to stay by the "Goddess of Victory"'s side.

A special forces battalion has mopped up Torchika 2 already, far too quick a
response for anything other than a facility the Feds already knew they had.
The critters you just tangled with a probably one part of the massive Aegis
Project, though at this rate it seems quite unlikely that that line of
bioweapons research will continue -- or ought to be continued, for that matter.
Meanwhile, Ryuune asks for permission to return to Tesla to have her mech
worked on.  While there, she promises to get some data on the next-gen mech
from the Abiano Trials.  This will at least get you a first-hand look at the
mech that you might all be using in a while.

Speaking of that special forces battalion, it's Hugo and crew.  There were no
survivors in the facility, which Hugo has figured out was some kind of
bioweapons lab.  He's not been told what they were working on, though Albero
had said that this is the first time even he had heard of a second Torchika
facility in space.  At this rate, Folia is starting to doubt that Albero is
being level with them, though Hugo is adamant that the only non-level guy is
Mitall.  What's really bothering Folia is how his father doesn't seem to be
doing more to figure out what Mitall is up to, and simply accepting orders.  He
doesn't want the next Torchika 2 incident to befall the Cry Wolves themselves.

Albero reports that all the staff are dead, and that the four surviving vessels
in the facility were all broken with nothing left inside.  That bothers Mitall
immensely, given that there were supposed to have been seven vessels in
Torchika 2.  Albero wants to know what the facility was making, especially if
it has anything to do with the "Head" they recovered from the Earth Cradle.
Mitall repeats his prior prohibition against trying to dig into the details of
the operation, and orders Albero to cooperate with the true cleanup squad who's
headed his way.

Mitall frets that the Flatfish plan has to be cancelled now.  The culprit:
inclusion of cells from the Einst, which made the Flatfish uncontrollable.  A
shame that Donald had to die to produce this warning, though Mitall doesn't
seem interested in heeding it and destroying the Einst itself.  Instead, he
orders Eric to gather as much of Donald's data as possible and keep working on
trying to control the Einst.  He won't even move the thing to a safer location,
citing budgetary and oversight concerns.  At least Eric is close to done with
repairs on the Soulgain... though its pilot remains asleep.  What worries
Mitall most are those missing three capsules, obviously not hauled off by the
Hiryuu-Kai.  Were they destroyed, or did someone steal them...?


11E. Swarming Machines

Folka is having a heart-to-heart talk with Altis [ooh, yowie], and not
concealing his feelings very well.  He's not happy about joining forces with a
Certain Someone, and had thought his older brother would feel the same.  Said
older brother tells him to watch his tone, and says that the order given isn't
as a brother, but as the general of the Carnages: "Altis the Flash".  That
said, he understands where Folka is coming from.  It's just that the war they
all want requires some outside help to start, and even the Emperor Carnage
wants the guy's help.  Folka grudgingly agrees to go, rather than have Fernand
go and mess things up.  Altis says that Folka is going to face Fernand's wrath
sooner or later for violating Carnage law, but for now, he's to go rendezvous
with Alko.  The future of the Carnages is riding on this according to Altis,
and as such Folka is willing to stake his life on making things succeed...
After he leaves, Altis thinks to himself that his little brother's worries may
well become the future of all the Carnages...

Startling news for the unveiling of the Bartall: instead of the Izu base, it's
going to be done at a major convention center downtown.  The goal is to show it
to as many people as possible, possibly at the behest of Wong Industries.  What
the heck Mauro is doing holding the unveiling squarely in the middle of Tokyo
is anyone's guess, and given that they plan to fly the mech directly there from
the manufacturer, it raises all kinds of questions about terrorists attacking.
Maybe Wong plans to "demonstrate" how the thing can fend off the terrorists
too?  There's no way they can be this confident under normal circumstances.

Lamia says that in simulation, the Mironga's problem spots have now been fixed,
but there's no way to really tell until the thing appears in battle.
Unfortunately Wong won't send you even one for testing, making it that much
weirder yet that they're going public with it.  There's really nothing to do at
this point but watch and wait and hope nothing goes wrong.  One other request
that's come down is for Latouni to wear "that" outfit to the ceremony.  Between
this and the Asakusa incident, still unsolved, Kai is helluva busy.  Kyousuke
and Excellen are going to be stuck at the Izu base for a while longer too,
taking part in a debate over whether or not to discard the use of EOT in future
mecha.

Mitsuko has been working directly on Mauro, who assures her that everything
seems to be on schedule according to the Wong folks.  Given that "Isurugi"
isn't being mentioned directly, Mitsuko doesn't mind if one or two things screw
up.  She's paid Mauro handsomely for his help, and also reminds him that she
can just as easily pull the rug from under him if he objects.  That said, she
too is worried about some of the mystery elements in this latest operation:
especially given that extra Mirongas and Bartalls seem to be rolling off the
assembly lines.  Mauro hasn't tried to dig into that, and that's how Mitsuko
wants it to stay.  All this Gestalt business is just to buy time for Isurugi
anyway, and shouldn't be allowed to mean anything more.  And lest Mauro get too
comfortable, she says that she knows all about him and Wong... and Jurgen.
Should he betray her, she's got the absolute finest in punishment ready.

Shouko is looking forward to the unveiling, not because it's a military robot,
but because Zeora invited her.  Zeora and the others have been too busy as
Instructors to visit Asakusa, but after the ceremony they expect to have a
little free time.  Kisaburou pointedly says that those kids are doing great
things at such a tender age... *not so different from Kouta*.  Kouta has been
invited to the festivities too, as have Giada and Garnet, and Kouta isn't one
to shy away from "festivities".  It's unclear who's the bigger kid, him or
Shouko, but he promises not to oversleep tomorrow in order to be ready.

After Shouko goes to bed, Kisaburou tells Kouta to be ready: now that Roa's
chosen him, he can't avoid the fighting to come.  It turns out the whole
Asakusa amusement park is cover for the robot hangar, cleverly built by an old
friend of Kisaburou's.  He's built various dummy equipment and whatnot to fool
any military investigators, but the special engine in the Compatible Kaiser is
apparently quite obvious to your foes.  Kouta cuts him off, repeating that he
doesn't wanna get involved in any bothersome stuff and saying he's got to get
to bed already.  But given that the bad guys are likely gunning for him now
that he's merged with Roa, he's more than happy to fight back and defend his
family and Asakusa.  Why can't Kouta understand that that spirit is what Roa
feels for the whole world?

Tsugumi has finally tracked down Jiji, formerly of the 4th Intelligence Squad
of the EOTI and specializing in operating systems.  There's no record of her
being transferred to the DC, which might be due to the data being doctored or
erased.  Just then, Gilliam phones up.  Tsugumi confides to him that her
brother's condition is worsening, and it's only a matter of time until he'll
have to be hospitalized.  It doesn't help that Philio refuses to slacken his
intense work schedule, and Tsugumi says he doesn't want to let Ibis know just
yet.

More to the point is the AMN System data that Tsugumi has unearthed.  The idea
is to collate and share combat data among a group of units, and the improved
"ODE" variant even strove to allow one experienced pilot to control several
separate units at once.  The ODE System was cancelled after it went out of
control during a test and led to all the pilots' deaths.  It's natural to
imagine that system, with some bug fixes, is what you faced at Abiano.  Tsugumi
will send as much data as she can about the AMN and ODE Systems, realizing that
something really big must be going on with the new Wong mecha.  Another message
then comes in from Ryuune, stating that she'll arrive tomorrow (the same day as
the unveiling).  While reporting this, Dianne has another request...

Rick Wong had decided to take a look inside the cockpit of one of his new
mecha, and found something very different from what he was told.  He also found
a bullet from Jiji's gun, because she wants no further interference with the
Bartall coming to fruition.  What he's seen is the answer to the Mironga's
flaws, and Jiji doesn't plan to kill him [as such].  Rather, she plans to seed
his and his subordinates' experience into the Bartall.  He gets to become a
living core for the ODE System!  What fun.  All is now in readiness, and as
soon as the final employees are loaded into the Cores, Jiji prepares to board
the Bartall herself.  When she and her staffer meet again, it'll be in a more
evolved, more amazing form, just what Jurgen would have wanted.

At the unveiling site, there's a bit of chaos because the Bartall's arrival got
pushed back at the very last minute.  Kusuha is the only member of the Izu team
to be present; everyone else is back at base on alert.  She's come on orders
from Kyousuke to gather information, but she's also personally curious about
the new machine.  After all, this is what your whole crew might be forced to
adopt, and Arad at least is a bit uneasy about being taken from his highly
tuned custom mech.  Even Zeora doesn't want to leave her Falken, but she'll do
so if ordered.  In any case, the ceremony is about to start.

..Or not.  Kouta's efforts to get up on time have been wasted after all.
Giada and Garnet, former pilots themselves, are plenty interested in the new
mecha.  That said, Giada doesn't really mind not being in the military: for all
he liked fighting to protect the people at large, he likes the thought of
working to keep the woman he loves (and their upcoming children) happy and</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
safe.  In essence, that's his new battle, small though it may be.  That a
battle's size doesn't matter has Kouta thinking, though his sister breaks that
mood pretty quickly.

Meanwhile, Ryuune and Robert have arrived at Tesla just in time to find Ibis
scarfing down one of Tsugumi's homemade cheesecakes.  Ryuune fills Robert in on
the beasties she tangled with in space, no big deal to her but a very big deal
to him.  Robert's thoughts are interrupted by Rishuu, who has some new data for
him to input into the Grungast Type 0.  Rishuu isn't planning on piloting the
thing himself, is he?  The commander is off with Philio elsewhere (not planning
new dance moves for the Fairlion, we hope), so instead Tsugumi introduces
Ryuune to Dianne Wood, who's heard plenty about the Zoldark scion.  She was
hoping to get a look at the Valcione, the only mech anyone's heard of that not
only has female features, but even has a changeable expression.  This woman has
been plenty of help to Tsugumi already, and seems awfully interested in her
work.  As Dianne heads off to check the Valcione out, everyone tunes into the
unveiling ceremony...

Elsewhere, Kenneth has been unexpectedly helpful in allowing the SRX to move to
the next stage, probably in hopes of claiming personal credit for the Leos Plan
and the RXR Project.  This would give him something to equal Mauro's presumable
glory from the Bartall.  In any case, Kirk cautions Viletta to keep a close
grasp on the ART-1's data, just in case.

The Bartall's flight plan comes in, well past the original start time of the
ceremony.  The things should have reached Japan by now, without escort, and
Tetsuya can only hope that they're armed with live bullets.  The Kurogane's
orders are to continue its normal patrol, which will keep it out of the
Bartalls' flight path.  Tetsuya's got a bad feeling about all this, and orders
the R-3 Powered and newly-arrived ART-1 on alert.  Said ART-1 is still painted
blue as befits a prototype, and can't actually combine with the R-2 and R-3.
After this patrol is over, Ryouto will install the necessary code for Mai to
pilot it too, which makes her very happy.  All these pilots, Irm especially,
are plenty interested in what the Mironga's successor is like, especially after
the incident during the Trials...

Not surprisingly, Celcia has done something to the Valcione at Kyle's behest.
She's having doubts, but he assures her it's all for the sake of the ODE
System, which you have to have for the future of mankind...

The Bartalls finally arrive at the unveiling, and even Shouko can tell that
they're kind of villainous looking.  Arad and the others are looking forward to
hanging out with the Asakusa crew after the ceremony is over, but Lamia orders
them to first concentrate on the Bartall demonstration.  Good advice, since the
first thing the Bartalls do is waste all the Huckebeins on the site.  Lamia
orders her people to assist with emergency evacuation, thinking that there's no
way the top brass could know about this.  Someone else has to be behind it.  In
the confusion, Alko disguises himself and tries to get at Shouko and Kouta, but
Kouta realizes the real Giada would never abandon Garnet.  He announces himself
as a Carnage, the people who will cover the world in blood and flames!  Alko is
going to haul Shouko off, and when Kouta tries to intervene Folka blocks his
kick.

Folka can do that with his eyes closed, and Alko orders Folka to take the girl
and get out of here, and leave the boy to him.  Alko means to beat the secret
of the Key out of Kouta, and Folka leaves him to it.  What Alko hates most are
Kouta's eyes, filled with absolute will.  Kouta's not able to put up much of a
fight, until Roa's voice sounds in his head and reminds him that he's with him
always.  Alko wanted the Key, well the Key he's got.  The Bartalls head in
Kouta's direction, but Roa tells him to calm down and call the Kaiser.  Kouta
protests that it's a long way to Asakusa, but Roa tells him that a Gate will
open.  Even the imperfect Overgate Engine can make a jump this short, and Kouta
reluctantly joins with it.

The Thunder God appears again too, but it's got Shouko in its mitts.  The
Bartalls? interference keeps Kouta from catching up, and there's no point in
talking at them since they don't seem to have humans aboard.  In which case,
Roa will simply wreck them all and pursue whoever's got his sister.

 As Kouta fights, the robots start gassing the remaining people with some kind
 of paralyzing agent.  Lamia is fine, but the rest of your people are hit hard
 by it, and even Lamia can't escape the anti-personnel wire mesh the robots
 are equipped with.  What the heck are they doing with person-hunting gear?!
 No telling, but Kouta's got to stop them regardless.

 Shoot down three Bartalls and the cavalry arrives.  The red robot from
 Asakusa seems to be the enemy of the enemy, but Kyousuke doesn't trust it
 easily.  More worrisome is that Kusuha's transponder isn't registering like
 it should.  Kai radios the red robot and demands an explanation, and Kouta
 yells back that while the old geezer was lagging ass, the bad guys were busy
 hauling everyone off.  Now that the Feds are here, Kouta hurries off in
 pursuit of his sister, barely telling Kai that he's "Fighter Roa" and that it
 doesn't matter where he's from.  In any case, your people have bad guys close
 by to dispose of.

 You can't find Kusuha or the others immediately, but what you do find is a
 lot more Bartalls -- apparently already in mass production.  They're nothing
 at all like what the design documents you've seen lead you to expect, and
 it's clear that something is MAJORLY fucked up among the Federation brass.
 The Bartalls are beginning to accelerate and dodge your attacks, and there's
 little hope of reinforcements...

 Brit realizes that the same thing is happening as with the Mirongas: they're
 reading and reacting to your motions in real time.  Fortunately, the Hagane
 shows up to reinforce you, its crew's bad feelings having played out in full.
 All your people have to do is destroy the Bartalls before they get a chance
 to learn.

No sooner have you shot down the Bartalls in town than you receive reports of
the Bartalls attacking Izu.  And Kusuha and the others have yet to turn up...
Mauro is finding a gun pointed at his head, and the soldier has a message from
his employer: this is the "finest in punishment".  When your people make it
back, you find Izu in a shambles.  The defenders managed to down three
Bartalls, but the other fifteen have vanished... taking with them around a
hundred hostages.  Most of them were maintenance workers or pilots who happened
to be in the hangars at the time.  Damage to the command center is minimal,
unless you count Mauro, who's been dead about an hour by the time Gilliam gets
there.  Indications are poison, though Gilliam doubts it was a suicide.
Gilliam realizes that there's more than just Isurugi at work here, and if the
Bartalls, fierce though they are, are merely a diversion...  Gilliam plans to
take Radha and join the Hagane as they head to Wong Heavy Industries, though he
suspects it's already too late.

Indeed, Kusuha and the others weren't among the injured and evacuated.  Brit
desperately wants to get them back, though he's disciplined enough as a soldier
to know that this takes second priority to finding out what the Bartalls are
really after.  Your people go to look inside one of the Bartalls that Ryouto
just recovered.  The first oddity is that although there are life signs inside
the cockpit, there's no *hatch*.  In some sense, this means the cockpit was
sealed after the pilot boarded, but no one's ever heard of such a thing before.
With no response from said pilot, Tetsuya authorizes Ryouto to cut the cockpit
open with laser, being careful not to hurt whoever is inside.

What you discover is a vessel filled with fluid, and the person, or what's left
of them, essentially integrated into the machinery: a mere part of the system.
Just what the fuck is this?  The ODE System...


11S. "Human" Components

This whole stage is identical to the other side.



12E. Deceived Spectators

Kyle thinks back to when his project was originally cancelled, thanks to the
ODE System test running amok and causing all twelve of the pilots to kill each
other.  Kyle protests that that only happened because the vice-commander
ordered him to force the system to directly link to the pilots' brains.  Jiji
adds that the pilots couldn't stand the sensations coming from the other pilots
and went into rejection, which is probably true but still too dangerous in
Lorenzo's book.  Jurgen agreed at the time that the system wasn't perfected
yet, but protests the thought that he's trying to turn people into weapons
parts.  He thinks he's trying to actually lessen the human cost of the war, but
Vian himself has decreed that the fundamental principles behind the ODE System
are dangerously flawed.  That's that.  Given how the ODE System opposes the
Game System, Jurgen figures that continuing to fight Vian's decree would only
make things worse.  Kyle can't believe he's taking this so calmly, and vows to
fight back.

Two years have passed, and this time Kyle thinks he's on the winning side.
It's time for the operation to begin, and the Valcione is still happily parked
inside Tesla.  Kyle's assistant protests that the Valcione is every bit as
dangerous to the Mironga and Bartall as the Psybuster and Granzon, but Kyle
assures him that Shuu won't move so long as his people don't attack him first.
And even though Shuu knows all about the ODE System, he surely hasn't figured
out Jurgen's real plan.  Kyle's sure the Valcione won't be a problem either.

He gets the report that Jiji's doing good work in the Far East, but just then
Dianne calls up and demands to know why the Bartalls revolted.  She thought all
Kyle wanted was to steal Tesla's Specials and EOT, and Kyle assures her he'll
get those later.  For now, what he wants are Tesla's "brains", for fodder for
the ODE System.

The brief images from the Bartall unveiling are enough to confirm Tsugumi's
fears about them.  More Bartalls are heading toward the base, and given the
timing it's all but guaranteed this was planned in advance.  The base's systems
have also been infected by a very high-level virus, and Robert seems to have
some suspicions about who injected it.  He drafts Dianne to help him fight it,
muttering that this must have been an inside job.  Ryuune and Ibis will have to
go out and hold the fort until reinforcements arrive.  Everyone else who can be
is sent to the evacuation shelters...

The bad guys have Mirongas, and leading the charge is Multa.  The Valcione is
more mobile than it's supposed to be, but Multa isn't worried and tells his men
that they merely have to stay out of Psychoblaster range.

 Ibis notices that Multa's swordsmanship is like Rishuu, except that Multa
 fights to kill.  Ryuune meanwhile notices that she's having some trouble with
 her machine, more so than before she came to Tesla.  When she tries to fire
 the Psychoblaster to save time, her whole mech shuts down.  The bad guys
 seize their chance and fire, as Robert furiously tries to figure out what's
 going on.  He figures out that it too is a virus, and wonders who the hell
 could have done that to the Valcione.

 Kyle then calls in and orders everyone to surrender, saying that he'll
 guarantee their safety.  Things are looking grim, and the strain is finally
 too much for Dianne, who first murmurs, then shouts that he's lying.  She
 never fully believed what he was telling her, and explains that her real name
 is Celcia.  What Kyle really wants she doesn't know, and an infuriated Kyle
 says that she was just a disposable pawn anyway.  She too is to be fed to the
 ODE System, but Celcia fights back, so that the real tragedy of Dianne won't
 be repeated again.

 She frees the base's defenses and reenables the Valcione.  Things are still
 pretty bad though, and it looks grim for the Valcione and AX to hold the fort
 alone.  But to the rescue comes Rishuu in the Type 0, tuned just as he had
 told Jonathan to.  Your other people are aghast that he'd pilot a mech
 himself, but he says that since this "Kyle" isn't visible yet there must be
 more enemies in wait: you don't have time to be choosy.  He confronts Multa
 with the error of his ways, particularly the part about the best swordsmen
 leaving their swords sheathed in the interest of peace.  All Multa has ever
 wanted are the skills and the weapons to shed whatever blood he wishes, and
 he has no interest in what Lorenzo or anyone else are really planning.
 Rishuu realizes that his former pupil is beyond saving, and the more trash
 Multa talks, the quieter Rishuu becomes.  Until the proper moment when the
 seemingly frail old man bellows out his name: Rishuu Tougou, the Sword that
 Cleaves Evil!!  It's his final duty, and penance for the sin of teaching
 Multa the sword, to end his life here.

 Reduce Multa to half his HP and Kyle shows up, noting that the great
 swordsman seems to be having trouble.  Ryuune's Psychoblaster isn't back
 online yet, and Kyle orders his troops to concentrate their attacks and kill
 her off before it recovers.  But they've got other problems to deal with, in
 the form of Masaki.  He's back from La Geas, and would have been here even
 sooner had he not gotten lost along the way.  He's just bought Ryuune time
 for her mech to fully recover.  Kyle doesn't like this turn of events, but
 still thinks they can win if they beat the Psybuster and Valcione and stuff
 the brains of Tesla into the ODE System.  Rishuu realizes which Mironga is
 giving the orders, and has your people concentrate their fire on it.  One
 thing Kyle is hoping to do is have Masaki and Ryuune use their Map Weapons,
 so he can learn from them.

 Your people put up far more of a fight than Multa expected, and he yells that
 he can't allow his sword to be broken here.  He flees in other words.  Kyle
 will do so too, after Celcia pleads with him not to use "that" and throw his
 life away.  Before leaving, Kyle tells you all that his system has already
 started learning from you, and it'll get better all the time!  Kyle will
 never forget the humiliation he once felt, and is going to make damn sure
 everyone else gets to taste it too.

Celcia spills her guts (figuratively), including what the fate of those
incorporated into the ODE System is.  With their brains wired directly into the
machine, they'll no longer be "humans" in any real sense, just parts that can
be discarded once their efficiency begins to drop.  Masaki is understandably
upset with the people who planned this, and he includes Celcia among them, used
by Kyle or otherwise.  He storms out, no doubt remembering how terrorists
killed his parents back when.  Celcia understands his rage, having lost people
precious to her in a similar manner.  "Dianne" was her best friend, killed by
the Arrowgaters.  As Celcia watched her friend die, she became sickened by the
idea of war, and her cooperation with Kyle was supposed to be to see to it that
everyone else on Earth would be protected from future invasion.  Ironic that
saving lives has now turned to stealing them as ODE cores.

Celcia plans to turn herself in to the military and make a full confession, but
before she does, Tsugumi has a job that only she can help with.  Wong
Industries must be centrally involved with the ODE System stuff somehow, and
any lapse in information gathering on your part will surely prove fatal.
Tsugumi is going to lead a separate detachment to take some of the heat off the
Hagane, and wants Celcia to come along as an advisor on how to deal with the
ODE System.  Celcia is amazed that she's being given a chance to personally
help stop Kyle, and she doesn't hesitate to take it.  Even Rishuu is going
along for the ride, in order to stop Multa once and for all.

Meanwhile, a very dejected Kouta returns home, having failed to recover his
sister.  He blames himself, and Garnet and Giada can offer little consolation.
After they leave, Kouta tells Kisaburou that Shouko wasn't taken by the
Bartalls, but rather by that Thunder God from before.  He had a rough time just
trying to follow the Thunder God, and ended up getting saved by this black
drill-tipped ship and some guy named Raoul.  No answers are forthcoming about
who or why Shouko was kidnapped, and Kouta vows that he'll face whoever he has
to to get Shouko back.  If so, Kisaburou says, he should do whatever Roa asks,
as it's sure to lead to his sister's return.  He explains that Roa is from a
different world than this one, a warrior who has fought to defend many worlds.
The enemy Kouta faced have a long history with Roa: evil beings who seek to
govern as many worlds as they can.  The reason the Compatible Kaiser was here
for repairs is that Roa was defeated by his archenemies in another realm.
Kisaburou happened upon him long before the DC War, and spent the entire time
since making repairs and preparing for the menace to come.  These enemies seem
to need the Kaiser's power for some purpose or other, just as you need it to
defeat them: a double-edged sword, as it were.

What Kouta still can't figure out is why the bad guys stole Shouko instead of
attacking him directly.  And why did they once help save him?  To answer that
riddle, and to fulfill his destiny to fight Roa's enemies, Kouta's got to go on
a journey.  That's fine with Kouta, who's made up his mind that he'd rather go
to the enemy than have them attacking him all the time.  Kisaburou tells him to
rest for now, while he makes ready for Kouta's travels.  Kisaburou wants Kouta
to learn just how dangerous the world is, and that he isn't the only one with
the power to save it.  Rather, it lies among all the warriors he's sure to meet
on his journey...


12S. Unwanted Visitors

It's clear to those aboard the Kurogane that something has gone seriously wrong
in Japan, starting with the Bartalls running amok.  Raj has deep doubts about
these Gestalts, having looked over the plans already.  Their extreme
maneuverability and low levels of armor almost seem as though pilot safety had
ended up on the cutting room floor somehow.  Carla is astounded that Raj knew
something fishy was going on with the new machines, but Raj sniffs that anyone
with half a brain could have deduced as much.  He didn't feel the need to
report these abnormalities anyway, given that the machine is far outside his
sphere of interest.  The surrounding pilots can't believe he's acting like this
isn't his problem, and he even more stiffly says that he's far too busy to mess
with stuff outside his own purview.  Yuuki, clearly peeved, supposes that the
Time Stream Engine must be pretty important if it could captivate Raj's
attention so entirely -- why doesn't he elaborate on that a bit?  Raoul manages
to point out that hurrying to Tokyo comes first, and that Yuuki's questions
ought to wait for now.  Further distraction comes in the form of an enemy
assault, and as Raoul is about to sortie, Raj tells him to be careful.  Not
about the battle, but about Yuuki, who's starting to catch on that there's
something special behind the Time Stream Engine's existence.  If worse comes to
worse, Raj says that Yuuki may have to be silenced.  Raoul tells him that
that's going too far, especially given that it's their decision to keep these
secrets in the first place.  Raj says that he's going to take all of them off
the ship if Raoul isn't going to do his part to protect the Engine, but that
argument will have to wait until after the battle.  Until the Engine is
complete, the three of them are as good as members of this world.

The bad guys have Inspector "Urchin"-class mecha, though Ratsel knows from the
reports about Tokyo that these shouldn't be Inspectors themselves.  In fact,
your team has no idea who they are, but Zengar is adamant that they mustn't be
allowed to reach the city.  Meanwhile, a certain someone is looking forward to
seeing the power of the Wheels of Time.

 The first wave of enemies is puny, and seem to be prodding the Excellence
 before going down in flames.  The second wave is more interesting, including
 a robot *with hair* that none of you have ever seen before.  It's got a cool-
 looking red buddy(?), and Ratsel realizes that these are the unknowns that
 Kai and the others tangled with.  In the long-haired robot's hand is a
 civilian girl, and the red robot's pilot (Kouta) wants her back.  The little
 girl who's running this show has business with Kouta's sister just at
 present, and teleports in some extra help.  Raj detected this as some
 abnormality on his Chronon sensors, different from the Einsts and Inspectors.

 Whoever the new yellow robot is, it's got some scary friends and does a real
 number on Kouta.  The blast somehow messes with Kouta's head, but when Raoul
 realizes that the red robot is trying to save the girl, he acts quickly and
 shoves Kouta out of the way of the second blast.  After all, the Excellence
 is all about saving people, even if the circumstances of this battle aren't
 entirely clear.  For his pains, Raoul gets to tangle with yet another
 unknown, though he and Kouta can still sort of move.  Limp.  Whatever.  Folka
 tells his captive that he won't mix a guest of his up in battle, and the girl
 in yellow yells for him to get his ass out of here already.  Yet MORE bad
 guys show up to cover his retreat, and this gets Kouta REALLY steamed.  The
 blue-haired girl seems apologetic about this, which gets Kouta madder yet.
 Raoul resolves to help, and Zengar decides to commit the rest of your forces
 too.  Kouta didn't think he needed help to save his sister, but Roa and Raoul
 persuade him otherwise.

 The yellow girl finds your team more than she bargained for, and she vows
 mayhem the next time she sees you.  You still have no better idea who they
 are, but it's clear that at least some of them are after Raoul.  Meanwhile,
 Roa regretfully tells Kouta that the bad guys Teleported away, becoming
 impossible to follow.  Kouta, overcome, flees at high speed.  Ratsel then
 breaks the news of the mess the Bartalls caused at the unveiling, including
 kidnapping much of the crowd.  As your people regroup, Raj wonders if the bad
 guys have realized the meaning behind the Excellence -- he's got to hurry...

There's no information whatsoever about the long-haired bad guys, meaning that
you've got yet another mystery enemy on your hands.  As for the
"Pachinko-Kaiser", Ratsel actually has a guess.  Its moves and overall "feel"
resemble the Double-G, one of Vian's series of four super-studly Super Robots.
Two of them are missing so thoroughly that no one even knows what they look
like, and while Ratsel doubts the Compatible Kaiser is one of them, he suspects
that someone once affiliated with the EOTI and/or DC is involved.  Ratsel's
guess points to Azuma Kisaburou... or Toumine Kaoru.  And he really hopes it's
not the latter.  In any case, the new enemy seems to be some sort of composite
force with an especial interest in Kouta's sister Shouko, though it's
impossible to guess why at this stage.  Ratsel's biggest question is why some
of the bad guys specifically targeted the Kurogane, and after a moment's
thought asks what Raoul and the others are up to.  Working on the Excellence,
of course.  Ratsel is well aware of Yuuki's doubts about that mystery machine,
but tells him to concentrate on gathering enemy data for now: no need to muddy
any waters unnecessarily.  It's time for the Kurogane to go back to blending in
with the darkness and fighting the battles that Gilliam and his team can't
fight in broad daylight.

Cue Mauro getting his comeuppance and the aftermath of the mass kidnapping.
See the other path for full details on how Kusuha and the others are among the
missing.  The gruesome secrets of the ODE System come out, and Kouta comes home
to his renewed reason for fighting.


13E. Collapsing Ideals

In a scene from the past, Shuu and Elzam compare notes on how well the Granzon
and mass-production Armored Module projects are going.  Not so much Dr.
Jurgen's work, with or without interference from Dr. Koch.  Shuu figures the
project is fundamentally contradictory in ways that Jurgen is incapable of
fixing, so long as he hangs onto his conscience.  Ratsel is still puzzling over
what this "contradiction" is, and what is supposed to happen once Jurgen
abandons his conscience.

The body of the woman inside the Bartall is finally ID'ed as none other than
Jiji Ruu, one of the Gestalt staff engineers from Wong Industries.  Brit isn't
entirely surprised that that woman ended up inside one of these monsters, and
asks Gilliam for more details on what the ODE System is for.  It is nothing
short of the final form of the mobile weapon network that the EOTI once
researched, completed by someone else after the DC cancelled the project
mid-stream.  That someone leaked the system to Wong Industries sometime after
the Inspector Incident, and the leading suspect is the harmless-looking Dr.
Jurgen.  Gilliam isn't sure that he's solely responsible, given that the
initial "Omni-Dendro Encephalo System" concept mentioned nothing about
biological cores.  The *original* AM Network was a fast, accurate way of
pooling combat data among multiple Armored Modules, and the ODE System improved
on that by optimizing and synthesizing that data on the fly.  It also allowed
even an ordinary pilot to control multiple mecha at once, explaining the
strange sensation your people had that the enemy was "learning" their moves.

What sucks is that the learnings get transferred to opponents in other battle
areas almost instantly, even in the face of most ECCM systems out there.  Such
a system basically makes it unnecessary to put actual people into mobile
weaponry, keeping the human cost of war to a minimum.  Of course, the mecha you
faced contained "humans" who had been robbed of all thought, emotion, and self-
determination -- as good as dead unless somehow released from the System.  This
is the exact opposite of the original ODE System's intent, which is perhaps the
fundamental contradiction in its inception.  The whole reason the AMN and ODE
systems were cancelled is the incredible stress they put on the pilot's brain
from the man-machine interfacing process.

Of course, Wong couldn't have told the Federation the truth about these
monsters' specs, and it's likely that even Mauro, who headed up the Trials,
didn't know everything.  These "biological cores" may represent a new leap
forward for the ODE System, and it's evident that you don't need a trained
soldier to make one.  The only consolation is that not every Bartall seems to
have a biological core installed -- yet.  Irm protests that soldiers ought to
make the best cores, and Gilliam supposes that perhaps the Bartalls are made to
gather more than just military data.  If so, the question is why the bad guys
chose to kidnap spectators from the unveiling, as opposed to some other
civilian area where the chance of counterattack would be lower.  Only one thing
is clear: all those kidnapped are going to be put into Bartalls sooner or
later.

Word arrives that the Bartalls have attacked the Federation academy in Osaka,
as well as several other bases and civilian facilities, before fleeing.
Gilliam figures the most likely hideout is Wong Industries' headquarters in
China, and asks Tetsuya to head there at once.  You can only hope you'll find
your comrades in time to stop terrible things from happening to them...
Kenneth irritably tells Tetsuya that he's already sent troops to Wong
Industries (though he's not heard back from them yet), and orders Tetsuya to
join in on the info-gathering and production-line destroying.  Kenneth is
adamant that the production lines are to be *destroyed*, not merely taken over
and investigated.  He also orders Tetsuya to tell Gilliam not to get any funny
ideas and poke his nose where it doesn't belong.  Gilliam doubts that Kenneth
is trying to hide anything specifically; more likely, it's mere rage at how
badly an area under Kenneth's control got savaged by the Bartalls.  After all,
Kenneth might have been rubbed out just like Mauro had things progressed...

Tsugumi explains the plan to the people riding with her from Tesla.  If your
forces can destroy the ODE System's Master Core, all the other Bartalls
dispersed throughout the Far East should come to a screeching halt.  Of course
the bad guys realize that this is their weak spot, and will have concentrated
their defenses to foil such an attack.  Masaki promises to Psyflash their sorry
asses when the right moment comes, and has a little request for Tsugumi along
the way.

Celcia also asks Ryuune to let her ride aboard the Valcione.  She doubts her
words will reach Kyle any longer, and wants a more *persuasive* way to persuade
her former lover.  Masaki then trudges in, still quite gruff with the one-time
enemy scientist.  Celcia is still determined to make up for her past mistakes,
and Masaki says he just hopes that she can withstand Ryuune's rough piloting
style.  In fact, what he asked Tsugumi for was a harness to help strap Celcia
in so she doesn't get bounced all over the cockpit, though he won't out and
admit that fact.  Ryuune loves it when Masaki gets sentimental (though Masaki
still isn't comfortable with her rubbing herself all over him), and Celcia
inwardly thanks the directionally-challenged pilot for understanding her.  She
knows her final chance is all thanks to Masaki, Ryuune and the others, and she
isn't planning on letting it go to waste.

Kyle opts to lie in wait for the approaching onslaught, and agrees fully when
Multa wishes for some more enjoyable opponents this time.  When Multa asks,
Kyle says that he personally never intended to become a ODE biological core,
since that would leave everyone vulnerable should something ever happen to the
Master Core.  Multa seems unconvinced.  Your people are impressed at how many
bad guys are gathered, and unsurprised when Kyle ignores orders to surrender
the ODE Master Core.  Kyle is still relying on his tired "protecting-the-Earth"
schtick, saying it's better that 99 people are sacrificed to protect one than
all hundred dying.  Masaki tells your team that Kyle is clearly drunk with his
twisted logic and won't heed a word you say, yelling to Celcia to fight her way
while he fights in his.  Kyle makes Multa promise not to kill Rishuu in the
interest of gaining his data.  It seems that your people will need to be quick
to prevail against your fast-learning adversaries...

 Rishuu has noted how Multa's mech is "Nameless", and asks if he plans on
 revealing it's name at the end of all this carnage he's causing.  Multa
 shoots back that all swordsmen are killers, and that the carnage is the end
 in and of itself.  Rishuu counters that it is the sword who is wielding
 Multa, drunk with pleasure, and says that the most immature swordsman draws
 his sword the most frequently.  He admits that he himself is immature, having
 to draw his sword in Multa's presence, and plans to sever both Multa and
 himself so that the world and his own soul can be the better for it.

 The more Kyle sees, the more he wants your people as fodder for his ODE
 System.  Fat brother-trucking chance says I.  Fortunately for you and
 unfortunately for Kyle, reinforcements show up.  There are no life-signs from
 the buildings nearby and no trace of the trackers Kusuha and the others
 carry, so this must not be where the hostages are.  In fact, this whole
 facility might even be a trap to lure you in.  Kyle figures that your people
 might just manage to take his forces out before they can learn, and sends in
 *his* reinforcements.  Your people are still confident that there's no way
 Kyle could digitize their combined experience, and if so Kyle vows to take
 your team with him.  He rigs a subterranean generator to explode, which will
 destroy any evidence here and all his comrades besides.  He feels no guilt
 over this, since if Jurgen's plans come to fruition such emotions will become
 meaningless.

 But something even more astonishing happens just then.  The GRANZON shows up,
 and Shuu compliments Masaki on solving things back at Tesla.  Masaki has to
 admit that Shuu's directive to go there in order to save the day was right
 on.  It seems there is someone who doesn't like Jurgen's little plan, and
 leaked him the information.  Shuu also doesn't like Kyle's backers, though he
 claims he just wants to see the results of Jurgen's research, freed of its
 contradiction, with his own eyes.  Which, of course, might require Kyle dying
 in the process.

 Excellen is impressed at how helpful Shuu's been of late, suggesting that he
 go to church and repent of his past sins and become wholly clean.  Also, fat
 chance.  Irm hardly thinks Shuu is the churchgoing type, but Excellen says
 that guys like Shuu are often far more religious than they seem.  What god
 does Shuu believe in, she wonders.  With a subtle smirk, Shuu says that at
 the least, it's nothing like the god you have in mind.  With all these
 adversaries gathered together, Kyle figures that the time of "casting off"
 has come.  Shuu seems skeptical, to say the least.

 Kyle pushes the ODE System's link level to the max, effectively sacrificing
 himself to maximize the ODE System's potential.  Unless you stop the Bartalls
 here, the damage is going to get even worse, and you've got three minutes to
 stop as many of them as you can.  Celcia now has no choice but to physically
 defeat Kyle, now that Jurgen's ODE System has changed him this far.  She
 implores Ryuune to at least save Kyle's heart.  Multa is still hanging
 around, planning to kill Rishuu before he can be made into another ODE doll.
 He's sure he'll reach enlightenment at the end of all the killing and
 carnage, and Rishuu asks if he's trying to become the God of War or
 something.  If so, it's Rishuu's job to cut off the uttermost twisted roots
 from which he springs.

 Rishuu finally bests his prodigal pupil, but Multa isn't ready to die yet:
 there's much more carnage to cause.  He'll even endure the scorn of Masaki's
 spirit-cats if that's what it takes, and flees the scene.  Rishuu mutters
 that all that awaits at the end of the path of carnage is destruction.

Of course Kyle gets his ass handed to him, showing Shuu in the process what
Jurgen's ultimate objective was.  Kyle shouts that it's too late now that the
Bartalls are on the move, but Shuu seems quite sure that even without any more
help from him, Jurgen's plans are finished, thanks to "something nonstandard"
outside the ODE System's ability to control.  That would be your people, and
although Kyle insists that they too are pawns destined for the same end as him,
Shuu tells him that Jurgen's very first move was his greatest mistake.  As
Jurgen himself will find out soon enough.  As Kyle forecloses on the ranch,
Shuu reminds Masaki that he'd better hurry if he wants to save his friends.
Especially with that generator about to blow.

Ryuune and Celcia aren't among those fleeing though: Celcia wants the direct
access to the main Wong computer that can only be had here.  She's got a lot of
help from those with the fastest machines, and even Philio gets in on the
action from afar.  Celcia gets the information with not a moment to spare.

It's still puzzling everyone that Jurgen, one a beloved professor at a German
university before his EOTI days, could orchestrate such an imbroglio.
Fortunately, thanks to Jonathan granting Philio?s request to be brought to the
scene, you've hauled in all kinds of data.  Jonathan is used to granting
"selfish" requests from his son Irm, who has it that his dad is the far more
selfish of the two in terms of asking for errands.  In any case, Philio wants
to know what Jurgen's true motives are, as part of the team that developed the
war-causing Armored Modules in the first place.  In fact, Philio wants to come
along with you for the rest of the war, assuring everyone that he'll be useful
as he continues to make up for his role on the DC side.

The information from the computer shows a space production facility: the Skull
Head.  Gilliam recounts how Isurugi and Wong have refurbished it after the
Inspector Incident, and that it's gone missing while "testing" its Stealth
Shades.  It may or may not have moved, but the data Celcia decrypted calls it
the "Hellgate".  This is presumably where the Main Core is, as well as the
hostages and facilities for making more Bartalls.  If you don't hurry, it may
not be possible to stop the bad guys.  Gilliam is going to run this report up
his chain of command, saying that you're DEFINITELY going to need
reinforcements for this mission.  At least you'll have Celcia, who impressed
Masaki enough with her last-minute show of guts that he's got no further
complaints.  It doesn't hurt that she's an older woman, one of his weaknesses.
Celcia vows to stop the ODE System, which can never protect the Earth the way
Masaki and Ryuune can.

The Hagane is to rendezvous with the Hiryuu-Kai, as usual.  The Bartalls have
been quiet: the calm before the storm no doubt.  Staff HQ has gotten the info
that Hellgate did indeed move, and although it's currently missing, finding it
is only a matter of time.


13S. Impending Tragedy

The first thing Shouko does in her new captors' stronghold is lose a staring
contest with Folka, finally demanding he tell her *something* about what she's
doing there.  Folka tells her that he's a Carnage, come to this world in order
to fight -- in essence, to invade the place.  The rationale is circular: if not
for fighting, the Carnages couldn't live in this world, much like sharks who
have to keep swimming to stay alive.  Folka explains that his people aren't the
only ones from another dimension who mean to bathe this dimension in blood...
For someone from "Carnage World", Folka is a very reasonable conversation
partner, although he seems not to have any concept of "pleasure" outside of
battle.  He gets around to explaining that a Certain Someone seems to need
Shouko, and issued orders that she be brought here.  This Certain Someone is
one of the aforementioned visitors to this dimension besides the Carnages, and
seemingly has plans to breathe the embers of war into full flame.  When he says
he doesn't know or care what they are, an exasperated Shouko demands to know if
it's boring thinking about nothing but battle all the time.  Folka frowns at
this for the first time, and on his way out the door for battle admits that
maybe it is.  His final words to her are to give her his name: Folka Albarg.

See the other path for the shocking truth about Jiji's gruesome end and the
truth behind the ODE System.

The Hiryuu-Kai is pursuing a group of Bartalls, which for the moment have
vanished.  Lefina orders the ship to do what refueling and reloading it can
while recon tracks them down.  It seems this Bartall attack was geared towards
generating panic and not destroying the lunar cities or space colonies per se.
It's exceptionally odd that the bad guys have as many Bartalls as they do.
With no word from the Earth (or even Ryuune and the bunch at Tesla), the best
the crew can do is sit tight and await orders.

This isn't sitting well with your pilots, who realize they must be up against
an enemy that is both a) muge and b) invisible.  Kachina wishes Tasuku could
just up and locate the bad guys with his psychic powers, and is about to haul
him off for some "private" idea of hers [but what about Leona?!?!  Who cares.]
when the enemy strike.  Said enemy appear to be a band of DC stragglers, and
Lefina orders your people to full alert.

The enemy has Lorenzo in command, and Sley taking point.  It's thanks to her
guidance that Lorenzo made it out of Hellgate, and Lorenzo tells her to give
her employer his thanks.  Lorenzo's fleet takes off for their planned
rendezvous, leaving Sley to take on the Bartalls that have been dogging her
footsteps.  But Leona calls first, demanding to know if it's really her.  She
declines to answer, and Kachina yells to worry about the Bartalls first.

 Sley is actually quite pissed at becoming the lackey of her female employer,
 figuring herself no better than these dolls she's fighting.  But her soul
 still has wings, and she will fly on!

After the Bartalls are taken out, Sley actually contacts you.  She won't say
where she's been or what she's been up to, but she's got some useful data: the
whereabouts of the Hellgate that's been mass-producing the Bartalls.  It's up
to you whether or not to believe the data, but she advises you to consider the
fact that *she* came all the way out here just to deliver it on behalf of her
employer, who isn't pleased that the Hellgate has gone out of control.  Sley's
in the process of telling you to get your asses out of the area when more bad
guys show up.  Sley shouts that your team is essential to the invasion of
Hellgate, and tells you not to spend yourselves here.  She figures that she,
Project TD's number one ace is good enough to handle things, and a frowning
Leona, for once, takes her up on it.  Never fear, Sley is resolved to live long
enough to settle the score with Leona and with Ibis, and Leona tells her she'll
be waiting.  Sley privately doesn't think herself deserving of that much, but
has her brother's dream to fulfill after all...

 The battle begins to get rougher for her, but the Kurogane shows up to back
 her up.  Elzam tells her that the Branstein she knew isn't here, and she says
 that the Sley he knew isn't either in that case.  She tells him that the
 Skull Head is where the Bartalls are coming from, and your team springs into
 action.

 Down a few Bartalls and some new adversaries show up, including the
 "red-haired" mech and one you've never seen before.  Folka wants to know why
 Alion has come along, since Folka was the only one ordered to guard the
 "boy".  Alion's been really bored just hanging around in this world, and
 wants to get some exercise before his "honey" Agales sheds tears over his
 deteriorating physique.  Besides, he lives as a free warrior, and Folka says
 that he won't be responsible for whatever happens to him.  The mystery boy
 really wants to get his hands on the Wheels of Time, and Folka says that his
 only orders are to fight and protect the kid.

 They're going to have a bit of trouble though thanks to the Compatible Kaiser
 catching up with them.  Kouta tells the rest of your team that it looks like
 he'll be helping them out, though that wasn't originally why he came.

If Folka is the first to get pummeled, he assumes it's because there is
hesitation mingled with his fists and flees.  The mystery boy realizes that
your people are even tougher than Despinis reported, and wisely retreats to
rethink his strategy.  Of course Kouta runs off in hot pursuit.  Sley will also
be leaving, saying there's no place for her here.  Ratsel is about to tell her
where her place is, but she won't let him finish.  Saying she brought all this
on herself she flees, leaving Ratsel to muse over how one of two wings have yet
to spread to the stars.  Philio is one hella patient guy if he can still wait
for that day with a smile.

The biggest question is why the weird mecha were after you - or more
specifically after the Excellence.  Yuuki can't stand it any more, and demands
that Raoul tell everyone what's so special about his mech that these unknown
invaders would be after it.  Raj encourages Raoul not to answer, and the poor
guy is in a really tough spot.  In the end, he tells Yuuki, with whom he's
risked life and limb in battle, that while it's true that the Time Stream
Engine does have a secret, Raoul has a duty to protect it.  Ratsel cuts the
bickering by ordering everyone back to the ship, while he parses Sley's data.
Depending on what the Federation does next, the Kurogane too may have to move
on the Skull Head.

The Hiryuu-Kai is to rendezvous with the Hagane and assault the Skull Head, the
brass apparently believing Sley's data.  Meanwhile, Shouko greets Folka with a
"welcome back", a phrase that he's never heard and that she herself doesn't
know why she uttered it.  He tells her that the Federation Army will shortly
become meaningless as the Carnages swing into action and envelop the world in
"true battle".  Their ultimate goal is to turn this into another Carnage World,
and if that is indeed where the Carnage's future lies, Folka won't hesitate.
But if not...  It seems Shouko's words are accelerating the doubts that lay
dormant within him, but why?


14E. Looming Malice

See the other path for Shouko's tete-a-tete with Folka.

Your mighty battleships rendezvous after so long apart.  Lefina fills Philio in
on how it was Sley who provided the whereabouts of the Hellgate, on orders from
her "employer".  That's probably Isurugi, who *ought* to know where their Skull
Head is and who probably have their reasons for not wanting Jurgen's plans to
go forward.  Sean thinks that those reasons must be something really huge if
Isurugi has decided to lay waste to the Skull Head instead of reaping the
financial rewards of watching the war go on.  Orders come in during Lefina and
Tetsuya's conversation, and it seems that your two flagships *alone* are to
storm the Gate.  Everyone else will be covering their
asses^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hshivering in their
boots^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hguarding the Moon and the
colonies.  And just to underscore how rotten things are in Staff HQ, you've
also been informed that the Moon is going to nuke the Hellgate, hostages or no,
if you don't finish your mission in time.  If you're going to act, it's got to
be now while the chances of your friends becoming Cores are still low-ish.
Were that to happen, it's unclear if anyone could stop them, and in some
respects HQ's decision to cut everybody's losses is correct.  Sucky, but
correct.

If so, why aren't you charging in already?  Or why haven't nukes or H-Map
Weapons been fired already?  Perhaps someone is still arguing that the ODE
System is too good to destroy utterly?  Irm knows that if the top brass
actually manage to negotiate with Jurgen, the whole operation might get called
off... which would of course involve writing off Kusuha and the others.
Luckily, HQ's final decision is to go ahead: your orders are to STOP (not
"destroy") the ODE System and rescue the hostages afterward.  This means
destroying the Master Core at Hellgate's heart, where Jurgen is surely lurking.
Best will be if you can persuade Jurgen to stop the thing, but you can also
sever the links with Hellgate's generators if that fails.  You've got three
hours before the nukes launch, and Kyousuke is uncharacteristically worried.
This gamble isn't just about winning or losing: the winner might have to pay a
heavy price, which would mean Lamia and the other hostages.  Excellen reminds
him what it was like when she was captured by the bad guys: he didn't gamble
then, he just did what he had to do.  She asks him to treat this the same way,
and save his legendary gambling prowess for a better time.  It's indicative of
how well they work together that this clears Kyousuke's doubts enough to even
turn his poker face into a smile.

At Hellgate, your human hostages finally regain consciousness.  What they see
shocks them: a Bartall, whose hatch opens to reveal Lamia incorporated into the
machinery.  She haltingly tells them to flee...

Your people arrive at Hellgate, and the first wave of Bartalls appear to be
unmanned.  Philio wonders if the Bartalls no longer need biological Cores, when
one could just copy the Master Core to them instead.  This makes it easier to
fight in peace, but Gilliam warns that the longer you spend, the tougher the
bad guys will get.  Get your flagships to the appointed spot and you'll be on
your way toward the core.  Kyousuke is determined to force Jurgen to play his
joker at all costs, and to win anyway.

 The first mech you shoot down confirms your fears: Lamia's motion data has
 been incorporated into the bad guys.  At least you won't have to face Lamia
 *herself*.  Plus copies are always inferior to the original blah blah blah.
 This is precisely the time for some of Kachina's blood-and-thunder speeches
 to get everybody's spirits back up.

 As the battle goes on, four more Bartalls show up.  Brit senses Kusuha's
 psychic presence from one of them, and you quickly confirm that the other
 three contain Arad, Zeora and Latouni.  They appear to be just asleep, not
 assimilated, which means saving them will be easy: immobilize their mecha.
 The fact that Lamia isn't with them means that she's presumably still inside.
 Just don't entirely shoot down your friends.

 When you make contact, you detect some huge, evil shadow, but it doesn't seem
 to linger long as you rescue Kusuha.  The other three pilots follow in short
 order.

As your ships prepare to forge inside, another wave of bad guys shows up and
attempts to catch you in a pincer attack.  That's Elzam's cue to leap to your
defense.  They'll handle things here while you enter first, planning to follow
in due time.  After your people head inside, the enemy Bartalls abruptly stop.
Is it a trap?  In any case, the "occult" robots you battled before aren't here:
seems they really are after the mystery red robot and the Excellence.  See the
other path for Yuuki grilling Raoul.

But just then, said red robot shows up, guided by its OG Sensor.  It's not for </pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
certain that the Carnages are here: the OG Sensor just reacts to generically
evil power and whatever else the writers want it to.  Heck, maybe Kouta will
even get a clue to Shouko's whereabouts inside the fortress.  Kouta mumbles a
corrupted form of "if you want a tiger's cub, you must enter the tiger's den",
and fumbles for an answer when Raoul asks if he's come to help.  Roa explains
that Kouta ought to join forces with these other warriors who would be his
comrades -- just as Roa once had many comrades himself.  It's not in Kouta's
nature to run with the pack, but he's got little choice under the
circumstances.  Elzam and crew won't bother him if he doesn't bother them, and
with the Bartalls all immobile, everyone piles inside.

And inside is Jurgen, who sure as heck *sounds* like part of the machine.  He's
making some final tunings, so a "mistake" doesn't get made.  A mistake...?


14S. Accelerating Peril

The captains have the same conversation as the other route, while the pilots
fill each other in on what's been happening on Earth.  This is basically an
identical battle to the other route...


15. Prisoners of the Labyrinth

Jurgen's sad part in the L5 incident is being recounted, which cost several of
his friends and his wife their lives.  If only his ODE System were ready!  Oh
the manly tears.  Mitsuko is entirely unsympathetic, and recalls for Greien how
Jurgen's stated goal is to protect the earth and keep such mistakes from
occurring again.  Simple-minded perhaps, but that's the way Jurgen's always
been.  What Greien wants to know is why such a man would attack the very thing
he claims to want to protect, and Mitsuko supposes it may be some sort of means
to an ultimate end -- just as Vian once tried.  In any case, Greien still plans
to nuke Hellgate and remove the legacy of Karl Streizeman's alien collaboration
once and for all.  Mitsuko protests that the base will be an important part of
the Aegis Shield when complete, and points out that her company has already
sunk quite a chunk of change into retrofitting it.  Not good enough for the new
president, who suspects Mitsuko of pulling the strings behind Jurgen's revolt.
Gosh, guess it's up to those pesky Allies of Justice after all.

Shuu predicted the whole thing, of course.  The question is how best to nudge
those Allies to get them to do what Shuu and Mitsuko want -- Lorenzo won't be
of any help, having already fled Hellgate.  Shuu tells Mitsuko that he's
beginning to glimpse who's *really* behind this whole mess, and it's none of
the usual suspects, Earthling or otherwise.  In fact, it really might be better
if they let Hellgate get destroyed after all...

Meanwhile, your team is busy forging deep into Hellgate, unmolested by the
Bartalls.  Eita has been wondering about that, noting that just as everyone was
going inside the base, it seems the Bartalls' unusual motions returned to
normal... that is, weaker.  No telling what's up with the ODE System to bring
that about, but it just gives your people that much more time to reload and
refuel.  Among those sortying will be the former prisoners, including a very
worried Kusuha.  She and the other psychics can feel an immense will enveloping
this place, and everyone hopes that it'll be as simple as capturing Jurgen...

The core looks and feels very different from the rest of the base.  Is this
where Lamia's kidnappers are?  What about Shouko's?  Nobody is sure yet what to
make of "Pachinko Kaiser" other than that it's ostensibly on your side.  The
Bartalls finally attack, in numbers large enough to raise the question of
precisely where the resources to build them came from.  The ODE System core is
dead ahead, every inch as creepy and imposing as expected.  There's no sign of
Lamia... yet.  But given this is the enemy's main base, you'd better be ready
for anything as you battle towards the objective.  Kyousuke for one is pretty
sure that this *isn't* the end: the enemy haven't showed their hand, and he
doubts it's time to show yours either.

 Pummel the bad guys for a while and more Bartalls will show up, including one
 whose motions and telemetry match Lamia?s.  You'll have to be pretty rough if
 you hope to separate Lamia from it, but Excellen hopes Lamia's integral air
 bags(!) will keep her safe.  Lamia speaks up and says that that won't work,
 but it becomes quickly apparent that it's not Lamia who's speaking, but
 rather Jurgen himself.  He's sure that none of you can bear the thought of
 killing one of your own, a very human weakness that caused him to redesign
 the ODE System.  He clearly didn't count on facing Kyousuke, who's more than
 willing to wreck Lamia's Bartall and stake everything on the slim chance that
 Lamia will survive.  At the very least, he's positive that Lamia wouldn't
 want you pulling your punches and being defeated -- and he'll be damned if
 Lamia ends up as a coprocessor for as shitty a robot as these.  Since
 Kyousuke opened his mouth, he gets the unenviable task of throwing down with
 Lamia, while the rest of the team fends off the other Bartalls and opens the
 path to the Core.  If only the bad feeling in Kyousuke's gut would go away...

 Lamia's mech takes quite a pounding while Kyousuke yells at Lamia that she's
 no one's doll anymore.  Try though he might, Jurgen can't have his way with
 Lamia OR her airbags... and Kyousuke isn't one to break promises like the one
 he made to Lamia back when.  Lamia's going to need some emergency maintenance
 on the double, and with a smile Kyousuke says he doubts Lamia's speech
 centers can be fixed...  Things get loused up by Jurgen, who shows up in the
 Valcion Custom left behind by Lorenzo.  Kyousuke gets pummeled badly enough
 that he doesn't grasp his surroundings, and the signal from Lamia's PBS has
 unfortunately vanished.

 Once again, Jurgen is sure you can't stand losing one of your own, and
 explains that his plan is to unify the will of all mankind, lest more losses
 like Jurgen's loved ones occur.  Jurgen himself has already been assimilated,
 and his words remind Roa of a certain someone.  The Core's immediate goal was
 eliminating Lamia, an outside influence whose incorporation into the system
 was a major mistake.  Trying to incorporate your people would have only
 compounded this initial error, as Shuu foresaw, which is why the Bartalls
 haven't been trying to kidnap the rest of your team.  He figures that he can
 assimilate the rest of mankind once you're out of the way... which of course
 will only happen over your dead bodies.  The Core can't comprehend how your
 people can face it without fear, and Kyousuke, not quite as dead as it
 seemed, says your people don't *need* a reason, not that something like the
 ODE System could ever grasp that fact.  Even the normally effervescent
 Excellen is dangerously pissed off and determined to extract vengeance for
 Lamia's untimely termination from its hide.  Kyousuke might not have been
 able to rescue Lamia from the labyrinth, but he sure as hell isn't going to
 let anyone else share her fate.

Your crew of "outside influences" wrecks Jurgen's plans but good.  His plans to
digitize human thoughts and emotions and thereby evolve humanity are looking
pretty stupid just now, given just how complex humans really are.  Gilliam is
in a position to know that those with superior technology don't always prevail.
Unfortunately, Jurgen's mistake is Duminas' good fortune.  What is Duminas, you
ask?  Well, she's got six eyes and six wings, sort of like a Seraphim.  She
only pretended to aid Jurgen's mad schemes in order to steal what Jurgen had
gathered, and can now move about freely.  This is the same oddly shaped
puffball that's responsible for Raoul and friends being in this world in the
first place, and she's very fond of the potential "Keys" hidden within mankind.
She's made many mistakes before, but figures that now's her chance to open the
Door to where He dwells.  Duminas' lackeys finally show themselves in full, and
they're very apologetic that they haven't procured said Key already.  Duminas
is conciliatory, saying that they can afford to take their time.  Really,
they're after the Time Stream Engine, and given that their previous assault
cost Fiona her life, Raoul isn't going to hide it anymore.  The Time Stream
Engine is also an interdimensional teleporter, and none of the Excellence team
wanted it misused.

Well, "misuse" is a matter of perspective, and Duminas' people insist in
varying levels of politeness that you hand it over.  Yuuki for one won't let
that happen: now that the cat's out of the bag, there's no real choice but for
your whole team to help the Excellence crew bear their very dangerous cross.
It's too late for the rest of those absorbed by the ODE System: now that
Duminas has absorbed their data, their bodies are left as husks.  Shouko isn't
among them, being kept elsewhere as a counter to the threat posed by the
Convertible Kaiser.  To make matters even worse, the military has apparently
decided your mission failed, and has fired those nukes.  This disgrace your
team has faced will have to wait for another day to be avenged, and gritting
their teeth, your people retreat.  Duminas keeps her servants from following,
having them instead fortify their defenses here while she builds towards her
true power.  And when she does, she?ll open the Door to the Creator, and
finally learn why she was created.

Something strange happens to your ships as you make good your escape.
Something like mechanical trouble starts sapping your propulsion as you flee
toward the incoming missiles, and before long they appear to go haywire too.
The reason soon becomes clear, as a massive object uncloaks nearby: a MASSIVE
ASS SWORD.  Your ships have no choice but to flee at top speed, lest they
become totally paralyzed.  This turns out to be the mobile fortress of the
Carnages, which has been having mechanical trouble of its own.  Alkeid, the
king of the Carnages, orders his chief scientist Mizal to hold position here
and not push their luck.  Duminas, the "Certain Someone" from back when, is
currently beneath Alkeid's interest -- his major concern is that the castle is
running out of teleportations, with no chance of repair given their current
resources.  Duminas' people's help will be needed, at least until such time as
they get underfoot.  He then exhorts his generals: Macis the Ice Lance, Magnus
the Thunderclap, and Altis the Flash, to ring the gong that will usher in a new
era of Carnage in this world.  One thing seems certain: there will be blood
tonight.

In short order, the Federation tries a good four waves of missile strikes
against the object, code-name "Swordian", without even one missile landing a
blow.  Same goes for all the mecha the army sent.  Neither it or the Hellgate
are moving right now, but that's surely the calm before the storm.  Your own
team hasn't received any orders yet, and until it does the commanders would
really like to gather some more info.  About all you know so far is that
Duminas wants to open a portal to another world using human will, though as
with the escape from Einstverse it'll also probably take some of your
heavy-duty technology to pull off.  Among the info you need to gather is how to
defeat the energy-draining field around the Swordian, especially since that's
likely where Shouko is being held.  Kouta has revealed himself to your other
pilots, who are more than happy to include him in the payback to come.  One
thing Arad is adamant about is that Kouta isn't going to be able to save Shouko
alone: it'll be a group effort unless he wants to see her meet the same fate
that Ouka and Lamia -- and Fiona -- met.  And no one, pilot or commander,
hesitates a moment at the thought of all the heavy lifting it will take to
straighten this mess out and hold their heads high once more.

Kai even allows the kids to all stick together and help Kouta adjust, although
it means trouble with the upper brass.  The one who actually needs the most
cheering up at present is, of all people, Kyousuke.  Kai doesn't pull his
punches: how many people have died up until now because Kyousuke and everyone
in this team had the guts to pull the trigger?  It just so happens that it was
Lamia's turn this time, no matter how good a person she might have been.  It
might even be Kyousuke and Excellen's turn next, but until then...  In any
case, your team will temporarily split up on their respective missions,
rejoining again when the time comes to assault the Swordian and Hellgate.  As
part of the preparations, Brit and Kusuha have agreed that they'll need the
Ryuu-Ko-Ou again, and Brit adds the final peptalk that gets Kyousuke's head
straight: a commander who's lost could make a winnable battle lost.  Kyousuke
sure doesn't want to become that kind of leader, and recalls with Excellen how
someone once said that it's winning in battle that makes one right.  That
someone was Axel, who died because he lost sight of his rightful place and
rightful way of life.  Alfimi suffered the same fate, for that matter.  The
fact that Lamia, who *found* those things, perished too demands a better
explanation -- a better recompense for the dear price your people have all
paid.  That's what Kyousuke, resolute once more, is determined to extract from
the Swordian.  He can only pray that Lamia's soul has rejoined her comrades, in
peace.  He'll have to wait to rejoin her until all is finished.


16. Fight for Supremacy (part 1)

Watch the scrolling text regurgitate what you already know.  The Carnages have
been making one hell of a mess of things with the Federation unable to do much
in retaliation...

The Carnage forces can't just appear out of the blue: gadgets codenamed
"Daggers" are needed.  Most of them are out of their mind and spoiling to turn
the Earth into a mass of blood [gee, a pun], with no apparent method to their
madness.  The Wolves get to face down the current batch, lest they head to
Torchika and make things worse.

These Carnages go down pretty easily: this is in fact the third skirmish the
Wolves have had today.  Folia complains that he hasn't even had time to eat a
decent meal since the Swordian turned up, sniffing that his gourmet palate
won't be served by scrounging up any of the local fare.  After Albero gathers
his troops and heads back to base, Tis comes out of hiding.  She's pissed that
the low-level Carnages can't even pass as a decent diversion, and wishing she'd
asked Mizal to borrow Alko or someone.  Still, the strange signature Duminas
detected is coming from around here somewhere, and she's got nothing better to
do than tailing the Wolves...

It's probably just a matter of time before the Carnages pop up in Torchika and
rain on Mitall, Eldy and Eric's parade.  They've currently only got the Cry
Wolves for protection, unless Mitall wants to roll the dice on Eldy's three
prototype Wendigo 3's.  He'd rather not run the risk of their plan being
discovered by the Feds, disorganized though they may be by the war, but agrees
to use them in case of emergency.  Meanwhile, the Etst seems to be showing some
strange kind of response, and Eric really hopes they're not going to be facing
another Flatfish fiasco.  Mitall says it's just some stray muscular current,
but it's closer to the truth to say that the thing is becoming self-aware...

17. Fight for Supremacy (part 2)

Alfimi isn't quite dead yet, though she's close.  Lucky for her, another life
is in a similar state, one whose strong will and warm power she's happy to
borrow if it'll help her remain "her".  That would be Axel, who sort of
resonates with the fact that his long-lost Lemon is Alfimi's clone's sister ['s
cousins boyfriend's dog's former owner's math teacher.  And stuff.]  Axel comes
to in Eric Wong's lab, and quickly learns that Eric already knows all about who
he is and where's he's from.  Axel is amazed the Cry Wolves have the medical
technology to save him after the beating he took at White Star, but a somewhat
puzzled Eric tells him that he was perfectly uninjured when they pried open the
Soulgain's cockpit, as anyone could tell from the fact he was stark naked.  Not
what Axel remembers in the slightest.  Eric asks him if disrobing is some sort
of Shadow Mirror ritual for the moment of one's death, and certainly doesn't
seem to be lying as such.

Even Axel's clothing was undamaged, folded neatly in a pile next to him in the
cockpit without so much as a fleck of blood.  Eric had rather hoped that he'd
find a female pilot in the Soulgain, especially given all the nudity involved,
and hopes that Axel won't be too embarrassed by all the other male techs who
saw him.  The only thing worrying Axel right now is why Eric saved him at all.
Really, what Eric wanted is the Soulgain, as fodder for a new mech he's
developing to destroy one of his older designs.  He explains to Axel about the
Carnage onslaught, which has made funds for his new mech rather harder to come
by.  Could it be that the Shadow Mirror's ideal of perpetual war has been
carried out by these interlopers?  In any case, Axel will have quite a bit of
time to think from inside solitary confinement, and Eric assures him he'll live
if he just follows instructions.  Axel knows his fight was already supposed to
be at an end thanks to his grievous injuries, and would dearly love to know why
things changed.

Speaking of budgets, Mitall is on the phone with Nibuharu trying to expand his.
The real sticking point is the three missing Flatfish, stolen by persons
unknown while still in their glass vessels.  It seems unlikely to be the work
of the DC or the aliens, and Nibuharu suspects it's someone in league with the
Carnages.  He advises Mitall to watch his step, since this repeated string of
failures is likely to haunt him even if the Carnages won't.  And Steinbeck
absolutely needs Central Project's results for his own plans.  He'd also like
Axel transferred to him, for questioning.

Mitall's reverie is broken by a pinpoint Carnage attack.  Very few of the Cry
Wolves can sortie, so Mitall has Eldy sortie her AI0-based Wendigo 3.  Hugo and
Folio don't like the looks of their new allies: between their bugs and monkeys,
and the enemies' spiders and chameleons, the place is becoming a goddamn zoo.
Albero tells the troops to leave the Carnages to the support troops and
concentrate on the Daggers.  Folio for one isn't about to let some mechanical
monkeys swipe his glory...

 The Carnages get pissed as you kill more and more of their buddies, deciding
 to abandon their rightful mission and make mincemeat out of your troops on
 the spot.  Axel, watching from the sidelines, can't believe that such
 undisciplined troops have access to teleporters.  Wong notes that the
 teleportation only appears possible thanks to those "Dagger" thingies, but
 nobody is sure how they or the Carnage God mecha really work.  There seems
 little logic to when and where the Carnages will show up next, which is
 making it really hard for the Federation army to contend with them.  One
 thing is certain, the Carnages don't care who they fight, and tend to leave
 whole cities in ruins.

Once again, the Carnages go down in smoldering wreckage.  The Wendigo 3's
didn't acquit themselves badly, but it's clear to both Mitall and Eldy that
there's plenty of room for improvement.  Eldy thinks the hardware isn't keeping
up with the software, and hopes that whatever machine AI1 goes into will be far
superior to these... the Etst, perhaps?  Meanwhile, Tis is still fuming about
her troops? basic inability to learn from their mistakes.  At least she's now
found something that could prove useful as a pawn...

Axel has now seen the extent to which the Carnages' version of war differs from
the Shadow Mirror's.  Unlike carefully regulated warfare, this unrestricted
chaos can only destroy.  Then again, maybe it isn't so different after all: is
there any fundamental difference between being rotted by peace and being
destroyed by war?  And if not, what should Axel do with the life so
unexpectedly returned to him?  Alfimi knows!  Axel hears her voice, telling him
an old comrade is nearby.  Said comrade has refused her and can no longer  hear
her words...

Folia REALLY really wants to pilot the Mk.II Custom Type, but Albero has a long
list of reasons why Hugo is the man, including the fact that Folia is still
hung up on glory in battle.  Folia's protests that it's only because he's
Albero's son fall on determinedly deaf ears.  Folia furiously wonders what the
hell would make his father finally recognize his accomplishments.  Hugo walks
in to find him sulking, but before much discussion can result, the sound of an
explosion rips through the base...


18. Unleashed Beast

The explosion has come from the Etst's hangar.  The Etst seems to be trying to
get outside, which should be totally impossible given it's occupant is nearly
dead after undergoing the HCC treatment.  Maybe the Rasmunanium used to
regenerate its body is to blame?  In any case, the strange signal everyone's
been picking up must have foretold this, and the only way to stop outright riot
is to send the Cry Wolves and Wendigos back in, packing HCC rounds in hopes of
recapture.  The smart thing would be to just destroy it, but Mitall isn't going
to let his precious sample go after coming this far.  Eldy agrees with Mitall,
but Eric has seen enough and decides to flee before it's too late.

Axel meanwhile figures out that whatever the blast is, it's come from inside
the base.  He desperately needs to know what's going on, and Alfimi's helpful
voice tells him that it's "something dangerous", or rather, something that's
becoming dangerous.  It seems Alfimi and he can converse two-way, though she
hasn't told him her name outright.  She wants him to use his giant mecha and
pursue a certain something, but their conversation is interrupted by Eric
showing up.  Eric thought he heard a voice, but writes it off to some kind of
prank.  He's got a job for the Shadow Mirror ace...

The Etst reaches the surface, already having evolved slightly from what it was
inside its cage.  Of course Hugo and Folio recognize the Einst "Head", though
Mitall insists it's not an Einst, but an Etst.  He wants you to catch it, but
even killing it seems doubtful given how it's already destroyed the entirety of
B-Block by itself.  Though the order seems insane, Albero reluctantly decides
to follow it, apparently in deference to some kind of "soldiers must always
follow orders" thinking.  Even Hugo isn't satisfied this time around, and as he
and Folio trudge their way to back Albero up, Folio is sure that the once-proud
Wolves have been reduced to nothing but sniveling dogs.

 Tis shows up with troops in tow, impressed at this new Einst[-like] enemy.
 She's planning to watch from the sidelines for a while, but your troops
 expect they've now got two sides to fight on.  Where the hell are those HCC
 rounds again?  Mitall says the warriors will just have to wait longer, and
 Folio has had it.  He isn't interested in being caught in a pincer attack,
 and spits Albero's troop motto of "Figuring out how to live within death"
 back in his face as a mere platitude.  Albero orders Folio to go skulk in a
 corner or whatever he wants to do, but Hugo isn't ready to leave the field
 yet.  He may not be satisfied with Mitall's order, but leaving his commander
 to fight alone is even less appealing.  At this point, Folio will be damned
 if he gets left behind.

 Mitall loves the Etst's power, not being terribly concerned about bringing it
 under control first.  Eldy is a bit more worried when a high-energy reading
 appears, and in no time the "Head" spits out a bunch of Etst lackeys.
 Self-reproduction seems like a great trick until the Etst starts hosing the
 base.  Even Tis thinks the Etst is overdoing it a bit, and there seems little
 hope of those HCC munitions now.  But out of hangar 2 emerges the
 "Mustacheman", fully charged and with its Direct Feedback System all green.
 In fact, the Soulgain is almost *too* well tuned, though Eric pretends to
 know nothing about it.  He offers Axel a deal: defeat the big scary monster,
 and the Soulgain is his to do with as he sees fit.  Axel smiles as he takes
 Eric up on his offer, and Eric sees no reason to attach any further strings
 now that he's got all the data he needs from the Soulgain.

 What Axel wants to know next is where the woman who's been talking to him is
 at.  Alfimi obligingly appears from inside the Soulgain, even copying one of
 Excellen's lines in her faintly anemic way.  Axel realizes that Alfimi is the
 one who cost him his chance to kill Kyousuke, and is understandably upset.
 But Alfimi tells him that the Einsts failed too, just like the Shadow Mirror,
 and it's only thanks to him that she's still around.  Basically, she reached
 out to his thoughts and his mech, and used their power to reconstruct her own
 mech.  With that, healing his body was trivial, just as she once did for
 Excellen.  She now has the thunderstruck Axel's full attention, and tells him
 that she herself is an Einst no longer, thanks to the "power of human will"
 that touched her.  Kyousuke and Excellen, and he are the ones to blame... or
 perhaps to thank.

 Her former comrade too has been changed by humans, into something "he" no
 longer recognizes.  As such, "he", Regisair, must be stopped.  She tells Axel
 that she's fighting not because she has to, but because she chooses to
 freely.  Doing so is how she plans to find where she truly belongs.  Axel
 realizes just how heavy the karma between him and Lemon must be, and informs
 (rather than asks) the Cry Wolves that he's joining the fight on their side.

 Tis then hails him, asking if it's true he's from another world.  Axel is
 catching on quickly that all kinds of people, not just the Carnages, have
 been showing up lately.  She offers both him and Alfimi the chance to return
 to their respective worlds if they help her people open the Gate to the world
 where Duminas is from.  This sounds too good to be true, and Axel asks how
 she means to do it.  Tis mentions two Keys, one of which may be unusable, but
 the other of which (the Wheels of Time) should be ready soon.  Axel knows
 she's talking about the Excellence's Time Stream Engine, and quickly pieces
 together that this Tis might have something to do with the strange weapon
 that messed things up the first time he tangled with Raoul.  As such, he
 turns down Tis' offer, and she cheerfully tells him that she'll spare him the
 pitiful life of a Lost member of this world, by killing him.

 If she can, of course.  Axel and the Soulgain won't make that easy in the
 slightest, and Alfimi is amazed at how the power of Axel's soul imbues his
 machine with strength.  Albero makes the decision to have his people act on
 their own, not to capture the Etst, but to destroy it.  He assures them he
 wasn't blindly following Mitall's orders, and is happy to see that the Etst
 has now been proven beyond all doubt too powerful for humans to control.  He
 also tells Folio that he needs all three of them to work together for any of
 them to come out alive.

 Regisair is producing more friends as the battle proceeds, and things look
 grim until... Shuu appears!  Shuu sounds mildly impressed that Axel survived
 dying in battle, and Axel replies with a smirk that he's simply incompetent
 where perishing is concerned.  Shuu's visit has nothing to do with Axel, but
 rather with Wong, whose old habit of calling him "She-chan" hasn't changed.
 Has Shuu come to kill him? (silence)  Maybe Shuu could lend a hand and wipe
 out the Etst with the Granzon? (silence)  After all, Wong needs to live long
 enough to build a machine capable of destroying the Granzon! (silence)  Hey,
 if it actually works, Wong will fix it for free!  Amazingly to those
 listening in, Shuu agrees.

 Tis can be readily smacked down, but she doesn't leave without a souvenir: a
 Wendigo!

What sucks is that, after all the hacking away, the Etst flees the coop.  Axel
is left to ponder this new, nightmarish creature, as well as the mystery
organization who's after the Time Stream Engine.  This chaos may have been what
he asked for, but doesn't seem to be what he wanted after all.  Alfimi is going
to pursue her wayward comrade, and Axel can't think of anything better to do
but join her until he can better divine what to do with his life.  Alfimi
really appreciates it, admitting that it can be pretty lonely doing her job all
alone.  The two make their grand exit, which is Shuu's cue to vanish as well.
All he'd come to do is see what Wong and friends' experiments had amounted to,
but before he leaves Eric asks if Shuu's really sure he wants to leave Eric
alive.  After all, he knows of Granzon's secret Kabbalah Program.  But come to
think of it, Shuu could have killed him at any time -- which must mean that
Shuu is...  Angsty.  There's no telling if the two will ever see each other
again, but they do bid each other a pretty platonically fond farewell.  Eric
fears that "that day" is coming all too quickly, and that his new mech won't be
in time...

Torchika is pretty much in a shambles, though Folia thinks it probably deserved
it given what the brass have been keeping under wraps.  Folia is also impressed
that Hugo questioned his father's orders, though Hugo smiles and says that
neither he nor their commander has any intention of dying a dog's death here.
Albero comes in just then, congratulating his men on surviving one hell of a
bloody fracas.  That feat was due to all of them acting in concert, and he
tells Folio that the accolades will come naturally for him if he keeps up the
good teamwork.

Mitall is, unfortunately, still alive.  Given the scope of the damage, Central
Project will have to go on "hiatus", and Albero is no longer shy telling Mitall
that it's fault for trying to tame the Etst.  Mitall has orders for Albero's
squad to hunt down the Etst and dispose of it, and he'll even give them both
HCC (immobilizer) and RBE (killer) rounds to do the job.  Albero is extremely
wary of this request, but Mitall clarifies that this time he really does want
the Etst destroyed, not captured.  Given Mitall's smug laughter after Albero
leaves, it looks like this major mess is only about to get worse.


19. Quaking Land

The Carnages are mostly stalemated against Earth's forces, though generals like
Magnus are slowly adding to the Carnages' territory.  Mizal is hoping to take a
measured approach to the invasion given the limited efficacy of the
"Teleportation Stage" and "Teleportation Blade", and his king is far from
impressed.  Duminas' children have far better success with their teleporting,
and Alkeid hates being shown up by their kind.  Instead of asking for help, he
further pressures Mizal to unlock the secrets of the Distant World Gem, which
is tough given it's entirely powered by alien tech.  He can only work on this
from outside the Inner Cloister, and even Duminas herself has said that it
can't be done faster (not that Mizal has actually told Duminas about the Inner
Cloister yet).  Alkeid figures it's time they simply forced the Cloister's door
open, though there's no telling what that might do to their whole fortress.
The last thing the king wants to do is give the Earthlings enough time to
figure out a way around the Distant World Gem's kekkai that's been protecting
the fortress, and Mizal implores him to let him deal with Duminas to speed up
the discovery process.  All Duminas is asking for is Kouta's sister.  With some
reluctance, Alkeid authorizes the deal, instructing Mizal to steal Duminas'
people's teleporters if conditions permit.  That would, in fact, make Duminas'
help unnecessary.

Shouko is to be transferred in three days' time, and Folka is not exactly
thrilled.  He's kept Shouko in the dark about her brother's fate, and has
learned much of her world from their conversations.  He's been wondering if
this world of hers is really suitable to be made another Carnage-scape, and
admits that his once firm resolve is starting to waver.  Is it really right to
steal this world after all?  Altis reminds him that, had not the Carnage lord
led them to this mobile castle, all would have been lost.  If they want to
survive, they've got to make a Promised Land for themselves.  Altis isn't sure
if it's fate or mere coincidence that the castle chose this world to teleport
to, but Duminas knew enough about their arrival to contact them.  As far as
Altis can tell, the only way to survive in this world is to take it all over by
force, just as the Carnage laws prescribe.  Folka has already broken those laws
once.  Altis tells Folka to serve under Magnus' command, of all people, in the
interest of clearing up whatever doubts are lurking inside him.  Altis will use
the Teleportation Blade to try to get him close, but if he doesn't arrive at
the city he's to head there under his own power.  He's not sure what form
Folka's therapy will take, but he'll definitely be watching closely...

The good news for the residents of Magnus' new fiefdom is that he hasn't
completely leveled the city yet.  His soldiers are crawling all over though,
and it takes a concerted effort by Kuro to keep Kouta from getting into a fight
with them.  The random soldier assures Kouta that any more trouble and he'll be
sent to the gallows at once before swaggering off.  Masaki and some others are
actually on recon, and what Masaki's found isn't looking good: every bar and
restaurant is being victimized marauding-pirate style by the occupation forces.
Not just the protestors, but the entire city is effectively being held hostage,
and due to the suddenness of the Carnage raid, the Feds weren't able to lift a
finger.  It doesn't help that an extremely powerful Carnage is rumored to be
lurking around too.  As always, there's no clue as to why the Carnages chose
here in particular to attack.  As the others return to the Kurogane to report,
Kouta decides to linger a while longer and look for info on his sister.

Meanwhile, the massive Magnus finds himself in a good mood, so good in fact
that he's decided to execute some Earthlings, starting with Touma of all
people.  Touma's "crime" was protecting a woman from the depredations of
Magnus' men, and Magnus blubbers that Touma's an idiot for violating the
Carnage statute that the weak are to die.  Touma isn't having it, and his spunk
has impressed the Carnage general.  Instead of simply strangling the kid,
Magnus intends to *squash* him with his uber-mondo Carnage God.  Touma has only
one regret: his life has amounted to nothing more than a string of part-time
jobs.  Kouta can't stand watching the execution from the sidelines, and
prepares to turn into Fighter Roa.  Magnus actually decides to wait three whole
minutes, him being in a good mood and all, and dares anyone to attempt a
rescue.  That someone is Kouta, who reckons that no lard-ass like Magnus
deserves to know his name (despite having given it seconds before -- lucky him
that his opponent is comparably dense).  Roa counsels Kouta to buy as much time
as he can and to avoid provoking Magnus at all costs.

 Magnus soon tries to stop Kouta by threatening Touma's life.  Touma's spirit
 is defiant, but his voice isn't keeping up.  Kouta demands to know where his
 sister is, and Magnus lets slip that she's still alive and at the Swordian.
 In any case, Kouta is out of options, as Roa had easily foreseen.  But
 they've bought plenty of time for Zengar to show up, who REALLY doesn't think
 the perverse, villainous Carnages deserve to know his name... at least, not
 until he's knocked Magnus safely away from the hostages.  The rest of the
 Kurogane crew joins in the fray too.

 Magnus starts to get fed up with how tough your people are, and is about to
 do something or other when Folka teleports in.  Magnus orders him to kill
 your people, and Folka isn't really surprised when Kouta demands to know
 where his sister is.  Even through his rage, Kouta is sane enough to listen
 when his teammates tell him to keep cool enough to actually ferret out clues
 about his sister.  Folka marvels at how your people can fight so hard to
 protect the weak, quite unlike him... But hesitation in battle means death.

 Magnus gets pretty bored with this fight pretty fast (plus he's hungry, no
 surprise there) and leaves things to Folka.  With proper planning, you can
 get the satisfaction of beating Folka's ass like the red-headed stepchild he
 aspires to be every morning.  Folka's waaaay weaker than the last time you
 fought him, but he still has enough gumption to not let it be Za Endo here.
 Kouta wants to pursue, but it's more important that you secure the city and
 tend to the citizenry.  Of course, everyone will bug out before the Feds show
 up, given that the Kurogane is a ninja and whatnot.

Speaking of the Kurogane, it's headed towards Tokyo next in order to have the
Kaiser overhauled at Professor Azuma's request.  Were this not in the middle of
war, Carla would be making a beeline for a giant samba festival held in Asakusa
this time of year.  She's got some sexy moves to show her partner, though as
always Yuu firmly resists her charms.  In any case, after the overhaul, the
next port of call is Tesla for more new armaments.  Every little bit helps
against the Carnages, whose teleportation campaign -- random or otherwise -- is
giving everyone fits.  Now, it's interesting to note that the Carnages have
left all the colonies in space alone, but no one knows what that might mean.

With Hellgate holding silent, your first objective must be wiping out the
Swordian.  Fortunately, Gilliam's working on a plan at Tesla, so you can pick
him up along the way.  It helps that Kouta has come to terms with waiting to
rescue Shouko until said plan is in hand.  He also wants to help take revenge
for Lamia, whose death still hangs heavily over Arad and the other kids.
Latouni at least is keeping busy helping with the new Lightning and Eternal
frames for the Excellence.


20. Flight into the Unknown

Mizal tears into Magnus for letting the humans steal back one of their cities,
and isn't interested in hearing his simpering excuses.  Another failure like
this and Magnus gets demoted, period.  Macis and Mizal are both smart enough to
realize that something must be done about the Kurogane, and its sister ships,
lest they become a major stumbling block later.  Their king, however, is about
half as smart and twice as belligerent -- he actually *wants* his opponents to
be as strong as possible, lest the royal blood thin.  Mizal sniffs that the
number of people in this world actually worthy of facing the king's fists could
be counted on one hand, which gives the king the idea of actually facing *him*
in combat.  Yikes.  Fortunately for Mizal, he's good at kissing ass and
changing the subject, avoiding what is certain to be a gory beatdown.  Instead,
Mizal opts to accompany Shouko to Hellgate, and Altis wants him to take Folka
along.  Folka could indeed prove useful in handling the girl, but Mizal doesn't
trust Folka after his past offense: permitting a fallen foe to live, and
thereby disgracing that foe a hundred fold.  None of which changes the fact
that he's easily the equal of any of the generals in battle... Or is it that
his presence would somehow inconvenience Mizal?  Mizal fears that Altis is on
to him, and Altis wonders what Folka will do when push comes to shove...

Folka, meanwhile, is being schooled in Earth customs by the plucky girl,
including the whole "okaerinasai-tadaima" protocol.  She herself doesn't know
why she's started caring for one of the folks busy invading her world, but at
the moment, her time with Folka is the highlight of her day.  After all, she
knows that he was only following orders when he kidnapped her.  Angst boy knows
he can't adequately apologize, much less break the news to her that she's about
to get sold to an even worse set of captors.  As he ponders Shouko's world,
where the strong strive to defend the weak, he realizes that his past
transgression was impelled by the same idea.  At which point, his path is
clear: to grant Shouko's wish and return her home.

Meanwhile, Mizal is finalizing arrangements with Tis, whose people can now use
the G Thunder Gate.  Duminas suspected that it was somehow connected to the
Compatible Kaiser, and the two seem to be growing in capability together.  The
ultimate plan is to put the G Thunder Gate and the Kaiser together, producing a
Key to open the real Door to Duminas' world.  Tis reminds Mizal how much
trouble he's in if he should actually destroy the Kaiser or the "Wheels of
Time", also pointing out that their deal is off if the Swordian gets any closer
with its kekkai extended.  Mizal's position gets more tenuous yet when one of
the soldiers bursts in with the news that Folka has grabbed Shouko and
teleported off to God knows where.  Tis is all too happy to help recover her,
putting it on Mizal's tab.  Mizal has to think fast who he's going to send in
pursuit, and he quickly comes up with an ideal foe for Folka...

Getting back to Japan required consecutive teleports, and the fact that they
worked out seems to be some kind of divine providence.  Folka is never
returning to his people's fortress, preferring the accounts Shouko has given of
life on Earth.  Really, he's had his doubts all along: Shouko merely gave them
form.  Shouko invites him to come live at her place, promising to explain this
whole mess to her brother and grandfather.  Before that can happen though,
there's the little matter of Fernand and the other pursuers to address.  Alion
is on hand too, and he sounds almost interested in Folka's talk of another kind
of life outside of battle-upon-battle.  Alion styles himself a "free knight",
and thinks that if Folka can actually walk his talk, he might qualify as well.
Fernand is actually pissed that Alion came along, but Alion points out that
part of his being "free" is the fact that nobody told him *not* to come along
either.

As it turns out, Fernand was the foe Folka left alive -- because Folka saw him
as a friend.  Fernand however saw it as nothing other than disgrace, and Folka
figures out quickly that this chat is going nowhere fast.  He's also got a
problem: the Carnage Gods draw upon the life force of their pilots, and anyone
unlucky enough to be in the cockpit.  Shouko will be in danger if the battle
draws on.  She urges Folka to try to find an alternative to fighting if he can,
but at least where Fernand is concerned, no such alternative is available.
Given that, Folka gathers his resolve and gets ready to rumble for real.

 Things get messy fast.  Folka has let Shouko out of his mech so he can fight
 freely, leaving her vulnerable when Alko shows up and grabs her.  Kouta has
 also appeared, but Alion doesn't just let him pass.  Tis is on hand too, and
 peevishly tells Alko to take the girl and scram.  She's got plenty of help on
 hand, and even offers to let Kouta see his sister if he hands the Kaiser and
 armor over.  She won't tell him *why* she wants the loot, and her pleasant
 banter only serves to infuriate him more.  Kouta expects to fight a two-front
 battle, but Roa realizes fast that Folka has turned over a new leaf.

 The Kurogane shows up next round, but there's little time to sort out what's
 going on with Shouko.  The main thing is to keep Tis from getting her hands
 on the Time Stream Engine.  Alion is smart enough to know that the newcomers
 have cast this battle's outcome in doubt, but Fernand thinks it just makes
 for a better chance to prove to the king how awesome he is.

 Alion is very surprised if your people can knock him down to half his HP.
 Ratsel figures that Alion isn't yet an experienced horseman (in reference to
 his mech).  This brings a smile to his face, and he gladly tells you his full
 name.  As a "man who loves justice", he invites you to seek the end of the
 wind any time you'd like to find him.  He bails, leaving Fernand in the lurch
 and Ratsel to muse over the strange Carnage general (pot, meet kettle).

 Before Tis can get banged up too badly, Duminas calls her back to base.  One
 Shouko in the hand is worth two super robots in the bush, is the theory.  Tis
 reluctantly complies, leaving Kouta sisterless once more.  Is he happy? You
 be the judge.

 Fernand digs deep to fight Folka, but Folka can dig even deeper.  Not only
 his fate, but the fate of all the Carnages, is riding on this.

Fernand's plans to ascend to the summit of the Carnages aren't going to work
out at this rate.  Once again, Fernand tells Folka to take his life lest even
more shame be piled on Fernand's name.  And once again, Folka can't bring
himself to go through with it.  Fernand is hysterical, screaming that no one
can escape Carnage law, but Folka isn't having it.  Fernand unsurprisingly vows
to take his disgraced life and use it to end Folka's, and is allowed to flee.

Kouta has plenty to ask Folka, but first he's got to deck him one or he'll
never live it down.  Folka remembers his promise to obey Kouta's wishes, and is
prepared to take the beating like a man, but he's used too much "Haki" in
fighting Fernand and kind of collapses on the spot.  Ratsel does the sensible
thing and has the Carnage God brought on board for maintenance on both it and
its occupant.  They do manage to extract Folka, but in the process Raj and
Mizuho too collapsed.

When Folka awakens, he explains that the Carnage God cockpits are designed to
draw upon "Haki", and anyone besides a Carnage who gets too close will have
their Haki drained too.  Masaki's familiars figure this is something like
Prana, and Folka is astonished that the "byou"s in this world can talk.  Shouko
certainly didn't mention anything about that, which is Kouta's cue to come in
and punch at Folka.  Folka makes no attempt to dodge or block, and even the
wrathful Kouta quickly realizes that pummeling the guy won't bring his sister
back.  His anger turns even further to shock when Folka tells him that he's
abandoned his people, and no longer has anywhere to return to.

Raj has been inspecting the Yaldabout, and doesn't like what he's seen.  It is
indeed a weapon that draws upon its pilot's life force, and given how drained
Folka, a conditioned pilot, was after the battle, it's not surprising that it
would knock the uninitiated on their ass from a distance.  There must be some
limits, or pilots and mechanics would be dropping dead all the time, but it
does seem dangerous for low-vitality folk to approach.  Mizuho has also learned
that the Yaldabout's drivetrain is similar to human musculature, just like the
Valcione and Daizengar.  In addition, it's made out of material similar yet
different to stuff found on Earth, and has limited self-repair capability.  One
other interesting fact is that the Yaldabout seems to have been built far
longer ago than the mass-production Carnage Gods your people have recovered in
their battles: a good three hundred years longer ago.  Even a skeptic like Yuu
notes how similar this is to the Ryuu-Ko-Ou.

Raj guesses that this makes the Yaldabout class a sort of lost technology, that
the Carnages can do no more with than the occasional repair.  All the mass-pro
Carnage Gods show serious signs of simplification or outright omission of some
of the Yaldabout's features.  Raj conjectures further that the Carnages are
actually in the midst of technological _devolution_, as evidenced by how they
can't control the Daggers completely.  One other important fact Raj has
realized is why the Carnage Gods can still move around in the Swordian's
energy-neutralizing field: it's the fact that they run on living energy, not
mechanical.  Unfortunately, all known life support systems would still falter
upon approach, meaning your people still have to figure out either how to
defeat the kekkai, or how to teleport directly inside the Swordian.

Masaki wonders if the Time Stream Engine could help, but Raoul isn't hopeful.
His thinking is that the Time Stream Engine would be better off not existing if
it's going to be the source of conflict, but Raj tells him that such thoughts
are anathema to Science itself.  The fruits of Science are neither inherently
good nor evil: it all depends on who puts them to use.  This perks Raoul up
some, but Raj privately thinks that if they get the Engine to the next phase, a
big decision is going to have to be made about how long to remain in this
world...

News of Folka's defection doesn't go over well at the Flying Demon Palace,
which had a shortage of Overlord-class Carnage Gods to begin with.  Macis
points out that the Carnage Gods choose their pilots, and that they should
consider themselves lucky that the twin Carnage Gods woke up when they did.
Magnus tries to blame Altis for putting weird ideas in Folka's head, but Alkeid
says that the blame is also his for permitting Folka on the mission.  He orders
Altis to kill the traitor and bring his head.  Altis tells Macis that he plans
to settle this with his own hand, meaning that he's effectively written Folka
off.

Duminas is letting Mizal think he's getting a good deal, mainly in the interest
of using the Carnages as a smokescreen.  And in case the Carnages try to use
their fortress to neutralize Hellgate, Tis has a gross little thingie on hand
that should be able to act inside the kekkai.  Raliar meanwhile has fit a new
Master Core to the Bartalls as Duminas ordered, and has begun mass production
of a Wendigo that can integrate to the ODE System.  Tis feels sure things will
work out with the Excellence, and as for the Compatible Kaiser...  They've got </pre><pre id="faqspan-5">
Shouko, currently drugged to keep her from acting out, and the Emy Armor from
"Him".


21. Pure Assassins

Fernand has taken a worse beating than he wants to admit, and figures that he's
been so disgraced that even his brother Altis is tainted.  He wants another
shot, and when Altis says he plans to finish Folka with his own hands, Fernand
dares to question whether he's got the guts.  He's determined to do the job,
even if it means "Deify"ing his mech, a dangerous proposition that has already
cost numerous Carnages their lives and indeed their very souls.  On the other
hand, Altis and Macis have both managed it.  Altis decides to give Fernand his
shot, and Macis isn't interested in contradicting him.  That is, AFTER Fernand
has recovered from his wounds.  Altis thinks that the only way to amass enough
spiritual power for Deification, for either Fernand or Folka, is through
intense battle.  And if Fernand could do it, perhaps Folka could too.  This is
of course what Altis is really after, and he tells Macis that the playing field
will be absolutely level: it's entirely up to the pilots themselves how things
turn out.

Meanwhile, Shouko has settled down, and the Armor is even showing signs of
life.  Tis is irritated that it didn't react to her, and bristles at the
suggestion that her currently-flat chest is to blame.  Duminas himself doesn't
know why Shouko is suitable, only that "He" gave him the Armor and the G
Thundergate.  Assuming that these things really are the Key, it may just be a
mistake that Shouko is compatible, which would make her a very unfortunate girl
in Despinis' eyes.  Tis angrily tells her that their only purpose in life is
granting Duminas' wishes, and prepares to take Despinis along on the next
mission to grab the Wheels of Time.

Folka explains his reasons for leaving the Carnages, including wanting to know
more about this world.  He can't answer Zengar what good that knowledge would
do him, and doubts that the info he's given your side will help much in
defeating the Swordian (given that he doesn't know how the World End Gem or
Dimension  Blade actually work).  Zengar recounts how the Carnage lord
seemingly has no interest in how his fortress works, and the very fact that the
Carnages got hold of that fortress is coincidence.  As is them coming to this
world at all.  The person trying to parse the fortress' tech is Mizal.

As for Folka himself, he wants to leave the Kurogane and seek out his fate for
himself.  Zengar recalls the words of Sakamoto Ryouma, a martyr and pivotal
figure in bringing Japan out of feudalism: "When you die, even be you in a
gutter, fall forward."  For Carnages, death is nothing but a conclusion of
things -- and yet, this quote somehow pierces him to the quick.  Just these few
words make his decision to leave the Carnages behind worthwhile.  Ratsel lets
Folka leave, fairly certain he'll be back on his own.  The real question is
whether Folka's eyes can stand the brilliance of this new way of life he's
found.

Folka is bound for, of all places, Asakusa.  Shouko's descriptions have made
him want to see it again with his own eyes, and he's got someone (he won't say
who) he wants to meet there.  Kouta, being from there, gets saddled with the
assignment of showing Folka the way, and he'll have to put up with a gleeful
Carla too.  Masaki decides to tag along, and before too much time nearly
everyone wants to go.  It's sort of a holiday, and stuff.  As for how to sneak
all this hardware into Asakusa, Kouta says they can use his grandpa's network
of secret tunnels.  Carla gleefully leads the procession off, promising Ratsel
some tasty souvenirs when she returns.

Kisaburou figures Kuro and Shiro must be some kind of robots as he welcomes
everyone to his cramped house, but the hilarity dies out fast when it emerges
that he was one of Vian Zoldark's closest friends.  He relates how he couldn't
see his way clear to participate in the Divine Crusaders, and left the EOTI
well before the war began.  Unfortunately for Masaki, he scarcely saw Shuu
during his EOTI days.  Apparently Vian esteemed Kisaburou's ideals highly
enough to actually let him retire from the secret organization and concentrate
on building the BF Base in Asakusa.  He'll be happy to look at the Excellence
and offer some advice on future improvements.

Kisaburou is most interested in Folka and his Carnage God.  He realizes right
away what Folka must be feeling as he came to seek him out.  He asks Folka to
help Kouta get his sister back, not necessarily by directly fighting the
Carnages, but through whatever means he sees fit.  Especially since that's the
only real way to assuage Folka's regret over kidnapping Shouko in the first
place.  Folka thinks very hard, and agrees, meaning it's time to relax and eat.

Giada and Garnet are waiting for the rest of your people to arrive, and stumble
across Tis and Despinis.  The girls are hanging out incognito, and Tis tells
Giada to buzz off when he asks if they're lost.  Despinis asks Garnet about the
unfamiliar-to-her sight of her large belly, and Garnet tells her that she's
soon to be a mother.  "Mother" to Despinis is synonymous with "Creator" with a
capital C, and Tis hauls her off before the conversation gets any messier.  The
odd encounter is quickly forgotten as Arad and the others arrive.  Giada and
Garnet are doing great, with Garnet's due date coming any day now (one just
hopes the Carnages don't choose then to attack).  Best if your people end the
war, and get Shouko back, before the happy day arrives.

Tis and Despinis reach Kouta's house, planning to weasel their way in based on
their girlish charms and the fact that no one knows what they look like.
Despinis isn't too sure about any of this, but she gets drafted into
deliberately running into Raoul (literally) on the pretext that she's searching
for the place where she's supposed to meet her friend.  Raoul and Mizuho offer
to help her look cause they're nice people, though Raoul finds her name odd and
her voice somehow familiar.  As they walk to the area on her map, Despinis asks
why they're being so nice to her.  Raoul explains that something he helped make
has caused a lot of people trouble, and yet those people have been nothing but
nice to him.  He wants to give a little something back.

They of course find Tis, who is waiting with a weapon.  Despinis apologetically
explains that her mother, her Creator has need of the Time Stream Engine.  Tis
adds that they are "Technity Peides", or homunculi that Duminas created.  Their
childlike forms are, in Tis' view anyway, specifically to put their enemies off
guard.  The girls' only concern is carrying out Duminas' will, and they tell
Raoul to hand the Engine over if he wants to live.  Too bad for her Kouta is on
the scene, and is quick to don the Roa Armor.  The girls respond by summoning
their Occult Robos, and the Kaiser won't be able to launch for some time until
its repairs are done.  Tis can't stand being called a "little brat" by the
likes of Kouta, and would totally try to kill him if he weren't a Key.  As it
is, she'll try to maim him good.  Kisaburou sends the rest of the team
scurrying back to the Kurogane in a bid to help Kouta out, but Folka has a
request first...

 Help is on hand on turn three in the form of Folka, and Raoul in the exposed
 core of the Excellence.  Tis thinks this is her big chance, but more help
 comes the next round in the form of the Hagane squadron.  Kouta rapidly fills
 them in, and battle resumes.

 The Kaiser is ready in a little bit, and assists greatly in teaching the
 little girls a thing or two.  In fact, they start having trouble with their
 teleporter, and it looks like Za Endo might be near.  That is, until some new
 lackeys of Duminas appear.  Roa seems to recognize the new foe, which zooms
 around like nobody's business and knocks the Kaiser on its ass.  This gives
 the girls a chance to escape, and everyone is ordered off in pursuit.  Roa
 has a very bad feeling about this: the mech he sees, and its female pilot,
 are both supposed to have perished long ago...


22. Black Wings of Thunder

Tis isn't happy to be the one being chased for a change, and she's got "her" to
thank for it, turned into a useful weapon in record time.  Raliar tells the
girls to flee while he handles business here, reminding them that they aren't
going to beat the Excellence in their current condition.  Duminas wants to find
out what happens when the G Thundergate and the Kaiser meet in battle, since a
lot of her theories are riding on the outcome.  Raliar deploys some extra mecha
to buy time, and not a moment too soon as the Kaiser and the two battleships
close in.  Ominously, Roa isn't telling Kouta where he recognizes the
black-winged plane from.  There's some brief levity over Kouta referring to Kai
as "sir", but things get serious fast when Ryuusei notices that the mystery jet
resembles the Kaiser in a lot of its detailing.  If he squints hard enough, and
imagines that it were colored red, he imagines it would be the "Crimson Wing"
and actually combine with the Kaiser or something.

Raliar greets your people, another "homunculus" in the tradition of European
alchemy, or some such.  He certainly "sounds" innocent enough when he implores
your people to let him and the girls go.  You shouldn't forget, though, that he
and the crew were responsible for the mess at Hellgate, not to mention Lamia's
death.  Raj realizes that a nice guy like Raoul may have trouble with an
nice-seeming foe like this, and figures that the really scary adversary is
Duminas himself, for sending kids like this into battle.

 Whatever Raliar is hoping for upon contact between the G and Kaiser doesn't
 happen immediately.  He marvels at how the G's pilot hates Kouta - what is
 their relationship, anyway?  He also beefs at Raoul, saying that if he'd just
 have handed over the Time Stream Engine, none of this mess would be
 happening.  Raoul is, understandably, not having the bullshit.

 About the best Raliar can do is buy a little time before bugging out.  Your
 people would love to pursue further, but several of your mecha, including the
 Excellence, are technically in the middle of maintenance...

Ratsel has summoned Kisaburou to come onboard the Kurogane, the very figure of
the sort of mecha-building grandpa types Mai sees in all Ryuusei's anime.  Rio
recommends Ryuusei keep his proselytizing in check unless he wants Aya to yell
at him, or more likely start crying.  Meanwhile, Kisaburou is glad to see that
the little crybaby Irm he looked after for his old friend Jonathan has grown up
to be such a fine man.  Irm bundles the eminent scientist and his grandson off
to the bridge before too many embarrassing stories get told, and Ryuusei tells
Mai he'll ask Latouni about her idea.  After all, it worked wonders in the
past.

Kisaburou's brought goodies for everyone to eat, but little else of good news.
He knows nothing about the new black fighter aircraft, and neither does Folka
beyond the fact it's not of Carnage origin.  Kouta says that Roa does seem to
know something about it, but he's been in some kind of deep shock since
glimpsing the fighter and hasn't said a word since.  That piques Kisaburou's
interest -- it seems Kaiser has some sort of attachment point on its back.  He
made sure it's in working order, but there's no clue what's supposed to connect
to it... until now.  Ryuusei is a *GENIUS*.  Kisaburou isn't _certain_ what
such a gadget would be doing in the hands of the enemy, attacking you, but he
does recall Roa telling him of a mortal enemy that travels across dimensions,
looking for new worlds to dominate.  You can rule out the Carnages and Duminas
being that nefarious being, since neither side had run into the other before...
though it's possible Duminas has had some kind of dealings with that enemy.
Folka also says that Duminas is the one who wanted Shouko all along: Mizal and
he were just hired help.  In fact, Folka tried to let Shouko escape before she
could be transferred to Hellgate, but we all know how well that went.

Anyway, if she's in Hellgate, it should mean that your mecha can be used to
stage an assault, and this time Kouta has no plans to go it alone.  And since
it seems Duminas and the Carnages aren't one monolithic foe, perhaps you can
play them off against each other.  Tetsuya will have to placate Kenneth, but
it's likely he'll be able to accompany the Kurogane to Tesla for some further
strengthening of the troops.  When the time comes to invade Hellgate, you'll
have to go in all guns blazing.  Kisaburou still has work to finish in Asakusa,
and Garnet and Giada to look after, but he'll send the plans for servicing the
Kaiser to Jonathan.  And when Kouta returns to Asakusa in triumph with his
sister, Kisaburou promises a truly extravagant sushi feast.  As for Tetsuya and
crew, they'll have to postpone visiting Daitetsu's grave until after the
operation is over, which Tetsuya assures Kenneth will succeed.

The idea Ryuusei had is for a combo attack between the R-1 and ART-1, which of
course come from similar lineage.  It's a good idea, but when he tries to get
Latouni's input, Latouni suffers a fit of jealous sorrow that Mai gets to do
the pattern with Ryuu, and runs off...

Raliar relates what happened between the Emy Armor and the Kaiser: namely, not
a lot.  The interesting thing was the level of animosity Shouko displayed,
which has to have come from her Armor given that her own consciousness is being
suppressed.  Duminas had been sure the Kaiser and G Thundergate were originally
one, but now isn't so sure.  Even Duminas himself hasn't been given much
information by her benefactor, and she begins to seriously puzzle over why she
was created in the first place.  Perhaps her Creator no longer needs her?
Well, at least Duminas' kids still need her.  Duminas is resolved in any case
to open the Gate and reach her Creator, to have her questions answered.


23. Channeling Thoughts Through Fists

There's some serious shaking going on deep inside the Swordian, which could
either mean it's about to break down entirely, or maybe teleport everyone to
yet another world.  It hasn't escaped the Carnage generals that Mizal hasn't
made much progress in understanding how their home works, and Altis even offers
to take over the task of figuring it out... if Mizal would let him, of course.
Mizal once again tries to twist things around and blame Altis for the Folka
incident, but nobody but him seems to be buying it entirely.  Alkeid gives him
one more month to figure out how things work.  Otherwise, he's going to break
down the door to the Inner Cloister by force.  That prospect at least fills
Mizal with much dread.  Meanwhile, Duminas has realized that the only way to
figure out how the G Thundergate and Kaiser relate is to have both in her
hands.  She instructs her kids to slowly whittle away at the rest of your
warpower, using "her" as a shield.

The Hagane has made its way to the rendezvous point, and receives news that the
Hiryuu-Kai will be about three hours late due to dealing with a group of
suspected DC holdouts.  With the Federation distracted, conditions seem right
for them to act.  While you wait, Viletta brings Ryuusei's idea to the captain.
Ryuusei meanwhile is fretting over Latouni's reaction, wondering if it's
something he said.  Irm says that it's not his fault, but rather the workings
of the female heart, and won't explain any further.  Viletta brings word that
the captain approved his plan, but he's only got an hour to try things out.
Aya simply asks Ryuusei not to fill Mai's head with any unnecessary poses or
shouted phrases.  Though he's having fun preparing for this new move, Ryuusei
and the rest of the crew know how deadly serious the outcome will be when you
confront Hellgate and the Swordian.  With promises from Ryouto to help out if
any trouble arises, Ryuusei heads out.

Meanwhile, Latouni has been confiding in some of the girls about the situation.
Arad and Raoul enter the cafeteria and ask what the girls are all gathered
together about, and get summarily bundled off to have lunch somewhere else.
Latouni regrets very much how she acted, and gets the advice that she ought to
just act normal the next time she and Ryuusei see each other, especially on the
theory that Ryuusei has no clue what's really going on.  As for an opportunity
to patch things up, Carla claims to have just the thing...

Ryuusei and Mai reach the exercise zone, a deserted island for just the two of
them.  Mai is now feeling sorry for stealing a march on Latouni, but before
there's too much angst, Multa and some goons show up.  As usual, he's spoiling
for a fight and wants to get in as much quality bloodshed as possible before
rejoining Lorenzo.  Mai doesn't like the thought of fleeing while Ryuusei holds
the bad guys off here, and Ryuusei agrees that they can fight together until
help arrives.  By Ryuu's reckoning, they've got to hang on for at least seven
turns until the Hagane could make it here.

 As usual, Multa doesn't care that he shouldn't be fighting other humans.  All
 he wants is to duel the strongest foes he can find.

 Chiseling away at Multa doesn't seem to be working too well to Ryuu, and he
 tells Mai to get ready for their new combo move.  Unfortunately, Ryuusei is
 not the master of motion calculations, and Multa is able to break the move up
 before they can execute.  Fortunately, Latouni shows up and distracts Multa
 long enough for Ryuusei to get new programming Latouni herself made for them.
 Multa is sure he can defeat whatever is coming, but he's always been
 something of a moron.  Multa gets the indignity of being gaffled down by
 women and children, and Ryuusei proudly unveils the name of the new attack
 the *three* of them came up with: "Tenjou Tenge Nendou Rengeki-Ken" ("Heaven
 and Earth Telekinetic Serial Punch").  Seems that all is patched up on the
 interpersonal front.

 There's still Multa to worry about though, but a lot of help arrives in the
 form of the Hiryuu-Kai's detachment.  They have no idea what Multa is doing
 here, but figure he needs to be taken out fast.  "Fast" gets slowed down a
 bit when Duminas teleports in a bunch of Bartalls, a type of mecha your
 people now thoroughly hate.  Do be sure to shoot them all down too.

 This becomes easier when the Kurogane shows up.  Everyone who sees the
 Bartalls gets all pissed off anew.  It quickly becomes apparent that Duminas
 has taken over the Bartall production facilities, and figured out some way to
 replace the Master Core.  The plan now is to wreck all these mecha AND the
 entirety of Hellgate itself.

Once again Multa is miserably inadequate, though he doesn't seem to get tired
of trying to mess with your troops.  Zengar tells everyone that there's no need
to try to pursue Multa: your main objective for now is Duminas and co.
Everything seems to be going okay until a Valcion Custom appears, with a
certain familiar silhouette in the cockpit...


24. Doll Master

The Valcion you're facing is designed for space combat, and presumably came
from the same Hellgate assembly line that made all those Bartalls.  The pilot
can't be Jurgen, who Duminas herself shot.  A couple of your crew could guess
who's aboard, but even if they're right it wouldn't avert the fracas to come.
The Valcion has a lot more ODE buddies along, though Radha can't tell if that
makes the Valcion the new master core, or merely one more puppet.  Excellen is
worried that Kyousuke won't keep his cool against these foes, and gets more
worried still when he assures her he's fine.

 The bad guys' motion data strongly resembles Lamia's, and Kyousuke is sure
 the enemy isn't doing it just for psychological warfare.  What Excellen fears
 is that the motions reflect more than the best combat data the enemies have
 to date -- and Mai senses something close to a human mind inside the Valcion.
 Kyousuke is quick to cut off speculation about whoever the biological core
 is: far better to force the opponent to show his cards then to lose while
 second-guessing them.

 Pile on enough damage and the Valcion will stop, eerily still.  Suddenly, a
 transmission comes in, from Lamia!  She's all green and glowy, but professes
 to be Lamia Loveless, W17, in the flesh.  Kyousuke frowns alarmingly when he
 hears her say "W17", sick to death of people who keep imitating the voice and
 likeness of his fallen comrades.  He's not the only one who noticed that the
 "real" Lamia would never refer to herself as W17 anymore.

 She explains that "lord" Duminas salvaged and repaired her after the beating
 she took, and that her memories of the time she spent with your team are
 fully intact.  If so, why's she hanging out with Mr. Big, Floofy and
 Sinister?  Apparently she had a revelation, feeling once again that she's
 truly an alien influence on this world -- and quite possibly an influence for
 chaos and mistakes.  She can't afford to be by your side, and is very happy
 to at least have seen you again.  She thinks that a way for the world could
 be found if all of you were to hang up your flightsuits, but instead you all
 keep battling to protect that which you hold dear, to "lead the world into a
 peaceful future" as the propagandists would have it.  She remembers learning
 those lessons well under your tutelage.  Unfortunately, your results are the
 same as the Carnages: a world more disordered than before you found it.

 What precisely, Ratsel asks, is this "order" she speaks of.  Lamia pauses,
 and slowly says that "order" is a world without "error", and even more slowly
 that the "Creator" knows the "truth".  She adds, not too steadily, that your
 crew must be destroyed so that Duminas can receive her answer.  Kyousuke's
 heard enough, and plans to simply wipe the Valcion out as partial reparations
 for his inability to save Lamia back when.  But then the scientists chime in:
 Duminas may well have repaired Lamia's body, given she's got enough
 technology to create those homunculi from scratch.  Having her contact you
 seems likely to be another of Duminas' tricks, and Raj even doubts that
 Lamia's actual body is in this Valcion.  Lamia counters that it doesn't
 matter where her real body is, only where the answer is that Duminas seeks.
 Consider that well, she says, and abruptly teleports away.

Well, that gave the crew a lot to think about, such as why the hell can't the
Universe just let Lamia rest in peace.  [There is the literary axiom that the
more the writers love a character, the more that character suffers.  But I'm
not supposed to say that out loud.]  Oddly enough, this is the time for Raj and
his jaundiced rationality to shine.  He explains to your people that whether or
not Lamia is actually alive, Duminas is clearly trying to manipulate the strong
feelings you have about her to her advantage.  Given your current lack of
information about whether Lamia really is alive, and if so her whereabouts,
it's ill-advised to rush to her rescue.  Yuuki's trademark frown is firmly in
place as he says that Raj has a point: surely Duminas noticed how you acted the
last time you stormed Hellgate.  Why wouldn't she try to turn that back against
the team now?  Tasuku notices an interesting wrinkle in the fact that the
Valcion pulled out midway through the battle.  If Duminas' goal really was just
wiping you out, she could have staged one of Raj's scenarios, feigned machine
trouble, and let you bring a "Lamia" (real or otherwise) rigged to explode on
board.  His instincts tell him that something in the way Duminas talks and acts
that doesn't add up.

Elsewhere, Kachina is playing sounding board for Kyousuke, whose standard "all-
in" mentality is nowhere to be seen on the question of if Lamia is really alive
and can really be saved.  He tells her that anything which causes confusion in
battle can easily be fatal, as your people learned the hard way back at
Hellgate the first time.  Kachina suggests that he take his time to look over
the cards he's just been dealt before resolving how to bid.  But when the chips
are down, he'd damn well better decide between saving Lamia or putting her out
of her misery once and for all.  As she walks off, Excellen says that it's just
like the volatile pilot to put things that bluntly.  Blunt perhaps, Kyousuke
says, but there's a ring of truth in that final statement.  When he failed to
save Lamia the last time, the result seems to have been her getting pulled back
into another dirty scheme, as someone else's puppet.  After a little more
thought, Kyousuke tells Excellen his decision...

Meanwhile, Rai doesn't sound thrilled with the name of Ryuu's new combo attack.
When pressed, he offers "Galaxy Phantom Explosion" as an alternative, which is
pretty darn cool for Rai's normally dry naming sense.  Ryuusei thanks Ryouto
for his help in making the pieces fall into place, and is really glad the SRX's
team is even more effective than before.  They'll need to be, in order to
pulverize Hellgate and get Lamia back.  He knows very well that there could be
traps and pitfalls along the way, but he's also sure there must be ways of
avoiding them.  Even Rai can agree with that.

Ratsel is going to be sending the Kurogane off on a separate mission, including
fulfilling a request by Gilliam.  He hopes that by dividing your forces, you
can divide the brunt of the assault from Duminas' forces, and also solidify
your supply lines some.  Ratsel himself, and Zengar, will be staying aboard the
Hagane.

Raliar reports to Duminas that Lamia acted exactly as ordered.  No signs of her
real personality resurfacing so far, but he wonders if Duminas really should
have left her memories intact.  Duminas gently chides the kid and reminds him
that she's trying to goad your team into making the same mistake again.  Lamia
would be useless as bait if she simply overwrote everything.  Raliar finds
himself feeling somewhat sorry for Lamia as things currently stand, which
Duminas thinks is natural given that how Raliar was conditioned...  Meanwhile,
Despinis is all telling Lamia that the kids can't die until Duminas' wish is
fulfilled and they all return to WHERE THEY BELONG.  She asks Lamia to PROTECT
them until that day comes.  Gosh, you don't suppose Raliar's worries about
something in Lamia's memories helping her consciousness to return have any
*basis in fact*, do you?  Actually, Lamia's deep AI attempts a self-scan and
repair on the spot, but the impetus isn't quite strong enough and the
self-repair halts.  Scary stuff, if you're one of the people trying to use
her...

Inside the Swordian, Mizal has Alko stand guard while he goes before the door
to the Inner Cloister.  The terminal there seemingly can't open the door, and
unless he wants the king to go on the warpath, his only option seems to be
enlisting Duminas' help.  He notices two familiar codes crossing the screen:
"Radi Es Radius 4" and "Wisdom of the Dark".  Damned if he knows what they
mean.


25. Unbreakable Hearts

New goodies are arriving at Tesla, having been under "royal" guard for the
trip.  The guards include Ibis, whose ability to eat sweets nonstop and never
get fat amazes Princess Shine.  She's brought a new Fairlion for Latouni, and
wants to help out in the coming battles at Hellgate and the Swordian.  Her
kingdom is well protected after the hard lessons of the last two wars, and
hasn't actually suffered any Carnage incursions at all.  The young princess is
well aware that this mission may be even more dangerous, but is resolved to end
the fighting quickly lest things get any worse.  Ibis, who can't seem to stop
wolfing down strawberry tarts, reminds the princess a bit sheepishly that
there's plenty of people who will be awaiting her safe return.

The goodies include the Huckebein Mk.I, the Mk.III Type-R (with Tronium Engine
no less!) and the Biltbilgar Type L.  Mao herself isn't among them, opting to
stay at HQ in Olrean in case the Carnages try something there.  Unfortunately,
the "EX" didn't make it, due to the immense challenge of just assembling all
the necessary parts.  Kirk explains to Celcia that the EX fell somewhere
between the Mk.II and Mk.III, designed before the Inspector Incident to help
develop the AM Boxer and AM Gunner.  It got shelved for various reasons, and
resembles the other Huckebeins in neither name nor appearance because, at the
time it was made, the SRX Project was officially on hold -- have to deceive the
brass somehow.  Kirk and Marion have reviewed the plans for the new Excellence
frames, and Marion isn't happy with the Lightning.  She thinks it can't exploit
the full power of the Time Stream Engine unless the throttle is tightened up
and made more responsive.  Robert weakly protests that they're not talking
about the Alt or Bilgar series, and Marion irritably tells him that if he's
going to fortify the armor, he needs to go all the way in making a close-in
monster.  It's not like they're building some kind of luxury sedan or
something.  She demands to see the actual mech, and threatens to cram a bearing
or two down Robert's mouth if he keeps talking back to her.

Elsewhere on base, a team of eminent scientists is drawing a big fat donut when
it comes to analyzing the Choukijin.  Even given the fact they've assimilated
parts of a modern robot, the facts remain that a) many of their systems are
still beyond current science, and b) the machines are actually sentient.  From
that last point, Eri cannot authorize outright dismantling them.  Instead, she
has the crew shift to servicing the mecha of the incoming battleships.
Meanwhile, Kusuha has asked Brit to start training her in swordsmanship, her
interest spurred by the fact that the Ryuu-Ko-Ou wields a sword.  For that
matter, Brit himself has been studying the nunchaku.  Kusuha thinks that
mastering the same type of weapons will permit them an even tighter bond with
the Choukijin, wondering why a non-weapon user like her was selected by the
Dragon Lord.  Brit conjectures that it's because the Ryuu-Ko-Ou's attacks are
mostly mystical in nature, which suits her personality.  In fact, Kusuha has a
theory about why the Choukijin are still hibernating: perhaps it's because
their mission is *not* over, and instead they're building up their strength.

Brit ponders this a moment, then proclaims that maybe it's time to go out on
the town and do some shopping, with the last bit of free time they'll have
before the other battleships arrive.  Kusuha goes off to take a shower, and
Rishuu observes that Brit is getting better with women.  What's got Brit
worried is that Kusuha's study of swordsmanship isn't because she wants to
follow the Way of the Sword as such.  He feels he's not the right one to teach
her, and asks Rishuu to tutor her in his stead.  Rishuu answers that what
Kusuha really needs to learn can come from only one person: Brit.  He adds with
a hearty guffaw that he'll be happy to give Brit pointers on LUVINGS.  Rishuu
muses that Kusuha is one fine woman, more like his departed wife than anyone
might suspect.  In any case, there's nothing wrong with Brit further improving
his skills, and tells Brit to head outside for more practice while Kusuha's
busy taking a bath.

The upshot of all the brainpower gathered at Tesla is the discovery of a way to
defeat the Swordian's kekkai.  Marion says that the concept itself is as simple
as Columbus' little trick with the egg.  There are two big problems: how to
analyze the system, and how to fix the coordinates.  The latter problem can
probably be solved with input from your new Carnage friend.  The scientists
will be split into three teams: one for analyzing the special properties of the
system, one for handling command & control, and one for handling propulsion.
There's also the "minor" issue that the item in question isn't at Tesla, since
the Carnages have never attacked.

Two of the scientists on the Choukijin team are fretting over their lack of
progress when *something* bad befalls one of them...  Said person wanders
around zombie-like and runs into Kusuha.  His babblings quickly take a menacing
turn: he plans to taste the spiritual powers of the one selected by the
Choukijin.  He tries to immobilize Kusuha, and Brit arrives in the nick of
time.  He spies a tendril extending from the man's back and snaking off down
the hall.  The guy plans to devour both the Espers' flesh and souls, and erupts
into a mass of tentacles.  [And here you thought this wasn't that kind of
anime...]

That something bad is happening becomes quickly clear to everyone, when the
Choukijin break free of the lab and head to the surface.  They quickly dispatch
the current batch of tentacles, but their wary gaze lets Brit and Kusuha know
they're not out of the woods yet.  The thing stuck into the scientist's back
seemingly retracted, which probably means that the main body is somewhere
nearby.  On a nearby hill appears something akin to an ancient Chinese warrior
(but MUCH taller).  As Gilliam prepares to sortie, Kusuha tells Brit that
they've got to keep this thing away from the base: she knows from when it
touched her that it's capable of draining human energy.

 The strange foe goes down easily at first, but resurrects and delivers a
 crushing counterattack.  The two pilots are okay, but the Sonic Javelin is
 out of commission.  After a moment, Kusuha asks Brit to trade places with
 her.  The Dragon Lord told her that the ground of this place has been changed
 into a reservoir, and he and the Tiger Lord agree that the Ryuu-Ko-Ou is
 better suited (though the Tiger Lord seems a bit irritated).

 Gilliam still hasn't launched, and you get word of mass-production Carnage
 Gods headed your way, not by teleportation, but by conventional means.
 Kusuha has also figured out that mystical power alone can't catch up to the
 foe - what should she do?  Well, the Carnages get through the defense system,
 and decide to participate in the festivities here before reporting in to
 Magnus.  Fortunately, reinforcements are close at hand.  Rishuu tells Brit to
 leave the Carnages to him, and thinks that this is Kusuha's trial: she's got
 to figure out through this battle what she really needs.  Gilliam also
 realizes that if the Carnages aren't using Daggers, it means that the main
 force must be near.

 Mystical stuff continues not to work at the rate the enemy regenerates, and
 Brit yells for her to use the Hazan-Ken, faster and stronger than the enemy
 can withstand.  She fears that it won't work and that the sword will break,
 but Brit reminds her that that's why he and the Choukijin themselves are
 here.  Brit will watch her back -- she just needs to look forward.  That
 cinches it: what she needs isn't an unbreakable sword, but rather an
 unbreakable heart.  Just as Rishuu predicted.

The enemy bugs out after enough pounding, and everyone returns to base.  Brit
immediately gets plied with Kusuha's patented health drink, and either she made
it mild on purpose or he's starting to get accustomed to its fearsome
side-effects.  Kusuha asks Brit to continue training her with the sword: she's
now sure that the Choukijin are steeling themselves for something.  She wants
to do the same, and Brit agrees to be her teacher.  IN WHAT EXACTLY, bursts in
Excellen, but the levity is short-lived.  News of Lamia's fate is suitably
shocking to the Choukijin pilots, but Kyousuke's fretting has led him to regard
"Lamia" appearing among the enemy as a chance for your side.  He warns Brit
that the odds are REALLY really bad this time of actually recovering Lamia, but
Brit's willing to follow wherever Kyousuke's resolve leads.  Kusuha and the
Choukijin will be along too.

Shine is glad to see Rai again, and even gladder to bring some new firepower
for her and Latouni to use.  Celcia offers to fine-tune the synchronization of
the two mecha while Latouni gets what rest she can, well integrated and still
slightly in awe of the pool of scientists here at Tesla.  All the pieces are
assembled, and the build-up to the assault on the main enemy strongholds can
begin.

As for the strange foe you just fought, Eri calls it a "Youkijin", one of the
ancient enemies of the "Choukijin" according to ancient writings.  She
theorizes that it might be the same type of entity as the Choukijin themselves,
only turned to evil.  All the Youkijin were supposedly destroyed in the ancient
"Kijin Wars", and there's no way yet to know why some have revived now.  What
you do know is that you'll need all the help you can get with tuning up and
improving your mecha to fend them off - which means hanging out at Tesla for a
while.  And as for breaking into the Swordian, you aren't going to break the
kekkai, just teleport inside it using the same Daggers that the Carnages use.


26. Romp of the Mechanical Gods

Duminas is quizzing the wearer of the Emy Armor about her Creator, who she
figures the Armor must have seen.  Why was she and the G Thundergate entrusted
to Duminas?  What is its purpose?  The figure makes no answer, except to say
that it must destroy Fighter Roa.  The questioning is going nowhere slow, and
Tis thinks that this figure is much like Lamia: a mere puppet.  It can after
all get away with whatever the writers say, and everyone loves it [;)].
Duminas orders the figure to make contact with the Kaiser once again, and if
possible capture it.  The figure wants to *destroy* the Kaiser, not capture it,
but Duminas says that that must not happen... at least until the door is opened
to wherever the Creator is.  Oookay, fine.  Duminas sends Tis and the crew off
to spectate, desperately hoping that *something* will happen when the Armor and
the Kaiser meet.  As for the Time Stream Engine, Duminas has a plan that
involves Raliar accompanying some of Mizal's men to a certain location.

Magnus' men report spotting your battleships to him, and BOY does he think he's
in luck.  Who cares that his teleport failed given he's this close to his prey.
Magnus thinks he can take Zengar's head before Altis will even get here, making
a nice warm up to executing Folka.  He orders his men to think of a way to draw
Zengar out.

Maintenance continues at a fever pitch, and Jonathan has to keep shooing people
away from the Yaldabout.  Poor Eri got too close and already had to get hauled
off to the infirmary, where Kusuha and her beverage will nurse her back to
health(?).  Apparently Eri noticed some similarities between the Carnage Gods
and the Choukijin, but Marion could care less about hardware that old.
Instead, she's been working on powering up the Lightning frame, and Raj doesn't
see any point in complaining about the unauthorized mods.  After all, he did
plan to come to Tesla for assistance all along.  Robert asks about the
difference between the classical super robot lines of the Lightning and the
more feminine style of the Eternal frame, and Mizuho explains that Excellence
#1 was originally supposed to be piloted by Raoul's twin sister Fiona.  Raj
notes that Fiona was lost in an accident involving the Time Stream Engine,
proving how dangerous it is.  He'll allow the other scientists to mess with the
exterior frames, but wants them to keep their hands off the powerplant itself.
As he stalks out, Marion sniffs that she wasn't planning to fiddle with the
engine anyway.

Raj is rather frustrated with the lack of progress in perfecting the Engine,
and really does want to get out of this world sooner rather than later.  Mizuho
isn't so eager, feeling a sense of attachment to both the world, and to the
people who took them in despite their alien origins.  She asks Raj if he feels
the same, and after a pause Raj says that he doesn't want a repeat of the
previous tragedy.  Just then a Donald Roswell comes over with a question about
the engine.  Raj insists on being part of the conversation...

The planned assault on the Swordian is based on info from Folka about the
Swordian's internal structure.  There are plenty of spaces that the Carnages
don't even use, and that's where Gilliam plans for you all to teleport to.
You'll just have to hope that the Swordian is stationary when you try the
teleporation...  The missing ingredient is a Dagger, which you're going to have
to go out and grab.  Far from the most definite plan you've ever had, but maybe
it's time to turn the Carnages' random invasions against them.  Apparently the
Carnages found the Daggers inside the Swordian, and don't have a way to
replenish their finite supply.  They do have three areas inside the Swordian
called Teleportation Platforms which can also do the trick, but the Carnages
don't know how to control them well and hence their accuracy is really bad.
While explaining, Folka is startled by Princess Shine, thinking she must be
mighty indeed to hold such a title at such a tender age.  In any case, your
team will be organized to maximize chances of stealing at least three Daggers,
with Folka and Kouta at point.  Zengar will be among those sortying too, but
Jonathan needs a word with him first...

For a change, the Carnages are staying hidden, and no one has any good ideas
for how to lure them out.  Unless you do, it's going to be mighty hard to break
into the Swordian.  It's not immediately clear why Masaki was paired up with
Folka and Zengar, but all conversation gets cut short when the Carnages show
up.  Given that they're not using Daggers, Zengar orders the others to lure the
main force here.

 The first wave is pretty puny, but then Magnus pops out of the sea with a
 surprisingly clever plan.  His aim is the Zankan-Tou, which he breaks with a
 crushing show of force.  It appears that Zengar and friends are in trouble as
 a new wave of bad guys appear, and Zengar does indeed compliment his
 overweight assailant on a good plan.  However, Zengar also has sealed within
 his mech another weapon, and now is the time that the seal be broken.  Magnus
 protests that he wasn't informed of this, and in fact no one was, since
 Zengar never mentioned it.  The scientists have really outdone themselves
 with the "Guardian's Sword", and it's time for Zengar to really lay the wood
 to Magnus.

 In due course, the main Carnage force, Daggers included, show up.  Leading
 the way is Fernand, acting on Altis' orders to kill Folka.  Folka is prepared
 for this, but unfortunately Fernand is so bent on vengeance that he destroys
 the Daggers, his way back, as a show of resolve.

 Magnus berates Zengar for having a hidden weapon, which is definitely the pot
 calling the kettle black.

 Fernand is too stupid to just die, and instead tries to Deify his mech,
 giving all his Haki in return for his mech to be reborn as a true god.  This
 fails miserably, so he insists on battling Folka as he is.  Which fails even
 more spectacularly miserably than before!  Why... can't... he... win?
 Excessive ellipses perhaps?  Anyways, screwed _completely_ if not for Mizal
 ordering Magnus to drag Fernand's sorry ass back to base.  Interestingly,
 Mizal tells Magnus not to let Altis know, in return for forgiving Magnus this
 current failure.

Perpetual underdog Ibis can sort of understand where Fernand is coming from,
but if he insists on trying to steal your world, she'll have no choice but to
put him down like the whipped dog his mother hoped he'd be.  You can't rest yet
though: Ryuune radios in to say that she's under attack by a group of Bartalls.
Excellen and Kyousuke know what that means: the time has come to face Lamia, in
what is probably your very last chance to save her.


27. Back to Where I Belong (part 1)

Kouta and the crew have certainly caught something by being the bait, but it
wasn't exactly what they hoped for.  Raoul abruptly realizes that he's reached
the exact same spot in this world, where he teleported from on the Other Side.
This is sort of the same place that Fiona vanished, but there's little time to
fret over that now...

 Tis, Despinis and the black fighter jet show up in short order.  Kouta is
 starting to get sick of Roa remaining quiet, and he knows that Roa can see
 this since he's already transformed.  Meanwhile, the Emy Armor wearer growls
 that she's going to catch the Kaiser this time, and then...  Some kind of
 resonance begins between the two mecha, and Tis thinks that she's on the
 money this time.  Despinis is worried about something befalling the G, but
 Tis is sure that her two insurance policies will keep everything safe.  Raoul
 shouts to Kouta that they're seeing the same phenomenon that he saw the last
 time he was "here": fighting the black Armor is too dangerous.  Kouta says
 there's no time to avoid fighting it, so Raoul tells him at least not to
 totally shoot it down, in case it really is part of the Kaiser.  Well, it's
 the enemy for now, so you'd better be careful...

 Tis and Despinis won't interfere as you chisel away at the black armor.
 That's just as well, since as the battle progresses the resonance gets worse,
 extending to the Excellence too.  The Time Stream Engine's output is rising
 all by itself, and Raoul sensibly thinks he should retreat...  And that he
 should *not* retreat in the interest of protecting his friends.  One of these
 options is wrong.  As the resonance gets stronger still, something seems
 wrong with the Emy Armor's pilot: could it be that there's enough power here
 to overthrow Duminas' mind control?

 Sure enough, as things proceed even further, Kouta loses control of the
 Kaiser entirely.  Raoul is sure there's about to be an unplanned
 teleportation, but there's little he or anyone else can do about it now.
 Finally, Roa speaks up and tells Kouta that everything is going to be all
 right.  Suddenly appearing is... another Excellence!  Inside is Fiona, who
 seems to be groggy but alive.  Roa tells Kouta that the resonance between the
 Kaiser and G Thundergate momentarily opened the Gate.    Tis is overjoyed,
 but Despinis implores her to pull the G back before they lose it completely.
 Kouta, able to move once more, is about to shoot it down when Despinis yells
 at him that his sister is on board it.  It all makes sense to Roa now, and in
 Kouta's confusion Emy gets to flee.  Tis giggles in glee, but her plans to
 snag the Excellence with her new Wendigos come to an abrupt halt, thanks
 to...

 ...Axel and Alfimi of all people!  They're in hot pursuit of the Etst, but it
 seems Fate has other ideas for now.  Of course both of them are supposed to
 be dead or something, but hey...


28. Back to Where I Belong (part 2)

Tis isn't happy to see Axel and Alfimi here, and Raoul isn't too sure about it
either.  If it makes him feel any better, Axel has given up on the Time Stream
Engine, no longer necessary since the Shadow Mirror's defeat.  So why's he
here?!  To see where this world, ravaged by war, will end up, of course.  Axel
also points out that all these different parties with all their different means
of teleportation have ended up at the same world.  Coincidence?  That's what
Axel really wants to find out, since he was denied the opportunity to lay down
his life as he had originally seen fit.  Alfimi is here for much the same
reason, mutually indebted to Axel for still being alive.  Tis asks if Axel
plans to fight her again, and while Axel has no reason to oppose her, he has no
reason NOT to oppose her either.  And if forced to choose, he's obviously going
to pick the fighting option.  So, does that mean Axel is actually going to help
Raoul, he wonders.  Not really: Raoul will have to look out for himself, though
Alfimi assures Raoul that Axel is actually a lot nicer than he seems.  Oh, and
let's not forget about Kouta, who doesn't have any time to be depressed if he
plans to save his sister at all.

 Hack away at the bad guys a bit and the rest of the team shows up.  They're
 shocked to say the least that Axel and Alfimi are here.  Alfimi recalls your
 people's words, that she was their treasured comrade and that there must be
 somewhere she can call home.  She credits her continued survival to the power
 of Excellen's thoughts, and of course to Axel.  Kyousuke is frankly astounded
 that Axel's still alive, and for that matter so is Axel himself.  Axel tells
 your people to feel free to shoot him if they don't believe he's on their
 side now, though he will probably just dodge.  That's good enough for
 Kyousuke, and Alfimi is starting to mirror some of Excellen's enthusiasm as
 she says that it's ON.  Ratsel also has Lefina quickly recover Fiona, so
 Raoul can fight without anything holding him back.

 Tis isn't happy at all at this new turn of events, but when she radios for
 reinforcements, Raliar tells her that the G Thundergate hasn't returned to
 base.  He orders Tis and Despinis off in pursuit, sending replacements their
 way.  Duminas plans on giving "her" to them, and Despinis isn't happy at all
 at her Creator's decision.  But enough yelling from Tis about how "she" is a
 doll and Despinis relents.  Axel thinks the bad guys were only right to run,
 though the timing worries him a bit.  Kyousuke fills Axel in on Lamia's
 uncertain fate, but just then Lamia shows up with a bunch of goons.  She
 states that it's her mission to try to stand in your way, sounding more and
 more like her old self.

 Axel finds this situation highly ironic, and tells W17 that she's badly
 disappointed him.  Is she going to betray Lemon, who entrusted all her hopes
 to Lamia, now?  He now sees why Kyousuke said that Lamia was "presumed" dead,
 and is rather worried by how irate Kyousuke sounds about letting Lamia slip</pre><pre id="faqspan-6">
 through his fingers once.  He doubts Kyousuke will let that happen again.
 Kyousuke at least will have lots of help.  Axel tells Alfimi that things are
 about to get rough, and to follow his lead when the time comes to strike the
 final blow.

 As you start smacking the Valcion around, Lamia says that all
 disproportionate beings pose a threat to the order Duminas is trying to make.
 So of course they must be eliminated.  Simple, really.  Duminas no doubt has
 something really nefarious planned for all of you, but it's doubtful she'll
 execute it with the Kaiser and Excellence on the scene.  That's good enough
 for Kouta and Raoul: they'll gladly be bait if it means putting an end to all
 these dirty tricks the bad guys have been playing.

 Lamia notes that your people are studiously avoiding shooting at the
 Valcion's core: you're making the same mistake you did before.  Not so, Irm
 says -- you just enjoy the challenge.  Kusuha says that no one can declare
 anything a mistake or not until all the results are in, which even Axel
 thinks is a bit naive.  Note he's still smiling though.  Lamia figures that
 if she can just disable Kyousuke and Excellen, it will greatly decrease the
 warpower of your squad.  She gets ready to fire up Code ATA, "Ash to Ash", as
 Axel starts frowning in concentration.

 Excellen points out to Lamia that if Duminas had really wanted to save her,
 she wouldn't have had to suppress *her* in the interest of achieving his
 goals.

 When damaged enough, Lamia prepares to fire up Code ATA, having predicted
 your people's reaction and moving far enough away that even Kyousuke can't
 react.  But Axel springs into action, going to coordinates that Alfimi tells
 him.  Lamia tells him that there's nothing anyone can do to obstruct Duminas'
 plans, especially since she was merely sent to delay you.  Axel asks if she
 has any regrets, and starts badgering her about how she never really had a
 "self" in the first place, nor a place in this world after all.  He growls to
 Lemon's spirit that her ultimate masterpiece hasn't measured up at all, and
 tells Lamia that he won't let her use Code ATA -- it's the least he can do
 for her.  Kyousuke yells for him to stop, but Axel screams back that he won't
 let Kyousuke pretend not to realize how destructive Code ATA is.  Just how
 the fuck does he intend to persevere in the coming battles if he's going to
 be this much of a lame-ass here?!?

 All the psychological stress is finally working, as Lamia struggles to tell
 her former commander that she wants to be more than just a W-Number.  Even
 Alfimi implores Axel to do something to help Lamia, the way he once helped
 her to find her true self.  Axel draws upon the power of the Soulgain, his
 silent partner, to help his comrades reach the Next Level(tm).  If Lamia
 wants to use Code "Ash to Ash", he'll just have to use Code "Dust to Dust",
 cutting his limiters and acting even faster than Lamia can.  There's
 something that only W17 and the "missing" [unless you own a DS...] W07 have,
 and he plans to activate Lamia's from outside.  It's going to take enough
 heat to all but fry Lamia's core, but Axel can only trust his intuition now.
 Kyousuke tells Axel of his grief over not being able to save Lamia last time,
 and Axel tells him to believe.  With Lemon's spirit and the Soulgain working
 in Axel's favor, how can he lose?

 He can't, and neither can Lamia.  He tells her never to forget again that
 she's Lemon's hope, and leaves the rest up to Kyousuke.  He and Alfimi have
 their own work to do, just as Kyousuke and his crew have theirs.  Their tasks
 will take them in different directions for now, but Kyousuke vows to repay
 Axel for what he's just done one day.

Radha and Jonathan give Lamia thorough checkout, and although her psyche has
withstood considerable strain, Code DTD kickstarted a type of self-repair
process that's put things back to rights.  Her physical body isn't so
fortunate, having sustained all kinds of damage in the process of linking with
the ODE System, but Jonathan is sure that Tesla's resources will have her right
as rain in no time.  Kyousuke says that he didn't really win his bet that they
could get Lamia back: if not for a certain dealer playing tricks, Kyousuke
would have lost both his own life and the lives of everyone he holds dear.
Even better news is that Fiona is also doing okay, fatigued but conscious.

Raoul catches Fiona up on recent events, and although she's happy that their
father's goal of crossing dimensions has come to pass, Raoul can't be entirely
satisfied with Kouta's sister still missing.  But getting Fiona and Lamia back
is still a great start, and he tells her to rest easy until she's fully
recovered.  She doesn't want to just sit by while Duminas wreaks havoc, and
Raoul is about to welcome her help when Ratsel comes in to take Raoul off for a
very important discussion.

It's come to light that Alko has impersonated one of the scientists, and
managed to make off with Mizuho and Raj.  Folka has no doubt whose work it is,
given how Alko acts as intermediary between Duminas and Mizal.  The fact that
you more or less just traded people with the enemy has everyone pissed off, but
everyone also realizes they need to come up with a productive response.
Especially since the black fighter is being piloted by Kouta's sister.  Kouta
tells Roa that the time has come to spill his guts, and Roa projects himself
onto a nearby monitor.  Gilliam can't shake the feeling that he's seen both the
man and his armor somewhere before...

Roa says that the G Thundergate once was part of he and his sister Emy's
arsenal.  Long they fought in other dimensions against a vast, formless evil,
one which could gate from world to world in search of domination.  In the final
battle, the G was destroyed with Emi in it, and Roa himself was gravely
injured.  His final act was a desperation attack against his fleeing foe, a
move which cost him his body as he and the Kaiser "fell" into this world.
That's when he met Kisaburou, his soul sealed into his armor.  The fact that
the G has resurfaced, and in the hands of the enemy no less, makes it a good
bet that Roa's foe is still alive and likely bent on dominating this world.
This foe wants the Kaiser to strengthen and solidify his otherwise unstable
ability to cross between dimensions.

Gilliam knows that the combination of the foe with the Kaiser and G would
produce an even more powerful trans-dimensional teleporter than System XN,
given what only the Kaiser did to Raoul's crew.  Unfortunately, Roa wasn't able
to sense his sister's presence during the last combat, meaning that it's likely
that only her armor and mech survived: likely Shouko has been made to wear that
armor.  Given how Roa's soul synchronized with Kouta, it's only natural that
their sisters' souls would synchronize too.  Thinking about Duminas' actions,
Roa suspects that he's trying to draw the archenemy into this world, using the
Kaiser and Excellence as Keys.  Said archenemy has the OH SO non-dangerous
sounding name "Dark Brain".  Like, no problemo and shit, right?


29. Flashing Light, Burning Flame

Magnus tries to blame his failure to bag Folka on Fernand, who fucked up AND
went missing... at least as Magnus would have it.  Macis isn't so sure, but
Mizal proclaims that Fernand was merely a lowlife who let a traitor beat him.
Once again Alkeid tells him to shove it: Fernand's Carnage God wouldn't have
chosen him if he was really that incapable.  Traitors and losers though they
may be, Folka and Fernand represent the next generation of Carnages (except
insofar as they need to be executed, but oh well).  The mere fact that Folka
remains alive is a testament to his strength and Haki, and Alkeid sees only two
possible outcomes.  Either Folka must relinquish his Carnage God and die as one
of the rabble, or manage to defeat all pursuers and ultimately Alkeid himself.
Alkeid's generals doubt that's going to happen, especially since that would
make him the next king.  Altis asks which path Alkeid thinks Folka will choose,
and when Alkeid turns the question around offers to sortie himself and find
out.  Cue the usual pep talk about how they've _got_ to get a new land for
themselves after trashing the old one.

Macis seems very worried that Altis, her superior, is going off to battle
Folka.  He asks her to check up on where Fernand went, both of them doubting
Magnus' explanation and suspecting Mizal is behind it somehow.  Macis can't
bring herself to ask Altis for a (final?) kiss.  Alion comes over and asks if
she's worried, and Macis responds that there's no way Folka could beat his
former master, especially given that Altis is second only to Alkeid in might.
If so, what was with her expression, love stuff?  Alion seems to love provoking
Macis, whose cute manner of following Alion around everywhere has given way of
late to the Ice General routine.  Macis becomes dangerously quiet, recommending
that he shut his mouth if he doesn't want to die.  He doesn't entirely shut it,
pointing out to her that he is doing his part, for what it's worth, in helping
the Carnage cause.  He even plans to accompany Altis, interested as a "free
knight" in how Folka is getting along.  He promises to defend her beloved Altis
and walks off before she can retort.

Lamia is apparently back to normal, including honorifics so messed up she even
confuses herself sometimes [quadruple negative, anyone?]  She plans to rejoin
the war effort in her old role, and tells Kyousuke that she's back where she
belongs.  Even when she was under Duminas' control, she could still hear
Kyousuke's voice, ensuring there was somewhere for her to come home to.
Kyousuke is still bumming that it fell to Axel to save the day, and Lamia well
recalls Axel's relationship with Lemon...  Anyway, Lamia's got all kinds of
useful info to help bring the upcoming attack to fruition.

The new Excellence frames are ready, and of the two the Eternal has the far
sexier lines.  Raoul and Fiona will share the Striker, Flyer and Cosmodriver
frames, but the Lightning and Eternal are Raoul's and Fiona's alone.  That
suits Tasuku fine: were it the other way around, it would be like Ryuusei
piloting the Valcione.  Fiona thanks Kirk for all his hard work, but Kirk was
more than happy to work with such an inspiring gadget as the interchangeable
Frame system.  Mizuho was very helpful too -- hope she and Raj are okay.  In
any case, all you need now are some Daggers...

Kouta is angsting over his sister becoming a Pawn of Evil(tm), and Aya comes
over for a well-timed pep talk.  Kouta calls his sister bossy, loud-mouthed and
accident-prone, and super-mega-ultra-HYPER stingy.  Yet she always looks out
for him, always cared for the house when she'd no doubt rather be hanging out
with her friends.  All that got pretty messed up by Kouta becoming Fighter Roa,
but Aya uses the example of Mai to point out that all isn't lost.  For what
it's worth, the SRX team is behind Kouta all the way.  As she's about to lead
him off to the briefing, the bad guys finally show up.

And this time, they've brought Daggers!  Better yet, their teleportation was
right on target.  Leading the charge is Altis the Flash, greatest of all the
Carnage generals.  Folka goes out to meet the challenge, and the two
Excellences accompany them.  Fiona marvels at how smooth the new tuning is (all
thanks to Raj, Mizuho, and the Tesla staff).  Folka makes his case about not
wanting to fight people he cares about, but Altis is all hung up on the rules
and regulations.  For that matter, even the Earthlings Folka is so fond of seem
to be busy killing each other and stealing each other's stuff, Alion points
out.  The difference is that they aren't bound by outmoded rules, and many of
them actually *want* peace.  That's the future Folka wants for the Carnages,
but Altis says it's too late to avert a violent resolution to their
disagreement.  And even if there was, the other Carnages wouldn't have it.  The
only way for Folka to make his dream come true is to become the next king.  If
Folka really believes what he's doing is right, he's got to display to Altis
and all the world the might to match.

 Lefina tells the troops to snag the Daggers within three turns, namely by
 immobilizing them.  It quickly becomes apparent what your team is up to, but
 Altis makes no effort to try to stop you.  When you've got all four Daggers,
 the G Thundergate flies over, and whatever spirit is inhabiting Emy's armor
 doesn't want to forgive Roa for... whatever.  It's the faithful servant of
 Dark Brain, and stoutly denies that Shouko is inside.  Tis then catches up,
 and quickly tries to set up a hostage situation with Raj and Mizuho as bait.
 Fiona completely refuses to give in, confident that the mechanics won't be
 killed or even integrated into the ODE System.  The others explain to Raoul
 that he's got to show a tough exterior in the face of Tis' attempts at
 psychological warfare.  Everyone will help Raoul and Fiona press ahead and
 rescue their comrades, but first you've got to deal with the G, whose pilot
 refuses' Tis orders.  She's going to act for Dark Brain's sake alone.

 Despinis cries to Tis that the mind control must be wearing off, but Tis
 notices that Shouko isn't _reverting_ to what she was before.  Roa tells
 Kouta that to save Shouko, they've first got to immobilize the G Thundergate,
 then risk G Combination.  Kouta will just have to follow Roa's lead on the
 fly, and be very careful about that resonance they saw before.

 Alion, hoping to spectate, gets vastly more than he bargained for.  Altis
 tells him not to overdo it, and Alion gladly retreats.  Altis meanwhile
 learns from the bitchslapping he receives just how strong Folka's will is.
 He tells Folka that the next time they meet will be their deathmatch for
 real, and it'll happen at the Swordian.  Folka realizes that his brother
 deliberately let you all have the Daggers to set that fight up.

 As the damage mounts on the followers of Duminas/Dark Brain, Emy's
 personality begins to waver.  That's Kouta's cue to start hollering for his
 sister to return to her senses, and with a bit more heroic moral suasion, Emy
 manages to do what Roa tried all those years before.  She bursts her bonds,
 and the G Thundergate actually changes color.  Shouko is back for good,
 wondering if she's turned into a cosplayer while she wasn't looking, and
 amazed that her brother was the red Hero all along.  Tis is infuriated out of
 her little head, and rushes over to try to take out both the Kaiser and G
 together, and Roa says that sounds like a great idea.  By which he means,
 it's Combination time!  Kouta proclaims that the combined form is the
 "G-Compatikaiser", and tells Roa that it wouldn't have taken that long to
 explain that the two mecha can combine.  He pulls a sword out of... thin air
 and ruthlessly mauls Tis with it.

Despinis is smart enough to know that the two of them aren't good enough to
prevail against your people, and Tis reluctantly agrees to withdraw.  She takes
care to remind Raoul that his friends are in Duminas' hands.  That's big
trouble.  Little trouble is the incessant quarreling between Shouko and Kouta
once everyone returns to base, including the first stirrings of romance(?)
between her and Folka which date back to her captivity in the Swordian.  The
good news is that she's determined to go along with her brother to help with
the saving-the-world business, despite his initial objections that it's too
dangerous.  Ryuusei meanwhile is marveling over the G-Compatikaiser.  OBVIOUSLY
the best way to power anything up is to add wings.  Mai is sure this is true,
based on all the Burning Blade anime she's been watching, and offers to show
Latouni what she means (Latouni shyly accepts).  Even Robert nods judiciously
and says he'll consider putting wings on the next SRX mech.  For now, he's
puzzling over why the newly-combined mech isn't really at full-power yet.
Something about the Kaiser being fixed with Earth tech and the G being fixed
with Dark Brainian tech isn't meshing fully, though it's not as though it's
gonna poop out in the next five minutes either.  Which is important, since the
thing will surely prove pivotal in the battles to come.

The scientists are glad to see how quickly Fiona has adjusted to the
Excellence.  She and Raoul would like to hurry and confront Duminas, but Fiona
quickly sees the wisdom in the decision to attack the Swordian first.  Unlike
Duminas, who simply wants his Keys to the dimensional door, the Carnages are
attacking people everywhere, and from a fortification that most people have no
means to assail.  Besides, if the Excellences participate in the Swordian raid,
Duminas might just slip up and give you a chance to rescue Raj and Mizuho.
Marion is impressed with Fiona's quick, rational thought and her equally quick
modesty about it -- she tells Fiona she likes her [coming from Marion, that's
practically an invitation for hot luvings on the spot...]  Anyway, the
scientists spring to action to figure out how to work the Daggers, and the plan
which will begin once they're finished has a name: "Operation Overgate".

Duminas seems puzzled that the Gate didn't open even from the Kaiser and G
combining.  Perhaps some kind of condition hasn't yet been fulfilled?  In any
case, she reckons that the only remaining option is the Time Stream Engine.
She orders Raj and Mizuho to make another one if they value their lives, and on
the theory that while there's life there's hope, Raj agrees.  He's realized
that Duminas' technology could be just the thing he's needed to complete the
Engine, and assures Tis that he'll sell his soul to the Devil if need be for
the sake of his work.  Mizuho protests that that amounts to betraying Raoul and
Fiona, but Raj counters that his work is far more important to him than any
ties to those two.  As Mizuho gapes thunderstruck, Duminas assigns Despinis to
keep an eye on them.  Raj does have one question though: given all the advanced
propulsion tech in Duminas' people's mecha, why doesn't Duminas himself just
build a dimensional teleporter instead of fixating on the Time Stream Engine?
After a long pause, Duminas says that she can't answer that question, which
confirms one of Raj's suspicions...


30. Climax of the Wolves

Alkeid has granted Altis a private audience to learn the real reason why he
didn't defeat Folka.  Altis has seen the future for the Carnages in the path
Folka is trying to tread, and recalls what the Carnages' old ways brought
forth: catastrophe, and the loss of everyone save those lucky enough to reach
the Swordian.  Altis is worried that trying to reestablish the Carnage order of
unending war could lead this world to a similar fate to that of the world they
fled -- perhaps it is they, not the world, who needs to change?  Alkeid reminds
him that their worthy ancestors forged the Carnage Gods as a way to stave off
the process of rotting that any world without combat must suffer.  Then again,
the Carnages' home world was laid waste as a result, but Alkeid is sure the
fact that some Carnages survive means they're meant to fight on.  To do
otherwise would be the true end for the Carnages.  Altis isn't sure, but Alkeid
has neither the means nor the inclination to alter the system now.  The only
options open to Altis are to defeat Alkeid himself... or to bet on Folka.
Altis and Alkeid are in total agreement there: when Folka comes knocking,
Alkeid will face him directly... assuming he makes it past Altis, who means to
fight to the best of his abilities.

Word reaches Tesla that Stutgart, well-defended regional HQ of the Central
European forces, has just fallen to the Carnages.  Your people haven't finished
deciphering how to use the Daggers, so you can't yet mount your decapitation
strike against the Carnages.  Making matters worse is the sighting of something
like an Einst, which is kicking Federation ass severely.  Your people rush to
the rescue, even as the Cry Wolves are struggling to tread water.  After
watching half of his remaining forces wiped out in a single attack, Albero
orders his men to stay put and battle the small-fry, while he advances close
enough to use an RBE Round on the Einst "Head".  Though extremely reckless,
there's no other way to win.  Albero also says that if something should happen
to him, his men are to retreat, though his men refuse the order on the theory
that their squad is all about living through death.  Albero relents, counting
on Folia and Hugo for backup.

 Albero gets into position and fires, but the RBE round does nothing... except
 make the Einst more dangerous than before.  Mitall is made of fail and
 hubris, and it would be Albero who bears the brunt... if not for Folia
 throwing himself in harm's way.  Folia pays the ultimate price for saving his
 dad, but the smackdown isn't over yet.  Hugo gets smote to within an inch of
 his life, as Axel and Alfimi roll up.  Axel yells at Albero to get his men
 and get the fuck out unless the Wolves want to die like dogs in the street,
 and Albero reluctantly complies.  This satisfies Axel's obligation to the Cry
 Wolves from both Worlds, given that he doesn't like using allies as
 cannon-fodder (the only thing the Wolves are good for in their current
 state).  Alfimi is loving it, and loving it even more when your people
 arrive.

 Axel sees no point in hiding at least this part of what he's up to.  He and
 Alfimi tell you that the Etst, a cursed life form, was born in the
 laboratories of Central Project before it went rogue.  Its creators are the
 same people who made that space flounder thingie, as well as the people who
 repaired the Soulgain.  Axel wonders if you suspect him of being in league
 with the bad guys, and Alfimi clarifies that they're here not to recover the
 Etst, but to destroy it and thereby sever the curse it's under.

 While trying to put the Etst out of its misery, that pesky Youkijin shows up
 and begins to resonate with it.  It runs away as soon as the Etst is gone
 though - just what did it come for, anyway?  Now that the Etst has found
 peace, Alfimi's mission is over, but she doesn't take Axel's order to rejoin
 your group.  Instead, she plans to stick with him until he's seen where this
 world ends up.  Lamia thanks Axel for saving her (water under the bridge, he
 replies) and they wish each other luck on their respective paths.

A search team was sent to the Central Project base, and the facility was a)
deserted, and b) half-destroyed.  Looks like Axel's supposition about the
Etst's origin was right on.  Lefina is shocked to hear that the base's name was
Torchika-1, given that it was Torchika-2 where she fought the Flatfish.
Gilliam has also gotten word of how the Cry Wolves were involved in running
Central Project's errands -- and it's now clear just how fishy those errands
must have been.  Unfortunately, your people will have to defer checking into it
until after Operation Overgate.  Especially since Stutgart is still in enemy
hands, Ratsel urges Gilliam to hurry the analysis of the Daggers.

Magnus was responsible for the Stutgart raid, with help from the powered-up
Fernand.  Just as Mizal had hoped.  Mizal no longer cares if Altis knows about
Fernand, and orders Magnus and Fernand back to the Swordian instead of sending
them on more mayhem.  Seems Mizal doesn't want another blunder like Hakodate to
happen under Magnus' watch.  Macis then comes in and confronts him about
Fernand, who Mizal says came to him of his own free will in search of a way to
defeat Folka.  Making Fernand his personal lackey rather goes against what
Mizal told Alkeid, doesn't it?  Even if it does, it's Mizal's prerogative as
head of the military, and he tells Macis there's nothing she can do about it.


31. He Whose Roar Overthrows

Raj proclaims that he'll be able to whip up a Time Stream Engine in no time
with all the bits and pieces Duminas has floating around, though Mizuho is sure
the engine will take a lot longer than "no time".  Despinis asks why Raj
thought up the Engine in the first place, and Raj replies that it was his
father who thought it up... though perhaps he was indirectly responsible too.
His mother died when he was very little, and he once told his father that he
wanted to see her again.  Hence the idea of a time machine, which Raj says is
utterly preposterous for someone claiming to be a scientist.  To be sure, that
likely wasn't his father's only reason -- perhaps it was a ploy to interest Raj
in research?  Despinis notes that Raj was like Duminas back then, in wanting to
see his Creator and ask why he's here... for what purpose was he created.  All
this accords with Raj's theory, as does Despinis' ongoing pursuit of the Time
Stream Engine to fulfill _her_ Creator's wishes.  She has no wish to live her
own life, and says that were Duminas to die she would die too for want of a
reason to continue living.

Mizuho nearly starts crying as she says that that's wrong.  Like Raj, she's
lost both her parents in an accident.  She once thought about trying to join
them, but reconsidered when she realized that suicide would go against
everything her parents stood for.  Her only choice in fact was to become a
weapon, though by doing so she apparently cost Fiona her life too.  Raj reminds
her that they're hostages, and tells her to help him build the Engine already.
It's better that the Engine get built and probably misused than just dying here
in Raj's view, and now Mizuho cries for real, thinking she's misjudged him.
All he can say is that he's building the Engine so that *he* can go on living.

Meanwhile, Mizal is bugging Duminas for help entering the Inner Cloister, whose
secrets are key to Mizal becoming the new king.  Upon hearing that that's
probably where the teleporter is, Duminas agrees to help out once she's done
with a few final preparations.  She reminds Mizal of what such assistance will
cost, and asks what he's figured out so far.  Mizal repeats the two cryptic
phrases "Radi Es Radius 4" and "Wisdom of the Dark".  Upon hearing that,
Duminas is seized with emotion, apparently having some massive revelation...

Meanwhile, the scientists have figured out how to use the Daggers, though
unlocking the full secret of how they work is likely to take a long time.  Like
the Carnages themselves, you'll only get one use, and no guarantee that you'll
end up exactly where you're trying to get to.  As with the Einsts, you'll just
have to trust the rest to luck.

Your objective will be the heart of the Swordian, located at the center of the
ring section.  However, since no one including Mizal has been inside the Inner
Pavilion, you'll have to try elsewhere -- meaning an immense open space with
some kind of ruins believed to be the residences of whoever built the Swordian.
There's enough room for the battleships at least.  You can expect to be beset
by all kinds of Carnages as you make your way towards the core, and your
mission will be defeating them all and destroying the Distant World Gem.  At
least you won't have to worry about the kekkai inside the Swordian.  Good-byes
and good-lucks are said, and you're off!

Mizal ponders Duminas' reaction, irritated that he somehow let information
leak, and still unable to proceed on his own.  His ruminations are interrupted
by Alko running in with news that your battleships have teleported into the
Swordian.  Mizal realizes Folka must have helped out, and his shock quickly
turns into glee.  This is his chance to take out everyone standing in his way
in one fell swoop.  He decides to start by sending Magnus and Fernand in.  Your
team meanwhile runs into the first wave of Carnages, and Tetsuya orders
everyone to forge through at maximum speed.

 After wiping out the initial round of defenders, Magnus and company show up.
 With them is Fernand, now quite out of his gourd and out for Folka's blood.
 He's just coherent enough to explain that Mizal gave him this new power
 (without Altis' knowledge) all to prevail over his sworn enemy.  Folka simply
 won't give the whole Carnage Law thing a rest, saying that all Carnages are
 supposed to strive for the king's throne.  It was when Folka realized how
 lonely he'd be sitting on it that he decided to leave, which astounds the
 other Carnages in attendance.  Fernand is determined to put a stop to Folka's
 stupid hangups, and his life, on the spot, and Folka tells Shouko to trust
 him as he fights this unavoidable fight with his brother.  He too has
 something to end today: the old hidebound Carnage way of life itself!

 Fernand grants that your people are pretty tough, but thinks he'll be tougher
 once he Deifies his mech.  And he even manages it, for a moment, but not
 enough to actually dispatch Folka.  Magnus belittles his puny half-assed
 attempts to become First among the Ashura, especially since it took borrowing
 Mizal's power just to get this far.  He keeps heaping on the abuse, not
 noticing initially that Folka's own mech is beginning to Glow With Rage(tm).
 If power is what it takes for Folka to travel his chosen path, then power it
 will be.  He too Deifies, vowing to sweep away the evil chi imprisoning his
 brother.  There's no way Fernand can win, and there's no way Folka will kill
 the guy -- Folka will just keep accepting Fernand's rage for life if that's
 what it takes.  After all, Fernand is both his brother and his friend (as
 such).  He tells Fernand to get lost, and at least he's smart enough to
 comply.  Magnus is a different story.

 He actually expects Mizal to save his sorry lard ass, and when no help is
 forthcoming starts blubbering about how strong and cool and whatever he is.
 Apparently his list of qualifications doesn't include "fits into the ejection
 seat", as he goes down with his very rotund ship.

You can't expect the remaining generals to go down this easy, but at least
you've got Folka's newly buff'n'studly mech to help out.  Shouko is all dreamy-
eyed, much to Kouta's annoyance.  Folka is sure that one day his friend will
understand Da Troof, and is quite content to go on brawling until that day
arrives.


32. First Among the Ashura (part 1)

Raj announces that he's finished the Time Stream Engine, having borrowed a few
concepts from Duminas' teleporters to accelerate the timeline.  Despinis
watched him do it, and Raj tells them to try it out for themselves, and punish
him afterwards if they don't like the results.  He also busily reaffirms that
your team were never his comrades, always casting suspicion on his work and
whatnot -- heck, he actually is glad that Duminas kidnapped him.  Tis asks if
he'd kill Raoul if ordered to, and Raj says he'd be happy to if Raoul were to
be obstructing his research.  Duminas ponders a while, and then orders Raliar
to outfit the Engine into his combat form as insurance.  "Insurance"?  Yes, for
when the crew heads to the Swordian.  See, Duminas has realized another of her
mistakes, in not being more suspicious of the colossal mobile fortress.  Turns
out the thing she's been seeking has been inside it all this time.  Despinis is
the only one not coming along for the assault: her orders are to keep watching
Raj and Mizuho, and to come if he calls her later.  This means that Raj and
Mizuho are still being treated as prisoners...

Meanwhile, Alkeid and Altis discuss the oncoming Earth forces.  Altis wants to
confront them before his king sorties in person, believing that either Alkeid
or Folka may hold the key to the Carnages' future.  He seems to view it as his
role to assist whoever that person is, and to test them as part of certifying
they've got enough power to keep the Carnages unified.  After two millennia,
power is all they respect.  Alkeid is grateful for the help Altis offered in
ascending to the throne, and now orders his right-hand man to try and bring
back Folka's head.

Altis and Macis really are lovers, and Altis wants her to stay behind and
observe how things turn out.  He orders her, and Fernand, to follow whoever
proves strongest.  Macis realizes that Altis probably isn't coming back, and
can't even muster the energy to get mad when Alion lightly needles her.  Alion
and his "free knight" persona are planning to act independently, whatever
anyone else says.

Mizal totally jettisons the concept that Magnus is his right arm, instead
nominating Alko for the position.  Mizal assures him that once his wishes are
fulfilled, he'll make Alko a general and steward over the whole court.  No
matter that no Carnage God has chosen Alko: Mizal even has his nom de guerre
ready: Alko the Shifting Mist.  Alko loves that very much, and Mizal sends him
off on a new errand...

The steamroller that is your people reaches the royal military barracks, beyond
which is the Inner Pavilion.  Somewhere in your path to the Distant World Gem
are the remaining two generals, plus Mizal and Alkeid himself.

 Altis shows up, unwilling on principle to let you pass.  In fact, fighting in
 general is due to people who don't accept each other's principles.  In this
 case, Altis notes that for two thousand years, iron has been the essential
 ingredient in leading the Carnages.  He can't deny that that led to their
 world being laid waste, but reminds Folka that their king was able to become
 the pilot of a Heaven-class Carnage God.  His prowess in battle is unrivaled,
 but Altis was trying to temper that hardness with some reason.  Softness
 alone can't rule the Carnages, and if Folka wants to become the new king,
 he'll literally have to do so over Altis' dead body.  Though Shouko initially
 protests, your team is going to have to confront this guy for real if they
 want any chance of victory.

In due course, Altis succumbs to the overwhelming bad-assery that is your
team's stock-in-trade.  He tells Folka to kill him as the final proof he's
ready for the throne, but Folka has other ideas.  If it's Carnage law to follow
those stronger than you, he orders Altis to live on for the future of Carnages
everywhere.  If Folka has his way, being left alive will no longer be seen as a
disgrace, and besides Folka needs his older brother's help.  At that point, Tis
seizes her chance and tries to kill Altis.  Folka tries to save him, but gets
saved _by_ him instead.

Through the blood welling from within, Altis tells his little brother why: he
can't let Folka lose now, after passing Altis' test to him.  He only wishes the
two of them could have remained kids together longer, and whispers an apology
to May (Macis) before being consumed by his mech exploding.  Your people are
duly sobered, and also wondering what Tis is doing inside a Mironga.  Folka's
will is being sorely tested, but a few good words from Zengar and the party is
on the move again.


33. First Among the Ashura (part 2)

Macis commands the wall of Carnages facing you next, and of course she wants
revenge for Altis' death.  Folka asks her to move aside so he can go defeat the
king, and seeing how he's a lawbreaker, traitor and akin to a killer, Macis
doesn't seem much inclined to listen.  Maybe she'll listen to Ratsel, who
infers that Altis would have ordered her to entrust the Carnages' fate to
Folka.  She interprets Altis' instructions as "follow the strong", and the only
people she recognizes as strong are Altis and the king.  Folka will accept her
anger... and overcome it! (we hope).

 Macis and her entourage can offer no more than token resistance (though the
 rank and file are slippery little bastards).  Macis already knows that Folka
 won't kill her, but once again Tis interrupts the tableau in an attempt to
 play undertaker.  This time however, Alion is on duty with the krazy-ass
 violence and the Phantom Dragon Thousand Hit Deathblow action.  Turns out
 that "Tis" was actually Alko, and with his secret outed Alko flees before
 receiving any more punishment.  To Macis' horror, Alion explains that Alko
 must have killed Altis on Mizal's orders.

 Macis tries to limp to the Inner Pavilion to take revenge, but Alion
 intervenes with the sucker-punch to her mech's gut.  He's quite sure Altis
 wanted her to live, and confronting Mizal with a negative HP total wouldn't
 exactly qualify.  Folka can't understand why Alion would do that for Macis,
 and Irm -- wise in the ways of men and women -- tells him not to ask.  Alion
 himself has concluded that it'll be far more interesting fighting on your
 guys' side, part of the benefits of being a free knight and whatnot.  Not to
 mention it's easier to protect his beloved that way.

 There's the little matter of the king though, whose mech surpasses all other
 classes of Carnage God.  In fact, it's such a kick-ass machine that for
 hundreds of years, even the kings of the Carnages couldn't manage to pilot
 it: the Heaven-class Extim.  Alkeid greets you formally with what amounts to
 "you're road pizza", before adding that you yourselves have become the new
 Carnages with all your fancy deathweapons and whatnot.  To justify his
 Carnage-o-forming of this world, he asks if you all would be such
 goody-two-shoes if your own world were destroyed and you were sent to
 another.  He's quite sure that no peaceable solution would have worked, given
 how eager Earthlings seem to kill their own kind.  The Carnages' history has
 lead them to conclude that might makes right, and domination makes for a good
 world.  Kyousuke for one finds Alkeid's total conviction to this ideal even
 more unsettling than the Shadow Mirror and whoever those Inspector dudes
 were.

 Alkeid then tries to blame this whole mess on Raoul's team, without whose
 mech Duminas might never have shown an interest.  Fiona says that it was
 never meant to be used for evil, but Alkeid says they ought to just use it
 for everything it's capable of and *make* themselves right through its might.
 This is clearly getting nowhere, and Folka cuts to the chase: even if this is
 a world of unending conflict, that doesn't give the Carnages the right to
 bend it to their own purposes.  Even if your team helped start the fight,
 they're also the only ones who can stop it... and they've got every right to
 prove it, having come this far.  And if that means overwriting two millennia
 of Carnage history, he'll take the assignment.

 He says that the Carnages should have sought a new way of life after being
 forced out of their own world, and tells Alkeid that the "wisdom" of their
 ancestors amounted to nothing more than the demolition of an entire world.
 And so long as the Carnages remain bound to their past, that mistake must
 surely be repeated.  Alion's considered himself free of regulations like that
 from the start, and has one other person he also wants to free.

 Alkeid's honor guard choose that moment to disobey his order to watch the
 outcome, and insist on participating in this battle too.  As though things
 weren't messy enough, Fernand shows up with a score to settle with Mizal the
 traitor.  Alkeid is well aware of Mizal's treachery, but is planning to leave
 him alive until he's gotten what he wants [by which time it will, of course,
 be too late, but Alkeid's always been a moron].  Since the king won't yield
 the way to the Inner Pavilion, Fernand will just have to go *through* him.
 His little duel with Folka can wait until afterwards.

 As the throne room degenerates into a total shooting gallery, Alkeid's idea
 of talking smack is calling Folka a mere pebble on the road to true kingship.
 Folka offers the brilliant(?) observation that even a pebble can obliterate a
 mountain if it's moving at
 Ludicrous^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HRelativistic^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HDivine Speed.
 Hey, it sort of worked for Himura Kenshin...

 In the final analysis, the only thing special about Alkeid's Heaven-class
 old&busted machine is that it's got a shitload of HP.  The fact is that
 Alkeid wouldn't be worthy to touch Raodekia's
 silk-and-Zfield-crystal-rhinestone-encrusted jock with a ten foot pole.
 Contemplate THAT on the Tree of Woe as Alkeid informs you that his mech
 wasn't actually Deified to begin with.  It is now.  At least you get all your
 SP refilled...

 Apart from prolonging the obvious, this ploy counts for little.  As Folka
 smashes Alkeid's fists, the one-time king laments that _he_ was supposed to
 be the First.  Kiss those two thousand years of bloodshed goodbye: the
 Carnages are now going to be fighting to live like the rest of the residents
 of this world.  That is, living without fighting is a fight in itself.
 Alkeid isn't entirely convinced, but he bellows that Folka shall be the new
 Carnage king, while he watches over his people by his ancestors' side in
 Heaven.

The guy sure knows how to make an exit, including opening the door to the Inner
Pavilion for you.  This is most unwelcome news to Mizal, who wants to keep your
hands off the Distant World Gem at all costs...


34. Newborn Mistake

The Inner Pavilion is a cross between some ancient ruins and a shrine, markedly
different in architecture from anywhere else inside the Swordian.  There's no
specific sign of the Distant World Gem, only an unidentifiable energy suffusing
the entire place.  The closest match Eita can find for the energy signature is
that of Duminas' kids' mecha.  Mizal and Alko show up in short order,
sarcastically thanking you for saving them the trouble of dispatching Alkeid.
Mizal then tries to summon forth legions of Carnages to avenge their king's
death, yet mysteriously no one seems willing to confront their new king and
entourage.  Maybe even the Carnages will learn that stuffing more people into
the meat grinder will not magically make it stop?

Seeing no reinforcements, Mizal does something totally unexpected, and
surrenders!  Or tries to, except no one trusts him.  But does no one need his
superior technical knowledge, so intimately connected to discovering the
secrets of the Gem?!?!  Zengar puts it succinctly: "nope".  Mizal tries every
form of pleading in the book to stall for time, and amazingly a detachment of
Bartalls from Duminas arrives to possibly save his bacon.  He still sees a way
to become king by defeating Folka, and promises Alko promotion to full General
if they win.  Alko is SO angstful about the life he's led, but your people
aren't having it and recommend he leave before it's too late.  Alko must be
deaf and dumb not to listen.

 If Alko remaining on the scene wasn't proof enough of his dementia, his dying
 cries that he is the true General leave no doubt.  Folka informs Mizal that
 Magnus and Alko will be waiting for him in the Underworld, but Alko keeps
 expecting Duminas to bail him out...  Things get even worse for him when he
 confronts Kouta, who still hates his guts for selling Shouko to Duminas.
 Mizal is the mochi, and Kouta's rage is the fire that's going to bake it
 until it's poofy and good with ice cream or azuki filling.  [Mmm, azuki
 filling...]

 There's no help from Duminas, karmic retribution for all Mizal's
 machinations.  Like Alko, his delusions of grandeur are with him right up
 until his mech explodes.  That's Raliar and Tis' cue to show up, figuring on
 killing all of you off for Duminas' sake (natch).  They've got the
 oh-so-dreadful revelation that Raj has built them a third Time Stream Engine.
 Raoul is about to get all bent out of shape about Raj's apparent betrayal
 when Fiona again steps in as the voice of reason.  Even Raj couldn't have
 _actually_ made another Engine this quickly, and Fiona thinks Raj must be up
 to something...

 In any case, Tis says that the Engine is just insurance.  Lamia quickly
 tricks her into revealing that their main objective is here inside the
 Swordian.  Quite frankly, there would be no need for Tis and Raliar to even
 come here if the Engine was truly complete.  Which means, they must actually
 be here after the true "Key", not just out of some mean-spirited need to rid
 the world of your team.  Even the two kids are surely just buying time for
 Duminas to achieve his true objective, which presumably entails pilfering and
 repairing the Swordian's teleporter.  As for your missing comrades, Fiona
 dares Tis to drag them before you and kill them, if she actually can.  Heck,
 even IF Tis can, she herself will be toast the very next instant.

 Tis, aggravated ever further, calls in the Space Flounders and remaining
 Wendigos in a bid to crush you once and for all.  Should you say your
 prayers?  Or should she, given that she's managed to make an enemy of Shuu.
 Masaki, distrustful as ever, demands to know what Shuu wants.  Simple: the
 destruction of Duminas and of the Swordian.  His goals are aligned with
 yours, and as Ratsel has to admit, they have been ever since the DC War.  The
 incident that sparked all the bad blood with Masaki came well before that,
 and Masaki isn't in a mood to discuss what Shuu calls "extenuating
 circumstances".  Kyousuke cuts to the chase: what's Shuu's reason for wanting
 these things destroyed, and what is he planning to do afterwards.  His reason
 is the same as yours, and as for what he does afterwards... that all depends
 on your people's attitude.

 Tis would also like to know how the heck Shuu got in here in the first place,
 and Alfimi pops up with promises to reveal the answer "after a word from our
 sponsor".  Axel is with her, and says that your battles have already weakened
 the Swordian's kekkai.  Shuu asks if Axel is under orders from Wong to follow
 him, but Axel claims he was just in the neighborhood... and felt an
 overwhelming urge to break a certain annoying sword.  He's certainly not
 doing it to _help_ Kyousuke or anything, says a gleeful Alfimi.  Even if you
 can trust the two of them, Masaki still can't trust Shuu.  It takes a very
 firm command from Ratsel to keep Masaki from throwing down with Shuu on the
 spot: as with their previous encounter, the main bad guys come first.

 At long last, Tis gets her insolent ass beaten with prejudice.  Raliar tries
 some moral support, but that's when a certain pink poofball monster arrives.
 It is none other than the Master of Puppets, Duminas.  She claims to have
 everything in readiness, but wants to take out all you aberrations first.
 And to do that, it's time for Raliar and Tis to be recycled, their very
 essence dismantled and returned to their Creator's reservoir of power.  Tis
 promises she'll be a good girl and do what she's told, but neither her or
 Raliar's tears can stop the inevitable.  Their return powers up Duminas
 visibly, and in all your years of gunning down misguided bad guys, your
 people have never witnessed quite this perverse a scene.

 Despinis still exists, but only because she's guarding the two hostages and
 the Key, which is the Swordian's teleporter.  It's far more reliable than the
 Kaiser's apparatus, and doesn't require the inconvenient expedient of
 accumulating human sentiment.  It finally comes out who Duminas' creator is:
 Roa's old nemesis, Dark Brain.  Gilliam and Shuu, the two most knowledgeable
 bipeds here, didn't want to hear that.  It comes as quite a surprise to the
 team to find out that Duminas doesn't know why she was created, and she
 counters by asking why _they_ were created.  Fiona is fast on the draw: they
 were created in order that they live!  Concise, vague, trite even.  Duminas
 certainly wants a firm answer about where and why she was born, saying that
 her creator left her with precious little beyond her own name and the Emy
 Armor and G Thundergate.  Given Roa's never heard of Duminas before, that
 could mean that she was created after his previous battle...

 After much thought, Duminas has resolved to seek her Creator and extract
 answers.  She's been traveling from world to world in a vain search, which
 was when she bumped into Raoul and underwent the resonance that messed up the
 Time Stream Engine experiment.  As for why she ended up in this world in
 particular, it's almost as though there's something here which *draws* things
 close.  Tasuku has noticed something strange: if Duminas encountered the
 Carnages before the Earthlings, why didn't she realize what the Carnages were
 carrying way back when?  THAT was the huge mistake Duminas made in this
 world, in not guessing that the Swordian, a.k.a. Radi Es Radius 4, was
 related to Dark Brain (of course, it didn't help that Mizal was stingy with
 the data).

 It took the other keyword from the monitors for Duminas to make the
 connection: "Wisdom of the Dark".  Duminas reasoned that that might refer to
 Dark Brain, in which case the DB-meister may have built the Swordian, in
 which case its teleporter might go back to where DB is.  Even Ryuusei finds
 this more than a little tenuous, especially coming from a levitating
 biocomputer.  About half of your party have figured out what this must mean,
 but the other half (Ryuusei included) would like a hint or two.  In any case,
 Duminas says that if she's to get an answer from her Creator, she needs
 order.  And things that disrupt that order must be eliminated: before anyone
 else denies her existence, she's got to deny them first.

 Duminas is quite talkative throughout the battle, and Ratsel's conversation
 is especially thoughtful.  Ratsel tells Duminas that she's misapplying the
 old axiom that "I think, therefore I am".  Assuming Duminas can get an answer
 from her Creator, will the answer she gets be the answer she wants?

On the verge of defeat, Duminas garbles that she can't be denied yet, not
before meeting the Creator.  She apparently has enough power left to teleport</pre><pre id="faqspan-7">
back to where her "insurance" policy awaits, and your people must follow at top
speed.


35. The Great Battle

Despinis limps into the teleporter room, your people in hot pursuit.  Despinis
tries to avert your people blasting her Creator by threatening to kill the
hostages, but Mizuho screams for Raoul to go through with it anyway.  Raj notes
that that won't be necessary, and as Duminas attempts to activate Raj's Time
Stream Engine, she explodes horrifically from within.  Raj tells his shocked
captor that it took him a LOT of effort to set the fake Engine up not to look
fake, and further to rig it only to explode under just these conditions.  Yes,
his "defection" has all been an act, as he reminds Mizuho with the old adage:
"to deceive your enemies, first deceive your friends".  Uncharacteristically
for him, he even apologizes to Mizuho for causing her angst.  Best of all, the
two hostages learn that Fiona is still very much alive.

However, a grotesque gurgle from across the room draws everyone's attention
back to the fact that Duminas isn't entirely dead yet.  "Broken", sure, and
probably that way from the start.  Several of your people have caught on to the
numerous inconsistencies in Duminas' actions, including highly suboptimal usage
of Lamia and all this obsession with a "Key", when she already possessed more
than one teleporter.  Shuu suspects that what Duminas really lacked was
information on how to fix what was wrong with her.

Kind of tragic, in fact.  Unfortunately, Duminas still manages to open the Gate
in her near-death state, summoning forth the terrifying Dark Brain.  It is the
"Wisdom of Darkness", the sublimation of all knowledge lost to the night.  He
seems almost amused to see Roa still alive, though that feeling isn?t mutual.
He's also not pleased that Dunamis 3 ("Duminas" is actually wrong, he fumes)
not only failed in her mission, but even let Roa have the G Thundergate.  Such
busted-ass servants are of no interest to him, and he offhandedly performs the
coup de grace.

He then tries to finish off Despinis, but Kouta and Raoul manage to shield her
(and her hostages).  Though she's caused your team much trouble, your people
know she's not half-bad.  Mizuho in particular pleads with her not to kill
herself just because she's lost her mother.  It turns out that Dark Brain is
the agglomeration not just of knowledge, but of multiple personalities.  "They"
needed the Kaiser's Overgate Engine, and dispatched Dunamis 3 to try to kill
Roa and take it.

The Brain, feeling in an informative mood, tells you that this space fortress
was not of his making, but rather of people who were trying to flee from him.
This vessel is one of five such Arks, and one of only two in existence.
Though, it appears that like Dunamis 3 it's busted and unaware that its
rightful residents are dead [he seems so _broken_up_ about that!]  Shuu
supposes that Dark Brain itself may be malfunctioning, since it didn't come
gunning for Roa straight away.  And as everyone knows, IF IT BLEEDS, WE CAN
KILL IT.  Of course, it could still kill you too, as it's done to the other
three Arks and countless whole worlds before this.  Dark Brain gains in power
by absorbing all the bad thoughts and feelings, and destroying all the good
thoughts and feelings, a pattern which Gilliam has seen before.

He's got a few lackeys to send after you, former guardians of the Radi Es
Radius series.  He thinks it's curtains for you, but Roa has other ideas.
Before getting this Great Battle under way, Ryuusei asks *why* Dark Brain is
trying to go around destroying worlds.  Dark Brain offers the second-oldest
cliche in the book: wherever there is light, there is darkness... and HE IS
THAT DARKNESS.  Simple, elegant, totally preposterous but still effective in
its way.  After all, when you puny humans look out into space, what do you see
more of: light, or darkness?  And you think you can run from that, any more
than you can run from your own inevitable death???  What do you think this is,
an opportunity to overuse punctuation?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Oh, just kill the wisenheimer already.  At least Despinis will fight on your
side, in the interest of establishing an independent life for herself.

 Your reward for scratching Dark Brain's paint job is facing him at full
 power, with a transformation thrown in for good measure -- a pattern everyone
 from Alfimi on down recognizes.  The thing is actually evolving by absorbing
 your attacks, but Ratsel and Gilliam point out that forced evolution only
 brings about destruction.  Your only hope is to keep pummeling it and hope
 that it craps out before you do.  Dark Brain of course thinks this is futile,
 and plans to seal your souls away inside its processing units.  Hey, it's not
 over until the fat chance sings, right?

 Battling interdimensional evil critters is usually informative.  For
 instance, Kusuha informs Dark Brain that she doesn't exist to satisfy his
 lust [for devouring knowledge and spiritual force, that is...]  Ratsel points
 out to Dark Brain that, supposedly, Man was cast out of Paradise for eating
 the Fruit of Knowledge.  If that applies to D.B. too, that might explain what
 he's doing going around devouring all these many worlds...  You also learn
 that Folka means to take the remaining Carnages out of this world in the
 Swordian once Dark Brain is toasted.

 Much more interesting is what Dark Brain means to do after destroying all the
 worlds.  He tells Gilliam that by uniting the twelve Keys, he will head to
 the Supreme Heavens... a path that Gilliam ought to remember well.  Even with
 all his knowledge, Dark Brain doesn't know for certain if it's this world
 where the twelve Keys will come together, but he figures he's got more than
 enough information to satisfy what Viletta is looking for.

Assuming your team is patient and waits for the opportune moment, and assuming
you're studly enough, Dark Brain can TOTALLY get his nether regions demolished
in a single turn.  This ass-rupturing causes all the souls he's absorbed over
the eons to start breaking free, one voice after another shouting out their ire
for being defeated by "mere" humans.  It looks extremely traumatic, and your
people might be more awed if not for the fact that among the Tongues D.B. is
speaking is Osaka-ben...


36. Ragnarok

Dark Brain's dark existence ends in a surprisingly bright flash of light, and
when your people's vision clears, they find themselves in a boundless field of
glowing aurora.  Inertial navigation claims you're still inside the Swordian,
but Roa has a better guess.  You're at a dimensional border, thanks to all
those souls from Dark Brain creating a partial Gate opening.  One way of
putting it is that you're at the mouth of Hell, but the good news is the
phenomenon should subside once all the residual souls are gone.

This will take a while, which pleases Shuu immensely.  THIS, yes this, is the
moment Shuu has been waiting for, when all immediate threats to Earth have been
dealt with and your people become strong enough to actually face him in battle.
Anything less would merely tarnish the name of his Granzon, or so he claims.
Eric Wong must have had an inkling this was what Shuu was up to, but Shuu left
him alive in the hopes of seeing what weapon the doctor could come up with to
actually best the Granzon.  Sadly, Eric's invention wasn't in time.

In a way, one could say that Shuu has been using you all this time, by letting
you live long enough to vanquish the recent string of groups assailing the
Earth.  He pointedly says that he's very much like _Ingram_ once was, and
Viletta grasps what he really means: that he, like Ingram, is being controlled
by something.  In any case, Shuu's stated plan after defeating you is the utter
destruction of the world.  Seeing how long the line of people trying to do that
is, maybe it's only sensible he got your people's help to shorten it for him.
All those assimilationists, interlopers from other planets and other
dimensions, mad scientists and other busy-bodies simply had to go, and not for
any sort of profit.  Shuu is merely doing what his heart commands.

For proof, he activates the Kabbalah System, altering the appearance of his
mech into its true form: the God of Destruction, Shiva, also known as
"Volkrus".  Well, perhaps not literally that god, but at least a form which
draws upon its power directly: the Neo-Granzon.  There's only one way to stop
the end of the world, and that's to beat him in combat.  Now your team finally
understands why Masaki's been so angry about Shuu: the guy already laid waste
to his second homeland, at least indirectly.  Only Shuu knows what Shuu's
thinking, and when Shuu shifts from thinking to acting, be very afraid.  Be
very victorious here, or there's no tomorrow.

 Shuu's drone army can boast of very little besides HP count, and once they're
 toast Shuu decides to get serious.  He takes the wraps off the Degeneracy
 Cannon, telling Masaki that the unalterable fact is that he can't defeat him.
 This is a postulate at best, and Masaki is not a believer.  It almost seems
 trite for someone of Shuu's caliber to be spouting the same grandiose
 gloom-and-doom stuff as the previous litany of enemies, though it's true that
 his mech might just be capable of single-handedly destroying the world.  Then
 again, Shuu makes the interesting comment that "calamity must be destroyed at
 its source".  He asks you to step off the stage, with your place in Valhalla
 assured by your many labors to date.  Vian will be glad to see you, at least.
 With Masaki staking victory on his pride as an Elemental God-Machine pilot,
 there's nothing more to be said.

Shuu's big gunnery isn't quite as Dragonballian as Dark Brain's but it's still
pretty horrendous... assuming he can hit with it.  His relative inability to do
so helps seal his fate... almost as though he doesn't entirely want to win?
Well, he claims that he's fought to the best of his ability -- if all things
must perish, this is his time.  Finally... all his bonds... are loosed...  Your
more thoughtful members can only imagine what sort of burden Shuu must have
labored under that the most preferable escape was death.  When it comes to
Phyrric victories, you could just ship Masaki to Pike Place right now...

News of Shuu's end isn't music to Eric's ears either, though news that Axel
helped out comes as little surprise.  Albero asks where Mitall has gotten off
to.  Mitall, like Eldy, have gone quite incommunicado, and Eric gleefully
suggests that they may have gone off to some hot spring somewhere.  He'll do
what he can to satisfy Albero's suspicions, and is unusually adamant that he's
always been opposed to the whole Etst mess.  That might come as scant
consolation to the critically-wounded Hugo, assuming he ever regains
consciousness.  About the best Albero can do is take formal responsibility for
the loss of so many of his men, not the least of whom was his son.

Thanks to the success of Operation Overgate, the Swordian will shortly come
under military control.  The Carnages have also begun a full-scale retreat, and
Greien will have to decide what to do with their immense space fortress.  He
won't rush to judgment, but suspects the thing ought to be sent out of Earth
space and destroyed.  Mitsuko really does wish she could pilfer all the neato
tech aboard it, but the last thing Greien wants is another White Star incident.
Mitsuko doesn't want both the Swordian _and_ Hellgate destroyed, but Greien is
in little mode to honor her requests - given how Hellgate, an Isurugi facility,
became a hideout for DC stragglers.  She blames this on Jurgen, or rather
Duminas, and has already given up on the Bartalls and Mirongas from a business
standpoint.  She really would rather keep the Aegis Shield, but Nibuharu points
out it's of little use against a foe that can teleport.  In any case, Mitsuko
categorically denies that her company was in league with Duminas, and Greien
says he'll render a final decision once he's questioned all the surviving
Isurugi members.  Remember: only the paranoid survive.

Nibuharu also has a recommendation for the creation of a special forces unit
reporting directly to the President.  The military hasn't always been...
accountable to the executive branch, you see.  This unit, capable of acting on
the spur of the moment, had better pack enough firepower to overshadow even the
Hagane and Hiryuu-Kai, and Nibuharu recommends building it around Central
Project mecha.  Mitsuko suspects that this is the true reason Nibuharu attained
his lofty post, though Nibuharu has the strong alibi of appointment by the
previous President to fall back on.  He'd even gladly accept Mitsuko's help in
creating this new unit, if she'd be totally honest about what she's up to.
That ratchets up the tension several notches, and tells Mitsuko she'd better
really hurry with the next-generation Lion and preparation of its pilots, who
she's just finished scouting out of the military ranks.

About that military control of the Swordian...  Folka still has his people to
care for, and highly doubts that any explanation he could offer would get the
Earth government to let bygones be bygones.  Before the main fleet arrives, he
plans to teleport away, irresponsible though it might seem.  He doesn't really
_want_ to be king, but there's no one better suited for the job after all that
mess with Altis and Alkeid.  Fernand seems content to simmer away for now,
secure in the belief that he'll surpass Folka one day.  As for _where_ he plans
to teleport to, he plans to trust the Carnages' fate to wherever the Swordian
takes them (since no one really knows how to work the controls yet).  And when
they finally do find the Promised Land, Folka will once again greet the people
of this world, not with Iron, but something more flexible.  He can be assured
that at least two people, Kouta and Shouko, will miss him dearly.

Watching the Swordian prepare for departure reminds Axel of when his own people
once left their own homeland for the Unknown.  The instigator of that mission
called it "Plan E.F.", for the Endless Frontier.  Mind you, the lead ship to
teleport completely vanished, and most of those who followed met a similar
fate.  Only a precious few failed to die, a vivid reminder that not all voyages
are happy ones.  So much depends on luck, and if Alfimi felt his heart
wavering, it's because he thought to hope that the luck of these voyagers is
good.  May these pilgrims from unknown to unknown find an Endless Frontier
waiting for them.

Axel and Alfimi are next to depart.  Before they do, Kyousuke asks them what
their plans are now, given that the Etst is destroyed and the Granzon lost in
the dimensional interstices.  Axel will give that some thought starting now --
that's how life goes after all.  Lamia asks to tell him something, and relates
the parable of Man being cast out of Paradise for eating the fruit of
Knowledge.  She herself doesn't even know why she said it, but Axel will take
it as encouragement of a sort, to go forth and find where this "Paradise"
really is.  She hesitantly asks him to tell her too if he finds that answer,
and he makes that a promise.  With final goodbyes said, the Kurogane crew make
ready to return to hiding before the fleet arrives.  Though Ratsel won't be
able to return to the Branstein home any time soon, he asks Rai and Leona to do
so in his stead.  Yuu throws in an apology for doubting Raj, and Raj says he's
the one who should be thanking him for helping harden his resolve.  The
Kurogane sails away, and your other two flag ships make for the Earth.

With your people's return, the war Jurgen started is finally over.  Celcia
intends to do her part as one of those being questioned about the Bartalls.
Jonathan will do _his_ best to see that she's treated leniently, and will keep
a position open for her at Tesla.  Meanwhile, Philio has finished collating all
the data needed for Project TD.  It's time to set up the Alpha and Beta units,
and for Ibis to further improve her own skills as pilot.  In honor of Ibis'
good works so far, Tsugumi tells her that the Alpha's formal name is the
Altelion.  Poor Philio doubts he'll live long enough to see Ibis take to the
skies in it, or even to see the two "wings" reunited... but he's quite sure
that Tsugumi, Ibis and Sley will make his dreams come true.  In the meantime,
he's got a new attack for Ibis to perfect, the most difficult in the GRaM
family that's only even a theoretical possibility.  Won't Sley be surprised
when she returns and sees it?

As Ibis prepares to go join the gang in Asakusa, Marion confirms that the
Excellence team want their mecha completely dismantled and destroyed.  The four
of them decided together that it's better the work be eradicated than lead to
another calamity like Duminas' invasion.  Kirk points out that the Kaiser's
Overgate Engine is being left intact, but Raj notes that that's protected both
by Roa and by the fact that no one but Kouta and Shouko can even activate it.
Raj isn't entirely abandoning his engine research, but he does intend to change
directions away from Chronon propulsion.  Mizuho wants to concentrate on
rescue-oriented robotics, with Raoul and Fiona helping with the software and
testing.  All of this will deprive the Excellence team of any hope of returning
home, but when all is said and done, maybe events have shown that this is where
they belong.  The final nail in the coffin came from the Duminas mess: it's now
clear just how dangerous opening up dimensional doors can be.  For now, they'll
just run a junkyard or mechanic shop to fund their ongoing work... and Despinis
will be part of the gang, existential angst and all.  Fiona even has a name for
their venture: "L&E Corporation", based on the Lightning and Eternal (for
starters).  The good people of Tesla will be glad to help out however they can.

The Choukijin are, annoyingly, back asleep.  Eri and Sophia suspect that the
Youkijin you tangled with may be some sort of scout for a larger force of its
compatriots.  Who, if you're unlucky, may have survived the great die-off
mentioned in the ancient texts that claimed most of the other Choukijin.  Even
the Tougou House (of which Rishuu is scion) has texts which mention members who
piloted the Ryuu-Ko-Ou into battle against various monsters.  No one knows for
sure who the Choukijin's true enemy is, but Rishuu might just have a guess or
two to contribute.  And when the final fragdown arrives, Kusuha and Brit will
be ready to fight on behalf of their comrade machines.

Masaki is yet another team-member with an alternate dimension to return to: La
Geas.  Even with Shuu dead, there's still the Langran rebellion to worry about,
and his other set of comrades to aid.  He'll have to miss the big sushi bash in
Asakusa, but Masaki has never been one for long goodbyes.  Ryuune might not see
him for a long time, if ever, given her own struggles to reign in the remaining
DC lot who no longer follow her father and Ban's ideals.  Prepared to renew his
duty as an Elemental God-Machine Pilot, Masaki is off.

Tetsuya and Lefina visit Daitetsu's grave, telling him of their latest victory
and renewing their vow to keep protecting the people of Earth.  Sean guesses
that their ships are going to go back to mopping up DC stragglers, who have
likely been amassing warpower under the cover of this latest war.  No rest for
the weary, le sigh.  That is, unless these rumors Sean's heard of some UBER
kick-ass squad being assembled are true.  Let's just hope they're friendly.

The SRX team are mostly hard at work reviewing maneuver data, though Ryuu's got
his special limited-edition Burning Blade disc at the ready for when they need
a break.  Minus Viletta, they go to join the Asakusa festivities.  Said
festivities include top-tier sushi for 30, at a cost too astronomical for the
miserly Shouko to even contemplate.  Especially since she's already ordered ten
people's worth more, theoretically in honor of Folka and crew.  Besides,
Kisaburou can simply sell a few patent rights and recoup the cost of
celebrating his grandkids' safe return.  Kai insists on paying for the booze,
FINALLY able to get plastered with a clear conscience. [boy, do I know that
feeling...]  Ratsel even managed to send a load of hand-made sweets for
dessert, and flowers have arrived courtesy of Rin Mao.

The lives of the party arrive last.  An ebullient Giada announces that, thanks
to your team's hard work, his darling wife was able to safely give birth to two
healthy twins.  Their names are _not_ Pein and Poin (lest Giada be on the
receiving end of some domestic violence), but rather Alec and Sandy from the
world's BEST birthstone: Alexandrite.  Despinis now gets to see what a proper
mother (Creator) is like, and with it the first stirrings of genuine happiness.
Lamia too is beginning to understand what Lemon was trying to do.  At least the
kids won't lack for all manner of exotic, alarming baby gadgetry courtesy of
your crew.  And the world they'll grow up in will have the best defenders
anyone can wish for.

You included.

                        T   H   E      E   N   D

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