Super Robot Wars Z2 "Saisei-Hen"
Walkthrough by Mark Neidengard
working copy

This is a work-in-progress, and has not been edited for spelling, grammar etc.
It is intended as one-and-a-half steps removed from a literal translation, and
is offered to aid people's enjoyment of Banpresto's wonderful games.  The
final edited form will be posted to GameFaqs when ready.

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Those who have played Z2H will find nice carryover bonuses.  Select Start
and then "Start With Data Linking".  Completing Z2H even once will give you
150PP, 5 kills and a pile of helpful gear.  Completing the Z2H scenario chart
is worth 100 PP  and 5 kills more and additional gear -- this can be done after
_ONE_ Z2H run if you do the branches in parallel, or after _THREE_ Z2H runs if
you only follow one branch at a time.  Every Z2H run through up to 10,
_including_ the first, is worth an additional 10 PP and 1 kill.  In short, you
will get somewhere between 160 and 350 PP, plus 6 to 20 kills, PLUS between
500k and 1500k money and assorted gear, for playing Z2H before Z2S.

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PROLOGUE 1: Black Rebellion

Many worlds, many universes...  The separate spacetimes known as "parallel
worlds" were never to intersect.  Or at least, until that day came.

The Great Spacetime Quake began in one of the worlds, spreading rapidly as the
walls separating the dimensions collapsed.  The result was the fusion of
several of the worlds into a single, "Multi-Dimensional World".  This new world
was host to new encounters, which led in turn to new conflict.  From this
lingering chaos would be born a new world order.

As might be expected for a world with two moons and two Japanese island chains,
the initial order proved untenably fragile.  A new conflict, sparked by the
Celestial Being's quest to end war by provoking military action, grew between
the Space Colonies and the Earth, and in turn between the Earth's Three Great
Nations.  The chaos was further inflamed by Dr. Hell's bid at world domination
and incursions by the Gishin, the Invaders, the Vajra, and the Beastmen.

To combat this, UN Security Council president Elgan Roddick organized a special
force, drawing on collaborators from many walks of life.  This force, including
pan-dimensional visitors from the "ZEUTH" squadron, pressed their fight for
peace against all obstacles, including the new nation "Imperium" and its
ruler Gaiou.

Thanks to Zexis' exploits, Gaiou was defeated and the so-called Destruction
Incident brought to a close.  Perhaps chastened at last, mankind then began
to unify under the standard of the Earth Federation.

However, this was merely the calm before the storm.  The tenor of the Earth
Federation's military and economic unification was determined by
representatives of the world's existing countries.  As such, the Three Great
Nations' influence, and the lack thereof by the smaller countries and
territories, and Space Colonies, remained unchanged.

Indeed, the resistance group known as the "Black Knights", situated in the
Britannian territory called "Area Eleven", had been fighting for independence
since before the Federation's founding.  The conclusion to that fight is now at
hand.

---

... So, you've been waiting a long time for this game, right?  After all
that time and all that suspense, a slow start just won't do.  Well, how's this
for fast: we start off with V.V. filling Suzaku in on Zero's Geass powers,
which he describes to Suzaku as being a means to "trample people's will
underfoot".  Why did Euphemia's personality change so abruptly, leading her to
attempt to massacre the Elevens?  And why did Suzaku, who's always tried to
play by the rules, inexplicably disobey orders back on Shikinejima?  V.V.
tells Suzaku that he'll get his chance to confirm Zero's identity when the
Black Knights attack this Britannian governmental facility -- which they will
very soon.  What will Suzaku do if Zero turns out to be "him"??

What indeed?  It won't take long to find out, given the speed of Zero's plan to
deal with the Tokyo Settlement.  The Black Knights start by knocking out power
to the area, creating what Zero hopes will be the opening they need to topple
the Britannian forces, and especially their commander, Cornelia Li Britannia.
Zero believes that taking Cornelia out will bring Schneizer, and that taking
_him_ out will force Charles himself to act.  Federation or not, Zero knows
that the former Britannian emperor's influence is undimmed.  If he's going to
seek out his mother's killer -- and see his father struck down for permitting
the killing --  he's got to do it before the Federation's structure becomes too
deeply entrenched.  That's the only way he knows to craft a world where his
sister Nanaly could live in peace.  And at his side will be C.C., his partner
in crime and the originator of his Geass.

Cornelia and her knights realize right away that Zero is somehow behind the
power outage, and Cornelia declares that the Tokyo Settlement will never fall
as long as she's still breathing.  General Dalton will be protecting the
administration building, leaving Cornelia's forces to attack the Black Knights'
main force.  Guilford wants to simply hold the fort until reinforcements
arrive, but Cornelia figures that that would just give Zero time to work more
devilry.  She means to extract revenge for her sister's death, and she means
to have it _hard_.

As Cornelia prepares for combat, Zero's gone to take over Ashford Academy for
use as forward HQ.  Toudou will be in command of the Black Knights till Zero
is ready.  As for the Ashford students, the world is seeming a very dangerous
place at the moment.  All the students have been evacuated to the student
council's clubhouse, except for Rilina -- absent on a trip with her father to
the Colonies -- and Lelouch.  Shirley is haunted by distant doubts that
Lelouch is none other than Zero, and Nina despises Zero (whoever he is) for
his role in Euphemia's death.

Zero shows up in person in short order, flanked by someone the Student Council
know well: Karen.  She advises the Student Council to do as Zero says and
not try anything foolish, and which basically sends Nina into full meltdown
mode.  Zero doesn't like frightening his sister, but occupying Ashford
Academy is the only way to guarantee her safety as he goes to face Cornelia.
He means to leave Ougi in charge of things at the Academy, but Ougi seems to
be elsewhere "questioning" a Britannian person of interest.  Undaunted, Zero
leads Karen off to battle.

Ougi's "person of interest" is "Chigusa", a name he gave to the Britannian
soldier he found wounded after one of the Black Knights' previous battles.
He initially took her in because of her murmuring about knowing Zero's
identity, but has quickly found himself involved physically and emotionally
with the amnesiac woman -- even intending to marry her if Euphemia's ill-fated
Special Administrative Zone had worked.

[Interestingly enough, "Chigusa" is not just any Japanese name -- it's also
the word for "bosom".  Guess Ougi must have been _inspired_ while treating
her wounds...]

Ougi apologizes for concealing his connection to the Black Knights, and says
that he's fighting for the greater good.  If Japan can be liberated and
integrated as a full member of the Federation, he can finally be with her in
peace.  Unfortunately, the woman has just recovered her memory [traumatically,
if you've seen the TV show], and is none other than Britannian soldier Viletta
Nu.  The last thing she wants is to become like one of the Elevens, and repays
what she calls "the humiliation" of Ougi's care with a bullet into his stomach.
As he slumps to the floor, Viletta heads out to try to notify Cornelia of
Zero's identity, which she knows to be Lelouch.

Zero joins his forces, and orders an all-out assault on the Britannian
stronghold.  He offers Cornelia fair treatment if she surrenders, and intimates
that her ass is grass if she doesn't.  Matters get messy when Suzaku and
Jeremiah (a.k.a. "Orange") show up, forcing Zero to try to settle things with
his old friend once and for all.  There can be no turning back now.

 Fending off Suzaku completes the first stage of Zero's plan -- though it's
 hard to feel all that elated with as much history as the two of them have.
 All the same, Lelouch tells C.C. that he's put such thoughts behind him now
 that he's become "Zero".  Orange is a far easier target to deal with:
 reanimated by Britannian science as a loyal, if unhinged, lapdog.

 Cornelia is the real challenge, refusing to go down without a _serious_
 fight.  Zero however has an ace up his sleeve in the form of Dalton, who
 is still under the Geass Zero used in the aftermath of Euphemia's disastrous
 Special Administrative Zone event.  His reward for faithful service is a
 facefull of Hadron Cannon fire, and Cornelia has no option left but fleeing.
 Zero leaves Toudou in charge and heads off after her, even as Britannian
 reinforcements near.

Zero easily catches up to the wounded Cornelia, meeting his sister face-to-face
for the first time in many years.  Lelouch and Nanaly were generally believed
dead in the Far East Incident, but of course both of them are very much alive.
Cornelia realizes right away that Lelouch's rebellion is for Nanaly's sake, and
Lelouch tells her that he means to tear down the facade of peace that is the
current Federation.  She is hardly impressed with that as a reason for Zero
killing Clovis and Euphy, but Lelouch is in no mood for backtalk.

He commands her with his Geass to answer questions about his mother Marianne's
assassination.  She was the one on guard duty the day Marianne was killed, but
it wasn't Cornelia's doing.  In fact, Cornelia had left her post outside the
house _at_Marianne's_request_, which confuses Lelouch greatly.  Marianne
couldn't have actually expected an attack, or she would have arranged for he
and Nanaly to escape.  Instead, Nanaly became blind and lame, and Lelouch
abdicated his right to the throne.  What the hell _did_ happen, and who was
behind it?  Cornelia doesn't know, but says that Schneizer carried off
Marianne's body at the emperor's insistence.

That would be a shocking enough revelation, but C.C. runs in just then with
even more shocking news: Nanaly has just been kidnapped and carried off to
Kaminejima.  She knows all too well that Nanaly is Lelouch's reason for living,
and Lelouch has no choice but to cut his inquisition short.  He quickly
confirms Nanaly's disappearance (and Ougi's shooting at the hands of parties
unknown), and tells Toudou that he's in charge of the rest of the operation.
Zero cuts off further communications and rushes off to Kaminejima, leaving the
confused Black Knights in his wake.

Cornelia contacts Suzaku and tells him that she can remember only one thing
from her exchange with Zero: that he's now headed to Kaminejima.  Suzaku
realizes from her short-term memory loss that she may have been affected by
Zero's Geass, and rushes off after Zero to, as Cornelia puts it, clear Euphy's
name.  Britannian reinforcements start pouring in, and even the mighty Toudou
is feeling lost without Zero's leadership.  Karen then receives a call from
the wounded Ougi, who tells her to follow and protect Zero as the one who's
truly inherited her brother Naoto's dream.

C.C. leads Lelouch to a cave that he's seen before: a place where Schneizer was
up to some strange science-like stuff.  C.C. has felt some kind of anomaly
here, and Lelouch demands to know if Nanaly's kidnapper has something to do
with her and the Geass.  She doesn't know, but tells him to go on ahead to save
Nanaly while she stays and deals with their pursuers.  He worries about her
safety, but she reminds him that she's the one who can't be killed: left alone
in time while those who hated her or showed her kindness have been washed away.
Lelouch counters that she's not _all_ alone: they _are_ partners in crime after
all.  If she's the undying witch, it'll be his task to become the Devil for
her.  As Jeremiah shows up to cause more trouble, C.C. tells Lelouch to go
and rise above his past, and above all the side-effects his actions have.  She
leaves him with a parting kiss, which is the good part.

The bad part is what lurks behind Lelouch as he nears the door to the heart of
the ruins: Suzaku in full assholio mode.  Tensions peak quickly as Suzaku
shoots off Lelouch's mask, revealing Zero's true identity to him and to Karen,
who's brought up the rear.  The shock is enough to keep Karen from intervening
as Lelouch (clutching a bomb set to detonate should his heart stop) and Suzaku
point guns at each other and fire.  Suzaku thinks he can be the one to protect
Nanaly, insistent on completing Lelouch's eviction from the world and ensuring
that Lelouch's desire for rebirth through destruction of the current order
never come to pass.

---

The Black Knights were destroyed during this battle, which came to be known
as the "Black Rebellion".  It was reported afterward that the majority of
their commanders were caught, and that their leader Zero was apprehended and
executed.  This was an immense blow to the morale of other resistance
groups worldwide, and almost immediately anti-government movements everywhere
fell silent.  History texts would regard the Black Rebellion and execution of
Zero as major steps along the road to the Federation's ascendancy.


PROLOGUE 2: The Order to Annihilate the Gundams

At the same time as the Black Rebellion, the order was given to annihilate the
"Gundams", symbols of anti-government resistance.  The Celestial Beings, and
the five Space Colony liberation Gundams, reverted to renegade status once
their special UN squadron was disbanded.  The Federation Army pursued the
Celestial Beings into space, bolstered by their Pseudo-Solar Reactor-powered
MS GN-X units.

The CBs are definitely not on the winning side.  Chris' love interest Richty
is only still alive thanks to his half-mechanical body, a "present" from the
blast that claimed the lives of his parents during the previous war.  Even
he isn't sure whether to call his condition "living" or not, but that's not
important to him now.  What is are the lives of Sumeragi, Lasse and Ian -- all
of whom have managed to flee the Ptolemeios to safety.  As he feels his systems
starting to give out, Richty tells Chris that he's not going to make it, and
she smiles sadly at the thought that such a fine man has been this close to her
all along.

Richty slumps to the floor as Sumeragi radios in for a status report, and
Chris asks to speak to her sister Felt.  She tells Felt to live for both
herself and for Lockon, and to change the world for all of them.  The Ptolemy
then explodes, and Sumeragi tries to have the remaining CBs evacuate.  Setsuna
however isn't prepared to flee.  He means to face the world head-on, to the
consternation of Sergei and the other Federation Forces (including a clearly
conflicted Pieris).  The CBs may be down, but they sure as hell aren't out
yet...

 Tielia apparently doesn't make it through the battle, sacrificing himself
 to take out Patrick.  Something similar happens when Allelujah faces
 Pieris, aka Mary.  Hallelujah takes control there, and detonates their
 Solar Reactor, damaging Pieris badly enough to force her to retreat.
 This will forcibly happen at the start of Turn 4 if you haven't taken out
 Pieris and/or Patrick by then.  In any case, it looks like Setsuna is
 doomed to fall to the Federation reinforcements, "Gundam" or not.

---

 AND, with the CBs out of commission, the wolves of Oz can now encircle the
 Colonial Gundams...

---

The Federation's resolve to take out the Gundams before its formal commencement
betrays their fear of the Colonies -- this Earth Sphere-wide peace accord is
in fact nothing but a facade.  None of the Gundam pilots are in any mood to
surrender to the forces of such a farcical government, and that can mean only
one thing: wrecking Oz's shit but _proper_ like.

 Unlike the CBs, the Colonial Gundams are far more than a match for their
 tormentors.  Who, it should be noted, don't seem to have their heart
 entirely in this battle.  Noin for instance has noticed something strange
 about Lady Une lately, and Zechs actually tells the Colonial forces not to
 get themselves killed when he leaves the field.

 It turns out that Lady Une's recent actions are indeed suspicious: she's
 been preparing to fire missiles at the colonies.  She appears after the
 first Oz wave is defeated, informing the Gundams that their resistance is
 proof of the Colonies' bad faith.  She demands that the pilots surrender
 their mecha at once if they want to stop the launch, and even Zechs is
 aghast as he hears her transmission.

 He and Lady Une promptly start arguing about whether this action is in
 keeping with Treize's ideals, and Lady Une summarily orders the missiles
 fired.  Just then, Doctor J forcibly interrupts their radio conference.
 He tells Lady Une that he never expected her to be this stupid, and says
 that it is not the people of the colonies who are fighting Oz... it is him
 _personally_.  He sniffs that Lady Une seemingly knows no other way to win
 than to choose such an inhuman tactic, and announces his surrender.  Lady
 Une accepts this and demands the Gundams as well, but _that_ Doctor J will
 not grant.

 He repeats: surrender, but no relinquishing the Gundams.  Hiiro, who knows
 Doctor J personally, knows what that means.  He opens his cockpit, and calmly
 presses the button to self-destruct the Gundam Wing with him still aboard.
 Zechs and even Lady Une can do nothing more than stare in amazement...

Word of Lady Une's colony-as-hostage gambit quickly reaches Ambassador Dorian
on colony C1013 (the same that Doctor J's transmission came from).  This is
horrifying news, coming mere moments before the Federation/Colony peace talks
are about to begin.  The horror is just beginning though, as it turns out his
Oz escort has been instructed to assassinate him, the one and only diplomatic
bridge between the two camps.  This will force the Colonies into a distinctly
disadvantaged position in the negotiations, or so Oz sees to think.

Rilina walks in at this point, espying the assassin and her stricken father
in an instant.  The assassin decides to take her out too as a witness, but
Rijeene steps out of the shadows and kills him first.  Dorian's dying words
are to Rilina, informing her that he's not her biological dad.  Her true name
is Rilina Peacecraft, last daughter of the Peacecraft lineage who once
championed the cause of Absolute Pacifism.  Their land is Cinq Kingdom, and
he one of its former ministers who fled with her when Cinq was destroyed.
Over her cries of disbelief, he tells her that the world's Renewal is still
in motion... and that she must bear witness with her own eyes.

Rijeene considers himself fortunate to be present for this momentous turn of
events, and when Doctor J arrives explains that Oz has just assassinated
the good ambassador.  Doctor J isn't pleased that Oz got to Dorian before he
had his chance at a conversation, and tells Rilina that he knows all about
her: the "princess" who went to the same school as Hiiro.  He owns up to being
the one who sent Hiiro to the surface, and tells Rilina to come with him so
she can carry out her father's wishes, safe from Oz's grasp.  Rilina accedes,
clinging to the thought of Dorian as her one and only father and determined
to see this world's Renewal through.

---

Afterward, the Colonial Gundams vanished, and the five people who issued
their orders were captured in due course.  The Colonies' anti-Earth resistance
ceased completely.  Furthermore, the "unsolved" assassination of Dorian forced
the Colonies to enter the fledgling Earth Federation under far from favorable
terms.  With the very concept of the Gundams lost in darkness, none were left
to voice objections at the Earth Federation's birth.


PROLOGUE 3: The Earth's Last Day

With all these obstacles dealt with, the Earth Federation's foundation day
drew near.  However, the world was anything but united in its desire to join
the Federation.  The Middle Eastern territories, with a long history of
opposition to the Three Great Nations, and the numerous smaller nations still
torn by internecine warfare, turned their back on the Federation in favor
of independence.

Amidst such circumstances, some semblance of order was coalescing in the
Dark Continent, formerly devoid of any social mechanisms worthy of the name.
However, this was to be interrupted by the reappearance of the Invaders...

The former Zexis forces exploring the Dark Continent are doing their best to
fend off the Invader packs, but their numbers are few... and spread thin.
Still, the metropolis formerly known as Tepperin is well-defended: newly
christened "Kamina City" as a beacon of hope to the humans clinging to life
nearby.

The crew of Getter Robo have watched Simon's maturation with approving eyes:
not only is he head of the Dai-Gurren Gang, but also the de facto leader of
all humanity on the continent.  Benkei has grown strong too, seemingly the
equal of Musashi in power and participating in roughly half their dispatches.
Musashi isn't ready to fully relinquish his seat in the cockpit yet though.
Even Kitan has gotten past his role as "Beast Buster", since the Beastmen and
humans are now friends.

 During the battle, Hayato muses that both the Invaders and the influx of
 Getter Rays have been growing in intensity over the last few months.  Is
 there a relationship?

 This question takes a back seat though when a human figure appears on the
 battlefield.  Ryouma recognizes him as being from the Saotome Lab, and
 almost immediately an army of Getter Robos appear.  The mystery figure
 calls out to change into Shin Dragon, a robot comprised of enough regular-
 sized Getter units to occlude the entire sky.  This is the robot said to
 herald the final day of the world, which is what Professor Saotome -- very
 much alive -- intends to do before kicking the bucket.

 And guess what: by the STRANGEST OF COINCIDENCES today turns out to be that
 day.  Simon and Ryouma know that they've got to stop this lunatic and his
 Shin Dragon, though that would seem to be a pretty tall order for a crew
 that hasn't even mastered Shin Getter just yet.

 In fact, Ryouma and the crew _have_ gotten better with time.  Shin Dragon,
 sadly, has too, and Saotome thinks that the Getter Team's struggles are
 emblematic of human weakness.  Corwen and Stinger are overjoyed at the
 sight of Shin Dragon in action: this is what they've long dreamed of while
 collaborating with Saotome's Getter Ray research.  Hayato can't understand
 what they're doing at Saotome's side now, since Saotome rejected their
 approach long ago and insisted on pursuing Getter research himself.

 They tell Hayato not to be surprised: they've restored rightful relations and
 overcome the limitations of mankind.  Those limitations include the
 imbecility to not understand what Getter Rays really are -- Evolution itself!
 But Saotome views humans as unevolving, and tries to silence the Getter
 Team's objections by force.

 As though that wasn't bad enough, word comes in that the Federation has just
 launched Deuterium Missiles at the area, fearing the abnormal rise in
 Getter Rays.  That would be Shin Dragon's work, and Saotome is far from
 worried about Shin Dragon itself -- the Deuterium Missiles would just ignite
 its powers.  They would also wipe out all the humans and Beastmen living in
 the area, either directly or through fallout.  Ryouma realizes there's only
 one thing to be done: intercept the missiles at high altitude with Shin
 Getter 1.

 That would be easier if Musashi were in great shape, but Saotome's little
 "shut up" barrage seems to have injured the poor lunkhead.  Knowing that
 three pilots are needed for full power, Ryouma rapidly has Benkei take
 Musashi's place, tells Musashi not to die while he's gone, and flies off at
 top speed.

 Or, that's what would have happened if not for that dude from the lab
 intervening.  His name is Gou, and he insists that Benkei stay behind and
 watch over Musashi while he pilots Shin Getter 3.  Even Saotome cheers him
 on as Musashi says that this dude seems somehow trustworthy.  Saotome seems
 to falter at this point, and Corwen says that Ryouma and his fellows have
 past the point of no return.  They must now receive their comeuppance, and
 as the missiles approach Gou does... something.

 It seems a Quake is beginning, and the heartbroken Saotome beseeches Gou to
 complete his unfinished work.  He had no choice but to rely on Shin Dragon,
 and tells Musashi that Gou is the True... true... somethingorother.

---

The Quake destroyed the Deuterium Missiles headed for the Dark Continent, but
also warped the area's dimensional boundaries.  Once more, the Dark Continent
was isolated from the rest of the world.  Thanks to this, there was no way
to know what was transpiring inside...

---

You would think that Charles' private shrine-thing-place-whatever would be
pretty well guarded.  Evidently not well enough to prevent Ribbons from walking
in.  Charles recognizes Ribbons as the power behind the Federation throne,
and Ribbons tries to be all polite and apologetic for invading the Britannian
emperor's little vacation spot.  He thanks Charles for deciding to participate
in the Federation, but Charles wants to know one thing only: how the hell did
Ribbons find out about this place?

Ribbons says that he's got his sources of information, and Charles sniffs
about the troves of stuff buried deep within Veda.  Charles then asks what
Ribbons is after, and is told "Renewal" of mankind.  That results in a
dangerous smile, as Charles' suspicions about how "interesting" Ribbons must
be are confirmed.  He tells Ribbons that he's welcome to rule the world in
stead of Schneizer or Treize, describing such things as being beneath him.
Ribbons promises to lead the world into the future, and Charles leaves him
with one caution: human beings are inherently unequal.  It is through
conflict, through theft and hatred and bloodshed and domination that the
future lies...

---

In the shadows of the birth of the Earth Federation, the uniting of mankind's
will, were the machinations of Ribbons Almark -- controller of the quantum
computer called Veda.  He and his collaborators strove to shape the world
according to their own desires, controlling the populace in the interest of
peace, unity and restoration.

And indeed, peace fell over the world.  A peace that would continue so long as
none became aware of the schemes that underlay it...


CHAPTER 1: Fighting Girl

One year has passed since the Breaking of the world, and around a month since
the birth of the Earth Federation.  The common people are beset by doubt and
discontent, but are also gifted with something they've not savored in ages:
peace.  It is a peace marred by a rising tide of Dimensional Beast violence,
seen as a sort of natural disaster now that the Imperium no longer guides
the DBs' actions.  To combat the increasingly severe damage, the people have
taken to hiring private DB Busters.  And the arrival of one DB Buster in
particular is about to herald the arrival of a new battle...

---

Jeebus Kreist but it's good to be back.  As The Bard once said, "What's gone
before is prologue", and it's past time for the logue itself.  The tale begins
on the streets of New Delhi, where the citizens are eagerly (impatiently?)
awaiting the arrival of a DB Buster the mayor has hired.  Opinions are divided
about the value of a private contractor, when a simple phone call could
summon the Federation army.  Has there ever been an _army_ assembled for
purely peaceful purposes before?  The rumor mill has it that the Federation
army's main task these days is skirmishing with resistance forces worldwide,
and that the army has come _near_ but not _into_ New Delhi because they've
got targets nearby.

Could it be survivors of the Black Knights?  Rogue Gundams?  In any case,
the prevailing opinion is that everyone should chill out and count on their
private Buster, a stalwart from the renowned (if nearly bankrupt) Scott
Laboratory.  And lo and behold: that Buster turns out to be none other than
Esther!

She's the pilot of the Blaster Es (the mass-production version of Traia's
Blaster), and has Carlos along to keep an eye on things.  She isn't too fond
of his habit of calling her "Kitten", but given her propensity to call him
"Former Moneybags" maybe she can't complain too loudly.  The fact she can't
see Crow very often thanks to all this Buster work is more a cause for
complaint. but that's a concern for another time.  Carlos' firsthand knowledge
of the DBs' habits (gathered from all his hanging with the Imperium folks)
comes in very handy, and is telling him that a big herd of DBs are about to
strike.  Whether he truly divulged all he knows in return for not getting
imprisoned is an interesting question...

Today's DB is a Daimon class, but Esther has Crow's trademark "so what?!"
line ready.  Neither she nor Carlos want to get yelled at by Traia, so they
plan to avoid as much battle damage as they can.  In fact, this battle is a
sales opportunity for the Blaster Es: kick butt, and everyone will want one
in their driveway.

 The first wave of DBs are a tractable opponent, but the next wave is another
 story.  Carlos notices right away that their heads are shaped differently
 from any DBs he's familiar with, and warns Esther that things are about to
 get rough.  He knows that she won't be able to hang on forever, and
 fortunately she won't have to go it alone: the Gundam Heavy Arms and Shenlong
 show up soon.

 Actually, that would be the Death Scythe and Sandrock, but whatever.  Duo
 and Quatre are glad to see one of Crow's acquaintances, but they're not
 willing to trust her entirely on first sight -- they're bailing out as
 soon as these DBs are dealt with.  Or at least, that was the plan until
 Esther begged them for a chance to say thanks face-to-face.

The thanks are tendered aboard the Scott Lab transport, where Esther tells
Duo and Quatre how much she's heard about them from Crow.  They, meanwhile,
have heard nothing about her from Crow, and Esther resolves to kick Crow's
ass for it the next time she sees him.  Esther proclaims that she is _not_
Crow's girlfriend, though come to think about it she isn't _not_ his girlfriend
either...

Duo and Quatre hastily change the subject to their fugitive status with the
Federation, and again Esther is conflicted.  On the one hand, she's got a
piece of her mind to give anyone who keeps opposing the Federation... and on
the other hand, it's hard to dislike anyone who risks their lives for the
lives of the common people.  She offers them a chance to rest for a while,
and Duo is about to take her up on it until Carlos shows up and needles them
about their terrorist status.  Before Esther can forcibly shut him up, Carlos
decides voluntarily to leave instead and bring news of these new DBs back to
Traia.  Esther will have to keep up her Busterly duties without his help for a
while, giving her plenty of time to exchange thoughts about the state of the
world.  She thinks to the absent Crow that she's giving her all for her job,
and for her love.


CHAPTER 2. Fugitives

Leaving the tasty environs of New Delhi, the Scott Lab contingent next heads
for Myanmar.  Along the way, the G-boys explain what they're up to -- which is
_not_ the destruction of the Federation as such.  Hell, after all the trouble
it took to get the entire Earth Sphere on the same chapter (if not the same
page), that would just be stupid.  And besides, it's not like all one-world
governments are bad: the Frontier fleet is from a dimension where that worked
out fine.  Mind you, in their case mankind united only in the face of total
annihilation by aliens, but the principle is still the same.

Big Threats = Big Cooperation, and it's hard to find bigger threats than Gaiou.
The trouble with the whole Imperium fiasco is that it forced the people
together _too_ quickly, resulting in a Federation with more than a few kinks in
it.  Too much power is still concentrated in the hands of two few, and the lot
of the second-class nations (such as the Colonies) remains little-changed.
There's enough inequity going around that an identifiable "third-class" tier
exists: nations crippled by internal fighting and under the "supervision" of
the UN.

Reasonable voices from the Colony side were mostly silenced by Dorian's
assassination, leaving hard-liners on both sides to point fingers at each
other.  Duo's of the opinion that the Surface was responsible, and fears that
Rilina would only withdraw further if she knew her father died a pawn in
international politics.  The sad fact is that the Three Great Nations are
even _harsher_ on each other now that they're not obliged to engage in open
warfare, using the machinery of politics to grind each other and anyone nearby
into a pulp.  This is the true reality of the Earth Federation: "What we don't
know keeps the contracts alive an' movin' / They don't gotta burn the books,
they just remove 'em".

The real beauty of it all, if you can call it that, is that anyone trying to
fight to change the system can simply be branded a terrorist.  And insofar as
_somebody's_ blood will have to be spilled for things to change, such terrorism
will be a truly reviled profession.  The G-boys think the path of least
resistance is to crush the Federation's two special battalions: the
"peace"-keepers of Arrows, and Oz.  Oz is the prime target, still funded by the
Romfellar Conglomerate, shadowy rulers of the old AEU who have now somehow
managed to gain Federation ascendancy even over Britannia and the HPL.

Though the G-boys are acting independently, they're keenly aware of the armed
anti-Federation movement called "Catalon".  Squashing Catalon is in fact the
biggest excuse Arrows uses for murdering whomever they like, wherever they
like.  This would be a hard thing for the average person to accept without
truly monumental proof, and an even harder thing to confront given the fear of
bloodshed the public acquired from the last war.

Esther might not have the vocabulary to express it in words, but she's
definitely upset at this false world peace.  The G-boys are hoping to get a
toehold on the problem by exploiting Arrows' and Oz's dislike for each other,
but to do that they'll have to contend with the Federation's spin doctors.
Their hope is to gather allies through their travels, and if necessary to maybe
join Catalon for some of their operations.  It would be really cool, for
instance, to find the other Colonial Gundams -- and Hiiro, if he's still alive
after self-destructing three months back.  Esther's heard from Crow that
Hiiro is some kind of self-destructing otaku, but one with an unshakable
sense of justice beneath his poker face.

It would be nice to get the Celestial Beings on board too, but there's a little
problem: they were all destroyed in space.  Once again, the Federation spin
doctors have managed to keep that information totally under wraps.  Seems
the Three Great Nations wanted them out of the way even more than the Colonial
Gundams, as there was nothing in particular the Feds could point guns at to
keep them at bay.

The conversation is cut off abruptly when Federation Army forces radio Esther
to heave to and submit to a cargo search.  Her Buster license isn't good
enough to avoid the Feds poking around in the hold, so Duo springs into
action and pretends to be a hijacker.  The idea is to make it seem like
Esther and the G-boys aren't collaborating and let Esther escape, but when she
hesitates to leave them behind Quatre has to get nasty.  Having her around, he
says, only makes it harder for them to escape.  Esther takes the hint and
flies off, and the G-boys agree that they don't want to mix her up in their
dirty fight when she deserves the right to lead her own life.

There's some confusion among the Feds, who were expecting some sort of small
unit and not Gundams from their recon reports.  Still, any Gundam pilots are
terrorists, and to be summarily slain.  And perversely, the evil name of
"Gundam" may be the last hope Duo and Quatre have left.

 The Feds get their butts hosed fast, but no sooner do they falter than a
 group of mercs show up.  They'd been pursuing other prey, and now see
 an opportunity to sell the Gundams to the Federation for big moneys.  This
 apparent contradiction doesn't bother the merc commander at all, and he
 figures that blaming the whole mess on the Gundams is all he needs.

 And _that_ doesn't sit well with Esther, who hasn't actually flown as far
 away as the G-boys expected.  She pulls the whole "What, I was just passing
 by and discovered people shooting at the Federation army, it's my CIVIC
 DOOTY to help out!" act.  She's learned well from Crow, it would seem.  The
 mercs turn out to be the "Fangs of Dawn", warlike remnants of the WLF (see
 the previous game) that fulfill all three of Stella's least favorite
 characteristics: unfair, non-fair and anti-fair.  Aren't synonyms in
 foreign languages fun?

 In short order, the Fangs of Dawn's original prey show up: none other than
 survivors of the Black Knights, Karen and C.C.!  The Black Knights are
 apparently very much alive, and if Karen is any indication, out for some
 serious-ass, Kill Bill-style payback.  C.C. asks who the blinged-out mech
 belongs to, and the G-boys tell them it's Crow's protege.  Karen tells Esther
 she'll be counting on her, and battle resumes anew.

 Fangs of the Dawn sounds bad-ass, but the fact is that these mercs prove
 pretty toothless in the face of the former Zexis members.  Maybe if the
 Federation army spent more time hunting down yahoos like the Fangs and less
 chasing the G-boys they'd actually be earning their paycheck.

Esther invites Karen to the transport to recuperate from what seems to have
been a very rough time of it.  She and C.C. agree, though C.C. sounds more
than a little uncertain that Esther's transport will offer much safety.  It's
pretty clear pretty fast that Esther is quite taken with the Black Knights'
(female) ace.

Meanwhile, news of the Gundam sighting reaches Oz HQ.  Treize tells Zechs that
he'll have to lead a task force to take on the Gundams sooner or later,
preferably sooner lest the Arrows steal a march on Oz.  Zechs seems to have
lost his enthusiasm for Gundam hunting after the Wing's pilot self-destructed
it -- unlike most opponents out there, the unwavering Hiiro strikes Zechs as
a true "warrior".  The fact that his body wasn't found when Oz picked up the
Wing Gundam's wreckage suggests that he must still be alive... and will surely
rise up to face Oz again one day.  For now though, Treize's sponsor Delmeier
demands results, and unless Oz want to find themselves absorbed by Arrows,
that's what they've got to produce.

Treize tells his two lieutenants, Zechs and Quatro, to get ready to muster
Oz's forces for when the official order to sortie comes.  What's more, they'll
have full authority to gather anyone from Oz's far-flung forces they need.
What he really means is that former Zexis members will be sent to attack the
Gundams, testament to how dangerous Treize thinks they are.  Quatro, as one of
those former Zexis members, clearly has his doubts about the wisdom of this...

Back aboard the transport, it becomes rapidly evident that Crow has made Karen
out to be some kind of ferocious she-ogre, feared on battlefields far and
wide.  If one construes "ogre"ly body type from WoW, that may not be 100%
inaccurate, and Crow _did_ add that Karen seems to have some deep thread of
kindness beneath her lethal exterior.  That's all well and good, but Karen
would rather Esther befriend her as one normal person to another, than as
some sort of hero worshiper.  That works.

C.C. thanks Esther for her hospitality too, laconically requesting pizza for
dinner before walking off to rest.  She's every bit as enigmatic as Esther had
heard, if not more for all that even Karen calls her a "witch".  And she _is_
an honest-to-goodness witch, with magical powers and whatnot, as Karen learned
after the Black Rebellion when C.C. told her the truth about Lelouch and his
Geass.  Like it or not though, working with C.C. is Karen's best shot at
getting Zero back....

The G-boys are glad Karen and C.C. are safe, and delicately offer their
condolences that Zero, despite all his brilliance, was captured and executed.
Karen doesn't want to go there -- even with many of the Black Knights
imprisoned and her mech in sorry shape, she intends to go on fighting.  The
G-boys can definitely relate.  Esther offers to drop Karen off anywhere she
wants, and Karen requests Singapore.  She and C.C. mean to work as mercenaries
for a friend of hers, raising enough money to return actively to the fight
against the Federation.  If the Feds won't recognize Area 11 as anything more
than a Britannian territory, Karen won't recognize the Feds, period.  Esther
promises to take Karen to her destination, inwardly wishing she could meet
Crow and talk through this spate of complications she never knew existed...

 The Federation has allowed Area 11 to
remain a Britannian possession, and if the Feds won't recognize Japan, Karen
won't recognize the Feds.


CHAPTER 3. Servant of the Sun: Tetsujin 28

Traia takes the news of Esther's unscheduled trip to Singapore with
considerable good grace, willing to trust her young Buster to make her own
decisions.  Of course, that's easier when there's another reason for Esther
to be in Singapore: another job, and one that Esther might want to drag her
guests along to.  How's that again?  SEEKRITZ for now.  Traia adds that she's
been availing herself of Esther's gong: a remarkably good stress reliever.
And there's a lot of stress when you manage the kind of Busters Traia's got.
Esther happily heads off to transact Business and Love(tm), leaving Traia
shaking her head at her optimism.

So what, you might be wondering, is so important in Singapore that it might be
worth mixing up two different groups of terrorists in Buster business?  Well
for starters, there's Ranka, with Alto and Luka on hand guarding her as she
tours the local zoo.  She's got some of her usual recriminations about
enjoying herself while her friends are basically on guard duty, but neither
Luka nor Alto are exactly sorry to be here now that they've arrived.  Ranka
has one concert the following day, and then must return to Island One for some
kind of massive joint project Grace has planned with Sheryl.

You best believe that Sheryl has been busting her ass on physical therapy,
trying to come back from whatever mystery ailment has sidelined the Galactic
Fairy from touring.  If only Simon (currently trapped on the Dark Continent)
could see the comeback show.  Guess the two idol stars will just have to wrack
up some amazing concert footage for the inevitable Blu-ray release for the
Dai Gurren Gang to watch, eh?  Grace's project is supposed to have all manner
of special guests, but there's at least one guest whose arm Grace couldn't
twist to participate.  All the same, with Sheryl and Ranka on stage, Alto sees
no reason to worry.

Esther turns up at this point, having been contracted to help the S.M.S. guard
Ranka.  Crow had told her about the cross-dressing ultra-pretty boy and the
fresh-faced lad in surprisingly accurate terms.  More body guards can't be a
bad thing, especially when it seems that someone is out to actually get the
dazzling young woman.  Fortunately, yet another bodyguard has mingled with the
crowd: Shotarou, a grade-school-aged Interpol agent tasked with opposing
"Branch", criminal leader of the so-called Robot Mafia.  Shoutarou's handy
with a stun gun, and apparently as good an agent as Watta is a CEO.  He's also
got something in his briefcase called a "V-Con" that lets him control Tetsujin
28, probably considered in some circles the World's Mightiest Robot(tm) until
Imagawa enters the conversation.

In any case, it's a handy tool with which to fend off Branch's robot-driving
goons, and even comes with its own repair bot "08".  Branch has an advantage
in numbers and advance planning though, and it looks like he might actually
manage to kidnap Ranka until Brela intervenes.  Alto _hates_ getting further
into debt with this guy, especially given the way he looks at Ranka, but
without his mech there's little alternative.

 Esther's newfound friends show up quickly too, C.C. commenting on how odd
 it is for personas non grata to be solving hostage crises.  Duo tells her
 not to sweat it -- it's not like the Feds are anywhere close to making it on
 time.  What's the world coming to when the Grim Reaper gets to lecture a
 witch?  C.C. knows very well what it means to be an Ally of Justice, but for
 right now she wants to take the goons down and the hell out of Dodge before
 things get messy.  And although the Black Knights and G-boys are willing to
 assist the Interpol's robot, it's an open question how Shotarou feels about
 them...

 As the fight ends, Shotarou finds himself conflicted: as an Interpol agent,
 he should try to capture the Black Knights and G-boys.  Yet they risked their
 lives to protect the innocent...  Just then Chief Ootsuka calls up, telling
 Shotarou to return to base and offering to take full responsibility for
 letting the fugitives off.  Said fugitives are prepared to "run off" and
 spare Esther the legal trouble of harboring then.

 You can choose to see them off, go to 4S.  If you want to stick with them,
 go to 4T.

 In either case, Brela repeats his tired old statement to Alto about Ranka
 being too good for him before flying off.  Shotarou meanwhile is determined
 to catch Branch next time...

Ranka thanks Alto profusely for protecting her when they get back to her her
hotel suite.  Alto asks if she knows who Brela is, and although she doesn't
know _consciously_, she admits to feeling her chest tighten every time she
sees him.  What do you suppose the odds are this pertains to her missing
memories?  Soul-searching will have to wait for later, as Ranka's manager Elmo
comes in with Ootsuka and Shotarou.  Shotarou turns out to be a classmate of
Watta's, which explains how he came to be one of Ootsuka's subordinates.

Ootsuka explains that Branch's forces are becoming a menace too great for
Interpol to handle alone, which is how the Crusher squad got involved.
Shotarou will be on security detail till the return to Island One, and he's
overjoyed to get Ranka's autograph.  Alto meanwhile can only hope that Karen
and the others don't get themselves killed in vain.


CHAPTER 4S. (Route split)

Karen and friends are certain they'll see Esther again, and tell her to see
for herself what this world is really like.  Traia echoes the sentiment when
Esther tells her of the change of plans, offering a little secret to help
Esther get over the feeling that she's somehow betrayed Karen's group.  All
"adults" need something to help them get by, right?  In Traia's case, the
policy is "No use crying over spilt milk".

Esther has more on her mind than just the fugitives.  She's got the opportunity
to accompany the Crushers in their Interpol mission, or even the S.M.S. back
to the Frontier fleet.  Traia says that it's entirely up to her what to do:
there's sure to be some fearsome DBs wherever she goes.  Traia is confident
that she's raised Esther to be able to take care of herself as much as Crow
can.  For the Crushers, go to 4A.  For the S.M.S., go to 4B.  Either way,
Traia hopes that Esther will do good work to increase the reputation and thus
earning power of the Blaster Es -- after all, money is what makes the world
go 'round...


CHAPTER 4T. (Route split)

Esther is of a mind to see how the world works, and figures the best way to do
that is to hang out with the renegades.  She says as much to Traia when she
radios in, and Esther agrees (like on the other route).  This time Traia
teaches Esther the phrase "You get yours, I'll get mine," meaning that everyone
is entitled to their own sense of right and wrong.  As on the other path,
Esther will have to decide which group of allies to travel with.  She could
head to the Middle East to seek the help of the Catalon, or she could head to
Kumen, where a group of Astrageans (mostly from the Gilgamesh faction) have set
up their own country.  The place is on the brink of rupturing from infighting,
but it does have a lot more Astrageus culture than most places on Earth.  One
has to wonder what could be so important that a people with the balls to refuse
Federation entrance would turn around and start battling each other...  To head
to the Middle East, go to 4C.  To go with Karen and friends to Kumen, go to 4D.


CHAPTER 4A. Takeo General Company's Onslaught

Shotarou makes it home from Singapore in good order, giving that autograph from
Ranka to Mackie as a souvenir.  He then introduces the crew at his house to
Esther, whose robot Shikishima will be looking after until Esther is officially
transferred to Battle Camp.  Conveniently, Shoutarou's house has a hangar/lab
beneath the tennis court -- it is where Shoutarou's dad Professor Kinda used to
work on solar energy.  The good professor died in the middle of his work some
time ago, and his wife followed not long after... thus leaving Shikishima to
look after Shotarou and finish building Tetsujin 28.  Kinda always wanted
Tetsujin 28 to be used for peace, and his son's been doing a kick-ass job so
far.  He is, however, just a kid, and Shikishima implores Esther to look out
for him as they get to work for the Crushers.

Mackie turns out to be Shikishima Makiko, the prof's daughter.  She in turn is
in tight with Kappei and Kaoru, and Watta.  Watta's company is in precarious
financial straits as usual, and if Uchuuta doesn't make good up in space,
bankruptcy is imminent.   Still, Watta's got time for a spot of tennis with
Mackie -- a form of skipping out on homework.  There's enough kids around
for some mixed-doubles play, but Kappei doesn't have a regular partner to
enable joining in.  So sad!

Sadness can wait though: there's bad guys at large and they've picked now to
raise hell at a jewelry store downtown.  The robots used in the heist mark
them as some of Branch's Robot Mafiosi, and backing up the police as they
run down the fugitives is funner than tennis any old day.  And if the kids are
going, Esther's going too, for love and professionalism!

Esther has of course heard all about the child super robot pilots from Crow,
who was especially grateful to Watta for keeping him fed.  Watta tells Esther
that Crow's already paid him back in full for that, thanks to a sushi run he
treated Watta to some three months back during a visit to Japan.  Esther is
all sorry she couldn't go out for dinner with Crow as well, and Kappei tells
her to shut her yap so his dogs can concentrate on tracking down the bad guys.
After all, they say that "A walking dog will be struck by a rod", which Kappei
takes as a sure sign that his canine trackers will hit their mark.

The proverb is actually a warning against sticking one's nose where it doesn't
belong, and the promising start to the investigation quickly gives way to a
car chase.  Meanwhile, the folks back at Takeo General Company are reclining
in bored ignorance of Watta's plight.  They've not had a job in a month, or
heard from their man Banjou in two.  Their boredom ends abruptly when they
catch sight of the TV, where Shotarou and friends are speeding after the
criminals down crowded city streets.  The shuttle craft can't be used to
help out in the middle of town, but Emiko realizes that they might be able
to contact Shotarou through Ootsuka.

Ootsuka calls Shoutarou's cel, which Kappei answers for him.  The plan is to
drive the perps to a specific point, where Takeo forces are supposed to help
bring them to justice.  The "specific point" turns out to be an amusement
park, which can apparently be rapidly evacuated.    All it takes is a little
bluster from Kojirou and the bad guys are left with no time to escape.  A
super robot pops out from right beneath their feet, dangling them far above
ground with no choice but to surrender.

Case closed, then?  Not hardly!  Branch and his main force of goons are still
on the loose, and they've still got their robots.  Not for long if Trider has
anything to say about it though, or any of the rest of the do-gooders on the
scene.  The only snag is a shortage of missiles, owing to the generally
impoverished state of Takeo General company.

 The Skill Point depends on spreading kills around to the front four pilots,
 but oddly enough an unlooked-for set of allies show up: King Gainer and
 friends.  They seem to be able to move about openly, despite the fact that
 Garode _is_ piloting the "Gundam" DX.

With the former Zexis folks on the scene, the Robot Mafia doesn't stand a
chance.  The team get back to Takeo's offices in time for tea, where Gainer
explains that Banjou himself hired his crew to help Watta out.  They've not
been having an easy time of it, abruptly shut out of the new country they
were trying to found by the Quake in the Dark Continent.  Those still outside
the warped dimensional walls eventually drifted apart and began new lives for
themselves in other parts of the world.  Work was scarce.

But Banjou gave them a ray of hope, and although Takeo's finances are dire
Ootsuka shows up to turn that ray into a full-scale shaft.  He's arranged
to hire Takeo on as adjunct members of the Crushers, meaning their financial
woes are, for now, over.  This also means work for Gainer and friends, and for
Shotarou and Esther too.


CHAPTER 4B. Second Coming

The crew head to space in a shuttle borrowed from L.A.I., the Frontier fleet's
unified manufacturing apparatus.  Luka just happens to be the son of L.A.I.'s
president, though he'd rather focus on piloting than bureaucracy.  The shuttle
isn't strictly necessary for the Valkyries, as they're fully capable of
escape velocity on their own, but it's a great help to Esther.  Despite her
exterior (or perhaps because of it), Alto can tell that she's still just
getting started as a pilot.  Could that be... the voice of experience?

In any case, the Blaster Es represents the best learnings from events of the
previous war: a mass-production model combining combat prowess with dependable
controls.  If this sounds like a commercial, that's because it is: Traia gave
Esther a script and everything.  The Es is essentially a commercial
demonstration model, and as such does _not_ use the "VX" (pronounced
"Quintuple X", according to the glossary: the highest level of unknown "X"-
class gadget).  Esther hasn't been told of the Sphere's true nature, knowing
only that it's uber-expensive or something.

Luka and Alto aren't surprised at Esther's descriptions of Traia: they
remember her as shrewd, inventive, and with fashion sense that the kabuki-
trained Alto can definitely respect (as well as her looks, though he won't
admit it).  Somehow Esther distrusts Alto on female relations grounds,
suspecting there's a lot more going on between him and Ranka than either are
letting on.  This nearly turns into an argument until, as always in these
spots, THE ENEMY APPEAR.

Luka's detected a Defold signature, and as the only people in the Earth sphere
with that tech (the Frontier fleet, more or less) have no reason to Fold
to their position, it can mean but one thing: the Vajra!  All hundred of
Esther's hours of space combat come from a simulator, but she's insistent
that she can help battle these space monsters.  She may still be a greenhorn,
but her resolve is for real.

 Alto recognizes this, but really doesn't want to see her get herself
 killed out of inexperience -- or any other reason for that matter.  She
 tells him she's got someone she wants to fight to protect as long as she's
 breathing, and he decides to lead her into battle against the enemy second
 wave: _this_ is how fighting is done!

 They make a good combo, and thanks to the arrival of some old allies they
 won't have to battle the rest of the Vajra alone.  Michelle and Alto are
 still friendly(?) rivals, and the Aquarion folks are eager to show that they
 too are earning their S.M.S. paychecks.  As Esther recounts to herself who
 all these people are, she's starting to realize that Alto is actually a lot
 cooler than she thought.

The team easily achieve a "temporary" victory over the Vajra.  Jeffrey fears
that these were just scouts for another full-scale herd invasion, the first
since the previous war.  That herd's queen is supposedly dead, raising the
possibility that these are a different batch, but whatever the case may be,
it portends a lot more bloodshed to come.  But, "temporarily", there's
cause for celebration as the pilots return to the fleet.

Esther is now crushing on Alto really hard, and of course doesn't just fess
up right away.  She, like her predecessor Crow, definitely has her
peculiarities.  Luka has figured out what's going on with her, but is rather
hesitant to tell Alto about it.  Two familiar faces are absent: Klan and
Kanaria are back at the fleet guarding Sheryl, with Sirius and Silva tagging
along for good measure.  After the mafia threatened Ranka's life, such
precautions seem only natural.

Sheryl's left a message for Alto to come visit when he gets back, and the
other pilots quickly take to talking about how Alto hasn't decisively picked
one of the two idol singers yet.  Esther quickly gets the wrong(?) idea and
announces that a) Alto isn't all that, and b) she's adding handsome to her
list of undesirable qualities in a man.  As Ozuma starts yelling at him too,
poor Alto can only beg someone, ANYONE for an explanation of what just
happened.


CHAPTER 4C. The Lost Warriors

Quatre's lieutenant Rasheed acquired some intriguing information: a Colonial
Gundam has turned up in Azadistan.  There's no definitive word on the CBs,
but rumors abound of a mystery mobile suit that's been aiding the anti-
Federation forces from the shadows.  It's not, to outward appearances anyway,
a Gundam.  Rasheed will have the Maguanac pursue the matter further, and tells
Quatre to be very careful: both the Arrows and Oz are on the scene...

"On the scene" means that Oz is conferring with Azadistan's governmental
types, while the Arrows are lying in wait for an excuse to send in the troops
and forcibly annex the place for the Federation.  Rilina is hanging with
Azadistan's princess, and the mere mention of her name seems to shake Hiiro's
resolve.  This fact has not escaped Trois, but he doesn't criticize Hiiro for
it: they've both learned the hard way that acting on emotion is not a bad
thing.  Trois admits that, like Hiiro, he's been having doubts ever since
he and Hiiro hid in a traveling circus in the wake of the self-destruct
incident... Are they doing the right thing by biding their time while the
Colonies are now legally dominated by the Feds, and would he have the courage
to do what Hiiro did if the time comes?

Their soul-searching is interrupted by Catherine, who's glad to hear that her
two circus clowns are hard at work on a "new act".  She's very glad that Hiiro
healed so quickly from his injuries, and thinks he's the perfect foil for Trois
the expressionless clown.  She's cooked lots of Trois's favorite food, and
orders the two to help set out the dishes so everyone can eat.  Catherine is
a strict disciplinarian, but seems to be very sweet on Trois -- a state of
affairs Trois knows can't continue forever.  With Oz and Arrows at the door,
maybe the time to end it has already arrived?

Lady Une is parlaying with Marina, promising peace and protection for
Azadistan if Marina agrees to join the Federation.  Marina asks what would
happen if she were to refuse, and Lady Une tells her that any fears of the
military _forcing_ her peaceful nation to join are unfounded.  Not so
convincing, when the fate of Cinq Kingdom graven in the history books.  Lady
Une's sales pitch amounts to this: all small nations who refused the Federation
are still crawling their way back from the ravages of the previous war, far
behind the rest of the civilized world.  Maybe so, counters Marina, but the
small nations who _did_ join have little influence and their common citizens
are as poorly off as ever.  Is Marina prepared to deny her people the peace
of mind that the Federation citizens enjoy?  Anyone who would isn't fit to
rule a country, in Lady Une's warped view...

..Which is where Rilina comes in (literally).  She's seen firsthand how far
Oz will go to force its viewpoint on others, and isn't surprised they've been
searching for her ever since Dorian was killed.  Her eyewitness testimony
about the assassination isn't going to stir public opinion, so Rilina has
instead opted to kill off the person responsible herself.  Marina gets in the
path of Rilina's gun, crying out that shooting would make Rilina no better than
Oz.  The drama is interrupted by Lady Une's cel, and as she leaves the scene
she tells Rilina that her life is not Rilina's to take.  They'll settle their
score soon enough.

Rilina is of course grateful to Marina for returning her to her senses, and
has reached an important conclusion: she can't fight the way Hiiro can.  She
tells Marina of Doctor J and his fellow scientists, and how they raised their
representatives from birth to be skilled in the military arts.  They have been
instilled with the belief that their fighting will lead to peace -- if humans
begin wars, humans can end them too.  Doctor J sent Hiiro to get those
responsible for this war, and according to him Hiiro voluntarily chose to
shoulder the burdens of all Colonists because he understands their pain.

Rilina may not have it in her to pull the trigger, but she's got other ways to
fight as Hiiro does.  She thanks Marina for teaching her of Cinq Kingdom's
Absolute Pacifism, and tells her she's sure Hiiro is alive and helping those
who would resist the Federation's might.  That's a good thing, since Oz and the
Arrows' little tiff is about to spill over into the streets of Azadistan's
capital.  Arrows seems to be deliberately letting armed bad guys push toward
the city, and Lady Une reckons Oz isn't in any position to stop them.  If only
Marina had made the "right" decision sooner, it wouldn't have had to come to
this.

However, Oz isn't the only would-be guardian Azadistan has: Hiiro and Trois
are on the scene and in no mood to give either Oz _or_ Arrows an excuse to
act.  Trois knows that Catherine saw him launch his Gundam, and figures that
he's got nowhere to return to now.  Duo and Quatre show up soon after, and
Esther is completely unafraid to be seen with them on the battlefield.

 As the battle rages on, the fake terrorists start to run low on ammo and
 make to flee.  Trois declares that all those who see Gundams must die and
 begins to pursue, only to pull up short as Catherine comes into view.  She
 asks if it really is Trois at the controls, and when he hesitates the
 fleeing "terrorist" mounts a counterattack.  Trois' mech is in bad shape, and
 he decides to self-destruct and take the bad guy with him, hopefully
 protecting Catherine in the process.

 His hand is stayed however by none other than Setsuna, who shows up out of
 nowhere and "simply destroys" Trois' assailant.  The Exia is in sorry shape,
 but Setsuna has more than enough juice to return the favor that Trois and
 Quatre once paid him here.  With his help, the bad guys are in for a world of
 hurt.

 The pain is not unidirectional though: the Arrows still have their their
 forces lying in wait, including a brand-new "Ahead" mecha, and they were
 poised for action anyway.  Their commander Jinin knows he can't withdraw
 with the wanted Gundams right in front of his face, and the Gundams know
 that taking him out will be the easiest way to end this fight.

 Jinin flees before the Ahead can be destroyed completely, secure in his
 belief that the Federation is in the right and prepared to do whatever it
 takes to enact the Federation's will quickly.  Things certainly aren't
 getting any easier for the G-boys, but Setsuna tells Hiiro to come with him
 if he wants to try to resolve his doubts.  Setsuna will offer him a chance
 to strike directly at whatever is warping the world.  The other G-boys will
 have to go look for a new place to hang their hats and plot their next move;
 they'll wait for Trois to say his goodbyes first though.  Lady Une, watching
 the Gundams depart, knows that the world is still accelerating.

Catherine is shocked that the laconic circus performer is actually a Gundam
pilot.  He tells her he's not sure why he threw himself in harm's way
protecting her -- perhaps he didn't care if he lived or died, now that his
original goal is gone.  She smacks him upside the head, yelling and crying at
the same time that he needs to consider how much grief his death would cause
those who love him.  He can't promise her that he'll come back alive from
his adventures... but he does tell her he'll try.  That's good enough for
her, and she promises to make dinner for him and Hiiro when he does finally
come back.

The other pilots overheard all this, and when Trois says he respects the
strength of Hiiro and Setsuna to die if necessary, Duo tells him not to be
so sure in Hiiro's case.  There _is_ Rilina to consider, as it seems all
Gundam pilots have a woman they love [including the female ones? @_@].  Esther
smiles that there's only one man she wants doting on her.  Trois seems to
have found his reason for living, and prays that Hiiro finds the same with
Setsuna.

News of the battle reaches Maria, to whom Lady Une has returned.  Lady Une
claims the Feds have chased the _scaaaaary_ Gundams away, but Maria is
interested in the fact that one of the CBs' mecha was spotted on the
battlefield.  Setsuna must still be alive, and fighting.  Marina tells Lady
Une that she wants to interact with the Federation on "equitable" terms, and
that Lady Une is free to interpret that as refusal to join if she wants.  As
Lady Une prepares to go file her report, Marina tells her that Rilina, who
Lady Une describes as "delusional", is actually just the sort of person who
can illuminate the way to true peace.  Lady Une isn't much impressed,
especially given that Marina won't take up arms for her own cause, but the
question is far from settled.  Marina herself isn't sure how to proceed, but
what she saw in Rilina's eyes, in Hiiro and Setsuna's eyes, is true resolve and
something she can believe in.

Rilina meanwhile has decided to leave Azadistan, lest her resolve be softened
in its gentle environs.  An Oz officer then steps out of the shadows, but not
to arrest her.  It is Noin, and she's come to take "Rilina Peacecraft" to where
she belongs...


CHAPTER 4D. Assemble EX-10

The team arrives at the Kumen base Assemble EX-10, where their old friend
Goat greets them.  His life is rather upgraded from what Karen remembers in
the Shinjuku ghetto: he's now in overall charge of ordnance for Assemble EX-10.
And given the internal strife in Kumen, he's got plenty to do and plenty of
work for any new collaborators -- which is where Karen and friends come in.
Goat offers Karen condolences about Zero, and tells C.C. he's glad to see her
as short-tempered as ever.  Fortunately he's got loads of pizza to feed her,
and anyone brave enough to stick around here will need plenty of nourishment.
This, proclaims Goat, is right around the corner from West Hell -- two blocks
from South Doubt, it isn't a jail cell.  Esther may not be in it for the money
like her predecessor, but she's still got reason enough to stick with Karen
and brave the hellish fighting to come.

Goat's taken the liberty of fast-tracking Karen's application to the most
elite of the Kumen units, putting her right at the tip of Hell's spear.  Their
mates will be Potalia, Kidayla and Shakko, and Kidayla's initial skepticism
over the "cheer girls" quickly turns to shock when he finds out that _Karen_
was the Black Knight's infamous "Red Devil".  Karen in turn is impressed by
the hulking Shakko, a "Quent" who senses something special in C.C.  The
squad's leader is Kan Yuu, and he shows up after a brief pause with the final
squad member: Kiriko!

Yuu has given Kiriko a thorough examination before accepting him onto the
squad: he is after all both a former Black Knight and a former Red Shoulder,
and there's every chance he could be a Biller Guerilla agent.  The Billers are
the Kumen forces' main adversary, and it's known that _they_ have some of
the fearsome Red Shoulders on their roster.  Yuu still seems to have his
doubts about Kiriko, but Gon Nue, commander of Assemble Ex-10, has vouched for
him personally.  Kidayla smirks at the thought of how many Billers Kiriko is
sure to slaughter, and tells Kiriko and Esther that anything which hurts
the Kumen mercs' revenue stream will get them some serious comeuppance.  Kiriko
promises the same should he be interfered with, and it's all Yuu can do to
keep his volatile squad from punching each other.

Gon Nuu has a message for them via webcast.  Every week, 5% of his nation's
mercenaries don't come back alive, and which percentile the newcomers fall
into depends on their resolve.  Remember: this is Hell.  C.C. snorts that
Gon Nuu should have said that "this _too_ is Hell", and Yuu yells at the
womenfolk to keep the chitchat short and to follow his orders if they value
their asses.  And lo and behold, those asses will be on the line sooner rather
than later thanks to a Biller assault on the base -- more or less a daily
occurrence in these parts.

Kiriko, it turns out, still has his Internal Monologifier in good working
order.  Kumen, he narrates, is the kind of place where the heat and the
humidity cling to the skin.  Where every insect carries with it fevered death.
The greenery just serves to hide the true nature of this hell-hole, yet the
blare of the sirens and shouts of the soldiers make it seem familiar, even
reassuring.  Kiriko came in search of Fiana, and once more, he steps onto the
smoky, bloodstained battlefield.

He chooses for his mech an old-school Scope Dog, preferring its familiar
cockpit to the more modern Diving Beetle Goat offered.  Goat tells him he's
got a lot to catch up about, and tells him not to get himself killed out there.
He also warns Kiriko to be wary of Yuu, who seems to have taken a personal
dislike to him.  Esther meanwhile is having to deal with a rather unfortunate
turn of phrase.  When she said the mercs "aren't on her level", she meant it
as a compliment, but of course they took it as the opposite.  It'll be her
job as the only flying mech here to take on the enemy choppers, and maybe
mend some fences in the process.

Yuu deliberately sends Kiriko alone into the midst of the enemy, ostensibly
to have him prove he's not a spy.  Karen hurries off to guard his back as
battle begins.

 The women earn themselves quite a bit of respect during the battle, even
 with the money-grubbing Kidayla.  Maybe Kidayla would be a better match for
 Esther than she thought, given the similarity to a Certain Someone(tm).
 Kiriko doesn't like to be called a Red Shoulder, and makes sure Kidayla knows
 it.  The question is, how'd he answer Yuu's questions about his background?
 He tells Karen that he enticed Yuu with his knowledge of the Perfect Soldier
 program.

After the battle, Karen tells the obviously nervous Esther to knock off the
bravado and get some rest -- she knows well that Esther doesn't have much
experience fighting other people.  Kiriko tells Karen to take her own advice
too, and although Karen knows he's right, she's still determined to resurrect
the Black Knights.  Finally smiling, she thanks Kiriko for being worried about
him.  Kiriko too has people worrying about him, including Vanilla and Kokona.
Kokona in particular has been worried sick, but she's prepared to forgive him
all his absence when he tells her she's gotten prettier with time.  It seems
even Kiriko has learned a bit about how to socialize like a normal human.
Kiriko's return is as good an occasion as any for a reunion drink, including
the Zexis members' new squadmates.  Camaraderie may be a hard-one thing, but
this hard-bitten crew may just be the best crew to nurture it.

Kumen may be a hellish country of heat and humidity and blood and smoke.  Yet
it also holds a strange warmth that Kiriko hasn't experienced before -- a
warmth that gives him a sliver of hope for the battles to come.  Somewhere deep
in his heart, he still longs to see Fiana, the world who changed his life,
again...


CHAPTER 5A. The Melancholy of P.R. Section 2

Esther does her sales pitch for the Blaster Es, the mass-production version
of Crow's Blaster.  As on the other route, she says that it isn't equipped
with a VX, whose true nature (a Sphere) she's ignorant of.  And the inhabitants
of peaceful Japan, in turn, seem ignorant of the machinations going on inside
Arrows and Oz.  Esther bristles briefly when Adette calls her "For Work and
Love!" catchphrase as simpleminded as Crow is, but then realizes she can't
really argue.  Crow _is_ dense in some ways, but he's awesome anyhow.  Of
course, the older womenfolk realize right away that Esther loves Crow.

Speaking of love, Garode tells the others that he's left Tifa back with Rolan
and the others at the farm.  No sense bringing the girl into a dangerous,
uncertain situation, right?  It's admirable that Tifa, Rolan, Harry and the
others are trying to live in harmony with the land (to the extent that Rolan
buried his Gundam in it), but not all the old Zexis members have adapted to
such a sedentary life.  Gain and Cynthia in particular have been kicking around
and looking to ply their skills for hire.

Garode would have happily sold his Gundam to make ends meet if it meant not
having to part from Tifa (he tried that before, in fact), but "Gundams" don't
have much resale value just at present.  As such, Garode is prepared to keep
piloting, even if it earns him unwelcome attention from the Feds.  It's not
like Hiiro and the others became bad people just because the Federation woke
up one morning and said so.

Takeo's financial straights aren't so dire that they can't offer up one hell
of an afternoon tea.  Still, they're doing far worse than 21st Century, who
are fairly rolling in dough.  The problem is that P.R. Section 2 are bored out
of their gourd, from what Kishita has heard from Akagi.

It seems that a "certain person" is making Akagi and friends report their
battles in excruciating, ten-second-interval detail.  This means lots of
editing and rewrites without any tangible benefit to the pilots battling the
Heterodynes, and that in turn means lots of stress.  One could perhaps call it
an interpersonal conflict between Akagi and "the person", who reminds a lot of
the staff of Shiroda in his early days.

"The man" turns out to be the new tactical advisor Saeki, supposedly a
protege of Shiroda's.  This morning, Saeki announces that the Dai Guard will
_not_ be participating in tonight's disaster drill, despite the obvious
benefits in community goodwill and in readiness.  Saeki says that the
decision came from VP Nishijima, a recently ascendant suit who seems to be
angling for the CEO's chair.  Saeki plains to have the three pilots rehearsing
some simulator pattern's he's dreamed up, despite objections from all three
that real life requires more than just rote memorization.  Saeki fires back
that Shiroda _used_ to be a precise, efficient commander until he came into
contact with these three, but before the argument can proceed further the alarm
klaxons go off.

Saeki brushes off Oosugi's recommendation to ask Takeo for help, saying that
Nishijima wants Dai Guard to face the Heterodynes on its own.  Saeki is
(over)-confident in his tactical plan, and there's no time to argue the point
with the Heterodynes at the gates.  In fact, there's so little time that
Section 2 are forced to fight the enemy in the very heart of Tokyo, frantic to
buy time for the residents to evacuate.  The battle won't be any easier for the
fact that the Great Knot Punisher is down for maintenance, but of course that
isn't the Dai Guard's greatest weapon...

The Heterodyne shows itself, but Saeki insists that the team stay put and wait
for it to approach.  This will of course result in the city getting trashed all
the while, and Saeki's lame excuse is that it would be foolhardy to rush in
without data upon which to base a strategy.  This means, in fact, that he
actually doesn't _have_ a strategy, and Akagi and friends would rather see Dai
Guard get damaged than the city itself, where all the residents have to live
and work.

 Nishijima's hopes of manipulating Dai Guard don't stand much of a chance if
 the pilots are going to ignore Saeki's orders.  However, corporate infighting
 rapidly moves to the bottom of the priority list when a bunch of DBs appear.
 With no reinforcements to be found, Dai Guard will be forced to fight both
 them _and_ the Heterodyne alone.

 But they're not alone for long: the Takeo forces (Garode and friends
 included) show up quickly -- too quickly, in fact.  The reason is Shiroda,
 who foresaw that the DBs would follow the Heterodyne onto the battlefield
 and made appropriate preparations in advance.  Among the DBs are two variant
 types who seem content to guard each other and watch the battle unfold.
 They're guarding each other, and need to be taken out simultaneously if
 they're to be taken out at all.

 Certainly the red Pyramid wishes it had a friend, especially when Dai Guard
 shows off its greatest weapon: the Power of Teamwork(tm).  Though this
 isn't strictly necessary to defeat the twins (Garode is around, after all),
 it certainly doesn't hurt either.

The consensus is that these Heterodynes were dogging it, deprived of vitality
now that Gaiou isn't around.  The new species are a bit creepy, but seemingly
nothing the team can't handle.  Damage to the city is at a minimum, and Saeki
has been seriously schooled.  He, predictably, isn't happy about this, and
it rapidly shapes up to be him against the whole rest of Section 2 on the
question of who gives the orders around 21st Century.

Matters come to a head as Taigauchi summons the entirety of Section 2 to the
main conference room.  There, they're surprised to find the staff of Takeo
General Company and Ootsuka... and Shiroda!  To Saeki's chagrin, Shiroda
praises Akagi for his good work at protecting the public (after mildly chiding
him for not working better with others).  Big news then: Section 2 is now going
to join the Crushers thanks to a joint military contract 21st Century has just
signed.  This means another war is brewing, and though that's hardly cheerful
news for Akagi, he's determined as ever to do his part for world peace.  This
will leave 21st Century more than a little short-staffed, but Taigauchi seems
unconcerned (much to Nishijima's annoyance).

One other piece of news: though Shiroda will be joining the Crushers too, his
place will be at HQ strategizing -- Saeki will be front-line commander.  Hoping
to salvage some shred of profit motive, Nishijima has put some kind of shifty
proposal to Kojirou -- but that will have to wait till later to unfurl.  For
now, the Crushers, whose jurisdiction extends to the whole Earth Sphere, are
heading to Germany.


CHAPTER 5B. Twinkle Star

Ranka has quite a surprise waiting for her in the dressing room she shares with
Sheryl: Nanase!  Who, it turns out, was hired as costume designer for the
upcoming concert... and was worried sick about Ranka's near-kidnapping.
Luckily, Ranka survives her bearhug and manages to relate her adventures to the
two ladies _and_ their bodyguards from the S.M.S... Aquarion folks included.
Jun in particular is a Ranka superfan, and is a bit _too_ excited to finally
spend some quality time with the Superdimensional Cinderella (never mind the
crush he's got on Tsugumi).  The Galactic Fairy isn't daunted however: as long
as there's someone waiting for her, she'll come back from damn near anything.

Romance seems to be the topic of the moment, as Klan tries and fails to deny
her interest in the absent Michelle.  Sheryl teases Sylvia that her
brother-con act is SO last century and that it's time to hop in the sack with
the wild Apollo instead.  This touches off a minor rampage, and Grace isn't
exactly sympathetic.  The ease with which Sheryl can talk about other
people's love is thanks to her own love... love for "all those" who hear her
singing.  Ranka claims to feel the same, but she wonders in private if, like
her, Sheryl also harbors feelings for Alto.

With everyone assembled, Grace unveils the name of the whole multimedia
extravaganza she's been planning: the "Twinkle Project".  A fitting name, it
would seem, for the two brightest stars in the heavens gathering together in
one place.  Liina gets a devious smile on her lips, remarking especially to
Grace that the stars' brilliance never fades... even in the shadow of evil.

Alto and friends show up at this point, touching off a nifty reunion between
him and Sheryl.  When she tells him he'll have to work twice as hard to guard
both her and Ranka, Alto smiles and says he'll have to work _three_ times as
hard to ride herd on a wild horse like her.  He gets to start right away,
taking both girls for a little shopping before the rehearsals begin in earnest.
Sheryl warns Ranka (nicely) that the two of them are about to spend every
waking moment together, the better to be in sync for the concert.

As the entourage head out, Grace sighs a bit: there is one singer _not_
present she really wanted, one whose songs gave great courage to those on the
battlefield not that long ago.  Translation from Evil Bitch-speak: she wants
a spare in case something "happens" to either Ranka or Sheryl.  And that person
would need a very high level of Song Energy to be of use...

On the way to retail bliss, Sheryl tells Ranka that the Robot Mafia may have
had something more on their mind than just demanding a fat ransom.  Perhaps
someone wants to monopolize her singing for their own entertainment?  Maybe
that was the reason the two were kidnapped the last time?  Whatever the case,
the two singers' songs belong to all mankind.

The group's little stroll is disrupted by an explosion up ahead, possibly the
work of terrorists.  The S.M.S., who've been keeping an eye on their charges
from a respectful distance, rush out of the woodwork and head to the scene,
leaving Alto with strict instructions not to leave the singers' side.  Sure
enough, it turns out to be a kidnapping plot with the bombing as a diversion,
but if the terrorists think they'll have an easy time of it, they're sorely
mistaken.  The psychically-powered Elements aren't exactly the sort of
bodyguards you can just karate chop and leave behind.

Unfortunately, there seem to be a _lot_ of terrorists, and they've got a really
wide area surrounded.  They claim to want to kidnap the singers to change the
world, by shattering the false peace offered by the Federation, but their
tactics are clearly crap.  And Esther is not shy about calling them on it,
pooh-poohing their plan to force the Frontier fleet's capitulation as so much
self-righteous bullshit.  Fortunately, she's got an ally lurking in the
shadows: Setsuna!  He buys the group time to escape, warning that the
terrorists aren't done yet.

Setsuna is still driving around in his busted-ass Gundam Exia, determined as
ever to destroy all that which has warped the world.  And if the CBs actions
helped summon that warpage, it's they who must strike at its black heart in
penance.  Mind you, that's a tall order in a mech as trashed as his, and Esther
tells Alto that they've got to go help.  Conveniently enough, Brela shows up
to watch over the two singers, freeing up the pilots to sortie their mecha.

 In fact, the whole S.M.S. bring their power to bear.  Ozuma knows the team
 has to hurry before things get even worse.  And by "worse", he means the
 New Joint Forces, the Frontier army that's now part of the Federation.  Once
 the terrorists are dealt with, he makes a show of shooting in Setsuna's
 general direction in order to drive him towards the one exit where the Feds
 can't interfere.  Setsuna catches on quickly, and thanks Ozuma before
 bugging out fast.  Ozuma then successfully faces down the army leader before
 taking his troops off the field too.

As it happens, Grace was behind the whole thing, staging it as a show of good
faith to a certain someone.  Certainly she expected the S.M.S. and Gundam Exia
to vanquish the goons easily.  And wouldn't you know it: Mishima is in
cahoots too, which would explain why the Frontier forces showed up late.
Both of them have a "mysterious" patron, who had hoped that the Exia and the
other terrorists would have taken each other out.  If you played the previous
game, it should be painfully obvious who this patron, who manipulates the
Federation from behind the scenes, really is.  Mishima of course is a fairly
shady person himself, with ambitions that rival even this patron's designs on
world control.  Grace can only caution Mishima that said dude's got some
SERIOUS computing power on his side, computing that even her intelligence
network hasn't been able to penetrate.

Mishima may be ambitious, but he's also a very cautious man.  He warns Rijeene
against striking before it's time, claiming to be different than the reckless
Gundams.  They can afford to wait for now, letting the next Vajran attack be
the sign for their advance, on the dubious theory that even He(tm) can't
predict their movements.  Maybe Mishima is more reckless than he lets on?

Esther is the sort of straight-forward kid who has trouble grasping what Ozuma
did for Setsuna.  Yeah, they shot in his general direction, and yeah, they
didn't take him in and fix his broken-down mech.  But they _did_ let him go
free, and avoided arousing the suspicions of the Joint army in the process.
If Setsuna insists on fighting terrorists in a broken-down mech, one has to
assume he's got his reasons.  Even Alto took a moment to catch on, but when he
remembers what Setsuna was like during the previous war, it all made sense.
He's one strong-willed guy, and he doesn't fight needless battles.

Esther apologizes to Ozuma, and he tells her he doesn't mind her
straightforward approach to life.  He tells her he'll be happy to teach her the
brains and brawn she'll need to survive, as he once did with Crow.  Speaking of
whom, Crow was last seen three months ago, when he paid so clandestine a visit
to the Frontier fleet that even most of the other S.M.S. weren't aware of it.
As his fortunes had greatly improved, it seems he mainly wanted a drinking
buddy or two -- which turned out to be Ozuma and Jeffrey, at Crow's treat!
That's rare enough to raise doubts about him as an imposter, but it all makes
sense as Crow paying them back for supporting him during the previous war.
Also, it was him returning from visiting a certain grave...  Esther wishes she
could grow up quickly so Crow would go drinking with her too, but it _ain't_
that easy.

Sirius and the others return, reporting that the singers are now resting
comfortably in their hotel.  Both are quite calm, including the normally
excitable Ranka.  Could her calm be from Brela's influence?  It's unclear, but
whatever the case the S.M.S. have been relieved of guard duty due to Brela's
presence.  This frees them to return to Vajra lookout duty, greatly decreasing
the likelihood that they'll get to see the Twinkle Project live.  That suits
Apollo fine: he's been itching for a good fight for quite a while now.  Ozuma
hopes that Setsuna lives on, and that he won't have to fight the guy in the
future.


CHAPTER 5C. Oz and Arrows

Treize has some explaining to do to his counterparts in Arrows over Oz agents
being stationed in Azadistan -- where Arrows was clearly expecting action.
Treize initially blows this off as an example of the usual miscommunication
between the two camps, but when Goodman forces the issue, Treize tells the
commander that Arrows is in no position to criticize Oz's methods after the
agent provocateurs they sent in.  Goodman accuses Oz of over-leniency, and
Treize responds that Arrows has a bad track record on collateral damage: hardly
in line with their motto of Efficiency.  Goodman would rather see Marina's
dangerous delusions of Absolute Pacifism crushed quickly, even at the cost of
innocent lives, rather than allow the ideology to spread to its neighbors in
the still-unincorporated Middle East.

..And that, Treize sighs, is precisely why the two groups will never get
along.  At least the point is now clear beyond dispute.  Treize tells Goodman
that war ought to be fought only among the proud warriors -- involving anyone
else is the idiocy that makes history texts so tedious to read.  Goodman
isn't surprised to hear that sort of thing out of a nobleman's mouth, and
retorts that what the world needs nowadays is the power to enforce unity
against the Earth's common threats.  Goodman promises to report all this
directly to Delmeier and stalks off, leaving Treize to lament that the people
seem to have learned the wrong lesson from the previous war.  That he himself
wasn't able to do anything about it makes him part of the problem too, one
supposes.

But enough philosophizing: Zechs is on hand and needs some new orders after
a successful anti-terrorism stint in Ezemistan.  The winds are blowing again,
this time with gale force as they seek to usher in a new age, and Treize wants
his lieutenants to taste them firsthand... whatever that means.  The common
troops are certainly being buffeted by storms from within, as the old Zexis
folks find themselves at odds with the treacherous forces of Oz.  Camille at
least makes an attempt at fitting in, but Shinn isn't willing to let Alex and
Muller forget about their illegal attack on Catalon forces after the already
surrendered.  If not for Treize's generosity(?) in taking in the Zexis pilots,
and the fact that the Gundams are currently sealed away to avoid sending the
world mixed messages, one imagines that the Oz regulars would already be six
feet under.

So far the Zexis pilots have been fighting terrorists, but it seems only a
matter of time till they get mixed up in Oz's rumored dirty deeds.  Nobody can
what Treize is really thinking, but indications are that he's not being the
most proactive at using Oz's power for good.  In fact, given what his orders to
Zechs and Quatro turn out to be, it seems he's all about using Oz's powers for
bad: the former Zexis folks are being sent to take on the terrorists' Gundams.

The plan seems to be for Treize to use himself as bait, by going on a bit of
an Italian road trip with only a few units (Zechs' squad included) as guards.
Formerly known as the "Lightning Baron", apparently Zechs is a full count now,
and still as dangerous an opponent as ever.  Everyone except Esther realizes
straight away that this _has_ to be a trap, but it's a trap they can't afford
to not jump into.  Taking Oz and Arrows on directly is a recipe for disaster,
making this shot at a decapitation strike impossible to pass on.  The G-boys
can only hope that they're not the only folks with enough enlightened idiocy to
take that shot...

As the Oz forces set up to welcome their "guests", Zechs has some questions
for Quatro -- like why he sent Camille and the others away from the last line
of defense.  Could it be that Zechs doesn't want them fighting the enemy
Gundams, and if so, why?  And IF that's the case, what is Quatro himself still
doing hanging with Oz?  Something to do with the missing Amuro Rei?  Quatro
says that he's chosen to fight the Gundams for his own sake, and nothing to
do with Amuro.  He admits to being only human, and is hoping to satisfy his
doubts under Treize's aegis.

Now's not a good time for doubt though, as the forces of terrorism (quote
quote) arrive: not just Esther's band, but Wufei as well.  Wufei wastes few
words on ordering the others to support his surgical attack on Treize, and
since he technically got to the scene first the others resign themselves to
helping out.  Wufei is even impressed by Esther's can-do attitude, which he
deadpans is too good for a woman to hold.  Oz reinforcements can only be held
at bay for five turns, so you'd better hurry!

 That Quatro is working for Oz suggests that other former Zexis folks may be
 around too.  But that's a worry the G-boys will have to save for later.
 Neither Quatro, nor Zechs, are going to let themselves get killed here, with
 so much left undone.

Wufei reaches Treize just as the Oz reinforcements arrive, including the
aforementioned Zexis folks.  It's ghastly to see the former comrades-in-arms
split across the battlefield, and Duo can only hope that Wufei hurries: he
knows that his side aren't going to be up to fighting their old friends for
real.

Wufei dismounts from his Gundam to face Treize, wanting to face his opponent at
his opponent's level in a swordfight to the death.  This is what Treize was
hoping for, and though Wufei is a fair hand with his Blue Dragon Blade, Treize
is better with his saber.  He does _not_ kill Wufei, allowing him to escape
with his life (in disgrace) even knowing that Wufei will be back for more.
As Wufei runs off in fury, Treize muses that Wufei is just the sort of
warrior he's been looking for.  And the next time they fight, Treize will
fight Wufei on Wufei's terms: in Mobile Suits.

Wufei's failure is apparent to the other pilots as he dashes away from the
battlefield in his Gundam.  Duo tells his friends to make themselves scarce
too, saving Camille and friends from having to fight them.  And since there
aren't any orders for pursuit, they too head back to base.

After dismounting, the former Zexis pilots discuss the shock of seeing their
friends on the other side of the battle lines.  Asked if they're destined to
fight, Camille can only say that they must if their beliefs truly differ.  The
fact is that the Federation is screwed up, badly enough that resistance
groups are essentially guaranteed to arise, but in Camille's view the problem
isn't with the Federation as a whole.  The problematic part is, alas, the
Federation's core and those who serve it directly.  Which means Arrows, and Oz.

Camille had no problem with Oz while it was acting as a legitimate world police
force, but their current spat with Arrows is changing the way the members
think, prodding them toward the same old might-makes-right arrogance that
marked the Three Great Nations.  Leaving Oz to collapse is a tough pill to
swallow though: without Oz, who _will_ be the world's police?  Even the noble
Crushers are just a local force, lacking the authority to face a global foe
like the Imperium was... or like Arrows is in danger of becoming.  Camille
guesses that Treize, and Quatro, are both interested in keeping Arrows
neutralized.

If so, Treize just took a huge gamble.  He, like Elgan Roddick himself, is an
altogether too-inscrutable force.  And speaking of Elgan, why the heck is the
former "Boatman" leaving Arrows to do as they please?  Kira and Aslan are off
in space following Lady Une around, and Amuro is missing, so Camille is forced
to guess by himself what Quatro's true motives are... and what he ought to be
doing going forward.

Wufei is in pretty bad shape in the wake of his defeat, calling himself an
unfair bastard who can only fight those weaker than himself.  He feels unfit
to fight, and it's Esther of all people who tells him that a defeat or two is
a piss-poor reason to simply retire.  Wufei pauses, telling her that such
thoughts make her strong, and stalks off to go God-knows where.  Duo tells
Esther to leave Wufei alone -- the guy is even more stubborn than Hiiro when it
comes to stuff like this.  Wufei will likely come back, stronger than before,
but the team's got big problems to deal with in the meantime.

Oz isn't just going to kick back and let any old jackanapeses assail its
supreme commander.  There will be reprisals, and those reprisals are going
to involve Camille and company.  Nevertheless, the group can only keep fighting
for their beliefs, and waiting for Wufei, Hiiro, and other friendly forces to
settle their doubts and join them.


CHAPTER 5D. Maelstrom

Goat had a theory about Kiriko, surmising that the indestructible mercenary
would have been busy looking Phantom Lady all this time.  This led him to name
Vanilla's bar "Club Phantom" in the hopes of luring Kiriko near, and damn if it
didn't work like a charm!  Kokona sings live every night, and Goat put up half
the financing, making for a bar that ain't half bad, despite its disreputable
clientele.  Kiriko wants only coffee for now, saying that he's come to war-torn
Kumen in search of the Red Shoulders working for the other side.  He knows that
Fiana's kidnappers, the Secret Society, have dealings with the Red Shoulder
survivors -- and if he's ever going to find any clues, they're as good a place
to start with as any.

Kiriko's own past as a Red Shoulder certainly didn't make the job interview
for the squad any easier, and he only got it due to the direct intervention
of Gon Nuu.  That wily fox is rumored to have dealings with the top Gilgamesh
army folks, from whom he's learned of the existence of the Perfect Soldier
program.  He wants to use Kiriko to help steal some PS's for himself, so he can
cement his ties to the Gilgamesh army -- who in turn want to use the PS program
to cement _their_ stature as full-fledged members of the Earth Sphere.

In theory, Gon Nuu could alternately sell the PS's directly to the Federation,
though Potalia is disgusted at the thought that Kumen, built upon the sweat
of Astragean brows, would voluntarily resubmit to Federation domination.  Now,
the current war could lead to _involuntary_ assimilation by the Federation at
the slightest excuse, which is why Potalia insists on going after Kangelmann
and bringing the fighting to a rapid climax.  Kangelmann was the third prince
of Kumen before assuming control of the Biller guerillas, repudiating his former
revolutionary ideals in favor of a military autocracy.  Since Potalia was
once one of Kangelmann's personal guards, it seems he's taking the change of
direction especially hard.

The higher-ups on this side of the schism are aware of the Federation's hungry
gaze, and are rumored to be planning an all-out assault on the guerillas.
That's fine by Kidayla, who hopes to take out the enemy's fearsome "Blue AT"
and pull down a big fat paycheck.  The thing seems to follow the Red Shoulders'
every command, and has slaughtered damn near everyone who's even caught sight
of it -- naturally, this piques Kiriko's interest, though he won't let on why.

At this point, Kidayla calls for another round of brew, and who should appear
to deliver it but Karen, dressed up in a _fetching_ bunnygirl getup at Kokona's
insistence.  And since she's getting paid to make nice with the customers, her
only option is to swallow the indignity and make the rough-and-tumble mercs
feel like they've got a shot at some of that cotton-tailed ass.  Vanilla cracks
that he wishes Tamashiro were alive to see this, and Karen's robotic smile
momentarily breaks as she growls back not to talk like Tamashiro was dead.

Karen's mood isn't helped by the fact that only she is getting to do the
bunnygirl act.  Kokona's figured out that C.C. has shoulders way too cold (so
to speak) for this kind of work, and that Esther would probably brawl with any
of her clientele in 30 seconds flat.  On the other hand, Esther makes the
perfect drummer for Kokona's backing band.  C.C. deadpans to Karen that she
should be grateful she got all that nice-girl practice in back at Ashford
Academy, and warns that if she gets too pissed off that tail is going to fall
right off her butt.

Shakko interrupts with a request to C.C. to come meet the Quent chief when
she's done here.  C.C. isn't one to go on other people's errands and tells
Shakko to have this chief come to her instead.  He warns her that he'll take
her by force if he has to, and comments to Kidayla that this tight-lipped
woman may just be the enemy of all Quents.  _That_ earns him a particularly
hard stare from C.C.'s golden eyes.

Kan Yuu bursts in at this point, gathering his men to investigate a Quake that
struck 20 klicks to the Northeast.  It's an emergency dispatch, SUCH an
emergency in fact that the lecherous merc orders Karen to stay dressed _just_
_as_ _she_ _is_.  This makes the Guren's horizontal cockpit layout a truly
fascinating experience for the comely ace (and anyone lucky enough to see her
on their monitor), but she's not the only one with issues.  Esther is in high
dudgeon and has brought a triangle aboard her mech, pounding it mercilessly
in an attempt to destress over her waitressly shortcomings.  It isn't working.
Maybe pulverizing some DBs will help?

 These are the new breed that's been popping up lately, but that doesn't daunt
 the crew any.  Karen for instance is about as vorpal a bunny has has been
 seen since the Quest for the Holy Grail.  And Esther tells the team that
 these are way weaker than they would be if Gaiou were still around (at least,
 that's what Traia told her).

 Unfortunately, as is so often the case, humans are ultimately their own
 worst enemy.  No sooner are the DBs dealt with than the Biller forces
 encircling the team break cover.  Among them is the Blue A.T., and Kiriko
 can tell right off the bat that its pilot's reflexes are abnormally high.
 He narrowly saves Kidayla from getting himself killed, and agrees to take
 it on one-on-one as per Kan Yuu's orders.  It can have but one person at its
 controls: Fiana.

 If C.C. fights the Blue A.T., she notes that its pilot isn't human either.
 Oh well, if humans can fight each other, one supposes non-humans can do
 likewise.  This non-human turns out not to be Fiana after all, but Ypsilon:
 a PS who blames Kiriko for turning Proto One from the path she was supposed
 to tread.  He won't tell Kiriko if Fiana is here in Kumen, which is proof
 enough that she is.  Ypsilon won't let Kiriko anywhere near her, and damn
 near kills Kiriko before Potalia intervenes.  Ypsilon growls that Kiriko's
 death will have to be postponed and withdraws, leaving Kan Yuu to claim
 victory for his side.  Potalia is shaken however, but the fleeting glimpse
 he caught of one of the Biller footsoldiers -- a woman named Monica.

Those who don't know Kiriko want to know why the lunkhead opened his hatch in
the face of the enemy A.T., earning himself a serious concussion and by rights
a whole lot worse.  Karen has some idea of what Kiriko was hoping to accomplish
and says that Kiriko ought to tell the rest of the squad himself what was
going on.  Based on her past history with the guy, she's quite confident he'll
pull through.  She's steadily rising in the estimation of her teammates, which
is good as she fully intends to earn her own keep -- she just wishes C.C. would
get off her ass and earn _her_ keep as a bunnygirl instead of scarfing down
pizza all day.

Potalia meanwhile is busy contemplating his run-in with Monica, a childhood
friend from waaaay back when.  Esther noticed his hesitation on the battlefield
and asks what's up, learning that Monica used to be the kindest kid imaginable.
What could have driven her to become a guerilla?  Potalia scowls into his
drink, admitting to lowering himself to become a merc just so he could live to
see Kumen modernized even a day sooner.  If Monica is on the other side, he'll
have to show her no mercy either -- and Esther can't stand the thought of
friends fighting each other, whatever the cause.  She then stops and apologizes
for speaking thoughtlessly, but Potalia thanks her for giving him a chance to
vent.  He'll figure out for himself what to do about Monica, and secures a
promise from Esther not to tell the rest of the squad.  She accepts a round of
soda in return for her silence, as determined as ever to lead her life without
regrets.

Back at base, Ypsilon reports his Kiriko sighting to Borow.  Borow assures him
he's a _perfect_ Perfect Soldier and has nothing to fear, and Ypsilon asks
permission to take Proto One with him on his next mission -- he wants to kill
Kiriko in front of her eyes and thereby bring her to her senses.  Borow is down
with that plan, but the maniacal laughter part will have to wait: Proto One has
come with word that she and Ypsilon have been invited (more like ordered) to
dine with Kangelmann.  Borow sends them on their way, looking forward to taking
out Kiriko and completing Ypsilon's training in one fell Sith-like swoop.


CHAPTER 6A. The Infernal German Count Appears!

Esther finds herself walking in Crow's footsteps again in Hamburg, as the
21st Century folks describe Crow's treating them all to all-you-can-eat
yakiniku.  He even went out drinking alone with Aoyama afterward, which
momentarily gets Esther suspecting that Crow and Aoyama are More Than Just
Friends(tm).  Easily corrected when Aoyama says that he has no _girl_friend
just at present.  Hell, this is even good news for Nakahara, who's had eyes
for her handsome coworker for some time now.

The team is supposed to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious, but it feels
like they're mostly tied up sightseeing and savoring the fruits of Germany's
long experience with sausage manufacture.  Shotarou and Gaury "You Forgot I
Was a NINJA" are left to do most of the investigating, with Gaury and his store
of ancient Yapanese ninjutsu leaving the young agent in dazed awe.

It really _would_ be easier to track down Branch with some of the Crusher's
Espers on hand, but they've got more important things to do investigating all
the upheaval in the structure of the solar system since the Breaking.  They
might, however, have enlisted Kouji's aid: he's in Japan and probably not _so_
busy as to not help out where he's needed.  Sounds like a trip to Kurogane-ya
is in order after matters in Germany are settled.

For the moment though, there's those Branch bastards to think of.  And they, it
turns out, have been planning to ambush the kid all along.  What they weren't
planning on is Shotarou to have so many capable friends, including -- as if on
cue -- Kouji, who has turned into quite the martial artist under Tsubasa's
watchful eyes.  After fending off the Branch operatives and getting a bit of
breathing room, he explains that he and Sayaka are in Germany in search of
Shirou... who has been summoned by a ghost named Stroheim Heinrich.

This is a famed German roboticist, passed away quite some years ago.  Matters
started when a little blond girl calling herself Lorelai Heinrich came to
Kurogane-ya.  She claimed to be the good doctor's daughter and that her
father was still alive, which immediately got Kouji thinking of the cybernetic
resurrection of Baron Ashura.  Dr. Hell could well be involved with
whatever's afoot, and possibly even behind Lorelai herself.  The girl made
very good friends with Shirou, and one day Kouji found the two gone with only
a note mentioning Germany left behind.

The backstory gets cut short by the arrival of Branch's robot army.  Despite
seeing his nemesis right before his eyes, Butcher seems to have bigger
problems today.  He orders his henchmen to hold Shotarou off and starts to
flee, and the sad fact is that said minions constitute a threat to the city
that can't be ignored.  At least Kouji and Sayaka (now piloting Vyunas-A,
which is modeled on her own body) are on hand to help take out the trash.
The sight of Vyunas' curves seems a tad distracting to some of the menfolk,
but this isn't the time for that [especially if you want the Skill Point].

 The initial wave of Robot Mafiosi suck ass, but they're quickly replaced
 by Mecha-beasts.  Kouji's suspicions that Dr. Hell was up to something in
 Germany?  Oh so confirmed, by the presence of Count Brocken... who, despite
 carrying his head around in his hand, is _not_ a ghost that the likes of
 Gaury can dispel like some ghost.  In fact, he's pretty adamant about the
 fact that he's _vastly_ more substantial than Ashura.

 The proof is in how he orders his robots to ruthlessly kill the townsfolk,
 which almost sounds intimidating until Setsuna shows up, busted-ass Gundam
 and all.  With his help, the team sends Broken to the same kind of miserable
 defeat that Ashura is used to.

 It is _not_, however, Miller time.  It's actually Smirnoff time, which is
 the surname of the Arrows commander whose forces show up next.  Garode
 manages to spot them slightly in advance and tell Setsuna to bug out.  Saeki
 confirms to Smirnoff that there was indeed a CB Gundam on this battlefield,
 but that apprehending it was a lower priority than protecting the citizens.
 Smirnoff is smart enough to suspect shenanigans from the CBs' former allies,
 but he also knows that his men were late to the party and that the only
 Gundam here _now_ is the DX.  His offers a word of thanks and leads his
 men away again.

It's anybody's guess if Setsuna will rejoin the team at their rendezvous
point, but he's certainly done his good turn for the day today.  Maybe the
locals will have a slightly higher opinion of Gundams now that they saved
their asses?

As it happens, Setsuna _does_ rejoin the team.  He tells his old comrades
that the Celestial Beings, as such, are no more.  All its members are
scattered or dead, leaving him to fight on alone.  He's through with fanning
the flames of war for its own sake though -- now, he fights against the
forces that have warped this world.  That's Oz, and Arrows, and the people
pulling their strings.  He feels that he still has much to learn about his
enemy, and doesn't mean to stick around here for long... but seeing the team
fighting in their way for the good of the world has helped renew his hope.
And upon hearing that the boy he saved called his Gundam an "angel", he even
smiles slightly as he walks off.

The problems of Branch and Dr. Hell (and Shirou) remain, and clues appear
scarce (read: nonexistent).  But appearances can be deceiving, and the team
has yet more allies lurking in the shadows.  The Kurogane-ya staff have turned
out in full on Tsubasa's orders, and Cross tells Kouji that all his problems
are interlinked.  The key is that Stroheim Heinrich guy.

All this time, Shirou has been cooling with his new lady friend at her family's
castle.  Apart from her dad, she's had no companionship here at all.  Shirou's
her first friend, and he as much as admits that he wants to be her friend WITH
BENEFITS.  This goes right over Lorelai's head, but at least she's amused.
Shirou is sure that Kouji won't be too worried about his little trip with her
(hey, left a note and everything!), but he's at least smart enough to have
connected the Heinrich family name to Kouji's tales of dead professors.  When
Lorelai warns Shirou that her papa is a bit... odd, he expects something to do
with Dr. Hell.  He's not prepared though for the sight of the good doctor, or
of the doctor's guest: Tsubasa, who Stroheim introduces as Shirou's _mother_!


CHAPTER 6B. Encroaching Menace

Esther is taking her training with the S.M.S. very seriously... so seriously
that the sight of her doing pushups is making the old-timers wonder just who
this crazy chick is.  Bobby is the lone exception: his "inner woman" seems to
like Esther's "inner man" quite a bit.  Crow too is quite pleased with her
progress, and according to Esther he should be -- she's gone through quite a
bit back at the Scott Lab.

Crow pounded the basics of piloting into her, but as he's been gone a lot most
of her training was left up to Traia.  _Her_ idea of training is unconventional
to say the least: _origami_, which sharpens powers of concentration and manual
dexterity.  She's also been made to sort beans (sharpening her split-second
decision making) and sew eyes onto 10,000 teddy bears as a way of improving
her aim... not to mention several rounds of retrieving lost pets in order to
practice tracking and recon.  These sound more like part-time jobs than special
training, but the results _do_ speak for themselves.

Apollo has some training for her to try out: all the weird and wacky stuff
Fudou made the Elements do.  Unfortunately, neither he nor his teammates know
_why_ they had to do the stuff, so having Esther do it seems a bit stupid.
Then again, maybe the "send your thoughts to someone distant" exercise might
have some merit...

All this is a decent enough way to pass the time until this patrol ends, at
which point the Macross Quarter will return to fleet defense for the Frontier
ships.  Patrolling the solar system has gotten a lot harder in the wake of the
Breaking, and the original Crushers have had their hands full covering it all.
The ones Esther's met on the ground are simply the new "terrestrial" branch of
the Crushers, and they'll likely be merging with their spacefaring brethren at
some point.  There could be another Vajra nest around, and if there is,
there'll be a hard fight against the queen to look forward to.  One can only
hope that there is no nest, and that the Vajra who've turned up lately are
simply strays...

The deliberations are interrupted by a warp-out signature in the ship's path:
DBs, and plenty of them.  It's time for Esther to show off the fruits of her
training, and an opportunity for Alto to look covetously at Ozuma's Armored
Pack: the sign of the Skull Squadron's number-one pilot.

 The DBs are far punier than they used to be, which accords with the theory
 that Gaiou's departure has sapped them of vitality.  But if the team is
 hoping for a walk in the park, this won't be the day for it: there is a
 second wave of enemies, and these ones radiate a cold, dark menace that the
 Elements can sense plainly.

 The newcomers are Gishin mecha, who one might have _hoped_ would have given
 up after Zhul's defeat.  No such luck: they've got a new commander named
 Gel, and _he_ finds the Earthlings' lack of perspective hilarious.  Now,
 if you think back, you might recall that Gel was a Gishin Esper that was
 defeated during the last war.  The fact that he's back can't be a good sign.
 Fortunately, the spacefaring Crushers show up to help just in the nick of
 time, and among them, God-Mars!

 Just as a reminder, Gel is the dude who offed Takeru's dad, so Takeru has
 plenty of reason to send Gel back to Hell where he belongs.  Though Gel seems
 to have gotten stronger since his last little death incident, there's no way
 he's going to prevail today.  Then again, that doesn't seem to be his intent:
 this battle is a mere greeting.  NEXT time is when he shows the full powers
 of Darkness to Takeru and friends.  That might mean his new and improved
 telepathy or something else, but whatever it is it can't be good.

Between the Vajra and the zombie-ish Gishin army, the world's future looks
cloudy at best.  Even the usual long-ass reunion speeches are kept short as
Takeru frets about his dead adversaries come back to life.  Gishin itself, the
last time he heard, was well underway to rebirth as a planet of peace -- which
would make Gil and his men some kind of extremist fugitives.  Apollo advises
the troubled Esper not to sweat all the unknowns, and to focus on what he _can_
do: gather information, and keep the Earth as safe as possible until answers
present themselves.  This unexpected show of good sense raises Apollo in
Esther's estimation and causes her to enthusiastically get on board with his
weird training program, but Takeru realizes there's even more to it than
that.  Apollo too is an Esper and should have sensed the same chills that
Takeru did... the encouragement speech may have been at least half for his own
benefit.

The Crushers report that the Solar system's planets have changed even more than
expected in the wake of the Great Quake, but they've found nothing like a
Vajra nest anywhere within their search radius.  That search radius will
simply have to be expanded, but in the mean time a bit of R&R aboard the
Frontier fleet is in order (including spectating on the Ranka/Sheryl concert
that's coming up).  Ozuma welcomes the Crushers, telling them that they may
have more battles to fight together before long... and not just the Vajra and
Gishin.  If he's right, the Frontier fleet's shadowy rulers are likely to act
in the not-terribly distant future.


CHAPTER 6C. Wandering Angels

Jinin orders his newly-formed Arrows squad to do a little roll-call.  There's
Andrei Smirnoff from the German expeditionary force, and Louise Halevy the
rookie (who also happens to be the daughter of the team's sponsor -- what the
hell is a rich girl doing walking onto the battlefield of her own accord??).
Their mission is to strike down Catalon forces in the area, and to hunt down
the Gundam rumored to be nearby.  Louise has a serious bone to pick with the
Gundams, believing them responsible for her parents' death, and will have to
focus intensely if she wants to stay alive on the battlefield.  Andrei, who's
been tasked with keeping her alive, isn't thrilled.

Meanwhile, Esther and the crew are putt-putting their way through the skies
in her second-hand transport plane.   You would imagine that having Carlos
Axion Jr. as a benefactor would result in maintenance worth a damn... but you'd
be wrong.  His position at the Scott Lab is as a mere advisor, as nobody in
their right mind wants to feel indebted to him.  Given how hard Crow worked to
be cleansed of his debts, it's easy to imagine how seriously the rest of the
Scott folks take the money thing.  It's also easy to see how seriously Esther
takes Crow, given how the thought of his freshly scrubbed nakedness sends her
into full "L" mode.

Bizarre banter aside, the team does face the logistical problem of where to
head next.  Oz doesn't seem to be chasing them despite their near-slaughter of
Treize, and it doesn't seem to be out of fear of stepping on Arrows' toes.
Whatever the reason, Esther's team know they need resupply soon if they are to
keep up their fight.  They _could_ always contact Catalon, though Catalon's
methods seem uncomfortably different from the G-boys' own and Duo distrusts
them on general principle.  Then again, with so few allies they may not have
any choice.

As fate would have it, Arrows forces are attacking a Catalon detachment
nearby.  Esther is adamant that the team help, which seems fortunate given
that the help the Catalon forces were promised by Klaus is nowhere to be seen.
Esther takes a chance and sends her transport off on autopilot, luring about
half of the Arrows forces on a wild goose chase after it.  The _tougher_ half
are in for a personalized ass-whupping as the Catalon forces get the chance to
beat a hasty retreat.

 Help comes from an unexpected source: Tielia, in a Gundam he calls the
 C'est La Vie.  It seems that the Celestial Beings are even more alive and
 kicking than anyone thought.  Timely in that a group of DBs are on the way:
 they will keep Esther the DB-hunter tied up while the Gundams rain on Arrows'
 parade.  Interestingly, the DBs seem to be ignoring Arrows entirely...

 Once again, the DBs seem weakened relative to the last war, presumably due to
 Gaiou's death.  Jinin's folks aren't doing so hot either, despite using one
 of the secretly-developed Ahead mecha.  Jinin is determined to take out at
 least one Catalon unit before fleeing, but some mysterious long-range fire
 puts an end to that.

 Of course, that stirs memories of Lockon, but everyone knows he's dead.
 Right?  Of course, that's what they said about the Ptolemeios, and it makes
 a grand entrance before the team's very eyes.  ....Well almost.  This is
 actually the Ptolemeios 2, still crewed by some old friends and ready once
 more to rock and roll.

Reunion time, again!  The first thing Esther and friends discover is that the
P2 was designed from the ground up for armed combat.  That said, it hasn't
actually seen much action yet, so all those armaments are still being fine
tuned.  The crew have been doing a bit of tuning themselves, including messing
with hair styles and adding a few new faces to replace ones last during the
previous war.  Allelujah isn't on hand, and the CBs have heard that the Feds
have taken him prisoner.  They had _not_ heard that Setsuna is still alive, and
the news gives them great hope for the fight ahead.  They, like the G-boys,
intend to take Oz and Arrows down -- and what better plan than for the Gundams
of a feather to flock together?


CHAPTER 6D. Intervention

Kiriko's little hatch-opening stunt and subsequent wounds left him unconscious
for three full days, and he's damn lucky to ever wake up again.  Kan Yuu
figures that the whole fiasco proves beyond any doubt that Kiriko is a spy,
but Kiriko typically says not a word in reply.  Gon Nuu has requested Kiriko's
presence, and the thought of Kiriko grilled by his superior is music to Kan
Yuu's ears.

Gon Nuu's plan is to give Arrows officer Lint an example of the PS system, in
return for Kumen's official entrance into the Federation.  Lint claims that
PS's and other such projects are needed so they can consolidate "world peace"
more quickly, and congratulates Gon Nuu on deciding to trust Arrows instead of
giving the PS back to its Gilgamesh originators.  The result will be Kumen
getting largely burned to the ground, though Lint smirks that it will rise
again like the seeds of some fire-fertilized redwood.  He pledges to help
Gon Nuu wipe out the Billar guerillas and slithers off, leaving Gon Nuu to
fret about just how to actually steal the Gilgamesh army's crown jewel.

When Kan Yuu brings Kiriko in, Gon Nuu greets Kiriko in an almost paternal
manner.  Ignoring Kan Yuu completely, Gon Nuu tells Kiriko he's the army's
trump card.  Kiriko confirms that the blue AT he faced is piloted by a PS, and
Gon Nuu orders him to invade Kangelmann castle to capture that PS.  After a
momentary pause, Kiriko agrees.  Gon Nuu adds that Assemble Ex-10 is about to
stage all-out war on the Billar guerillas, and Kiriko's squad is to be the
vanguard with him as leader.  Kan Yuu is to be Kiriko's second-in-command,
following a long and detailed recounting of his failings as commander... and
you can guess how happy that makes _him_.

Kangelmann has a pep talk of his own for his troops, decrying the evils of
modernization and mechanization that have driven his family's once-beautiful
lands to the brink of ruin.  He believes Upsilon and Phantom Lady can defend
his traditional-values bid, and Upsilon at least sees this as a proud task.
That pride might just, Kangelmann notes, be the death of him.  Phantom Lady
finds herself inexplicably fearing battle, but Upsilon promises to protect her
and fight hard enough for the both of them.  She is all he's got outside of
battle... even though he knows that she thinks only of Kiriko.  He vows to her
to defeat Kiriko before her very eyes... which is possibly not the wisest thing
for him to say.

Kiriko and his squad are going to have it pretty rough, even if the main
army's attack draws some heat away from them.  Unlike the secret-mongering
the mercs are used to, Kiriko is quite willing to answer questions about their
mission to capture the blue AT and it's PS pilot.  Kiriko allows that his
little tete-a-tete with the enemy PS was sort of a personal declaration of war,
and Kidayla tells Kiriko that _he_ plans on collecting that AT and the huge
bounty attached to it.  After all, if this mission succeeds and Kangelmann is
killed (a task Potalia claims as his own), Kumen will finally experience
peace -- and the mercs will simply move on to the next battlefield.

Kan Yuu phones Kiriko on a private channel before the battle, vowing to claim
the blue AT for himself in order to present it to his boss.  Kiriko welcomes
him to try, having no interest in it himself.  That comes as a shock to Kan
Yuu, but when the enemy spots the squad there's no time to squawk about it.

 Upsilon is nowhere near as hot of shit as he thinks he is, but he does have
 an advantage over Kiriko: a carefully laid ambush.  He and Borow seem poised
 to get their wish of driving Kiriko from Phantom Lady's mind, but neither
 of them planned on Phantom Lady physically intervening on Kiriko's behalf.
 When she does so, with Borow aboard her helicopter, she buys Kiriko enough
 time to critically damage Upsilon's PT, sustaining enough damage herself
 that she's forced to land.  Kiriko rushes to aid her, while Upsilon has no
 choice but to flee.

 The remaining squad members have problems of their own, and _not_ Upsilon's
 ambush: the Arrows forces have finally shown themselves.  Lint has ordered
 them to destroy _all_ belligerents, including his supposed allies from
 Assemble Ex-10.  Kan Yuu is extremely quick to bugger off "in pursuit of
 Kiriko", leaving the rest of the crew to prevent the Feds from intervening
 any further into Kumeni affairs.

 The Arrows forces are a tough nut to crack, but an ally is at hand: Setsuna!
 Never mind the fact that he's supposed to be dead -- he and his busted-ass
 Gundam are still terrorizing battlefields worldwide, and still a sight for
 very sore eyes among the former Zexis members.  He only sticks around long
 enough to see that the current battle ends well, and jets off to continue
 surveying the extent to which the world has become warped.  He does leave
 behind an ominous warning: Arrows have set their sights on Kumen, and if
 they're to be stopped it must be done quickly.

 Kan Yuu meanwhile tracks down Fiana, figuring out that she too must be a
 PS.  That explains why she tried to save Kiriko in his eyes, and as he
 tries to move in to capture her Kiriko arrives and bashes him out of the
 way.  Kan Yuu is nothing if not determined, and Kiriko realizes quickly that
 he's got no choice but to kill the guy to let Fiana escape... or at least
 drive him to the point of death.

At least Kiriko gets his reunion with Fiana at long last.  Nearby, the old
Zexis folks explain to the rest of the mercs in the squad that Kiriko has
been searching for the female PS for a very long time... and that there's
every possibility that he means to take her and simply escape into the jungle.
The mercs are impressed that Karen knows one of the infamous Gundam pilots,
and she explains that they've always been ones to fight the hard fight,
especially where tyranny is involved.  Translation: the team had better hurry
if they're to head off a full Federation invasion of Kumen.  Though they've
lost their two commanders, they still intend to carry out the defeat of
Kangelmann with Potalia in the lead.  Karen thinks to Kiriko that he should
just concentrate on spending time with Fiana.

They've certainly got a lot to talk about, starting with a thorough
explanation from Fiana of exactly what the PS regimen includes.  The "perfect"
soldier apparently has to begin with a genetically-engineered child, followed
by years of training, mental manipulation, and subliminal acquisition of all
manner of combat knowledge.  When Kiriko interrupted that training, Fiana
also came to know something of simple humanity, and -- dare we say it? -- love.
Unfortunately for her, Kiriko has also been learning during his lifelong
pursuit of her.  Even a year or so earlier, he'd have accepted her invitation
to put all this behind them and flee.  Now, however, he's determined to face
Upsilon at Kangelmann castle -- he knows, and she too knows if she lets herself
stop to think, that it's the only way for them to be together for long.

Still, Kiriko has to wonder why meeting Fiana hasn't ended the fighting.  What
is so important about rooting out the Secret Society?  The ugly fact, burning
deep within his heart, is that he has not yet broken free from Hell...

Meanwhile, Kangelmann has decided to launch an all-out assault from his side,
now that Phantom Lady has been lost.  Borow means to give Upsilon a new PT
for this decisive battle, and vows to deliver Kangelmann victory.  Kangelmann
privately is more than a little peeved at having to rely on degenerates like
Borow to achieve that "victory"... which is why he's elected to seek "defeat"
instead: defeat, and death both for himself and all his rebel fighters.  This
isn't exactly music to Treize's ears when he phones up with confirmation of
Arrows troops heading to Kumen, but Treize seems willing to go along with
whatever Kangelmann has planned.  Kangelmann will go to his grave convinced
that his nation will rise from the flames reborn, and that if the world is
really worth living in, temporary domination by the Federation won't be a
problem for long.  He has chosen to bet on the future, which is probably the
right idea but also rather sucks for people in the present... such as his
tea server Monica.


CHAPTER 7A. Battle for the Sorrowful Blue Donau!

Shirou responds to the revelation of his mother's identity with a predictable
blend of stoicism and whimpering like a cretin.  Tsubasa however isn't fazed
one bit: she knows that Stroheim has ulterior motives for having his daughter
lure Shirou here.  She certainly didn't come all the way to Germany to set
Shirou's genealogy straight -- she's here for one reason: the Gamia Q series of
killer robots.  Stroheim tells her not to rush things, and points out to
Shirou that he's got another family member to meet.

See, once upon a time, the community of robot researchers boasted three
luminaries: Kabuto Juuzou, Stroheim and Kabuto Kenzou.  The three of them
were involved in excavation of a place called Bardos Island... the place Shirou
had been told his father perished.  What his father was actually doing was
getting it on with "Nishigori", aka Tsubasa, who at the time was Stroheim's
fiancee.  Stroheim tried to take in Tsubasa and the child Kenzou gave her
before his death, but Juuzou wasn't having it.

Instead a duel developed: Stroheim's robotics versus Juuzou's, and the winner
would do with Tsubasa as he liked.  Mazinger Z was Juuzou's creation then, but
before the actual battle could occur, Stroheim himself perished and went to
Hell.  Ironically enough, that's where Stroheim met _Doctor_ Hell... who
resurrected the guy in return for him making the world's mightiest robot.

Branch, who butts in at this point, figures that he can just walk in and
claim that robot.  His men have already "dealt" with Stroheim's guardian
androids, and he makes a single offer to the eccentric scientist to name his
price.  Branch says his employer is quite interested in how Stroheim was
able to build a robot with a mind of its own.  _That_ is how Stroheim meant
to win the bet: removing the latency that comes from a human pilot interfacing
to the machine.

Too bad for Branch that there's only one rightful owner for this robot... and
Ashura has come on behalf of that person.  Branch is much displeased to learn
that he and his men are 150,000% out of their depth, but at least has the sense
to flee in disgrace when Ashura gives him the chance.  Ashura then demands that
Stroheim hand over the robot, despite his protests that it's not yet
finished.  Ashura declares that Dr. Hell can finish the rest, which leaves
Stroheim no choice but to take Ashura out.  He yells to Tsubasa to look after
Shirou and Lorelai, and Ashura calls for her Iron Mask troops to counterattack.

That would be easier if Kouji and friends hadn't demolished them.  Left with
no other choice, Ashura runs off to execute his "final option", and Tsubasa
tells Kouji to prepare for a Mecha-beast counterattack.  As he dashes off,
Kouji tells Shirou to look after his girlfriend.  This leaves Stroheim to
answer Tsubasa's questions: it was indeed he who built the Gamia-Q's for
Dr. Hell.  Tsubasa knows full well that only he, or Kenzou, could have mass
produced something like that... and given that she's the one who killed
Kenzou, she must have been quite afraid of the prospect of his return.

Tsubasa isn't going to let herself be drawn into a war of words, so Stroheim
contents himself with inviting her to watch his robot kick Juuzou's robot's
ass.  Everything started at Bardos Island, the epitome of Mikeene Culture
according to what shreds of records survive.  There they dwelt, ancestors to
the Greeks, protected by legendary giant warriors, until the day Zeus wiped
them and all their might from the face of the Earth.  Full name: Zeus
Mazinger, and from what Stroheim can see from Juuzou's work, the legend
made quite an impression.

Juuzou glimpsed what was behind the forbidden door Tsubasa couldn't stop him
from opening: the glorious relic of the long departed god.  Stroheim however
saw nothing, and had the chance at a peaceful life surrounded by his beloved
Donau river.  Instead, he up and built Donau Alpha-1, craving a resolution for
his duel with Juuzou that requires Shirou to bring to its fruition...

Ashura has a hard job ahead, trying to capture Stroheim's masterpiece with
a Reaver F9 borrowed from Brocken.  (S)he isn't going to waste this one last
chance at redemption.  The good news is that Branch's forces have fled
entirely rather than face Ashura's wrath.  The bad(?) news is that Ashura's
got a remote control from Bardos Island that can drive Donau Alpha-1 just fine.
When Stroheim tries to wrest the robot back, Ashura just zaps him and
readies for the showdown with Mazinger.

With his dying soliloquy, Stroheim tells Lorelai his deep dark secret:
she's not really his daughter.  In fact, _she_ is Donau Alpha-1, a robot with
emotions, which Stroheim can no longer bear to hand over to Dr. Hell after
the score with Mazinger is settled.  What Ashura has is Lorelai's proper
body -- Lorelai herself is its brain!  Stroheim wasn't lying when he said
that Donau wasn't complete, as Lorelai lacks one final thing: the experience
of sorrow.  Stroheim couldn't bear to do anything to Lorelai herself to
make her sad, so his insane plan was to do horrible things to Shirou instead
and achieve the same result.

How ironic then that Stroheim is perishing instead as the catalyst for her
sorrow.  His last wish to her is to defeat Mazinger Z and prove to the world
that his tech is superior, engraving his name in the annals of history
forever!  She agrees, and he tells her to remove her hair ribbon (which turns
out to be the Donau combination device) and complete the transformation to
robot.  Lorelai imperiously tells Shirou, scion of the Kabuto family, to butt
out and does as her creator commands.

As she merges with the main body of the robot, its color changes from black to
the beloved blue of the Donau river itself.  Donau Alpha-1 informs Ashura that
she's not his puppet, infuriated that Ashura's people have disturbed her
quiet life with her father.  Kouji is understandably confused to see Shirou's
girlfriend incarnated as a stories-tall death engine, and though Lorelai
can't wait to settle the score with him, she's got Ashura to squish first.
Kouji tells the team to concentrate on the Mecha-beasts and not fight Shirou's
girlfriend, and Shotarou tells Shirou to use his V-Con to communicate with
Lorelai.  This will require getting Tetsujin right up next to the thing...

 When you do, Shirou gets to try his hand at persuading his girlfriend to
 stop being a psychotic killer gynecoid.  Though she appreciates the effort,
 she's quite resolved to her course of bloodshed.

 None of Ashura's forces pose the slightest threat to the mighty robots'
 duel.  Stroheim expires before seeing the outcome, and his last words are
 to Tsubasa, to not let him come back from the dead this time.  Tsubasa
 frowns mightily at how the "real" scientists always seem to prioritize their
 research over the rest of their lives.  She also knows that it's not the
 "world" at large Stroheim wanted to see the superiority of his robot: it's
 Tsubasa herself.  However, Tsubasa's more hardcore than Herr Doktor knew --
 it is _she_ who arranged the accident that killed him the first time.  She
 needed what Juuzou was building that urgently...

 As for Kouji, he's determined to let Lorelai have her shot, despite his
 teammates' and his brother's objections.  If this is to be a showdown
 between the Kabuto and Heinrich families, then so be it.  Lorelai puts up a
 good fight, but ultimately can't defeat Kouji and Mazinger Z.  With a final
 apology to Shirou, she races off into the night... presumably to avoid
 Shirou seeing her die.

Is all this so sad because Lorelai actually had a mind?  Would it have been
better if she was just a brainless machine?  Tough questions indeed.  Tsubasa's
lips curl in an evil sneer as she contemplates Stroheim's final act of
"science", stealing his own daughter's future.  Then again, she knows full
well that she's hardly any better qualified as a parent...

After the battle, Esther takes Shirou under her wing for some impromptu
counseling.  Her own troubled background makes her more the voice of experience
than most people here.  Tsubasa comes over to the other pilots to congratulate
them, telling Kouji to ask Shirou why she's in Germany.  For now, she's got
news for Kouji: she's evicting him from Kurogane-Ya.  His training may be
incomplete, but Dr. Hell and the others rotting the world from the shadows are
about to make a move in a big way.  These punks from the Robot Mafia are just
the tip of a vast iceberg, as her many years have made abundantly clear.  And
unless she's suddenly gone senile, the battle to come will get even worse than
the previous war.

Every one of the pilots has their reasons to persevere anyway, and Kouji swears
on Shirou and Lorelai's tears not to ever lose or let anyone experience that
grief again.  And what timing: word has just arrived from Ootsuka that it's
time to return to Japan and join the Crushers and S.M.S.  There's been no
sign of Ankokuji, who's been investigating the Gamia-Q's all over Germany, but
Tsubasa is sure he'll turn up at some point soon.  Tsubasa will be heading
home too, just as glad that she didn't have to deal with her erstwhile husband
coming back to life.  She's got plenty else on her plate as it is.

When Dr. Hell learns that Ashura and Brocken failed, he sighs and says that
he's got no choice but to use "it" instead.  Dangerous, yes, but according
to the Black Knowledge, timing is running out for them all.  Dr. Hell tells
Pigman to have Brocken buy them all time while he gets "it' ready for battle.
Pigman himself is to investigate Branch, in preparation for Dr. Hell to enlist
the Robot Mafia's help in saving the world.


CHAPTER 7B. Dimension Warp Zone

The first concert in the Twinkle Project tour gets off to a jaw-dropping start,
as Sheryl seems determined to make up for all the time she spent recuperating.
Ranka is rocking too, and Grace loves every moment of it: the more the "Little
Queen" sings, the more "they" will be drawn to the area.  And _that_ will open
the door to the future.  Let the Superdimensional Cinderella call for the the
flames of battle!  And let the bootleggers get their microphones ready: the
new song "Lion" isn't going to be performed anywhere except for this tour...

One group of people _not_ at the concert at the S.M.S./Crusher squad, whose
brief "shore" leave at the Frontier fleet is mainly being spent on guard duty.
The recent additions to the team can only sigh in envy of the Zexis pilots and
all the hanging out they've done with the two idol stars.  Ozuma's even made
peace with the thought of Ranka pursuing a career as a singer, which makes it
easier for him (and hence his subordinates) to leave on their next assignment
with a clear conscience.

That assignment is checking out the last unexplored "dark zone" in the solar
system: a spot far distant from all habitations and shipping lanes.  This is
a rather special dark zone however, insofar as every previous attempt to
survey it has resulted in the surveyors going missing.  It seems spacetime in
the area has been badly warped by the Breaking, which may be connected to
precisely how the Frontier fleet got to this world in the first place: the
zone is uncomfortably close to the fleet's current position.

This so-called "Dimension Warp Zone" is space's equivalent to the surface's
Dark Continent, and should make for "exciting" adventuring at the very least.
Esther is _so_ ready to get in there and maybe fight some DBs.  She's got all
her catchphrases operational as the team venture into the cosmic Bermuda
Triangle, whose dimensional waters start out calm.  Takeru's got a bad feeling
though, and given he's an Esper that's worth heeding.

In fact, trouble shows up almost immediately in the form of a Gishin
detachment.  Gel is on hand, as is Varen -- both of whom are supposed to be
dead.  Takeru isn't buying the "raised by the Powers of Darkness" explanation,
but however they came back the fact is the team has to fend them off.  The
two revenants announce that they're going to head for the Frontier fleet and
its buildup of energy, which is all the more reason for the Skull Squad to
seal their doom.

 No sooner does battle begin than a bunch of Vajra Fold into the area,
 seemingly intent on attacking both sides.  At least the fact they Folded
 means that there isn't a Nest hiding around here somewhere.  Along behind
 them comes _Bardeos_ of all things, victim of a loused-up Subspace Jump.
 Its pilots are quick to grasp the tactical situation, and worries about
 precisely how they got here will have to wait till later.

 Further into the battle, two new DBs show up: big ones, who seem more intent
 on protecting each other and watching the battle than on participating in
 it.  They still need extermination, of course.

 The Gishin folks have Mars worried more: they seem bound and determined to
 attack the idol stars' concerts, and Mars begins to suspect that they're
 somehow after the musical energy those concerts unleash.  In any case, the
 explosions the team sees certainly makes it look like Gel and Valen have
 finally died the final death this time...

There must be _something_ weird about this place, given how the DBs and the
Gishin showed up all at once.  Detailed analysis will have to be done back at
HQ, so for now the team can withdraw to (relative) safety.  Marin won't rest
easy though -- what he saw in Subspace disturbed him greatly, even if it
didn't register on sensors and is "probably" just his imagination [read: OH
SO TOTALLY not his imagination...]

Before the Quarter can rejoin the Frontier fleet, Mishima phones up with new
orders: the S.M.S. and Crushers are to head to Earth.  Mishima reminds
Jeffrey that the Frontier government has the right to determine the S.M.S.'s
posting, and says they've determined that the regular army can handle
the sporadic threat of the Vajra and Gishin.  Lunacy perhaps, but orders are
orders and Ootsuka of the Crushers probably has something useful for the
Valkyries to do.  Jeffrey _presumes_ that Mishima has gotten the S.M.S.'s
owner's permission for all this, and heads to the Earth as the Frontier
fleet's representative.

That is a super-fishy way of putting it, and Cathy wishes she could guess what
her fiancee Mishima is really up to.  Nor has she seen Mishima in some time,
and the bridge bunnies can't help but suspect that Cathy may be having feelings
for her old flame Ozuma again.  If so, Bobby might have a thing or two to say
about it.  In any event, it's off to Earth for the Quarter and its crew.

The usual reunioning for the Bardeos crew is tempered by the knowledge that
something was able to deliberately drag them out of Subspace and into this
world.  The other Crushers in God Sigma are glad Marin and friends are okay,
and assure him that they can handle the rest of their mission while he
hangs out near Earth.  Ozuma comes to break the news of the trip to the Earth
to the pilots, saying that he himself will be staying behind on the Frontier
fleet to run a little errand (something sort of to do with Ranka, maybe).
While he's gone, Alto will be in command of the Skull Squad.  Luka asks to
stay with the Frontier fleet as well to help research what the deal is with
the Vajra, leaving the squad with just two planes.  Still, it's not such a bad
assignment, and Ozuma even gives Alto a Tornado Pack to improve his combat
abilities in the skies of the Earth.  Esther just hopes she can run into
Crow now that the battlefield is shifting back to the surface...


CHAPTER 7C. Treasonous Wings

Setsuna takes Hiiro to a city devastated by Arrows attack, doomed by nothing
more than the rumor that Catalon agents were nearby.  This sort of sight is
becoming frightfully common nowadays, and Oz is in danger of joining Arrows
as a perpetrator.  Setsuna tells Hiiro that they're both partially responsible
for letting things reach this point, as they weren't able to root out those who
perverted their quest to change the world.  There's no time to stand around
looking pathetic though: Hiiro needs to head to the Oz base at Anballer, where
Setsuna's heard Hiiro's Gundam is being kept.  With that, Setsuna parts
company with Hiiro, and Hiiro explains to a passing refugee girl that they've
all got their battles to fight.

Aboard the Ptolemy-2, the team feast their eyes on a new set of Gundams Ian's
been readying for the CBs.  They're all improvements over the previous series,
and there's even a long-range sniperbot... for You Know Who.  Esther is asked
to give it a try, but she protests that she's a rank amateur at firearms,
relying on Crow's motion data for the Blaster-Es's gunnery.  As valuable as his
sniping was, Lockon was even more valuable for his human relations acumen --
forging the diverse Meisters into a bona fide team.  Esther wishes the G-boys
could have someone like that.

The pilots leave their mecha in Ian's care and head off to plan the team's
next move.  As they're heading out though, Ian asks Esther if the es uses a
"VX".  She hasn't been told the real nature of the Sphere, hearing only that
the thing's darned expensive and thus unsuitable for a mass-production mech.
Probably just as well that she hadn't been told the Truth(tm).  As it is,
Ian and Milena will still have their hands full: indications are that Ioria
may have more surprises like the Trans-Am system in store.  One has to wonder
if the Colonial "Gundams" and the Celestial Beings' "Gundams" have something
more in common than just their name.

Tielia's plan is for the team to head to Anballer, on a tip from Liu Mei that a
Gundam's there.  As that base is home to Oz's mecha test program, there's every
possibility that it's what's left of Hiiro's Wing Gundam.  Further, info's come
in that Zechs Marquis has headed to the base, presumably to be a test pilot for
whatever new machine they're developing based on the Wing Gundam's wreckage.
They've got to be stopped, and fast, even if it means tangling with Quatro,
Shinn and the others.  After all, it's only fair to repay Hiiro's time-buying
self-destruction by cleaning up the the mess he left behind.

Camille and Shinn are indeed watching the team's approach, and not from their
cockpits either.  It would seem their Gundams are being held in secured
hangars on this base, and only a very high-ranking officer could get anyone
inside.  Then again, by not sortying they won't have to fight their old
comrades-in-arms.

Tielia is in forward command, quite a bit calmer than what Crow described to
Esther.  He tells her that he had to change if he wanted to change the world,
which is a pretty good way to look at it if you ask me.  Quatro commands the
troops to surround and overpower the Gundams, and he inwardly thinks to Camille
that Camille is going to have to settle his doubts by himself... just as
Quatro is doing.

 Hiiro tries to use the battle as cover to sneak into the base, but is
 discovered all too quickly.  Alex and Muller fly over in their mecha and
 proceed to attack the clearly un-mecha-ed guy, in violation of every rule
 of war there is.  The two Oz pilots won't heed Esther's cries to stop, but
 maybe they'll heed Zechs' fury.  Of course not, and not only do they not
 heed him, they take it into their heads that he needs to be punished too.

BIG mistake.  Zechs cuts the two of them in half when they won't quit,
lamenting how the times have warped their minds before proclaiming that they
don't deserve to possess strength.  Realizing that he's come to the point of no
return, he lands and dismounts to face Hiiro.  After ascertaining that neither
of them are operating under their real name, Zechs tells Hiiro that he's
prepared a gift for him: the Wing Gundam, fully repaired.  He tells Hiiro to
fight him with it.  Hiiro is willing to use any means available to help make up
for his past mistakes, and says he'll offer thanks to Zechs in his own way.
His unrelenting eyes are what Zechs was hoping to see: the eyes of a true
warrior, unbound by vain aesthetics or other martial-romantic twaddle.  If
that's why Zechs wants to fight Hiiro, Hiiro is all for it... and he means to
take Zechs' life in the process.

With all this going on, what should Camille and friends do?  Their dilemma is
solved when Treize phones up and announces to them that, on his authority
as Oz supreme commander, their Gundams are now cleared for use.  He tells them
to saddle up, and to fight who _they_ judge to be their enemy.  Shinn at least
knows who that enemy is: both Oz and Arrows.

All this makes for a pretty confusing scene to the pilots already sortied, but
they work it out quickly enough.  Camille announces to Quatro that he and the
others are leaving Oz, vowing to take it down now that it's lost sight of
itself.  Realizing that Treize must have set all this up deliberately, Quatro
orders Camille and the others to fly as far as their treacherous wings will
take them.

 Zechs isn't satisfied with a duel for "points" -- he wants a true
 life-or-death showdown.  Hiiro is about to give it to him when, of all
 people, Rilina shows up!  Zechs reflexively calls her "Princess" Rilina,
 marking himself a resident of Cinq Kingdom.  Rilina heard from Noin that
 Zechs would try something like this, and tells him that the duel is already
 decided.  She orders him in the name of the Peacecraft family to sheath his
 sword, and Zechs likes the strength he hears in her voice.  All the same,
 he means to carry out revenge for all the subordinates Hiiro has killed.

 Rilina counters that fighting out of hatred just leads to more fighting... to
 no avail.  She complains to Noin that the commander she loves so much seems
 to be a bloody beast, not the person Noin told her to come try to dissuade
 from fighting.   Noin understands her view, but says that she still
 believes in whatever Zechs is trying to do.

 Genuinely pissed off at this point, Rilina orders Hiiro to demolish Zechs
 and clear the shame that Cinq has to endure by having one of its own as part
 of sucktastical Oz.  Noin begs her to rescind the order, no matter how
 justified -- it's too sad for Rilina to desire her own brother's death!
 Yes, Zechs' real name is Milliard Peacecraft, and at that revelation, Zechs
 finally decides to flee and save the duel with Hiiro for later.

Hiiro notes that Rilina seems to have found her answer, and he his in fact.
Hiiro flies off ahead, letting his once-and-future teammates chat with Rilina.

Later, Treize phones Zechs for a status report.  He tells Zechs not to sweat
Camille and friends' departure: that was his "mistake" in authorizing them the
use of their Gundams.  And Zechs is not to be reprimanded for punishing the two
very out-of-line Oz soldiers either.  On the other hand, secretly refurbishing
the Wing Gundam and directly handing it over to a wanted terrorist isn't
acceptable, and Treize tells Quatro he's in command of the squad while Zechs'
punishment is decided.  Zechs and Quatro clearly have their own agendas, and
for whatever reason both those agendas require sticking with Oz for now.

Noin rendezvouses with the team, greeting the pilots she's faced across the
battlefield so often as an _ex_-Oz operative.  Most of the pilots are amazed
that Rilina turns out to be a princess, but the CBs have known about it for
ages.  Setsuna in fact was assigned to keep an eye on her in Area 11, given how
influential Cinq Kingdom was in the AEU before its destruction.  Veda forecast
that someone would try to use her as a pawn, and whaddya know, they did!
Rilina told Noin quite a bit about Hiiro, and although it's doubtful they're
lovers (much to Esther's disappointment @_@) it _is_ clear that Rilina has
great respect for Hiiro as a sort of noble predator, with her the prey.  Having
seen Hiiro battling her beloved Zechs, Noin can sort of identify with that.

Rilina has become an outspoken enemy of the Federation and its policy of the
strong trampling the weak, gathering more supporters to her Absolute Pacifism
every day.  It seems that at long last, she's on the same side as the G-boys
and CBs, whose perseverance has been a major inspiration to Noin and Rilina
both.  Well, they'll have more help from now on: Camille and friends are
throwing in their lot with them too -- thereby completing the transformation of
"Gundam" into a symbol of dissent.

Oz's defeat today should keep them quiet for a while, so the group expect
Arrows to be their main problem for now.  Noin's heard that they're busy in
Kumen, trying to expand Federation influence with their usual underhanded
methods.  Word is that Karen and the other Black Knight survivors have managed
to elude the Arrows forces, and Duo figures they might appreciate a lift from
the Ptolemy-2.  Quatre has Rasheed start working on contacting them, and it
seems to be farewell for now between the rebels and the Cinq Kingdom folks.
The Gundam pilots can only hope that Quatro will do whatever he needs to do
and part from Oz before they're forced to take him down.  Certainly they can
all cheer on Cinq Kingdom's good work.

After Team Gundam leave, Rilina emerges, finally calmed down.  Pargan
apologizes to her for not telling her about her brother, but given that he's
the only reason she's still alive -- having spirited her out of Cinq Kingdom
before its downfall -- she can't be too upset with him.  Noin tells Rilina
that Zechs swore revenge on the AEU that day, siding with Oz as the fastest
way to assemble the necessary firepower.  He's told Noin that he's got too
much blood on his hands to lead the revival of Cinq, and believes that Rilina
is the best suited.  Poor Zechs seems to be losing sight of himself as the
new Federation subverts Oz's mission, and the fight versus the Gundams seems to
be the only way the warrior in him can stay focused and ready when Cinq calls.

Rilina asks if Noin thinks Zechs found himself.  Noin can only hope so, as she
loves Zechs deeply and isn't afraid to admit it.  Rilina tells her to keep
watching over her brother, tough though that task may be thanks to their
Peacecraft blood.  Rilina and Pargan will be returning to Cinq itself, where
certain people are there awaiting her return.  She can only hope that her path
will cross Hiiro's once more.

Meanwhile, in some anonymous yet luxurious location, Ribbons is chatting with
Liu Mei by videophone.  Ribbons still has Veda, and with it "all" information
fit to print in the world.  The topic is the CBs, who have now officially
re-entered world events thanks to the info that Liu Mei leaked.  She cautions
him that the CBs' war power is on the rise again, but Ribbons sniffs that it's
well within expected parameters and nothing to worry about.  Besides, if they
_don't_ act, the world will simply get bored... which is the last thing he
wants.  Liu Mei asks if that's what Ioria wanted, and he tells her to think of
it as what _he_ wants.  He says that her role will be to lead the CBs, and says
he'll call again when the time is right.

As she hangs up, Ribbons observes to Boone in particular that humans are cruel,
and therefore easily controlled.  Rijeene then walks in with some guests of
Ribbons, and he asks him to wait outside.  Rijeene accedes, which is nothing
more or less than Ribbons expects of him.  The guest turns out to be none
other than _Amuro_, and it took forever to set this meeting up.  He introduces
himself as the "Innovator", and tells Amuro to tell him of what revolution
awaits mankind after all the fighting has ended.  Amuro presumably had no
idea who this dude was when he had him transferred here from Oz, and he's
_definitely_ not so sure about the guy now...


CHAPTER 7D. A Turn for the Worse

Word reaches Club Phantom that Kiriko has finally found Fiana, having left the
squad to do so.  Kokona realizes that Kiriko might not be coming back, and
given that the warfare in this country is about over there's little reason for
Goat the arms march ant to stick around either.  Kokona clearly isn't sure how
to feel about this, but Vanilla tells her to buck up and concentrate on making
enough money to survive.  Kiriko will be back one day, with a bride, and they
need to have a place for him to call home.  Besides, it's a waste for Kokona to
cry tears for Kiriko when there's "someone else" close by who cares for her.

The little heart-to-heart talk gets interrupted by explosions and air raid
sirens: the Federation army has apparently decided to attack Kumen.  Lint
explains to the thunderstruck Gon Nuu that he's decided _not_ to wait for the
Billar guerillas to be dealt with, and tells him to blame his own incompetence
in not laying hands on the PS system faster.  Of course, Lint meant to pull
this all along, especially since he's got the Secret Society on his side.  All
that remains is for the squad sent to Kangelmann castle to clean up the rebels,
and _they_ have a knight who's even more thorough than Lint himself is.  This
sounds like a great plan, until word arrives of a Gundam at Ex-10...

Airy tells Borow to kill Proto One if he can't capture her, insisting that
Upsilon complete his transformation to PS at all costs.  Airy orders Upsilon
to do nothing other than show him the maximum, peerless power of the PS system.
To that end, Airy is giving him the latest AT, specially designed to directly
funnel a At's combat potential into its actuators.  Borow adds that Kumen
is about to collapse, and what matters most is for Upsilon to pursue and
demolish Kiriko.  No worries about Kangelmann -- he knew he was going to lose
from before he ever started this war.  Ultimately, Upsilon needs to show the
Assemble mercs the power of his AT and bug the hell out.  Interestingly,
it seems Kiriko himself has decided to kick off the hostilities...

Actually, it's Kiriko plus Fiana, and they're after Borow himself.  The Black
Knights show up in short order to help, impressed to see that Kiriko and his
woman have _not_ run off to hide, but instead opted to fight through their
problems.  Battle with Upsilon is now inevitable, and that suits Kiriko fine.

 The problem with Upsilon showing up in his fancy new mech is that Federation
 forces aren't far behind... and leading them is none other than Suzaku!
 He announces as "Knight of Seven" that the army's objective is to vanquish
 all those who threaten the peace of Kumen.  He orders both the loyalists
 and guerillas to be attacked, without exception.  The Arrows troops aren't
 entirely sure they like being ordered around by one of the Knights of the
 Round, still independent despite Britannia's assimilation into the
 Federation.  They stand as a testament to the Britannian emperor's continued
 power if nothing else.

 Karen is OH SO GLAD to see Suzaku, which translates to wanting to kill his
 ass as dead as possible.  He makes no reply to Karen's accusations of using
 force to bend others to his will, and Potalia tells the rest of the team
 they've got no choice but to attack _all_ Kumen's enemies -- including the
 dreaded Lancelot.

 Suzaku may tell himself that he has no regrets, that he's doing the most
 expedient thing to bring about peace, but nobody else seems to be buying it.
 He does ask Karen why she continues to fight when Zero's dead, adding that
 she has no future if she continues battling.  He takes off before she can
 answer, leaving her VERY pissed off in his wake.

 Upsilon discovers quickly that his little "test flight" is fraught with
 peril too.  He flees in panic back to Borow when his new mech shows signs
 of being crap, and Kiriko and Fiana seize the opportunity to follow.
 Potalia tells Karen, C.C. and Esther to follow Kiriko while he goes to kill
 Kangelmann.  Kidayla and Shakko get to hold off any stray enemies headed
 toward the palace, which in Kidayla's view is a superb chance to level up
 his "kill count".

Potalia knows he's got to hurry before Arrows arrives, and before long
he runs into Monica.  He tells her he's fighting as part of Assemble to
see Kumen modernized, and asks what she's fighting for.  Before she can
answer, she gets machine-gunned by one of the Biller guerillas.  As she
lays bleeding to death, she tells Potalia that this whole war is just a
farce, an experiment in Kangelmann's eyes.  She tells him where Kangelmann
is, and with her last breath tells him she's glad she saw him one more time.

 Borow meanwhile is readying his getaway, aggravated that Upsilon didn't
 bug out at the first sign of Arrows trouble.  Too bad for him that Kiriko
 and Fiana are hot on his trail, and keep him from leaving.  Kiriko knows
 that he's got to die as one of the Secret Society's commanders, but also
 knows that Borow isn't the true mastermind behind all his troubles.  He
 asks Borow why he brought Fiana and Upsilon to Kumen, and Borow admits
 that the PS's still have mental problems to work out.  It's a matter of how
 to link their emotions and their fighting abilities.

 Ultimately, both Proto One and Upsilon have proved too fickle.  The only
 way to make a truly perfect weapon is to imbue a PS with pure malice.  And
 sadly, there's no way to reverse what's already been done to the PS
 candidates.  At this point Upsilon shows up, trashing Kiriko's mech and
 knocking him to the ground.  He dismounts so as to fight Kiriko on even
 footing, but Fiana points her Mach's guns at him and tells him to leave
 Kiriko alone.  She insists that she _can_ shoot him, because she loves
 Kiriko.  What she manages to do is kill Borow and _wound_ Upsilon...

 ...whereat a bunch of military types show up and seize her.  Karen rescues
 Kiriko from getting gunned down, insistent that they've got no leeway to
 rescue Fiana before fleeing.  As he vanishes into the underbrush, Upsilon
 vows to overcome hie disgrace and kill Kiriko in front of Fiana one day...

Potalia finally makes his way to Kangelmann, who's astonished to see his old
friend here.  Potalia wants to know why Kangelmann, if he _is_ his friend,
betrayed him.  Kangelmann curses Potalia for being too dense to understand
what he's been through, and won't give Potalia a straight answer as to why he
started the war.  Apparently it rally was an "experiment" of some kind to
Kangelmann, and Potalia means to make him pay using Kumen's traditional
sword form, "Balancing".  This is risky, since Kangelmann used to beat him
three-to-two at that martial art, but Potalia's got a motive now.

Also, Kangelmann makes no attempt to dodge.  He tells Potalia that it's time
for the old ways to end, that rebellion against the old is the best way to
motivate the young.  Indeed, Kangelmann planned to die all along, and take
with him every vestige of the old order.  That's his role as king.  He figures
he's about to go to hell, and Kumen is about to be pressed into the Federation.
Arrows, at this very moment, is probably burning both the palace and
Assemble Ex-10, but there's a secret route out of the country that nobody
else knows.  He tells Potalia to keep fighting those who would forestall the
future's arrival.

Potalia can only allow himself a few tears for Monica and his beloved friend,
and then heads to rendezvous with the rest of the team.  Karen apologizes to
Kiriko for taking him away from his ladyfriend, but Kiriko thanks her for her
levelheaded decision.  They're joined by not only Kidayla and Shakko, but
also Vanilla and co.  They were saved from Ex-10 by a certain mean-eyed
Gundam pilot (that would be Setsuna), and have come to deliver a huge sum of
dough to Karen to help with the war effort.  That'll certainly come in handy
as Karen reassembles the Black Knights, and although Vanilla wants it repaid
someday he considers himself one of the Black Knights' biggest supporters.
Vanilla also passes word that the team is to meet up with friends of Quatre's
who'll be waiting for them at the border.  Potalia and friends will stay and
do what they can within Kumen, but it'll be up to Karen and friends to
finish breaking down the old order and bringing about a new, better one.

The final stroke is when Kan Yuu sticks his head out, thinking to command
his former subordinates to kill Kiriko for a long litany of crimes.  _He_ is
the one deserving death for all the suffering he's caused, and the team
carry that out with unusual speed.  Nobody is left to stop the team now.

As the green-and-red hell that is Kumen vanishes in the distance, Kiriko
ponders Fiana's word: "love".  Once it meant nothing to him, but now it will
be a small candle in his heart to light the way in the next hell he'll face.

Behind him, Rochina gloats over the brief time Kiriko got to spend with
Fiana.  He's interested to see where Kiriko will head next, and inwardly
tells Kiriko that he's always in the palm of "his" hand.  Rochina means to
see the fate of Kiriko, the abnormal life form, to the very end...


CHAPTER 8AB. A Storm Threatens

[I kept route 7A as a step towards getting Lorelai]

The reunion of the Crushers is, alas, no cause for celebration, coming as it
does on the wings of a rising storm of bloodshed.  The Robot Mafia have grown
too powerful for the world's police to handle, Dr. Hell is up to his old
tricks, and the specters of Vajra and Gishin fighters menace the skies above.
PLUS there's Gundams stirring revolt, which Jeffrey at least isn't terribly
surprised by.  In fact, a part of him is even cheering them on, given all the
doubts he has about the present state of the Federation.  Doubts, as he
points out to Saeki, that he's entitled to as one of the people who helped
found the Federation in the first place.  And lest there be any doubt, he
says that he agrees with resistance to the current Federation state -- NOT
to the very concept of the Federation itself.  Otherwise, he and his men
wouldn't be here helping fend off mankind's common enemies.  Saeki isn't
entirely convinced by that yet, but Jeffrey is sure he'll come around in time.

As all the various organizations represented have worked together before,
Ootsuka predicts little trouble with operations going forward.  The pilots,
and the staffers, have already started bonding... and where better to get in
some final R&R than at the Kurogane-Ya in Atami?

While soaking up the seaside breeze, the pilots quickly take to shoptalk,
including the apparent Vajra stragglers and the strange force that aborted
Marin's subspace teleport near the "Dimension Warp Zone".  Oh, and those Gishin
ghost-type folks, who Sirius writes off as mere mortals who turned out to be
better at soaking damage than everyone thought.  Such worries seem far away
compared to the immediate problem of how Esther will explain her sort-of-crush/
sort-of-love for Crow.

There's yet another new member to keep track of: a Crusher cadet named
"Namida".  Which is TOTALLY NOT like a bad omen or anything!  His day job is
helping at the base cafe, but apparently he's got enough potential to have
started the training.  He came here with Takeru's mother Shizuko, who hit it
off with Tsubasa right away and has often joined her for tea.  That tea isn't
going smoothly today though, as Kouji and Tsubasa appear to be having a bit
of an argument.  Could this be related to the mess with Shirou [that you could
have read on the appropriate path above]?

Kouji indeed has questions for Tsubasa: questions that need answering.  He now
knows that she's his and Shirou's mother, as well as their father's killer.
Kouji is understandably reluctant to accept her as his mom, but she cautions
him that his beloved Juuzou knew everything all along.  Kouji tries protesting
that she probably just intimidated him into silence, but Tsubasa berates him
as still just a kid, and a kid without full knowledge of the facts.  Like she
told him: he'd better be able to _touch_ the elusive Oyasu in a fight before
daring to contradict her to her face.  Showing admirable restraint under the
circumstances, Kouji growls that he plans to hold her to that and stalks off.
Shizuko overheard the exchange, and tries to assure Tsubasa that her son is
strong enough to accept the truth in time.  Tsubasa, however, has reason to
suspect that the _whole_ truth might turn Kouji even more against her...

Kouji heads straight to the courtyard to face off against Oyasu, which is an
exercise in futility given his unmastered rage.  Tsubasa's minions watch
from the sidelines, figuring that no advise they would give would get through
to the guy in his current state.  The Elements however come from a different
school of thought, having learned from Commander Fudou's unconventional methods
that sometimes a change of perspective is needed.

Apollo gets in Kouji's way long enough to convince him to take off his shoes.
Fudou used that to teach them visceral appreciation of the Earth's life force,
which doesn't seem immediately relevant to Kouji.  It does, however, serve to
break up the action and get him to calm down some.  Apollo isn't big on
articulating the spiritual mumbo-jumbo, but he does know that Kouji is focusing
too much on his hands -- if he wants to touch Oyasu, he needs to ram her with
his entire body.  At least, that's how Apollo thinks when he fires his
Infinite Punch, and how Ryouma once described his Righteous Fist Strike.

Bad news arrives just then: unknown forces are approaching the Photon Power
Laboratory!  Well, maybe it's not all bad, given that this is the new joint
team's first real dispatch.  Of course Kouji will be in the vanguard defending
his home base.  He'll have to do so without the Jet Scrander though, as it's
down for maintenance -- incredibly relevant to the previous discussion, as
the enemies today are Dr. Hell's _flying_ robots!  Their leader is Brocken,
who has the unsettling habit of wandering around with his _head_ in his
hands like some sort of bad horror novel.  As Brocken and Kouji trade bluster,
Dr. Yumi realizes that Dr. Hell may have figured out the lab's secret.

Jeffrey designates a final line of defense around the base, telling the team
that he's confident they can keep the bad guys out -- the best he can do, as
he tells Saeki, given that the enemy's intentions are unclear.  The psychology
is undeniable, as all the pilots get super fired up.

 The team quickly chew through Brocken's cannon fodder, forcing him to use
 his "trump card", the Mechabeast Birdon B7.  It is _very_ fast, too fast for
 the naked eye to follow in fact, and easily evades Kouji's Rocket Punch.
 Kouji's friends have to remind him of the special training he's just
 undergone, and when he gets his head clear he's able to hit the thing anyway.
 With the newly repaired Scrander now available, Kouji isn't going to lose
 any more today!

 Brocken is defeated so soundly that he loses his head, as it were.  He's
 still got enough composure to order his men to retreat and save their
 flagship, lest they simply repeat Ashura's record for gross incompetence.
 There was never any real doubt that the team would prevail against Dr. Hell's
 stooges -- the question is, what about the bigger enemies lurking in the
 shadows?  That's why Kouji wants to return to Atami for a bit, which Jeffrey
 allows without even having to ask the reason.  He knows that Kouji'll come
 back an even stronger man.

Back at Bardos Island, news of the battle hangs heavy in the air.  While
Brocken failed to defeat Mazinger, he _did_ manage to divert its and Tsubasa's
attention a bit longer from what Dr. Hell is really up to.  Ashura wants
another shot at Kouji and friends, not just as a diversion but to kill them
once and for all.  This Dr. Hell does not permit, given how the current stock
of Mechabeasts is obviously not up to the task.  The remedy will come from the
island's deepest forbidden depths, from which Ashura feels a strange sense of
familiarity mixed in with the grief and rage that assail his/her every fiber.
Is it the ancient Mikeene memories within that are stirring?  Dr. Hell tells
Ashura that he must acquire all power in time for the Final Day he saw in the
Black Knowledge, and prepares to make final adjustments to the dreaded Kedra...

Kouji's flown straight to Kurogane-Ya, where Tsubasa is waiting for him.  Kouji
thanks her for the kindness she's shown him and Shirou, but says that it's time
for him to part ways, if indeed Tsubasa truly killed his father.  She doesn't
deny the deed, saying that Kenzou was as good as dead even without her lifting
a finger.  Still, there was a reason _she_ had to kill him with her own hands,
the same hands that will close around Kouji if he ever matures enough to be
worthy of the whole truth.  Kouji's response, calm and a bit sad, is to tell
Shirou that the Photon Power Lab is their new home.  He passes along thanks to
Cross and the others and trudges off, Tsubasa watching him go all the while.
She knows that unless he can truly master Mazinger's power, both she and the
world at large are finished.  She'd rather have him hate her, with all his
heart, if doing so will make him even one iota stronger...


CHAPTER 8CD. Twin Drive

[I kept 7D, for "Zero Points" toward a brighter(?) future.]

Cue the reunion, and read above if you want to know what people've been up to.
Up to no good, if the Federation is to be believed.  The Feds have Allelujah
locked up somewhere, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are alive and
on the warpath.  That includes Hiiro, whose Gundam was reassembled by none
other than Zechs "Who Was That Masked Man" Marquis of Oz, but does NOT include
Chang "Err, Actually I'm Left-Handed After All" Wufei who's busy getting over
his duel with Treize.  Karen is just glad that she and the CBs genuinely share
an objective this time around.

The G-boys have fixed Kiriko up a new mech, complete with the
Scarlet Letter^W^WRed Shoulder coloration and weapons pack.  Kiriko, who's
acting a bit more like a human being thanks to all his time with Fiana, is
duly grateful.  Just in time it seems for the group's first mission, which is
an assault on a supply depot in the Gobi Desert -- actually a Federation
prison rumored to contain all kinds of heavily-guarded folks.  The briefing
is carried out by Milena, Ian's much-prettier daughter, and Tielia, who
indicate that the mission will actually be to _support_ a Catalon force seeking
to save some folks bagged by Arrows.  This wouldn't usually be necessary, or
even desirable given Catalon's penchant for indiscriminate terrorism, but
the Gobi base has an extra-special guard these days: the Knight of Seven.

Kururugi Suzaku, who was once numbered among the Zexis stalwarts, is now at the
top of Karen's shitlist... which should make for an interesting battle!  But
first, we have to meet some of the other folks whose lives are at stake...
such as poor Saji, incarcerated for aiding Catalon when all he really did was
help build Space Colonies.  Suzaku has in fact come to see him, using his
special license to get the warden to leave the two of them alone.  He tells
Saji that Ashford Academy, and all its Council members, are all undamaged in
the wake of the Black Rebellion, and intimates he may be able to get Saji
released.

That is, IF Saji satisfies him that he had nothing to do with the Black
Knights before he went off to space.  Suzaku accuses him of being a Black
Knights agent, tasked with gathering information on Britannians and then
conveniently transferring out of school just before the shooting started.
Saji is totally bewildered, countering that Suzaku knows precisely why he
dropped out of school: to make his dreams of life with Louise come true.  Saji
shows enough unfiltered indignation at the insinuation that Louise's dreadful
accident was deliberate that Suzaku relents, never exactly apologizing for
suspecting his former classmate of espionage.  Saji mutters that Suzaku's
changed, and Suzaku responds that he didn't do so by choice.  Suzaku then
gets up to leave, NOT planning on seeing that Saji is released after all --
who does Saji think he is, asks Suzaku, that he should be treated specially?
Apparently Suzaku's once-famed commitment to justice has been put out to
pasture (or is that "shot in the head") in the interest of world peace.

This bitter parting is interrupted by air raid sirens, announcing the arrival
of you-know-who.  Catalon forces are in the lead, and they are getting
slaughtered in a major hurry by Suzaku's Lancelot.  Watching from the
sidelines, Louise muses about the tale of the lowly Eleven who's risen to the
Knights of the Round.  His composure is tested when a new contender arrives:
a Gundam!  Jinin is content to let Suzaku take it on, but its pilot has other
things on his mind.  Setsuna remembers these bloodstained sands well, and they
are nothing like the world he, or Lockon, envisioned.

 Setsuna is more than the regular troopers can handle, but one busted Gundam
 is no match for a top-end KMF... especially with Suzaku at the controls.
 Suzaku demands to know why the CBs insist on causing more fighting in the
 world, but is prevented from finishing him off by the arrival of the the
 cavalry.  The spat between the CBs and Arrows, severe though it is, is a
 first-world problem compared to the blood feud between Karen and Suzaku.
 She _owes_ him for a certain incident, and is hardly inclined to listen
 when he calls her "obsessed with the past".  There's no reason to wonder if
 combat is "inevitable" or not -- just start shooting people's asses!

 Suzaku defends his interference with Kumeni affairs by saying that they were
 a source of friction -- sure to seed dangerous ideas to their neighboring
 states.  Unity is Peace(tm)!  Karen is SO not having that.

Still, the battle is dragging on for purely plot-based reasons, and the team
find themselves wishing for even one more unit to "even the odds".  That would
be Setsuna, who's about to receive a new mech from Ian: the 00 ("Double-Oh").
Ian transplanted the GN Drive from the Exia into it, so it's now the first
Gundam with two of the darn things thanks to the sensibly-named Twin Drive
System.  The other GN Drive came straight from the CB's first Gundam, the 0
("Zero"), and it appears Ioria deliberately made the Exia's GN Drive with
numerous similarities for easy linkage.  Like the Trans-Am system, this is 200
year-old science, so there's no telling if it'll actually work.

 Early indications are "no", as Setsuna is forced to sortie before the two
 GN Drives are stable.  But of course it works out at the last second,
 resulting in a terrifying display of Trans-Am clout that triggers some kind
 of warning in the Wing Gundam's displays.  Camille too feels some kind of
 misgivings, but he passes this off as his imagination.

 One rare moment of surprise for Suzaku comes when he sees Louise as an
 Arrows soldier -- what the hell is she doing as one of them?  A better
 question is what he and Arrows were doing in Kumen, whose struggles the
 Secret Society was supposed to be behind... has the Secret Society already
 been turned by the Feds?  One thing is certain: if World Peace requires
 becoming part of the Britannian emperor's mad schemes, Setsuna will just have
 to bring that whole world down around their ears.  When he gets his ass
 beat, his final words are that the Gundams and Black Knights aren't wanted
 in this world, destabilizing influence that they are.

We'll see which side is unwanted by the World in due course.  For now, there
are prisoners to free.  The remaining base staff make this look easy by beating
a hasty retreat, but it turns out they've left Automatons in their wake:
self-guided antipersonnel weapons that seem to specialize in indiscriminate
carnage.  Several of them activate throughout the depot, spewing gunfire and
grenades in all directions.  Saji nearly buys the farm if not for Setuna's
quick action, and the scene is set for Saji to demand Setsuna answer for all
the CB's actions during the previous war... actions that in one sense led to
the loss of damn near everyone Saji loves.  Setsuna listens to the charges in
silence, making no reply as Saji breaks down in tears and Karen runs over to
the duo...

Meanwhile, it's the OH WHATS UP RIBBONS!  Are we in a _bad_ _mood_ today?
Something to do with the CBs' new GN drive perhaps?  Which he doesn't know
dick about, despite having accessed Veda's Level 7 data?  Rijeene knows when
he's taunted Ribbons enough and leaves him to chat with Amuro.  This new
twin-GN Drive mech seems to emit more than double the GN Particles of a single-
drive mech... more like _square_ if Ribbons' eyes aren't deceiving him.
Ribbons admits that Ioria's ongoing machinations have him a bit pissed: the
200 year-old scientist is turning out to be more like a god every day.  And
Ribbons is on his throne now, which isn't exactly music to Amuro's ears.  He
wants to know what Ribbons intends to do with him, now that Amuro's been made
a virtual prisoner, and Ribbons will only say that it's of certain benefit to
him... as a Newtype.  Now why would Ribbons know about Newtypes...?


CHAPTER 9AB. We're All Alive

The reunion at Battle Camp is one of those bittersweet ones, since it portends
lots more warfare for all concerned.  It's especially galling, since a Certain
Event(tm) is happening at Odaiba, and Myna isn't going to get to go and load up
on doujinshi [it seems she prefers the straight stuff, for whatever that's
worth...].  At least there's some positive news: ADiC, the Axion's "Another
Dimension Creature" research institute, have figured out something about the
latest round of DBs -- their abnormally shaped "head" section is actually
artificial.  This would mean that someone managed to deliberately perform
cybersurgery on interdimensional monsters... which sounds kind of tough.

But on to more important matters: has Monica gotten it on with Jeffrey yet?!
And has Cathy patched things up with Ozuma, or is Bobby still angling to get
into his pants?!  Is it a three-way with Cathy's incommunicado fiancee?  And
what about Section 2 and all the romantic possibilities???  ...Or, what about
the ongoing argument between Akagi and Saeki over the proper way to do their
job.  Akagi is focused on the "now" of protecting people, while Saeki is
fixated on the "later" -- stuff like avoiding damage lest future dispatches
suffer.  Is it that Saeki is too much of a micromanager, or that Akagi is too
much of a macro-sensationalist?

The other pilots watch from the sidelines, reasoning through the issue among
themselves.  While it's true that conservative tactics lead to unnecessary
damage, it's also true that rushing in headlong is a good way to fall into
enemy traps, as Marin knows first hand.  All Apollo wants to know is when the
fistfight starts, and even Esther unconsciously realizes that it'd be sort of
satisfying.  Besides, don't fisticuffs usually fertilize friendships in these
stories?  Only for kids, says Aoyama: if _adults_ start throwing punches,
someone is going to get incarcerated for a long time.

Shizuko then gets into the act, asking the teammates to figure out a way to
understand each other (and maybe stop yelling in the middle of her store while
they're at it).  The Takeo General Company staffers manage to talk sense into
the two, getting them to shut up and have lunch already.  Fortunately, both
Akagi and Esther are amenable to a little culinary therapy.  The one person
still agitated is Kojirou, who's been out of sorts for some time.  Ibuki is
especially worried about the faithful old guy -- and maybe even a bit hot for
him?  That will just have to remain imponderable, as the Heterodyne warning
sounds.

This new Heterodyne is attacking a major populated area, and is strong enough
that Kokubouger (and with it, Akagi's mecha teacher) wasn't able to halt it.
Kokubouger is part of the Federation's nascent anti-Heterodyne efforts, though
some on the team darkly suspect that those efforts are even farther behind
than they should be due to Oz and Arrows' preferred funding.  In any case,
Tokyo is in danger [again] and nobody is quite sure how best to take down the
Heterodyne.  Absent enough data to form a Saeki-style strategy, an Akagi-
style assault may be the only choice for now.  On the third hand, the area's
dimensional barriers are probably quite feeble after the Heterodyne's arrival;
could there be DBs waiting in the wings?

No, actually: Takeru and Apollo both sense something far worse -- waves of
dark, cold fear portending "His" arrival.  Yup, it's the Gishin, with Valen
in a new mech called the Daedalus she says has been specially prepared to
take the whole team to the Dark.  Takeru can feel her psych, a sure sign that
she has _not_ been simply resurrected with cybernetics.  She repeats that
it was the Power of the Darkness(tm) itself that sent her back, which might
be true but is also not very useful.

Saeki hesitates over which adversary to take on first, and Akagi points out
that unlike the Gishin, the Heterodyne seems bent on destroying _everything_
nearby.  Saeki and Jeffrey agree with him: the Heterodyne is top priority!

 Next priority is Valen, who claims to have even more despair in store for
 the team.  Too bad that the despair is all hers: the Grand Knights are back!
 Fog Sweeper has told them to help the Crushers, and that they shall... and
 not a moment too soon, since Valen's nefarious plan involves resurrecting...
 the Zeravia!  It seems the Power of the Darkness(tm) is capable not only
 of bringing back the dead, but even summoning enemies from other worlds:
 kind of scary stuff.

 Akagi, for one, is NOT scared; instead, he's interest in taking out whoever
 these bad guys are and saving the day.  Jeffrey remarks that the Breaking
 featured a seemingly unending string of stronger and stronger enemies, and
 living through them all required utterly unshakable will.  Akagi has that
 will, and even one such person on a team can be infectious.  Indeed, even
 Saeki gets his shit together and devises a battle plan... which amounts to
 "take out the commander first", but still it's better than nothing.

 What's more, it works!  Valen warns the team that the Power of Darkness(tm)
 is far more menacing than the goons they've just faced, but her mech
 explodes before her speech can conclude.  It _sounds_ like she's dead for
 good this time, but there's no telling who might be next on the Zombies
 With Grudges list.  At least there are people like Akagi on the team, who're
 too stupid to know when the odds are overwhelming!

Though the battle was won, evil machinations are at work behind the scenes.
Dokujima, an army rep, has come to Nishijima with a shady proposal: force
Taigauchi to retire, and get 21st Century to fall under military control.
This will put Dai Guard where it can shore up the military's obvious
shortcomings vis a vis the Heterodyne menace, but is certainly easier said
than done.  Nishijima plans to pull this off by staging a coup of sorts,
forcibly taking over one of 21st Century's rivals (one with its own robot, no
less) and impressing the Board of Directors.  This is... not quite what
Dokujima had in mind, but if he wants 21st Century on his side, Nishijima seems
to be the only one he can turn to.

Back at base, Shiroda hears Saeki's preliminary report on the battle, including
his misgivings about Akagi's way of doing things.  Shiroda promises to come
up with an impartial resolution, and after hanging up explains to Ootsuka that
Saeki is a man who gives a lot of wait to high-confidence solutions.  That he
qualified his concerns as "personal" means that even he acknowledges Akagi's
prowess.  In fact, all Saeki really wants is to vent a little... just like
Shiroda himself once did.  Akagi then phones up, probably with similar
concerns about Saeki, and Shiroda assures Ootsuka he won't let any of the
ensuing "meetings" disturb the team's overall efforts.


CHAPTER 9CD. The Day The Demon God Awoke

The battle in the Gobi desert has reminded the team of something common-sense:
if Arrows and Oz can cause that much trouble, fighting the whole Federation
army would be a total impossibility.  Setting aside differences in armaments,
the team is really suffering from the lack of a commander like Sumeragi or
Zero.  It's Esther's view that Quatre could make a good commander too, given
his empathic understanding for his teammates.  Sumeragi and Zero's command
acumen came from the opposite side of the spectrum: the ability to see their
team as pawns and direct them dispassionately.  Sumeragi might not have shown
that aspect in Zexis' vision often, but Tielia at least is convinced that she
would have sacrificed everything if she had to to win.

It seems that Sumeragi is unavailable at the moment, due to some sort of
private matter her fellow CBs are unwilling to discuss.  And the team can't
just go and hire someone from 21st Century or the like... so who they gonna
call?  Well... it turns out that Karen and C.C. have been harboring a painful
secret: rumors of Zero's death have been _sliiiiiightly_ exaggerated.  Zero is
in fact alive, and is being held in Area 11 -- where the Black Knights have
conveniently just finished preparations for a rescue attempt.  That decides
the team's next mission: rescuing Zero.

C.C. takes Karen aside, telling her it's too late for regrets.  Karen
tearfully says that she doesn't want to leave things like this either, and
C.C. promises that when she makes contact with Zero, all the wheels will
resume turning once more.  But will that really be for the best, one wonders...

Back in Ashford Academy, there's a mad dash in progress between a male student
and a female P.E. teacher.  The teacher, none other than Viletta, is
insisting to Lelouch that it'll take more than paper test results to pass
her class.  Lelouch's friends on the Student Council watch from the sidelines,
at once amused and concerned for his welfare.  Many of their old friends from
abroad are gone thanks to the Black Rebellion, and a new crop of students
installed due to the formation of the Federation.  And then there's Lelouch's
brother Rolo, who's getting dragged along to some unauthorized extra-
curricular activity in violation of Viletta's orders.  Some with good
imaginations might remember this as a new development...

Of the former students, Saji at least is accounted for aboard the Ptolemy-2.
He's not thrilled to be aboard a CB ship, blaming them and the Black Knights
for Area 11's woes.  He's not any happier with Suzaku, who turned out to be a
much ratter bastard than he ever suspected.  The CBs give him food, water,
and a Red Haro to answer whatever questions he might have, and Karen says
they'll let him off once the ship reaches Area 11.  That won't be the end of
his troubles though: Arrows has him pegged as a Catalon operative, and aren't
known to give up easily.

Lasse tells Saji that the CBs are _not_ intending to go back to their old
policy of inflaming warfare -- rather, they're hunting Oz and especially
Arrows, who so far have committed at least 14 instances of genocide under the
name of "suppressing rebellion".  Tens of thousands lay dead, and all news of
it has been systematically hushed up: easy to do when Automata do the final
killing, as was the case back in Gobi.  Saji protests that the Feds are the
good guys, for defeating the Imperium that only got a toehold because of the
terrorists' actions.

Ahhh, now the error of his ways is clear to Karen.  Unfortunately, odds are
very good that Saji and those living a normal life like him can't handle the
truth.  Nor is that his fault: the Federation government is all too good at
hiding the facts from those it purports to protect.  It is true, Lasse says,
that the foundation of the Federation is thanks to the CBs... and so it's only
right that the CBs see to its correction.  Sure, fighting will mean that
people die.  Then again, people will die even if the CBs and Black Knights
_don't_ fight.  Karen won't ask Saji to agree with what she does, but she does
want him to see the truth for himself.  Maybe this is because she herself is
wavering over what to do?  Perhaps, but it's a far worse life _knowing_ that
things are fucked and being unable to do anything about it.

Back in the Tokyo Settlement, Lelouch has led Rolo to an opulent underground
casino.  It caters to the sense of entitlement of the remaining Britannian
nobility, who live out their desires to dominate others in places such as this.
Lelouch isn't one to be used by others, but he also despairs of anything ever
changing: the world is too neatly arranged, to inexorably sewn together with a
hierarchy of adult privilege.  Zero, the leader of the Black Knights, was
foolish to think he had the power to change anything.  More than anything else,
Lelouch finds himself caught between powerlessness and ennui: his story of
wanting to face the mighty Black King in better-chess is just a cover.

One of the casino's maids comes over to offer libations: it's Karen, _very_
fetchingly attired as a bunny girl.  Lelouch comments that she's been made
to don a very eye-catching outfit, apologizing if he offended her.  She
meekly says that she wouldn't dream of asking a Britannian to apologize to
her, an Eleven, adding that the powerless must bear up under their lot in life.
Lelouch tells her, rationally enough, not to force her value system on him,
but Black King interrupts and tells Karen to shut her piehole and concentrate
on servicing the guests.  The guy is a total mafia don, and his swagger
clearly doesn't sit well with Lelouch: in just a few minutes, Lelouch says,
Black King is about to find out just how low on the food chain he really is.

The ensuing chess match is aborted before it can begin by an explosion
somewhere in the building: the Black Knights' plans are in motion!  The bomb
Karen planted was phase one; phase two involves an armed assault by the
team's pilots, pitting them against the Guilford's security forces.  Among
them is Koorasawar "the Immortal", still somehow alive after all this time.
Guilford is content to leave the casino blast to the Information Bureau forces,
whose chain of command leads directly to the Emperor, and concentrate on
the encroaching Gundams.  He's counting on Koorasawar's past experience with
them to carry the day, adding that this is a good opportunity to get into good
graces with a Certain Someone.

 The question is: will Esther and friends be able to raise enough hell to
 divert attention from Karen and C.C.'s bid to contact Lelouch?  Well, the
 good news(?) is that the blast separated Lelouch and Rolo.  The bad news is
 that Karen got separated from him too, but at least she's got the remaining
 active Black Knights to help her.  Carales, the new governor of the area,
 thinks this is a great time to plunge the locals deeper into despair, and
 order Guilford to slaughter all the rebels.

 It takes a while to locate Lelouch in all the confusion.  He meanwhile is
 trying to locate his brother, determined that he should at least be able
 to accomplish that much.  What he finds instead is a Black Knight KMF, and
 inside it C.C.  She tells him she's an ally, and that his true enemies are
 Britannia, and the world at large.  He does not immediately remember his
 "partner in crime", but she remembers him: the real him.  She tells him
 the Britannian emperor has altered his memories, but is shot by forces
 off-camera before she can finish her speech.

 Those forces are the Intelligence forces, who've been keeping Lelouch
 under minute observation ever since the Rebellion.  They've been using him
 as bait to catch C.C., but as a wise man once said, "Be careful what you
 fish for."  The Intelligence officer tells Lelouch, a.k.a. Zero, that it's
 time to die now that he's served his purpose, but he clearly wasn't counting
 on C.C. being able to return Lelouch's memories.  Or his power.

 The Power of the King may make one lonely, but it also comes in HELLUVA
 handy at times like this.  The officer is stunned that C.C. can still
 move after he shot her in the heart, but Lelouch is now quite calm and
 collected.  Does Might really make Right?  Is revenge always bad?  Is
 friendship always good?  In any case, the Intelligence agents, so intent on
 ending Lelouch's life, aren't going to find out after he orders them to die.

 Lelouch had the feeling that something was wrong in his life, and the
 overwritten memories and false existence provide the perfect explanation.
 It seems his subconscious was always seeking the truth on some level,
 seeking to change the world.  He confirms to C.C. that he remembers
 everything, including his ordeal when Suzaku dragged him before Charles.
 Suzaku, bad little good little boy that he is, parlayed Zero's capture into
 a position with the Knights of the Round.  Charles mentioned in passing
 that neither Britannia, nor the Federation, would matter in the new world
 he seeks (and refused to comment further), right before stealing everything
 that mattered to Lelouch from his mind.

 Well, payback is going to be one serious motherfucker, and it's going to
 take a long time to see it through, but Lelouch is nothing if not patient.
 For now, the question is how Lelouch can avoid having the people holding
 Nanaly decide to do her in on his account.  At least the Gundams have banded
 together against the Federation: like the Black Knights, they aren't
 satisfied with the current state of the world.  He needs to find whoever
 gave Charles his Geass... and figure out who the hell Rolo is, given that
 he's certainly _not_ Lelouch's real brother.

 Karen arrives at this point, and Lelouch says he'll be taking over C.C.'s
 mech.  He wants her to get to somewhere safe, but there really _isn't_
 any such place in this world.  C.C. walks off, leaving Karen and Lelouch to
 have their own heart-to-heart talk.  He's not exactly thrilled that she
 didn't intervene when Suzaku subdued him at Kaminejima, and she counters
 that he'd been deceiving her all along both about his identity and about his
 Geass ability.  She demands to know if he warped her heart to give her her
 loyalty to "Zero", and he laughs momentarily in response.  Her heart, he
 tells her, is her own -- as are her loyalties.  He adds that she can be
 proud of herself for choosing him, and she counters that she _wants_ to
 believe, else she wouldn't be here.  But just so they're both clear: she
 believes in "Zero", not in "Lelouch".  That's fine by him, and as "Lelouch"
 he tells her she might want to change into some more modest clothing at
 some point.

 As "Zero", he tells her they're going to bust out of this joint and get back
 to improving the world.  In the cockpit, he wryly notes that C.C. even
 got his trademark cloak and mask ready for him.  Getting out into the open
 is easy, but a new menace appears: a mass-production version of the Lancelot
 that is somehow able to move far faster than it should.  The rest of the
 team isn't sure what he's talking about, but Tobu, the only one of the Four
 Holy Blades still active, tells Karen to take Zero and flee while he holds
 their adversary off.

 Zero tells him that sacrificing oneself isn't the way to beat Britannia,
 but the mystery KMF seems to be giving both him and Karen an unfeasible
 amount of trouble.  Tobu intervenes, grabbing the mech and telling Zero
 that he intends to see that Zero is _not_ sacrificed here.  He charges Karen
 with Zero's wellbeing, and Zero with the wellbeing of the Japanese people.
 He then self-destructs, doing enough damage to force the mystery assailant
 to flee before another wave of bad guys appear.  Zero quickly assumes
 control of the team, vowing to lead everyone to victory.  He is, in fact
 Zero: the man who will destroy and remake the world!!

 Guilford would love to be the one to stuff that particular genie back into
 the bottle, but it's a task far beyond his capabilities.  Carales tries
 his hand next, clearly not believing that "the" Zero could be facing him
 after he was executed.  Zero declares that proof is at hand, and begins
 analyzing Carales' battle plans.  Carales loves letting other people fight
 his battles of attrition, while he waits in a place of safety to swoop in
 and claim victory.  Zero predicted long ago where he would be watching the
 battle from, and has had his "subordinates" fiddle with the explosive bolts
 that hold the Tokyo Settlement together.  Result: decisive.

Zero then forcibly broadcasts to the world about his return, and Guilford has
to admit that only the real Zero could have demolished Carales so easily.
He is _fairly_ certain Zero was executed, and (unsurprisingly) knows of no
good reason why Zero would have been silent all this time had he somehow
escaped the hangman's noose.

Zero tells Britannians, and indeed Federation types everywhere, that he is
saddened that the world had changed not a whit from its old habits of lording
strength over the weak, of war and discrimination.  So long as the mighty lie
to the feeble, he'll continue his struggle.  Meanwhile, back at Ashford Academy
it seems that Rolo is in league with Viletta as part of the surveillance
operation, and both are about convinced that Lelouch's memory has returned
until he apparently calls them (in the middle of the broadcast) _from_ the
school grounds.  FUNKY.

It's been an expensive rescue in terms of loss of life on the good guys' side,
and Zero has "reasons" he can't show up in person.  Instead he's resorted to
having C.C. convey his message of thanks, and promise of _eventual_ cooperation
with the CBs.  For now, he intends to finish reconstituting the Black Knights
and figuring out how to liberate Japan.  Camille asks her if this is the Zero
they know, and she tells him that's a silly question.  "Zero" is an identity
whose value lies in actions; that is, his identity is unimportant.  Insofar as
nobody else knew his identity before, the pilots agree to treat this Zero like
the previous one so long as the results hold up.  C.C. plans to head back to
Zero's side, but Karen -- at her request -- will remain posted with the CBs to
act as an intermediary.  Inwardly C.C. isn't surprised that Karen still bears
emotional scars from Lelouch's (pseudo?-)duplicity, and also knows that
Lelouch won't be able to keep up his charade in front of Rolo forever, whether
or not Nanaly's life would be at risk.  Hiiro privately suspects Zero's true
identity, but keeps his thoughts to himself.

Back at the imperial court, Charles has invited Suzaku to walk and chat with
him.  He tells Suzaku not to worry about catching C.C.: she'll appear before
him of her own accord before long.  He takes Suzaku somewhere special --
a strange place none of the Knights of the Round or even Schneizer himself
know exist.  This is because Suzaku alone knows Zero's identity and his power.
The odd structure is not a shrine, as Suzaku suspects; Charles calls it a sort
of weapon for destroying God: the "Sword of Akasha".


CHAPTER 10AB. Separation from Tranquility

It turns out that the Gran Knights have been guests of Dragons' Hive ever
since the Breaking, and by "guests" we mean "errand-runners".  And the errands
in question included anti-terrorism and anti-DB operations, all gratis, which
harmed the prices other do-gooders like the Scott Lab could charge for similar
exploits.  The Gran Knights' relatively cushy lifestyle in Sandman Castle
didn't prepare them for the harsh training regimen of the Beast squadron,
and especially its leader Shinobu.  Things got easier a month or so ago when
the Beast units left on some kind of mission, with nary a word as to what the
mission actually entailed.  F.S. is as laconic a commander as Sandman, in his
way, and that reminds the team of Fudou and Tanaka.  Are all middle-aged dudes
like that?  Maybe not if Kojirou and friends are any indication... in which
case Fudou and the others are just weirdos.

Speaking of Fudou and Sandman, where the hell are they?  Presumably they're
_somewhere_ in this world, yet they haven't shown their face to their
respective teams.  It's unlikely that they ended up dead somewhere, but it's
anybody's guess where they've gotten to.  That means it's up to WILL to figure
out why some Zeravia stragglers(?) appeared.  And as for Team D...

..They've gone back to their day jobs.  Aoi's busy modeling and motor cycling,
and Kurara has returned to the police as a narcotics agent.  Sure enough, the
two run into each other by chance [uh huh] in Shibuya, comparing notes on
civilian life.  It seems Eiyda and her manager Johnny are back into the idol
singer world, and participating in the ubiquitous Twinkle Project.  Kamon
has become Isabelle Cronkite's assistant, and has stayed in touch with Kurara
in search of leads for new stories.  All very well and good, but the two
women both seem to know that they're destined for more in life than this...

Eiyda is in fact somewhat nervous about the Twinkle Project's first stop in
Tokyo, heart pounding at just the thought of rehearsal.  Ranka is more
excited than nervous, proof of how far she's come as a bona fide idol star.
Sheryl assures the other two singers that what the crowd wants to see is the
real, unvarnished "them", not a calculated facade... and if that means a few
jitters along the way, so be it.  It feels to Ranka like Sheryl is back to full
strength, easily fit to be the leader of the show.

Alto is on hand too, called in at the last minute as a bodyguard.  He's got
his usual blank expression on, which has Johnny rather on edge.  Alto too is
part of the Twinkle Project, and he needs to encourage the singers as much as
possible.  That would be easier without Brela hanging around, given his
perpetual assessment of Alto as "unworthy" of Ranka.  Grace finally comes
clean (a bit) about the guy: he, like her, is from the Galaxy fleet, hired to
protect the singers from the shadows.  As for why Alto is "unfit" for Ranka,
Grace claims it's a simple matter of not wanting a scandalous love affair to
get into the tabloids.  If so, why hire Alto as a bodyguard at all, knowing
what close proximity he'd be to her?  Grace smiles and says that she merely
wishes to avoid _private_ enveiglements -- she actually wants him near her to
the extent that "neighborly" love will still improve Ranka's singing.

Johnny realizes right off the bat that this is bullshit, but before he can
call her on it, forces unknown set off some kind of explosive nearby.  Brela's
enhanced senses (like all of Galaxy's pilots) tell him there's also gunfire,
a sure sign that someone means to end the concert series before it begins.
This isn't precisely what Alto had in mind as a bodyguard, but he's certainly
equal to the challenge.

And who's the Challenger?  Branch, as it turns out, with lots of firepower on
loan from his mysterious employer.  He doesn't know who would want the Robot
Mafia to kill some singing girls, but he does know a moneymaking chance when he
sees it.  His plan isn't to kill the singers, but rather to kidnap them and
_report_ them dead to his employer.  Alto is aggravated that everywhere he
goes, people always want to kidnap Sheryl and Ranka, but Brela ignores him in
favor of a private transmission from Grace.  She tells him that she'll brook no
more unauthorized stunts on his part, if he wants her help in recovering his
lost memories.  This time, his mission is to arrange for as precarious a
situation as he can, as Grace thinks it will further fuel the singers'
energies.  And it's those energies that will cause the Little Queen to call out
across space and time to Them...

 Before too long, a new player arrives: Aoi, in the Nova Eagle.  She tells
 Alto that modeling is a pretty stressful job, and hints that she doesn't
 want anyone obstructing the concert any more than he does.  In short: she's
 back to active duty, and eager to kick some terrorist ass.

 Further reinforcements are close at hand, bringing an end to Grace's little
 charade.  At least Grace can use the opportunity to gauge the team's
 strengths?  Sounds like a good plan until some interlopers arrive -- a menace
 that not even Grace has ever heard of before.

Johnny shields Eiyda from falling debris, reminding the both of them of the
first time Johnny protected her.  That's when Eiyda truly fell in love, and
that love is now totally mutual.  Fortunate then that Johnny's teammates are
on hand to help him protect her, though that means leaving the tranquil
life behind.

 Team D, it would seem, is back with a vengeance.  And just in time, since
 these new enemies came from beyond Earth's dimensional walls.  It's not a
 pleasant thought that the current menagerie of menaces lurking Beyond is
 incomplete, and Saeki recommends hauling one of the enemy carcasses back to
 base for inspection.  Alto meanwhile has to admit that Brela is one hot
 pilot, and Johnny tells Brela to take good care of Eiyda in his absence.  He
 of course wants to protect the love of his life, but he also wants to
 protect the world at large, which the both of them cherish deeply.  That'll
 be Alto's task too, as it seems pretty clear that the Twinkle Project won't
 need his services as bodyguard anymore.

Kamon too will be leaving his current life behind, and Isabelle is okay with
that... provided he keep a daily log of Dancougar's activities.  She'll be
heading off in search of the Gundams she's heard are active again, and admits
freely that she's doing so on behalf of her departed friend.  The truth lies
at the end of the trail made of up the facts, and it's those facts that
Isabelle craves.  And for whatever it's worth, the first fact is this: the
super robot Isabelle's been chasing isn't just "Dancougar", but rather
"Dancougar Nova".

The usual reunions speeches get spoken, the usual beefing over Alto's
unwillingness to choose between Sheryl and Ranka gets beefed, and as usual
the pilots turn out to be a pretty merry lot.  Michelle confides to Klan
that even he (as Alto's closest friend) has no idea who Alto will pick... but
he does know this much: Alto doesn't have the constitution to romance _both_
idol singers at once.  When the time is right, he'll choose one or the other
for sure...


CHAPTER 10CD. The Other Lockon

With his memories newly recovered, Lelouch takes stock of his situation at
Ashford Academy.  Most of his friends have had their memories altered to
accord with the one Charles gave him, and Rolo and Viletta have been posted
to keep tabs on him.  Lelouch always suspected Charles of rat-bastardy, but
the number of people he's treated like pawns to catch C.C. has Lelouch
newly aghast.  He makes out to his classmates that this "new Zero" business
is a complete puzzlement, managing to fool Rolo into assuming that he has
_not_ in fact regained his memory.  ...Which is good, because Rolo is under
orders to kill Lelouch immediately should that happen.

One thing Lelouch is _not_ worried about is the little twerp actually figuring
out what's really going on, especially since Rolo seems to think of him as more
than just an assignment.  Still, with so much scrutiny around him, Lelouch
knows he's got to ready his next gambit in a hurry.  Rolo will get a suitable
comeuppance for trying to replace Nanaly in his life soon enough...

Saji has elected not to deplane in Area 11, and is in no hurry to explain why
to Karen.  Karen for her part isn't exactly forthcoming about Zero's return, or
how that green-haired pizza fiend of a girl which Saji saw on the news might
figure in.  If Saji won't say why he's sticking with the CBs, Karen won't
explain why she's not getting back into terrorism with the Black Knights.

The impasse lasts around ten seconds, max.  Saji cracks first, admitting that
he's desperate to know The Truth(tm).  His elder sister Louise was a journalist
following the CBs when she was killed, but given how the Red Haro has no info
on her death, it's possible that the CBs aren't the ones who did it.  He's got
a lot of questions about how the world got to this point, and has resolved to
follow his sister's maxim of connecting the facts to build up to what the truth
really is.  Karen then tells him that the ship is heading for Europe: time
she can use to try to sort out her own thoughts and questions.

Meanwhile in Eilland, Setsuna has caught up with a "Lyle Dilandy", Catalon
agent.  Setsuna informs him that Neil Dilandy was a CB Gundam Meister, and
informs Lyle that he's going to be one too.  Alas that Neil was killed during
the Breaking, but Lyle now has the chance to change the world as his brother
once did -- if he wishes.  If he's prepared to fight.  He gives Lyle a docket
of information on the CBs, and tells him to draw his own conclusions.  Setsuna
isn't especially worried about Lyle misappropriating the data, as the CBs are
long past the point of hiding.  He gives Lyle two days to think it over,
promising to wait in the same spot if Lyle means to accept his offer.

News of Zero's exploits have reached Billy Katagiri's house, where Billy asks
Lisa Kujou if she's at all interested in Zero's stratagems.  "No", she slurs,
and Billy chastises her for always drinking too much.  She's prepared to part
company at once, but before Billy can apologize the doorbell rings and he
hastens to answer it.

Lisa is in fact keenly aware of Zero resuming his struggle, but she herself
can't muster the will to do so herself.  She feels like she betrayed her
promise to herself and her subordinates to never again make mistakes that cost
lives.  The visitor turns out to be Setsuna, who barges in uninvited and
confronts "Sumeragi" by name.  He informs Billy that "Sumeragi" is none other
than the CBs' strategist, telling Sumeragi that she has just officially lost
any hope of hiding.

Sumeragi numbly asks what he hopes to accomplish by dragging her back into
things, and Setsuna deftly hands her off to Karen, waiting in a park nearby.
He knows that both woman are gripped by doubts, and tells them to use this
chance to get their shit together.  After brief greetings, Sumeragi surprises
Karen by tells her that she's been doing precisely zilch since the Breaking.
See, Ioria actually foresaw that the CBs would lose, and the CBs themselves all
but expected it to happen sooner or later.  They _also_ expected that their
loss would be the new world's gain, but that turned out to be a total charade.
Nothing, not the founding of the Federation, not all the blood split and lives
lost, meant a damn thing to making Ioria's dreams come true.

Sumeragi's been trying to find solace at the bottom of a bottle, which reminds
Karen all too poignantly of her mother.  Her mother's despair at Japan's
occupation led her to start using Refrain, a drug that submerges a person in
happy memories of their past.  And yet despite that all, her mother kept
Karen always uppermost in her thoughts.  Karen believes her mother to be a
weak person, and yet cannot bring herself to hate her for it.  Instead, she's
chosen to fight on her mother's behalf, since she's been given that power.

She tells Sumeragi that she'll fight on her behalf too, hoping to see
Sumeragi smile once more some day.  With something to protect, something to
regain, how can Karen go wrong?  This is where Lyle and Setsuna walk over,
shocking the two women with how much Lyle and Neil look alike.  Lyle's
evidently decided to take on the mantle of "Lockon Stratos", and the group
make ready to head to the Ptolemy-2...

..when Quatro steps out of the shadows.  It seems he, in his capacity as an
Oz operative, has been seeking Sumeragi just as Setsuna has.  He offers her
a role as Oz strategist, saying that Treize and teh AEU heavies greatly value
her mind.  Wouldn't she like to help them change the world?  Setsuna vows to
fight, saying that if it's the CBs' sin for changing the world, they can only
atone for it by changing it once more.  Sumeragi doesn't seem to be capable
of siding with either guy, and that means a fight is inevitable.

Setsuna is kick-ass enough to spirit her and Karen away from Quatro, who if
truth be told isn't in that much of a hurry to follow anyway.  That would be
because this whole area is under Oz control, and backup troops are probably
available at any time.  "Any time" means "almost instantly", an eventuality
the team has prepared for.  Lyle's first job will be taking Sumeragi to safety,
leaving the rest of the team to face -- among other people -- Zechs and Quatro.
Zechs promises to follow the orders he's given, sealing whatever doubts he
holds deep inside.

 Take down either Zechs or Quatro and a Dimensional Tremor occurs, ushering
 in a horde of DBs and some strange new buddies of theirs _not_ DBs but
 equally hostile.  They've got a positional advantage over the team on the
 field, but luckily there's a member waiting in the wings: the new Lockon in
 the Keldim Gundam.  With a little help from Haro, his first shot is a
 much-needed bullseye.  And he's not the only new arrival: Sumeragi has gotten
 her head together and seizes tactical command of the team, having them
 reorganize during the bad guys' momentary confusion.

 Zechs and Quatro reorient themselves to fight the bogeys too, actually
 carrying out Oz's principle function for once.  That's no reason to let them
 get any of the glory though.

 Even more bizarrely, Margret of all people materializes further into the
 battle.  She seems not to recognize the team, and can probably be ignored
 as all she seems bent on doing is shooting down the DBs.  In fact, she's
 too busy wondering this way of doing things is really permissible.  Isn't
 there some other way?

In any event, her own words to the team are an ominous warning that the clouds
of a new storm of war are blowing toward this world.  She vanishes abruptly,
not the most neighborly conduct when Esther was trying to thank her.  Crow
said nothing to her about any woman like this, and the "ominous clouds" bit
has everyone on edge.

Word of Quatro's failure reaches Treize, who's chatting with Aslan and Kira.
He sort of hopes the two SEED-bearers would join Oz's special forces, but the
two of them would prefer to continue their current mission.  After all, how
could there be true peace without genuine fusion between the Colonies and the
Earth?  This means they'll be escorting Lady Une around, and Treize mildly
chides her to do things "elegantly" from now on.  Both the pilots are fully
prepared to revolt if Oz tries to turn the Colonies into Federation tools.

Back aboard the P-2 (as I'll call it from now on), the other pilots fill Esther
in on Margret, fugitive Holy Knight from Insalaum.  Esther doesn't much like
that Margret was an active member of the Imperium up until the final battle,
but is more willing to extend some benefit of the doubt to her than she does to
Carlos.  If there's one thing Esther learned by hanging with Crow, it's that
hatred and revenge aren't the right way to live one's life.  Her focus now is
to prevent any more tragedies, either by the former residents of Insalaum, or
_on_ the current residents of this world.  Certainly she's not a Hunter out
of a desire for money, the way Crow (apparently) was.

And isn't it interesting that Crow never mentioned Margret to Esther?  Given
that the he and Margret seemed to have a bit of chemistry going on, there's
little doubt that Crow kept silent out of fear of what Esther might do if she
decided to get jealous.  At any rate, the question is where the new bad guys
came from.  Probably not Insalaum proper, since if there are any survivors
there it's hard to imagine them using their own fallen countrymen like this.
Then again, Margret _was_ acting funny.  The Earth forces have already proven
they're stronger than Gaiou's Insalaum forces, so hopefully they can continue
fending off whatever their new foe can dish out.

Lyle greets the pilots, announcing that he's the new Gundam Meister on the
block.  He's pleasantly cavalier outside, but inwardly he has some purpose
he intends to make the team help out with.  Tielia at least knows that, despite
his striking similarity, this is _not_ the same man.  Sumeragi meanwhile is
shut up in her room, making it quite clear to Lasse that she is _not_
officially back as a CB.  Karen is prepared to wait for Sumeragi to rediscover
her sense of purpose...

Billy, meanwhile, has made his own mind up, and tells his uncle Homer so.
Homer is not a donut-munching nuclear engineer in this case, but a high-ranking
Oz commander with the pull to get his nephew installed as a mech engineer.
He's also got someone Billy should meet at Arrows HQ.  As he hangs up, Billy
thinks to himself that there's no way Lisa actually deceived him all this time.


CHAPTER 11AB. From Beyond the Portal

The team has learned precious little from the remains of the new Unknowns that
showed up last battle.  They're a) unmanned and b) well-suited as shock troops
or scouts, and c) likely to originate in some other dimension.  Past that,
further study will be needed at Dragons' Hive: a homecoming of sorts for the
Nova team.  Kojirou is still looking dreadfully pale, though he stoutly
denies that anything is wrong.  Maybe one day he'll confide in the counselor
Ruu, but not today.  Esther's heard that Crow consulted Ruu about his fear of
women, but Ruu can't divulge anything due to doctor-patient confidentiality.
Apparently Crow's kept the reason a secret from everyone else, not even
cracking under Traia's concerted attempts to pry it out of him (using methods
like blasting amplified versions of Esther's drum-playing into his room at
night).  It apparently never occurred to Esther that this might be making Crow's
woman-hating even worse.

WILL's analysis is announced by Koyuri, with Commander Tanaka on hand to keep
the horny pilots at bay.  The sultry Seimy tells them that she'll be more than
happy to date them in the shy Koyuri's stead, though even Pierre seems to fear
having his lifeforce drained by such an experience.  Anyways, the Unknowns turn
out to be based on Earth technology, yet are not _of_ this Earth.  Think of how
familiar the ZEUTH mecha are to this world's people: similar cultures' tech
tends to develop along similar lines.  The likely conclusion then is that the
Unknowns are from a parallel Earth, possibly a different one yet than where
ZEUTH hail from.

This theory may get put to the test sooner rather than later, as alarms sound
due to a Dimensional Tremor over the Pacific.  The Tremor has resulted in some
new, unidentified vehicles showing up, and they turn out to be more of these
new unmanned assailants.  Talking things over would be ideal, but since these
machines won't answer hailing frequencies, combat is the only option.

 The Unknowns have a serious durability problem, but reinforcements are
 waiting in the wings.  With them come more of the DBs with man-made control
 units on their heads: one must presume that they're of similar origin.
 After these new menaces emerges Margret, intent on striking down the
 Unknowns and silent to the rest of the team.

 If we're honest, the new troops aren't much of an upgrade.  Still, the
 ominous truth is that _someone_ seems to be systematically probing the
 Earth's defenses: somebody that is capable of bending DBs to their will.
 Margret will only tell the team that new war clouds are threatening this
 world before scarpering off, leaving Esther (like on the other path) to
 wonder why Crow never mentioned much about her.

And, like on the other path, Esther is less uncharitably disposed to Margret
than she is to Carlos.  Though Margret was involved with the Imperium, it
seems exceedingly unlikely that the DBs' new master is an Imperial... after
all, they didn't need weird cybermods to make the DBs do their bidding.
And if the enemy is Insalaum, Kappei figures there's nothing to worry about:
history has shown that Earth > Gaiou > Insalaum already.  So then... what if
the enemy is even greater than that...?

WILL has tried correlating the Unknowns with Margret's Insalaumian mech,
yielding 77.2% correlation.  That's tentatively low enough to conclude that
they're not of the same origin, but WILL is reserving final judgement for
later.  What matters most isn't _who_ the enemy is, but how to make sure
they don't win.  Sandman is on hand to help with that, prepared once again to
face the Zeravia.  Fudou is (abruptly) on hand as well, warning that the
Dimension Warp Zone appears to be a Portal.  Sandman will travel with him to
the Zone and investigate the possible Zeravia connection.  And along they way,
they've still got some guidance to offer their respective proteges.


CHAPTER 11CD. The Rescue of Allelujah

OOH TEH BIG REVEAL!  "Gene 1" turns out to be a Catalon agent, who Catalon
always hoped to insert into the CBs at some point.  That the CBs came for him
first is icing on the cake, and Xielin intends to use the chance to profit
Catalon's operations as much as possible.  The news isn't all good however:
Arrows have taken Marina Ismael captive.

Neina has arrived at a certain Federation base which, according to some
second-level information she's received, has a Gundam Meister imprisoned
within.  It's certainly well-enough guarded.  Liu Mei tells Neina that she'll
take it from here, and clears her to return to base.  Neina can't want to see
what Liu Mei has planned.  Back in her study, Liu Mei explains to a very
skeptical Kuryuu why she, a CB agent, is helping the CB's greatest enemy
Ribbons: Ioria's plans will mean nothing if they can't stand up to a little
opposition.  She wants a revolution, and sees world-wide war as the way to
bring that revolution about.  And for that, the Innovators must lead the world!
Yikes.

Liu Mei sends word to the team about the base, and it turns out there's more
than just Allelujah's life at stake: the Black Knight commanders are being held
there too!  The new Lockon asks who Allelujah is, momentarily derisive of
Allelujah for getting himself caught.  Shinn probably isn't the only one
discomfited by the new Lockon's cavalier attitude, but the problem for now is
how to bust people out of prison.  Sumeragi agrees to help strategize, feeling
that Allelujah's capture is partially her responsibility.

Everyone lines up to support her, and though she hasn't decided to don her old
uniform yet, she does ask for all the tactical data to be sent to her room to
ponder.  The new Lockon likes this turn of events, feeling that it will make
his own mission easier.  He notices Felt gazing at him again, and after hearing
from Haro that Felt was in love with his brother, he tells her that he's okay
hooking up with her if she's okay hooking up with him.  She hastily leaves the
room without answering that, and Shinn gripes at Lockon for his
inconsideration.  Karen gets Shinn to lay off, agreeing with the new Lockon
that it's not kosher for someone to fall in love with him just due to external
similarities.  Neither, however, does she endorse his callous treatment of
women.  None of this is earning Lockon any points with Tielia...

The base will be very well defended, thanks to an influx of special forces
folks under the command of Colonel Katy Mannequin.  Among them is Colonel
Smirnoff's estranged son, which greatly surprises a special interrogator
recently arrived on base: Pieris.  She'll be joined by at least one other
person (from Astrageus) in questioning the prisoners in general; in particular,
one of Mannequin's subordinates (a Licenser) has a personal interest in some
of the Black Knight commanders.

This person is a masked weirdo calling himself "Mister Bushido", his proper
name having been cast off some time ago.  He interrupts the Black Knight
regulars debating whether Zero abandoned them or not during the final battle of
the Black Rebellion.  Bushido's features (what can be seen of them) mark him
as a full-blooded Britannian, so it's something of a surprise when he asks
Toudou for a duel, in the interest of proceeding further down the Path of the
Warrior.  It was Toudou who set him on the Path, just as it is Homer Katagiri
(acting director of Arrows) who arranged for him to be here now.  Bushido
relays an offer from Katagiri to his old friend: a position of honor with
Arrows along with his freedom.  Toudou is adamant that there's no valor in
Arrows, and Bushido remarks that it's precisely that resolve that elevated his
young soul when they first met.  Truly, there is only one man Bushido wishes
to defeat, and the time of their duel draws near.

He then walks off, leaving the prisoners to wonder who the hell he is.  The
best Toudou, still puzzled who this guy might be, can say is that no one who
wields a sword out of personal emotion can ever reach the ultimate state of
Warriorhood.

Pieris then goes to see Allelujah, or as she knows him, Subject E-57.
Unlike their previous meetings, this time Pieris senses no disruption of
her brain waves -- perhaps due to the blow to the head Allelujah suffered
during capture?  Allelujah meanwhile is beside himself at the sight of "Mary",
insisting that he's her old friend even as Pieris gets increasingly
aggravated at being called outside her name.  Just as Allelujah realizes that
a new personality now resides in his old friend, Gran and Aron show up with
Ypsilon in tow.  They tell Pieris that they're neither of Gilgamesh or of
Valalant, but from the Secret Society that lurks between them.  Their research
concerns creating better warriors through... "psychological" means, and they're
interested both in her and in her captive.  Pieris rather dislikes the
sound of that and stalks off, telling them they can do what they like with the
prisoner.

Ypsilon hears from Allelujah that Mary is his only reason for living, a filthy
concept which he nevertheless won't deny.  He feels a strong sense of Sympathy
with Allelujah, and means to use Allelujah's data to become an even-more
Perfect Soldier.  He'd better do it fast, since it seems that the base is
coming under attack.  The Astrageans feel perfectly safe, but Ypsilon knows
better -- and wants his AT ready to roll in case his premonition is correct.

Sumeragi's plan is simple: let the Double-0 open a hole through the enemy's
defenses, and let Karen and Kiriko zip around inside for the prisoners.  As
Marina is imprisoned here too, Setsuna will have a second job of rescuing her.
Hearing this, Sumeragi alters the plan a little, requiring that the three
infiltration units reach a certain spot on _precisely_ the third turn.  This
trades on her expectation that the enemy are braced for a full frontal assault,
and thus poorly configured to stop a pinpoint strike.  She's wearing her old
uniform for what may be the last time, and orders the mission to start as the
Arrows forces hastily scramble.  Among them are Red Shoulder units, confirming
Kiriko's suspicions that the Secret Society have joined forces with Arrows.

 Boy are the Black Knights glad to see Karen!  Their disbelief at hearing
 that Zero is a) still alive and b) back to stirring up shit in Japan is
 understandable, but as Toudou correctly points out, they have no time now to
 think of anything but escape.  Setsuna finds Marina in short order as well,
 telling her he feels it's his duty to save her -- after all, it was his name
 that made her guilty by association in Arrows' eyes.  Even Allelujah is
 easy enough to find for Kiriko, and is equally astounded to hear that the
 CBs are still very much alive (except for a few dead ones, but who's
 counting?)

 Where things get interesting is when Ypsilon shows up, essentially telling
 Allelujah to get his ass to freedom.  Ypsilon means to increase his stature
 as a warrior by defeating Allelujah at his full, artificially-enhanced
 strength... not as a wretch chained up in the gulag.  He adds that Allelujah
 had better bring it for real if he wants to save "Mary", and with a word of
 "not a word of thanks", Allelujah dashes off... leaving Kiriko and Ypsilon to
 renew their duel.  At stake is Ypsilon's promise to reveal Fiana's
 whereabouts if he loses.  And as a PS, he isn't planning to lose.

 Allelujah doesn't get far before running into Mary, who is initially as
 insistent as Eric Wright that that's "not her name".  Then the flashbacks
 come flooding in, and Mary aka Pieris lowers her gun.  In that moment,
 Allelujah's new Gundam comes crashing through the wall, and although
 annoying staffers separate him from her, he vows to Mary that he'll come for
 her one day.

 The rescue seems to be a big success, with all the former prisoners ready to
 partake of the remaining carnage.  Allelujah wouldn't have been so open
 about his desire to save Mary in the old days, but now it's giving him a
 fearsome will to win.  Now all the team has to do is hang on until all
 the escapees are accounted for.

 Ypsilon is a dangerous dude with a mech that far outclasses Kiriko's, but
 even the most Perfect Soldier isn't a machine.  Kiriko bests him, but doesn't
 manage to defeat him in one fell swoop -- as such, Ypsilon doesn't feel the
 need to admit defeat.  As he runs off, Kiriko knows that the Secret Society's
 links to Arrows will provide at least one trail of breadcrumbs for him to
 follow...

 Allelujah's capabilities are limited, given that "Hallelujah" has gone, and
 with him, his ability to use mental waves.  He does his best, but isn't able
 to get Mary to sit still long enough to return her to her senses.  Oh well.
 Katy, in command of the Arrows mothership, is forced to ascribe today's
 defeat to a massive difference in commander skill.  Reduced to collecting
 the survivors, she manages to escape the field without real incident: a very
 wise choice in Sumeragi's eyes.

Sumeragi then gets her team out of dodge, having raided the chicken coop in
a mere five minutes prior to the Catalon offensive.  Katy orders the base
evacuated prior to the Catalon arrival, realizing there's no further strategic
value left in it.  Meanwhile, Mr. Bushido cackles over the thought of seeing
"the boy" again -- never before has been so happy to have been born a Virgo.
Which, is sounding pretty frigging creepy just at the moment.

The Black Knights have questions for Karen: namely, wtf is the deal with Zero?
Wasn't he like, executed and shit?  She somberly tells them to satisfy their
doubts about this Zero's authenticity with their own eyes.  After all, Zero's
return was purchased with many precious lives...  Whatever the other folks'
doubts may be, Karen's eyes show that she has none left.  Impressively, the
Black Knights' brass haven't lost any of their spunk in the big house, and
that has even Trois impressed.

Meanwhile, Allelujah and Kiriko have a newfound sense of camaraderie: both of
them are chasing girlfriends who have been dicked over and/or brainwashed by
The Man(tm).  Allelujah, like everyone else, is momentarily floored by the
sight of Lockon until Tielia informs him that this is the old Lockon's twin
brother.  He tells Sumeragi that he expected to pay for his sins in full in
Federation custody, but now he's got a new purpose.  Sumeragi tells him that
when the time comes, she'll give him the best strategy possible to get Mary
back.  Her life as a CB was not just out of academic agreement with Ioria's
plans: she hoped to atone for her previous life of sin by erasing warfare
from the world.  That totally went pear-shaped, so she's now all about fighting
to defend her loved ones -- and she gives credit to Karen for making her come
to her senses.  Well, she's faring much better than Karen's biological mom in
that regard (and, let's be honest: she's much younger than Karen's 40-something
mom too).  No longer will she fear mistakes, and no longer will she loose those
important to her.

News of the jailbreak reaches C.C. and Lelouch back in the Tokyo Settlement,
signalling that it's time to act.  Lelouch has apparently devised an effective
way of evading Rolo's watchful eyes: Sayoko is incredibly effective as a
cosplaying body-double for him.  Thank goodness she's a ninja, huh?  Lelouch
tells her he's always amazed at her makeup skills, and is eternally grateful
to her as a Black Knight agent.  She says that she was far more surprised
when she learned his true identity, and that she's committed to Nanaly's safety
and to the fate of Japan in Lelouch's hands.  All the pieces in place, Lelouch
need only wait for the time to strike: the time when Rolo falls into his hands.


CHAPTER 12AB. Beyond Malice and Lies

News of Zero's return sits uneasily with the Zexis pilots.  On the one hand,
Area 11 seems in serious need of liberating.  On the other hand, Zero's methods
have never been exactly gentle, and times have changed since the creation of
the Federation.  If Zero means to fight the Britannia Union, he'll have to
fight the entire Federation... and knowing Zero, that fact wouldn't faze him.
Takeru knows that the Black Knights, branded terrorists by the clean people of
the world, might well become his official adversaries before all is said and
done.  Then again, nobody is sure if this _is_ the original Zero, given the
official line about him being executed.

Jun's been hacking around, but everything he's found seems to echo the party
line.  This is reminiscent of the Universal Network back in ZEUTH's world: an
information conduit all too susceptible to manipulation by the Powers That Be.
As far as this world is concerned, the only plausible chance for someone to
set up such a widespread dissembling apparatus would have been right after
the Great Dimensional Quake... and if such a thing exists, it would seem to
serve a solidly conservative agenda given the lack of data on an anti-
government operative like Zero.  Are the Feds guilty of global thought control?

It's food for thought, even given the Federation's seemingly benevolent track
record and the fact that Elgan is the Federation's leader.  Esther can
certainly testify that not everyone thinks the Federation is 100% good: the
G-boys, for instance, have identified Arrows and Oz as two factions with a
nasty habit of rubbing out those who disagree with their methods.  The
cognitive dissonance only gets worse as the discussion proceeds, and the pilots
get a nasty jolt when Kenji notes that an Arrows colonel is in fact here, at
the base, at this very moment chatting with Ootsuka... and Garode, of all
people.  Esther can't help but have a bad feeling about that.

This meeting is _not_ a pleasant one.  The Arrows officer, Lint, resorts to
mockery when F.S. doesn't tell him what he wants to hear, and Dragons' Hive
commanders for their part openly ascribe this to Lint's auditory cortex being
rotten -- like the rest of his brain.  F.S. repeats himself: neither Dragons'
Hive, nor any of its personnel, will have anything to do with Arrows.  He
isn't afraid to tell Lint to his face that he doubts the rationale for Arrows'
very existence, and doesn't bat an eyelash when Lint intimates that F.S.
doesn't understand the position he's in.  Ootsuka intervenes at this point,
reminding Lint that Dragons' Hive has the same level of autonomy as Arrows
itself, granted by the Security Council.

What F.S. will tell Lint, who seems very scornful of Elgan's stature as
Federation president, is that Dragons' Hive has no links to the Celestial
Beings or Black Knights at this point in time.  He will not rule out forging
such times in the future however... for example, if some organization were to
be arrogant enough to prey upon the weak in the name of "keeping the peace".
Furious, Lint turns his attention to Garode, asking him to either join Arrows
or at least sell them his Gundam.  Garode refuses, knowing full well that
whatever Lint has in mind for it won't be good for the world.  F.S. believes
(correctly) that Arrows would destroy it to shut anti-Federation critics up,
and observes to Lint that the anti-Federation critics really seem to be
critical not of the whole Federation, but of certain _specific_ parts of it.

Just then a bunch of origin-unknown units assail Dragons' Hive: are they
"anti-Federation" terrorists, or something else?  Either way, F.S. will show
Lint how those without fear of Evil fight.  And despite the suspiciously high
level of organization the bad guys show, Lint better not think for a second
that the Dragons' Hive forces will lose.  Jeffry, suspecting a rat, orders
combat data to be sent to WILL for analysis in realtime.

 The assailants might be well-equipped, but they don't stand a chance against
 the motivated Dragons' Hive troops.  F.S. has WILL's conclusions put on the
 PA system so everyone can hear: the adversaries must come from some major
 organization, based on their pristine state of repair.  Setting aside the
 Red Shoulders bad guys, that organization would have to be... probably the
 same place that the GN Drive-equipped mecha come from.  Lint still keeps up
 the charade and claims that they must have been stolen from Arrows.  This
 fact isn't lost on the pilots either, and the prospect of becoming instant
 outlaws from the Federation is about to throw a big bucket of water onto
 their enthusiasm.

 Until, that is, Fudou and Sandman show up!  They make it very simple for
 the team: what is their purpose?  Keeping the peace.  Who do they fight?
 Those who threaten the peace.  Period.  Jeffrey says that the GN Drives are
 the property of the Federation Army, and _anyone_ who would use them for
 their own selfish ends is the true traitor against the Federation (hinthint).
 Lint can't really say anything at that point, forced to watch as the good guys
 obliterate his troops.

 Fudou and Sandman clear out before the dust even settles, and as Lint is
 escorted to the exit, he rages that F.S. and the others will regret their
 decision today.  F.S. reckons Lint will regret his harder, and doubts that
 Lint will ever get the chance to chat outside of battle with him ever again.

The pilots aren't especially sorry they won't be joining Arrows, in particular
now that they've seen just how underhanded Arrows can be in matters of
persuasion.  Shiroda seems to know quite a bit about what Arrows is up to,
but like a good soldier he refuses to break secrecy to give out details.
Though, the fact that he's obviously deferring to his oath of secrecy speaks
loudly enough.  One can only hope that Arrows doesn't do anything even more
stupid to the Crushers again...

The commanders are having a bit of a rethink about Elgan's government in the
wake of today's excitement.  Arrows theoretically answers to him, and the Elgan
they know would by no means have authorized today's pointless skirmish.  And
come to think of it, none of them have met with Elgan since the Federation's
founding -- all requests for an audience have been turned down on account of
him being "too busy".  And then there's the Federation's suspiciously effective
information-laundering system, whose security even WILL can't easily
penetrate.  The only known mechanism capable of that would be the CB's
quantum computer Veda, which the CBs failed to recover when they struck down
the traitor Alejandro during the previous war.  F.S. now suspects that
Alejandro had a collaborator, who is now in control of Veda and centrally
positioned within the Federation.

Treize would be a candidate as the ringleader, except for the fact that Oz's
influence within the Federation has been steadily eroding relative to Arrows.
The true ringleader seems to be using Arrows as their own personal enforcers,
and since Elgan is the only one capable of writing their orders, the unpleasant
implication is that Elgan himself may be compromised.  What better cover for
such a ruthless, cancerous presence than the general prosperity the Federation
has brought the world at large?

The commanders decide specifically not to share their suspicions with the
rank and file just yet, in no small part because there are plenty of external
enemies that mankind still faces.  Still, F.S. in particular suspects that the
team will be forced to face their own species sooner rather than later...


CHAPTER 12CD. One Million Miracles

Marina and Setsuna have some "issues" to work through.  Marina wants to know
why Setsuna is still trying to fight, and he for his part can't really imagine
life _without_ fighting.  Much like Conan, Setsuna doesn't cry, so she starts
crying for him.  He points out that Azadistan is as good as fused with the
Federation, and offers to drop her off anywhere she wants to get a death
certificate signed.  She's not down with that, so instead he recommends she
come with him to Area 11, where people are actually resisting assimilation by
the Feds...

Lelouch has run into his old "friend" Suzaku in Ashford Academy's library.
He knows that if Suzaku learns that his memories have returned, the jig is
entirely up.  Charles overwrote his memories in three ways: his memories of
Nanaly, his memories of Zero, and his memories of his past.  He's got to
pretend to get along with Suzaku to keep up the charade, which becomes harder
yet when Suzaku tells him that he means to become the Knight of One: the
mightiest fighter in the service of the emperor.  That position also carries
the right to rule one entire Area, and Suzaku intends to ask for Japan -- a
ploy to make Lelouch reveal himself?  Or a sincere act of naivete?  In either
case, Lelouch is confident that Suzaku has no way to stop what he's been
cooking up with the Chinese... even if he somehow succeeds and turns Japan
into a "Class One Federate", equal in Federation stature to the Three Great
Nations themselves.

Suzaku tells Lelouch to ascertain the truth of this with the person he's got on
the phone: the new Viceroy of Area 11.  That turns out to be none other than
_Nanaly_, and the shock damn near makes Lelouch break his cover.  He manages to
tell his sister that she has him confused with someone else, and gives the
phone back to Suzaku.  He's inwardly livid that Suzaku would use his love for
Nanaly to try to expose Zero, but the shocks don't stop there.  It seems Nanaly
is determined to walk in Euphemia's footsteps, and to reinstate the Special
Administrative District "Japan", and Lelouch is left to ponder whether
conflict between himself (as Zero) and his sister is inevitable.

Sometime later, Lelouch is cloistered away at Black Knight HQ, staring at the
TV.  Karen comes in and demands to know what the deal is, only to be stunned
when she sees Nanaly addressing the Area as its new viceroy.  She wants the
"Japan" zone to be an area of peace and equality, and Lelouch realizes that
"Zero" would just be in the way of such a construct.  Nanaly's safety is
certainly assured by her proximity to Suzaku, at once Lelouch's most
intractable and most trustworthy foe.  Gripped by despair, he finds himself in
the rare position of not knowing what the hell to do next, despite Karen's
demand that he issue some order -- _any_ order to the team.  The best he can
manage is to order her to "comfort" him in the way that womankind can.

Karen actually considers it, but then repeats that he's got to pull himself
together.  Karen herself has found her reason to fight, as have Sumeragi,
Setsuna, and numerous others.  Is Lelouch really just fighting for Nanaly's
sake, making tools of all his friends in the process?  That strikes a chord,
as Lelouch realizes that Nanaly must be acting, and in a sense fighting, on her
own: not as anyone's tool, but as a full-fledged human being.  Come to think of
it, the fight Lelouch has started has altered the course of many, many lives,
and he has an obligation to them all.  And if that means casting aside himself
as "Lelouch", so be it!

He has Karen gather the Black Knights and CBs, which naturally invites the
question of what became of him during the final battle of the Black Rebellion.
He explains only that his disappearance was necessary for the ultimate defeat
of the Britannian empire, adding that he is ever interested in results.
Toudou and Ougi are willing to buy that, and to answer the doubts of the others
Zero says that it will take more than blind fighting to move ahead.  Let the
Japanese regain their name as a first step.  Does that mean actually endorsing
the Special Administrative Zone, and risking a repeat of the dreadful "Bloody
Euphy" episode?  Certainly there are those who feel the slaughter was somehow
caused _by_ Zero, using some magical hypnosis or other, despite how obviously
counter the slaughter runs to his stated objective of liberating the Japanese.

Zero does indeed have a plan that involves participating in the Zone, and it
will needs the CBs as well as the Black Knights.  He lets the new Lockon know
in no uncertain terms that it's time to prove whether he's fit to inherit his
brother's nom de guerre.  A proclamation is sent out to all Japan to
participate in the opening ceremony, and over a million people showing up.
Fully three of the Knights of the Round are on hand to ensure that nothing
louses up the ceremony while the eyes of the world are watching: Gino, Anya
and of course Suzaku.

Nina isn't immediately available to chat with Zero on the phone, but Lloyd is.
And _he_ can't resist asking if this is the same Zero from before.  Zero
replies that his identity is not constituted in internals, but in results --
and as he promised he's brought fully a million Japanese to the party.  His
condition: he wants a pardon for himself -- and not for the Black Knights in
general.  That could be considered a rather severe betrayal, which would
explain why Zero is talking to them on a private line.  And given that
Britannia has its reputation to uphold, he won't even push for a full pardon:
exile would be a nice compromise, wouldn't it?  Romeier observes that such a
thing is legal under the "Area" laws, and Gino reckons that the flight of their
leader would dissipate Eleven resistance in an instant.  Suzaku doesn't want to
let an evildoer off the hook, but is rapidly realizing he's got no choice but
to grit his teeth and accept.

The Black Knights and CBs have mingled with the crowd, waiting for the moment
when Zero's power will either be proved or violently repudiated.  Nanaly
and her aide have decided to take Zero up on his deal and exile him, and he
hacks into the big screen monitors to thank them for their good judgement.
Suzaku demands that he show himself, and Zero answers with a question: what
does he think the Japanese people are?  It it their language?  Their land?
Their blood ties?  Suzaku retorts that it is their _heart_, and Zero agrees
entirely.  Given a heart with the right reverence for the Japanese culture,
a Japanese person can be Japanese anywhere on Earth.

This is the cue for Zero's agents to spring into action, dispersing
a smokescreen and using it to... dress the entire frigging crowd AS Zero!
A million Zeros, and all of them now officially pardoned by way of exile... a
jaw-droppingly audacious gambit that the Britannians have no choice but to
accept.  Zero knows that removing the Black Knights from Japan will keep
Nanaly's hands clean, and prove his sincerity at the same time.  And if Suzaku
tries to oppose it with force, he knows that the Japanese will never believe
the Britannian government again.  Zero promises Suzaku that he'll take care
of the million exiles, and challenges Suzaku to care for the rest of the
Elevens left behind.

Things get complicated when it turns out that ships from the China Federation
are stationed offshore to escort the million exiles to their new home.  The
Britannian forces aren't going to stand for that, and Gino and Anya resolve to
go break a few heads.  Guilford and his men get to deal with Karen, who's
showed up in advance of the Ptolemy-2 and is out for some serious throwdown at
Zero's behest.

 In the confusion, Zero makes his way to Nanaly, who understandably doesn't
 recognize him.  Thinking he means to kill her, she asks him to wait just a
 little longer.  She tells him she thinks he's making a mistake, and he
 tells her that the mistake lies with the emperor and the Federation, both of
 whom subscribe to a blind Might Makes Right worldview.  Nanaly, however, does
 not -- she believes, as Suzaku does, that the system can be changed from
 within.  You can guess what Zero's plans involve by contrast: taking
 Manhattan, Berlin, and everywhere else that promulgates a facade of peace.
 Here is his new declaration of war: the entire false world is going down!
 That fight will also settle his score with Suzaku, and Zero leaves the two
 of them to ponder.  He remarks on the way out that Nanaly might just be able
 to change Area 11 for the better, and Suzaku retorts that if Zero really
 means to mess with teh whole world, that makes him Suzaku's enemy for sure.

On Zero's way out of his meeting with Nanaly, he runs into Rolo.  Rolo has
realized that Lelouch's memory is back, but doesn't plan to kill him right away
if he doesn't have to: after all, he's got questions for Lelouch too.
Lelouch smirks that his "younger brother" can't beat him, even when Rolo uses
his Geass to get the drop on Zero.  Zero has planned for this eventuality,
having stationed Lockon to cover him with sniper fire on the theory that
Rolo's Geass doesn't actually stop time -- merely its victims' perception of
it.  As such, Zero was actually counting on Rolo coming alone to get him, as it
seems he shuns contact with his other comrades.

Zero asks him what he thinks the future holds.  Will capturing C.C. change
anything?  Of course not.  Rather, Zero vows as Rolo's brother to give him a
new future instead.  Rolo doesn't like the sound of that, but when he attempts
to attack Zero Lockon fires again, and Zero takes the bullet as an act of
"brotherly" kindness.  Sure the family bit may have been implanted memories,
but Zero assures him that the time they spent together because of those
memories was genuine.  Rolo buys that, and arrives at the decision that he
needs to serve Lelouch, not the emperor.  Inwardly, Lelouch plans to get the
maximum use out of the assassin possible before tossing him out like dirty
diapers for the crime of insinuating himself in Nanaly's place into Zero's
life.

 Karen meanwhile has been on the losing end of a battle with Gino: her Guren
 just isn't cool enough.  Fortunately, Senba shows up and tells her to head
 for the ocean -- he has decided to sacrifice himself in thanks for all the
 aid Karen provided him and the Japanese people.  The blast distracts Gino
 long enough for Lakshata to unveil new enhancements for the Guren, including
 a flight kit that should let her keep up with anything in the Britannian
 arsenal.  She even gets a new flight suit, and a bevy of reinforcements from
 the Ikaruga.

 C.C. is glad (in a deadpan way) that Rolo has finally succumbed, and Zero
 orders the team to take out all those standing in the way of the million
 exiles' departure.  Lockon isn't sure what to make of his complicated
 assignment of covering Zero, especially since Zero seemingly forced him to
 open fire just so he could take the bullet meant for Rolo.  At least he's
 proven himself an able enough sniper that he was able to go along with it and
 not actually kill either Zero or Rolo in the process.  Suzaku means to strike
 down Zero's forces to prevent revolt against the Federation, but one has to
 wonder if that's really a good idea...

 Suzaku isn't going to prevail today, though he vows to do so sooner or later.
 Zero only planned things this way in the first place because he trusts that
 Suzaku understands what Nanaly is hoping to accomplish.  Suzaku just better
 keep his promise, and ensure the safety of all the Elevens still left behind.
 Gino and Anya both vow to win next time, Anya making a note to herself that
 the team are tougher than expected.

Just another day at the office really, if one's officemates include the
engineering genius Lakshata and the master diplomat Diethart.  It seems Zero's
made friends at the top of the Chinese government, which he calls a merely
natural step toward taking on the world at large.  Clearly, nobody but Zero
is qualified to be in command of this three-ring circus, and what doubts the
Black Knights have are dwindling quickly.  Still, there's one thing left to
do before the team can make a clean break with Japan.

That would be securing Viletta's cooperation, and he brings Rolo along to help.
The rest of the intelligence bureau types have all been Geassed into
submission, but since he'd used his Geass on Viletta once before, alternate
measures are called for.  Viletta is furious that Rolo has defected, but Rolo
urges her to give Lelouch's version of the future a try.  Lelouch adds that
Viletta really seems to have found her niche as a teacher... much like Ougi
wanted to be.  Zero has correctly guessed that she and Ougi had an illicit
somethingorother going on in the runup to the Black Rebellion, and intimates
that all the honors she's earned by figuring out his identity could be lost in
an instant's full disclosure.  (In all fairness, it _was_ C.C. who helped
Lelouch make the connection.)  What Lelouch wants in return for her silence is
for everything to continue as it's been, nice and peaceful, at least as far as
her reports to the top brass go.  After all, Sayoko and Rolo have already
proved how well they can imitate Lelouch's presence at the Academy.
Thunderstruck, and not a little afraid, Viletta agrees to help Lelouch, in
return for which Lelouch promises a meet up with Ougi in the not-too-distant
future.

Rolo seems to be having some reservations about hanging with C.C., and she
guesses correctly that it's thanks to his past with V.V.  Ooh ooh, who's
that?  That's the guy who gave Charles his Geass, and told Suzaku Lelouch's
identity.  V.V. is also the head of the Geass Order, the one who sent in
Rolo, and Charles first and closest ally.  This V.V. would seem to be Lelouch's
true enemy, and he vows to see V.V., Charles, and the whole "new world" crap
Charles has been spouting laid low before him.


CHAPTER 13. Another Spacetime Quake

Esther finds herself wishing for a way to contact the G-boys, who are
rumored to be hanging out on the other half of the routesplit along with a lot
of other supposed "terrorist" types.  It seems the ZEUTH Gundam pilots left
Oz while the getting was good: Oz's comparatively clean image seems headed
downhill as it faces off against Arrows.  Shotarou in particular finds all
these underground machinations incredibly frightening: he'd never have thought
that the Federation -- which demonstrably does so much good for the world --
could harbor such evil.  Rooting out such a cancer is clearly an important job,
but it's one this team will have to leave up to the CBs for now: they've got
their own overt enemies to fight first.

And there's no time to fret about it either, as one of those overt enemies
crosses into this dimension somewhere within 200km of Esther's mech.  Given
that the Blaster Ex isn't exactly the world's most sensitive Weird Shit
Detector, that means the enemy must be something huge.  It turns out to be a
bunch of the parallel-Earth Unknowns from before, though this time they've not
brought any of the modified DBs with them... yet, anyway.  Maybe these ones
are just here to test the team's might, but whatever their purpose they need
a swift kick in the ass.

 After a bit of carnage, a bona fide Quake occurs, and from it emerges a
 frigging _fleet_ of ships.  At its heart is a near-clone of the Great Axion,
 serving as the flagship of a timid-seeming person named Yuusar.  Geraud,
 the "Knight of Knights", is a cautious sort who reports to Yuusar's
 military advisor Unblown.  Unblown is less cautious and more devious, and
 plans a little test of the new Arcsabers: Yuusar's flagship is to stay on
 the battlefield while the rest of the fleet retreats.

 The "new" Arcsabers apparently means more of the modified DBs, as well as
 a bunch of mecha similar in design to Margret's.  It would seem that the
 Holy Insalaum Empire is behind the DB's reappearance on Earth, and the new
 humanoid mecha appear to have actual pilots!  One says that he bears the
 Earthlings no grudge, yet will kill them all if his lord commands.  Combat
 is, as usual, inevitable.

 Almost immediately a new mech sorties from the flagship: it is Wayne in his
 Saphiarda.  He's using his prerogative as a Numbered "High Knight" to
 defend his lord from danger, and tells Unblown to shut the fuck up and leave
 the fighting to him.  Yuusar buys it, and having seen enough of Zexis orders
 the Palace Insalaum to retreat.  Wayne then introduces himself to the team
 as Shubal's protege, Arcsaber Number Four.  He's got a brand new mech, a
 bad-ass attitude, and could cause the Earthlings real problems.

 For one thing, he's specifically targeting Crow -- making him high on
 Esther's shitlist.  He's also got some kind of personal hangup about teaching
 Zexis that there are things they _can't_ simply wallpaper over with superior
 motivation.  The lesson gets interrupted by the sudden arrival of... Setsuko
 of all people, who immediately attracts Wayne's full attention for the fact
 that her mech uses the supposedly-forbidden "Dimensional Science".  He
 starts blasting before the team have more than the barest reunion with her,
 but holds up briefly when he finds out that she's got past history with
 several Zexis members.  If he thinks she's just going to let him destroy her
 mech, he's going to be extremely sadly mistaken.

 Indications are that Wayne has had some kind of huge-ass disheartening
 defeat in his past, and feels the pride of someone who thinks they've clawed
 their way back under their own power.  The Earthlings, who've yet to be
 laid that low, seem to him deserving of special enmity.  Not that they're
 going to take that from some random interdimensional invader.  Especially one
 whose fancy hardware, in this case something called a "D Extractor", isn't
 entirely up to snuff.  So much for his ability to heal all damage as fast as
 the team can dish it out...

Wayne makes sure the team knows that they didn't so much win as get lucky that
his pit crew sucked, and disappears.  There's no sign of him or the Insalaum
fleet, and the team are left to ponder their newfound foes.  Wayne was much
more powerful than Shubal, and he's only Arcsaber number four!  (Shubal was
number Three, but he is theoretically dead now).  At least Setsuko is around to
help; as reintroductions proceed, it becomes clear that only a month has passed
for her since the previous game^Wtime the team was together, whereas it's been
a year for the rest of them.

The conclusion they reach is that Insalaum must have grown far stronger since
their defeat at the hands of Gaiou.  Nobody knows how anyone besides Margret
survived that cataclysm, or why they're attacking Earth now, but the Federation
has decided to hold an emergency session to discuss the matter.  And while the
government is doing that, the Quarter fleet will be rendezvousing with the
CBs... at Zero's invitation!!  Zero, after all, does hold encryption keys from
when Elgan invited him to Zexis... and given the gravity of the mess between
Arrows and Dragons' Hive, it seems an opportune moment for Elgan's world-peace
squad to have a... peaceful conference.  What happens next is anyone's guess.
Jeffrey gives anyone with reservations about the Black Knights the chance to
leave the ship within the next two hours, but nobody does: they're all too
curious as to what Zero has planned, and too concerned about the state of world
events.

Meanwhile, Wayne returns to Palace Insalaum with little to report other
than that the battle ended indecisively.  And the last thing Wayne wants to
is the fucking science officer giving him shit about it.  She reminds him that
she's now Regent, and he scoffs that there's never been such a thing in all
two thousand years of Insalaum's existence.  She smirks at such a young man
being tied up in history lessons, and points out that whatever the past may
have held, this is the present, and presently... she's Regent.  Yuusar doesn't
seem in any hurry to contradict the old bag, so Wayne grits his teeth and
walks off, promising to demonstrate his loyalty _to_Insalaum_ by taking over
this world.  That, and _nothing_ _else_.

Margret turns up at this point, reminding Wayne of his place and greeting
her lord after a long absence.  Unblown wants to know why Margret skirmished
with her scouts, and it's Yuusar who insists it must have been a simple
communications mix-up.  Yuusar's whole day gets better just from seeing
Margret's fabled smile -- though given how morose she tends to be, he might
not get to see it very often.  Unblown tells Margret she's going to use the
latest in Dimensional Science to power up her machine, making her more than
equal to anyone on the battlefield, Gaiou included.  With that said, Yuusar
declares to his knights and to his people that the time has come to establish
their kingdom anew in this new world: let Insalaum be reborn!!


CHAPTER 13CD. Gateway to Warclouds

The Japanese flotilla reaches their new home in exile, where High Eunuch Gao
Hai greets them with his bodyguard Xingke ("Shinkuu") by his side.  Xingke,
known as the Tiger of the China Federation, is a man of no small repute, and
Zero seemingly values him enough to leave the safekeeping of the Japanese
people in his capable hands when he's got errands to run.  Xingke asks if Zero
truly means to take on the whole world, and as he gives a cagey reply the
diminutive-and-genki Kagura runs over to say hi.  She claims to be Zero's new
bride, and has been serving as an ambassador of sort to the Chinese government.
She's got a new friend she wants to introduce Zero to, but that will have to
wait a bit longer.

As Zero heads off on one of his "errands", Xingke wonders aloud what the High
Eunuchs were thinking giving the Japanese an entire island.  Gao Hai tells
him he has no need to know that, and starts rhapsodizing that Zero is his one
and only happiness.  You can cut the nonheterosexuality with a knife, and
Xingke wonders how the hell Zero got Gao Hai drooling over him so much...

Marina has a lot to think about in the wake of Zero's mass exodus.  On the one
hand, a million people have just been saved without a single shot being fired.
On the other hand, they're now exiles from a plague that has yet to be excised
from their homeland -- a plague which Setsuna reckons Zero intends to eradicate
in the long run.  That means war.  Zero joins the two of them, introducing
himself to Azadistan's princess and assuring her that she's still worthy of the
title so long as she holds her country in her heart... as the Japanese here
are.  Knowing her to be a proponent of Cinq Kingdom's Absolute Pacifism, he
expects that she won't like him much as she watches the world's chaos deepen.
He assures her, however, that he's not seeking war because he's a psycho --
he simply believes that the only way to fix the world is to smash it first.

Diethart is overjoyed to see so much chaos swirling around Zero, but Setsuna
wants him to understand that the CBs' objective is not the demolition of the
Federation _per_se_.  Zero understands this point of view, but doesn't entirely
share it.  Exhibit A: China, the most precariously poised of all the
Federation's first-world nations under the political weight of Britannia and
the AEU.  He expects that Marina is well-positioned for an informative display
of world politics, and heads off to the team's planning meeting.  Setsuna
follows, but not before Milena asks him and Marina if they're lovers.  Both
calmly (and quickly) deny it.

Speaking of world politics, Camille has made an astonishing discovery: not a
single word about the mass exodus has appeared in the world's media, or even
its private _social_media_.  It's another example of how _someone_ has a
death-grip on public information in the Federation, and that someone seemingly
wants to deny groups like Catalon the slightest excuse for hope.  The
thoroughness of it all raises the unpleasant specter of the Universal Network,
and the team reach the same conclusion as their counterparts on the other
route split: it must be the work of Veda.  And from what Setsuna remembers of
Alejandro's death, he had a collaborator _other_ than Treize or even Elgan.

The real enemy, then, is centrally placed in the Federation, has a godlike
computer for manipulating the world's information sources, and apparently
two private armies at his disposal.  Zero is the first to admit that the CBs
and Black Knights are at a serious disadvantage against such odds, and explains
to Esther that they can't count on help from the mighty Crushers.  Barring some
overarching menace like the Imperium that would force strange bedfellows
together, this team will remain outlaw terrorists, and unable to seek help
from what is still a Federation special forces battalion.

Zero muses aloud that if another such menace _were_ to appear, it might well
blow the Federation wide open.  Karen retorts that nobody in their right mind
would want another menace like that to appear, and Zero as much as apologizes
for how his statement sounded.  Sumeragi is sharp enough to notice that
something is different between them, but figuring out what gets shelved when
alarms go off: a Spacetime Quake has just been detected close to the exile
site.

Now, not all Quakes are 100% bad, given that that's how the ZEUTH folks
arrived in this world in the first place.  This one, on the other hand, is
at least 90% bad judging by what it disgorges: a bunch of Unknowns that
Sumeragi fears are merely scouts for a more sinister force to come.

 That sinister force turns out to be Insalaum, and things go down pretty
 much the same as on the other path.  Perhaps this is the menace that Zero has
 been looking for?

Anyway, Setsuko shows up and gets introduced back into the team.  Who, find
themselves wondering how these Insalaum stragglers are even mightier than the
Imperium's DB armies, despite having their society supposedly destroyed.
Clearly they've powered up somehow, and there won't be any answers about how
until more fact-finding occurs.  Zero naturally assumes that Insalaum will
eventually find themselves in combat with the Federation, the greatest power
in the world (and one that was theoretically founded specifically to fend off
menaces like them).  He meanwhile has decided to use the authority Elgan gave
him, and to reassemble Zexis in its entirety: if the current Federation
leadership has a shred of Elgan's will left in it, they ought to recognize
Zexis' right to confront mankind's common enemy.  Of course, there's the
outside chance that the Crushers will decide to strike down the CBs and
Black Knights instead of joining with them, but Esther at least wants to
believe that's unlikely.

[See the other path for the conversation aboard the Palace Insalaum.]


CHAPTER 14AB. The World Begins to Move

Pieris gives Sergei a status report on Arrows' recent activities, including how
Mannequin has been relieved of command after his latest failure.  Assigning
Lint as his replacement wouldn't have been Sergei's first choice, but he
declines to elaborate lest he unfairly bias her.  The new Unknowns that came
from the latest Quake have the Federation in a tizzy, and he's been given a
special assignment that he intimates could result in him on the front lines.
He's pleased to hear that his son is doing well and is loyal to the cause, not
expecting Andrei to return his paternal affection any time soon.  She tells him
not to be too sure, and that she intends to accept "the proposal" soon.  The
"Proposal" meaning, she may be able to give Sergei a grandchild in due course.
Her only regret will be no longer hearing the name "Pieris", which Sergei is
one of the few people to actually use.  Sergei hangs up and Louise comes over
to summon Pieris to the planning session.  Pieris' brainwave senses assure her
that Louise is crying in her heart...  pining away, to be specific, for someone
she feels she can never approach again.

Zero's arranged meeting place is in the middle of the desert, surrounded by
countries not yet part of the Federation: perfect for outlaws like the CBs
and Black Knights.  This setup is very uncommon now: almost 90% of the world's
nations have either joined or been dragooned into the Federation, and that
percentage is climbing steadily.  The Middle East, as Kamon knows from his
time with Isabelle Cronkite, is basically the last bastion.  Kamon passes along
what info he's heard about Zero's contingent, which seemingly includes the
entire other half of Zexis.  Hopefully _this_ half won't have to fight them:
after all, it's not just anyone who decides to take on the Federation and its
armies head-on.  Akagi at least isn't worried either way: Allies of Justice
fight who they have to fight, and leave alone who they can leave alone, end of
story.  Setsuko loves the simplicity of it all.

Just then alarms sound: a battle has broken out some thirty klicks to the
Northwest.  That's no where the rendezvous is supposed to be, so who on Earth
would be throwing down in the middle of nowhere?  It turns out to be Catalon,
whose not-quite-so-secret-base has come under heavy fire from Lint's men.
Lint, as usual, is enjoying the carnage, and blithely ignores the Catalon
surrender.  Mannequin is aghast, but in no position to stop the needless
bloodshed, or to make Lint stop bringing up painful memories from her past,
He's been ordered to kill all belligerents, and that makes him super happy.
It makes Katy wish she never joined the military in the first place,
even as she's forced to set the Automatons to Kill Mode.

Pieris now understands why Sergei didn't want her to join Arrows, but Andrei
tells her she's got his dad all wrong: his father is the kind of person who
would leave his own wife to die (or so Andrei thinks, anyway).  Maybe, Pieris
thinks, this horrible assignment is her punishment for trying to seek
happiness like a normal person, when in fact she's a finely honed weapon
herself.

The Macross Quarter shows up at this point and quickly realizes that
Automatons have been deployed in Kill Mode, despite the fact that the battle
is obviously over AND the presence of civilian refugees inside the Catalon
base.  Jeffrey requests an explanation, which Lint is very happy to NOT
provide.  Jeffrey therefore must act on his own judgement, which is that he's
caught the Arrows folks flagrantly committing crimes against humanity.  He
therefore orders the troops to take out the Automatons, which results in Lint
ordering Arrows' pilots to go after the Crushers.  Jeffrey then announces that
the team will have no choice to fight back -- anyone who wishes to can leave
the area, without fear of reprisal from him.  Nobody does, and even Saeki
finds the courage to fight for what the Crushers are doing bureaucratically.

 Bushido has decided not to sortie, using his "One-Man Army" Licence [no,
 seriously, that's what he calls it] to override Lint's command authority.
 That last about as long as it takes for Zero and friends to show up.  Hasty
 introductions are made, both teams agree to target the Arrows flagship, and
 Bushido decides to go after the CB Gundams.  Pieris has her own bone to pick
 with Allelujah, and it looks like the battle could get fierce after all.

 Allelujah is _really_ determined to save Mary, rushing over recklessly and
 glomming on to her mech when it gets immobilized.  Explosions ensue, and the
 two of them crash nearby.  Sumeragi orders the team to trust Allelujah to
 pull through, and to concentrate on the remaining enemies on the field.
 Bushido makes a much calmer exit, conceding that he has yet to reach the
 Summit and vowing to return.  Setsuna is beginning to guess who this guy
 might be...

 Lint is furious when he gets his ass kicked, vowing all kinds of vengeance
 until Katy overrides him and gets what troops remain out of danger.  Another
 detachment of the Black Knights show up, having cleaned up a separate Arrows
 detachment.  They're all glad to see that the Crushers did the right thing
 when faced with Arrows' clearly illegal behavior, but lengthy reunions get
 preempted when Treize shows up with "orders for Zexis".  That makes it sound
 like Oz is formally recognizing Zexis' existence... AND that he is somehow
 aware of Zero's (supposedly secret) invitation to reassemble the squad.

 That of course sounds like a trap, so Zechs has brought Sergei (the "Russian
 Grizzly") from the regular army along as confirmation.  Jeffrey is inclined
 to accept Zechs offer of parlay, hoping to avoid alienating the entire
 Federation, and Zero and Sumeragi concur: one third of the team will stand
 guard while the rest aid the Catalon survivors and search for Allelujah.

Jeffrey hosts the parlay inside the Macross Quarter, a far less spartan
setting than the military vessels Sergei is used to.  Treize actually prefers
such (relatively) cushy confines, but Sergei is ill at ease -- mostly due to
Pieris' disappearance.  Treize has found out all about Sergei's relation to
her, and tells him to go join the search: he shares Sergei's doubts about Oz
and Arrows, and has decided to personally side with Zexis.  He tells Sergei on
his way out that he doesn't favor sending Pieris into battle: humans should
never be treated as tools of war.

Treize hopes that Sergei turns out like Quatro: if so, there's hope that the
Federation can yet be salvaged.  But reality is seldom pleasant, and thus he's
forced to turn to Zexis once more...

Allelujah in fact found Pieris, and pulled her unconscious from her wrecked
mech.  He make no attempt to tie her up, so the first thing she does upon
regaining consciousness is try to arrest him.  That lasts until the memories
start flooding back, recalling the time when both she and Allelujah were in the
same hospital.  At the time, she was blind and mute, able only to speak
psychically.  He in turn was amnesiac and able to hear her voice, letting them
strike up a conversation and a friendship.  In fact, it was her that gave him
his name, meaning "praise be to God".  Praise for what?  For being alive.

Mary finally re-regains consciousness as herself, apologizing to Allelujah
for everything he's gone through for her sake.  She reckons that Pieris was
a personality implanted in her to help restore her use of her five normal
senses: a gambit by the Super-Human Institute to keep funding flowing from
the military.  Cruel, yes, but at least it led to the two of them seeing each
other again.  A very happy reunion, in fact, until Sergei shows up...

Treize gets fairly straight to the point: as of 1400 local Japan time, the
old Zexis squad has been officially recognized as an independent Federation
Army Expeditionary Force, with full jurisdiction over its own personnel
decisions.  Any with full approval of the Federation, any investigation into
criminal activities of Zexis' members will be frozen effective immediately.
That sounds waaay too convenient to Zero, and in fact to Treize himself.  All
the paperwork has apparently been percolating for a very long time, as though
someone forecast its necessity a long time ago.  And the name atop the
letterhead is none other than Elgan Roddick's.

From what Treize has been able to uncover, everything was set in motion by the
transmission of some kind of secret code, which would probably be the code Zero
used to reassemble Zexis.  In short: Elgan apparently predicted that all this
would be necessary, and that Oz and Arrows would go awry, long before the
Federation's founding...  Zero, master strategist that he is, isn't sure how to
feel that Elgan had that much greater foresight than his.  Elgan even included
explicit provisions that Zexis has the right of oversight, _and_correction_
over the rest of the Federation army to be used in the interest of mankind's
peace and welfare.  Even Arrows must abide by this edict, which effectively
justifies the actions Zexis just took in battle.

The commanders greet this with clearly skeptical silence, and Treize says
frankly that there is a long list of people, himself included, with doubts
about the wisdom of an order that puts recognized terrorists in de facto charge
of the world's military.  Treize acknowledges what they're all thinking: that
this move makes Zexis as a whole the enemy of both Arrows and of his Oz forces,
even as it incorporates them into the tangled web that is the Federation army.
Zero accepts this, and vows to act -- as Federation forces -- to crush Oz.
Treize accepts this, and says he'll tell Schneider that Zero is the same man
he's always been.  He doubts they'll be able to actually meet Elgan face to
face, as he's heard that Elgan is extremely busy these days... and Sumeragi
let him know that she isn't at all happy with the sensation of being made to
dance for his and Elgan's pleasure.  She's already lost more than a few
irreplaceable comrades that way.  Recognizing the threat in her tone, Treize
asks only that they treat him as a friendly until he's left their ship.

Now back to Mary, who's busy explaining her tale of woe to Sergei.  Aggrieved
though he is over her treatment, he's unwilling to simply leave her in the
care of the Celestial Beings, killers of so many of his comrades.  Allelujah
offers Sergei the chance to shoot him dead on the spot, so long as he also
promises to never make Mary have to fight again.  Sergei agrees, and Mary
rushes to protect Allelujah as Sergei draws his gun.  Fortunately for all
concerned, he fires into the sky, declaring that Soma Pieris has just died an
honorable death in battle.  That's how the official report will read anyway.
He then thanks Allelujah for helping save the shuttle that Mary was on waaay
back when.  Mary can only leave him with a final message from Pieris inside
her, who would have been honored to become his daughter-in-law.  He leaves her
in Allelujah's hands, and they all give thanks each other are still alive...

Word of Allelujah's impending safe return reaches the pilots, who are busy
catching up on each other's path through the route split.  When Allelujah
shows up with his new girlfriend, Zero initially wants her to use her piloting
skills on the team's behalf.  The rest of the pilots, however, don't want to
see her forced into battle again after all she's been through -- and when
even Sumeragi endorses Allelujah's promise to fight doubly hard on her behalf,
there's little he can say.  Allelujah psychically thanks Kiriko for sticking
up for him, knowing that Kiriko is in a similar position, and Kiriko says
aloud that there's no need for thanks.  That's the first time the kids have
seen Kiriko apparently talking to himself, a rare display of "humanity" from
the stoic warrior.  Setsuko assures them that beneath his exterior Kiriko
experiences every inch as much emotion as the rest of the team.

The newly reborn Zexis' mission is sort of a mashup of the two halves'
activities: battle mankind's common threats, kick Oz and Arrows' ass when they
step out of line (not "if"), and generally act in the best interests of
mankind.  At least they won't be branded terrorists while doing it anymore.
Trois isn't having it though: he's got his own ideas of how to battle Oz on
the Colonies' behalf.  Hiiro tells him to leave things here to him and go off
to do as he sees fit -- Hiiro, like so many Zexis members, seems to have
changed a bit for the better (even though he won't admit it).

Meanwhile, Ribbons is understandably un-thrilled with the little trap Elgan
set for Veda.  Could it be that Elgan has a collaborator, maybe one he's
linked to psychically the same way the Innovators work?  Ribbons of course
doesn't expect an answer, given how Elgan is totally paralyzed and incapable
of speech at present.  Ribbons decides to let Elgan's little gambit stand,
figuring that irregular elements like Zexis are good for accelerating the
world... and maybe getting rid of those pesky Insalaum doods in the process.
He assures Elgan that he and Amuro Rei will lead the world to the future
that Elgan and Ioria wished for, and that he will indeed gain possession of
the Black Knowledge...


CHAPTER 14. What Power Is Granted

[see the other path for Pieris' conversation with Sergei and Louise.]

Marina has decided to return to her homeland, scarcely recognizable though it's
become.  She got a chance to see firsthand the effort the exiled Japanese are
putting in to keeping the concept of their homeland alive, and she feels she
can do nothing less for her own country.  Setsuna points out that the Japanese
had the advantage of Zero showing up and breaking them out of their eight-year
period of despair.  Marina hopes to become a leader like Zero, albeit an
Absolutely Pacifistic one, and although she and Setsuna aren't likely to
grasp each others' modi operandi any time soon, she would like to believe that
both of them are aiming at the same result: peace.  She can only hope that
she's got the courage to walk the path that Rilina and Euphemia lit before
her feet.

Outside, the other pilots are _totally_ gossiping behind their back.  Marina's
background as a music major before restoration as crown princess comes up, as
does her favorable relationship with Setsuna: they support each other quite
well despite having diametrically-opposed ways of getting things done.  Duo
knows at least one other couple like that, and Asahina tells Esther that this
is how love always begins: seeking something in another that you're missing
yourself.  This touches off a round of "who's-the-secret-crush" guessing,
ending with Karen explaining that Saji is just a friend of hers from school,
nothing more.

Tielia then explains all the intelligence Liu Mei has gathered on the Crushers,
and it's plain to see that open warfare with them would be _bad_.  Shinn is
convinced they can be brought around to the Black Knights' point of view, but
Ougi isn't so sure -- Esther's admonishment that he should give his all in
business and "love" only gets him more flustered.  Will he ever see "Chigusa"
again, now that she's regained her memories as a Britannian soldier?

Lakshata comes over the intercom just then, notifying the pilots of a skirmish
nearby between Arrows and... somebody or other, possibly Catalon.  Time to get
everyone's guns on!  This is basically the same battle as on the other path,
though told from the Black Knights' viewpoint.  Bushidou wants to take on the
CB Gundams, and Allelujah has Pieris' recapture to worry about.  Zero, upon
seeing the Arrows' atrocities in action, declares that the world will never
change so long as they exist.


 The Crushers show up on turn 2, and realize quite quickly that the Arrows
 forces have made a hash of things.  As on the other path, this rapidly leads
 to an out-and-out dogfight.  See the other path for Allelujah and Mary's
 travails.

[Refer to the other path for the complete reunification of Zexis, and Allelujah
and Mary's reunion.]


CHAPTER 15. Man As Before

[I kept the CD route]

The surviving Catalon folks are quite grateful to the CBs, if only for buying
them the time to get the civilians from their base to safety.  Marina is kind
of hanging around and surveying the damage when she notices that Xielin is
among the Catalon heavies.  Sumeragi quickly gets Catalon to agree to convey
Marina back to her (currently trashed) kingdom, but is unable to grant their
request for full-on cooperation in the fight against the Federation.  After
all, the CBs aren't a huge organization like Catalon, and they aren't actually
out for the Federation's downfall per-se.  The CBs, and indeed most of Zexis,
are hunting for Arrows, back to their usual do-gooding ways.  Setsuna and
Marina part ways, possibly never to see each other again, without even one
quality roll in the (proverbial) hay: a pretty sad state of affair by 21st
century Gundam series standards, but indicative of how screwed up the world is.

And just for a little added rancor, Saji informs Setsuna that he _will_ be
sticking around longer.  The red Haro's database has convinced him that the
CBs weren't directly responsible for Louise's injuries, but he's still a long
way from agreeing with the CBs' methods.  Setsuna tells Shouji he doesn't
expect him to agree, and could care less if he hates him for it.  Just then,
a Catalon dude called Ikeda comes over and introduces himself to Kinue's little
brother.  He was a JNN foreign office staffer before the Breaking, and is
quite surprised to see Kinue's flesh and blood carrying on her credo of
following the facts to the truth.  He does admonish Saji not to sacrifice
his own dreams in the process, adding that it takes more than a sense of duty
to survive the horrors of the battlefield.  The question is, what has become
of Saji's dreams...?

Esther has a lot to report to Traia about Zexis' reconstitution.  It's an
odd setup, to at once be part of the Federation army and to be on its shitlist:
ZEUTH had to deal with something like that back in its homeworld.  One can
only hope that Oz and Arrows will be swept away as decisively as the Titans
were.  Under the circumstances, Traia wants Esther to get busy piling up combat
data like Crow once did... since Crow himself seems to have buried himself in
white-collar living and isn't interested in dangerous stuff anymore.  Traia is
in fact so stressed that she's turned to using Esther's drums, kind of wishing
that Crow's head was the cymbals.  She assures Esther that Crow's gone even
softer, even more lecherous, and that his face is about 1.5X worth slapping...
which would be quite a sight if he were on hand to say hi.  Instead, Traia will
relay Esther's greetings while Esther and Zexis flee Arrows' lands... to
Limonecia!

The oceanside nation is recovering from Gaiou's ravages at an impressive rate,
back in business with fishing and tourism already.  The surviving citizens
are unified in their desire to undo the ravages of the past ten years, and odds
look good they'll succeed.  However, the tranquility of the beach belies the
devastation that still lingers in pockets deeper inland.  Esther has made a
point of going to gaze upon them, reminded of her own hometown's demolition.

Setsuko comes over to join Esther, busy with her own thoughts and still quite
anxious after finding herself in another dimension.  However, what the Maiden
of Sorrow(tm) has really come to do is give Esther a chance to vent, and Esther
assures her she'll make use of her shoulder to cry on when the time is right.
Setsuko gives her some candy and heads back to the ship, and Esther sighs and
hopes she's as awesome as her in another few years.  Maybe Crow would go for
that?

Her reverie [more like "fantasizing"] is interrupted by the arrival of an EGL
named Marilyn.  All the black lace makes Esther ask if she's going to a
funeral ["Maybe ah amm..."], and the overall effect is fetching enough that
Esther is starting to wonder if she should start batting from both sides of the
plate [so to speak].  Marilyn seems quite knowledgeable about Esther's robot
and the Scott Lab that built it, and it turns out Crow once did her a good turn
in the days before he became a test pilot.  However, he was also a shit-brained
coward who refused her orders in a moment of remembering his humanity... Sort
of like a shit-eating fly suddenly getting finicky about the manner in which it
flies.

Either EGLs have gotten a lot fouler-tongued since my last trip to Japan, or
something is _seriously_ fuxored with Marilyn.  It turns out to be the
latter: Marilyn Cat is none other than the _commander_ of the dreaded Firebug
squadron.  She's read about Ordis' only survivor, and isn't at all surprised
that Crow would take a liking to her.  Marilyn then summons her servants,
who are a) stealthy and b) extraordinarily arsonistic in Marilyn's words.
It would appear that Marilyn wants Crow back, and wouldn't you know it:
Esther would seem to make the perfect bait.

Somehow she manages to dash to her mech and start fleeing, but the Firebug
dudes are in, umm, hot pursuit.  Marilyn's first impulse would be to messily
slaughter the fleeing girl, and has to remind herself aloud that she's got
to use Esther as bait first.  Esther retorts that Crow isn't the sort to come
rescue her, and normally Marilyn would agree.  However, given that Esther
is the only survivor of the Prometheus Experiment, he's sure to come.  She
explains that the Prometheus Experiment was part of Britannia's program to
harness the infinite power of the Dimension Energy Crystals, and its failure
let loose the DB that destroyed Esther's town.

The Firebugs were Britannia's dirty-deeds squad, and were dispatched to Ordis
to salvage what they could of the experimental data and obliterate the rest.
Despite all the people they'd killed before, all the coups they'd helped to
arrange and the anti-Britannian rebels they'd helped betray, something about
seeing Esther lying there unconscious made Crow -- long a malcontent among
the ranks -- snap.  What Marilyn calls "cowardice", Esther calls Crow
simply being... Crow!  And anyone who badmouths Crow is subject to a bitch-
slapping by her drummer's hands.  Marilyn orders her sycophantically-loyal
troops to torment Esther a bit, which is sure to turn out badly for
_somebody_.

 Esther is actually doing pretty well for herself, which makes Marilyn just a
 tad angry.  Her troops scramble to placate her, and she leads them in a
 formation attack that leaves Esther at the brink of defeat.  That's when Crow
 charges in, and puts the skills he picked up in two years as their comrade to
 VERY good use.  He leads Esther a little distance away so she can catch her
 breath, and trades a few insults with his former commander (who, for the
 record, he never once called "princess" like the rest of her lackeys do).
 Said lackeys are beside themselves with rage, and proclaim jihad upon the
 insolent Crow.

 Crow had been told the Firebugs were disbanded after he left the army, but
 it sort of figures that there are people even more shameless than him still
 eager to serve Marilyn's whims.  Apparently Marilyn took her operation
 independent, becoming mercenaries and continuing their life of mischief.
 Their current employer wants Crow's mech, and wouldn't mind some data about
 the rest of Zexis (who happen to show up as if on cue).  Since Marilyn is
 quick to fire on the Zexis force, they've got no choice but to respond in
 kind.  The good news is that Crow seems the same as ever, and quickly
 reintegrates with the team.

 Crow also well remembers Marilyn, whose ever desires stealing what others
 hold dear.  Crow reckons he owed her plenty of payback from before, not to
 mention for what she's just been doing to Esther.  She gets genuinely peeved
 when he defeats her with his fancy-pants mech, but it was _she_ that taught
 Crow that a winner's a winner regardless of methods.

 Their sparring is rudely interrupted by the arrival of Insalaum forces: they
 are Marilyn's "sponsor".  Crow is _pissed_ when he hears that Marilyn has
 somehow shacked up with Margret's countrymen, but quickly regains his
 composure when the Arcsaber forces insist on bringing the fight to Zexis.

 Geraud shows up shortly and assumes command of the Insalaum forces.  He's
 here on his own and not under orders, so he couldn't bring his Diamed.
 Instead, he's come in a Dim Lee that also has a D-Extractor: the Knight of
 Knights will not play second fiddle to anyone!  The Arcsaber #1 cuts a
 fearsome figure, and after Zexis' exploits versus Shubal and Gaiou, he wants
 to test his might against them.  He'll get his wish.

 As it happens, more than just his personal strength will be needed to take
 Zexis down.  He promises to come back with his proper "sword" from his master
 the next time they fight.  For now, he withdraws the rest of his troops and
 leaves Zexis to wonder just what the hell is going on.  After a few brief
 pleasantries with the team, Esther asks to have a word with Crow about
 this "Prometheus somethingorother" business.

What Marilyn said is all true.  The Firebugs are the worst of the worst, and
Crow makes no attempt to deny that he was one of them during a particularly
dark period in his life.  He'd just graduated high school and more or less
fled home to get away from his father, and the army was a way to keep himself
fed.  He found himself a Firebug after two years in the regulars, and he
literally threw up after ever horrendous mission in the early days.  But the
human animal can become accustomed to many things, and by the time the Ordis
mission rolled around, his heart was effectively dead in the service of
carrying out his orders.  Seeing Esther lying there awoke something in him,
and he saved her even though he knew from the outset that doing so did nothing
to atone for his previous crimes.

Esther counters that he should never underestimate what he's done for _her_:
hell, she wouldn't be talking to him if not for the action he took back then.
If he's got stuff on his mind, get it out; if he's got debts to repay, repay
them!  But she never wants him to stop being "him" around her, and he tells
her that she's an excuse as any to lead the kind of life he hopes for.  Even
though he secretly knows that things aren't that simple.

Crow tells the rest of the team, busily eavesdropping in the bushes nearby,
they can come out now.  It seems like open season on true confessions time,
and Esther wants to make it very clear that she doesn't care about Crow's past
now that he's put it so far behind him.  Hell, her own past (which is shorter
than his by a lot) still haunts her -- like how she still says "meow" at times
thanks to her Jr. High fantasy of being a cat fairy.  Yeah.  A, um, cat fairy.
That's her "black history", and she doesn't want to have to say it more than
once.  Of course, "Black History" is a lot weightier of a phrase where ZEUTH
comes from.

Crow figures he's not in any position to critique Oz or Arrows, and promises
the team he'll be supporting them from afar in other ways.  That is, until
a bunch of civilians come up with a bill for the damage caused by the sonic
boom he left in his wake when arriving.  Cutting to the chase, he now owes a
million quid... which he borrows forthwith from his drinking buddy (and
professional loan operator) Zenitory.  He has, abruptly, become a debtor once
more, and ruefully rejoins Zexis to earn his way free.  Then again, maybe this
is how he's meant to live.

Meanwhile, Geraud escorts Marilyn to meet Yuusar.  The unhinged loli doesn't
make many friends with her blunt-kawaii speech, but promises to be a big help
in the war effort (which it appears is mostly Unblown's to coordinate).  She
requests a strong mech in return, which makes Wayne even more irate but doesn't
faze Unblown anyway.  She gives Marilyn the Black Pearl, which is going to
result in unwarranted levels of PotC jokes if I'm not careful.  Apparently
black pearls are unknown on this Earth (which is odd), and Margret has some
sort of right of refusal over the deal (which she declines to exercise).  With
this, Insalaum's warpower is complete, and all preparations for deploying the
ZONE are ready.  Time for Insalaum to set foot onto this world for realz!


CHAPTER 16. Dimensional Center

FLASHBACK TIEMZ!  Here we find Shubal apologizing profusely to Yuusar for
Wayne's ongoing incompetence, including a humiliating (for Wayne) loss to
Geraud.  Yuusar is used to such things from Wayne, and Geraud notes that
Wayne's pride reminds him very much of Shubal himself in his younger days.
Even Margret has to smirk at that, and as in the previous game Shubal berates
her loud and long for disrespecting him.  Yuusar cuts the hilarity short,
telling Shubal to let Wayne off with an admonition to concentrate harder in
the future.  Wayne rushes in at this point, sodding protocol in the interest
of reporting that there is a Quake enveloping the entire northern hemisphere...

This turns out to be Yuusar's recurring dream, hearkening back to the day
Insalaum was ravaged by forces from another dimension.  Unblown calls into his
bedchamber to remind him that today is the day of Insalaum's first step into
their new world and to get his shit together, and he ponders that it will be,
at the same time, their first step OUT of their old world.

So anyways, Crow is back!  Contrived as hell, and abrupt on top of it, but
back nonetheless.  Hope you poured beau coup dinero into the Blaster Ex, so
that the regular Blaster is all buff as well.  Crow phones up Traia to relate
his latest travails, and hears that she's secured all the loans needed to
pay off the grasping townsfolk.  But it's the source of the dough that's a
shocker: it wasn't Zenitory, but _Carlos_ who coughed up the dough.  Whereas
Crow has a talent for losing money, Carlos seems to have a talent for piling
it up.  Crow is starting to wish he'd gotten rid of Carlos when he had the
chance, but _that_ would have meant being at the mercy of Zenitory's people...
who, it turns out, have a lot of shady military connections.

Crow, as we know, hates shady military connections.  Fortunately, Traia has
ways of converting Crow's combat data into revenue, and fortunately, Crow is
ideally situated to get into combat on a regular basis (and well-accustomed to
pinching pennies).  Lockon then comes up, sneaking up on Crow and revealing
himself by dropping a coin.  Crow has seamlessly adapted to the whole Lockon
Mk.II thing, explaining that he expects good things from the sniper not because
of his genetics, but because of whatever determination impelled him to take up
his brother's nom de guerre.  He had to know that everyone would compare him
to the original, and yet did it anyway -- and Crow respects that.  If nothing
else, he and Lockon Mk.II have a love for the original in common.

The meet'n'greet is interrupted by the bad guys, who have just invaded the
west coast of North America and installed a giant... thingie of some kind.
Yuusar Insalaum is live from the scene, announcing himself as the prince in
charge of the Holy Insalaum Empire and declaring that his people are about to
colonize this parallel Earth.  If these Earthlings surrender, cool.  If not,
they should expect UNRELENTING BEATDOWN at the hands of the Arcsabers, and the
ZONE thingie his people have just installed.  He hopes for their sake that the
Earthlings aren't so stupid as to object.

The sight of the gigantic ZONE, glowing menacingly, has some of the pilots
worried: the Arcsabers were bad enough, not to mention whatever new devilry the
Insalaum survivors have cooked up.  The Federation regular army is "keeping a
close eye" on the ZONE, which is a fancy way of saying "quaking in their boots"
and "not lifting a goddamn finger" against the pan-dimensional refugees.  Oz
is asking Arrows for help, but Arrows seems content for now to hide behind
their "peacekeeping only" charter.  Gee, guess who gets to go save the day by
default?  Yeah.  As the pilots head for their cockpits, it seems that Michelle
has not lost his distrust of Lockon, even if Crow and the rest of the team have
accepted him.  Setsuko too is worried, having a guess as to what the ZONE is
and knowing that the team has to hurry if she's right...

The ZONE turns out to be in Sacramento, probably raising property values in
the area immensely.  Unblown has taken charge of military operations, sending
the better half of the fleet out to deal with adversaries on their perimeter.
Even Geraud and Wayne have been dispatched, leaving Margret to hold the fort
with Marilyn.  Marilyn claims to see Margret as an older-sister figure, in
part due to the relation between their mecha, though Margret largely ignores
her.  Despite glib assurances from Unblown that everything will be just fine,
Margret is worried that all Unblown's Dimensional Science might not be enough
to fend off Zexis.

Guess we'll get to find out, huh?  Unblown has Yuusar sortie the Arcsaber
forces to meet the Zexis threat, and the question on everyone's mind is: what
is the ZONE doing?  Just sitting there for now, but the Zexis pilots have been
doing this long enough to expect _something_ to happen once the bad guys
start to lose.  Setsuko is getting very bad vibes from the ZONE, but Crow
feels nothing out of the ordinary -- proof to Setsuko that Crow hasn't
awakened his Sphere yet.  She advises everyone to hurry, but Zero has one
final question for Yuusar: does he really intend to fight, seeing arrayed
before him Earth's finest guardians?  Yuusar is in fact quite worried, but
Unblown assures him that there's no turning back now.  He declares that
as the Insalaum emperor, every word from his mouth is truth: and the truth is
that the Earthlings are going *down*.

The prince seems to lack even the most basic grasp of strategy, but his troops
are well-motivated and well-armed.  They also are nowhere near mastering the
Dimensional Science Unblown slaved so hard over, and fearing a second collapse
of Insalaum Unblown twists Yuusar's arm into activating the "Sei-Ou-Ki: The
Insa", his personal mech.  And you thought Banpresto's naming schemes were
fuxored before!  Margret is at his side as he sorties, vowing to protect her
lord and unwilling to parlay with Zexis -- much like the first time Crow met
her.  Crow tells a flustered Esther that they've got no choice but to fight,
and he's suddenly starting to feel some kind of weight on his chest, as
though something really really bad is about to happen...

 Margret seems to know full well that she's not fighting for the best of
 reasons, but her loyalty to her country seems to come first.  That gives Crow
 no choice but to kick her ass, showing her enough respect to do it with
 full force.

 Now about mister Prince Noncommittal, whose mech's unabridged title is
 "Sei-Ou-Ki The Insalias Arch-Rheinas".  It's ginormous as hell and STILL
 can't live up to its outsize billing.  Dealing 4500+ damage in a single
 strike -- even on the first play-through --  is _totally_ doable if your
 strategy and resource allocation is right.  A single strike is all you'll
 get, because Prince Noncommittal is easily frightened and flees to the safety
 of his flagship as soon as a single bug hits the windshield.

 At his panicked orders, Unblown announces herself to Zexis and unleashes her
 new science project: _artificial_ Dimensional Beasts!  She figures these to
 be the easiest explanation of her Dimensional Science for simpletons like
 the Earthlings: the product of some sort of selective breeding(??) program
 she is only too happy to gloat about.  She has it that since her former
 countrymen can't be returned to normal anyway, the least she can do is put
 them to some good use.

 She refers to her creations as "Adamons", and it should come as no real
 surprise that you gotta catch 'em all.  She withdraws to watch the carnage
 from a distance, and insofar as she named herself the Steward of Gondor^W
 Insalaum one must assume that she's got a lot of pull within the Insalaum
 nation.  Lakshata reserves judgement about Unblown's scientific prowess, but
 she dislikes her wrinkled old hag act on sight.

The Adamons are solid, but _still_ no match for Zexis -- which of course means,
it's time for the ZONE to do something interesting.  In this case,
"interesting" means turning everything near it into sand... _dead_ sand, as
opposed to some theoretically not-quite-dead-but-still-deserving-the-name sand.
Asakim (remember him?) pops up to help explain what Setsuko felt: this gadget
is sucking up all Life from all matter nearby.  That's Life(tm) with a
capital L, aka the Power to Exist(tm), the Original Power(tm), Origin Row,
and so on.  Dimension Power is the simplest term, and it turns out that the
ZONE's massive central lens is ALL made out of DEC.  With a sardonic smirk,
Asakim intones that the Insalaumians have bloodied their hands with majorly
taboo shit, sans any conception of the consequences.

As the ZONE's physical form resides in another dimension, physical attacks
from this one stand no chance of damaging it.  That's bad, because with a DEC
that large, a good quarter of the entire continent could well be killed off.
Asakim observes that Setsuko, who still seems to hate his guts, has an idea how
to stop the thing... and no real choice but to go through with it.  She hates
it when he's right, and explains to Crow that she too is a Sphere-Bearer.
That Crow didn't realize it is another proof of how far he is from complete.

Setsuko's plan is to feed the ZONE a continuous stream of Dimension Power from
her Sphere, preventing it from draining any more of its surroundings.  It's
anybody's guess what that will do to her, but the odds of something Sorrowful
seem high.  Even Crow can't help share such a burden, given his immaturity as
a Sphere-Bearer, and despite the frantic cries of the other pilots to
reconsider, Setsuko does what she must while there's still time.  It actually
turns out decently: though she's now effectively sealed inside the ZONE, she
isn't actually dead.

That's more than the poor environs of Sacramento can say: everything, and I
mean EVERYTHING, has been reduced to dust... even the steel skeleton of the
skyscrapers.  The Insalaum fleet have scarpered off to some other dimension,
and until the team can beat out of them a way to turn the ZONE off, Setsuko
will remain out of reach.  Even Asakim has vanished, after satisfying himself
that Setsuko was truly entrenched inside the ZONE.

Crow tells Esther that the team has to go, even though it means leaving Setsuko
behind (for now).  He muses that the team underestimated Insalaum, so sure
that past results Zexis > Gaiou > Insalaum transitively guaranteed future
victory.  But this ZONE thingie, the Adamons, and even the powered-up
Arcsabers are no joke, and the team needs to go regroup and rebuild.  Zexis
is to head to the Japanese exiles for this strategizing, and as they do so
Crow will be pondering what in him isn't yet up to snuff for the Sphere.  When
he sees Asakim next, he's got _ever_ so much to ask him...

Tielia too has a lot to think about, having witnessed yet another sacrifice for
the greater good.  He vows to do the same with as much grace if the time
comes, but just then Rijeene shows up and breaks his concentration.  They look
so very much alike, don't they?  That's because they share the same DNA: the
DNA of an Innovator.  Brainwave communication, nanomachine-moderated aging
slowdown... all qualities necessary for Ioria's master plan.  That Tielia was
unaware of his comrades indicates that the Gundam Meisters' access to Veda
was limited.  So Rijeene fills in the blanks for him:

Step One: the Celestial Beings' military intervention leads to world unity.
Step Two: Arrows unifies mankind's collective will.
Step Three: Mankind ventures to outer space to prepare for the upcoming Dialog.

The Innovators are a new strain of humanity, suited to life in space and
groomed to be at the vanguard of the order Ioria foresaw.  Sound at all
familiar?

Meanwhile, Geraud and Wayne have returned from their sorties, both easily
crushing the conventionally-armed Earth forces.  Wayne is far from happy
though: victory on the flank means nothing if the center folds, and it seems
pretty clear that the fabled ZONE folded like an origami academy.  Oh, and
don't call it a "temporary suspension of operational capability" either.
Geraud replies shortly that Unblown has another ZONE or two ready, and reacts
badly when Wayne points out the obvious -- that Yuusar is totally not ready to
go into battle.  Geraud tells Wayne to consider his punch the punch of his
master Shubal, walking off and leaving Wayne cursing violently in his wake.


CHAPTER 17. Bride of the Forbidden City

Things have stabilized around the ZONE, which is both good and bad depending
on -- like Setsuko -- you're trapped inside it or not.  The Insalaum dudes who
installed the damn thing are nowhere to be found, hidden beyond dimensional
boundaries Earth's science has no immediate way to penetrate.  With Oz and
Arrows inactive, the responsibility for battling the Insalaum will fall
directly on Zexis' shoulders... and insofar as Setsuko's life is on the line,
Jeffrey wouldn't have it any other way.

In the hangar, Karen finds Saji helping Ian with mech maintenance: his space
science qualifications are coming in handy for something after all.  He's not
somehow come around to the CBs' way of thinking, but neither does he want to
be totally passive in heading towards his future.  Karen approves, as do
Setsuna and Crow.  It seems time has changed all the pilots, even the seemingly
unflappable Crow... who is very well aware that Zero probably means to pit
Zexis against the Chinese Federation.  Given how calm the other pilots seem
in the wake of Setsuko's disappearance, that's fine with him.

Speaking of Zero, we find him in audience with China's young Empress, a rather
timid creature whose actual power has been essentially usurped by the High
Eunuchs.  "Tianzi", the Son [i.e. Daughter] of Heaven, has high hopes that
a Certain Someone will one day take her beyond the walls of the Forbidden
City... hopes that take a sudden turn for the worse when Gao Hai bursts in to
report that Britannia's crown prince Odysseus has decided to take her hand in
marriage.  Zero is furious behind his mask that Britannia would attempt to
coopt an entire superpower in their battle against the Black Knights, and
there's only one person in all Britannia devious and audacious enough to pull
it off...

Elsewhere in China, battle has been raging in miniature between Wufei and some
ruffians or other.  By beating them off, Wufei has once again saved Sally Po's
life.  Wufei's return to his Colony's roots has hardly been a pleasant one:
the ravages wrought by the High Eunuch's greed are everywhere to be seen.
The guerillas (Sally included) have been fighting a decidedly uphill battle to
try to effect change, but they're committed despite the long odds.  Wufei is
still emo over his loss to Treize, calling himself "unfair" for only being able
to fight those weaker than himself.  She counters that he did manage to save
her, and if it's a sign of weakness to need comrades, maybe Wufei should
resolve himself to get a few of his own.  To wit: Zexis is in town, and she
persuades him to go see what they can do to repair this rotten land with his
own eyes.  Surely _something_ will happen when the Tiger bears its fangs.

Back aboard the Ptolemy-2, news of the impending political marriage hasn't gone
over well.  This Odysseus dude seems the typical strong-king's-weak-son
flatulent type, and is possibly four times Tianzi's age to boot.  Neither
Zexis' special oversight powers, nor its pilots various combat skills, apply in
a political arena like this; and yet, they can't steer entirely clear of the
scene either.  It seems some Arrows brass will be attending the reception, or
rather... someone who _controls_ the Arrows brass according to Liu Mei's info.

Tielia thinks back to his run-in with Rijeene, who spoke of a great Wave needed
to push mankind to the next stage in its evolution.  That Wave, revolution, is
no pleasant process, and given the CBs' many sins, Tielia wasn't in the best
position to cast aspersions on Rijeene's people and their control of Arrows.
In fact, given that the Innovators were born of Ioria's plans, it would seem
(to Rijeene) that Tielia is opposing the very reason for his existence by
fighting Arrows.

Serious stuff for Tielia to ponder, and if not for the old Lockon's influence,
Tielia might have bought into the hype by now.  But it's been the CB way to
fight by their own recognizance, not according to any other person's
interpretation of what's right and wrong.  Tielia volunteers to accompany
Sumeragi and Zero to the party, and Sumeragi agrees on the condition that he
follow her orders to the letter.  She's also summoning Bobby from the Quarter
to join them, which is an odd combo to say the least.

Suzaku, too, is having doubts that Tianzi is really desirous of the marriage.
But as Cecil points out, it _is_ a way to help cement (a sort of) peace.  If
so, isn't it odd that fully three of the Knights of the Round have been
summoned to the party?  It's as though someone expects a melee, perhaps
involving Zexis?  After all, several Zexis pilots are (covertly) on the wait
staff, and between serving drinks they've been keeping a sharp eye on Tianzi.
Far from enjoying the pre-wedding banquet, she looks ready to burst into tears
at any second.  If only Xingke could whisk her away from all this!

It seems Bobby has done wonders with Tielia, cross-dressing him to an almost
scarily pretty extent.  There's only one person in Zexis who could do better,
and it's _not_ Gainer.  Crow is less interested in the crossplay and more in
what Zero has planned, but this time around even Karen has been kept out of the
loop.  The hushed banter among the pilots quickly stills when Ribbons
introduces himself to Tielia.  Rijeene's voice sounds in Tielia's head, telling
him that this is the real target.  Unfortunately for Tielia, Ribbons seems
very well aware of his true identity, "inviting" him to the dance floor so they
can talk uninterrupted.

Elsewhere, Setsuna has run into Louise, who remembers him from their time in
Area Eleven.  He says he's in the area as a guard, and she in turn claims a
friend of hers summoned her to the party.  Setsuna wonders inwardly if her
presence here is somehow connected to Arrows, as she inquires after the
wellbeing of the kid that used to sit next to him in class.  That would be
Saji, who Setsuna claims to have last seen working aboard a Space Colony.

Ribbons professes to Tielia that their meeting is _not_ his doing, but rather
a little prank by Rijeene.  He offers, as a sort of showing of good faith, to
restore Tielia's access to Veda.  Just how he came to be Veda's sysadmin is a
tale long in the telling, and he's about to recommend they go elsewhere when
Zero walks in, escorted by Kagura.  They present themselves as the formal
representatives of the Japanese exiles, and when Xingke tries to tell Zero he's
not welcome, Zero smoothly says that he's here as _Kagura's_ date, she having
a formal invitation and all.  He adds that if anyone is likely unwelcome here,
it would be Xingke himself -- after all, isn't this a gathering of people who
rejoice at Tianzi's impending marriage?  Zero, it turns out, is fully aware of
Xingke's personal allegiance, affection really, for the young empress after
she saved him from execution.  He's the one who's promised to take her from
this place, and Zero has discerned that Xingke has actually put in motion a
plan to make that promise a reality.

The fuming Suzaku can do nothing but watch the exchange from the sidelines, but
Zero's opposition isn't limited to Xingke.  Schneizer himself steps on the
scene, suggesting that Zero engage in something a bit less disruptive than
grandstand in the foyer.  Schneizer is effectively Britannia's top politician
given Charles' frequent absences, and worryingly he's the one opponent Zero's
never managed to beat at anything.  Zero tells him he had actually meant to
leave after discharging his escort duty, but requests a game of chess first.

He offers up Kagura if he loses, requesting Suzaku should he win: this is his
big chance to _legally_ remove Suzaku as the single greatest obstacle to his
plans.  Schneizer agrees to the match, requesting instead that Zero remove his
mask if he loses -- as sort of wedding present for Tianzi.  Tianzi is
understandably puzzled by this, but Odysseus smiles blandly and says that he
can't even imagine Schneizer losing.  It's Zero's job, of course, to do many
things people can't imagine.

As the creme de la creme of the chess world get the show underway, we jump
back to Louise and Setsuna.  Louise is glad Saji seems to be living his
dream -- the implication being that her own dreams have gone considerably awry.
That might be connected to the scar on her arm, reminder of the damage wrought
by the Thrones' Gundams.  Setsuna starts to tell her that when he met Saji,
Saji told him he still loves her, but she doubles over in pain just then.
She frantically asks Setsuna to help retrieve her pills from her bag.  Given
her by Ribbons, they seem to help what ails her... and to Setsuna's eyes, what
ails her is the cellular damage wrought by a Pseudo-GN Reactor.  Just then
Billy runs over, drawn by Louise's cries, and recognizes Setsuna as a CB.
Setsuna starts to flee, as Billy yells out for him to give "Kujou" back.
Billy desperately wants to believe that it's Setsuna's fault that Kujou thinks
she's a spy, but before Setsuna can either vamoose or set the record straight,
an explosion rings out from the direction of the banquet.

..But first, we deal with Tielia and Ribbons' little tete a tete in an
antechamber away from the chess action.  Tielia is pretty sure he's talking to
the man who's withdrawn his access to the Trial System, not to mention seized
control of all the world's information streams, leaked details of the Pseudo-
GN drive to the Federation, and probably raised airline baggage fees while he
was at it.  The question is: why?  Ribbons claims that the CBs were, according
to Ioria's plans, supposed to be destroyed during the Breaking.  Tielia by
this point isn't having any of that: his Gundam, and his comrades, have shown
him how wrong Ribbons and company are.  Ribbons ridicules Tielia's devotion
to Lockon's memory, then says that their little philosophical differences
shouldn't be settled by a one-on-one brawl.  The showdown should involve all
humanity, who -- if China is any indication -- are very easy to nudge into
action.  Once again, the conversation is interrupted by a nearby explosion,
which Ribbons thinks is Zero's doing.  He's probably thanking God he's only
watching the game... controlling it, as it were.

Zero, meanwhile, has been battling his ass off against Schneizer.  The two
manage to get into a 3-4 Repetition, essentially bringing the match to a draw.
It's not the best outcome Zero could have hoped for, but with all eyes on him
and Schneider, conditions are still ripe for him to stage his main gambit.  All
he needs now is an opening.  Schneizer has other ideas however, and
deliberately moves his king into check: will Zero take it an accept victory,
even though doing so would be a consummate disgrace?  Seeing him hesitate,
Schneizer tells him that the emperor would have taken his king without
hesitation: he now has proof that Zero is the sort of man his friend Treize
took him to be.

At this point, an uninvited guest barges in: it's Wufei, who readily frightens
away the Chinese soldiers supposedly guarding the door.  He tells Zero that
_his_ adversaries are coming later, and confronts Tianzi.  Her illustrious
husband-to-be ran off at the first sign of disturbance, and Wufei asks if
Tianzi really wants to pledge herself eternally to a coward like that.  Xingke
runs over at that point and attempts to slice Wufei in half... only to have
his sword thrust stopped by Wufei's own blade.

Zero marvels that his chance should come in such unexpected fashion, and he
signals Gao Hai to let the Black Knights in.  Xingke kills Gao Hai for his
treachery (not realizing that Zero's Geass was to blame), and Wufei shouts to
him that _this_ is the state his nation has sunk to.  The question is, what
does Xingke himself stand for?  He considers dramatically, and announces that
as representative of the common people he opposes Tianzi's marriage.  The
remaining Eunuchs order the guards to shoot him dead along with the Black
Knights, and he actually welcomes the prospect: his death will trigger other
right-thinking people into revolt.  He thinks this is the best he can do to
keep his promise to take Tianzi outside, but Zero has other ideas.

Like Xingke and Wufei, Zero's come to break up the marriage.  The difference
is that Zero means to actually abduct(?) Tianzi, which to say the least is not
the world's most obvious strategy.  Technically, this is in keeping with Zero's
promise to the team to disrupt what they all felt was an unjust marriage --
the question becomes how he means to keep the second half of his promise: to
root out the evil infesting China.  The commanders were certainly convinced,
so all the pilots can do is sit, wait, and hope that Tianzi isn't too rattled
by her unorthodox escape from the Forbidden City.

Oh, and in Tielia's case, wonder if Ribbons was right about mankind needing
someone to lead them: after all, war seems to have broken out here despite the
Innovators not (according to Ribbons) lifting a finger.  Pondering that will
have to wait, as Xingke and a horde of Chinese troops storm onto the field.
Xingke's fellow conspirators have been rounded up by loyalist troops, and the
High Eunuchs make it clear that if he wants to save any of them, he's to
personally kill Zero off.  Lakshata recognizes his mech, the Shen Hu: a sibling
of the Guren whose specs exceeded what any pilot could control.  Zero calls on
Xingke to withdraw his support for the corrupt Eunuchs, but Wufei shows up to
challenge that Zero isn't any better.  Crow and Akagi tell Wufei that while
they've got their doubts about Zero, the whole team has decided to bet on
whatever he's got planned... and if Zero does ever betray them, that'll be the
time for them to strike back.  Wufei accepts that, but says that _his_ time for
fighting Zero is now.  Xingke orders the troops forward, telling Zero that he's
got his own reasons for not withdrawing.  Seeing Xingke siding with the
Eunuchs, Wufei declares him to be an enemy too, and the battle royale gets
underway!

 Xingke puts up a damn good fight, and when his mech begins to fail him Zero
 graciously acknowledges him both as an intellectual peer and a comparably
 skilled warrior to Suzaku.  Speaking of whom: the Knights of the Round head
 up the second wave of bad guys, bolstering a Chinese contingent that actually
 includes the High Eunuchs aboard their flagship.  Also present is Schneizer
 aboard _his_ flagship the Avalon, and Xingke shouts out that the Eunuchs
 are apparently selling their nation to one of the most ambitious people in
 the Federation.

 Their response is to open fire in the direction of Zero's own flagship,
 despite the fact that the empress is aboard it.  The Eunuchs openly tell
 Xingke that they've got a new empress waiting in the wings: a nice pliant
 little doll perfect for consummating the deal with Odysseus.  When Zero adds
 his voice to pleas for a cease-fire, they sneer that the emperorship is just
 a governmental system -- and their influence is secure, even if a different
 system (such as Britannian rule) is destined to overtake their people.  Who,
 by their estimation, are worth no more consideration than used toilet paper
 as it's being cast away.

 If the Zexis pilots (and Wufei) are aghast at this flagrant disregard for
 human life, Zero is positively fit to be tied.  Haven't these fuckers ever
 heard of the Noble Obligation of ruler toward the ruled?  At this point,
 Tianzi rushes out onto the flight deck, pleading for everyone to stop
 fighting... which of course is the Eunuchs' cue to open fire.  Xingke and
 Wufei both rush over to defend her: an unlikely collaboration between
 Tiger and Dragon that is quickly reinforced by all the Zexis pilots.

 And yet, it might not be enough to keep the Chinese flagship from carrying
 the day.  Xingke pleads to someone, anyone to do what he can't and protect
 the empress, and someone indeed answers: it's Zero himself, at the controls
 of a brand new mech with a brand new kind of Barrier.  Lloyd can tell at a
 glance that the tech is descended from the Gawain's Druid System, and
 Lakshata adds that the "Shinkirou"'s talents aren't limited to defense: a
 pilot capable of processing enough information can use both its Absolute
 Protection Zone and its Phase Change Cannon to devastating effect.  Yeah,
 that would be Zero.

 Zero tells Xingke that there's but one course for him to take: ally with him,
 and in so doing save his empress and indeed all his needy countrymen.  Wufei
 growls that it'll take more than Zero's fancy mech to do that, and Zero sighs
 that some day these morons will really have to learn the difference between
 tactics and strategy.  Meanwhile, reports have started streaming in of
 nation-wide revolt: the realtime broadcast of the battle that Zexis has been
 running has ignited the undercurrent of resentment that Xingke has been
 quietly stoking prior to his coup d'etat attempt.  Xingke is justifiably
 astounded that Zero both forecast the Eunuchs' hateful actions _and_ his own
 coup machinations, turning them all to his own advantage.  Wufei doesn't
 like being manipulated, even if the outcome is what he would have sought
 himself, but he does grant that Zero is one kick-ass dude for actually
 pulling it off.

 The target is clear then: the Eunuchs, and whoever else Schneizer leaves
 behind as he makes his sneaky retreat.  That would be the Knights of the
 Round, who have an outside chance of keeping Zexis from growing any more
 dangerous.  And I do mean _outside_.

 The Eunuchs meet a suitably miserable end, clearing the decks for a renewal
 for the Chinese state and its citizens.  Wufei may still have that loss to
 Treize on the books, but he too has rediscovered his belief in his own brand
 of justice, and that gives him the strength to be worthy of his Gundam (which
 bears his deceased wife's name).

After all, Wufei knows better than most people the sanctity of marriage: the
last thing he was going to do is see his ancestral empress forced to marry for
the wrong reasons.  He, like Hiiro, has a deep seated distrust of Zero, and
intends to watch the guy from as close range as possible.  Zero thanks Diethart
for setting up the covert streaming system that led to today's broadcast, but
things take a turn for the worse when Diethart recommends that someone from
Japan take Tianzi to wife to seal the Sino-Japanese alliance in the eyes of the
world.  Damn near every pilot in Zexis is opposed to forcing marriage anew on
her, and even Kiriko lambastes Diethart's cold-hearted plan.  Zero had actually
intended to go that route, but the sight of the chorus of dissenters makes him
question his own grasp of female emotions.  In fact, that's a subject Shirley
and Milly hammered him on constantly back at Ashford Academy, and it suddenly
dawns on him that this is his chance to fix one of his few weaknesses.

Result: he grandly declares that Tianzi's future is hers alone to decide.  The
heart is the source of all power, and she is to follow hers wherever it leads!
That would be the _right_ choice on the dialog-o-meter, cementing Xingke's
willingness to follow Zero's quest as the means to his own country's total
liberation.  Wufei leaves a message with him for Sally Po, that her strength
saved Wufei in turn.  Zero leaves both China and the Japanese exiles in
Xingke's keeping while Zexis moves on to his next task, but he fully plans to
call on Xingke's strength again when the time is ripe to realize his dreams
of a truly United Nations.

Tielia too seems to have gotten his head at least a bit straighter, faith in
mankind renewed by the whole heartwarming scene.  He's still got a lot to
think about after his runin with Ribbons, and Setsuna wisely decides not to
push him for answers just yet.  The question is whether it is the Innovators
who have truly inherited Ioria's plan, or whether it's Zexis.  The more
immediate question is what the upheaval in Northern Europe is that Ribbons
casually mentioned before vanishing.

Well, for starters, Cinq Kingdom has been reconstituted under Rilina's
leadership.  It's going to have a hell of a time staying independent from the
Feds, especially with Absolute Pacifism as its guiding principle, but Rilina
believes that she's got enough supporters to carry the day.  Dorothy is
counting on it in fact: the warmongering little bitch is supporting Rilina
not out of belief in Absolute Pacifism, but rather in the opposite.  She
pledges to follow Rilina wherever she goes, which in the short term means
Area Eleven -- the land where Rilina met Hiiro.  She can only hope to see him
again someday, grateful in the meanwhile for all the inspiration their meeting
gave her.


CHAPTER 18. Ashford Rhapsody

Schneizer pays Treize a visit, filling him in on the mess in China.  He seems
unusually chipper despite the failure, and says that it's the first time in a
good long while a contest got his heart pumping.  He's also pleased to report
that Treize's supposition about Zero's "youthfulness" has proven correct.
Unfortunately, the larger current of world events is deteriorating, as
Delmeier seems to be chatting more and more with Arrows these days: surely
the handiwork of the Innovators.  Though the Innovators probably don't
realize Treize and Schneizer are on to them, there's very little bright side
to Delmeier's increasing use of warfare as a problem solving tool; even the
prospect of new Romfellar mecha for Oz isn't a happy one.  Delmeier, in fact,
has the diametrically opposite view to Zechs regarding the proper use of war.
The question is what kind of mischief Zero will stir up now, given his plans
for "liberation" seem to extend beyond Area Eleven.  In any case, Zexis is the
only real hope the two have, especially with Insalaum hanging out somewhere...

Zexis' return to Area Eleven proves to be an eventful one... at least for
Lelouch.  In his absence, Sayoko has somehow embroiled him in promises for
dates... 108 of them to be precise.  Insert witty Suikoden joke here.  Sayoko
_is_ a master of disguise and skilled enough as a ninja that Britannia hasn't
caught on yet to Lelouch's "field trips", but her carefree acting is more than
Lelouch had planned on.  Still, Lelouch is willing to face the music and do all
those dates when Viletta pipes up: Milly has set up a little school event that
could solve everything.  It's called "Cupid Day", and that twinge of
trepidation Lelouch feels is very well founded.

But first we find the rest of the pilots shopping, and musing about how this
Tokyo is almost identical to the one in the other Japan.  Karen notes that
the so-called Elevens seldom come here, though Nanaly's influence seems to have
made the place subtly less discriminatory than it used to be.  She's just happy
that the folks from the better-known Tokyo are able to see and appreciate her
own nation.

Back at Ashford, the Cupid Day is about to begin.  Lelouch runs into Shirley,
who is none to thrilled about all the romance he's been up to.  It looks like
an argument is in the works until a young man walks over -- none other than
the Knight of Three, Gino!  What the hell is he doing here??  It turns out he's
not alone either: both he and Anya (Knight of Six) are on hand.  Anya take a
picture of him with her PDA, announcing that she's now got Lelouch's "data".
Milly then gets on the PA to explain the rules of this event: it's a school
wide game of tag, and whoever gets tagged will forcibly become "lovers" with
whoever tags them.  People from off campus are more than welcome to participate
too!  Seeing that Gino and Anya seem to be at the school for the sheer pleasure
of its wacky confines, and not to arrest him, he resolves to get busy quashing
the rumors about him: how can he revolutionize the world if he can't even keep
his own high school under control?

From the sidelines, the visiting Zexis pilots are noting the gaggle of people
around Lelouch.  Saji's pieced together that Lelouch is the brother of
Regent Nanaly, which makes him some kind of Britannian royalty.  Karen has
warned him sternly not to approach Lelouch lest he get into hot water, and
the pilots all marvel that someone as good-looking and smart as him seems to
have all kinds of secret worries.  If they oooooonly knew.  Neither Saji nor
Hiiro and Duo know too many of the students here any more, thanks to the
wholesale changes in society of late.  The Student Council still remember
them though, and as Milly and friends welcome the Zexis pilots into the game,
Lelouch makes a run for it to avoid any complications from having them around.

What the Zexis pilots find out is that there are some _ravenous_ students out
there, some of whom don't even care the gender of whomever they're about to
tag.  Bedlam ensues.  Lelouch meanwhile has an ace up his sleeve to elude all
those women targeting him: Rolo and his sort-of-time-stopping Geass.  The
other pilots will just have to get by on martial arts prowess, which in Crow's
case is more than enough to elude Esther.  His women-fearing ways are as
solid as ever, but at least having seen Marilyn in action one can understand
a bit better where they came from.

Cue the romantic interludes, which vary considerably by pilot.  When Allelujah
and Mary decide on some friendly tag, it's like watching ninja and kunoichi at
play for instance.  Things get interesting when Gino walks over and introduces
himself.  For his part, he doesn't intend to disrupt the frolic and start a
fight (unless Zexis intends to do so first) -- after all, Zexis is part of the
same Federation that he's in.  Gino's a bit sorry that Karen isn't on hand:
he'd hoped to introduce himself to the Black Knights' ace.  Esther asks why all
the Rounds have "Sir" in front of their name, apparently ignorant of courtly
honorifics due to just how remote the town she grew up in was (and despite the
fact that it was part of Britannia).  Setsuna and Saji meet next, and Setsuna
mentions his meeting with Louise...

There's one other visitor to Ashford who isn't participating in the merriment:
Nina Einstein.  Milly asks how Lloyd, theoretically her fiancee, is doing,
and says she's relieved Nina seems to be doing well as a Federation scientist.
Nina doesn't like Milly's elderly-sister affect, stiffly declaring that
Euphemia is the only one who's ever actually gone out of their way to protect
Nina.  She's working on weapons for Schneizer now, weapons to defeat Zero, and
DEMANDS with increasing vehemence that Milly acknowledge her.  Milly,
understandably, is rather speechless at her outburst...

Rolo's Geass has allowed Lelouch to successfully switch places with Sayoko and
head down to the underground control room.  That Rolo is willing to strain his
own heart just to make life more convenient for Lelouch is an indication of
just how starved for affection the guy was.  Not that Lelouch is terribly
sympathetic to the person who attempted to displace his sister in his life.
Viletta asks why Lelouch didn't just let Shirley catch him: the girl is enough
in love with him that she *shot* Viletta once.  Lelouch doesn't want to get
her mixed up in things any further for precisely that reason.  He isn't going
to go the route that the Emperor has, with how many lives he's played with.

Sayoko meanwhile isn't doing a very good job impersonating Lelouch, and Lelouch
has to rush back to the surface.  As he does, some sort of intruders appear on
the scene.  The problem is that Sayoko took Lelouch literally when he said to
"avoid getting caught", and as a result she's been using her ninja skills out
in plain sight of everyone -- including Zexis.  Lelouch trades places back with
her just in time for Hiiro to walk over.  Lelouch has to watch what he says,
as he's still publically supposed to have his memories altered.

Hiiro is very suspicious about how every trace of his previous time here
seems to have been erased deliberately.  He clearly suspects something is
up with Lelouch, but their conversation is interrupted by Rilina's arrival.
Lelouch makes good his escape.  Rilina apologizes for somehow obstructing
Hiiro, but he tells her not to worry about it... and when he does so, there's
far more warmth in his voice than there once was.  Lelouch doesn't get far
though until he runs into Shirley again -- and THEY don't get far before
terrorists from the Fangs of the Dawn strike!

These are former mercenaries who are so hard up for work that they seem to have
turned to terrorism, taking over Ashford and demanding a ransom from the
government.  Their plan is fairly sophisticated, involving diversionary raids
elsewhere to keep Guilford and the troops busy.  With three of the Rounds in
the school, Guilford doesn't want to take any military action just yet, and
Nanaly hopes that Suzaku and the others can save the day.

Among the hostages, Lelouch can well imagine his sister's dilemma: she badly
wants to save the hostages, and knows that Britannia will never negotiate with
terrorists.  Lelouch knows that the Rounds and Zexis are around, and presumes
that Rolo will be on hand shortly with his Geass to let him easily bring the
hostage crisis to a halt.  However, Rolo is _not_ showing up promptly, and
with the initial deadline for ransom payment passed, the terrorists are about
to make an example of somebody.  What's going on?  What's going on is that
Suzaku is outside, and Rolo dare not act lest it become impossible to hide
the return of Lelouch's memory from the emperor.

As Shirley gets selected, Lelouch wonders why the hell Suzaku isn't putting a
stop to this.  It dawns on him that Suzaku is _testing_ him, and the thought
that Suzaku cares not for Shirley's life fills him with rage.  He may not be
able to use his Geass, but he can still act physically.  He bumrushes the
terrorist, yelling at all the other students to flee.  He himself isn't able to
flee, but at least this means not losing anything or anyone else ever again.

That's the point when several of Zexis' martial artists bust in, having
subdued the terrorists outside.  Lelouch gave them the perfect opening to
steal a march on the final goons here, and at least said goons are smart
enough to flee to their mecha.  They plan an assault on the school, and the
Zexis pilots rush off to meet them.  Hiiro however stays behind, and once and
for all confronts Lelouch about his being Zero.

Lelouch won't forget Suzaku's dangerous stunt, and Suzaku himself finds himself
wondering what the hell he was thinking.  Both of them are going to have to
struggle to concentrate on the battle versus the terrorists; Zexis and the
Knights are agreed that today is not the day to settle their differences.

 Things go quite smoothly in fact, and the Knights and Zexis indeed manage to
 avoid starting a brawl on this day.  There's little doubt that such a
 rumble is inevitable in the future however.  Rilina and Hiiro are both
 glad they saw each other, if only briefly.  Suzaku meanwhile has been
 checking for Lelouch sightings during the battle, and has apparently
 satisfied himself that Zero can't be Lelouch.  After all, Lelouch was
 spotted sticking his neck out for Shirley AND not using his Geass in the
 process.

All's well that ends well?  That seems to be Milly's conclusion at least, and
shouts out to Lelouch for manning up against the gun-toting terrorist.
Shirley pulls Lelouch aside and says that she understands he must have had
his reasons for not turning down all those girls' requests for dates.  She
cautions him that humoring people to avoid hurting them can sometimes have the
opposite effect.  She tells him it's time for punishment, and has him close
his eyes.  Rather than kiss him, she lightly slaps him on the cheek -- and
thereby "tags" him and wins the Cupid Day challenge.  She promises that she
will make him love her some day.  This, of course, turns out to be Milly's
whole reason for running the Cupid Day event in the first place.  It's also
the last thing Milly had wanted to do before graduating and making her own way
in the world.  She intends to prove that she can do more than just offer words
of comfort to others, and that maybe Nina will come to understand her too.

As the team gets on the move again, Lelouch introduces Hiiro as a formal
collaborator to C.C. and Karen.  He explains that Hiiro figured out his
identity on his own, and has pledge his support.  Hiiro corrects him and
declares that what he's done is acknowledge "Zero"'s abilities.  He knows that
Lelouch will need help if he's to keep the Zero gig going, and intends to do
what he can in that regard.  Lelouch asks when Hiiro figured it out, and
Hiiro says it was when Lelouch ordered him to save Nanaly prior to the
Breaking.  C.C. deadpans that Lelouch always gets careless where Nanaly is
concerned, but Lelouch isn't interested in trading barbs with her.  He wants
to know why Hiiro is interested in Zero.  It's Zero's abilities, plain and
simple -- Hiiro openly distrusts the motives Lelouch uses those abilities for,
and the words that come out of his mouth in the process.  Why else would a
Britannian prince wear a mask and lead a revolt, if not for the sake of some
deeper agenda?  All the more reason, Lelouch retorts, for Hiiro to spill the
beans.  He's not done so for two reasons: one, the "Zero" charade means
nothing personally to Hiiro, and two, Lelouch has always seemed sincere when
fighting for the sake of his sister.

Correction: today he saw a glimpse of Lelouch fighting for someone besides his
sister -- maybe "Zero" isn't trustworthy, but "Lelouch" is.  The opposite
conclusion, in fact, to what Karen drew before.  C.C. observes that Lelouch
must have trusted Hiiro considerably to bring him this far without Geassing
him, and Lelouch proceeds to tell Hiiro the whole truth... though if Hiiro
doesn't like what he hears, Lelouch reserves the right to "steal everything
from him".  Fine by Hiiro, who cautions that Lelouch might not get the chance
to do any stealing if Hiiro opts to kill him first.


CHAPTER 19. Various Battlefields

Rilina has been granted an audience with Nanaly, and both of them have the
"OMG you're a princess too??" thing going on.  The difference is that Rilina's
past is still a matter of public record, while Nanaly's past at Ashford
Academy has been erased... _quite_ thoroughly from what Hiiro told Rilina.
Fond as she is of the blind princess, Rilina knows she must guard what she says
to her.  Nanaly's main hope is that Rilina can tutor her in the Absolute
Pacifism that Euphemia subscribed to, and as Rilina gets to it she hopes that
both she and Hiiro can succeed on the battlefields they've chosen.

Meanwhile, ominous things are afoot in the form of a new kind of mech autopilot
being demoed for Delmeier.  The "Mobile Doll System" is eerily effective after
years of fine-tuning and prototyping.  Chief engineer Tsubarof isn't just
planning to supplement the Federation army: he means to _replace_ the army's
pilots wholesale.  Unfortunately for him, Treize has also come to spectate,
intending to challenge the Mobile Dolls to a duel and ready to stake his life
(for realz) on the proposition that no steenking autopilot can replace human
pilots.

Treize handily dispatches the Mobile Dolls, and tells Tsubarof that he could
dispatch him too if he so chose.  Point being: both Mobile Suits and Mobile
Dolls are ultimately controlled by humans: would that Tsubarof value them a bit
more highly in the future.  His day would be made if Delmeier takes the
opportunity to reconsider the true meaning of war -- the Innovators' vision
for mankind isn't the only one.  Delmeier is scandalized by this, but Treize
is already on his way out, longing for Zechs to come back and help keep Oz from
descending into idiocy.

Tsubarof scrambles for excuses, saying that these old Leos are far inferior to
the Torases the Mobile Doll system is intended for (not to mention the new
mecha the Innovators have provided).  Delmeier sniffs at this, more concerned
about the fact that Treize knows of the Innovators at all: as Ribbons said,
Treize is one dangerous dude.

China has just weathered a considerable storm, but there's no rest in sight
yet.  Arrows forces are massing on their borders, poised to prevent China from
possibly defecting from the Federation (and thereby becoming the standard
bearer for all the other rogue nations).  Even with Xingke calling the shots
for the Chinese military, this is the sort of standoff that could readily spark
a world war.  Zexis of course will take on the Arrows forces before things get
that far, utilizing their license to ill to the fullest.  It takes some
explaining to get it through to Esther, but this prospect can only work to
Zexis' ultimate advantage -- assuming they win the inevitable showdown of
course.

Hiiro notices Tielia fretting over the coming battle (really, the battle over
whether the Innovators will control the future or not).  Hiiro observes that
Tielia's hesitation reminds him of right after Tielia lost access to Veda,
which really draws Tielia up short.  Karen is watching the exchange from the
shadows, having been ordered by Zero to keep an eye on their latest comrade.
Karen herself figures Hiiro for a truthful sort.  Saji meanwhile is watching
Karen from the sidelines, trying and failing to find an opening to ask her
about Louise.  A bunch of the non-combatant ladies come over to comfort the
guy, pointing out to him that everyone has their own battles to fight.  Just,
not all of them occur on an explicit battlefield.  Mary and the others exhort
him to do whatever it is he can for the person he loves, and he resolves to
pitch in with the rest of Zexis until the day he can meet Louise once more.

Elsewhere, Zechs finds himself posted to Lint's squadron, demoted but unbowed.
Lint tries his usual tactic of belittling Zechs for his insubordination and,
most of all, getting called on it, but given that Treize helped Zechs avoid a
court martial, Zechs claims to have no complaints.  His goal is to fight
Gundams, and they're all just across the border with China: if he's got to
submit to Lint's authority to get his shot, that's what he'll do.  Lint figures
that Treize would have only cast aside his personal minion if Oz itself was
about to collapse, realizing perhaps that the Mobile Doll system is about to
make soldiers obsolete.

Katy has an interesting dilemma on her hands.  The CB's tactics have all the
earmarks of Lisa Kujou, her closest friend during her time at the International
University.  What would she make of the "Dolls", Katy wonders.  Her reverie is
interrupted by Zechs' greeting, he as newly-demoted enlisted man to her as an
officer.  He tells her that his exile by Treize was on account of his distaste
for the Romfellar Conglomerate -- read: on account of his personal crusade
against the Gundams.  Zechs' beef seems to be that the Gundam pilots fight
according to personal emotion, which according to him (and many others) is
verboten during time of war.  Katy, plainly, is skeptical.

Zechs knows that his dismissal from Oz is its dethknell, and that Arrows is
poised to assume control of the Federation military.  Then might explain why
Koorasawar is here, despite Katy's best efforts to dissuade him.  In typical
annoying fashion, he declares that he's here to keep her safe, fearing nothing
the dreaded Gundams can try to do to him.  Zechs is actually envious of the
guy, for one reason: unlike Zechs, Koorasawar actually has something he
believes in.  Mr. Bushido seems to have that too, and is immensely grateful
for being able to fight alongside Zechs again.

This scene strikes Healing as more than a little absurd, given that all of them
are on the verge of becoming obsolete.  Revive takes a brighter view of the
levity, but is concerned about the whereabouts of their new weaponry.  Late
as usual, meaning this base will probably have to fend off Zexis with the Dolls
alone.  Still, with two Innovators on the scene, how bad could things get?

..Is that a rhetorical question?  Is it a meta-rhetorical question if the
narrator poses it to himself?  Anyway, Jeffrey opens by telling the Arrows
forces that Zexis requests permission to "observe" them.  Sumeragi is quite
shocked to learn that her old friend is among the Arrows, but the main question
is which side's will is stronger.  It's hard to find a stronger will than
Zero's, as he tells Katy in no uncertain terms that Zexis operates on the side
of Justice.  Of course, everyone has their own view of what is Just, and if
Arrows can't come to an agreement with Zexis, well...  Zero doesn't get to
finish his sentence though, as _someone_ from inside the base starts shooting.
Lint says that this was inevitable anyway with Zexis obstructing the mission,
and Katy is forced to order the troops into battle.  This isn't exactly what
most of the Zexis folks wanted, but they're certainly not going to back away.

 Zechs gets his ass handed to him, or rather his heart's ass handed to him,
 given that his mech is still sort of in one piece.  The Arrows cannon fodder
 have bought enough time for Healing and Revive to take the field in their
 new mecha.  As they scan the Zexis troops, they're displeased to find at
 least one pilot (Camille) who can sense their unnatural powers.  Tielia
 murmurs that they're Innovators, and before he can explain they sortie a
 horde of Torases.

 Katy is shocked to see the Mobile Dolls on the field, and when Lint snidely
 tells her not to worry her pretty little head over them, she gets on the horn
 and warns "Kujou" about what they are: weapons that shouldn't exist.
 Sumeragi hastily explains about these unmanned mecha's prowess, and an
 incensed Zechs shouts that these unmanned weapons are "weapons" no longer,
 but rather tools of murder!  Lint asks if he, like Katy, is betraying him,
 and Zechs bellows that these machines are a betrayal of all mankind.

 Mr. Bushido is relieved to see that rage has finally cleared Zechs'
 conscience, seemingly uncaring that Zechs is now temporarily on the other
 team.  The Mobile Dolls aren't _all_ that threatening, but someone unexpected
 shows up who is: Sarches, still alive despite having half his body burned
 to ash.  As the new Lockon gets to meet the old Lockon's killer, Sarches
 unveils yet another surprise: vintage mecha from ZEUTH's world!  He's proud
 of his new master's deviousness in procuring them, and warns the team that
 they too are part of the Mobile Doll system.  Sumeragi tells Zero that this
 battle has to end _fast_ when faced with so many of these, and Zero orders
 the troops in turn to make it snappy.

 Sarches' forces aren't that big an irritant either, but the stress of battle
 is starting to pile up a bit.  Things get worse yet when another wave of
 Mobile Dolls appear.  Zechs now realizes in full what Treize wanted him to
 see: the machinations of madmen who build machines to do their killing for
 them, and do it with brute, overwhelming force.  He rushes into the midst of
 the enemy in fury, crying out to his former friend Treize that he's with him
 till his mask crumbles... which is quite soon actually.  Still, he managed to
 punch a hole through the enemy lines, and Zero has everyone make good their
 escape...

 ...Everybody but Hiiro, who's concluded that the whole team will be lost
 unless someone destroys this base.  He braves enemy fire to reach the main
 reactor, intending to self-destruct and take it with him, but Trois shows up
 and tells him he's not allowed to die yet.

The other pilots panic when they realize Hiiro didn't make it out, but Duo
tells them to take the chill.  Hiiro is nothing if not the kind of guy who gets
things done.  Had those things involved a flashy self-destruct sequence, the
base would be visible as a mushroom cloud by now -- and since it isn't, Hiiro
must have had some other errand to run instead.  Not that self-destructing
would be enough to kill him, but hey.

The main issue now is the Mobile Doll system, and its providers the Innovators.
Sumeragi isn't willing to talk about her relationship with the Arrows
commander, but she's forthcoming about the Mobile Doll's concept -- which she
herself proposed in her thesis: "Tactical Theory and Estimated Damage Magnitude
for Autonomous Mechanized Combat".  As a strategist with the AEU, she enlisted
Oz's help to make her theories reality... but the engineering proved much
harder than the theory, and only after years of effort was the AEU able to
run a real test.  And in that real test... the Mobile Dolls misidentified their
target, and virtually annihilated their friendly forces -- among whom was
someone very precious to her.  In the aftermath, the Mobile Doll system was
shelved, and she herself left and joined the CBs.

Her original proposal was an attempt to reduce the human cost of war, which
turns out to be an incoherent idea.  To the extent that war is by the people,
for the people, it must be "the people" who conduct -- and conclude -- it.
What she saw today was entirely in line with her thesis, and all that's
required is installing the system in the ultimate mech for the plan to be
complete.  The infusion of mecha from another world is troubling, and the
quantity involved precludes simply recreating a few of them from ZEUTH's
battle records.  Somehow they got their hands on the genuine article, and the
real question is how Zexis can take down someone capable of such a feat.

That's where the Innovators come in.  Tielia has finally gathered the courage
to relate what he found out at the party, from actually meeting an Innovator
face to face.  They are essentially biological terminals for Veda, and have
been pulling strings behind Alejandro and those like him for some time.  It is
they who made the Thrones, and they who leaked the Pseudo-GN Drive to the Feds.
Tielia had kept silent this long because the Innovators claimed to be the
true inheritors of Ioria's plans, which would make Zexis in the wrong if true.
Of course, it's false.

For now, the team needs to go into hiding and plot their next move against
the Innovators.  With perfect timing, a message comes in from Banjou about
some newly-acquired information.  Though Arrows won't be invading China any
time soon, the odds seem to be on them devouring Oz, becoming stronger in the
process.  At least, as Lockon points out, one enemy is easier to aim at than
two.  Sumeragi has to wonder what's keeping Katy, who should well know the
terror of the Mobile Dolls, allied with Arrows...

Delmeier is painting the battle as a victory for the Mobile Doll system, and a
chance to join with Arrows to create a lasting peace.  Treize isn't trying to
hear that, insistent that mankind doesn't need _victory_ so much as _fighting_
itself.  Romfellar's heartless killing machines will go down as a shameful
chapter in Earth's history, but at least there are a few warriors out there who
meet and even exceed Treize's high hopes for humanity.  Without any hope of
reward, these "Losers" [his wording, not mine] soldier on, and he wishes to be
one of them.  Delmeier announces that Treize is to be stripped of all authority
and imprisoned in Romfellar HQ, which is just fine with him.  Let the stalwarts
of Zexis carry out the flame, free to act as their hearts dictate.

Back at Oz HQ, it appears that everything has gone as Schneizer has planned.
Kanon is on hand to play explicator: it was Schneizer who leaked Delmeier's
Innovator contacts to Treize, as well as the state of the Mobile Doll program.
Schneizer pretty much expected that Treize would freak, and though he claims
to still be Treize's "friend", he says that the defenders of world order have
to keep higher principles in mind.  And Delmeier seems to have it right: what
this world wants right now is an overwhelming "Victor" -- none of this "Loser"
business.  Kanon moves to redouble the efforts of Invorg and Toromo, as both
she and Schneizer know their position isn't exactly immune to the encroaching
influence of the Innovators either.  For now though, Schneizer is off to
deepen Delmeier's trust in him by soothing the tumult caused by Treize's
seeming defection.

We next find Treize cleaning out his office and chatting with Quatro.  He
expected Schneizer to pull something sneaky, and is pretty confident that
Schneizer doesn't realize how he arranged for Zechs' escape from Oz' demise.
Treize also has a parting gift for Quatro: information on where Amuro was
transferred to.  He's with the Innovators for reasons unknown, and at precise
location Treize hasn't been able to pin down yet, but Quatro won't be going
hunting empty-handed.  Treize has arranged for Quatro to become a "Licenser"
like the Knights of the Round or Mr. Bushido, guaranteed at least enough
freedoms to get from point to point.  Quatro asks why Treize, who seems aware
of the world's peril, didn't do more to avert it.  Answer: Treize's hands are
already too dirty.  Quatro will certainly do whatever he can to see that
Treize's wishes come true.


CHAPTER 20. Black and White

Zechs wakes up in a strange bed, making the understandable [from the cast list]
mistake that Xingke is Hiiro when he hears his voice from the shadows.  Xingke
found Zech's mech crashed near China's borders, and decided to take him into
personal custody in light of the events of the previous battle.  Zechs wants
to know if his mech is a total writeoff, and luckily for him it's not.  He's
not surprised to hear that Zechs has been relieved of command, having more or
less expected as much for some time.

He _is_ surprised to hear that Zexis is headed for the Dark Continent, whose
fringes are still outside the dimensional distortion and (barely) habitable.
It's a good place to lay low from the newly-emboldened Arrows, and Zechs might
be well advised to follow.  He does indeed intend to leave, but he's not
decided a direction yet.  Xingke therefore introduces him to a man named
Howard, who is responsible for both healing his injuries and fixing his
Tallgeese.  Amazingly, he's one of the same people who developed the Colonial
Gundams in the first place -- and if Zechs is going to make anything of
himself he's going to need some of his knowhow.  Correction: "Zechs" died
along with that ridiculous mask: now it's the Milliard Peacecraft show!

By *SHEER COINCIDENCE*, Northern Africa is where the Heim farm is located, and
the army is coming for a little friendly "chat" upon the morrow.  Of course,
the army folks in question are a bunch of bandits, and the natural thing to do
for the Yapanese folks would be to shoot them all.  This would have the
unfortunate side effect of mixing all the migrant workers up in a full-scale
war, but Princess Ana is determined to meet force with force.  She should
probably have been leading this circus from the start, but when it comes to
agriculture Rolan seems to have the greenest thumb.  At any rate, Gain knows
that the worst possible thing they could do is to resist the army _halfway_
and piss them off.

Either the bad guys need to be trounced so thoroughly that _their_ masters
lose any taste for revenge, or the bad guys have to get deflected in such a way
that their masters can still save face.  Given that Rolan doesn't want to
unseal the Turn A (which he _still_ insists on calling the "White Doll"), and
that Harry and the others aren't here, it seems like Plan B is it.  Even Gain
doesn't know what to do concretely, and this is where a Negotiator might come
in handy.  If only there was one around!

Two guesses which bad guys reenter the narrative at this point, and if you get
either of them wrong you haven't been paying attention.  It is of course Beck
and Timp, up to their usual no-good stuff.  Beck is actually rather disgusted
with his hired help, a bunch of degenerates from the army who seemed all too
eager to go pillage a helpless farm.  Timp has a bad feeling that the farm
might not be all that helpless, but Beck is sure that the troops can squish
anyone who resists (or, doesn't resist for that matter).

Timp's worried enough that he wants a cigarette, and that has Kan Yur furious:
doesn't he know how flammable the Polymering Gel used in the mecha is?!  Timp
and Beck could care less how many friends Kan Yur's lost to Gel accidents,
telling him to piss off and find himself a real job -- if anyone would take his
stuck-up ass in, that is.

Banter ends abruptly when the farm representatives show up: an exotic woman and
a spunky kid sidekick.  Beck has to tell Kan Yur to keep it in his pants, and
he and Timp try asking nicely for the farm to be handed over.  Nothing doing:
"Lola-Lola" isn't about to relinquish what it took so many people so much
blood, sweat and tears to build.  Things rapidly break down when Kan Yur
directly threatens direct military action, triggering Roger's intervention to
even the odds.  Translation: Big O time.

Roger drops Ana and Lola-Lola safely back at the farm, glad in a way that
the enemy were so easy to provoke into showing their true colors.  To be sure
he trashed their base on the way out, but only in the "interest of protecting
the farm's representatives".  Yeah right.  He also made sure to get a tape
recording of the negotiations, for use in a court of law in case it becomes
relevant.  In fact, he didn't even get a real chance to do any Negotiation,
but even Dorothy agrees that the punks they're dealing with wouldn't have
appreciated it anyway.

 So much for living the quiet life in North Africa, huh?  On the other hand,
 for Roger this is both a paying gig and a chance to exercise his brand of
 justice.  Gain and friends are ready to back him up, but a new menace
 appears: Marilyn Cat, with a full complement of Insalaum troops at her back.
 Timp and Beck aren't exactly thrilled to see her again, which might have
 something to do with how she introduces herself: with her D-Extractor.
 Dorothy recognizes this as something very dangerous.

 Things get weirder yet when the Turn A starts up on its own and flies onto
 the scene from the nearby mountains.  Is the Executor System somehow
 operative again?  Whatever's responsible, Rolan and friends rush over to
 stop the Turn A rampaging around... but not before Marilyn pouts about
 having her fun battle interrupted.  It turns out she's been pursuing Roger
 all this time (as Banjou had warned him) in the hopes of acquiring his all-
 black mech to match her outfit.  Roger isn't even trying to hear that noise,
 so Marilyn vows to crush both the black and white mecha.  Beck and Timp are
 more or less forced to helping her out.

 It seems the Turn-A Gundam is destined to fight another war, and fortunately
 it won't have to do it alone.  Zexis shows up to fulfill their contract
 with Banjou to find Roger, kind of unthrilled that he's gotten himself in
 trouble already.  They're also not pleased to see Marilyn and her new
 mech the Pallfang, sort of a recolored version of Margret's Pallnail.  Still,
 the recording Roger made is good for convincing the regular Federation
 troops to flee, lest they be punished for outright lawlessness... leaving
 the three commanders to face the music alone.  Of course, if they actually
 _beat_ Zexis all will be forgiven... but that seems somehow unlikely.

 Timp is immensely grateful a certain round-headed ruffian isn't on hand, but
 as it turns out he still gets the short end of the stick.  Beck too falls
 afoul of the last person he expected to see here (Roger), and is left with
 no choice but a strategic advance to the rear.  Even Marilyn has to leave in
 a huff after her shiny new mech gets scratched.

However, Marilyn's efforts were merely part of a larger Insalaum strategy,
which entails getting rid of that troublesome dimensional distortion that's
been walling off much of the continent.  Presumably this is a prologue to
invading it, emplacing a ZONE in it, or God knows what else.  The positive
spin is that this is the team's big chance to hunt down the Insalaum folks and
extract information to help get Setsuko back.

That will require a bit more firepower than the team has at present, and with
the Dark Continent now unsealed, maybe the team can re-recruit the Great
Gurren Gang?  Roger doesn't know much about what the Insalaum folks are up to,
but he recalls how interested Eim was in the Big O: something about it must be
related to his missing memories.  Unfortunately for Crow, Roger isn't likely
to be of much help in lessening his debts -- but at least there's a whole
continent full of money-making opportunities just opened up!

Now how's this for a coincidence: Tifa has just gone on a trip with Harry,
Wits and Roaby.  Apparently they're off on some business for Sandman and
Fudou, and Tifa deliberately wanted to go without Garode in order to, in her
words, be the one to save him for a change.  Garode decides to trust in her,
continuing his journeys with Zexis instead.  Rolan and several of the others
join up too, leaving the farm in Shakko's capable hands.  Potalia and friends
are still fighting the Feds to a stalemate in Kumen, but according to Shakko
Goat and the others have vanished somewhere along the line.  Kiriko is sure
they'll resurface again somewhere, and Shakko tells Karen not to fret over
Potalia: he, like her, has something to fight for.  Something for which he
won't die easily...


CHAPTER 21. [Route Split]
Yup, time to divide the team up again, in light of recent world events.  The
CBs and Crushers (including the SMS) are going to check things out in space,
drawing some of Arrows' attention away from the team remaining on the Surface.
Zero will continue to lead said forces into the heart of the Dark Continent,
counting on Saeki as vice commander for those occasions when Zero will be on
the front lines.  Hopefully the next time they see each other, both sides will
have garnered some additional firepower with which to withstand the fierce
battles to come.

Crow gets the unenviable task of choosing which battlefield to fight on -- made
all the more unenviable thanks to Esther skipping around and promising to go
with him to whatever end.  Crow manages to get a bit of money from all the
combat data he's gathered, but Traia tells him it'll take vastly more data than
that to get him entirely debt-free.  If he wants to concentrate on anyone, it
should be the Insalaum forces: their mecha isn't of Earth origin and hence is
_very_ fascinating to whoever buys all this data.

[Crow can choose to go on either route.  For the Dark Continent, go to 21D.
For space, go to 21S.)

Back in his throne room, Yuusar is getting some bad news from Unblown: the
ZONE they planned to plant in North Africa is going to take a while longer to be
ready.  Maybe he should focus on the older ones?  Inwardly, Unblown wonders
why her mystery collaborator wanted Africa free.  For now, the team will shift
emphasis to other ZONE sites.  Yuusar reckons (incorrectly) that his Arcsabers
are strong enough even without the ZONE to defeat Earth's armies, but Unblown
disabuses him of that notion right quickly.  She wishes him pleasant dreams as
she takes her leave, and Yuusar wonders if any of them are entitled to pleasant
dreams after getting elbow-deep in forbidden science.

Margret then comes in at his invitation, and he asks her to tell him more about
Zexis.  She looks very sad, and says that while she swears to defend him in
battle, she's not a woman worthy of his affections.  SHUT DOWN!


CHAPTER 21D. Within the Flow of Time

Let's review who's been stuck inside the Dark Continent all this time: the
Great Gurren Gang, and the Getter team.  The last Gain heard, they were busy
battling someone or other near Tepperin.  Supposedly the Beastmen made pax with
the humans after the Spiral Lord was killed, but it's anybody's guess whether
that really happened.  Hell, if the humans can't even maintain peaceful
relations among themselves, how much harder yet to achieve interspecies peace?
Ask Simon and Nia, maybe?  Setting aside the merits of Kirkian Diplomacy for
the moment, Shotarou and Ana are both glad to see how much leadership each
other has developed... though it's a question whether this admiration will
get Shotarou in trouble with Mackie when he gets home.

As the fleet advance into the Dark Continent, the sight of the badlands out the
window seems somehow badder than before.  Getter Rays or whatnot?  Nobody
knows yet, but Kappei wants to go investigate with just Watta at his side.
Boyish fun, or MANish fun?!?  OH TEH SCANDALZ.  ...Or not: apparently they just
don't want Shotarou's seriousness spoiling the mood.  The mood kind of spoils
itself though when the pilots finally get a close-up glimpse of the dessicated
landscape.

Lakshata's advanced the theory that the whole area was irradiated by a Getter
Ray burst around ten years ago, and although the background count seems low
enough that no acute effects are felt by humanity, SOMETHING is out of place
still.  That's interesting, because ten years ago would be _before_ the
Breaking, and indeed before Zexis last visited this place.  How could that be?
Well, that's why the fleet has stopped to investigate, and why the pilots get
a serious talking-to by Ana for trying to have a picnic in the middle of what
might be a second Chernobyl.

And guess what, there are Beastmen lurking around too!  They shout out that
the "government army" isn't going to have their way with them, and the Zexis
pilots have no choice but to defend themselves.  The Beastmen sound desperate,
and waste no time hauling out their Gunmen and commencing bombardment.  But
new allies are on hand, in mecha somehow resembling the Gurren Lagann.  They
seem to know Ana, and help cover her escape with a barrage of their own.
The mecha are piloted by Dalie and Gimie, with Hayato and Shikijima backing
them up in their mothership.  They remember Ana from their earliest childhood
memories, and can't understand why she hasn't aged a day.  Hayato orders them
to save it for later.

 Hayato figures that time is running short for everyone, now that the
 Dimensional Walls have been breached.  He's got to hurry, even if things
 must be sacrificed along the way...

 The Zexis armada shows up in short order, amazed to find Viral leading a
 group of guerillas a year after the Spiral Lord's defeat.  He scoffs at the
 notion of a single year's fighting, but neither he nor Hayato elaborate on
 the interesting trick the dimensions seem to have played on everyone.
 Viral is focused on buying enough time for the transport loaded with materiel
 to escape, so the rebels can fight another day.

 Toudou can tell that Viral is fighting for a higher purpose.  What that
 purpose is is something Shikijima hopes to find out when Viral's mech is
 shot down: hopefully the ground troops can capture the guy for questioning.
 Whatever is going on around here does _not_ seem to be the typical
 interspecies rivalry...

 If you're a competent player, Viral's heroics won't stop the team from
 intercepting all the transports.  The ground forces do indeed nab all the
 fleeing Beastmen, and though Hayato promises to tell Zexis everything they
 need to know once he's done, he recommends that they don't watch what he's
 got to do next.

Hayato confronts Viral after the battle, and it's clear Viral has a lot on his
mind.  Though on opposite sides, he once respected Hayato and his teammates
as noble warriors.  But what he'd doing _now_ is no different from Lowgenome,
who Zexis worked so hard to kill.  He asks if Hayato means to kill him, not
caring if he does as his immortal body has lost its meaning now that the Spiral
Lord is gone.  Hayato would kill him readily, if by taking a single life he
could solve this mess.  Instead, Shikijima means to put him to good use after
all, and orders him taken to "Kamina City", formerly known as Tepperin.

The Zexis pilots have in fact watched the exchange, vaguely aghast at how
scary Hayato has gotten.  It seems the folks inside the Dark Continent have
been through a lot in the last ten years, which to the outside world have
gone past as only one...


CHAPTER 21S. The Legendary Voice

As the team heads to space, Ian takes the time to gather several different
people's views on the CB Gundams versus the Colonial ones.  The result is the
same in all cases: though they're all Mobile Suits, they have major differences
at all levels.  Ian had thought there'd be more in common, and it's now up to
him to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new theory.  He asks
Saji to keep his part in the investigation secret, and tells him he's free to
head to the Quarter to catch the Twinkle Project show.  Saji isn't really up
for such levity, and Ian grimaces as he notes that Saji is turning out just
like Setsuna and the other Meisters -- unlike the Colonial pilots, the CBs
always find it hard to relax with the ever-present weight of their pasts on
their shoulders.  They are all of them human, and ought to have joy in their
life to balance out the grief.  Ian's fondest wish for his protege is that he
not lose that part of his life, as what Ian and Setsuna themselves have.
Tricky a bit, since Saji's life used to feature Louise prominently...

Most of the pilots are seriously star-struck as the Twinkle Project folks
come aboard, but Alto watches the scene from a distance with a distinctly
furrowed brow.  Esther bags on him for always being awkward around the two
idol stars, and he retorts that the crew's level of laxity is, under the
circumstances, insane.  Grace apologizes to them all for using the Macross
Quarter in lieu of a normal shuttle, citing concerns over terrorist attack as
the reason she wanted aboard.  It seems that even the sturdiest of bodyguards
(such as Brela, whose presence isn't making Alto any less edgy) aren't
enough to stem the constant threats on the idols' lives.  Nanase can't quite
fathom why Alto and Michelle wanted to become soldiers, and Klan tells her
to chat about it with Luka when she sees him again.  Klan's very good at
playing Cupid, but less able to express her own feelings...

Ironically, Zexis is actually safer with the Twinkle Project aboard, at least
insofar as Arrows will have a harder time coming up with excuses to attack the
biggest cultural phenomenon this decade.  Grace figures it's a good arrangement
for all concerned, letting everyone recharge their batteries somewhat.  That
flusters Alto a bit, which Sheryl finds extremely sexy.  Of all the pilots
on the scene, Quatre is about the only one who isn't benefitting from the power
of song.  Oh, he's trying to, but the absence of Trois and Hiiro, the new
weaponry for Arrows, and all that other gloomy stuff are just weighing him
down.  Wufei tells him to grow a pair and make himself useful, unless he
really thinks Crow and the others are merely airheadedly enjoying having
celebrities in their midst.

Newsflash though: if Grace's plan was to _decrease_ the likelihood of Arrows
intervention, it seems not to have worked all that well.  The Arrows forces
wait about as long as it takes for Jeffrey to tell them that they've got the
Twinkle Project aboard before opening fire for "anti-government actions".
They score a lucky(?) shot that damages the Quarter's information systems,
preventing them from just flying out of danger.  That forces Jeffrey to have
Sumeragi sortie the fighters.

Ranka and Sheryl are confident in Alto and the others' protection, even if
some aboard the Quarter (read: Nanase) aren't at first.  Ranka starts
singing, bringing a strange sense of calm to the scene... presumably bolstered
by her meeting Alto.  Grace has been planning this all along, and seemingly
had Brela sabotage the ship's controls.  Now it's just a matter of waiting till
They show up.

They are the Vajra, and they're quite punctual.  The Arrows commander gets his
forces out of the area quick, satisfied that he's carried out his orders to
ensure that the Quarter gets attacked.  Let Zexis fend off this menace to
mankind, if they can.  Not only can they, but Alto is determined to protect
the singers completely.

 Analysis shows that this batch of Vajra were stronger than the previous
 set, almost as though they were learning and improving on the fly.  It seems
 impossible to refer to these as mere "stray" Vajra: they're part of some
 kind of organized force that seems intent, once again, on menacing the Earth.
 Is it good luck or bad luck that the team ran into them so soon after coming
 to space?  Touga says is his usual brainless way that maybe the Vajra are
 fans of the Twinkle Project, and that actually starts Alto thinking... is
 there some connection with Ranka?

 Meanwhile, a new sight greets the team: a "Galactic Whale", or "Barlaena"
 as the residents of Michelle's homeworld Zora call it.  Nobody really knows
 if these masses of energy are actually sentient or not, but they're quite
 a sight nonetheless, especially in a large group.  They depart quickly, but
 not before Crow gets a huge amount of valuable footage.  It's unclear if
 they appeared due to all the interdimensional instability, but there's no
 greater sight to make one realize how space really is an ocean.

 Another Fold begins, as more Vajra pour in to spoil the moment.  But hot on
 their tail is none other than Nekki Basara, whose songs drive the things
 away.  The team vaguely remember how he was the source of the Song Energy
 so vital to winning the previous war, and it would seem that this is the
 genuine article, arriving across space and time when the world needs him
 most.

 But he's not the only one to arrive uninvited-like: a large contingent of
 Gishin are next to appear, wreathed in scary dark energy.  Their leader
 names himself "Metarl" of the Gestalt, declaring that they all exist for
 two purposes only: killing Mars and taking over the Earth.  All his servants,
 survivors of the Gishin and Zeravia, have all been lured by the Dark Power,
 the ultimate Force in the universe according to this guy.  According to
 Basara, he's a fuckhead blowhard who's about to get his clock cleaned, and
 although it seems the height of recklessness for a mere singer to charge
 the enemy, the team has to admit that his songs are making their hearts
 lighter.  If Metarl is a servant of the Dark Power, Basara is a servant of
 Life Power, and therefore on Metarl's kill list.

 Metarl in fact doesn't kill anyone today, but he vows to sooner or later:
 as long as there is Darkness, he's INVINCIBLE!  Mu ah ha ha ha ha.  Ha.


No word on what this Dark Power actually is, or what the hell Basara is doing
here either as the guy flies off somewhere.  This is a bit of a disappointment
to the idol singers, for whom Basara is a sort of eternal idol among idols.
Crow's got plenty of gunsight footage that will serve as a nice present to
Ozuma, one of Basara's biggest fans.  Alto, on the other hand, seems fit to be
tied -- the idea of a heavy metal dude appearing out of nowhere and flying
a fighter plane is, to say the least, a major shock.  It would certainly
explain a lot if this was the genuine article: his abrupt "hiatus" back home
would be due to his being teleported to this spacetime-line.  News of the
legendary Voice is sure to cause a stir among the Frontier fleet's people.

Alto, it turns out, feels that he some how lost to Basara's piloting prowess,
and vows to exceed him the next time they share the skies.  A tall order
perhaps, but if Basara is a genius pilot, Alto may be an even bigger genius...
or at least a more determined, harder-working one.  Plus, he's got two mega-
idol singers pulling for him, which everyone except Esther finds pretty kick-
ass.  Esther wanted Alto to hug Ranka and apologize for not sharing her
enthusiasm about meeting Basara, and Klan stammers that she shouldn't force her
standards on others.  A new mystery arises at this point: where as Grace gone
off to?  And that hotshot bodyguard too, for that matter.  Is Grace thinking of
scouting Basara for her concert?

In fact, she's busy chatting with Ribbons.  He's an enthusiastic supporter of
the Twinkle Project, which somehow suits his purposes well.  He promises to
help bring Basara into the fold, further increasing the concentration of idol
power that history tells us is the perfect tool for influencing the masses.
And yet, Ribbons doesn't see himself as a Ruler per se.  As Grace hangs up,
Amuro walks in for his regularly-scheduled chat with Ribbons.  He's obviously
an unhappy camper, kept a virtual prisoner in this facility and very displeased
with what Arrows is up to.  Ribbons says that Arrows is just a tool, and that
his ultimate objective lies beyond them.  But today's conversation isn't about
the revolutionizing of mankind; rather, it's about how best to communicate with
that which is totally foreign...


CHAPTER 22D. Sortie, New Warriors!

Something is badly fucked in the Dark Continent, as evidenced by the fact that
Benkei and several cohorts have been cowering in an underground village whose
existence Viral has been instrumental in protecting.  They're on the surface
now, and headed to Kamina City to get their answers.  Some of Benkei's
companions' parents once met the legendary first leader of the Gurren Gang,
which he'd just as soon they'd not heard of from Viral.  It seems he knows
more than he's willing to let on about why a bunch of humans have gone back to
living underground, and though he intends to tell his companions when they
reach Kamina City, he even more wants to ask Hayato what he's thinking...

Speaking of Hayato, he's cloistered with the Zexis brass discussing what's been
going on for the past decade.  It's pointless to try to identify which time
stream is "correct", which reminds the ZEUTH folks of the Multidimensional
World they came from.  Hayato acknowledges that he and his teammates were
fighting against Shin Dragon at the time of the Quake, which Hayato suspects
of actually _causing_ said Quake.

Shikijima, busy talking with the pilots, shares this theory.  He believes that
Shin Dragon caused the Quake to avoid getting hit by Getter's Graviton
Missiles.  This Shikijima is the father of the scientist who took Shotarou in,
or so he tells the gullible kid: in fact, there's no relation at all.  Nobody
knows what became of Shin Dragon, as all the pilots and mecha present that day
were tossed all over the Dark Continent in the aftermath of the Quake.  Apart
from the temporary dimensional isolation and the elevated Getter Ray count, the
continent hasn't fared so poorly, and Shikijima has been roaming around trying
to figure out why.  It's taken a good ten years, and during that time Simon and
the other Gurren Gang members have formed the nucleus of the government that's
kept everybody safe.  What of Ryouma, Benkei and Musashi, then?

The young pilots hesitate at this point, so Shikijima fills in: Musashi died
fighting Shin Dragon.  Ryouma and Shin Getter are both missing in the aftermath
of the Graviton blast, and Benkei and Genki have both been living in the
badlands... perhaps due to opposition to the way the government's been doing
things.  Viral was in fact the leader of the resistance, though with his
capture they're presumably going to settle down.

The Zexis pilots are frowning pretty seriously by this point, vexed by many
questions from the previous showdown with Lowgenome.  What seemed at the time
like a battle between human and Beastman is clearly something else, especially
given that Benkei and friends are clearly living in harmony with said Beasts.
That makes it an ideological clash, and even Shikijima doesn't have a concise
summary of the issue at hand.  Is that just an excuse for not being _willing_
to discuss them?  Not if Gimie, an avowed Roshiu apologist, is to be believed.
The Zexis pilots are understandably still dubious, but full disclosure will
have to wait till the team gets to talk to Simon personally, but that will have
to wait until at least one more enemy raid is dealt with.  These enemies are
almost certainly Invaders, who haven't been heard from since the Dark
Continent became isolated -- which raises interesting questions about their
relation to the people and items _on_ said continent all this time.  Shikijima
seems to relish the fact that the Invaders' presence heralds the approaching
End of the World...

The enemy are indeed Invaders, and the two young warriors are determined to
show they're up to the challenge.  Hayato and Shikijima agree that their
presence on this Continent must mean there's a Marker somewhere nearby -- could
"it" still be alive?

 In short order, a detachment from the regular Federation army shows up,
 equipped with the latest in prototype super robots.  It seems like a good
 thing that they're making themselves useful, but Roger has to wonder
 precisely what they're doing here, and with such perfect timing to boot.
 Unfortunately, the Invaders seem to have fused with the very machines that
 were brought in to defeat them: somehow they've evolved since the last time
 they were present.  This is as Ashura, who shows up with some troops too,
 has foreseen.  Hayato plans to interrogate Ashura thoroughly to find out what
 (s)he knows about the Invaders, but plans change when Benkei and friends
 are spotted in the war zone.

 Benkei tells his friends to flee these abnormal Invaders, but there's no way
 to get clear in time.  No way, except when the real Getter Robo shows up,
 piloted by Gou.  Benkei and Kei have no choice but to get aboard, seeing
 as how Getter needs three pilots for full potency.  Hayato and Shikijima are
 amazed to see Shin Getter looking just as it did ten years ago.  Ashura
 declares that this apostle of Destruction must be eliminated, and it seems
 that a three-way battle is brewing...

The battle is big, fierce, and actually not all that threatening.  Ashura gets
sent packing as always, this time with a bit of help from the mysterious Gou.
Schwartz has little choice but to hang out with the Zexis folks, who like his
(now destroyed) squadron are intent on surveying the Dark Continent.  Schwartz
isn't precisely thrilled at hanging out with the supposedly anti-Federation
forces, but Zero falls back on his usual standard of proof: Schwartz should
judge with his own eyes the kind of results Zexis produces.  Fair enough, and
in return for having free run of the ship Schwartz says that Arrows is on the
move.  He hates them about as much as he hates Zexis, and in some sense that
makes him an ideal Zexis participant.

Benkei walks in at this point, intent on having Hayato explain what the
government is up to.  Hayato asks if Benkei left Kamina City for Genki's sake,
and Benkei replies that Genki's died in an accident.  Kei comes in to find out
what her father Benkei is up to, and Hayato realizes that she must be why Gou
sprung into action.  He remains cagey about the government's actions, letting
it suffice to say that they're necessary and that, in the days to come, the
weak will be unfit to live.  That understandably enrages Benkei, but it turns
out he's been wounded ever since the first Invader attacked and barely keeping
the bleeding in check.  Hayato can only shake his head at how this tough guy
was able to pilot Getter in that condition.  He tells Benkei, who's fading
fast, to rest his ass in bed for now and vent his grievances to Him when they
reach Kamina City.

Gou has been sitting in perfect silence since reaching the hangar, vastly more
insular than even Kiriko in his finest moments.  None of Benkei's followers
have heard from him anything more than Gou's name and that Benkei somehow met
him before.  Gou perks right up when he sees Kei, declaring that he _will_
defend her with Getter.  ...Uh, okay?  So.... why's he here protecting her?
Because she is being protected by him, here, now.  Protecting her _with_
circular logic, _from_ the return of the Invaders.  This will be a bit of a
feat, since Getter requires three pilots, and Gou tells Benkei's protege Gai to
step up to the plate.  Gai _was_ a mechanic for Gou after all, and there
really isn't anything better to do, especially if he doesn't like what the
government has been up to of late.  Gai mans up, and a new Getter Team is born.

From the sidelines, Gimie and Dalie think they recognize Kei from somewhere.
Shikijima tells them to keep a lid on it: everything will be solved in time.
And that time isn't far off, if his guess is right...


CHAPTER 22S. Ranka Attack!

Lady Une has decided to pay Mishima a visit: two peas in an extremely poisonous
pod.  She's got Kira and Aslan in tow, both as bodyguards and as proteges at
combatless diplomacy.  The boys dislike him on sight, recognizing how prone he
is to looking down on others from what he thinks is a position of safety.  Lady
won't be staying long, as there is some suspicious activity around the L4
Colonies that needs investigating.  Mishima smirks, expressing puzzlement why
Lady Une doesn't take it easier now that Treize is out of office.

The L4 Colonies are the Winner House's stomping grounds, and Quatre too is
interested in checking out the rumors of suspicious activity.  He isn't sure
his peace-loving father has yet forgiven him for becoming a Gundam pilot, and
doesn't know if his father will ask for Zexis' help, but there's no way the
guy will sit entirely idle once he hears what's really going on in the world.
Quatre means to slip away without making Esther worry over him; he's happy that
Setsuna gets in a proper goodbye though.  He hopes when he returns that he'll
be at least a bit more equal Setsuna and Hiiro's level of resolve.  Setsuna
tells Saji that he's firmly convinced that if Quatre can manage to convey his
gentleness to the world, peace will surely be the result.

Mishima's got a busy calendar today, entertaining Ranka next.  He believes
her songs are the key to fending off the Vajra, and has some scientists from
the L.A.I. Institute in attendance for the Twinkle Project.  Among them is
Luka, who's been hard at work on a "Fold Wave Amplifier".  The Twinkle Project
is indeed a legitimate concert series, but it's also a top-secret research
project that even Sheryl hasn't been filled in on.

Grace intends to add "Aimo" to the set list, knowing that it's the nearest and
dearest to Ranka's heart.  That gives it a power that Grace is counting on
very much to help save the world from the Vajra.  Mishima has Grace hire Zexis
to watch over the experiment, knowing that this will put Ranka somewhat more at
ease.  Let Operation Twinkle begin!

When Alto hears about all this, he wants to talk things over with Ranka.
Grace isn't inclined to let him, making the excuse that Ranka's a little
nervous just now.  Ranka will be singing from the Destroid Monster, and Eiyda
assures Alto that she'll be around to protect her.  This should theoretically
allow him to concentrate on the Vajra, but there's one important missing
detail: Sheryl.  Where exactly is she, and does she really agree with this
project?  For that matter, where the hell is Ozuma, who you'd expect to be
breaking his ass to keep his beloved "sister" out of harm's way.  Nothing for
it, sighs Bobby, but to wait and to keep Ranka safe and sound in the meantime.

Brela tells Ranka he'll be out there guarding her, and tells her to pull out if
she's afraid.  She _is_ afraid, but more than that she's determined to see this
thing through.  He's sure that if she sings like she always does, everything
will be just fine.  He says that her songs make him physically sense the
universe, as though it was manifest and hugging him close.  Awkward as a
metaphor, but still encouraging thankfully...

It seems a bit silly, fending off ravenous space monsters with a bit of pop
singing.  Then again, songs were what defeated both the Zentraedi and Proto-
Devlin menaces -- and at least among the Macross folks, the concept of a
"Minmei Attack" feels very plausible.  To be sure, Basara was just trying to
get through to everybody's heart with his songs: the Proto-Devlin defeat was
kind of a side-effect.  Nevertheless, Ranka is going along with this of her own
free will, and Luka is sure that if there is a way to communicate with the
Vajra (which, after all, are living beings), she can find it.  Hell, even if
Operation Twinkle ultimately fails, it's still a gamble worth trying once given
the potential payoff.  Alto still isn't convinced that singing should be used
in battle, but the team is facing odds long enough that they may have no
choice.

Apparently this whole thing got started when someone noticed that Ranka's
singing somehow produces _very_ faint Fold Wave -- and as anyone aboard the
Frontier fleet knows, where there's a little Folding, there's more waiting in
the wings.  Mishima orders the Ranka Attack to begin, and it begins to have an
effect almost immediately.  Unfortunately, that effect is to draw all the
Vajra toward Ranka!  This is the result Mishima was hoping for, and even he
wasn't at all sure about it.  Ranka was the only survivor of the 117th Fleet,
but all blood tests on her came back negative.  Mishima figured Ranka would be
somehow useful even in her amnesiac state, but never in his wildest dreams
did he figure she'd be _this_ useful.

Zexis rushes to her aid, having the Vajra (sort of) right where they want
them.  Alto is back to his usual rivalry with Brela.  Reinforcements are
everywhere.

 Eventually the bad guys tire of losing cannon fodder and send in the big
 guns.  Along with them comes Basara, who's pissed off immensely that Ranka
 doesn't seem to be having fun.  Though Ranka hadn't let on to Alto, she's
 been forcing herself through this, and it shows.  She can't deny it to
 Basara, and as she falls silent the Vajra return to normal.  He refuses
 Alto's order to buzz off, saying that if they want to hear a song so much
 he's got one for them!  The results speak for themselves: his singing is
 faaar more effective than Ranka's was.

 In fact, it's _so_ effective he manages to Gate the rest of his band in.
 Fire Bomber may be back together, but unfortunately they also bring some of
 Moon WILL's lackeys along too.  Jeffrey quickly organizes the stray Macross
 7 pilots under his command, pleased to find that ace pilot Gamlin is among
 them.

Despite this ingenious(??) way of prolonging the battle, Zexis prevails anyway.
Though his bandmates persuade him to come under Zexis protection, Basara is
pretty unhappy.  Sheryl is also plenty unhappy, and sick as a dog to boot:
when she confronts Grace in the hall, she nearly collapses.  Grace tells her
to concentrate on getting better for now, and though she has to hand it to
Sheryl for lasting this long, she deems "Project Fairy" a failure.  Fairy 9
will henceforth serve as reserve for Queen, and her next priority is laying
hands on the King who's just appeared (that being Basara, natch).

Ranka herself is pretty down in the dumps, despite everyone telling her that
the operation was a huge success.  Second coming of Lynn Minmei and whatnot.
The fact of the matter is that Basara's question was dead on target -- she's
not exactly enjoying singing just at present.  Surely she'll feel better
tomorrow, right?

The Fire Bomber band gets introduced to President Howard and Mishima.  Mishima
tells them not to sweat their unexpected arrival in a cloud of pan-dimensional
dust.  At the rate his team's research is going (including autopsies on the
Vajra), he'll have them home in no time at all!  Basara isn't interested in
that just now; rather, he's got a message for Chief Scientist Mishima: what
Ranka was being forced to do was _not_ singing!  Gamlin chimes in, pointing
out that when the Proto-Devlin were fended off, it's not because Basara was
somehow _attacking_ them.  Mishima tries his best to weasel Basara and friends
into joining the anti-Vajra effort, and Basara does his level best to tell
him to fuck off.  Maybe Grace will have better luck?  She'd better, if her
dreams of a duet between Basara and "Queen" are to come to fruition...

The Zexis pilots face a complex new reality: certain songs seem effective
against the Vajra... but Ranka seems a bit fragile and Basara _definitely_ not
the type to sing for the government's pleasure.  Maybe the fact that the Vajra
could be affected at all is good news?  If so, the bad news is the apparent
revival of Moon WILL's servants, and in the presence of their arch enemy
Dancougar Nova no less.  That means there's probably more where they came from,
and the team can only hope they're not part of this whole Dark Power zombie
pandemic that's been going on.

More bad news comes in just then: an explosion has rocked the L4 Colonies,
claiming the life of their owner, Quatre's dad Zyeed...

Meanwhile, Sheryl has staggered her way to Griffith Park, still fuming over
what Grace is making Ranka do.  Ranka's real songs are gentler, funner...
Her reverie is broken by a song borne on the wind, mournful yet soothing.  She
lacks the strength to seek its source, but she's in luck: the singer comes
her way instead.  It's none other than Lacus Clyne, who just happens to be a
fan of hers...


CHAPTER 23D. You Understand Nothing

Homer, chief of the Federation peace keeping forces, has contacted the Dark
Continental government with a recommendation that they join the program.  Is
the fact that a military man is delivering this message to be taken as the
Federation's judgement that Kamina City is somehow in rebellion?  Homer
can't answer that question for Roshiu, which is in itself answer enough.
Roshiu will deliver an answer tomorrow, hanging up and sighing over the time
difference that makes their lands still seem backward to the outsiders.  As a
matter of fact, the people _are_ somewhat backward, having toggled over from
a base existence underground to petty squabbling over taxes, water rights,
and other trivia.  Simon doesn't much mind, given that the setup is essentially
peaceful, and is willing to take on these Arrows dudes if they mean to
threaten that peace.

Roshiu cautions him politely but firmly against carelessly turning the entire
rest of the Earth against them.  And resorting to the executive Council isn't
going to be much help in his estimation: just because people were well suited
as Gurren Gang members doesn't automatically mean they were suited for the
governmental roles thrust upon them.  If anything, the Gurren Gang members
who've _left_ the scene (such as Youko) seem far more suited to government.

Speaking of which, what the heck is Hayato up to?  This tower was built for
him to run his Getter Ray experiments, yet he seems to be suspiciously absent
of late, to the point of not officially reporting Viral's capture to Simon.
Roshiu sniffs that Hayato judged the capture of a common rebel to be unworthy
of reporting to the fearless leader.  Simon still wants to actually find out
from the rebels _why_ they're rebelling, but Roshiu says that he's already
explained that: the rebels are people who couldn't adapt to their new
lifestyle.  May be, but is it really worth the government forcing the former
hole-dwellers out into the open?  It is, Roshiu states, if the Beast is still
somewhere on this continent -- especially since even the rebels seem to turn
to the government for help whenever something goes wrong.  Does that not give
the government the right in turn to restrict a few of the people's freedoms,
in order to better do its job?

Simon suspects that Roshiu is actually just worried about Lowgenome's last
words, but before the point can be settled, Nia comes in with some homemade
cooking(!).  Kitan also brings in a couple old friends: Jiron and Elchi.
They're overjoyed that the Dark Continent is open again and have come to hang
out, and have brought the entire Xabungle contingent with them.  Elchi is
impressed at how much culture has risen in the past ten years.  This sours a
bit when Kitan and Roshiu start arguing about the proper protocol (or proper
lack there of) for scheduling some of Simon's time.  Jiron smoothly apologizes
for rocking the boat and says that they'll just hang out until he's done with
his work.  They also manage to avoid eating Nia's food, which as history has
shown can be terrifyingly bad.

Plans for a tour are abruptly shelved when Lee Long calls in to report that
some Mobile Suits are approaching Kamina City.  They belong to Arrows, and
claim to be on a mission to investigate anyone and anything capable of defying
the Federation.  Roshiu gets on the radio, declaring that his people have no
intent to fight and ordering them to cease threatening the residents of the
city at once.  Arrows responds that they'll do just that once their mission is
done: a clear provocation that Roshiu does not intend to rise to.  Emboldened,
the soldier decides to frighten the residents a bit more.

That means Kiyaru and the pregnant Kiyou, who are forced to flee indoors.
Some of the nearby Beastmen start yelling at the Feds to go home, and the
Feds respond by opening fire on the city.  This sparks a general flight to
the shelters, and Roshiu seems grimly determined to ride the storm out without
responding.  Kitan is fit to be tied, wishing he had his Gunmen to fight back
with.  Kinbley reminds him that all Gunmen were abandoned as symbols of
Lowgenome's rein, and Kinon adds that meeting fire with fire would make all
Roshiu's negotiations be for nought.

What Roshiu wasn't counting on was Jiron and the others springing into action.
Jiron is very careful to tell the Arrows forces that he has nothing to do with
this city.  The Arrows forces doubt a bunch of hicks pose any threat, which
will make it all the more satisfying when they go down in flames.  Before
battle begins though, Simon shows up himself to defend the city (in defiance
of Roshiu's wishes).  Simon yells at Roshiu to stuff his wishes: how has he
forgotten that protecting the citizens is the government's single biggest
responsibility?!  He's still the kick-butt dude who helped found all this,
and Jiron is honored to fight at his side against these lowlife evildoers.

 Send Simon to Kamina's statue and he'll find a pair of Kamina's iconic
 sunglasses, left there by someone who still remembers the Gurren Gang's
 founder fondly.  These even further enforce Simon's desire to protect his
 city.

 The Arrows forces are easily rebuffed, but on their heels comes a large
 batch of Invaders.  Simon may be undaunted, but the rest of the government
 fear they lack the warpower to fend off such a menace.  Luckily help is at
 hand in the form of Zexis, who are impressed to see how grown-up Simon's
 become.  Hayato is drily surprised that Roshiu allowed Simon to sortie, and
 tells him to make this quick so he can fill him in on recent world events.
 With the new Getter team ready to give it a go, the defense of Kamina City is
 on!

 The Getter team are still learning the ropes, but even their first battle
 is far better than Esther's initial outing.  It's the veterans' job to give
 the rookies time to learn.

The Invaders are readily dealt with, but Roshiu is now seriously emo over the
fact that Simon fought against Arrows.  That gets postponed however for the
reunion between Simon and Zexis.  Crow tells Simon that he looks like a man
now, and Gai thanks Simon for proving not to be some suit who merely looks
down at his people suffering from on high.  If the Getter team are friends
with Zexis (including the distinctly poker-faced Gou), they're friends with
Simon.

Roshiu shows up at length, directing Simon's attention to a bunch of
disgruntled citizens whose whose homes have been messed up during the melee.
They blame Simon for rising to meet the Arrows' provocation, not really
grasping that, like any bully, Arrows would have only come back emboldened if
someone didn't stand up to them.  Still, there's an angry mob and a pissed-off
Arrows to think about, and Roshiu tells Simon that someone's got to be
responsible to the government.  What the hell good is a government that
doesn't protect its people, Simon shouts, and Roshiu shouts back that he
understands nothing.  Oh, and that he's under arrest.

Rumbles from all the unrest reach into Lee Long's laboratory, where Hayato is
debriefing him(?) on what he's learned outside.  Hayato remarks that Simon did
the right thing just now -- but the right thing doesn't always carry the day.
That certainly applies to Roshiu in reverse, who is doing what will carry the
day but isn't necessarily right.  As for questioning Viral, it seems even the
commanders had never been told what the "Starving Demon of Destruction" might
be.  Certainly Shin Dragon hasn't shown up anywhere Hayato's looked, though
now that the Invaders are back the game might have changed.

Lee Long recommends changing his search methodology, and with the newly
appeared Getter Robo hanging around that seems easy enough to manage.  What
they really need is to get "It" online already, especially if Lowgenome's
last words are to be believed.  "When ten billion Monkeys fill the land, the
Moon shall become the Emissary of Hell and smite the Planet of the Spiral."
Roshiu figures the "Monkeys" are mankind, though it's difficult to imagine
that many humans existing at once given the Earth's finite resources.  Still,
the guy can't have just been talking out of his ass, and that's why the
scientists are so bent on resurrecting the Spiral Lord(!)...


CHAPTER 23S. Sorrowful Quatre

Quatre blames his father's death on the egos of the residents both of the
Colonies and of Earth itself.  Yes his father shunned weapons, but he still
fought for his beliefs.  Why, oh why does nobody understand the tears of the
gentle-hearted?  Maybe Quatre should just... destroy everything!  This sounds
like a great plan, and it involves this new Gundam that he happens to have
stumbled across.

The L4 Colonies play an essential role in the world economy due to their
mineral-rich satellites.  That would explain why the Federation wanted to
forcibly assimilate them rather than let them keep their independence.  Duo
explains that the Colonies by the very nature are an extremely unstable place
for people to live -- even the smallest breach in their structure could result
in all their inhabitants dying.  As such, the residents are quite violence-
averse... easy prey for the Federation bullies.  The first defeat of the
Colonial Gundams and CBs, and the death of Minister Dorian, have only made
that aversion deeper.

Lest the oppression become too much for even such frightened people to bear,
the Federation has recently changed its tactics: couching all overtures as
"diplomatic" even though their expansionist agenda is as strong as ever.  If
they can make the Colonists think their Colonies are being reborn free, they
win: a sneaky way to bring about "peace" whose focal point is St. Lady Une.
That's right -- why try to govern a country, when you can become a saint?
Her saintly-ass visage is quite a change from the Lady Une the former Oz
officers knew, but her poisonous ways are apparently unchanged.

Quatre's father was about the only Colonial voice speaking out against her,
supported by a lifeline from the newly resurrected Cinq Kingdom, and by
resistance factions within Azadistan.  The final straw was when he withheld
the Winner Family's resources from the Feds, probably leading his own people
to bump him off.  Esther wants to rush right in and set things to rights,
but nobody knows an effective way to do that.  Yes, Arrows and Oz must be
stricken down, but just taking out Lady Une will not itself resolve anything
and could just provoke open war between the Colonies and the Surface.  Still,
Esther longs to catch up to Quatre and give him a hug or something.

Upon hearing reports of the mess in L4, Lady Une is disgusted both with Zyeed
and with the Colonists who did them in.  Why the hell don't these people
understand Treize's intentions?  Kira says it's because they're human, though
he doesn't necessarily believe that all humans innately crave fighting.
Lady Une heard that he signed up for this mission because he supported the
idea of peaceful coexistence between Earth and the Colonies: is he now
disappointed that the Colonies have chosen war?  He answers her question with
a question: why is she still spearheading the negotiation process, despite
Treize being out of office.  The last thing she wants is the violent Innovators
being in charge of everything, so she's busied herself at making the world the
sort of place she thinks Treize could govern.

Kira thinks such a world is highly unnatural, and unlikely to be what Treize
wants.  Treize, in his estimation, loves mankind deeply and expresses it
through his impeccable elegant manners -- quite the opposite, one might say,
from what the Federation is currently like.  Subjugating people with violence
and brainwashing seems the opposite of respecting them.  He observes that
everyone wants peace, but it's a mistake for there to be no fighting, or for
people to voluntarily abstain from fighting.  Ultimately, mind-fucking the
Colonists is just a way to turn them into something other than humans, just
like the Mobile Dolls Treize hates so much are.  The problem with the Mobile
Dolls is that they tend to make humans forget the visceral pain of conflict,
and such forgetfulness is not compatible with actually making people want to
expunge that conflict.

Lady Une must now face the uncomfortable truth that Treize actually wants
fighting, with buckets of blood and all, in the interest of reaching something
that lies beyond.  And what the hell is that?  Weeeell, with Treize absent,
that's what they'll have to work out for themselves, now isn't it?  Maybe Lady
Une can change her ways, can inherit Treize's wishes instead of trying to
contort herself to serve them.  She certainly seems interested in trying.

Meanwhile, Chief Scientist Tsubarof has decided to pay Oz's lunar base a little
visit, informing the five Gundam scientists that they're working for him now.
The five have been kept alive despite their role in the Colonial Gundam rampage
due to their talents at mech-building, and with Zechs Marquis supposedly dead
in battle, they're doubtful that a pilot can be found for their latest
creations.  As it happens, Tsubarof has already taken care of that, having
brought along Trois and Hiiro.  Trois comes with Lady Une's seal of approval,
but Hiiro -- known terrorist -- is normally the last person he'd want piloting
a prototype weapon of war.  Lady Une however overrode his objections, and Trois
claims to be prepared to execute Hiiro at any moment if he tries anything
fishy.  Tsubarof doesn't trust this, and gives Trois a gun with orders to shoot
Hiiro on the spot.  Trois unhesitatingly aims and pulls the trigger, though
no shot is heard because Tsubarof removed the bullets ahead of time.

Loyalty apparently proved, Tsubarof puts Trois in the Vayeate and relegates
Hiiro to the Mercurius.  Dr. J claims to have no qualms about almost seeing
his (former?) subordinate murdered, claiming to have no use for a failed
warrior.  This touching scene is interrupted by reports that someone in a
Gundam is about to destroy one of the mining satellites as a show of force.
Tsubarof has a message sent back to Lady Une that his forces will take care of
it, and orders Trois and Hiiro to get up to speed on their new mecha: he may
need them in the upcoming battle.

With Tsubarof gone, Trois explains his unhesitating stunt with the gun by
noting that there was no way Tsubarof would actually kill a soldier Lady Une
told him to use.  Besides, he could tell instantly from the weight of the gun
that it wasn't loaded.  And just in case he was mistaken on both counts, he
also made sure not to aim at any of Hiiro's vitals.  He's infiltrated Oz to
settle his own doubts, and is prepared to sacrifice plenty to see his plan
through.  The more immediate concern is this Gundam attacking a Colony -- while
it could be one of the CBs, it's more likely to be someone the G-boys know.
That someone might be trying to send a message, given that they've opted to
assail Professor H's home base.  Professor H suddenly has the nasty feeling
that, given the recent mess in L4, Quatre might be involved...

Yup, it's Quatre alright.  He as the good grace to warn the residents of
Colony 04E1B that they ought to get out _pronto_, prior to actually blasting
the place.  The Oz frontline commander doesn't give a damn about evacuating
the civilians (who fortunately have in fact skedaddled), but he is more than
ready to answer the Gundam's challenge.  They unleash a barrage that does
absolutely nothing to the Gundam at all, and Quatre mutters that they shouldn't
fight if they're afraid of dying.

He pulls the trigger, and blows both the soldiers and the colony to
smithereens.  A tear escapes his eye, despite him not feeling an ounce of
grief.  Kira and Aslan and friends show up slightly too late, confronted with
a repetition of the tragedy of Heliopolis.  Kira had intended to change the
Federation from within so such things would never happen again, but it seems to
have been for nought.  He knows that Oz is about finished, and suspects that
Treize gave them their mecha back to allow them the chance to escape and
continue opposing Arrows.  Aslan was thinking the same thing, and announces
to the other Oz soldiers that he and Kia are quitting, effective immediately.
If they truly value peace, the Oz soldiers need to rethink their lives, and
to let Kira and Aslan handle the rogue Gundam.

Of course, the soldiers aren't buying it, and the order is given to destroy
both the traitors and the rogue Gundam.  Quatre observes that these buffoons
lack both the right and the power to do any such thing.

 After a brief amount of gunfire, two new forces show up: the forces from the
 Oz moon base, and Zexis.  Trois calmly explains that Zexis should consider
 him and Hiiro the enemy for now: if they can't defeat Oz's latest creation,
 they certainly won't be able to face anything scarier.  That also goes for
 the newly-arrived Gundam, who Trois deliberately provokes.  Quatre actually
 fires upon his good friend, babbling about how he's going to destroy
 everything that distorts the universe (that is, all weapons).  And since
 the Colonies are now part of the Federation, they're weapons and in need of
 being destroyed too.

 This is clearly going nowhere, and Hiiro means to kick Quatre and his
 "Wing Zero"'s ass.  Sumeragi sees no way to avoid fighting, including
 tussling with Hiiro and Trois if that's really what they want.

 The battle is surprisingly fierce, but in due course all the bad guys are
 demolished... including Trois in the Wing Zero.  He somehow finds a second
 wind, and some of the more psychically-endowed pilots start feeling psychic
 pain as his sorrow expands.  Hiiro and Trois return at this point, and Hiiro
 has gotten fed up with Trois' bullshit.  He goes over to kill the guy, and
 when Trois shields Hiiro from Quatre's counterattack, he gets thoroughly
 blasted.  His mech is on the verge of exploding, but Trois still lectures
 Quatre that this battle is needless.  For whatever reason, the Colonies have
 joined the Federation, meaning that their mission is over, and anything they
 do from this point forward they do entirely on their own.  And unfortunately,
 all the training they've done to be perfect warriors has misled them into
 thinking they can change the world by themselves.

All of them must fight within their hearts to figure out what they must truly
fight for, even if it means invalidating everything they've achieved up till
now.  The path they seek must be one they can all walk together, and Trois'
final plea is for Quatre to return to his gentle self.  Quatre must stand by
and watch as his friend blows up due to his own actions.  He starts to lose
it completely, and Hiiro is on the verge of losing consciousness as a new wave
of Oz forces arrive.  Duo and Wufei both resolve to charge in, determined to
do everything short of dying themselves in order to rescue Hiiro at least.
The rest of Zexis have no choice but to retreat.

The Oz forces plan to retrieve the immobilized Gundams and head back to the
lunar base, and Duo and Wufei will be among them as they're not yet dead.
Perhaps they'll even get the chance to reunite with the Gundam-building
scientists they've not seen in so long.  But the fun isn't over yet: Milliard
"Unsafe Zechs" Peacecraft appears and asks to see Lady Une.  He feels that
space warps people, that the Earth's gravity somehow helps to pull the errors
of the people back towards equilibrium.

Perhaps unwisely, the Oz forces have imprisoned all the Gundam pilots together,
except for Hiiro who has presumably required hospitalization.  Quatre is
totally down in the dumps, but Duo and Wufei are as determined as ever to do
the right thing.  Their respective scientists presumably recognize why they
would allow themselves to be "captured", and will help them in due course.
And of course Zexis is still out there too.

Rijeene reports to Ribbons that he's finally found the "other Zero" Gundam.
It seems there is a fork in the road of Ioria's plans, and unless they can
get their hands on it, further progress might be impossible.  Further study is
required, since even Veda has no information about what the other Zero's role
is supposed to be.  Ribbons will send a suitable scientist to the lunar base
to check it out, prepared to destroy the thing if need be.  Mankind, he
figures, isn't yet mature enough to walk the road to revolution.  And yes,
he feels that he's been granted the right to judge that all by his little self.


CHAPTER 24D. You're No Longer Needed!

Roshiu has actually gone so far as to put Simon on trial for endangering
the country.  After the charges have been read, he asks if Simon has anything
to say.  Yes: what's the point of this trial?  Roshiu states that this is a
lawful nation, and military matters fall within the law's purview.  Simon
remarks that between "God's decrees" and the "law", Roshiu certainly seems
to love his non-freedom.  He's referring to the religious sect that ran
Roshiu's underground village, but Roshiu actually generalizes and says that
it's taken the deaths of many people to advance this far, Kamina included.
Simon gets angry at this point, asking if Roshiu is saying that it's _better_
that Kamina's dead.  In hindsight, yes.  Roshiu and Simon seem to have a
fundamental disagreement about what it was that Kamina, Lockon and all the
other deaths bought the survivors... and Simon tells Roshiu that his eyes look
precisely like the priest of his old village.

Roshiu then decrees that Kamina is to receive life in prison, which now has
Kitan up in arms.  This "trial" was in fact a farce from the outset, but
Roshiu says it's necessary for this country to be "reborn", and all the old
remnants swept away if there's to be any hope of quieting Arrows' anger.  In
fact, Roshiu has more or less just made himself the new ruler of the nation,
and Kitan demands to know if Hayato is okay with all of this.  Hayato refuses
to take sides, saying only that Roshiu's decision and his promotion represent
no _procedural_ misstep.  Kitan spits that Hayato must have gone crazy from
all the Getter Rays, and with a vague, cryptic smirk Hayato half agrees.
Simon asks himself what Kamina would have done at a time like this

There's plenty for the Zexis folks to be surprised at from the last ten years'
worth of doings.  Kiyou and Dayakka's marriage is first on the list, which
might serve as inspiration for some of the other men in the team to actually
get serious with their girlfriends.  There's such a thing as moving too
quickly though, as Gain cautions despite his own baby-daddy drama issues in
the past.  Kiyou tells Kei to believe in Benkei, and when Kei asks if she's
seen Kiyou somewhere before, Kiyou tells her that if she doesn't remember
clearly maybe it's best not to force herself to try to remember.

Dayakka, a father-to-be according to his wife, comes home from the trial at
this point.  The Zexis pilots are shocked to hear of Simon's fate, and many
want to march right into Roshiu's office and make him change his mind.
Dayakka asks them to leave well enough alone: the rule of the court is the only
law this country's got.  He suspects that Roshiu might be having the hardest
time of anyone with his own decision, but all the people in this city are
there because they've chosen this way of life -- and all the responsibilities
that carries.  He believes that Roshiu will do something or other once things
calm down a little; till then, Simon is to be imprisoned in the maximum-
security Rincarne Prison.

Kei's heard of _that_ before.  Simon is greeted (if that's the word) by a lot
of Beastmen, who've been incarcerated over the years for defying the
government.  Some of them have even fought Simon and friends directly before,
in the service of Lowgenome's generals.  The Beastmen are definitely out for
some payback, grimly amused at the dramatic reversal of fortune for the
nation (if not the continent)'s greatest hero.

The lynching gets postponed, however, when Timp and Beck walk over to have
words with their newest fellow prisoner.  They got caught almost immediately
upon coming to the Dark Continent, all thanks to Kan Yur's usual incompetence,
and ended up in the slammer.  They want to get _out_ of the slammer, and think
Simon is their ticket to freedom.  Sadly for them, Simon isn't inclined to
break the rules -- even if he believes they were applied unfairly to him.  The
last thing he wants to see is all the government's efforts to date go to
waste.  He intends to wait until Roshiu comes around and then walk out with
his head held high.

This rather pisses off his would-be co-conspirators, and they're prepared to
rough him up a bit to get their point across.  That is, until Viral steps up.
He lambasts Simon for not having the testicular fortitude to get rid of a few
punks, especially compared to Kamina -- who was able to stand up to Viral
bare-handed.  He's also quite unimpressed at Timp and Beck and their piddling
little attempts to break out of jail using someone else's strength.  He has no
interest in busting out, having nowhere in particular he'd go anyway.

His one desire is to settle the score with Simon, and he attacks with a fury
few can match.  Simon dodges the first strike, which raises him slightly in
Viral's estimation... but only slightly.  Viral is in fact furious that the
Spiral Lord gave him an immortal body for the express purpose of "continuing
to watch".  Continuing to watch what, Simon behaving like an ass?  Simon
shouts back that he's doing what he must do, that is, _not_ doing anything at
the moment.  Viral spits back that that makes him just like Lowgenome, and if
this is the future that Simon was willing to destroy the Beastmen to grasp,
he's going to tear it to shreds!

Just then an explosion rocks the prison, as though someone is attacking it from
the outside.  Timp and friends seize their chance to flee, as it turns out
that Marilyn is responsible for the barrage.  Unblown's specific orders were
to cause trouble on the Dark Continent, and breaking open a penitentiary is
a pretty troublesome act.  With Timp and friends reunited with their mecha and
a herd of DBs wandering around, she decides to head for the hills.  That
leaves the newly-freed folks to face Zexis, and Gurren Lagann which the twins
have gotten permission from Roshiu to bring.  Viral hops into his Gunmen,
intending to finish the duel with Simon once and for all.

Viral is interested to see Kei as one of the Getter pilots: is this fate?
Kei now suspects that her parents are hiding something from her, and though
Viral would like to fill her in he's too busy concentrating on his own duel.
Hayato tells Zero to focus Zexis' efforts on taking out the Insalaum forces,
and let Simon and Viral duke it out to their hearts' content.  Oh, and the
escaped prisoners need recapture too.

 Timp and the other escapees aren't the sort to let themselves be easily
 recaptured.  Viral meanwhile will really appreciate it if Simon is the only
 one fighting him.  He thanks Simon for playing along with his selfish
 request.  His Gunmen explodes, quite possibly taking him along with it, and
 it would seem that at least one battle has ended.

 Another battle begins however, when the Getter Army shows up, mingled with
 an assortment of monsters.  Shikijima seems to have been expecting something
 like this for some time, telling Simon that they probably don't like him
 personally very much.  No sweat though: Simon should go on living as he sees
 fit.  It's not really a question of lifestyle though: it's a matter of
 extreme menace, which arrives in a burst of Getter Rays.   It is the long-
 dormant Shin Dragon, accompanied by Corwen and Stinger.

 It's a minor miracle that any of them are still alive.  The same goes for
 Benkei, who's dragged himself out of bed and onto the bridge to watch the
 battle unfold.  The two rogue scientists say they're happy to see Zexis
 again, though the feeling is definitely not mutual.  Hayato has no patience
 for those "parasitized" by the Invaders, a talent that the highest-level
 Invaders seem to possess.  This explains a lot about the workings of the
 UN's anti-ET council, at least.

 The scientists explain to Esther that the Invaders are the epitome of
 evolution, and the only beings fit to govern the universe.  They've got
 friends in a lot of places, and among them is none other than Professor
 Saotome himself!  The bombastic genius sounds as fit as ever, declaring that
 he won't die till he sees mankind destroyed and the Earth obliterated.
 Hayato immediately orders him to be shelled, but his body seems to regenerate
 as fast as it's damaged: proof that he's become one of the monsters.

 Let there be no unnecessary fighting, Saotome bellows: he's only come to see
 his son: Genki!  That is, Kei!  Uhh what now?  Benkei finally comes clean:
 "Genki" was in fact Saotome's _daughter_ all along, and as the name implies
 was a bright, cheerful child.  But when Michiru died and Saotome turned to
 the dark side, and the world was warped by the Breaking, Genki herself had a
 nervous breakdown and became a total amnesiac.  Benkei left Kamina City to
 raise her in peace in the countryside, trying to make a clean break with the
 past.  The last thing he wanted was for her to be blamed for her father's
 misdeeds in creating Shin Dragon, so he raised her as his own daughter
 instead.  Dalie and Gimie suspected as much for some time, having played with
 Genki frequently as little kids.

 Is Kei going to leap joyfully into her real father's arms?  No, actually she
 wants to tear him to shreds, and where she goes, Gou goes too to protect her.
 The team's only chance is to focus their firepower on Shin Dragon, lest its
 Getter Ray generators poison the entire world.

 Shin Dragon isn't quite as horrifying as one might expect, and when it stops
 moving Kei seizes her chance to go in for the kill.  Shin Getter starts
 malfunctioning somehow and Saotome thinks his daughter is coming to him as
 previously requested, but Kei has other ideas.  As her emotions peak, Shin
 Getter actually _teleports_ inside Shin Dragon: it seems that its, and Gou's,
 evolution is about to begin!

Shin Dragon's external energy output falls rapidly, concentrated within for
the intense task of evolution.  Hayato thinks that it's now or never to blow
it away, but Benkei yells at him not to fire while Kei is inside.  And anyway,
who's this Gou dude and what's his connection to Saotome?  Well, he bears
Saotome's blood first of all.

Inside Shin Dragon, Kei recalls from the depths of her memory her sister
promising to protect her.  It would appear that her sister (which should mean
Michiru), is none other than Gou!  That makes things very confusing, and
Shikijima helps explain.  Gou is actually a sort of super-clone made from
Michiru and Saotome's cells, irradiated by Getter Rays to produce a new breed
of humanity.  Saotome's last act before being taken over by the Invaders was
to create mankind's last hope: Shin Dragon.  Bringing Gou, the key to Shin
Dragon's activation, to maturity was the task Saotome entrusted to Shikijima.

Oh, and by the way, you know those lizard and ogre monsters out there?  Those
are clones of Hayato and Ryouma, who were originally supposed to be Gou's
copilots.  The whole project fell into the Invaders' hands along with Saotome
himself right before completion, and as such Hayato figures that it's better
off destroyed.  The "evolution" Shikijima spoke of is Shin Dragon reading Gou's
genetic code, as the key to bringing its powers to their peak.

Simon leads a spirited please to Gou to _not_ make Shin Dragon a demon turned
against mankind.  If evolution is the way forward, let that way not be bent
by the ambitions of others!  Let those who need to be protected, be protected!
Simon has the power of the Spiral on his side: evolution, but not as the
Invaders know it.  Shin Getter emerges with its pilots intact, and they unite
in kicking Shin Dragon's ass.  Evolution averted, Shin Dragon warps spacetime
and vanishes God knows where, pissing Saotome off immensely.  He means to
punish his disobedient child, but Kei yells that he's not her father anymore.

Of course Saotome gets his butt handed back to him in a sling, and he vows to
treat Kei like all the other fools who fail to comprehend the meaning of
evolution.  Let her tremble till their next meeting.  Yeah, fat chance.  Getter
must battle on until they see Saotome again, and that day will probably be the
so-called final day of the Earth.

For now, however, there's some breaking news from the local government.  Roshiu
has officially joined the Federation as of 1600 hours, and he promises all the
citizens even greater peace and prosperity.  Peace is generally a good thing,
but in this case it means that Arrows has sort of won.  Simon isn't sure what
he makes of this turn of events, and in short order Roshiu's fleet arrives at
the battlefield.

Simon and Roshiu have a 1:1 (that's "one-on-one", for those of you not down
with business lingo).  Roshiu asks if Simon is going to berate him for joining
the Federation, trading rather unfavorable governance conditions for avoiding
open warfare between Arrows and the common people.  Simon tells him that he
honestly doesn't know if this was right or wrong, and as such he wants to see
more of the world to learn.  Roshiu observes again that Simon understands
nothing, and that nothing about him has changed.  He then issues an executive
order for Simon to be "exiled" from the Dark Continent, and for that "ancient
relic" Gurren Lagann to be written off from the national treasury at the same
time.  The official word is: Simon is no longer needed by his country.  That
means he's free to travel with Zexis, and Gimie and Dalie with him.  Kitan is
still irate that Roshiu hasn't just come correct, but he really had no other
choice.

Simon vows to come back some day (assuming Nia's boxed lunches don't kill
everybody first), intending to toast the birth of the next generation and maybe
even propose to the love of his life.  As Zexis flies off, Hayato decides to
follow -- keeping his research tower here would just be an invitation for the
Feds to annex it too.  There will be plenty of enemies to fight beside Shin
Dragon, and although Hayato has firmly relinquished his pilot's seat to the
next generation, he intends to do what he can to help make the world a better
place.  As Zexis is being reunified again, it seems certain this will involve
a showdown with Arrows (since they hate the CBs and all so much).  Lee Long
promises to let Shikijima know when (s)he has "it" going properly.

Roshiu meanwhile is in fact seriously in doubt over whether he's doing the
right thing or not.  Kinon of course assures him he is, and that's something.
But the real trick is to extract some useful information about the end of the
world from the one person who seems to have a clue: Lowgenome!


CHAPTER 24S. The "G" Called Zero

Zexis' pilots have some time to consider how Lady Une thinks she's advancing
Treize's good work, likely in contravention to Treize's actual wishes.  It
seems unlikely that anything will change on the diplomacy front so long as Lady
Une still has a job, and unlikely that she'll do anything to cost herself (and
Treize) her job lest she end up like him.  Four of the five G-boys are now in
Oz's hands, and Kira says that even Trois may yet be alive, and within range
of the trade routes criss-crossing Earth's orbit.  If he does somehow get
rescued, and if the CBs' information networks can find him, they will.

Meanwhile, the Ptolemy's new helmsman shows up: Anille Returner, scouted by Liu
Mei for her rather amazing abilities.  Some among Zexis might be surprised to
learn that the CBs have operations all over the place, including secret bases
where Gundam development is still actively underway.  Speaking of Gundams, the
biggest concern facing the team now is the Wing Gundam Zero, whose name almost
suggests that it's the _prototype_ for Hiiro's own Wing Gundam.  Which, if you
think about it, is very odd.  Ian seems willing to try his own hand at Gundam
upgrades, and having received Quatre's Sandrock from someone calling herself
his sister, has just the mech to work with.  Despite Ian's apparent enthusiasm,
Saji knows he's still fretting over the relationship between the two Gundam
lineages in Zexis.

All they'll need after the upgrades is Quatre himself, and all the pilots
choose to believe he'll come home safe and sound, and sane again.  Setsuna
however has been struck by a new thought: it is a Gundam that twisted Quatre's
gentle heart... and those who build and maintain the damn things are partly
to blame.  Just what _do_ the Gundams really signify, anyway?  Ian must be
thinking the same thing, since he insists on joining the mission to infiltrate
the Oz base... He's hoping to unlock the mystery of the Gundams before the next
shipment of Gundam support equipment arrives.

Inside said base, Milliard is catching up with Lady Une.  His legendary
resolve survived the destruction of his mask, but despite claiming his rightful
name of Peacecraft, he has no inclination to return to Cinq.  His homeland
already has a more-than capable ruler in residence, so he's set his mind to
wandering around in space till the path ahead becomes clear.  Hanging out with
one of Treize's closest confidants has partially illuminated the way, and
both of them agree that humans must reclaim their penchant for fighting with
their own hands.  She gives him free run of the base, and tells him to study
as much as he can.

Tsubarof is busy analyzing the captured Colonial Gundams, and in the Zero he
finds some kind of mental modification system.  He can't figure out readily
how it works or what it's for, and is badly surprised when a couple of dudes
walk into the hangar.  One is Billy Katagiri, the engineer Arrows has
dispatched to oversee the analysis of the Gundams.  The other is his friend Mr.
Bushido, who doesn't like Tsubarof's insinuation that the only reason Billy
has any standing is his father's position.  Apparently deciding not to fight
this particular fight, Tsubarof sniffs that Billy can do as he pleases with
the Zero, even including summoning its creators for input.  Billy intends to
let his own imagination guide him to start with, and Tsubarof sneers on his way
out that he doubts that'll achieve much.

It turns out that Tsubarof is a long-standing rival of Billy's mentor Rafe
Eifmann, and given Oz's rapid deterioration it's not surprising that some
animosity would occur.  Bushido lets it slip that he isn't entirely fond of
his nom de guerre, though his determination to make a break with his past is
keeping him from going back to his real name.  He's come with Billy to get a
good look at the faces of his adversaries, while both his and their mecha are
down for repairs.

It's a fortunate break in the action in a way, as Billy has hit a bit of a wall
in his efforts to power Bushido's mech up.  Just increasing power output isn't
enough to defeat the CB's twin-reactor units: he needs something to counter the
GN Drive's explosive power output.  And he's certainly motivated to keep up
the search, feeling rather betrayed by one of the CBs he formerly called a
friend.  He can't bring himself to hate her either, and hence research is the
only solace he can turn to.

From the sidelines, Bring and Healing find themselves wondering if Billy can
really come through.  Their mission is to keep the Zero, which Ribbons has
taken such a liking to, safe.  Things get more interesting when Milliard,
sans mask, comes to say hi to Bushido, who's still wearing his.

Back at the Oz slammer, Hilde has just brought food for the G-boys.  Duo is
on hand to accept it, and says that the other two aren't in a mood to be
disturbed just now.  One's deep in thought, and the other one is doing some
kind of meditation and has issued strict orders not to be disturbed.  Even
without seeing her face, Duo can tell from her accent that she's from the
colonies -- he asks why a Colonist would join Oz.  Lady Une, Hilde replies,
has given the Colonies both freedom and pride.  Seeing as how that's what Duo
was fighting for, that ought to put them on the same side, shouldn't it?  Hilde
doesn't fall for Duo's wiles right away, but he puts the bee in her bonnet to
consider who her real enemy is.  The L4 folks, fellow Colonists, got blown up
for disagreeing with the Federation.  Is it really such a good idea to trust
the very government who made conditions bad enough that regular girls like
her would enlist in the army?  It seems that a friendship has begun, and Duo
looks forward to seeing her again tomorrow, assuming he's still alive.

Milliard and Bushido have found many similarities between them, but Milliard's
eyes show that he's finally found his path (unlike Bushido).  Their heart-to-
heart talk is interrupted by a scream from inside the Zero, where Billy has
insisted on experiencing its special mental modification system firsthand.
What a STUPID IDEA.  When the drag him out, he's raving about Kujou using him
all this time, trampling his trust in her into the mud.  Bushido asks what the
hell he saw in there, and he slurs to "Graham" not to worry, he's not gone
crazy or anything!  It's that wonderful Zero System that's expanded his
consciousness infinitely, and he thinks he understands both Kujou and the
Trans-Am system perfectly now.  He craves more data, more knowledge about the
Wing Zero, and tells Graham to rejoice.  What they need to do now is put "them"
into the cockpit and start recording...  Watching this, Bushido laments that
Billy seems to have fallen even farther from grace than he has.

Setsuna shows up with a dual mission: decoying attention away from Tielia's
infiltration of the base, and probing its defenses.  Billy sends Duo out in the
Wing Gundam with orders to win... else all his friends get executed.  Not
exactly what Duo calls "maintaining proper order", and all the cords he's got
plastered all over his body don't exactly make piloting any easier.  Billy
intends to catch every nuance of what the Zero System does to him, and about
the last thing Duo wants to be is a guinea pig in a fight against Setsuna.
From the sidelines, the Gundam scientists watch with a mixture of fascination
and dismay as the GN Drive and Zero System prepare to face off.  This was
probably fated to happen from the moment they left the CBs.

Setsuna gets no reply from the Zero, so he has no idea who's piloting it.  Duo
apologizes for what he's about to do to him, promising to take responsibility
if he actually wins.

 Duo quickly finds out that he won't be able to beat Setsuna by half
 measures.  With Quatre and Wufei's lives at stake, he redoubles his efforts.
 Setsuna in turn kicks in the Trans-Am system, giving Billy an even greater
 data gathering opportunity than he expected.  The menace is enough to cause
 the Wing Zero to activate its Zero System, and the scientists wonder if
 Setsuna will prove worthy of his mighty Twin Drive mobile suit.  In fact,
 the whole point of the Zero system is to ascertain exactly that, at least
 according to Dr. J.

 As the Zero System powers up, Setsuna senses the same sorrow that he felt
 when battling Quatre.  He now recognizes Duo to be the Zero's pilot, and
 finds himself quickly on the defensive.  The Zero System, according to Billy,
 responds to the pilot's brainwaves and enhances their combat abilities, or
 rather... expands their consciousness on all matters.  It even, Billy
 babbles, shows the pilot their future!  Of course, all this is incredibly
 stressful, and if anyone exists who could somehow withstand such punishment
 for long, that person would be inhuman.  HINT HINT.

 Duo is firing in all directions, desperately seeking his enemy.  Setsuna has
 no choice but to cut the Trans-Am's limiter, but when he does so, the grief
 radiating from the Zero abruptly changes.  The two pilots feel their
 consciousnesses mingle, and Setsuna is able to lucidly tell Duo to get a
 hold of himself and his famous courage.  Don't let the machine win!

 Duo's mind is strong enough to forcibly evict the Zero System's influence.
 Billy is astonished, and Dr. J is elated.  Both pilots have passed the Zero
 System's test, and the fact that Veda's piloting choice has actually panned
 out gives the scientists renewed hope.  Duo meanwhile finds himself agreeing
 with Billy: if there's anyone who could actually master this beast, they'd
 have to be super-human.

 He heads back to base on Billy's orders, promising Setsuna he'll be right
 back, right as a horde of Oz forces show up.  The Innovators think they've
 got Setsuna dead to rights, but they're not the only ones with reinforcements
 waiting in the wings.  Sumeragi orders the troops to shoot down as many
 Mobile Dolls as they can, as they're all going to be pulling out in four
 turns.  And if they can take out some of the Innovators, so much the better.

 As Zexis starts plowing through the ranks, Tsubarof panics and gets ready
 to use the Mobile Doll system.  Lady Une protests that that will only make
 this war even more meaningless, finally understanding why Treize hated the
 thing so much.  Treize loved everything about people, including how their
 deaths made all their emotions immeasurably more vivid.  It is in the facing
 of death that warriors achieve their true form, and that form lights the
 path to the Ultimate.  And the Mobile Dolls have not somehow surpassed death;
 they're merely a cowardly expedient for shifting it from its rightful bearer.

 Tsubarof protests that she sounds like she wants to lose this battle, but she
 states that losing or winning matters not.  It's the fighting, the striving
 that matters -- that purifies body and soul, and makes recompense in due
 course to all the souls lost along the way.  This is beyond Tsubarof's
 comprehension, and Lady Une tells him to kill her, as one warrior to another,
 given that they're now ideological enemies.

 Tsubarof storms off to sortie his "devil Gundam", and as she lays dying Lady
 Une ponders how the uncertainties of this world drive the pure-hearted to
 despair.  But to those who can maintain their hearts, she gives a final plea
 to go on fighting, and to let her continue loving them...

 Duo and Hilde spring Quatre and Wufei, having received directions to their
 mecha from the scientists.  That's a good thing, since the "devil" turns
 out to be the Destroy, fully linked into the Mobile Doll system.  Hilde's
 seen enough of Zexis just now to have changed her allegiances, becoming an
 insta-comrade for Duo.  Quatre gets his improved mech back, standing
 alongside the Gundams the scientists have upgraded (using the base's funding
 to do so no less).

 Pummeling Bring makes him very upset, and though he doesn't like attacking
 a comrade, he's got no choice but to go after Tielia.  Tielia's got his own
 resolve down pat though, and manages to spiffily dispatch the Innovator.
 They _can_ be killed!

 The battle becomes a total shooting gallery (for both sides!) as the Mobile
 Doll slave units flood the field.  At the appointed time, Tielia rushes over
 to pick Ian up.  Ian, it turns out, is stunned to find that the Colonial
 Gundam engineers are none other than his old comrades-in-science.  Well,
 sort of: Ian was recruited from the AEU to fill void left when the five
 scientists departed the CBs.  The five of them spent some time there after
 developing the Tallgeese, and after they left they made the Wing Zero,
 master prototype for all their other Colonial Gundams.  They see themselves
 as a counter to Ioria's plans, imagining that the CBs might be in the way
 in the event the Three Great Nations would ever have to be laid low.

 What is for certain is that none of them wanted the CBs to have the Zero
 System back then.  The scientists, who really do have a plane to catch, tell
 Ian that he'll have to figure out for himself what the Zero System has to do
 with Ioria's plans.  As a hint, they ask him to think about the Double-0, and
 note that any "ruler of the world" needs not hesitate, lest those around him
 lose heart and start fighting each other.  As such, the GN Drive and Zero
 Systems needed to be kept apart.

 Poor Ian is going to give himself a headache pondering all he's heard, but
 at least he'll have a long time to think as the team beats a well-deserved
 retreat.  As they fade into the distance, Milliard says he now understands
 what Treize was thinking, and vows to not force Zexis to shoulder the burden
 of history alone.  That he swears by the Peacecraft name.

Things feel pretty fucked up to Tsubarof, but Billy notes that a) the plans
for the new Mobile Dolls are done, and b) they still have both the Wing Zero
and another pilot to stick in it.  Tsubarof finds himself somewhat scared
by Billy's newfound calm, and hastily agrees to leave the Wing Zero program
to him while he concentrates on the mass-production Dolls.  Billy, of course,
intends to avenge himself on Kujou with it.

Quatre's reunion with the team is a bittersweet one at best.  He recounts how
his anger at the L4 incident drove him to break the seal on the Wing Zero
(placed there by Professor H) and try to take revenge.  He and Duo both know
that the visions the Zero System shows aren't generally good for the pilot,
and he also knows that nothing he can do will ever fully make up for his error.
Still, he intends to do what he can as a member of Zexis, and he finds that
all the pilots are indeed prepared to accept him back into the fold.  After
all, many of them have things at least as dark in their pasts already.

Reassurances past, things get back to business.  Oz has just lost a vast amount
of warpower, and their complete assimilation into Arrows seems only a matter
of time.  Zexis too is going to be put back together on the surface, bolstered
by some new friends the other half found in the Dark Continent.  That's a lot
of firepower, and one imagines that there's going to be a need for it before
all is said and done...


CHAPTER 25. Unending Promise

[Despite the obscene number of kills on the Space route, resulting in Esther
earning the coveted Bronze Emblem, I kept the Dark Continent route cause I'm
biased toward Getter and Gurren Lagann and Code Geass.  Full Disclosure(tm),
as they say on the Street.]

All is not in Warusawa, where Renton and Eureka's peace has been abruptly
shattered by Marilyn and goons showing up.  Her orders are for Eureka's
capture, though she claims not to know what for, and she tells Renton that he
ought to take the chill if he doesn't want to get hurt.  Fearing for his
safety, Eureka submits and gets hauled off, leaving Renton screaming for her in
her wake.

Crow catches up with Traia on what everybody's been doing from both of the
past two paths.  There seems to be a shortage of percussionists to ring in
Crow's latest earnings, but at least Esther is thinking of him when she drops
a few coins together as accompaniment.  Crow's actually earned a sizeable
chunk of change, largely thanks to all his documentary footage, but he'd best
not think about quitting his day job for a life in cinema.  The rest of the
pilots are in the midst of making their reintroductions when a "Holland Novak"
radios in with something about a "Eureka" being in trouble.  OH NOES!

It would seem that Insalaum wants Eureka, probably because she's a data
terminal for the pan-dimensional Emerge.  Holland knows a bit about the
Firebugs from his run-ins with the Federation military, and laments that he
wasn't there to stop the kidnapping.  He found out about it after the fact
during a regularly-scheduled check-in with Renton, who he's been trying to
help out as penance for all the bad things he's done.

Renton is headed to the Vodalak Shrine to consult with Anemone, who like Eureka
is a link to the Emerge.  Holland, like Zero, believes the Firebugs will be
heading there next, and is trying to make his way there too despite his body's
rapid aging.  He implores Zexis to save Renton and Eureka, and Zero is plenty
happy to go gain some insight into what Insalaum is really up to.

What Unblown's told Margret is that the Vodalak shrine contains a new key to
unlocking Dimensional Science.  She clearly has her doubts, but she's doing a
fair job at suppressing them in the service of her duty as knight.  Inside,
Renton needs a reminder that he's actually got the ability to do shit, which
Anemone thoughtfully provides while the Nirvashes squabble.  It's really as
simple as believing in himself, and when Holland shows up to snap Renton out
of a little introspective trance, Nirvash springs into action.

Nirvash has gone from mascot mode into full-grown mecha in a miraculous
instant, and Holland's brought all of its armaments.  Now it's up to Renton
to ensure that all this wasn't in vain.

 Salvation is at hand when Zexis shows up,  Crow tells Margret that if she
 means to live as an Arcsaber, he'll just have to fend her off on Earth's
 behalf.  _That_ is the kind of thing Margret wants to hear, the sort of thing
 that distracts her from her doubts.  ...It's not distraction enough though:
 those doubts are interfering with the D Extractor, and the results are
 inevitable.

 Geraud shows up next, berating Margret for not getting her act together.
 Crow respects the sight of the Arcsaber #1, enough to even remember his
 name, but tells him to give Margret a break -- she is after all risking her
 life for this fight.  This displeases Geraud even more, and he orders
 Margret to retreat.  Crow doesn't like Geraud's holier-than-thou act, but
 Geraud actually admits that he was weak once.  But he now swears on the
 scars on his cheek that he'll never lose again.  He's focused on Crow, and
 it's apparent to everyone that his mech is as fearsome as he is.  Crow not
 only doesn't need the warning, he's fired up of his own accord over Geraud's
 poor treatment of Margret.  Geraud vows to finish this in three rounds, and
 that's more time that Crow will need.

 In fact, Geraud and his retinue can go down in less than half a turn, though
 Geraud's got a plot-motivated second wind.  He declares that the D
 Extractor works by amplifying a pilot's will, much like what he's heard
 about Crow's VX.  Crow doesn't need any more people after his Sphere than
 there already are, and comes after Geraud with full clout.

 His fellow pilots sense something different about him, something very
 dangerous that reminds Quatre of the Zero System.  He doesn't heed their
 pleas to stop though, apparently lost in some sort of special effect
 related to the whole "Swaying Scales" business.  What he says out loud is
 that he's had enough of people thinking they can just deprive others of
 their freedom with no compunctions at all.

 Unblown shows up at this point, things having gone exactly as she planned.
 Her ultimate weapon is aimed at Crow's VX, since he's totally absorbed in
 punishing Geraud, and Esther leaps to his defense at the last moment.  As
 she does so, she feels _something_ entering inside her, and to her teammates
 horror, she turns into a Dimensional Beast on the spot.

 Yes, this is the power of Unblown's Dimensional Science, replicating what
 Gaiou was able to do with his powers.  It takes an immense amount of energy,
 and she's unable to fire another shot immediately.  Zero rushes over to
 try to gather as much data as he can with the Druid System before Unblown
 flees, knowing this new development to be the biggest menace they've faced
 yet.  DB-Ester attacks him immediately, breaking own his cockpit and cracking
 his mask... and exposing his left eye.

 He manages to Geass Esther into stopping, rushing back to the flagship
 right afterwards.  Unblown retreats, ordering Geraud to grab Esther and
 follow her.  Crow is utterly determined not to let Geraud escape, and it's
 now clear to Roger that the activation condition for Crow's Sphere is _not_
 a doubting heart as everyone suspected.  Recall Eim's words: though a
 scale may sway, its _fulcrum_ remains unmoving -- and it seems that the
 real activation condition is a singleminded, focused act of will.  Too bad
 the activation also results in total myopia regarding anything but the
 target of the focus.  Roger has all the pilots try to call out to their
 friend and get him to return to his senses, which totally doesn't work.

 So, what will?  Well, as bad writing^W^Wfate would have it, Rand and Mail
 show up out of nowhere at this point.  When Crow takes a threatening step in
 their direction, Rand and Mail "fight back" preemptively and totally demolish
 his ass.  I mean, _really_ demolish, like, bhut jolokia the wrong way through
 the digestive track-level ass demolition.  This might have been overdoing it
 a _weeee_ bit, even given that Crow was somehow able to eject.  Zexis get
 busy rescuing what's left of Crow and taking out the remaining Insalaum
 forces.  They're going to need Crow healthy if they're ever going to get
 Esther back...

Rand and Mail have come at a pretty fortunate time... or unfortunate, depending
on your perspective.  Some time later, Crow has returned to his normal self --
complete with memories of his little Sphere-induced episode.  His symptoms are
both better and worse than those of someone like Eim, and he isn't sure if
he'll be able to consciously snap out of his trance-like state or not.  He
certainly failed to when facing Geraud.  The question is, what about Geraud
got under his skin so badly?

He isn't eager to discuss it, but when faced with the prospect of being
forbidden to sortie (and hence unable to pay off his debts) he comes clean.
What he hates is watching people like Geraud and Margret deliberately set aside
their better judgement for the sake of their orders... something Crow himself
did far too much of in his youth.  Or maybe it's that Crow was jealous of
Giraud for embracing his doubts and _yet_ being able to carry out his mission.
Zero remarks that this is a fairly muddled set of deliberations, and Crow
suggests mildly that Zero's mechanical view of psychology could be the
product of a certain... lack of experience.  Zero digests that a moment, and
then says "fair enough" -- if Crow truly has that good an understanding of his
own inner workings, Zero will guarantee he stays free.  But Crow had better
figure out how to control his Sphere issues, or next time Zero will be forced
to take drastic measures.  Crow asks for nothing more, save that someone pick
up whatever is left of his corpse and send it back to Traia for analysis.

But that's the future.  In the present, the question is what's become of
Esther.  Lakshata promises to take the data Zero's gathered to Traia, whose
specialist knowledge of the DBs puts her in a better position to draw
conclusions than Zero himself.  Meanwhile Holland has been interrogating the
Firebug pilots who managed to eject, but none of them seem to know much about
where Eureka might have been taken.  Zero will take turns questioning them
next, and Crow tells him to give him a ring if anything comes to light.  In
the meantime, he's going to go say hi to the dude who pulverized his mech.

Tamashiro can't believe Crow could be so level-headed after all that's
transpired.  Those with eyes to see know that Crow must be tied up in knots
inside, and yet is looking past that to the bigger picture.  Knowing him, he'll
try to take responsibility with his own hands at some point.  Renton is the
same way, and Holland figures everyone's better off if he goes back to the
sidelines and lets Renton have space to think about how best to help his
erstwhile girlfriend.

Rand is busy catching up with the Zexis team, already having been briefed on
the parallel-world-people thing from Banjou.  It seems he was brought by the
Quake that Insalaum caused three weeks back, and has been putting the time to
good use fixing stuff (and occasionally doing the opposite).  He's hoping that
he and Gain can get their "Heat and Cool" team back together, and it's not like
Gain has anywhere better to be.  When Crow shows up and makes introductions,
Rand insists on making up for his rather violent intervention by fixing the
Blaster as good as new.  That's good with Crow, who amazingly offers Rand a
drink on him to say thanks for restoring him to his senses.  He knows they'll
all have their work cut out for them rescuing Esther and Setsuko.  AND he has a
lot of questions for a fellow Sphere-bearer, which is why the other pilots
wisely siphon Mail away to leave them some time alone.  Crow realized Rand was
a kindred Sphere-bearer the moment he saw him, which is very strange because
that did _not_ happen with Setsuko.  It means that his Sphere Factor is getting
very strong, and he desperately wants to know what he's in for...

Eureka has been brought before Unblown, who _very_ unconvincingly tells her
there's nothing to be afraid of if she obeys.  There's no telling just when
Unblown will get the data she wants, as a higher-priority test subject has
just fallen into her lap.  Margret requests permission to look out for Eureka
in the meantime, as she knows her from before and expects that Eureka will be
"more cooperative" for her.  This is of course a pretext for Margret to be able
to protect Eureka.

Marilyn seems a bit unhappy with the arrangement, but given that she's broken
every doll she's ever been given [in which case, keep her the fuck away from
my BJDs -- oh snap did I say that out loud?] she'd make a highly nonideal
custodian for such an important test subject.  Unblown intends to fix all the
shortcomings of her artificial Revive Cells by studying Esther, and eagerly
looks forward to what kind of DB would result from transforming Crow and his
D Extractor.  The cowardice of the Insalaum scientists before her in forbidding
research into Dimensional Science is beyond her belief, and she's determined
to make all Insalaum's people bow before her scientific might before all is
said and done.  Marilyn is super impressed, and receives a new mission:
capturing a Singularity...


CHAPTER 26. Falling to Hell

The interrogation will be carried out in accordance with Federation
regulations, and Zero promises that if the prisoner answer the questions, his
freedom is guaranteed.  The Arcsabers seem to be an honorable lot, and when the
prisoner agrees to cooperate in accordance with the knighthood's creed, Zero
relaxes a bit -- looks like he won't have to use his Geass.  The prisoner
names himself Kevin McLaren, Third Knight Corps, third grade (equivalent to
an army captain).  He says that Insalaum's primary objective in invading the
Earth is securing labor and resources for the rebuilding of his homeworld
(ravaged, you'll remember, by Gaiou).  He's not sure what Margret told the
team, but from what he knows something like 40% of Insalaum's populace
survived the war, and about half its territory was _not_ laid waste.

That doesn't tally with what Margret and Shubal have said, which Kevin
ascribes to them being in the vanguard that fell first to Eim's machinations.
The rest of the country may have been ravaged, but it didn't fall entirely and
in fact _repulsed_ Gaiou -- who, from what he understands, came to Earth next.
This does explain why the Insalaum < Gaiou < Earth inequality wasn't holding
up.  Kevin recommends that Earth surrender before his lord Yuusar gets upset;
despite his humble appearance, he's terrifying when angered.  Terrifying enough
to give Gaiou pause (supposedly), and terrifying enough to have killed his
own father.

..Whoa.  Supposedly he made Unblown his regent before beginning the invasion,
which should have eyebrows raised throughout the room.  At least Zexis now
know what to do next, and as promised they let Kevin go free.  He counts
himself lucky that he was captured by such honorable folks, and means to make
a favorable reporting when he returns to his squadron.  Setsuna and Allelujah
are assigned to give him a small transport and see him on his way.

Roger reckons that at least the fear of the prince was genuine, which implies
that Earth should _not_ surrender.  As Zero knows well, victors are seldom
charitable to losers.  Though all this information needs to be sent up the
ladder to the top Federation brass, Zero presumes that Zexis will still get
stuck doing the actual fighting when the inevitable war breaks out.  Sumeragi
agrees with Saeki's recommendation to stop by Japan first, in the hopes of
giving the team a little R&R.  Maybe they can catch one of the Twinkle Project
shows?

Crow is in the hangar with a serious scowl on his face, having finished a
marathon drinking session with Rand.  He's hung over, tired from Rand's banter,
many dollar's worth of alcohol poorer, and not much more informed about the
Spheres.  He's only got one lead left (Asakim), but that's better than none.
He and Renton are surprisingly good for cheering each other up, given how
the women in their life are currently missing.

Crow wasn't the only one in info-gathering mode.  Rand wasn't _just_ enjoying
the booze, but also finding out more about his fellow Sphere-bearer and busting
his ass trying to mend the damage he dealt to the Blaster.  Gain asks if Rand
and Crow are destined to kill each other, and Rand huffs that he's not a
dickwad like Asakim or Eim.  For starters, neither he nor Crow have any
particular interest in gaining each other's powers, busy as they are leading
their own lives.  Maybe Asakim and Eim's problem is that they had too much
spare time on their hands?  In any case, Rand is grateful for the chance to
help save Setsuko and Esther, and intends to hang with Zexis for the foreseeable
future.

Kei meanwhile is awfully curious about Japan's hot springs, especially the one
called Kurogane-ya which her father spoke about often.  Kouji is reluctant to
speak of it at first, but when she persists he tells her that ogres dwell
there, in particular a dreaded female ogre who sheds neither tears nor blood.
And when he says genuine "ogre", he means it -- fuck this clown prince of
Insalaum guy.  Some distance away, Kouji's teammates see how agitated he is but
don't know what happened between him and Tsubasa to engender such animosity.
Call it rumor mill fail.

The rumor-mongering is cut short when Gou somehow senses an enemy approach.
Sure enough, Benkei rushes in moments later with word that Mechabeasts are
advancing on Atami.  Kouji's ready to kick Dr. Hell's ass, but Gou and Takeru
warn him that something scary is about to go down.

Dr. Hell's sent a veritable army to lure Zexis into action, and Tsubasa
figures that maybe she should her her freak on instead.  Shizuko tells her
she mustn't die yet: she's got a duty as a mother to tell Kouji and Shirou the
Truth(tm).  Tsubasa agrees, not intending to lay her life down here anyway.
Knowing this day would come, she's hired a few bodyguards... that would be
Boss and his hapless lackeys.  Tsubasa's real lackeys tell Boss and they others
they'd better not even think of showing the enemy their back, lest they be
seen as "ungrateful" for all the hospitality they've enjoyed.

 The encroaching army seems to lack any semblance of tactics besides brute
 force bullrushing -- does Dr. Hell really think he can simply _overpower_
 Zexis?  No, of course not.  Dr. Hell's prepared a bunch of "mechanical
 life forms" called Kedoras, which promptly go and glom onto Mazinger-Z
 and infiltrate the Tower.  They grow by eating machines, and Tsubasa growls
 that Dr. Hell must have gone irrevocably bat-shit insane if he's unleashed
 these.  Sure they're menacing Zexis -- they're menacing _everybody_, Ashura
 included, and if Dr. Hell thinks he can control them, he needs to be
 committed.

 The Kedoras, to everyone's astonishment, can actually talk!  They claim to
 be warriors of the ancient Mikeene, and vow to destroy everything not of
 Mikeene origin.  They also have some kind of resonance going, inducing a
 Quake with their very breath!  So, whoever released these things needs to be
 seriously sacked.

 They teleport the team to what Tsubasa, looking very youthful, calls an
 abyss between worlds, where past and future are comingled.  This is one of
 those setups where everyone sees a personalized vision, and Tsubasa is very
 curious to know what everyone will see.

 Lelouch and C.C. see what she calls the "C World" -- a world "without lies"
 according to Marianne.  As in, Lelouch's _mom_ Marianne.  Kei sees Gou as
 he lies in a stasis pod, and the Newtypes (including Setsuna!) start to
 experience transcendence.  Renton sees Eureka and a Rainbow.  Simon sees
 the space, and someone resembling Nia who tells him that neither he nor
 mankind are permitted to grow any further.  Crow and Rand experience utter
 blackness, which Asakim says is what lies in the depths of their hearts.
 Alto sees the Twinkle Project...

 ...And back to Kouji, who sees someone who looks just like Mazinger battling
 kind of giant monster.  Ashura declares that to be the god Zeus, betrayer
 of the Mikeene.  See, in the old days, sea and land belonged to the Mikeene,
 and the humans groveled before them in fear.  Ashura cries out to his god
 Hardes to strike Zeus down.

When the team regains their senses, they find themselves in some totally
unknown place.  That's bad from the standpoint of Sheryl and the others, who
are still back in the real world.  Sheryl is desperate to find something to do
to help, and Basara tells her to shut her pie-hole.  He and Ranka seem to know
what must be done: singing!  It's already been shown that their songs generate
Fold Waves, which if amplified might just open a portal to wherever Zexis has
gone.  Grace is looking forward to seeing if the Little Queen can pull this
off, but Sheryl thinks the whole thing is retarded -- she opts to sit by and
pray for Alto's safety.  This doesn't seem entirely like her, to be honest..

Sensors are largely on the frizz, but from what they can see there isn't a
single structure or living thing for a hundred kilometers in any direction.
The desolation reminds the team of nothing so much as the area around the ZONE.
Kouji wishes the team could catch a Kedora and use it to get back, and Tsubasa
(who's come aboard the Tower) says that's precisely the right idea.  She's
got Ashura by the scruff of the neck, saying he's as good a person to explain
what's going on as any.

The Kedora were developed as electronic brains, to enable the Mechabeasts to
have some measure of autonomy.  The Mikeene were the old gods, who waged
war across the galaxy, fighting Baal in _every_ galaxy by crossing space and
time.  Baal is a dreadful foe, opposing the future of all sentient beings, and
the battle between it and the gods is so dreadful that Ashura can't even bear
to recount it.  As for how Ashura knows so much, it turns out his two halves
are named Tristan and Isolde.  The memory had been repressed by the dreadful
force that fused them into one, but the sight of Zeus brought everything back.

Tristan and Isolde were servants of the Mikeene gods, and he knows now that
the team must find the Master Kedora to return home.  He knows how to control
it, and maintains that the team can trust him/her: they need to see Dr. Hell
again.  It was he who pulled Ashura from the Lake of Fire, and Ashura believes
his debt to Dr. Hell will never be repaid.

The question, Tsubasa says with a smirk, is whether the team will believe
their enemy.  It's a hard decision, but one the team will have to make as the
Mechabeasts, now controlled by the Kedora, attack.  Kouji agonizes over it
considerably, then declares that as much as he hates Ashura, he's declaring
a truce till they get home.  Things get weirder when Wayne shows up, on a
mission to see to it that Zexis is buried here.  Quite vicious, and Duo smirks
that Wayne makes a fitting servant for the bloodthirsty prince of Insalaum.
That gives Wayne pause, and he tells Zexis that they have no idea what he's
going through -- nor is it worth his time to explain, but hey.

Crow will have to figure out ways of controlling himself while facing Wayne,
and that seems to mean not using the SPIGOTs, his biggest weapon.  That's a
bummer, given that the Master Kedora has been trained exclusively to wipe
out all cultures other than Mikeene.  This upsets Wayne, and if _he_ kills
it the team will be stranded here forever.  This makes for a very delicate
three-sided battle...

 Poor Wayne just can't catch a break against Zexis, and it's starting to
 really get to him.  Snarling that he'll never forgive himself for this latest
 loss, he bugs out while the bugging is still vaguely good.

 The Master Kedora exclaims that victory is impermissible for it, and knocking
 it down seems like it won't be enough.  But this is when Ashura and Kouji
 spring into action, and the former Mikeene priest+priestess know(s) how to
 bring the thing to heel.  Only One Problem(tm).

The blasted thing got _so_ blasted that it can't be counted on to target
properly.  Things seem dire until a song starts emanating from nowhere in
particular: it's Ranka, singing a song that Ashura somehow knows.  The music
then shifts to Fire Bomber, and Ashura hastily arranges to follow the music to
its source.  PIECE OF CAKE!

Alto has plenty of praise for Ranka for saving him with song... and for Basara
too, at least a bit.  Sheryl hangs back from the merriment, unable to face
Alto without having tried singing herself.  Basara has decided to hang out
with Zexis, whose burning souls feel like a good duet for his music.  He tells
the rest of the band to come with him, figuring that Ranka can manage the
Twinkle Project stuff by herself if she keeps singing like she did today.
Grace goes along with it, under the proviso that they come back as special
guests when their schedule allows.  This way, Grace gets to have the
uncontrollable Basara out of her hair AND stimulate the growth of the Little
Queen still further.

Kouji is still having a rough time accepting his mom, and when she needles
him about it he grits his teeth and trudges off, telling Boss and co. to hold
the fort while goes and, to paraphrase Tsubasa, "fledges fully".  Truth be
told, his resolve is already fully-fledged: he just needs a bit more seasoning
to become 100% kick-ass.  Tsubasa looks forward to him coming back, knowing
that when he does, he'll get to peer through a different door to a brand new
edition of hell.

Wayne's back at the palace facing the music from Geraud, who's furious that
Wayne mobilized troops and his mecha without express orders from Yuusar.
After getting punched once, Wayne demands to know what the point of the
Arcsabers is if not fighting for the sake of their country.  His master, for
instance, even went so far as to become Gaiou's lackey, all for the sake of
sending back intelligence.  And now look at the knights who remain: slaves
to the young punk and the old bag.  Geraud decks him again, telling him that
one more word of disrespect to the prince and he'll challenge Wayne to a formal
duel (presumably to the death).  Wayne growls back that it's more than a
little stupid for the few knights left to be fighting each other.

Geraud pauses a moment, then tells Wayne to become strong.  All will be
resolved if only one has a strength surpassing all others.  That's what Geraud
wants for him, though Wayne isn't in much of a mood to hear it.  For starters,
Wayne has no intention of becoming the Knight of Knights!  The conversation
sort of peters out in a staring contest at this point.

Yuusar meanwhile has taken to paying DB-Esther visits, somehow finding her
presence calming.  Never mind the fact that he's the one who's indirectly
forcing her to fight against her will.  He asks her rhetorically what he
ought to be fighting for...


CHAPTER 27. Zero vs. Zero

Zero managed to gather a hell of a lot of data with his Druid System, making it
rather worth getting nearly killed in the process.  Traia's been going over it
personally, and Carlos and ADiC are in the loop as well.  There's no magic in
the results though: apart from differences in coloring, Esther seems to be
indistinguishable from any of the other Damon-Class DBs.  Traia forestalls Crow
fishing for rays of hope, and fortunately for both of them he gets the hint
quickly.  The best Traia can tell him is to fight in such a way that he'll have
no regrets.  Frankly, she's more worried about Crow than Esther, due to the
Sphere's negative effects on him.  She promises to redouble her efforts to
analyze the damn thing, knowing that Crow won't be able to proceed _without_
its aid.  It would be nice, for instance, if Carlos would come clean on where
he got the VX from.  Crow puts a brave face on it, but inwardly he's worried
that the next time he sees Esther he'll have to kill her...

Fire Bomber (plus Gamlin) will be joining Zexis for now, and feelings are
mixed.  Sure, more rock stars aren't a bad thing in the team in general, but
some of the pilots were hoping to see more of Sheryl and Ranka instead of
some spiky-haired diva (that would be Basara).  Pierre on the other hand gets
all multiple-orgasmic just at the memory of their music, and Aoi has to agree
that impassioned yelling does more for her than a cute singing voice or some
sexy dance moves.

Rei formally introduces the band, and right away Michelle steps up with a
relevant question: are Gamlin, Mylene and Basara in a three-way?  That's what
the tabloids say, and as we all know if it's on the Internet it must be true!
Gamlin and Mylene both stammer their denials, and Michelle rejoices that he
actually has a shot.  Basara seemingly cares for nothing other than forcing
people to listen to his singing; for music, there is no friend or foe.  It
does, however, affect the Vajra, as well as the hearts of all the Zexis
pilots who can hear it.  Quatre, for instance, hears in it the expansiveness
of space spread out before him -- a clear vision of that which the Zero
System showed him a warped glimpse.  Speaking of which, what _are_ Trois and
Hiiro up to now?

At least Hiiro is being a professional guinea pig, made to pilot the Wing Zero
versus Mr. Bushido's newly-upgraded Mathrao.  This is all in the service of
Billy's bid for revenge against Kujou, and despite the Mathrao being just a
testbed, it's fairly kicking the Wing Zero's ass... that is, until the Zero
System kicks in.  Hiiro starts ruminating on who his real enemy is... who is it
behind Treize, the Innovators, Ioria, etc. etc.?  He arrives at the conclusion
that it's Zero himself, and immediately flies off to do something about it.

Billy tells Mr. Bushido not to worry about pursuit: though Tsubarof will be
angry, they can have some other squadron follow it.  The Wing Zero has served
its purpose, and both of them can only wonder what it was Hiiro saw.

Hiiro must really be having issues, since he first goes after Zero's body
double Sayoko.  Kunoichi though she is, it's all she can to to keep ahead of
Zero's murderous advance.  Hiiro makes his way to the underground control
room beneath Ashford Academy, meaning to take out Zero's other collaborators.
He's left a little explosive to disrupt Rolo's Geass, knowing from past
experience that Rolo can't use his Geass repeatedly.  He then fires his gun
into the equipment bays, destroying all the information-gathering capabilities
of the school and rendering it useless (he thinks) to Zero as a hideout.  He
tells Viletta that he's got no need to reveal Zero's true identity, since me
means to kill Zero himself!

He radios into Zero, telling him to come alone to meet him at Kaminejima.
The Black Knights wonder what the heck is up with the terse communication, but
Zero is determined to go meet his (former?) teammate.  Inwardly he's fuming
that revealing himself to Zero has led to this, and desperate to understand
what turned Hiiro against him so abruptly.  He figures he dare not bring any
help along, as it would only heighten the likelihood of his identity being
known to all.  If Hiiro really does mean to kill him, he may have no choice but
to use his trump card...

Lelouch shows up at the appointed time, and takes off his mask to face Hiiro
one on one.  Asked why he's turned against Lelouch, Hiiro says he's seen the
future.  The bit where Zero said he'd destroy the world for Nanaly's sake went
over Hiiro's head the first time he heard it, but he now knows that Lelouch
has sacrificed too much.  Lelouch's gentle streak makes him incapable of
shouldering all these burdens, and certain to come to a catastrophic end.
Hiiro means to kill Lelouch, that is Zero, before he triggers a tragedy that
cannot be undone.

Zero asks if Hiiro can really manage that, knowing that he's attached a little
"insurance" to Rilina.  Should anything happen to him, Rilina will meet an
unfortunate fate (he claims), and curse Hiiro for it.  Hiiro sniffs that that's
meaningless: what's meaning_ful_ is that the world Zero means to create will
collide with the world Rilina wishes for.  Thus, killing him here will lead to
her wishes being granted -- even if she's not alive to witness it.

Zero now realizes that he's underestimated Hiiro, and that this so-called trump
card is worthless.  Karen and Wufei show up on their own at this point, and
Wufei decides all on his own to side with Hiiro in order to test Zero's
resolve(!).  Hiiro tells Zero not to worry: he'll attack him "as" Zero, and
Wufei wants to take Hiiro and his weird-ass Gundam out on general principle.

 This lasts only until Zexis shows up (preferably if you take Hiiro down to
 <60% of his HP).  Wufei has concluded by this point that whatever Zero is
 up to, he's the kind of man who accepts responsibility for his actions.
 He means to see Zero through to the very end, which apparently means he's
 back on the good guys' side.  The question is Hiiro, who is being ever more
 bedazzled by the Zero System -- a system which makes it all too easy for
 humans to leave the fight to machines instead of actually having the guts to
 face each other.  Translation: "The man who passes the sentence should swing
 the sword."  And the man who passes the gas should open the goddamn window,
 as MC Hawking so astutely observed.

 Wait, what's that I hear?  Is it... the Sound of Arrows?  Why yes, and in
 their vanguard are Revive and Divine, tasked with nabbing the Wing Zero which
 figures so prominently in the narrative of Ioria's plans.  The only saving
 grace is that Hiiro sees Arrows as his enemies too.

 After absorbing enough punishment, Hiiro seems to break free of the Zero
 System's curse... only to lose consciousness.  Only to get grabbed by
 Ali, who appears out of nowhere with henchmen.  He has no intention of
 telling the team who contracted him to retrieve the Wing Zero or why, but
 since he's here he's looking forward to a fun-as-hell battle with Zexis.
 He's even having fun when his butt gets pulverized, looking forward to the
 next, even fiercer, battle.  He'd just better hope that the new Lockon
 doesn't get a shot at him, since he blames Ali for killing his brother.

It turns out that Hiiro was somehow able to eject from the Zero before Ali
grabbed it, but there are no life signs in the area... meaning that the crazy
dude somehow crawled out of the area, busted ass and all.  Where the hell would
he be off to, one wonders...  Hey, at least he's alive, right?  Possibly
immortal, even, at this rate.

Wufei has some explaining to do as to why he was fighting Zero.  His reason
hasn't changed since joining Zexis: he doubts Zero's true motives behind his
whole "Justice" facade.  He suspects Hiiro believes likewise, and that that's
what triggered the duel.  Wufei himself came back because he judged Zero
trustworthy (enough), not needing or expecting anyone to necessarily concur.

Zero shows up after all the doubts have been aired, intending to answer them
all at once.  Hiiro, he says, was under the influence of the Zero System, whose
psychotropic effects are well established.  Duo and Quatre know that it's
not that simple: whatever the Zero System shows isn't entirely baseless.  It
amplified _something_ already within Hiiro, and that's got them worried.  Wufei
however takes it at face value, explaining the reason he sheathed his sword.
Zero is _not_ motivated by higher good, but neither is he a moron -- and to
the extent that he seems determined to take responsibility for his actions,
he's earned Wufei's trust.  And if Zero ever runs out of excuses, Wufei intends
to be around to ensure that whatever good Zero had started, gets finished.
And hey, maybe some of the team he's assembled could even stop him before he
strays too far of the path, if he's lucky.

Roger for one is intensely curious about what serves as the backbone of Zero's
intellect -- how did he make himself who he is today?  For Roger, whose past is
lost to amnesia, this could be a valuable insight for charting his own course
forward.  Dorothy is curious too: why is it that both of them seem to have such
bad taste?  Zero meanwhile is pondering this future Hiiro claims to have seen,
and is 100% resolved that _he_ will be the one to decide whether or not he lets
things end up that way.  He won't permit himself to die, not until he's made a
world fit for Nanaly, and made amends for all the lives he's twisted.


CHAPTER 28. Emissary from the Darkness

Watta has been having a moral quandary for several missions now (unbeknownst to
everyone, including him): aren't the Mobile Dolls very tragic?  Like, born only
to fight, never knowing anything else?  Well, never "knowing" anything at all
given they're machines, but still!  It sounds so _obviously_ bad that clearly
those meeeean old Adults(tm), who've forgotten how to be honest with each
other and themselves, must be responsible for war!  Maybe if people made
robots for the right reasons, they could be our FRIENDS!  Like Lorelai for
instance, before everything went to pot.

Takeru meanwhile is in a great mood over the news that Rose (his "girlfriend")
is coming to visit.  Recall that Rose was a former Gishin commander before
becoming a major figure in the anti-Zhul resistance.  Takeru would love to
find out a bit about this "Power of Darkness" business, but even just seeing
her face would be good.  Keeping in mind that Takeru isn't an Earthling, it
seems as though everyone else in the galaxy is following the "Make Love"
dictum, while the Earthlings are busy making war on each other.

The team returns to Battle Camp without further incident, reporting in to
Ootsuka about what they've been up to.  The commanders' plan is to continue
keeping the heat off Zexis and letting them do what they do, which is fighting
for world peace.  And that especially means doing something about Insalaum,
who have in fact openly declared war and who are aggravatingly good at
hide-and-seek warfare.

Rose is ushered in, a rather grave look on her face from the outset.  The good
news is that the worlds dominated by Zhul are starting to calm down at last.
The bad news is that she has no guess what this Power of Darkness could be.
The very mention of it has sown a seed of fear in her, however, and she tells
Takeru that she's now very afraid.  He doesn't get much chance to soothe her
fears, due to the alarm going off.  It's a detachment of Robot Mafia types,
headed to a seemingly deserted place called Kuroushi-jima.  Shikijima is
horrified at this, and pleads for Zexis to be sortied to go save one "Professor
Furanken".  This guy is a world-class robot researcher, and guess what: he's
said to be working on robots with hearts!  It's almost as though he's been
reading the script or something...

[Brief digression for language tiems.  "Furanken" is, by the looks of it, none
other than Franken von Fogler of "Giant Robo" fame -- which makes sense given
that the anime is a deliberate pastiche of Yokoyama works.  Here's the
awkwardness: instead of spelling his name in kana, they deliberately spell it
in kanji.  Now, if you believe the guy is German, that would make "Fu-Ran-Ken"
a clever-yet-unusual case of ateji.  In this game however, it appears that
"Furanken" is actually a surname, and absent any other evidence I am going to
preserve the novelty(?) of the game's kanji usage in my spelling in the FAQ.]

Furanken's masterwork has just been completed, conveniently enough: "Black Ox".
In fact, Furanken has been getting support from Branch all along, and Branch
figures that Black Ox's existence should satisfy "Him" more than Donau Alpha-1
ever could have.  Furanken laments that Stroheim's own perversion brought
Donau Alpha-1 to a sad end, and vows that Black Ox will have a much brighter
future as a productive member of society.  See, that's the troublesome part:
Branch's been hired to have Ox go on a rampage instead.  And Furanken should
have been expecting that from them, umm, "Robot Mafia" when he signed up for
their financial aid.

Furanken opts to resist anyway, and rushes over the the device that will copy
his mind into the robot: the final step needed to kickstart its AI.  Branch
simply shoots him, and orders his men to destroy the transfer device.  They
get interrupted, however, by Shotarou and friends, who clearly outnumber them
and force them to flee.  The pilots rush off in pursuit, leaving a few folks
behind to look to to the dying roboticist.  Furanken is too far gone to be
saved, telling the team in his last few moments how kick-ass Black Ox is.
The main problem is that interrupted neural transfer, which has left it with
the mind of a three-year old.  With his last breath, he entrusts Shikijima
with safeguarding his life's work.

The Robot Mafia have sortied their forces, and it looks at first to be a
routine cleanup job for Zexis.  However, Rose has that bad feeling going on,
so there's no telling what to expect.  Except the Spanish Inquisition, because
no one ever expects that.

 Not long after battle begins, Black Ox strides onto the field.  It reacts
 to its own name, truly an autonomous entity, but suddenly the voice of the
 dead Furanken rings out from the sidelines, putting an end to its happy
 march toward Zexis and safety.  There's a simple explanation this time:
 Branch is using a little gadget that imitates Furanken's voice.  Result:
 gotta fight the darn thing.

 It kind of sucks in combat, fortunately, and the team quickly brings it to a
 halt.  It un-halts though, determined to do its utmost to fulfill what it
 thinks is its father's will.  Branch orders it to go kill Shotarou, who
 stands his ground and appeals to Black Ox's notion of what sort of person
 his "father" really is.  Would his real father order him to do bad things?
 Or could it be... that that rotten guy Branch is just pretending to be
 Furanken?  Shotarou even plays the "both of us have lost our fathers now"
 card, and he finally gets Black Ox to stop and pay attention.

 Branch gets fed up with this just around the time Rose shows up and blasts
 his little voice modulator box.  Metarl then shows up in turn, blasting
 her and revealing himself to be Branch's employer.  Rose can't survive
 another blast of his TK, but fortunately Mars intervenes and IN TURN blasts
 Metarl.

 ...Who, doesn't seem fazed, or phased for that matter.  Metarl turns out to
 be the eponymous Emissary from the Darkness (big surprise), and tells Mars
 that all this elaborate nonsense is a scheme to take over the Earth.  And
 all who stand in his way stand to get the business.

 Back on the battlefield, Black Ox needs some edjumificashun.  Let it kill
 at least three bad guys on autopilot.  That sounds hard until a bunch of
 Darkness reinforcements show up.  Metarl explains that he had had Branch
 go after Donau Alpha-1 in order to not have a heartful robot running loose,
 but in retrospect it was a dumb idea: all the people who care about courage,
 compassion etc. are slated for termination anyway.

 Takeru tries to rejoin the fight, but finds himself unable to perform the
 Six-Gods Fusion.  Metarl gloats that this is due to his "Devil Ring" power,
 which currently has Takeru ruled by Despair(tm).  That sounds like the
 perfect opportunity for a pep talk, and... you guessed it... another mech
 appears out of nowhere to deliver it.  It's God Sigma, whose pilots are
 _not_ impressed with the Power of Darkness.  For them, plot-mandated
 SPOOOOOKY zombie-raising forces are no big deal: they've got their own
 capabilities, so does the rest of Zexis -- might as well call this the
 "Power of Light" -- and it's really as simple as having the will to fight on.
 Oh, so I can just go and bludgeon the bad guys like always?

 You betcha.  Branch for instance can't put up much of a fight physically,
 but he does have some psychological warfare left in him.  When Shotarou tries
 to follow, Branch asks if he's really so determined to die like his father.
 Yes, Branch is the guy who killed him, and if Shotarou keeps treading on his
 coattails Branch will send him to where his father's at in short order.

Metarl is a pretty durable dude, and of course doesn't die when first beaten
down.  After apparently retreating, he communicates psychically with Mars and
Rose.  The true power of the Devil Ring is that the more Mars uses his
telepathy, the more his life will be drained away.  And of course it can't
be taken off, at least unless he kneels at Metarl's feet.  Is death his only
fate?!?

Shotarou's father was killed on account of his research into solar energy
transfer, which numerous parties wanted silenced.  Branch was just the agent
who happened to pull it off first.  Shotarou is very similar in some ways to
Black Ox in terms of paternal loss, and like Black Ox is determined to work for
peace.  Shikijima will take Black Ox back to his lab to raise him properly.

God Sigma has just finished its survey of the Solar system, paying particular
attention to the Dimension Warp Zone in accordance with Marin's report
on the Insalaum.  As Marin feared, it seems the spot is fast becoming a stable
gateway to a parallel world, and possibly a trigger for another World Breaking.
Even all the science Marin learned on S-1 isn't equal to the task of severing
such a gateway safely, and trying it _unsafely_ could invite another Dohar
catastrophe.  Nothing for it but to entrust the Federation's scientists to
think on their feet.  Kiraken tells the team to say hi to Domeki for him, who
he "just bumped into" near the Dimension Warp Zone.  That implies that F.S.
has had the original Dancougar team sniffing around the spot, but it's anyone's
guess as to why.

Takeru meanwhile has done the stupid thing, deciding that he's got to deal with
Metarl all by himself.  His thinking is that the Devil Ring seems to have been
prepared specifically to target him, and the rest of the party mustn't be put
in jeopardy on his account.  By the same token, he's promised Marg that he
won't die, and Rose makes him promise to at least consult her if anything
changes with the Devil Ring.  She plans to stick around Earth and do her own
investigation into this Metarl character, desperately wishing for ways to be
useful.

Rumors are starting to circulate of a bloodless revolution in Azadistan,
carried out under the banner of Absolute Pacifism.  The eyes of the world are
turning increasingly towards that small nation, and the mercenary community
smells an opportunity there.  One band in particular has recently incorporated
a young man of considerable skill, and considerable disinterest in
socializing.  That is, until Quatro shows up with word from Treize -- who has
a little something he wants to give to Hiiro...


CHAPTER 29. The Warriors' Scream

Treize welcomes Hiiro as an emissary of the Peace he cherishes so much, which
might strike some as odd given how many rounds of ammo Hiiro has squeezed off
this week alone.  Hiiro wants to get down to business immediately, but Treize
in his unflappable way manages to engage him on the subject of Peace... which
to Hiiro is merely the state that exists when the fighting is over.  Who, then,
is Hiiro's enemy?  Anyone who stands before him and seeks his life, or so he
thinks.  Treize thinks otherwise, observing that there can be no end to
fighting whoever Fate sends his way -- if so, his enemy must therefore be
Fate itself.

All the same, that sort of fighting won't change where the world is heading;
that requires someone like Treize to act, as he acted once before already when
establishing the current order.  Treize has no desire to tread that path
again; nevertheless, he doesn't view his time with Hiiro in vain.  Seeing the
young warrior, totally unafraid of death and willing to experience it at any
time during battle, is what he describes as the greatest joy in his life.
Hiiro is, in short, the prototype for how humankind should be.  Unfortunately,
the both of them have currently lost sight of their enemy, and Treize states
that Hiiro must not end up like him.  Luckily, he's got something that can
show Hiiro the way: the Gundam Epyon.

It's fitted with the same system as the Wing Zero, and what Treize hopes is
that Hiiro will use it to find a future worth fighting for -- something which
Treize has despaired of doing himself.  Should Hiiro fail, Treize means for the
both of them to bid the cruel world farewell.  See, Treize believes to this day
that human propriety exists in battle... and yet, he's been unable to glimpse
the future in that way so far.  The Epyon serves two purposes: one, a sort of
"if at first you don't succeed" bid to enlist others' help in his
enlightenment.  And two, as a way to bless both the Victors and Losers in the
battles to come.  A god?  Perhaps: if nothing else, it will remove all doubts
from any warrior with the will to fight.  Who could be closer to godhood than
that?

One final warning for Hiiro, who needs to go on fighting and sees the Epyon as
as good a method as any: he must not assume that it's a weapon.  Treize wants
Hiiro to come back a Loser, and frankly Hiiro wants the same.  May his battles,
Treize wishes, bless the world!

Trois, it turns out, is still alive and is back hanging out with Catherine in
the circus.  Said circus has come to Azadistan, a nation in need of some
entertainment if ever there was one.  Trois seems to be quite amnesiac,
referring to Catherine as his elder sister, and she for her part intends to
never let him get near a battlefield again.  The fact that he kept his promise
to return to her carries much weight...

Revive and Healing are in space, discussing the impending demolition of the
Wing Zero.  They have _not_ been allowed to try their hand at the Zero
System, ostensibly because -- given that the Innovators can already glimpse
the future -- it wouldn't work on them.  Certainly no one else has been able
to master the damn thing.  It seems almost a shame to get rid of it before its
role in Ioria's plans becomes clear, but Unknown Unknowns are generally
something to avoid.  And, it's durable enough to offer decent practice for the
Mobile Dolls.

Before the shooting begins, a very unexpected guest appears: Zechs Marquis,
or rather Milliard Peacecraft.  Howard clued him in on the pending
"assassination", seeing in Milliard a chance for world peace.  Milliard in turn
sees the Wing Zero as vital to overthrowing the Innovators, and though it
pains him greatly to bid farewell to the faithful Tallgeese, he sacrifices it
in a desperate bid to board the Zero.  The Innovators expect him to fail like
the rest of its would-be pilots, but to their shock he not only masters it, he
flies off like a fucking madman before they can lift a finger.  His course
indicates planetfall in Azadistan, and that can only mean a showdown with
Arrows is in the cards...

Meanwhile, an unexpected guest has come to the Ptolemy-2: Ian's wife Linda.
Who, it turns out, is shockingly young (enough to make Shinn jealous of Ian).
She's also an engineer, and has come bearing the 0-Riser, a support gadget
capable of expressing the Double-0's true worth.  Ian sees it as an agent for
changing the world, which may not be as much of an exaggeration as it sounds.
Linda's also brought Trois' Heavy Arms, stashed for safekeeping while he was
off infiltrating Oz.  Ian agrees to undertake an upgrade, hoping in the process
to learn more about the five doctors and their time with the CBs.

Doubtless all the new firepower will come in handy when (not "if") Arrows
tries to force Azadistan back into the Federation.  As Setsuna wishes for
Trois' safe return, Camille senses something very familiar from him... something
that would mark him as a Newtype.

Lint will be in charge of the Arrows' offensive, after Katy's relief of command
in the wake of the previous debacle.  Koorasawar is as in love with her as
always, intending to do better this time and give her something to smile about.
Arrows mission is to crush the Azadistan rebels, lest their ties with Cinq
Kingdom lead to an ever bigger embarrassment for the Feds.  Koorasawar knows a
surprising amount about Cinq, and about the mercenary Red Shoulder folks Arrows
has been obliged to hire.  Louise has her reservations about fighting Rilina's
friends, but her role in Arrows is just one of the many changes she's undergone
lately.  Jinin too has changed, insofar as he's single again: widowed by
Catalon bombs... a fact he's not shy about using to motivate Louise to fight.

Mr. Bushido finds Ypsilon glaring at the Mobile Dolls, which to his mind are
a prostitution of everything that makes warriors noble.  Wars, in his view,
should be fought for the pride of humans facing other humans, and on that he
and Bushido can firmly agree.

Speaking of Rilina, she's decided to pay Marina a visit, hoping to learn more
about peace at her side.  Dorothy has tagged along, and is far less optimistic
about a bloodless resolution to Azadistan's problems than Rilina is.  Then
again, Nanaly is also hanging out with Marina, admiring the determination
that brought Marina back to her nation despite its best efforts to kick her
out.  Cinq, Azadistan and Area 11 seem to have quite the axis of peace going
on, and if only Euphemia were alive today (and not reviled as a mass murderer)
the picture would be perfect.  Alternately, there's the idol of all idols:
Diana Sorel: Queen of the Moon.

The pleasant reminiscence is broken up by an unannounced attack on the capital.
This, says Suzaku (on hand to protect Rilina) is how the world actually works.
And not a moment too soon, according to Dorothy.  The man responsible is Ali,
glorying in burning citizen and government representative alike.  Neina
(remember her?) is watching in disgust from the sidelines, barely restrained
by orders to keep watch on the guy.  Killing his ass is more like what she
has in mind, in revenge for Johann's death, but she's gritting her teeth and
watching for now.

As Dorothy sees it, this sort of thing is bound to happen as long as people
exist who attempt to restrain others' fighting instincts.  Blaming this mess on
Absolute Pacifism seems like a bit of a stretch, but Dorothy and her eyebrows
have never been all that sane.  In any case, Zexis is on hand to try to
mop up what's left of the capitol, which is to say damn little.  Ali sics
Arrows on Zexis, as predicted, and they secure Suzaku's cooperation with the
prospect of taking Zero out.  Bushidou isn't impressed with the all-new,
all-murderous Suzaku, nor is he thrilled about how Arrows intends to pin all
this on the Celestial Beings.  Not the most civilized way of settling their
differences, to be sure.

Kiriko gets his own surprise when Ypsilon shows up among the bad guys, and a
military march starts playing.  This seems to be the Red Shoulders' anthem,
and it seriously disturbs the normally unflappable Kiriko.  He surveys the
sea of flames and the Red Shoulders standing among it -- it seems Hell hasn't
loosed its grip on him yet.  Sumeragi orders Kiriko to lead the charge
against the ground foes.

Trois and the circus are in town with some of the worst(?) timing ever.
Catherine is once again looking out for Trois, and by no means intends to let
him get in harms' way.  Just the mention of "protecting" him gives him a
splitting headache, and Catherine wonders rightfully just how many victims like
him war must claim before being satiated.  Seeing her distress, Trois goes out
on a little "errand", promising to protect her.

Back on the battlefield, Hiiro shows up in the Epyon, wondering what the hell
Treize is thinking.  Well whatever, enemies to blow way!

 Mr. Bushido has a nasty surprise in store: his own Trans-Am system!  Veda
 isn't supposed to have had any records of how it works, and that would tend
 to imply that Arrows reverse-engineered the design on their own.  Whatever
 its providence, the Trans-Am system makes taking down the Mathrao priority
 number one.

 As the battle wears on, the Epyon system activates, causing Hiiro to want to
 destroy each and every being that wants to fight.  Meanwhile, Milliard shows
 up in the Wing Zero, wondering if this conflagration is the rightful state
 of the world.  Hiiro comes on the offensive, and Zechs demands to know if
 Hiiro is his enemy.  Hiiro snaps back that he should ask the Zero system,
 and Zechs does just that.  It tells him to kill everyone who's come here to
 kill, and Zechs is willing to battle Hiiro as one warrior to another.

 The two Gundams start laying waste to the scenery, and that's Lint's cue to
 send in even more Mobile Dolls.  Unless the warring Gundams can be stopped,
 even Zexis can't mount an effective counterattack.  Howard radios Duo at
 this point, telling him that Zechs (who, like Duo, has been taken under
 Howard's wing as an anti-Arrows freedom fighter) is aboard the Wing Zero...
 and has fallen under its spell.  Duo yells to Setsuna to try using the
 Trans-Am system, which was so effective when Duo was possessed by it.

 When he cuts the Trans-Am limiter the Twin Drive powers up past what
 Linda describes as the theoretical limit, in danger of simply exploding.
 Ian hastily scrambles Saji in the 0-Riser, hoping to prevent all-out
 calamity.  When it docks, Setsuna's previous psychic attempts to connect with
 Hiiro and Milliard finally come to fruition.  What he, and the other
 Newtypes, can hear are the voices of all the warriors in attendance at this
 battle.

 Louise and Saji can hear each other, wondering at each other's presence
 on opposite sides of the battle lines.  Quatre reestablishes contact with
 Trois, who despite his amnesia finds something tear-jerkingly familiar in
 this moment of communion.  Catherine is on the party line as well, and
 though she still wishes she could keep Trois from fighting, she's resigned
 to the thought of him going and doing the right (dangerous) thing.

 Hiiro and Milliard can hear each other too, and Setsuna tells Hiiro that
 he surely has the ability to beat his mech.  Just as Hiiro told Setsuna to
 become a Gundam back in the day, Setsuna is now telling Hiiro to _defeat_ a
 Gundam.  Others add their voices too, including Rilina, who hopes both Hiiro
 and her brother will join her on the path of peace one day.  Even Marina
 gets in on the act, telling Setsuna that while she doesn't know why he
 fights, she believes that they're both headed towards the same destination.

 All of this has awakened the Zeta Gundam's Bio Sensor, which further enhances
 everyone's ability to understand each other.  Hiiro reaches out to Milliard,
 proposing that they trade Gundams.  Hiiro believes the Epyon when it says
 that Milliard will be an obstacle, but the Epyon itself was built by Treize,
 whose motives Hiiro can't comprehend.  Zechs agrees that Treize would have
 given him the Epyon if he could have, and the trade is made.

 Hiiro's hesitation is gone, and he means to put the Zero to its proper use.
 As Hiiro bends the Zero System to his will, Milliard figures out who his own
 enemy is and flies off.  Trois also shows up, picks up his newly-upgraded
 mech, and proceeds to ruin Lint's day.  Interestingly, Zero and C.C. felt the
 transcendent communion too, and C.C. observes that that must be what Charles
 is really after.

 Zero knows that Suzaku has to be here in Azadistan protecting somebody...
 Nanaly, purportedly?  But what would the steward of Area 11 be doing here??

 Meanwhile Allelujah has experienced an interesting side effect of the Double
 Trans-Am: he's now back in touch with Hallelujah!  Saji on the other hand
 finds himself distanced from Louise by virtue of becoming, inadvertently, a
 Gundam copilot.  Not exactly what he had in mind.

The battle draws to an uncertain close: much was won here (including the
Wing Zero's might, when properly tamed), and much lost.  Hiiro at least has
Rilina to thank for his sanity.  Ribbons on the other hand, back in his lair,
is super pissed off about all the Gundams with all the capabilities he's never
heard of before.  Liu Mei asks him what's got him so upset, and he slaps her
hard across the face.  Grace tells him gently that the ruler of the world
should not stoop to such acts, and Ribbons consoles himself with the thought
that getting his hands on the two Gundams will solve all his problems.  Rijeene
is intensely curious what role Ioria intended the Wing Zero to play, but
Ribbons thinks he's got it figured out.  Imagine what would occur if the Zero
System were linked to Veda, for instance?  It's demonstrably a superb way of
getting data into its pilot's head, and given that Veda has as much data as
any source in the world...

Ribbons thinks he's the only worthy pilot for these two Gundams, and Grace is
starting to see why the Colonial scientists wanted to firewall their
creations.  Unlike Ribbons, Grace does _not_ reckon that Ioria was trying to
create a god via the plans for the Gundams.  Figuring out what he _was_
trying to create will be key to understanding the arc of his whole plan.

Cue the tearful reunion with Trois and Hiiro.  In his laconic fashion, Hiiro
explains how he overcame the Zero System: even if what it shows its pilot is
their Fate, it's still up to the pilot to accept that fate or not.  Indeed,
through fighting, a pilot may _change_ their fate, which is exactly what Zero
is trying to do as well.  For his sake, Hiiro hopes he succeeds.

Noin is on hand too, having left Cinq Kingdom's employ with Rilina's
permission to join Zexis.  Rilina means to face any adversary who would assail
Cinq Kingdom without using weapons, which makes Noin's presence there a moot
point.  She would rather work with Zexis to fend off potential enemies before
they ever reach Cinq.  Hiiro thinks Rilina is too blinded by her laudable
ideals to realize that there's no way of realizing them under the current
circumstances; nevertheless, they're worth pursuing in the long run.  Most
people need "hope" to live; he, he claims, only needs his will to fight
against oppression.  It can then fall to the Absolute Pacifists to run the
world once oppression is gone.

Linda's gotten a whole load of new data to take back to her lab in space,
vowing to create even more cool gadgetry for the Double-0.  Ian on the other
hand finds himself conflicted, brought face to face with not one but _two_
Gundams that never should have existed.  Camille suspects he knows what's
going on with the Twin Drive, and with the uncanny ability to telepathically
communicate with Setsuna -- he calls Ian aside for what will be a lengthy
chat...

Saji's gone to his room to think, and before Kiriko does likewise Allelujah
asks why the Red Shoulder March upset him so.  Kiriko emphatically doesn't want
to say, but his internal monologue explains that the juxtaposition of the march
with a city in flames forced him to remember his secret sin.  What happened
on the planet Sansa is rotting his insides, ironically spurred on by Fiona's
awakening of his emotions.  The one thing he wants more than anything in the
world right now is to see her...

Lelouch is starting to suspect that Nanaly is interested in Absolute Pacifism,
a dangerous turn since Charles would by no means tolerate that in his
government.  His reverie is disrupted however when word comes in from
Taigauchi of a new ZONE in Northern India, along with the obligatory brigade
of Insalaum folks.  The fleet rushes toward the scene at flank speed!


CHAPTER 30. Pinpoint Strike

The new ZONE is indistinguishable from the previous one, including the part
how it appeared out of thin air.  Insalaum forces have basically seized control
of northern India, flattening all the Federation army types in no time flat.
This looks like a job for Zexis, but the question really is what to do once
the team reaches the ZONE itself.  Crow declares that he's prepared to do what
Setsuko did, and use his newfound Sphere powers to seal it.  He figures it's
better he do it than to let Rand have a go and make Mail a widow.

Lockon tells Crow to stop there: reaching the ZONE itself is not, in fact, a
given.  Better the team move their ass than waste time chatting.  Michelle
asks if he's that worried about Catalon's central Asian branch... not that
he's accusing Lockon of BEING A SPY OR ANYTHING.  Zero gets them to halt the
debate, and off to the side Klan tells Michelle that he's not sounding like
himself.  He's the first to admit as much, but he can't get over a feeling of
animosity toward the CB sniper.  In any case, Sumeragi and Zero plan on taking
the swiftest route to the ZONE, even if certain sacrifices must be made along
the way...

All this time, Unblown has been busily researching Singularities in her lab.
If there's anything notable about them, it's the _lack_ of notable features vis
a vis normal humans.  Not precisely a stunning result, especially given the
effort Unblown went to to get her hands on test subjects (Kei and Atena, who
only came along when Marilyn took a whole city hostage).  Truth be told, even
Marilyn didn't choose that avenue as a first resort: she had expected to be
able to seduce the famous womanizer Kei.  Kei freely admits to liking the
fairer sex -- meaning that Marilyn's failure is due to her being NOT so fair.
Unblown cuts the banter short, vowing to investigate Kei _thoroughly_ in
fullness of time and telling Marilyn to go get ready to sortie.

Marilyn flounces off, bidding a playfully mocking goodbye to Kei the
Singularity.  Kei says that if someone's gonna be playing doctor on him, he'd
rather it be Margret than Unblown.  Margret gives him a great poker face, so
he tries a more serious question: is it true that Eureka is imprisoned aboard
this ship?  She says that that's not for her to say, which is answer enough.
Unblown tells Margret not to fraternize with the samples, who after all are
merely ingredients for her Dimensional Science projects.  Kei smirks that he
was never good at science, but Unblown isn't having it.  As soon as she finds
his "opposite", certain new discoveries will follow rapidly.  In fact, one of
her science projects is now stable up in space.  Is she talking about Orson?
If so, Kei and Atena can't hang around here forever, city full of hostages or
not.  They'll wait for their chance, when this ship participates in whatever
attack is impending and their guards get negligent.  The old witch and
were-kitty are going to be VERY sorry they ever messed with Kei...

Yuusar, still emo as ever, is still chatting with Esther.  On the one hand,
he doesn't feel like he'll be much good on the battlefield.  On the other hand,
he knows it's a prince's duty to motivate the troops.  LE SIGH!  Marilyn comes
up to tell him it's time to rock and roll, claiming to have heard none of his
venting.  Actually she heard it all, and is rather worried about how much of
a problem this guy is becoming for Unblown.

The diversionary team advances toward the ZONE, and Crow decides to head out
first and see just how invincible the thing really is.  He and the team will
have to fight through its guards, DBs, first.  Amazingly, Crow's SPIGOTs do
exactly zero damage, and Kei and Atena show up to explain why.  Jeffrey makes
the snap call to withdraw the team and replan, and Crow reluctantly complies.

Rand chews Crow out for his selfish(?) action, but the real issue is the DB,
which Kei calls a "Luke Adamon".  He explains how Marilyn interrupted his and
Atena's "pleasant" holiday in this world, and then gets down to business.
The Luke Adamon takes power directly from the ZONE, warping dimensions around
it and making it immune to attacks from outside.  Well, mostly.  Kei and Atena
pilfered some data about it while Unblown was giving them the once-over, and
Zero sounds like he's been able to deduce from it a weak point.

Victory, Sumeragi cautions, is _not_ assured.  The barrier Luke Adamon erects
doesn't quite cover its immense bulk: the spot where the energy is injected
seems lightly guarded.  And this Achilles Heel's size?  20 square centimeters.
Ish.  Oh, and it's got ray shielding and shit -- only a direct hit with the
photon torpedos will-- yeah, that.  Send in the wamprat-bullseyers, turn the
targeting computers off, use the mother-loving Force, what have you.  It comes
down to taking out the surface armor with a light attack and then hitting the
real weak spot with something big yet focused -- if Zero and Sumeragi are
right, that will prevent it from using its dimension-warping powers ever again.

Gain is certain that Zexis' cadre of snipers can pull this off, though he
wouldn't mind Youko's help (wherever she's at now).  Michelle deliberately
discounts Lockon on the sniper roll-call, finally airing his grievance against
the guy: no way he gets to just run around calling himself by his brother's
moniker.  The old Lockon, frankly, was the embodiment of everything Michelle
aspires to as a sniper, and just having a twin brother doesn't make the name
fungible.  Michelle even admits openly that he's being selfish and kind of an
ass, and sort of asks the new Lockon to forget about his venting.  Err, not
that simple for people to do -- nevertheless, the more sniping aimed at the
bad guys, the better.  Gain has a little contest in mind to help take their
minds off the drama.

Speaking of drama, Kei apologizes to Renton for not rescuing Eureka during his
escape.  At least Margret seems to be ensuring that Eureka is well cared-for,
so she's unlikely to suffer any harsh treatment for now.  Even that gladdens
Renton's heart, and he's as determined as ever to rescue her.  Isn't young
love wonderful?

Some time later, we find Wayne waiting for Zexis' onslaught by the ZONE.  He
assumes Zexis' attack will be futile, though he's not pleased that the futility
only comes by relying on the perverted monsters Unblown's procured.  Glaring
at the Luke Adamon, he feels the weight of Geraud's words: power surpassing
all others, indeed.  If he is to become truly strong, he needs to do it without
relying on the old bag's pets.

Zexis' plan hinges on getting the three snipers to specific spots and blowing
the crap out of Luke Adamon's defenses.  Gain will get the first shot, and
it's up to the other pilots to fight for who gets the second shot in.  It's
kind of crazy, but it's also just the sort of added incentive needed to carry
the day under such dire circumstances.

The CBs are having "circumstances" of their own, it seems.  Anew seems to have
feelings for Lockon, while Saji is grappling with his feelings for Louise.
As much as it pains him to be Louise's enemy, he's discovered a higher calling
in fighting for world peace.  Setsuna says that he'll do the fighting, and
tells Saji to concentrate only on keeping the Twin Drive stable -- assuming
that peace ever arrives, it will fall to the non-combatants to forge the new
world order.

This time, Crow's friends are able to suppress his urge to go medieval on
Wayne's ass.  Not that Wayne should worry though: Crow will beat his ass in
once the team breaks into the ZONE.  Zexis will need to do this within five
minutes or all is lost.

 Piece of cake!  With the snipers in position, the gattings begin in earnest.
 The new Lockon proves his mettle to Michelle, and that's at least one drama
 llama slain.  Just in time too, because the second wave of Insalaum includes
 Esther.  Yuusar is on hand too, and while he praises Zexis for injuring his
 trump card, he also points out that they're nowhere near to defeating his
 people.  He tells them to surrender, or...  Or what, he'll trash the Earth?
 This is just the sort of psychopathy that Kevin was talking about, and Zexis
 calls Yuusar on it.  He seems confused, and definitely doesn't know who the
 hell Kevin is, so Margret tries to convince him to relinquish command of the
 armed forces to her.  He's determined to show his princely virtue, which
 makes him a perfect target.

 As for Esther, Crow seems to have something in mind, and against her better
 judgement Sumeragi tells the rest of the team to leave Esther to him.  The
 ZONE needs to be stopped after all, lest the whole vicinity be converted to
 a wasteland.

 Luke Adamon may be huge and buff, but it's just one more target for Zexis'
 stalwarts to practice on.  Margret violently denies leaking its weakness to
 Kei, who laments that she isn't being more honest with herself.  At least
 she knows how to get out while the getting's good, and even Prince Whatever
 has the sense to not get his royal mech reduced entirely to scrap.

 The real question mark is Esther.  It becomes clear that Crow means to put
 her out of her misery, seeing no other way out.  As he's about to pull the
 trigger, Margret frantically radios in to stop him.  She says that DB-Esther
 may still have some semblance of human intellect left, just as her (former)
 brother DB-Shane had.  As proof, Margret notes that DB-Esther seemed to
 understand what she was saying from time to time... not that there was
 anything she could do about it.  At any rate, Unblown's Artificial Revive
 Cells are incomplete, so Esther's transformation might be too!

 C.C. tells Crow that Margret is speaking the truth, and Zero secretly
 believes too -- his Geass probably wouldn't have worked on DB-Esther if she
 had no humanity left.  He cries out to Esther to "stop", as he did before
 with his Geass, and she obeys.  DB-Esther seems to recognize Crow for a
 moment, and flees at high speed.  Now Crow is hopeful again, and thanks
 Margret for the tip.  She claims to have just returned the favor Crow paid
 her before, and with no further regrets vows to defeat him next time they
 meet.  That's fine with Crow, who will face her as an Arcsaber head on.

Matters get worse when the ZONE activates, and as before the team's focused
firepower can't so much as scratch it.  Crow figures he's got to follow in
Setsuko's footsteps, but before he can reach the ZONE Wayne comes over to
stop him.  Bad move, as Crow knocks his mech completely out of commission
with one furious blow.  Before he can get back to the ZONE however, Rand steps
up to bat instead.  After all, if Crow sacrifices himself here, who'll save
Esther?  Just that now, he'll have to save Esther AND Setsuko AND Rand and
Mail too.  At least Rand and Mail are cheerful as they lock themselves into
a staring contest with the ZONE, unlike poor Setsuko.

Crow reports in to Traia, who figures Crow is much better off seeking ways to
save Esther than ways to humanely do her in.  Crow asks her to give the
battered Blaster a full checkup, and maybe some power ups while she's at it.
She's been waiting for him to ask for that, brimming with fiendish ideas.
Unfortunately, they all hinge on one thing: Crow being able to draw forth the
power of his Sphere at will.  That sounds like a tall order if the goal is to
keep him sane, but there's already the example of Hiiro beating the Zero
System's steely grip.  Maybe someone's voice could help him retain clarity?
Like Traia's, perhaps?  Crow is dubious, but further dickering will have to
wait till he gets back to the lab.  Scowling, he muses to himself and to Rand
that all Traia's upgrades might be pearls before swine if he doesn't somehow
step up his game.

Unblown is furious that Zexis turned out to have multiple D-Extractors and
could neutralize more than one ZONE.  Hearing that Crow is the only remaining
D-Extractor bearer, she order Margret to kill the guy off.  She shouldn't
have the authority to command one of the High Knights to do any such thing,
but Unblown claims that Yuusar has officially delegated that authority to her,
pissing Wayne off greatly.  Unblown _had_ wanted Crow and his mech as samples,
but under the circumstances she prefers him, simply, dead.

Margret haltingly murmurs assent, but Geraud steps in and claims the mission
as his own.  He knows that failure is not an option, and judges Margret to not
be up to the job.  Unblown is amazed and pleased that he'd do the honors, and
Geraud's orders to Margret are to serve as official witness to the duel to
come.  Again, she agrees timidly to this, even as Wayne fumes over Unblown's
increasing usurpation of Yuusar's authority.  How the hell can this be what
the trusted Arcsabers should be deployed to do?!

Yuusar is now ten times as emo as before, having failed abundantly to get any
work done in the Seiouki.  The fact that he's all by himself, pouring his soul
out to a monster he helped create, makes him even more emo yet.  Esther seems
to be trying to cheer him up (in a multi-story, Cthulian horror-sort of way),
but Yuusar has finally concluded himself to be incompetent, and Insalaum
better off with Unblown and Geraud leading the show.  It sounds as though he's
about to do something drastic and probably irreversibly tragic...


CHAPTER 31. The Unbreakable

We find Asakim ruminating on how Setsuko and Rand have left him behind: kind of
a bummer given how badly he wants their Spheres.  The news isn't all bad
though: he now understands the meaning of these ZONE contraptions, and he likes
what he sees.  He doesn't mind the prospect of an eternal, unending sleep
given how he'll be reborn in the currents of the Origin Row.  ...Whatever that
means.

It's becoming pretty clear to the Zexis pilots that these damn ZONE things must
go.  At a minimum, the next one will likely require sacrificing Crow to
stalemate; and who knows what happens after that?  Predicting the Insalaum's
moves will require tracking them down for starters, and the so-called
Dimensional Radar to do the job with is nowhere near ready.  Nor are there any
indications how to free Setsuko or Rand.  The Insalaum force that attacked
India retreated as soon as the ZONE was installed, but one can guess where
they'll show up next.  If their goal is to make their ZONE-centered invasion
stick, odds are that _they_ will come looking for Crow.

Since Luke Adamon wasn't bad-ass enough, Unblown has cooked up something
called a Giga Adamon.  Capable of leveling a Dinodemon in one hit, she claims
it is what her modified DBs have been striving to be all this time.  The
regular Adamons are just modded remnants from Gaiou's DB batch, but the Giga
Adamon is 100% biodynamically farmed _indigenous_ ravening terror.  In theory,
there's no further need to convert Earthlings and their mecha into DBs
any more, especially given how inefficiently the process gobbles Dimensional
Energy.  Unblown's invention is good news for the invasion plan, but Yuusar
finds himself wondering just who's revenant shell the demonstration was
perpetrated on.  The Dinodemons were all formerly High Knights, and although
Yuusar permitted their use in battle on the theory that they'd want to give
their lives for Insalaum, he wants to see that no further "demonstrations"
like this occur.  It costs Unblown nothing to accede to this, and she figures
the next test can happen by sending some Giga Adamons to help Geraud take out
the Sphere.

As Geraud makes to leave, he runs into Wayne at the exit.  Wayne doesn't like
seeing the Knight of Knights running errands for Unblown, but Geraud maintains
he's doing this for his Highness, and more than anything else for the warrior
blood that seeks strong opponents.  Personal errands aren't an especially noble
use of the Diamed, but Zexis is a strong enough foe that he doesn't care.  He
swears victory on the scars on his cheeks, and with a more deferential demeanor
Wayne asks where the right scar came from (given that the left scar came from
battling Gaiou).  Turns out he put the right scar on himself, to remind him
of his wife, his daughter, and of the taste of defeat.

Many lives were lost during the war, and even the 72nd King Insalaum was sent
to heaven by Gaiou's hand.  Geraud may be "guilty" of not protecting his king,
but then so are all the Arcsabers.  When Geraud and the rest of the survivors
fled between dimensions, Geraud swore never to lose again, and by scaring his
face caused himself to feel a token of the pain his family felt when they died.
The sad irony is that Insalaum got stronger by being defeated, "thanks" to
Unblown's Dimensional Science -- a power that Geraud acknowledges comes at the
unreasonable cost of Insalaum lives.  Wayne has never wanted to depend on
Dimensional Science, and Geraud wants him to hone that independent, righteous
strength.  Shubal was sure that Wayne could be the greatest knight of them
all, and Geraud has made it his mission to see that he does.  At that, Wayne
finally grins ruefully and heads off to start repairing his mech.  He tells
Geraud that he'd better be prepared to practice with Wayne when he gets back.

Geraud has words of wisdom for Margret too.  The Arcsabers are intended to
fight, not for Insalaum, but for their own beliefs.  Geraud's beliefs in fact
extend to Insalaum in general, but Margret seems to believe in Yuusar
specifically.  He remembers the smiles of the people when she was named head
of the royal guard: the sight of her and Yuusar together was precisely what
the future of Insalaum should have been.  So much has changed since then,
including Margret's heart, and Geraud tells her to live according to where her
heart leads, wherever that may be.

Crow meanwhile is having a bit of trouble getting it up to test out the
powered-up Blaster.  He's not able to engage the VX enough to budge the mech
one inch, much less clatter around the shooting range.  Traia is forced to
conclude that actual battle is needed to make the thing work, and since that
seems imminent anyway she sets about installing it for real.  As she does,
Crow gets to choose the direction for the armaments to head.  Plan A is combat-
oriented, with high maneuverability to allow coming to grips with an enemy and
dealing a fatal blow -- call it the "super robot" variant.  Plan B therefore
is the "real robot" plan, involving long-range gunnery.

 [Pick whichever one you want.]

Crow runs into Carlos next, who steadfastly refuses to tell Crow where the
hell he got the VX.  Not only has Crow not mastered the thing, Carlos thinks
it's a major miracle he can use it at all, given that it requires an
unshakable focused act of will to activate.  He reckons that Crow has basically
no will of his own to focus, that he's lacking in autonomy and subconsciously
wants his surroundings to decide things for him.  He seems to prefer even
painful courses of action to having no course at all.  Crow is beginning to get
irked by this point, but Carlos continues that Crow apparently needs to be
tied down by something in order to be able to gauge his self-worth... debts,
for instance.  Crow has to admit that Carlos has a point, and Carlos lightly
tells him to pay it no real mind: everyone has bigger or smaller hangups in
their life.  The last thing Carlos wants to see is Crow a slave of his own
making, and Crow has to hand it to the sly rich man: that's damn good advice.
He's not sure if he's going to be able to keep his promises to save Rand or
the others if he does what he now knows he must, but he's not going to abandon
responsibility either.  It's do or die time.

Geraud reaches the Scott Lab, hearing from Margret that he's somewhere inside.
Zexis arrives simultaneously, and inform Geraud that they're not just going to
let him have it out with their friend.  He's prepared for that eventuality,
and a platoon of Arcsabers will have it be their honor to accompany him into
battle.  No DBs or automated kill droids this time.  These knights seem
genuinely worthy of the name, just like Kevin McLaren -- who NOBODY among the
Arcsabers (including their chief) have actually heard of.  In any case, the
plan is to take Zexis out before Crow shows up.

Not happening.  Crow turns up in a a customized Axio, the "Axio Scott SP VR
Maxima II" whose coloring isn't exactly to his liking.  He _seems_ like the
old Crow, but although he soft-pedals it, he's as determined to face Geraud
as Geraud is to face him.  His objective: buying even a little more time...

 Once the team starts actually scratching the Diamed, Unblown sends in the
 completed DBs, powered up in every way and out to get Crow.  Traia manages
 to get the new Blaster in time, and Geraud specifically calls off the DB
 attack long enough to give him time to board it.  Crow appreciates Geraud's
 "human"ity, and warns that he's not sure he can even get the new mech
 running.  The other Zexis pilots are impressed, but Geraud tells them he's
 not worthy of their admiration -- he is, after all, in the process of
 invading their world.

 When Crow rushes in to pick up the new mech, Traia tells him she's fixed
 everything up exactly like he requested.  The key will be the "CDS", which is
 up to Crow to activate.  The new mech isn't the "Blaster" any more, and Crow
 has a little chat with it about how its first battle may well be its last.
 Still, if he's going to die, he intends to do with with his Sphere powers
 at max.  The "Re-Blaster" seems happy with this, and into battle they ride.

 Before mixing it up with Geraud, Crow tells the rest of Zexis of his plan.
 He's counting on them to do the "right thing" if he gets overwhelmed by his
 Sphere, noting that without it there's no way to beat Geraud.  Time for one
 last(?) roll of the dice!

 At the last moment, Margret goes and gets in the way, which turns out to be
 a very bad idea.  Interestingly though, Crow manages to maintain just enough
 of himself to barely avoid killing her along with her mech: _that_ is what
 the CDS is for.  Believe it or not, what Crow has had Traia rig up is a
 gadget that emulates the sound of falling money -- the so-called "Coin Drop
 System"!  This is either brilliant or completely crap, and none of the other
 Zexis pilots can decide which.

 Geraud wants to know why Margret did something so reckless, and she tells
 him he's needed for Insalaum's future.  This was her final act as an
 Arcsaber who's lost her way, and Geraud accepts it as such, telling her to
 slink off to wherever she chooses.  She does so, and Geraud and Crow renew
 their duel.  In honor of Crow's unshakable resolve, Geraud dubs him "The
 Unbreakable".

 Geraud also loses the fight, asking what makes Crow so strong.  Crow, like
 Geraud, bears burdens that, until discharged, force him to remain in the
 cockpit.  Geraud admits defeat, but also says that he can't allow the Diamed
 to fall into enemy hands.  He manages to disappear, leaving Zexis admiring
 him in his wake.

Geraud wants to tender his resignation (from life) to Yuusar in person,
dripping blood all over the throne room in the process.  He actually tells
the indignant Unblown to shut her yap for a moment.  He tells Yuusar that it's
been an honor to serve his gentle, royal self, but that going forward Insalaum
will need strength, not gentleness.  It seems Geraud is expending his life to
convey this message because Yuusar is the one who shed tears for Geraud's wife
and daughter, when Geraud himself could not.  He returns the title of Knight
of Knights, along with the Diamed, and asks that Wayne be named his successor.
He passes away, noting "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust".

Crow's teammates greet his return with a mixture of disgusted admiration and
admiring disgust.  Traia, however, expected Crow to prevail all along.  After
all, even when he was on the Firebugs he retained a sliver of himself for when
the going got tough... surely the VX wasn't going to best him.  The sight of
Crow getting his shit together really impressed Carlos, who's left the Scott
Lab to start a new job somewhere.  He's formally forgiven Crow his debt,
meaning Crow can concentrate fully on saving Esther and the others.  That is,
until Traia tells him that he owes her bigtime for the Re-Blaster.  Crow is
dumbfounded at this, but eventually regains enough equilibrium to agree to
continuing repayment of debts as its test pilot.

One other message from Carlos: the VX came from none other than Elgan himself.
Where _he_ got it is unknown...

Just then a little emergency pops up: the capital of Talivia, a republic in
South America, has just been destroyed by an apparent orbital laser strike.
Arrows seems to be at it again...


CHAPTER 32. [route split]

The attack likely came from a powerful laser cannon aboard Earth's low-orbital
ring.  Talivia has long chafed under Britannia's rule, and indications are that
its departure from the Federation was near.  Arrows, one supposes, has decided
to end such sedition with one swift stroke with a weapon they readied while
Zexis was busy with the Insalaum.  Anyone with half a functioning brain can see
that the development and deployment of strategic weapons against fellow humans
is an utter departure from Arrows' peacekeeping mission... hence, it's a prime
target for Zexis.

The theory goes that the weapon requires considerable recharging time, but the
second volley could come at any moment -- and one has to imagine that Zexis is
high on its priority list.  Zero figures Zexis should split in half -- one
group to actually wipe out the laser, and one group to act as a diversion by
doing something else useful on the surface.  Sumeragi figures that this
diversion is best handled by the super robots, leaving the more maneuverable
reals to go after the laser.  Whichever way Crow decides to go, there's a
serious fight waiting for both teams.

And in both cases, Insalaum is likely to be out for vengeance on Crow.  He's
just fine with that if it gets him a step closer to rescuing Esther... and
paying off his debts, of course.  Traia notes that she's sunk enough money into
the Re-Blaster that if Crow _can't_ provide profitable data, the lab will have
to close its doors.  No way Crow's letting that happen.

 [To stay on Earth, go to 32E.  To go to space, go to 32S.]

Elsewhere, Wayne's got a lot on his mind as the only High Knight left.  What
the hell are the Arcsabers supposed to do now?  Yuusar comes up to him at this
point, and there's a very different look in his eyes from before.  He declares
that Wayne is to be the Knight of Knights, not because Geraud asked him to, but
on his own initiative.  He orders Wayne to swear to give his last drop of
blood for Insalaum, and after a moment Wayne does swear -- to become the very
epitome of knighthood.  And to stake his life on the victory of the king and
of Seiouki.

That's what Yuusar wants to hear, as he means to reorganize his entire nation
with Wayne's help.  He admits with a rueful smile to being inwardly terrified
of delivering such a resolute speech, but desperate times call for desperate
measures.  They've a responsibility to the heroic dead, and to the still-
living, and Yuusar actually bows Wayne while begging for his help.  Wayne's
thunderstruck, and indeed pledges himself wholeheartedly to the task... not of
helping Yuusar per se, but of helping Insalaum as a whole.


CHAPTER 32E. The Stolen Iron Man

Drama is about to ensue in the throne room of Palace Insalaum.  Unblown can't
believe Yuusar actually named Wayne as the Knight of Knights, a doubly-
meaningless distinction given that a) there's only one High Knight left and b)
the Arcsabers are obsolete now that the Giga Adamons are here.  Wayne tells her
to shut her mouth -- that she knows nothing of the knights' struggles.  Her
protests are quickly cut short by Yuusar actually _yelling_ at her to be
silent.  He then asks her to forgive him for allowing her to fester, for the
royal family's weakness in not keeping her hands off the forbidden sciences.

He orders her to confess her hidden sins and together with him make
reparations, cutting her off when she tries to blame it all on Gaiou's
appearance.  He promises to forgive all, quoting the Seiouki's creed that
"The Sun Exists to Illuminate All Things, and the King's Love Exists to
Nourish All People".  Unblown seems unable to refuse, and even Marilyn finds
herself swayed by Yuusar's newfound presence.  He proclaims that Insalaum's
true struggle begins here, steeling himself for all out war on the theory that
the Earthlings will never forgive his invading people now.

Back on the surface, the Zexis pilots are understandably nervous from the
giant crosshairs they feel emanating from above.  Someone or other has even
deduced the weapon's name: "Memento Mori", supposedly a Latin reminder of the
inevitability of one's own death.  If Zexis' pilots are feeling nervous, the
same could be said of all the world's peace-and-freedom-loving folk.  All hope
isn't lost, as even the Federation army has people like Schwartz and Ootsuka
who still retain a semblance of morals.

As the pilots banter, it comes out that Shotarou has headed back to Japan
ahead of the rest of the group, hoping to get some fine-tuning to Tetsujin
(and maybe hang out with Mackie).  Mackie is in fact glad to see him, and only
teases him a little about how much he's been absent.  Shotarou's got a heavy
responsibility restoring Mackie's world to livability, though it seems she's
doing okay for now with Black Ox hanging around, learning.

Mackie goes into the other room to fetch some freshly-baked cookies, and
a scream rings out.  Lo and behold, Branch and Marilyn have invaded the place,
and now have Mackie hostage.  It seems the Firebug commander has a mission to
carry out, and it just so happens to align with Branch's.  Of course, they
force Shotarou to hand over his V-Con.

Outside, Iizuka has been busily drilling Black Ox on how to be good in a fight.
That might come in handy, when Tetsujin sorties and word comes in that it's
not Shotarou at the controls.  As Iizuka gets ready to fight back with
Kokubouger, Shotarou strikes up a conversation with Black Ox (who remembers
him) and readies for battle too.  Branch has an army and Gestalt backing up
his nefariousness.

 And Zexis have their usual group of stalwarts, who are unpleasantly surprised
 that Shotarou can't seem to hang onto his little radio-watch-thingie.  No
 matter, Tetsujin won't remain a lackey of Evil for long, even with Marilyn's
 reinforcements show up.

 Pretty quickly Branch realizes that one of two things are true: either
 Tetsujin isn't obeying his commands very faithfully, or (more likely) he
 sucks as its pilot.  His incompetence gives Takeru an opening to go in and
 steal back the V-Con with his psychic powers (stopping a hail of bullets
 from Marilyn in the process).  Unfortunately, Metarl shows up to gloat a bit,
 and all Takeru's psychic heroics are taking a dreadful toll on his body
 thanks to that Devil Ring.  Metarl means to kill Takeru right here and now,
 but Shotarou and the others interfere.

 As Metarl makes to leave, he offers Branch one last chance: either destroy
 Zexis here and now, or face The Consequences(tm).  As Marilyn runs off to
 deploy her mech, Takeru manages to persuade Shotarou not to tell the others
 about the Devil Ring.  The V-Con will take a few moments to reboot, and
 Takeru makes an ineffectual effort to buy that time with Gaia.

 Fortunately, there's another deus ex machina waiting in the, um, machina.
 This new ally names itself the Rose Knight, and instructs Takeru not to fear
 death.  At the Knight's urging, Takeru does his combination thing and enters
 God Mars mode.  The Rose Knight vanishes again, just as Tetsujin returns to
 Shotarou's control.  Conditions are now right for Marilyn to get on with her
 _real_ mission, which is remeasuring Zexis' strength.

 Marilyn gets her frilly goth-loli tail turned around right quickly, but she
 tells Crow not to worry: they'll have their duel to the death soon enough.
 Oh and for his information, the good Prince has gotten a bit scary of late.
 Ominous much?

 Even Branch's "Branch Robo #5" can't salvage his ass, though it seemingly
 won't fall to Shotarou to strike the final blow.  Metarl seems unsatisfied
 with Branch's litany of Fail, and has planted a powerful bomb inside Branch's
 mech.  The plan is to blow him AND Zexis sky-high, unless Branch intends to
 try to flee -- in which case Metarl will simply execute him and then go after
 Zexis himself.  Shotarou takes the high road at this point, promising to
 shield Branch from Metarl's attack long enough for Branch to face the legal
 system properly.  This touches something inside the Robot Mafia's leader, and
 he decides for once in his crime-ridden life to do something noble.

 He rushes over and latches onto Metarl's mech, yelling that Metarl is but a
 servant of an even bigger power: two people controlling the Power of
 Darkness who are the cause of all of this.  He then detonates his mech,
 damaging Metarl enough that he decides to leave Takeru alive for now.  Odds
 are that he'll assume direct control of the remaining Robot Mafiosi now that
 Branch is gone.

No time to ponder that though: a most unexpected message has just come in from
Ootsuka.  Part of the Federation army has just staged a coup d'etat aimed at
Arrows, and based in the Africa Tower!

But anticlimactically, that gets to wait until the pilots fawn over Black Ox,
whose three year-old heart already loves Justice so vewwy vewwy much.  Shotarou
will be its caretaker as it joins Zexis' struggle, and that struggle is going
to Africa, possibly to put down the coup.  Takeru renews Shotarou's promise
to stay mum on the Devil Ring thing, vowing to not let it beat him.  About that
Rose Knight, whose voice sounded male, Takeru knows only that its words had
a strange, familiar ring in his heart.  Why a friend of Takeru's would feel
the need to hide their face is mysterious...

Anyways, off to Africa, where the Memento Mori attack seems to be behind the
action.  Hopefully the space team holds up their end of the operation...


CHAPTER 32S. The Battle for Memento Mori

[See the other path for Yuusar's newfound bad-assery.]

The CBs have just received a care-package of upgrades for their Gundams, and
not a moment too soon with the space launch impending.  All that remains is
carrying out Sumeragi's plans for a raid on Memento Mori, the weapon with the
crap name that, according to some sources, is a Latin reminder of the
inevitability of one's own death.  Some take this as a form of encouragement,
insofar as the listener must still be alive in order to hear it.  Lockon takes
it as further proof that the Innovators think they're god, and is willing to
do whatever it takes (including outright assassination) to stop them.  Anew
tells him to be careful, using his real name, and Lockon admits to the team
that the two have become lovers.  Better that than have Michelle and the other
tomcats hitting on her.  Lyle sure works fast!  Announcements to the rest of
the team will have to wait until this mission's over, and that could be
harder than it even sounded originally.

It seems part of the Federation army has just staged a coup d'etat against
Arrows, taking over the entire Africa Tower and its associated launch
facilities.  This is even worse than it sounds, given how the Tower is home
to a sizable civilian population.  Whoever's responsible seems to think they
can get away with this, as the bulk of the Arrows forces are currently
set up to defend Memento Mori.  Said person is in fact about to start a live
broadcast to explain themself.

The man on the screen names himself Colonel Pang Hercury, of the Federation
Army's Information Bureau.  The takeover serves but one purpose: to bring
the barbaric acts of Arrows to light and start a global referendum.  He
proclaims Arrows to be murders of millions, announcing the Memento Mori strike
that the Federation's information doctoring has thusfar so cleverly hidden,
and says that his comrades are all soldiers acting in the best interests of
the civilians they're sworn to protect.

Ribbons is happy to see things are finally moving, thinking back on mankind's
history of using knowledge to stave off its own destruction.  During every
previous attempt since the Industrial Revolution, the visionaries' efforts
lasted only as long as their lives, letting mankind recede into the murk after
but a few decades.  Ioria's contribution, as Ribbons sees it, was creating
a breed of non-humans, free of mankind's life-span limitation, and therefore
able to participate in the "conversation" to come.  And lest Rijeene get too
full of himself, Ribbons reminds him that Ribbons is his creator.  In fact,
he claims to have made _all_ the Innovators other than himself, justifying in
his eyes using them as pawns as he sees fit.  Amuro is clearly not a fan, as
with every word Ribbons expands his god complex.  He snaps that a world built
upon sacrificing human lives is worthless, and the creator of such a world is
not so much a god as a hypocrite.

Ribbons cautions Amuro to watch his tone, but Amuro growls that he's very well
aware of what Ribbons is up to with Memento Mori.  And no Newtype mind-reading
was necessary: anyone with half a brain could figure out Ribbons' plan.
Clearly Ribbons can't hear the voices of all the lives he's ended.  Amuro's
heard something like this before, the sound of millions of voices suddenly
crying out in terror and being suddenly silenced.  It would seem that the
Innovators' Neural Wave powers are only perceptible to each other -- given how
confident Ribbons was that no Innovators were among the Memento Mori dead.  This
limitation proves to Amuro that the Innovators are disqualified ad mankind's
forerunners.  Ribbons, to Amuro, is neither an Innovator OR human!

Ribbons doesn't stand for that any more, sorry that his only "pure" comrade
has aroused his ire as he take out his gun.  This way of putting it is further
proof of Ribbons arrogance, and Amuro finally springs into action by focusing
his considerable psychic powers on Ribbons.  He challenges Ribbons to oppose
him with his mind instead of his gun if he truly is an "Innovator", and Ribbons
knows full well he isn't up to the task.  He tells Amuro that his mech is
ready in the hangar, and orders him to get the hell out and remember that
leaving is a _big_ mistake.  Amuro counters that the next time they meet will
be the battle where Ribbons is unseated once and for all.  It won't be Amuro
who strikes the final blow though, but rather a _true_ Innovator.

The Feds have sent an old friend of Pang's as a negotiator: Sergei.  He conveys
the Federations' unwillingness to disband its general assembly, or to release
anti-government prisoners, as the rebels demand.  None of which comes as any
surprise.  Sergei adds that there's no way for word of Pang's deed to spread
given the Federation's grip on the news, and asks why he's gone to the trouble
of taking so many unrelated people hostage.  Pang counters that they're
hardly unrelated, as it was the wilful ignorance of the people that let the
Federation government run amok and set the stage for Arrows' rise to power.
The common people's eyes must be opened, even at the cost of some pain.  There
is clearly no point in further negotiations, and Pang tells Sergei to go back
and report such to the brass.  Sergei warns that Arrows is going to take even
more extreme measures after this, including sending in the Automatons on
Kill Mode to slaughter the civilians.  Pang's willing to endure that, believing
the civilians will eventually be free once they've internalized Arrows'
brutality beyond all reasonable doubt.  Only, he declares, with an informed
public can good government and a good military exist -- and he'll happily be
vilified if he can inform the public at the end.

In the short term, the Feds will probably brand him as some fringe terrorist,
to avoid the kind of public doubts that would circulate if it was known that
the regular army per se is behind this.  But the truth will be known if enough
civilians get involved.  Sergei warns that Arrows may well have anticipated
this, and that, Pang replies, is why he's chosen to occupy an orbital elevator
central to mankind's joint wellbeing.  Even Arrows can't just nuke the place,
or its 360,000 residents... can they?  Anyway, the more fuss he causes here,
the easier it'll be for Zexis to take out Memento Mori...

Now who do you reckon Arrows put in charge of Memento Mori?  Oh, duh, Lint,
megalomaniac extraordinaire!  He's convinced that Memento Mori has everyone
including Insalaum shaking in their boots (nevermind the fact that Insalaum
is pan-dimensional and so far has stymied everyone but Zexis in battle).  He
isn't even worried about Zexis, especially after he hears that their main
battle units are screwing around in Japan.  All's got to do is wait for the
main energy charge to be complete, and Pang is _history_, along with any
future dissenters.

That's about the point where Zexis busts onto the scene.  Phase One is using
Aquarion's Infinite Punch to open a hole in Lint's defenses.  The Ptolemy
hurries right through the hole, and Sumeragi warns everyone against getting
cocky yet.  Memento Mori turns out to be a Free Electron Laser powered by
the Orbital Ring's particle accelerator, and disabling it will require more
detailed info than Zexis has now.  As Sumeragi gets in close for a more
detailed scan, the upgraded Gundams will have to run interference.  There's not
much time to get this right.

 A group of Innovators show up and immediately head for the Ptolemy-2.  Too
 bad for them Amuro is on the scene, and he's tired of taking their crap.
 The feeling is, of course, mutual.  That Arrows actually intends to fire at
 the Africa Tower is just further proof of how urgently they need to be
 stopped.  Amuro tells Setsuna he'll explain later where's he's been all this
 time, and inwardly believes that it's Setsuna who will truly take the
 Innovators down.

 Keep killing and reinforcements will arrive [helpful for getting the Skill
 Point, one supposes].  Amuro is glad to see that Camille's presence has
 helped Setsuna come into his own, and the team get busy keeping things on
 Sumeragi's schedule.

 Lint's sorry ass gets demolished in short order, but no sooner has Sumeragi
 finished her analysis than Lint comes rushing back.  He seems determined
 to die if that's what it takes to keep the Memento Mori firing on schedule,
 and Sumeragi isn't down with them apples.  See, it turns out that Setsuna
 isn't the only one with the Trans-Am System, as Lint founds out to his
 immediate cost.  The Double-0 Riser gets sent in to strike the final blow,
 but not quite in time...

The Pillar at the Africa Tower takes a direct hit, and the building starts to
collapse.  It seems the Federation really _is_ willing to sacrifice the 60,000
souls still inside to protect their own government.  Things are going to be
seriously messy at the ground level when the building falls on the surrounding
city, and Pang has resigned himself to go down with the proverbial ship.  He
tells Sergei to get out of the area and tell the world what's happened here,
but Sergei won't hear of that.  He orders Pang to protect civilians like a
real soldier, and THEN die if he must...


CHAPTER 33E. Black Avenger

See the other path for Pang's broadcast to the people he's effectively taken
hostage.  The pilots find themselves in a precarious position, agreeing with
Pang's objective but not his methods and facing a stalemate between his forces
and Arrows when they reach the Africa Tower.  About the only sure thing is
Zexis' mandate to keep the civilians safe, by whatever means necessary.  Kamon
wants to notify Isabelle Cronkite at once, but Crow recommends he not -- unless
he wants to put her life in serious jeopardy.  Arrows, or rather the people
behind them, are proving themselves to be a pretty ruthless bunch, and whatever
information Zexis leaks to the press needs to be handled veeeery delicately.

At this rate, word of Pang's exploits won't actually reach the outside world
after all.  Then again, Schwartz is sure that Pang has thought of this: on every
operation they've done together, Pang has shown himself to be clever... and
critical of the Federation's leadership.  Pang's exploit will have at least
60,000 witnesses in the persons of the Tower's residents, and the longer it
takes Arrows to reclaim the place, the more likely the truth will be to come
out.  Pang seems a) determined to the point of sacrificing himself, and b) very
shrewd in his choice of targets.

Only. One. Problem.  The dudes running Memento Mori have decided to blow away
not only the Orbital Elevator, but all 60,000 of those truth-knowing
civilians!  There's nothing much the ground forces can do but hope the space
forces succeed in heading this calamity off.  The commanders meanwhile are
analyzing Pang's tactics, realizing that he means to let his "hostages" go
before the Tower can be knocked over onto the surrounding buildings.  It's
hard to believe that Arrows could take out the Orbital Elevator, crucial to
the world's supply of resources from space, but that's how desperate they are
these days.

Sadly, the space team isn't able to prevent Memento Mori from firing one more
shot, damaging the Elevator enough to cause all its external structure to
purge.  Everything underneath is going to be flattened unless someone can
somehow reduce the scrap to harmlessly-small bits.  Sumeragi radios to Zexis
and Catalon with coordinates for the debris, as the orbital team races to the
rescue, and as Zero is about to spring into action word comes in from a
different Catalon refugee camp... in an area that's supposed to be uninhabited.
That means Sumeragi has omitted it from her directions, and hence that
thousands of additional lives are at risk.  There's no choice but for the
ground force to run to the rescue.

Evacuation begins swiftly and efficiently, but there's a new menace.  Two,
actually: Invaders, and a shipment of DBs courtesy of Insalaum.  They're hoping
to take over North Africa with a minimum of fuss, and with the fragments of
the Elevator coming in fast there's not much time to defeat the bad guys and
save what remaining lives can be salvaged.  The camp itself will have to be
abandoned.

 How does one spell "bad timing"?  S-H-I-N D-R-A-G-O-N, showing up at the
 worst possible moment.  The news isn't all bad though, as a black Getter
 Robo shows up in pursuit.  It's Ryouma at long last, who is as surprised to
 see Saotome alive as Saotome is to see him.  Saotome claims that this is
 _not_ the day they'll settle their score, but vows that one day he and the
 pilots of Shin Getter will all know the truth of Shin Dragon's evolution.

 Shin Dragon runs off, and Ryouma damn near pursues the thing until his
 one-time teammates persuade him that helping the civilians here is more
 important than _maybe_ averting a larger calamity by running after it.  After
 getting a _very_ stern talking-to, Ryouma admits that maybe he's a bit
 jetlagged after returning from the Shadow Moon (say what?!).  In any case,
 he agrees to pitch in, directing his fury at the bad guys.

The team makes their retreat in good order, sweeping any remaining civilians
with them.  News of their good works reaches all the way to Schneizer, as does
Pang's death.  Schneizer sounds almost regretful that someone more charismatic
wasn't at the head of the failed coup, which did genuinely have the potential
to sway the whole Federation.  He more or less expected this to happen, and if
anything is counting his blessings that the damage wasn't worse.  Then again,
perhaps greater damage would have done the world some good in light of the
tragedies yet to come.  In any case, there's no evidence left linking Pang to
Schneizer himself, and Zexis did him the favor of taking out Memento Mori.
Arrows' Toromo Bureau will probably respond by hastening their new terror
weapon.  If only someone could stop them in the meantime... someone like Treize
for instance.  Schneizer himself claims to lack the resolve to confront Arrows
directly, seemingly lacking in kingly quality despite being a Prince.  And
let's not blame Charles for being totally asleep at the switch: Charles,
according to Schneizer, merely has his finger on a different switch.  A switch
disconnected from "trivia" like a few tens of kilodeaths...

Akagi is super-furious at the demolition of the refugee camp, whose refugees
are now twice evicted from their home and face a very uncertain future under
Catalon's care.  At least if there was a way to notify the world of this
fiasco, it might be for something.  F.S. fortunately has announced a plan to
use WILL to search for Veda, as the first step towards restoring the free flow
of information to the world.  If there's a glimmer of hope for now, it comes
from the fact that Zexis' name was enough to move some of the regular army to
pitch into the relief efforts.  Sergei's name came up in relation to the coup,
though it seems he mustn't have been one of the actual leaders.  Sumeragi is
following up on this lead, but at the moment he's presumed dead and Mary isn't
likely to take the news well.

Ryouma meanwhile makes his reintroductions, having been gone -- in his
timeline -- for merely one week.  Talk about jetlag!  Ryouma can tell at a
glance that Kei is Genki, proving beyond a doubt that this is the real him.
After ribbing his old teammates about the fact that they've become, umm, old,
he tells everyone what happened when he was caught in the graviton missile
blast.  His body was wreathed in a mysterious light as Shin Dragon was being
tossed between dimensions, a light he now knows to be that of Getter Rays.
In an instant, he found himself traveling through space and time, and through
the memories of all living things.  When he came to, he found himself in the
cockpit of a discarded Getter Robo on the Shadow Moon: the Getter graveyard,
as it were.

Ryouma himself has no idea how his journey worked, but he's been spending the
intervening time cobbling together the most functional Getter he could to make
the journey home.  Interestingly, the Getter graveyard contained a number of
Getters he didn't even recognize, remnants of struggles similar to that they
faced against Gaiou from other parallel worlds.  Confirmation will be
impossible for now, as Ryouma knows of no way to retrace his path to the
Shadow Moon itself.  Kind of a shame Ryouma wasn't able to garner any more
information from his time at the Shadow Moon, but at least he came back in one
piece.  As Hayato heads back to do captain-type stuff, Ryouma asks him to
radio his thanks to Tielia: the guy's example paved the way for him to not
screw up himself this time around.

Ryouma continues reacquainting himself with the team, including the new
coterie of Getter pilots.  He now knows more or less what Gou is, and asks
him to look after Kei in his stead.  Meanwhile, Simon remembers Lowgenome's
prophecy, and wonders if the "moon" he referred to is actually the Shadow
Moon...


CHAPTER 33S. Within the Sundering Light

Andrey remembers the leader of the coup as one of his father's friends, always
talking about the proper role of the military.  Andrey isn't a fan of anyone
who would take tens of thousands of people hostage, and isn't exactly thrilled
with his father either.  He tells Louise the tale of a skirmish between the
army and some terrorists when he was young, where his mother's squadron was
on the front lines under his father's orders.  Those orders were to prioritize
the safety of nearby civilians above all else, and led to his mother's squad's
destruction.  Andrey essentially followed his _mother_ into the army, meaning
to somehow prove to his father the error of his ways while bringing about
peace, and for that matter Louise can tell a very similar tale.

However that'll have to wait for later, as word of the attack on the Africa
Tower comes in.  For a change Koorasawar is the rational one, getting them to
stop panicking and start preparing to assess the (no doubt horrific) damage
from the tower's collapse.  This gives Andrey the opening he needs to blame
the whole mess on Pang.

What's happening is that the orbital elevator itself has gone into auto-purge
mode, cutting itself off from the terminal station in the orbital ring so as
not to bring the _entire_ frigging thing crashing to the surface.  The external
bits will burn up during reentry, but the superstructure underneath will _not_,
meaning complete devastation for a wide radius around the tower.  The plan
therefore is for Zexis to reenter along with the debris, blowing it into chunks
as small as possible.

Amuro hastily fills his teammates in on where he's been.  Ribbons, the chief
Innovator, leads his army of collaborators from a ginormous spaceship which
presumably is no longer where Amuro left it.  Many things make sense now, since
even with Veda in hand there's no way Ribbons could alter the course of world
events without folks like Homer Katagiri and Lord Delmeier.  Amuro wasn't
allowed to explore much of the ship, whose size rivals a small space colony
and yet is concealed with Stealth, but the whole contraption seems to fit into
the Innovators' notion that they're carrying out Ioria's plans.

That's just _oh_ so joyous for the CBs, who would love to prove that not
everything goes the Innovators' way.  Reducing the damage from all those
fragments sounds like a good start.  Amuro and Camille however are more
interested in Setsuna's awakening as a Newtype.  That it coincided with
Setsuna getting the Double-0 Riser and its Twin Drive explains to Amuro why
Ribbons wants Twin Drive so much.  Camille hasn't shared his suspicions with
anyone but Ian (inventor of Twin Drive), and Amuro thinks that's for the best:
the best thing either of them can do right now is keep Setsuna safe.  The
question now becomes, where the hell is Char now that this world's people are
starting the change as well?

Even Mary is lending her skills to the battle, well, not really "battle" so
much as humanitarian action.  Allelujah is a bit worried at first, but
respects her wishes to help out.  Watching this, Shinn remembers the debacle
with Stella -- he wants to believe Allelujah can protect his beloved in ways
Shinn could not.  Rolan too has a promise he's in danger of breaking: his
promise to Diana not to fight again.

Only airborne units can participate in this non-battle, and there are a hell
of a lot of bits and pieces to shoot.  As in, the Skill Point asks you to shoot
down at least 100 with the PCs.  They've got to be contained before they
become unstoppable...

 The plot dictates that there's more fragments than the team can (trivially)
 shoot down, so Sumeragi gets on the radio and broadcasts a plea for help to
 all channels.  Pretty simple: pitch in and help save tens of mega-lives.
 The first to show up is a very unwanted guest: Marilyn and her DB hordes,
 intending to crush Zexis while they're distracted.  Soon after however,
 Sergei and Milliard show up, as well as Andrey and friends.  It seems that
 for once all the humans are actually working together, MUCH to Marilyn's
 annoyance.

 As the fragments continue to fall, Rolan makes the fateful decision to
 unseal the Moonlight Moth.  When he promised Diana not to use it ever again,
 he never expected something like _this_ going on.  He says he's prepared to
 receive whatever punishment Diana might hand down the next time he sees her,
 even as the other pilots marvel at this newfound attack.  Allelujah has
 the strangest feeling that he's seen the Moonlight Moth before, and even
 weirder, Setsuna feels like he hears someone... singing!

 Diana appears on the screen, actually praising Rolan for having the resolve
 to break the seal.  Entrusting the Turn A to him was clearly the right
 decision!  Apparently Diana must be in this world, and close by withal,
 but there's still more fragments to take care of before any more happy
 reunions can take place.

 It turns out that Marilyn is just hear to gauge Zexis' strength for Insalaum:
 she is _not_ intending to stick around and genuinely settle the score with
 Crow today.  Pity.

By Zexis standards, this was a lengthy operation [more than four Turns, that
is].  The damage has been kept to a minimum, but that still means the lives of
all those in the Tower itself were lost.  Zechs is so infuriated at Arrows'
tactics -- really, the Innovators' tactics -- that he flies off without saying a
word.  Sergei knows what's on Zechs' mind, and what's on Mary's mind that she
opted to fly instead of watch the tragedy from the sidelines.

Pang is still alive, and Sergei tells him to accept that this is what his
actions have wrought.  Could it be that Pang's sponsor expected this to
happen??  Wait, sponsor, as in, he wasn't the one behind all of this?  At the
sight of Pang's mech, Andrey orders Louise to follow him while he orders the
ringleader mech to stand still.  Pang recognizes Andrey's voice, and the
shock of realizing it's him causes Andrey to reflexively fire before Pang
can finish warning Sergei about someone named "Sch-".  Hmm.....

Sergei tries to get Andrey to wait, but Andrey goes crazy enough to actually
kill the guy in a fit of passion.  Sergei's apology to his son falls on deaf
ears, and his last words are to tell his long-dead wife Holly he's sorry.
Mary, it must be said, doesn't take the sight very well, especially after
Louise keeps Allelujah's mech from intervening.

[See the other path for Schneizer's chat with Kanon.]

Miraculously the falling debris didn't actually _injure_ anyone, but it sure
pummeled the hell out of the town.  Poor Marina had been trying to seek solace
in Africa after losing Azadistan, but that hasn't quite, um, panned out.
Lacus' best recommendation for helping heal the hearts of the people is to
sing, and as fate would have it Marina has already composed a song from hearing
the children at play.  Marina's already sung the song once, and Lacus credits
it with calming the nerves of the refugee children when the fragments were
falling.  Marina's far from confident that a peace-monger like herself has any
use in a world where everyone's at war, but Lacus assures here there is.  In
fact, she wants Marina to sing of peace in her stead, since the conclusion her
travels here have led her to is that she, Lacus Clyne, must sing songs of
battle.  This resolve is what Diana's been waiting for, and in turn Sandman and
Fudou have been waiting on the both of them.  As they leave, Lacus thinks to
Kira that she's about to join him on the path to the battlefield, a road she'll
gladly walk if there is truly no other way to win back that which is precious.

Poor Mary is catatonic from the shock of seeing her surrogate father killed,
and the rest of the team aren't much better off.  Yeah they were all victorious
and whatnot, but nobody sane would pop the champagne with a city of rubble
all around.  Setsuna takes it as a chance to reflect at how bad the distortion
of the world has gotten, and how the CBs are partially to blame.  The rest of
the team leaves him some time to himself...

..allowing the plot to send in Ali, who is bodyguarding Ribbons.  Ribbons
greets "Solan Ibrahim", saying that he remembers meeting Setsuna before even
if Setsuna doesn't remember it from his side.  It was back in Cursis, and
Ribbons was watching a little boy running in panic... from the cockpit of a
Gundam.  Talk about raping one's childhood: Setsuna must now come to terms
with the fact that the 0 Gundam that started his whole shit was actually
piloted by the very same master villain who's been ruining the world.

Ribbons claims that he disobeyed the order to remove all witnesses when he saw
how Setsuna was gazing at the Gundam, and claims to have manipulated Veda to
make Setsuna a CB.  If Ribbons figured that would make Setsuna somehow shocked
enough to just hand over the 00, he's going to be a tad disappointed.  Ali,
true to his bodyguard role, manages to shoot Setsuna, though he fails to score
a direct hit.  The question is, why would he be helping the Innovators?

Ali claims that any self-respecting merc goes where the money is, and claims
that Setsuna could never understand his real motivation.  Lockon runs up at
this point, making Ribbons decide to withdraw for now.  All the scores to
settle will have to wait for another day.  Setsuna collapses, and it's all
Lockon can do to rush him back to safety.

Elsewhere, Milliard runs into Quatro returning from shooting down some
fragments on his own.  Quatro's been aware of someone tailing him for some
time, and that person emerges and names himself "Carns", from a group of
Colonial freedom fighters known as the "White Fang".  He wants their help to
revolutionize the world, pointing to this latest mess as proof that Arrows
must go.  In particular, he wants them and their Gundams, symbols of resistance
that they are, to accompany him to space...


CHAPTER 34E. Reunion With the Dead

The damage from the collapsed orbital elevator may satisfy the best-case
scenario, but it's still not _good_ or satisfying in any way.  The blow to
global logistics and the environmental disaster are bad enough, but the loss of
life is what has F.S. really steamed.  Among the group bathed in the
holographic glow of Dragons' Hive's control room is Eiyda, who apparently got
herself fired from the Twinkle Project (the press euphemistically refer to that
as "graduating").  Not that Eiyda did something wrong to get fired: it's
apparent to anyone not blinded by the idol stardom that Grace is increasingly
turning Ranka's songs to military ends.  And Sheryl, who's still battling some
mystery medical complaint, is being treated like a third-class citizen at best
by her manager, which was probably the final straw for Eiyda.  She doesn't
regret telling Grace to go fuck herself, but she'd be lying if she denied being
a little lonely now.

She's also more than a bit worried about Ranka, who is now effectively
shouldering the entire weight of the Twinkle Project herself.  F.S. and Tanaka
don't like how someone aboard the Frontier Fleet seems to be monopolizing the
newly-discovered "Fold Wave" research.  Sayuri is hopeful that Grace will
return the Project to normal once the Vajra are repelled, and thinks that
Eiyda will even get her position back.  Kishimo, an adjutant sent from the
Federation's Far East branch to help Sayuri, is far from impressed with Eiyda,
and nobody else on the team seems to like him either.

Sayuri's big contribution is helping WILL in the search for Veda: it's uber
clear that stopping Arrows is a top-priority item.  If the good guys can steal
Veda back from whoever's got it, Arrows will abruptly become the "emperor with
no clothes" for all the world to see.  And that in turn will let Ootsuka's
new operation proceed, which can't happen a moment too soon given all the
factors threatening the world.  Among them is the Dimension Warp Zone, which
new research suggests is a true catastrophe in waiting.

If its unstable dimensional walls collapse, there'll be a... hole in the
dimensional manifold, with consequences only God could guess at.  It's a good
thing then that both Dancougars are coming home.  Sayuri is especially happy
to be seeing her old friend Sara, who once saved her when a man assaulted her
in their old hometown.

Once the banter ends, WILL gets down to business in cyberspace.  Apparently
he's facing multiple opponents who want to delete him, including Moon WILL.
WILL abruptly halts, which brings Dragons' Hive itself to a standstill.  As
the commanders frantically try to switch over to subsystems, they detect an
enemy force headed their way: the Zeravia!  Eiyda will have to spring into
action to defend the place, and since none of the hatches open she's got to
blast her own way out.

It seems the calm, confident idol star has been hiding a she-wolf, and this is
as a good a time as any for a little howling.  F.S. orders Sayuri to get busy
resurrecting WILL while Eiyda buys time.

 The original Dancougar folks show up in due course, followed in short order
 by Zexis.  It's a rowdy reunion, especially since Eiyda isn't at all shy
 about expressing her attraction to Johnny, but Moon WILL doesn't give the
 team much time to relax.  It's been revived by the Dark Power, and is in
 control of the Original Dancougar.  Moon WILL is all proud of shutting down
 Earth WILL, and talks a big game, but the original Dancougar squad shuts down
 that noise in a hurry.  That Moon WILL needed help from this Dark Power
 bullshit proves he's smalltime, the proverbial "fox pretending to be a
 tiger".

 On the other hand, Moon WILL _does_ have an army, including a bunch of
 tough mecha laden with explosives.  Those are being sent to Dragons' Hive,
 which Moon WILL figures will make an easy target.  ...Which makes it odd
 that he doesn't stick around to gloat, but hey.  The enemy won't have an
 easy time punching through, with Dancougar Nova Max God and Final Dancougar
 both opposing them.

Victory comes easily, but the real problem is resurrecting WILL.  Several
things are wrong with WILL's easy defeat, including the fact that Dragons'
Hive has strong protections designed specifically to avoid WILL losing in
cyberspace.  F.S. questions Sayuri, whose idea this operation was and who was
tasked with supporting WILL's online search.  Tanaka explains nicely that
this _is_ all rather irregular, but then Sayuri's "assistant" aims a kick at
Tanaka'a head (which he dodges).  It seems he's the one at fault here, and
he grabs Sayuri and runs for the hangar.

Kishimo is presumed to have threatened Sayuri into messing with WILL, and
the two of them are nowhere to be found on radar.  According to Ootsuka,
Kishimo was never the kind of person to do anything like this, opening the
possibility that this was either an imposter, or the real Kishimo but being
controlled by someone.  That "someone" would presumably be Moon WILL, who's
cooked up the really nasty virus that's got Earth WILL in a cyber-coma.

The problem isn't really Moon WILL though.  Even the brash Shinobu felt the
same thing Hyou did: when Moon WILL appeared, an even darker presence was
somewhere lurking behind him.  It was almost like _that_ was the real "Dark
Power" or whatever, and Moon WILL was following its orders out of fear.  In
any case, there's no way to analyze all the data Dancougar brought back from
the Dimension Warp Zone, so it's agreed that it will travel with Zexis.  That's
great news to Aoi, who maybe has a bit of a crush on Shinobu...

One other thing.  Ruu asks Sara if she's ever met Kishimo before (she hasn't)
and tells her that Sayuri scolded the guy to his face in front of everyone.
That shocks Sara, who never would have guessed Sayuri capable of something so
bold.  Ruu at first put this down to commanderly concern for a subordinate, but
the more she looked at Sayuri, the more afraid she got -- as though Sayuri
was becoming more and more... not "her".

Actually, there's yet one more thing.  The revolutionary group calling
themselves "White Fang" has taken over the Arrows space fortress Barge by
force, and is broadcasting an open message to the world.  _That_ could only
happen if they somehow defeated the Innovators' worldwide information control.
On the broadcast is Milliard, disgruntled about Oz and Arrows' repeated
attempts to control the very soul of the Colonies.  He's here in the interest
of true independence, saying that it's plain that space and Earth cannot
coexist.  He therefore declares ware on the Earth Federation, using his real
name, which is _sure_ to cause more than a little unrest on the Earth.

Except that there's one OTHER other thing, which as a rhetorical device is
starting to get really tiresome.  It seems that two new ZONES have
materialized at the same time, one in the Pacific and one in the Dark
Continent.  Is the end near?


CHAPTER 34. The White Fang

Flash back to war-torn Cursis, where a desperate little boy beheld something
out-of-this-world: a God in all its might.  That might clove the battlefield
in two, saving his life.  It was Setsuna's goal to _be_ one of these gods,
these Gundams, and change the world.  But there are no gods in this world after
all, least of all his savior that day.  Has his whole life been a mistake?

Maybe not, says Lockon, appearing before his old friend.  The only thing the
past can change is how one experiences the present, nothing more.  The question
is the future, and if Lockon has a wish it's for Setsuna to change that future
in his stead.  He's sure Setsuna has it in him.

Unfortunately, another thing Setsuna has in him is Pseudo-GN Particles, borne
by Ali's bullet.  They're messing with his cellular metabolism, producing the
same sort of symptoms Lasse suffers from.  And like Lasse, Setsuna won't be
long for this world, a truth Sumeragi is counting on Setsuna to come to terms
with.  Lasse has recently been pondering Holland, whose will to survive and in
particular to protect the woman he loves was strong enough that he contemplated
destroying the whole world to make it happen.  Lasse doesn't have a girlfriend,
but he means to learn from Holland's determination -- there are some things
you can't steel yourself for until you know you won't have a tomorrow.  Having
said that, Lasse doesn't intend to kick the bucket till he sees the world
changed.  Hopefully the same can be said of Setsuna...

Elsewhere, Anew tries to get Lockon to talk about his brother, still a touchy
subject for the sniper.  He recommends she go toss Crow a poker chip or
something: the guy is sure to spill all sorts of juicy stuff.  She wants to
know Lyle's own memories, and he claims to basically have none.  See, he
deliberately went to boarding schools ever since Junior High, preferring to run
rather than be constantly compared to his gifted brother.  He may have followed
him into the Gundam Meister profession, but he's got a very different
motivation.  He asks her about her family, and she finds herself quite stymied,
and then relieved when he declines to press the issue.

This is the point when Felt radios in, immediately embarrassed to have
interrupted the two in bed.  Unfortunately there's an emergency: the Barge,
Arrow's space fortress for observing the Colonies, is under attack.  This
could be really bad news...

Tsubarof can't believe his Mobile Dolls are getting taken out so easily, but
he probably ought to worry more about his own safety.  Oh, except Milliard
won't give him that chance.  Carns praises Milliard for his swift work, and
gloats over how the Barge's factory facilities will greatly enhance the White
Fang's warpower.  Milliard then gets busy delivering his declaration of war
on the Earth Federation, believing it'll have an effect even if the Feds manage
to squelch the information from reaching the world at large.  Quatro observes
that Milliard's doubts seem to have all vanished, which explains how he's
managed to master the mech Treize gave him.  That's more than Quatro can say...

[See the other path for Zechs' declaration.]

It turns out that Arrows' info-doctoring is _not_ working today, and Rijeene
professes complete astonishment.  Ribbons thinks this is an act, that he and
Liu Mei have been scheming behind his back all this time, and Rijeene stoutly
denies everything.  Ribbons smirks that he seems to be telling the truth, which
does raise the interesting question of just who could be behind it.  The fact
of the matter is that Ribbons is starting to run a little low on pawns, and he
decides that the time has come to silence Zexis.  He wants "her" used, setting
in motion a little plan he's devised to distract the masses.  He thinks Amuro
and Setsuna are about to learn the true terror of the Innovators.

The G-boys view Milliard's announcement with no small amount of anxiety: for
someone who seems to want the colonies to prosper, he's picked about the most
reliable way possible to plunge them back into war.  Of course, the lonely
struggle carried out by the G-boys has just become moot, and it's not
surprising that Hiiro and the others must now view Milliard as their enemy.
Getting rid of Arrows: good.  Getting civilians dragged into the conflict: bad.
And like, just who outflanked the Innovators to let the declaration get through
to the world anyway?

Just then Mary walks onto the scene, sort of.  It's "sort of" because she's now
back to calling herself Soma Pieres -- and not just calling, but _being_.  She
is very clear on one point: regardless of whatever the hell these White Fang
yahoos are up to, Arrows is going down, by her own hand.  Allelujah is all
with the recriminations for letting her fight after promising not to, but
Lockon tells him to get his shit together and actually respect the fact that
his woman has opted to fight of her own volition.  Amuro adds that if he's
worried about her, the best thing he can do now is fight to keep her safe: she
is going to be in serious danger so long as she fights out of hatred.  Amuro
is really thinking about Char, who by now ought to understand the syllogism
that fear^Wwar leads to hate, and hate leads to _suffering_.

Poor Saji wonders aloud how one can eliminate hate, and Camille (only half-
sarcastically?) says that if someone figured _that_ out, the world would
already be a more peaceful place.  Well then, says Setsuna as he comes over,
it's high time to seek that method.  It seems Setsuna has changed yet again,
no hesitation left in his eyes or his walk.  Setsuna knows that Saji is
really thinking about Louise, and that's precisely the kind of understanding
people need to take the next step.  Amuro knows this firsthand.

Saji's greatest fear is that the rising tide of hatred will eventually drown
his beloved, but Setsuna tells him that battle isn't just about destruction.
It can be about creation, and that's what the Gundams are for.  And if Saji
does nothing more than keep crying out to Louise (and, keeping the Twin Drive
stable along the way), so be it.  Hiiro seems pretty impressed, figuring that
Setsuna could even master the Zero in his current frame of mind.  But in fact,
Setsuna's got the Double-0 instead.

..And that's fortunate, since White Fang have just sent a force down to the
surface in an apparent attack on the South American Galleon base.  It would be
really nice if the White Fang and Arrows simply killed each other off, but
their battle is sure to claim the whole world as collateral damage if it lasts
long.  Thus, Zexis has to put a stop to it: simple, really.

Quatro has been leading the attack, and in short order the base falls.  Quatro
however isn't happy, sensing from somewhere nearby a sinister Pressure that
reminds him of the Fortified Humans.  That would be Ribbons, who figures that
Quatro is _so_ much more awesomer than Amuro and decides to spectate on what's
about to unfold.

Zexis' pilots aren't happy to see Quatro here, especially in command of
legions of Mobile Dolls.  Jeffrey tries to do things the easy way, requesting
parlay with Quatro and White Fang, but Quatro says that Milliard's already
decided that the world doesn't have that much time left.  Quatro himself
refuses to either endorse or repudiate that view, but he does say that Arrows
must be stopped and that Zexis, effective as they are, are after all just a
bunch of warriors.  They lack vision, which Treize and Milliard clearly have if
they're prepared to make sacrifices to reach their ultimate goals.  Neither
Amuro nor Camille will stand for Quatro plunging the world into war as the way
to make it change: he, it seems, is drowning in an overabundance of idealism.
Maybe a Fin Funnel up the ass will serve as a life preserver?

Lockon wants to get the battle going, but Crow cautions him that there's two
kinds of people who would dare to go into battle in an all-gold mech.  Type one
are the utter berks and rice-people, with a $10k car and a $50k spoiler.  Type
two are the Bruce McLarens.  Which do _you_ suppose White Fang would put in
forward command?  Lockon thanks him for the warning, and checks with Anew that
everything is in order.  She seems to be momentarily distracted, but Lockon
gets her back on task by telling her he loves her.  On the open channel.
Bummer for the other tomcats, good for him.  Now start the f00king battle
already!

 Camille has very interesting words for Quatro, telling him that he'd go along
 with any decision Quatro truly committed himself to.  But Quatro is currently
 vacillating, and that's the last thing Camille wants to see.  Quatro replies
 that he's always been a small man, unworthy of Camille's hopes, but Camille
 shouts that that's just Quatro deluding himself.  He'd better not keep
 Camille disappointed!  Amuro has fewer words for his longtime rival: he
 intends to snap Quatro out of his stupor by force (remember: Fin Funnels are
 lighter than water!)

 It almost comes as a surprise to Quatro that Zexis can kick his AND his
 squadron's ass in less than 1.5 full turns.  Ribbons reveals himself by
 saying that Zexis aren't the sort of people you can defeat by half-measures.
 He calls out to Anew to "awaken".  She stands up from her operators' seat
 and begins firing her sidearm around the bridge, her personality changing
 in an instant to that of an Innovator.  She steals a shuttle and takes off
 with full readouts on the CBs mecha, inviting Lockon to come with her and
 see the world revolutionized.

 Lockon now has a really tough call to make.  Can he bring himself to shoot
 her down?  Why is he here in the first place, exactly?  He cannot, in fact,
 and that fact makes him furious with himself.  Ribbons tells Amuro not to
 blame himself too much: Anew only recently awoke to her Innovatorship, just
 like Revive.  They're two of a kind, and that gives Revive the ability to
 link her consciousness to Anew's.  He intends to force Anew into battle as
 an Innovator, but for now he even more intends to take the data and bail.

 Anew and Ali remain behind, and NOW, Amuro yells, Quatro's seen the face of
 the true enemy.  More White Fang forces arrive, led by Milliard in person,
 determined to inflict a little pain on the world to make it change.  Oh,
 like Anew changed?  Char ought to know fucking well that atrocities like her
 are what happens when people start fighting.  What to choose though -- to
 be Quatro and join Zexis, or to be Char and bring the fight to the world at
 large?

 He chooses "Quatro", stepping away from command to help save the world as a
 single soldier.  He doesn't deny that Treize and Milliard have a point, but
 what the world needs now, he reckons, isn't sacrifice.  That makes them
 enemies, and Ali can't wait for them to shut their yap and resume fighting.
 He's welcome to fight all he wants, sniffs Anew, while she attacks the
 immobilized Ptolemeios.  Lockon tries to get his shit together fast, but
 Setsuna knows it's too much for him.  He promises to take Anew down instead,
 telling Lockon to hate him in Anew's place.  He knows that whatever reason
 Lockon has for fighting the Innovators, he's got an even stronger reason for
 _not_ fighting at least this one.  Lockon grits his teeth and snarls that
 he'll do this, as a CB and member of Zexis.

 A lot is at stake here, since both Hiiro and Milliard think they're fighting
 on Rilina's behalf.  There's the love that Anew and Lockon share.  And of
 course, there's Setsuna's showdown with Ali.  Of course all this turns
 pretty acrimonious when the principals actually fight each other.

 Mr. Bushido shows up at one point, all talking about how his mech is now the
 equal of Zexis' and that the battle will be decided by "resolve".  When his
 ass gets demolished however his tune changes to "must... improve... mech..."
 and makes one wonder why he even bothered showing up in the first place.

 Lyle however is able to overcome the acrimony [if you've met all the right
 conditions that is; check http://www14.atwiki.jp/srwz2nd2/pages/14.html for
 all the conditions to meet].  It's always been his policy to go out and take
 what he wants, and what he wants more than anything is to make Anew his
 lady once more -- Innovator or not.

 Ribbons however controls her again, and she starts blasting Lyle.  It looks
 like things are grim, and Lyle will have to ask Setsuna to step in after.
 But then Anew is able to speak to him in her own voice, glad in a way that
 she's an Innovator insofar as it led her to meet him.  They truly did
 understand each other, and that's a tall order in this world.  This brief
 moment gives Setsuna a chance to aim, and god damn it's a good shot:
 disabling her mech and cracking open the cockpit without actually killing
 her.  Setsuna has Lockon carry her unconscious form to safety, noting to
 Saji that he's had a very good marksman to use as an example.  Like he was
 saying earlier: fighting can actually do more than just destroy.

Kicking Milliard's ass isn't enough to shake his resolve to take out the
Federation, and he wisely retreats rather than fall here.  Back in the Cinq
Kingdom, Dorothy is busy with her favorite activity, namely tormenting Rilina
with how seemingly crappy this Absolute Pacifism thing is.  This time, it's the
fact that her own brother has started a world war.  But not to worry, Dorothy
has a way Rilina can do something about it -- it'll just take a little
preparation.  That means phoning up Delmeier, and Dorothy is soooo eager to see
what Rilina chooses to do next.

Lockon is more grateful to Setsuna than he can ever express, now that Anew
is back safely in the infirmary.  Setsuna says levelly that he did nothing
more than save _two_ of his comrades, which Mary will surely be glad to hear.
Allelujah says that there need be no fear of a relapse: he's got a way to
shield the Ptolemy from Neural Wave interference: Soma's recommendation
actually, based on her previous experiences in the HPL.  She'll have to wear a
small helmetized version like Magneto till the full shield is built, but that's
about it.  Holy fuck what a good day.  Aren't you glad you gave Setsuna all
those kills now?

Meanwhile, Quatro has _finally_taken_off_his_goddamn_sunglasses_ to face his
fellow Gundam pilots.  The longer the war rages, the more smiles will become
tears of pain: normal people aren't able to bear the strain of all this
fighting.  That's where the Gundam pilots come in, and Amuro for one welcomes
him back as a trusted friend.  Quatro warns that Zechs has completely cast
aside all hesitation, and will do whatever it takes to win, but Hiiro isn't
fazed.  If "Zechs" can pilot the Epyon, he'll just counter with the Zero.
Piece of cake-ish.

"NOT SO FAST", as they say in college football.  Two ZONEs have just showed up
simultaneously.  Is the end near?


CHAPTER 35E. Breaking With Yesterday

Has anyone been wondering where Carlos went?  Apparently he's got a new person
he's "sponsoring", and that person is obviously Gaiou even if they won't put
his name into the text box.  Gaiou's future is so bright, he's got to wear
shades -- well actually, it's so he doesn't make passing little kids cry.  He
is not, however, above scarfing down hot dogs: fast food, to him, tastes like
peace.  Only outside of war can the young and happy afford chow like that, and
once the hot dogs run out the two men head off "wherever the wind blows them",
in Gaiou's words.  Which is totally like, neither ominous nor cryptic, or
anything.

Meanwhile, Palace Insalaum is flying over the Indian Ocean.  Unblown thinks
Yuusar ought to go into battle himself to motivate the troops, and to Yuusar
that sounds like a transparent attempt to get him to go die in battle.  Umm,
yikes?  In the process of going from Prince Whatever to Prince Oh No They
Didn't, he's figured out that Unblown has tainted her soul with all sorts of
forbidden stuff (and at his bidding, too!), and now wants him dead and the
Seiouki for her own.  Well she won't get to _own_ it, but he will loan her the
car keys as part of taking "responsibility" for Insalaum's revival.  That's
the reason he's had Wayne and Marilyn go and erect two more ZONEs, and when
Unblown still sounds dubious, he tells her she ought to trust her own Luke
Adamons and the Knight of Knights a bit more.  He's got her on a _very_ short
leash these days...

The Earth half of Zexis has been reading reports of their comrade's battle
with White Fang with much interest.  On the one hand, anyone who stands up to
Arrows deserves some credit.  On the other hand, provoking world war is a
suicidal act for mankind as a whole.  It's a level of stupidity that seems
beneath Zechs/Milliard, and both Zero and Toudou suspect that some deeper
purpose has put Milliard in command of the White Fang.  In any case, the other
half of Zexis is tied up battling them, leaving this half to do something
about the ZONE in the Pacific.  Assuming they can eliminate it, there's still
one more on the Dark Continent... and Crow has already made peace with the
probably need to sacrifice himself just to deal with the first one.  To do that
however, the team will need to get in close -- no mean feat with all the DBs
on patrol.

In particular, the Luke Adamon will require some precision sniping, which in
the absence of Michelle and Lockon will have to fall to Gain and Dolly (who,
she claims, has a sniper's soul!).  Crow has been impressing a lot of people
these days, seemingly more at peace and less obsessed with every last penny
than he was before getting the Re-Blaster.  Crow is still a fairly young guy,
but he's willing to let the kids think of him as an "old man" since he expects
to have to entrust his wellbeing to them when he stops the ZONE.

The ZONE is stationed on a small island in the middle of nowhere, and the
immediate question is why.  Probably _not_ fear of Federation counterattack.
There must be some logic behind where the ZONEs go, and if the team could
just figure it out they might be able to anticipate Insalaum's strategies
better.  Seeing that the Luke Adamon isn't protected by dimensional barriers,
Crow decrees that the team needs to take it down first.

BUT, it's emitting an unknown energy signature, and immediately Crow is
plunged into some alternate state of consciousness where he (thinks) he hears
Esther.  Why, oh why did she have to become a DB?  Why couldn't the Firebugs
have arrived sooner and saved her hometown?  Net result: low morale for the
team!  That's the bad guys' cue to show up, and Wayne announces that he's
inherited the title and mecha of the Knight of Knights after Geraud's death.
He actually apologizes to Crow for what he's got to do to win, which includes
using his D Extractor to enhance the trauma within Zexis' pilots' hearts.

 Zexis' pilots show extraordinary resilience to Insalaum's evil, but Crow has
 to admit things can't go on much longer like this.  Fortunately they don't
 have to, as Asakim shows up out of the blue.  He is _not_ here to devour
 Crow just yet, but that doesn't stop the Luke Adamon from cowering in fear.
 Wayne reckons that anyone who can cow one of those must be an even bigger
 monster, and Asakim sniffs that at the very least, he's stronger than Wayne
 is.  Wayne tries to put it to the test and gets taught a _very_ harsh lesson.

 Quoth Asakim: No deviant's Sphere, and especially not someone like Wayne is
 now, could hope to stand against him.  Wayne has no choice but to exercise
 the better part of valor, and Asakim smirks that the new Knight of Knights is
 way too much of a simpleton for this job.  It's that IQ deficit that makes
 him doubt his job, and it's those doubts that make him lose like a whipped
 cur.  Crow at least manages to parse this: what Wayne really wants it to
 fight Crow fair and square.

 So uhh, why is Asakim here again?  If it's to go after Crow, the other Zexis
 pilots will _totally_ try to take him on.  Asakim nearly busts up laughing
 at that: it seems like _everyone_ here has teh st00pid today.  No way a bunch
 of Jerry's Kids could hope to bring out Crow's true power, is there?  Maybe
 not, but Crow at least can manage that himself, as he demonstrates by
 trouncing the pesky Luke Adamon.  There's actually a very valuable lesson to
 be learned here: if there's trauma in your life, attack it at the root.

 In other words, the team needs to fight these monsters not with their
 weapons, but with their hearts.  ExACTly, smiles Asakim.  The question now is
 whether Crow's mundane companions can pull it off.  They certainly think they
 can, and Asakim even offers to help out.  Not that that'll win him any points
 with the team, but it's better than nothing.  It quickly becomes clear why
 the Luke Adamon is afraid of Asakim.  When it tried to read his heart in
 search of trauma, all it found was darkness in his past, and the expectation
 of more darkness to come.

With all the Insalaum forces dealt with, it's ZONE time.  Crow prepares to make
his sacrifice, but Asakim isn't prepared to let him "have"(??) it.  He's
confident that he'll be reborn within the flow of the Origin Row, and leaves
Crow with a word of caution: his Sphere is starting to drive him.  Is that a
genuine smile we see on Asakim's face as he does the deed??

Certainly none of the commanders can fathom what would drive Asakim to
sacrifice himself for the world's sake.  Whatever his reason, it's very
fortunate he intervened and thereby kept Crow in circulation.  Zero is adamant
that it will be up to Crow himself whether to sacrifice himself to silence the
Dark Continent's ZONE, but maybe with Zexis all back together now some new
counter-measure can be found.  Just then word comes in from Kevin McLaren, who
claims to have some new information to pass along to Zexis.  He seems to have
a bone to pick with the prince, and at the recommendation of the others Zero
allows the meeting to happen.

The pilots too are pondering Asakim's uncharacteristic act.  Quatro's theory
is that Asakim judged that Crow would become eternally out of his reach if
he were the one to seal the ZONE, though Amuro can't see that that would be
enough reason to feed _himself_ into the meat grinder.  This is the point where
the pilots tell each other what's been going on on the other path, as always.
Lockon will be bumming hardcore, due to Anew being an Innovator "Manchurian
Candidate" and Setsuna having no choice but to shoot her.  At least she told
him with her last breath that she was glad they met.  Lockon now has a better
understanding why Crow fights, and vows to blow a hole right through everything
that's distorting this world.

Anyway, time to go do something about that final ZONE and bring Insalaum's
ambitions to naught.  The question is what Asakim's final words mean -- how is
it that the Sphere would be driving Crow?


CHAPTER 35S. Struggle for Tomorrow

[See the other path for Carlos' little chat with the hotdog-loving Gaiou, and
Yuusar's chastening of Unblown.]

Saji has become a total Setsuna fan after his latest exploits.  Unfortunately
he'll have to spend a little time away from his newfound idol, since Lockon has
something important to tell Setsuna alone.  Lockon is now in deadly earnest
about fighting the Innovators: not as a member of the CBs, or Catalon, or
Zexis, but as himself.  For the moment, that means helping get rid of this damn
ZONE thing by doing what he does best: sniping.

The other pilots are busy gossiping about the doings on the other path, and
in the Twinkle Project.  Alto's heard nothing from either of the idol singers,
despite repeated emails, and frankly he's getting a bit worried.  The biggest
worry is the ZONE, however, and the fact that Crow will probably have to
sacrifice himself to stop it.  First the team has to physically reach it, and
then shoot down the Luke Adamon.

 The battle is _on_, and if you rescued Anew she's back on the bridge and
 ready to rock.  They'd love to know the logic behind where the ZONEs get
 emplaced, and wish they didn't have to deal with its guardian.  As on the
 other path, everyone starts out all traumatized and unable to muster much of
 a fight.  This is basically the same mission as the other path, and probably
 trickier because this path is stocked with mincing real-robot types.

After the battle the commanders have the same conference as on the other side.
The pilots too get reacquainted with each other, and Crow gets to ponder
Asakim's same cryptic statement about the Sphere beginning to "drive" him...


CHAPTER 36. Accelerating World

[Happy though I was to save Anew, I kept the Earth route.]

Kevin's initial information isn't exactly news: the ZONEs are giant strategic
weapons, from what a friend of his has been able to eavesdrop from Unblown.
Kevin sees Unblown as a traitor who's sacrificed Insalaum for the saker of
her accursed Dimensional Science, and furthermore blames Yuusar himself as a
co-conspirator.  He claims that many in Insalaum have had it with Yuusar's
use of Gaiou's attack as cover for killing the previous king, and for
converting the people into his personal arsenal.  He wants the whole dynasty
ousted.

He claims that the ZONEs are a system for accumulating Dimensional Energy
for use in directly attacking this world's nations, via something he calls the
"Dimensional Overload Bomb".  This munition causes a local Quake, the result of
which is the superimposition of another dimension's copy of that locale with
the target.  Result: utter annihilation.  The fourth ZONE is already busily
charging up the DOB, and it would be really nice if there were some way to
stop it.

As it happens, there is.  That unbreachable energy shield around it isn't as
inexhaustible as it looks, and a series of sufficiently powerful attacks
should be enough to breach it.  "Sufficiently" powerful amounts to Zexis'
full arsenal, but it's a better plan than just sacrificing Crow to neutralize
the darn thing.  Sumeragi asks Kevin if he's actually their ally, and he
admits that it's a tough question.  The Earth's greatest power, the Federation,
runs counter to his ideas of justice -- but Zexis themselves seem to be on the
level.  He agrees to research ways of freeing up the Zexis members currently
tied up in neutralizing the other ZONEs and takes his leave.

Not the world's most trustworthy person, in Zero's view, but as he's Zexis'
only source of information there's little option but to trust at least his
latest info.  As luck would have it, battle has begun in the vicinity of the
fourth ZONE -- though dimensional distortion prevents confirmation of
precisely who is fighting who.  Whoever it is, it seems like Zexis' big chance!

Well, sort of.  It turns out that Zexis isn't the only thing in this world
capable of overwhelming a ZONE's defenses.  Gaiou (remember him?) can do it
too, as he demonstrates to an astonished Marilyn.  Not good, he says, to let
children play with toys that dangerous.  When she tries to sick the Adamons
on him, Gaiou just smirks before blowing them away in an instant.  His view is
that nobody who would sic such perverse weapons on him has any right to call
him a monster, and proves it by trashing the Luke Adamon for good measure.

Marilyn demands to know who the hell he is, and for a moment he seems to be
considering giving her his real name.  Instead however, he smirks and names
himself Gaiou, Lord of Destruction.  The other Arcsabers know that that means
they should be very afraid (as though the destruction of the ZONE didn't do
that to begin with), but Marilyn doesn't give a good goddamn.  She wants this
dude dead, and is especially annoyed when he starts ignoring her.  Gaiou notes
that the "wind has shifted", and in short order Zexis appears.  Marilyn has
no choice but to retreat, yelling that Gaiou is going to pay for messing up her
face like this.  Yeah, we'll see if Marilyn has it in her.

For now though, Zexis are astounded to see Gaiou still alive.  It's taken him
some time to get his powers back after their last battle, which to him was
a lot of fun.  It dawns on Zexis that the ZONE's lens is cracked, and Gaiou
grins that he needed _something_ to test his might on.  Fearing the return of
the Imperium, Zexis get ready to rumble until Carlos shows up.  He claims to
be Gaiou's "manager" (of sorts), and tells them that at the very least Gaiou
has no intention of fighting them now.  Gaiou adds that Zexis probably has
better things to do than play with him, what with the universe shaking and
all.  Cue a giant Quake, probably triggered by the ZONE's destruction.  Gaiou
muses that "they" have gone and done it this time, but of course he won't
elaborate to Zexis now.  He merely looks forward to their next battle, and
vanishes.

It seems the Quake has struck the Dimension Warp Zone, and with Hayato staying
behind to investigate the other ZONEs, most of Zexis rush into space.  Sure
enough, there is a dimensional hole to be seen in space, and Lord only knows
where it leads to.  From this "Abyss" come a bunch of bad guys who've got to be
working for the people Diana's been after, and the first thing they do is
threaten Diana's contingent.  Time for the royal guard to earn its paychecks,
and for Wits and Roaby's solo journeys in this world to reach their "climax".

 It seems Lacus and Diana haven't been idle all this time -- they've had a
 little experiment going, the result of which is the arrival of the Eternal.
 AND Jamir and Enil, who've tagged along to find out what's become of all the
 missing ZEUTH members.  Fudou's filled them in already (back in their own
 world, meaning Fudou is pan-dimensional too...) about the Insalaum folks and
 their plan to bring war to this world, so there's nothing to do but fight
 the pesky DBs.

 The next menace to show up is a bevy of Mobile Dolls, apparently made in
 this world.  Hot on their heels is Zexis, who are very pleasantly surprised
 to see their long-lost friends on the scene.  What Diana, Lacus and friends
 have actually been doing is tracking down the real bad guys.  No, the REAL
 real bad guys, who seem to have both DBs and Mobile Dolls on their payroll
 AND were the ones who made this dimensional hole.  Margret's been doing the
 same, and since one of those bad guys is on hand, she takes a potshot at him.

 The target is none other than Eim -- back with a whole new pack of lies.
 First he claims to be his own brother (like Lockon), then admits that he
 somehow hoodwinked even Asakim himself in order to take his plans to the
 "next level".  Was the whole "losing the ability to speak" business just an
 act?  Eim's coy about this, but Margret isn't coy about laying blame for
 Unblown's misbehavior at his door.  If not for Eim, Unblown would never have
 figured out enough about Dimensional Science to become a menace to South
 Central, nor would she have drunk gin and juice in the hood.

 Hell, even this world's Mobile Dolls are based on the ones from ZEUTH's
 world, and Eim's the person who forked over the plans to Oz and Arrows.
 Eim even impersonated one of the Arcsabers along the way -- one the team
 knows well: Kevin McLaren!  It seems Eim wields the same level of Dimensional
 Power-ed disguise skills that Asakim has, and Crow is faced with the
 uncomfortable realization that he's nowhere caught up to Eim in terms of
 utilizing his Sphere powers yet.

 According to Margret, Eim's been super busy spreading false rumors that
 perturbed both Insalaum and Earth military order.  Even this DOB story was
 a fake, calculated to get Zexis to fight Gaiou and hopefully take each other
 out.  Oh well.  Eim claims his goal is world chaos, and part of the plan is
 the Abyss, which now connects ZEUTH's world to this one.  This abruptly
 explains how Fudou and the crew have been able to keep fighting the good
 fight in this world... even Tifa, whose role was to telepathically relay
 information back and forth between the two worlds.

 It seems his ultimate goal is gathering Spheres, and that meant getting
 Crow to heighten his focus so that his Sphere would be ripe for the harvest.
 The same could be said for the two Spheres ZEUTH has.  Eim claims that Crow's
 Sphere is the only power that can save Esther, and that makes Crow really...
 very coldly rational, actually.  He's learned not to let Eim provoke him,
 and says that he doesn't need Eim's potential untruths to motivate him.
 He'll maximize his Sphere potential, and when he does, Eim will be toast!

 Can the team really take Eim down, given that he's fully actualized his
 Sphere abilities?  At least the Meteor units are on hand to help Kira and
 Aslan, and the G-Falcon available to help Garode.

Eim is way too tough to readily defeat here, and on his way out he tells Crow
he prays Crow will rescue Esther.  Crow rests easy in the thought that Eim
will be back to see him again at some point, and easier at the thought that
it's clearly in Eim's best interest for Rand and Setsuko to _not_ meet their
end.  Odds are therefore good that the other ZONEs can be defeated, and that
Eim might even do it himself... though he might wait till he's got Crow's
Sphere first.  Gaiou's resurgence can't be good for the world, though it's
far from clear what he and Carlos are up to.  Apparently it's nothing to do
with Eim, who seems to have written Gaiou off as a pawn.

What's also clear is that the picture Kevin painted of Yuusar is bogus.
Zero enlists Margret's help to try to broker a cease-fire with Insalaum, since
it's clear that Eim _wants_ the two worlds' peoples fighting each other.
She seems strangely out of sorts, but the pilots are pretty sure she can be
trusted.  By the way, isn't it cool that the two worlds are now connected?
..Maybe not.

Turns out the Abyss has stable and unstable periods, and Eim and Fudou may be
the only people who can pass through without paying that heed.  The good news
is that Fudou can go through at all, and with him can come a host of upgrade
equipment and even mail from loved ones back home.  Lacus has a lot to tell
Kira about the time she's spent in this world and maybe once things calm down
she'll give him the full story.

Jamir confirms that his people are here not as part of an official Federation
force (from the other Earth), but as a sort of small recon project.  Thus, all
the people he's brought with him will be absorbed into Zexis for the time
being.  There will be a general pooling of resources to figure out how to use
the Abyss safely, and at Diana's insistence no special fuss will be made over
her.

The happy reunion gets cut short however when a familiar battle song comes over
the PA system.  It's the Red Shoulders' march, and of course Kiriko is ready
to shoot someone.  It turns out that the entire world is having this music
forcibly broadcast through all electronics, and on the viewscreens, footage
of all Arrows' atrocities.  Someone's broken through Veda's protection, but
what does that have to do with the Red Shoulders?

For once, this is something that is _not_ going according to Ribbons' plans.
It's so far off the script that even he hasn't the faintest idea what to do
about it.  Liu Mei wants to know anyway, and he snaps at her that there's no
need for him to explain himself to a mere human.  Ah but wasn't it his plan to
make all of humanity into Innovators?  Not so: he means to cut off the old
world and its anachronistic notions of greater and lesser, even as the new
comes into being.  He assures her that she will _not_ become an Innovator,
which probably _won't_ increase her likelihood of cooperating with him.

As for what to do about this mess, Ribbons sees it as a net plus.  Now people
are sure to increase their resistance to Arrows, and as a result become all
that much easier to root out.  Then, the masses will stay silent as they
always do.  No need to fiddle with The Plan, then?  Not with Delmeier in
action and Rilina on track to be the perfect pawn.  Oh, by the way, the
person responsible for the broadcast left their handle: Wiseman.


CHAPTER 37. To Make the Galaxy a Stage

The event now known as the "Wiseman Shock" has caused disturbances worldwide:
maybe not the best way to bring the truth to the public in retrospect.  In
fact, by choosing only the most sensational parts of Arrows' misdeeds, the
broadcast has caused more panic and anti-government sentiment than it has
produced actual agitation for Arrows' ouster.  The reasonable folks like Zexis
and Ootsuka are now drowned out by cries of revolution, and if the Earth's
common enemies (including Insalaum) were to strike now, the whole house of
cards would collapse.  If Wiseman aimed for that deliberately, he's truly an
opponent to be feared.  And is there some kind of message for Kiriko from
this Wiseman character?  If so, Kiriko seems in no mood to discuss it...

As it happens, a visitor has come for Kiriko, and is busy chatting with Zero
on the bridge.  As Kiriko stalks for the elevator, Basara gives him a bit of
friendly advice: keep his blazing soul bottled up too tight, and it'll
explode.  Kiriko ignores this and heads out, seemingly having reverted to the
way he was when the team first met him.

The guest turns out to be Jean-Paul Rochina, Arrows' chief of information.
The former Gilgamesh army officer has gone where his talents are most useful,
and notes that sooner or later both the Gilgamesh and Valalant forces will
have to fuse together under the Federation's aegis.  But Rochina has come here
to see Kiriko and propose a duel between him and Ypsilon.  He was part of the
PS project back in his Gilgamesh days, and though the project was taken from
him long ago he would really like to see it come to fruition.

In particular, the PS project can't be called complete so long as there's a
regular AT driver (that's Kiriko) who the PS's have failed to defeat.  Kiriko
asks if Rochina has Fiana, and from what Rochina's been told Fiana's with
Ypsilon at this moment.  He's even willing to personally help Kiriko get Fiana
back if Kiriko defeats Ypsilon -- not so much out of generosity, but out of
animosity for the Secret Society and its ties with Arrows.  More than anything
though, he's found himself fascinated with Kiriko as a man.  Wait, that sounds
wrong.  Anyway, he assures the team that it wasn't his idea to play the
Red Shoulder March, and that his people are busy trying to figure out who this
Wiseman character is at this very moment.  Even the Arrows high command
(meaning the Innovators) have no clue.

Rochina intends to notify Zexis once he hears what the Secret Society are up
to, and after much thought Kiriko agrees to his terms.  Both Kiriko and Zero
are forced to admit there's no other known way of getting Fiana back than to
trust this guy.  As Zero and Rochina's conversation fades into the background,
Kiriko finds himself wondering if he's actually fit to live with Fiana, the
only thing that's saved him amidst the flames of battle.  He knows of no other
way to go but toward her, even if it means selling his soul to the Devil to do
it...

The other pilots fill in the Fire Bomber folks about Kiriko's pursuit of
Fiana, which sort of elevates Kiriko in their eyes.  The question turns to
why the hell Basara insists on singing on the battlefield, and even Gamlin
isn't 100% sure.  The space whales, mysterious living masses of energy, are the
latest target Basara's selected to sing at after the war with the Proto-Devlin.
It seems he flew into the middle of a skirmish between "space whalers" and
patrol craft trying to stop them, and went straight over to a giant white whale
for a little crooning.  Basara never sings to _defeat_ people, just to get
through to their hearts in some fashion -- in the Proto-Devlin's case, that
was enough to simply make them stop attacking.

What Gamlin and crew witnessed was Basara actually getting through to the
white whale's heart (no mere mass of energy after all, then).  Apparently the
experience was intense enough that the whole pod of whales Folded on the
spot, dragging all the Valkyries in the area along for the ride.  After all
their pilots have been through with Basara though, that was no big deal.
Gamlin has noticed how irritable Basara makes Alto, and tells him that's a
perfectly normal reaction -- and one he himself had to start with.  As the
air raid sirens blare, Basara seems in no hurry to break of singing, and Alto
can only wonder what the hell is going through this guy's head.

Apparently it involves a new song that Fire Bomber has been wrestling with for
some time.  Not ideal timing, in Alto's view, for a new single to hit the
airwaves.  The rest of the team don't agree.  The enemy turn out to be Vajra,
who for all the team knows have actually been lured by Basara's singing as a
perceived threat.  The question is, where is these Vajra's queen?  Basara
flies out in front, singing all the while, and the furious Alto is adamant
that these are _not_ like Proto-Devlin or space whales.

 Defeating the first batch of Vajra brings more, PLUS Eim with a shipment of
 DBs.  Dude is seriously doing the bad-penny impression, or else is Crow's
 personal stalker.  Among EIM's troops are some VF-171's outfitted with the
 Mobile Doll system, which can't be good.  He's got a very peculiar notion:
 he offers Basara the chance for his songs to reach innumerable worlds... in
 short, he wants to be Basara's new producer!  He believes Basara's song
 should be used as an anti-Vajra weapon, just as Ranka's is.  Ranka is
 singing the songs she's being told people want to hear -- unwanted songs are,
 after all, just noise.

 OR, it means that this guy is just being a critic.  Basara is adamant that
 he sings _what_ he wants to sing, _when_ he wants to sing, _to_whom_ he wants
 to sing, period!  His songs are his alone, and that determination has
 powered him up enough to use a certain gadget the team's just received.
 Apparently it converts songs into LASERBEAMS OF DEATH, which bring EXPLOSIONS
 OF DEATH.  Bad(-ish) ass!  Gamlin yells for Basara to keep singing while he
 does the fighting part, dealing more damage to Eim for good measure.  Crow
 explains to the thunderstruck (no, literally, he was like struck by thunder
 and shit) Eim that his lies won't work on Basara.  Eim flies off in fury,
 and the second wave of Vajra seem to think it's a good idea to bail too.

 Even Kiriko seems to be digging the music, and Alto is now determined not to
 let Basara have all the fun.  He and Gamlin will take on the remaining
 drones (with a little help from everyone else of course).

With the last of the enemies gone, something HUGE Folds in: the Barlaena, or
white space whale.  It seems to have come in response to Basara's song, and
is inclined to do a little singing of its own.  Time for a duet, obviously.
It's a brief one, and the whale Folds away again, but the rest of the team is
_really_ hoping the pictures of this little event come out properly.  Basara
assures the team that this mighty creature isn't a god, but rather a being with
a heart, just like everyone on the team.

Alto has finally figured a bit out about Basara, like how Basara stakes his
life on his singing.  Alto's done more than a little performance himself, and
can tell at a glance that Basara is the real deal.  Something within him
didn't want to admit that someone could actually pilot while singing, and
Gamlin recalls to mind "QM69", a maneuver involving a series of high speed
turns.  It used to give Gamlin fits how easily Basara mastered it when he
could not, but now he's gotten over both his complex towards Basara AND his
mental block about the maneuver.  He notes that Alto is still relying too much
on brute strength in some of his maneuver, and offers to give him some
pointers.  Alto gladly accepts.

Basara walks past Kiriko, telling him that whatever he's worrying about,
nothing will change unless he moves forward.  Kiriko admits the sense in this,
and everyone seems to be accepting that songs have power.  Setsuna remembers
the song he heard during the fall of Africa Tower: it surely belonged to
Marina Ismael... but was that just his ears -- or his heart -- playing tricks
on him?

No time to reflect though, as some major Federation announcement comes on TV.
It seems they're about to take a DRASTIC step to quell the unrest throughout
the world.  After claiming that Wiseman's information was fake, the acting
Federation president announces that the Federation army is henceforth under the
command of Arrows.  And as for the common people, who surely need someone they
can trust besides the government as a representative -- well, they need look
no further than Rilina Peacecraft!  She announces that Cinq Kingdom has just
joined the Federation, and that she is now the people's voice.  She says she
believes that this is _not_ the workings of the old feudal system, but rather
the first step along the best known road towards true world peace.  She appeals
to all to lay down their arms, and join hands as they walk towards the future
she believes they all want.  She declares here and now that the Federation will
be reborn into a true world government.

Crikey.  Queen Rilina?  Yeah: you heard right: the Federation is now a
constitutional monarchy.  Of course it's all a farce and a repetition of how
the Federation tried to rule the minds and hearts of the Colonies, and surely
Milliard isn't going to be too happy.  The thing whoever rigged this has
failed to realize is that Rilina isn't one to be farcical, or to lie: she will
do everything she can to genuinely bring about this brotherhood of man
business, and many within the Federation will gladly follow.  The question is
whether the Innovators can undermine her influence and reduce her to a mere
figurehead.  If they do, Hiiro is prepared to kill her...

Meanwhile, Margret is surprised to find that Yuusar knows all about Unblown's
dealings with Eim.  Now that he's begun his own agenda, Eim has added himself
to Insalaum's list of enemies, nothing more.  Yuusar means to take Unblown
at her pledge to use Dimensional Science for Insalaum's benefit, and will not
allow Margret to speak ill of her after her departure from the Arcsabers.
He declares that he's cast everything aside for the sake of victory, and when
Margret objects that he's going to plunge _two_ worlds into war, Yuusar orders
Wayne to apprehend her.  Wayne, through only partially gritted teeth, declares
that as the new Knight of Knights, he'll face all of Insalaum's enemies with
the Diamed.  Yuusar orders Margret into solitary confinement, lest any morale-
related issues arise with the other Arcsabers.  Margret tries to protest, but
Wayne tells her, as her former subordinate, not to make him draw his sword.
Nor does he want to kill Shane's sister.

Margret falls silent at that, and allows herself to be led off.  Unblown
wonders aloud at Margret's chutzpah in pursuing Eim, and Yuusar sharply asks
if she's really severed ties with Eim.  She maintains she has, saying that he's
not shown himself anyway since she finished work on the Giga Adamon.  He
warns her never to betray his trust again, shouting that she must do her utmost
for him and for Insalaum, now that Gaiou has returned.  Speaking of whom,
Unblown's used the info that Eim left her to arrange for the capture of one
more Singularity, the use of whom will let her bring Dimensional Science to its
zenith.  He's willing to let her do whatever is necessary, believing Insalaum
to be already past the point of no return.

As for Eim, he's paying Charles and V.V. a visit at the MYSTERY LOCATION, with
a question to "humbly" ask.  V.V. asks what the Key-bearer wants here, and
intimates that Eim's supple, duplicitous tongue _can_ be removed if need be.
Seeing that he'd better hurry, he asks how many people on Earth know of the
Black Knowledge.  This count, he says, will allow him to prepare for the day
when he reaches the Ultimate.  Charles tells him that the number is six,
including his elder brother.  One of those six is someone Eim's already
acquainted with: "Wiseman".  Charles intimates that any further questions will
lead to Eim having a _very_ bad day, and even Eim is smart enough to not press
his luck when standing in front of a God-killing weapon.  He'll be back one
day though, when he's actually _achieved_ godhood.

V.V., who turns out to be that elder brother of Charles' (despite appearances!)
doesn't like Eim one bit, and Charles agrees that he's the one he's most
worried about.  The only reason Charles gave out any information about the
Black Knowledge at all is Eim's resemblance to his son Lelouch.  Speaking of
whom, V.V. thinks it's time Lelouch be punished, and has just the person in
mind to dismantle Lelouch's lies.  There's not much time, especially now that
Wiseman has stepped out of the shadows of history to reveal himself.  Wiseman
strives to be an Inheritor of all this, and in that V.V. feels a certain
kinship.  Fortunately, it is he and Charles who wield the Sword of Akasha, and
the time for their wish to be granted is nigh.


CHAPTER 39. (Route Split)

Gaiou and Carlos are wandering the streets of some random city, pondering the
big news about Queen Rilina.  Is her ascendancy a sign of the times?  A
modern fiction?  Only time will tell, but what's clear is that Eim's little
gadgetry has caused Gaiou no small amount of inconvenience.  Zexis too gets
to ponder the announcement, whose immediate effect has been to quell much of
the anti-Federation sentiment worldwide.  Insalaum is still busily skirmishing
however, and the commanders have to conclude that Margret's mission failed.
Hopefully Margret herself is still okay...

Now the question is what Zexis' role should be: can they still ride herd on
Arrows after the big announcement?  Sumeragi has an interesting excerpt from
the Wiseman footage, dated to when the Orbital Elevator construction began.
In it is Elgan, looking much as he does today despite the footage being over
a century old!  The conclusion would be that Elgan is an Innovator, explaining
neatly why the Federation has now fallen under Arrows' control.  Except, why
then did he authorize Zexis' autonomy?  There's no way to know without meeting
the guy, but Jeffrey proposes that there could be schisms within the
Innovators just as there were within the CBs themselves.  Possible, but in that
case, Elgan might already be dead.

..Well _that_'s an unpleasant thought.  Jeffrey presumes that the team can't
count on support from Ootsuka just now, so Zexis will have to act on its own.
Zero says that the Black Knights will need to return to Japan under such
circumstances, hoping to cement a strategic toehold in what was historically
one of the most rebellious areas of the world.  Hiiro at the very least must
accompany Zero, owing to his well-known standing as an "observer" over Zero.
Zero is thinking that Rilina's announcement must have had an effect on Nanaly,
and he wants to see her reaction with his own eyes before concentrating on
the battles to come.

Traia is seriously steamed about Carlos' wayward ways, but Crow tells her he's
got enough problems with Gaiou and Eim.  The interesting question is Eim's
exhortation to Crow to get his Sphere shit in gear and rescue Esther -- even
though the guys is a pathological liar, there tend to be kernels of truth in
his words.  Seems like Crow has to figure out how to get even more out of the
Re-Blaster than he already has.  Traia tells him to take care of himself:
she's already lost Carlos and Esther.  If she were to lose him... who the hell
would keep her lab solvent?  Crow seems relieved that she's not starting the
mushy stuff -- of course she was, and then trying to cover it up, but she
won't readily admit it from behind her kitsune mask.  As she totals up his
earnings, Crow hears explosions near the lab.  No big deal though, honest.

Traia is generous with the cash this time, and asks Crow what happens next.
Well, he either stays with the CBs and goes to the Dark Continent, or takes a
little side job from Sumeragi and goes with the Black Knights to Area Eleven
(she promises to cover his breakfast expenses if he does).  To go to the Dark
Continent, head to Chapter 38D.  To go to Area Eleven, head to Chapter 38E.

Meanwhile Yuusar is back to hanging out with Esther, who doesn't seem too fond
of his decision to incarcerate Margret.  He is, after all, her enemy.  The
actual Arcsabers, Wayne states as he walks up, are waiting for Yuusar's
command and prepared to risk their lives.  There are half a billion Insalaum
citizens whose lives hang in the balance, and Yuusar orders the Arcsabers to
give their last breath defending the final ZONE.  He silently bids Margret
farewell, vowing to fight for Insalaum's future.


CHAPTER 38D. Communicable Despair

If you remember the early days of Gurren Lagann, you may be wondering where
the hell Youko has gone.  It turns out she's on a small island called Korehana,
teaching elementary school.  Her kids are very bright and very eager to learn,
and have loads of questions in the wake of Rilina's big announcement.  She
answers honestly that she doesn't agree with Arrows methods, even if she
does agree with the goal of world peace.  Nor does she think that Rilina by
herself will be able to change the big bad world, which is why she needs all
her students to study the world really carefully and become informed citizens
thereof.  It's a child's job to study, to play, and to grow up strong... and
to leave th fighting to the adults.  Preferably the exemplary adults, like
the Great Gurren Gang.

Even "Yomako-sensei", as she's now known, was once a child, but thanks to a
group of very stalwart friends, she's grown up strong.  Her students are really
glad she came to this island half a year ago, and one (Nakim) wonders if she
might not be a member of the illustrious Gang herself.  His suspicions are all
but confirmed when an explosion rocks the school, and "Yomako" rushes _toward_
the blast even as she orders her students to take cover in the cellar.

They don't, preferring to see who's responsible for the chaos.  It's a couple
of Beastmen in Gunmen, who seem inclined to become "kings" of this little
island after Rilina was made queen of the world.  They spot the kids (who are
too terrified to flee) and decide to take them hostage.  Yomako interdicts
this in short order, and class is now in session.

 The bad guys get schooled, but they're not too worried.  It _would_ have
 been nice to plant a flag here before Kamina City falls, and it _will_ fall.
 What the heck is going on there, Yomako wonders...

Rather than wonder, she decides to head off to the capital.  By this point
her students have totally figured out who she really is, but the polite
fiction will remain that she's merely Yomako-sensei, going to do a little
adult fighting to preserve the kids' future.

Back within the Zexis contingent, the commanders are reviewing the effect of
the Wiseman Shock on the Dark Continent.  Things got chaotic enough that Roshiu
almost mobilized the military to maintain order, until Rilina's announcement
calmed everything right down.  That charisma reminds Simon a bit of Kamina,
though his elder brother figure's personality is obviously quite different
from Rilina's.  A message comes in from Kitan at this point, imploring Simon
and the team to save Kamina City.  Seems a large guerilla force of Beastmen
are besieging the place -- larger than anything to date.

Hayato asks the first question: why not contact Arrows?  After all, keeping
the so-called peace is their official mission.  Roshiu is afraid that Arrows'
participation will just make things worse, and means to use his local forces
only.  Even should he win (and hie is outnumbered), Kamina City will still
suffer extensive damage.  Simon is initially silent as Kitan says that his
child has just been borne, named Anne.  Simon lights up at hearing her name,
saying that she and the other townsfolk have done nothing wrong by wanting to
live in peace.  It's his job to defend them, and indeed is the job of all of
Zexis.  As Hayato mobilizes the team, Simon just hopes that Nia is still okay.

Roshiu's advisors are sure their forces will win due to superior equipment and
positioning, but Roshiu knows that the city will still pay the price from a
protracted battle.  What they don't realize is that Beck and Timp are among
the enemy... as are Viral and Kan Yur.  Viral is surly as ever, but still
manages a word of thanks to the others for taking him in.

First Simon (nicely) then Hayato (less nicely) tell Roshiu to withdraw his
troops and leave the bad guys to Zexis.  Roshiu reluctantly complies, and Timp
can only shake his head at Zexis' penchant for lousing his up his plans at the
worst possible moments.  Oh well, maybe Kan Yur has the right idea and they
should just stop worrying about tomorrow.  As it becomes clear to Zexis who the
ringleaders are, Crow asks Roger where he's been lately.  A little errand in
Area Eleven -- personal interest in the whole Zero business, let's say.  Jiron
is looking forward Kitan firing this giant-ass missile Jiron stored in the
hangar all this time, and Simon will have to be the one to take out Viral once
and for all.

 Viral seems to have finally met his end, having become something more than
 just an adversary to Simon.  Just _what_ he's become is unclear, but Ryouma
 tells Simon to believe in Viral -- surely he'll appear before them again one
 day.

 After the commanders make their disgraceful exits, another wave of
 guerillas shows up.  Nia emerges onto the parapets of the palace, and asks
 Simon to stay his hand.  Knowing that Nia must have something planned, Simon
 gets Zexis to hold their fire.  Her appeal to the guerillas is an odd one:
 she tells them she can't understand their motivations, probably because
 she's happy.  After rattling off several other reasons _her_ life doesn't
 suck, she mentions the baby a friend of hers just had.  Maybe the combatants
 would like to come be happy with her if they can't find happiness on their
 own?  Or at least come to talk it over?

 Only Nia, a genuine innocent, could get away with a speech like that without
 it being taken for pure sarcasm.  Given that she's the speaker however,
 all the remaining guerillas lay down their arms.  Rilina's not the only one
 around here whose very presence can quell unrest.

Simon gladly goes to greet Nia, who's prepared a big feast for the whole
team.  Simon takes a ring out of his pocket, intending at long last to propose
to her.  However, as he does so, a change comes over Nia.  In a cold voice,
she declares that the Anti-Spiral people have decided that the Earth's
Spiral danger level has reached stage two.  Thus, Phase 1 of the humankind
destruction system is being activated.  She says she now knows that she and he
can never coexist, and says that it's the duty of the Anti-Spirals to
defend the world from the Spiral Nemesis.

He wonders if she's come down with a fever or something, but she continues
that his Core Drill is the essence of the Spiral Nemesis, whose Spiral Power
will destroy this universe.  It is the power of Evolution, which causes
organisms with spiral DNA and the spiral galaxies they live in to expand
forever.  This cannot be permitted.  And, given that the ten billionth child
has just been born, well.... DOOM AND GLOOM!

Nia bids Simon farewell and hops aboard one of a fleet of Unknowns that appear
out of a dimensional warp.  This mankind destruction system sure wastes no
time!  Corwen and Stinger, who seem to have expected something like this,
appear too.  They blame this mess on the Abyss, and though they're coy on
precisely what these new menaces are, they claim to share the same objective
(taking out mankind) with them.

As the gunfire begins, Nia claims it's too late to stop the coming despair.
Not if Banjou has anything to say about it!  He declares that Simon needs to
keep moving, to head _past_ the sun awaiting across these dark clouds to the
open skies above.  That's what Kamina bequeathed him, is it not?  Of course it
is, and everyone including Viral is rooting for him to see the light.  He does,
and offers Viral the best seat in the house now that the war inside Viral is
over.  He plans a very special attack, mingling spirals of man and beast!
The sight is rousing enough that the rest of the team vow not to be left
behind, and the struggle to find whoever did this to Nia is underway!

 Nia sadly tells Simon that she can't stop what she's doing.  She was sent as
 a messenger from the Anti-Spirals to dwell among those with spiral DNA: a
 facsimile of life.  Simon simply refuses to believe that this is the real
 Nia, and vows to take it out on whoever's making her talk in words he can't
 understand.

 What she does say is that it's very ironic that she, child with Anti-Spiral
 Factors hidden in her DNA, was born to the Spiral Lord himself.  She says
 that she can never return to being a normal human now that her Anti-Spiral
 abilities have activated.  She vanishes, leaving Simon and the others behind.
 Every citizen nearby has heard at least part of the dialog, and panic is
 already beginning to spread.  Hayato orders the team, Simon included, to
 retreat lest things get any worse.  No doubt there'll be Anti-Spiral forces
 to fight wherever the team goes anyway.

So is this what the whole "Ten Billion Monkeys" prophecy is about?  DUH except
that the population of the Earth is only about half that, so what the hell?
Roshiu is bound and determined to make Lowgenome cough up the info now.

Meanwhile more bad news has come in: Karen has been captured by the Knights of
the Round.  Suzaku apparently was able to nab her during a rare lapse in
Zero's command, which Wufei is far from thrilled by.  On the other hand,
Wufei expects that Zero will mount some kind of rescue effort, and Crow
declares he's putting all his chips on that.  Simon has currently asked to be
alone in his room, but Ryouma knows a way to get him out of his funk.  He
says that he's going to show Viral the ropes by having him face off with Simon
in a drinking match.  Suits Viral just fine!

Oh, and there's that Banjou guy, who's been busy running errands for Sandman.
He's been surveying the world, spying on Arrows, checking into Veda, and
even analyzing Insalaum's strategies... and pursuing Eim.  The immediate Nia
question is one Hayato is hoping Roshiu and his coterie of scientists can
shed some light on.  They seem to know more than they've made public, and that
knowledge will come in _really_ handy if there's more than just Phase One of
the Anti-Spiral killer system to look forward to.

The "Lowgenome" Roshiu's got isn't the genuine article, but rather a clone
made from Lowgenome's cells.  Don't ask why it's still got all his knowledge
and memories.  Lowgenome Mk.II isn't thrilled that Roshiu's gone to the
extreme of prying the doors of the afterlife to drag the words out, and tells
Roshiu that he need not feel shame over the fear his people have been living
in.  Fear can protect.  It can also make people afraid, and Roshiu's had about
enough of them apples.

Okay, fine: 20 questions tiems.  Spiral Power turns out to be the power of
Evolution, a power that drives all beings with spiral DNA and indeed all
structural spirals (like the galaxy) to expand without limit.  There are those
who find that kind of unsettling, who have become the Anti-Spirals.  Lowgenome
himself was once a Spiral Warrior, fighting to protect the galaxy from the
Anti-Spirals and other "Baals".  Baal (singular or plural) is the enemy of all
sentient life, a ravening demon of destruction who the Earthlings know of from
the Invaders.

The Gunmen and Razenger were originally intended to fight Baal, as was the
Ranga.  As a Spiral Warrior, Lowgenome fought alongside the Gods of Light,
the Generals of Dimension, and other warriors who craved unending evolution.
The battle transcended dimension, taking place across all worlds.  The sad
truth is that the Spiral forces lost this unfathomable battle, and fled to the
safety of their homeworld as a last resort.  He warped mankind and had them
hide underground as a measure to avoid triggering the anti-humanity system,
controlling the population as an extra safeguard on top of the Earth's
already limited Potential.  The problem is that damn Abyss, which has
effectively linked at least two Earths, and hence pooled the headcount for the
purposes of the Anti-Spiral accountants.

And yes, Anne was precisely the 10 billionth human... not that it was her
fault.  Lowgenome snorts that the only way to keep humankind alive was to
try to stunt its potential to evolve.  Which certainly can't be achieved by an
appeal to logic or altruism, since it flies in the face of the very impetus
spiral-based lifeforms share.  Even his best attempts at a regime based on
fear ultimately proved futile.

He knows that the Abyss was opened to satisfy the greed of the Key-bearer.
Greed, after all, is a fundamental part of Spiral life-force.  He's quite sure
that "they" won't let the Key-bearer lay hands on the Original Power, for to
do so would bring about the Spiral Nemesis: the end of all.  Lowgenome's will
was strong enough to truncate his own spiral, trapping himself in a closed flat
circle for a thousand years.  THAT is the kind of resolve needed to avoid
total oblivion... though he has to admit that watching the humans' struggles
did stir something in his blood.

Roshiu pleads to know what's going to happen in the final phase of the
Anti-Spiral system, and Lowgenome tells him that he'll become unable to turn
back if he finds out.  May be, but it's Roshiu's duty to find out.  Fine then:
Lowgenome explains as the game fades to Intermission...


CHAPTER 38E. Assassin from the Past

Shirley is trying to figure out what to get for her teacher Viletta's birthday,
and seizes on the idea of asking Lelouch to help her shop on their next date.
She suddenly stops short in the middle of the mall, realizing abruptly that
Lelouch is none other than Zero, the man responsible for her father's death.
Viletta, too, isn't just her teacher -- she's a soldier... and what the hell is
Nanaly doing as the viceroy of Area Eleven.  Is she going crazy?  What's real,
and what isn't??

Watching her from the shadows is the person who's brought about her total
recall, a shadowy figure equipped with what he calls a "Geass Canceler", which
as its name suggests is capable of destroying all Geass effects.  He's finally
obtained the power he needs to destroy Zero, and as this test has proven some
of Lelouch's classmates already seem to be under Geasses of some kind.  Time
to enter Ashford Academy and settle everything!

The secret base beneath Ashford has been put more or less back in order, thanks
to considerable effort on Viletta's part to hoodwink her superiors.  And no
thanks to Hiiro, whose tagging along with Lelouch Rolo can't fathom.  Lelouch
keeps the peace by perpetuating the polite fiction that Rolo is his brother,
though inwardly he's still prepared to see Rolo meet a suitable end for trying
to replace his real sister in his affections.  Sayoko has been keeping up the
dates with Shirley in Lelouch's absence, maintaining their friendship at a
platonic level as per his orders.

Hiiro observes drily that Shirley seems to be one of the few pieces of
compassion Lelouch has left... the sort of thing C.C. would say.  Lelouch lets
this pass and receives Viletta's report on how Area Eleven's been doing lately.
The Wiseman Shock has been less pronounced here than elsewhere, largely thanks
to Nanaly's ongoing efforts at peaceful integration.  Though Viletta's sure
that Britannia itself is exerting itself as well, it's her view that most of
the Elevens' lessening anxiety is thanks to Nanaly and her alignment with the
newly-christened Queen Rilina.  Lelouch actually smiles as he muses that
Nanaly's always been friendly with Rilina -- no wonder that their goals would
align.

The question is, why has he risked bringing the Black Knights back to Area
Eleven?  Their presence is already known to the authorities.  Lelouch says
that Area Eleven is still special to the Black Knights, and that its liberation
will play a pivotal role in the larger overthrow of the Federation.  He tells
Hiiro that he understands why Zexis is focused on only taking out the
Federation's rulers (the Innovators) and their enforcers (Arrows).  He however
sees a need to destroy the mechanism that permitted their dominance in the
first place, and inwardly craves the moment when he'll come to grips with
Charles himself when this chaos comes.

Fighting will come to Area Eleven, but he intends to force Britannia into
making the first move.  That's what the Black Knights are here to provoke, and
Lelouch believes that if the Black Knights can repulse the Britannian forces,
the people -- primed by the Arrows business -- will start doubting the
government.  He says that he expects that this will in turn cause Nanaly to
take more extreme unification measures, but even Rolo knows that Lelouch's
ultimate goal is to save Nanaly from Britannia.  He wants the chaos to help
him create that chance...  As Lelouch heads downtown (with Hiiro in tow),
Viletta can't help but be impressed by how Lelouch is simultaneously fulfilling
his own goals _and_ advancing Zexis' objectives.  Rolo however is all emo at
the thought that Nanaly's return will finally lead to his eviction from
Lelouch's affections.

Trouble arrives however in the form of an intruder onto the campus.  Sayoko
goes to fend whoever it is off, asking Viletta to get all the students away
from the combat zone.  The intruder is Jeremiah, and although neither
combatant wants to kill the other, there seems to be no other way around it.
Sayoko has mad ninja skills, but Jeremiah now has a cybernetic body that is
largely impregnable to Sayoko's blades.  She knows to aim for what little
flesh-and-blood is left, but before someone gets killed Rolo runs up and yells
for Sayoko to flee.

He attempts to use his Geass to halt Jeremiah in his tracks, but Jeremiah's
Geass Canceler kicks in moments later.  Sayoko suffers serious damage, and
Jeremiah tells the thunderstruck Rolo not to move.  It's clear to him that
Rolo and Sayoko have been turned by Lelouch, proving in turn that Lelouch's
memories must have returned.  This ability to defeat Geasses is why the Geass
Order chose Jeremiah to assassinate Lelouch.  Viletta runs up at this point,
astonished to see her old commander alive.  She tells him that Lelouch is in
the ghetto now, and implores him to set her free.  Jeremiah accepts her
request and heads off, leaving Rolo furious at the apparent betrayal.  In fact,
Viletta has bought time to give Sayoko medical attention while Rolo contacts
Lelouch about the oncoming assassin -- she expects Lelouch, plus Hiiro, to
be able to do something about Jeremiah... maybe with some help from Rolo.

Meanwhile, Shirley has put in a phone call to Suzaku of all people.  Lelouch
"stumbles" upon the gathering, claiming surprise at seeing his friends all
gathered together.  All three of them are on guard, not sure what to say with
the other two around.  Suzaku for one has been inclined to distrust the
steady reports of Lelouch's presence in Area Eleven despite the Black Knights'
activities overseas.  Lelouch smoothly excuses himself, saying that he's not
worried about a little clandestine rendezvous between the two of them.  He does
ask Suzaku to be sure Shirley stays safe, telling Shirley that this place
isn't safe.  She remembers him genuinely risking his life to protect her when
the terrorists attacked, and decides to change the conversation she was going
to have with Suzaku.

She confesses that she "likes" Lelouch, and asks how Suzaku feels.  Suzaku
says that he used to like him, but that he can't forgive him now.  Shirley says
that nothing is totally unforgivable -- if anything, it must be that Suzaku
himself just doesn't _want_ to offer forgiveness.  She herself has forgiven
Lelouch long since...

The Black Knights will have to stir up trouble without Zero on hand to
command them, as he's phoned up to say he'll be a little late.  This is an
annoyance to the rest of the team, especially since Hiiro is also absent to do
bodyguard duty, but Karen and C.C. know something serious must have happened.
The Knights of the Round aren't among the first group of Britannian guards to
appear, but that's just fine with Crow: the point is to provoke the locals,
not to get potentially killed by them.  Watching Todou take command, Zero is
confident they'll win, and equally confident that he and Hiiro can handle his
upcoming assailant.  Zero tells Hiiro to take care of any other agents while he
handles Jeremiah -- he's got some questions for the erstwhile soldier.

 The first wave of security forces barely make for a light snack, but as
 Ougi surveys the battlefield for more targets, he spies Viletta -- who in
 turn knows he must be aboard the Black Knights' flagship.

Meanwhile, Lelouch faces "Orange" one-on-one.  He's heard about Jeremiah's
cybernetic body and Geass Canceler, telltale signs of one determined mo-fo.
Not determination, corrects Jeremiah, but loyalty: loyalty to Britannia,
despite all that's changed about the world.  Lelouch doesn't like this,
demanding to know what the hell Charles has done to inspire loyalty.  He then
activates his trump card, a Gefion Disturber (hidden aboard a nearby train)
which nullifies Sakuradite as a power source.  Lelouch has correctly guessed
that Jeremiah's cyberware is Sakuradite-powered, and is using Jeremiah as a
test case for his ultimate plan to bring the whole of the Tokyo Settlement to
a standstill.

Lelouch wants some questions answered, about the Geass Order and about where
V.V. is at this moment.  But Jeremiah has questions of his own, urgent enough
to motivate his "loyalty" and even urgent enough for him to risk his life
confronting Lelouch.  Despite his cyberware being offline, he stretches out his
hand toward Lelouch, demanding to know why he's created this Zero act and
turned against Britannia -- that is, against his own father.  Lelouch snarls
back that it's precisely because he's Lelouch Vi Britannia.

It's precisely because his father stood by and let his mother be killed, let
Nanaly become blind and lame.  Jeremiah knows what happened to Marianne and
Nanaly, since he was there personally.  It was his first assignment as a royal
guard, and his ire at not fulfilling his mission led him to help organize the
Loyalists.  Jeremiah now knows that Lelouch was acting on Marianne's behalf,
and is quite prepared to serve him in her stead (assuming the Gefion
Disturber gets switched off in time, which Lelouch does).  He confirms that
V.V. is _not_ his master, nor did he come here actually intending to kill
Lelouch off.

Hiiro walks over at this point, having rounded up all Jeremiah's henchpeople.
That frees Lelouch to take his plan to the next phase.  Unfortunately, at that
very moment Shirley has run into Rolo.  She asks him if he truly likes Lelouch
(which he of course does), and asks to be included among Lelouch's comrades.
She wants to help protect him, to help bring back his happiness, along with
his sister Nanaly.  Eek, probably shouldn't have said that...

Meanwhile, the Knight of Ten (Luciano Bradley) has finally shown up: the
infamous Britannian Vampire.  He's widely known as the most bloodthirsty of
all the Knights of the Round, and it's quite an affront to see him here in
Area Eleven.  Karen advances on him, meaning to smoke his ass, but that just
makes her fall into a trap that Suzaku has set.  He springs from his hiding
place, disabling the Guren and enabling his men to capture it.  Suzaku is
adamant that Karen will be useful as a prisoner, and is not to be killed off
as Luciano would normally do.

It seems that Suzaku's decided that he simply can't forgive Lelouch, regardless
of Shirley's views.  Lelouch radios into Karen privately, promising to rescue
her and telling her not to give up.  He needs her, badly!  Luciano's
presence keeps the rest of the team from immediately running to Karen's rescue,
and the question is, where the hell is Zero??

 Zero shows up in short order, and Luciano rushes over to try to kill him off.
 He's got this set phrase where he asks his victims what's most important to
 them, answering rhetorically that it's their life, but before can deal
 fatal damage Xingke shows up to help.  He insists that Zero isn't allowed to
 perish here, as the Empress has staked their nation's future on Zero.

Seeing the Vampire as a Knight of the Round is an unpleasant surprise, but as
someone once said, the "Worst Enemies Make the Best Allies".  Having him on the
payroll certainly furthers Britannia's own agenda.  Zero spies Rolo and
Shirley nearby, and has the rest of the team withdraw.  That suits Ougi fine,
since he's got his own meeting to arrange.

Viletta and Ougi have their long-awaited reunion.  Ougi may think of her as
"Chigusa", the woman he saved from bleeding to death, but Viletta still
thinks of herself as a Britannian count.  She can't see a way to go on living
in this world with the stain of Elevenhood hanging over her, and draws her
pistol.  He explains that he didn't kill her because he fell in love with
her while keeping her under observation -- initial plans to ask her for info
about Zero forgotten as he fell into their daily routine.  Yeah, that may make
him an idiot, falling for his enemy and whatnot, but what're you going to do?
Just then Sayoko and Diethart show up, taking _both_ of them into custody.

Lelouch meanwhile has headed to see Shirley and Rolo [by the way, this would
appear to mean that I satisfied the requisite number of Zero Points; otherwise,
the original plot of Code Geass would have kicked in by now.  "You know of what
I speak", to quote Christopher Lee.  Amazingly, both Banjou and Roger are on
hand as well, assuring Lelouch that Rolo is alive and well.  Roger has Banjou
take Shirley home while he has a word with Lelouch, but before she goes she
tells Lelouch that she's always believed in him, ever since that day back at
the Narita graveyard.  She looks forward to seeing him at school tomorrow, and
Zero now knows that she's remembered about his real identity.

Roger wants to confront Lelouch about his double identity, and Hiiro makes
sure Rolo doesn't interfere.  Roger arrived at the truth via his own
investigation into Euphemia's inexplicable outburst, traveling all over before
ending up back here in Area Eleven.  He's deduced that Lelouch has some sort
of magic-like powers of hypnosis, drawing upon his own experience as a
Negotiator to rule out other possibilities.  Roger has even surmised that
Euphemia's slaughter of the Elevens was likely some sort of accident, based on
Zero's unprecedented level of agitation in the immediate aftermath, and
subsequent over-stoicism.

Roger doesn't like risking his life on deductive reasoning alone, but he's had
little other option.  His temporary separation from Zexis was in the interest
of satisfying his own doubts, since he knows perfectly well that Zexis' battles
are only going to get fiercer going forward: there's no sense in harboring
doubts unnecessarily.  He does _not_ intend to expose this truth, independently
arrived at, and merely wants Zero to follow through on the notions of Justice
he's extolled so far.  Roger's sure that Zexis will fight by his side if he
does so.

Rolo pleads with Zero not to listen to any of this: surely Roger is trying to
use Zero somehow or other.  Roger smiles and tells Rolo that that's mutual,
and not as bad a thing as Rolo imagines.  Rather than treating everything as
a mercenary exchange of value for value, he could try imagining that some
people are bonded by mutual trust.  Hiiro tells Lelouch that the single biggest
thing Lelouch lacks is trust in others, and the longer Lelouch stays blind to
that fact, the more likely he is to become Hiiro's enemy.

Rolo is still agitated, but Lelouch looks him in the eye and asks what he came
here to do to Shirley.  All of them know that Shirley's gotten her memory of
Zero's identity back, and yet she still has chosen to believe in Lelouch.  He
thanks Roger for keeping Shirley safe, but Roger says he's merely done the
trustworthy thing.  Only he and Hiiro know the secret so far, and he instructs
Lelouch to keep up the Zero thing and to not betray that trust.  Lelouch tries
to play coy, but Roger firmly states that Lelouch should have nothing to hide
at this point.  Irksome, and that's not a bad thing in Roger's view: what he
wants to do is actually help Lelouch in his battle with his bygone past, if he
will but share.  Really, it's the future that Roger wants...

Banjou has arrived bearing tales of what happened on the other path with the
Antispirals -- yet another enemy to battle.  Ougi and the extremist mediaman
are busy chatting about something or other, and Xingke confirms to the team
that he's here to stay... on his Empress' orders.  It seems she's convinced
that Rilina means well, and is hoping to find ways to better harmonize China
with the Federation... and that means taking down Arrows and the Innovators,
which Zero seems rather good at.  Tamashiro is convinced that Zero, who he
claims as his best friend, is busy steeling his resolve for the battle ahead,
and for the task of creating the new world after that.

Lelouch in fact shows up at school the following morning, _not_ late for a
change.  He apologizes to Shirley that he's got to leave, and she understands
perfectly what this means.  While she can't help him directly, she promises
to keep a place warm for him for when he can finally return.  Lelouch watches
her go with the most genuine smile he's had on his face for months, and C.C.
for one is glad to see it.  His "Silence, witch!" rejoinder lacks its usual
steel, but he assures her that his resolve is stronger than ever.  After all,
he's now got Shirley to defend in addition to everything else.  He means to
rescue Karen, and with Viletta missing he intends to do it fast.

His target will be the Geass Order, whose strongholds he's now pinpointed
thanks to Jeremiah's info.  Rolo's still worried about him putting himself in
harm's way, but Lelouch tells him that nobody ever grabbed tomorrow by running
around in the present.  He intends to put his life on the line for and with
those people who've bestowed their belief on him.


CHAPTER 39. Forbidden Inheritor

[I kept 38E.]

Flashback tiems!  Charles looks to be in his 30's, while his "elder brother"
still looks like he's 11.  What, V.V. wonders, has Charles learned since
becoming the Britannian emperor?  Only that everyone around him are liars, as
has ever been the case with this rotten empire.  Actually, mankind as a whole
is rotten, and sooner or later that will put the world in danger of total ruin.
So sayeth the Black Knowledge, which V.V. has gained the right to touch now
that he's he's received the Codes only the head of the Geass Order knows.  Thus
their plan, to kill God and destroy all lies in the world.

If you didn't get the explanation from Lowgenome's clone before, you'll get it
now.]

Speaking of the Geass Order, Lelouch has all the info he thinks he needs to
wipe it out.  He's concluded that the Order poses a great enough threat that
it's better to destroy it than to try to turn it to his purposes... and it's
not just further waves of assassins he fears.  It's the Order's bad habit of
warping people's fates and treating their lives like so much trash that he
hates, and he wants no further tragedies like Nanaly's.  If his is truly the
Power of the King, he means to use it to end all further power and further
sin on the Geass' account.

He knows that C.C. is immortal, and presumes V.V. is also: his plan therefore
is to immobilize V.V. the way Clovis once did to C.C.  He asks if she, formerly
the head of the Geass Order, still means to help him, and she sniffs that her
position was a) long ago, and b) ornamental anyway... unlike V.V.  Assured of
her ongoing co-conspiratorship, Lelouch assures her that he'll settle the final
score with his own hands, adding that he's opted to include Roger in their
little circle in part as thanks for helping protect Shirley from Rolo.  C.C.
regards him with a cryptic look and tells him she rather likes it when he
sees fit to trust people.  She still won't tell him precisely what she wants in
return for giving him his Geass, saying it's got nothing to do with the
current operation.  "Selfish" as always.

Meanwhile, Simon seems to have recovered his good humor, and is optimistic he
can rescue Nia before all is said and done.  The other pilots are eager to
help, bolstered by a load of new weaponry and, in Watta's case, a new combo
attack with Banjo and Kappei he thought up during the last school athletic
festival.  They call it "337 Beat", based on the names of the robots involved.
Hopefully it'll come in handy in the assault on this Britannian special forces
group that Zero's targeting, since poor Karen is still being held captive.
Britannia's influence in the Federation remains very strong, based on its
negotiating stance when it joined the Federation in the first place.

Kiriko is anxious to help free Karen, who's helped him out several times by
now.  Allelujah is glad to see Kiriko back to his old self, and understands
Kiriko's figured out a way to get Fiana back.  Allelujah is in a similar boat,
since Mary has been his reason for fighting on through some pretty tough times.
The motto here is: while there's life, there's hope.

That hope comes to fruition when Rochina shows up with more information about
the Secret Society.  Apparently they get their orders through a separate
chain of command from Arrows, and it's clear that Kiriko's final battle with
Ypsilon is nigh.  That's why he's busting ass making final modifications to
his machine.  Zero walks up, recognizing the Type-20 Turbo Custom design from
when the team raided a former Red Shoulder base.  Zero makes the unusual offer
of helping to put in the final software tweaks, reminding Kiriko that there
aren't any better systems engineers than him on the team.  His first instinct
is to claim that this assistance is only to avoid losing a skilled part of
the team's warpower, but in reality there's a bit more human interest lurking
under the surface.  Kiriko reminds him that such things have happened at least
once before back in the Shinjuku Ghetto, and as they continue working Lelouch
actually takes off his mask -- claiming (transparently, to both of them) that
he "only" did it so he could work more efficiently.  It seems that Lelouch's
trust of his teammates as people is growing...

Meanwhile, V.V. has requisitioned a bit of help for the Geass Order, just on
the off chance that Lelouch tries to attack the place.  Guess where from?
The Secret Society, of course, because that's the way these games work.  V.V.
sees no need to mention any of this to the Emperor, figuring that at _best_
it'll take Lelouch time to find the place.  And even if they _do_ find the
place, the Secret Society troops will buy enough time to simply pull up
stakes and move to one of the other bases.  When his subordinate asks, V.V.
says that his dealings with the Secret Society are aided by the fact that "he"
shares many objectives with V.V.  As for Cornelia, who's independently
tracked down the Geass Order as part of her dogged inquiry into her sister
Euphemia's death, even V.V. isn't quite sure what to do with her other than
leave her imprisoned.

Just then Lelouch comes on the intercom, having hacked into the Geass Order's
networks.  He seems to be broadcasting from Ashford Academy, and has a question
or two for V.V.  Was it indeed he who abducted Nanaly during the Black
Rebellion, and who watched over Lelouch's showdown with Suzaku on Kaminejima?
Yup.  Lelouch openly admits that he's got his memory back, and V.V. assumes
that that means Lelouch has C.C. with him too.  He offers Lelouch his freedom
if he but hands C.C. over, but just then an explosion rocks the base.  The
transmission starts skipping, and it becomes clear that it was all a ruse.

The Zexis troops are alarmed at the scale of the Geass Order's secret
underground base: Zero seems to have called it correctly that these folks
could pose as big a threat as Arrows.  Most of the team are busy causing a
diversion outside, and with V.V. fooled by the fake broadcast from Ashford,
the initiative is with Zero and the infiltration squad.  The order is to
capture V.V., after trashing the defenders and in particular the special A.T.
at the center of their formation.

 Zero's had some of the information bureau folks helping out raid the office
 space, and he orders them to kill any doubts they might have.  Despite
 appearances, this _is_ a military base, Britannia _is_ creating immortal
 soldiers here, and everything must be burned to ash.  Period.  As the team,
 led by Jeremiah and Rolo make their way through, Jeremiah runs into General
 Bartley, bleeding to death in the aftermath of a nearby explosion.  Bartley
 laments that nothing good has happened since he got mixed up with C.C., and
 tells Jeremiah that "He" is up ahead.  Jeremiah ought to hate the general for
 giving him this cybernetic body, but he has to respect Bartley's true
 fealty to the royal family.

 Rolo and Jeremiah, who now treats the handle Orange as a sign of his
 undying loyalty to Zero, show up to join the assault -- somewhat to the
 Holy Blades' dismay.

 When Kiriko starts whaling on Ypsilon, Rochina shows up just as the Red
 Shoulder march starts playing.  Nobody but him is quite sure what it means
 other than that it has something to do with Kiriko, and Ypsilon, annoyed at
 all the interference, tells Kiriko to follow him somewhere where they can
 finish their duel in peace.  Zero lets Kiriko go, telling C.C. that Kiriko
 is very much like he himself: unstoppable by anyone.

 The war isn't over yet though: V.V. appears in the Siegfried, only operable by
 someone with cybernetics... or with a unique nervous system.  It's going to
 be a bitter grudge match between Lelouch's forces and the source of all the
 Geass misery.  Or at least, that's what Lelouch thinks.

 You should go to a spot 3 squares down and 12 left of the upper right-hand
 corner with Lelouch.  There he'll find a DM Adaptor -- proof of just how
 many pies the Geass Order has its fingers in.

 V.V. proves extremely hard to kill, and Zero orders Rolo to grab onto the
 Siegfried: he's got a plan!  Well, that plan involves detonating
 explosives he's hidden in Rolo's mech, but Rolo -- unaware of this -- is
 determined to truly give his all for his "elder brother".  V.V. belittles
 the efforts of the "failed" Geass experiment, scoffing that Rolo's powers
 require stopping his own heart, but Rolo nevertheless manages to latch on.

 Before Lelouch pushes the button though, a new combatant zooms in from
 nowhere and hits the Siegfried in its one weak spot.  The pilot is none other
 than Cornelia, who is _not_ the weak, fragile hostage V.V. seemingly took
 her for.  She declares that the Geass that ended her sister's life is to be
 ended _now_, and that gives Lelouch the opening he needs to trash the
 Siegfried once and for all.

 However, waiting nearby is Charles, who V.V. always figured was his last
 hope.  He admits to Charles that he sent assassins to kill Lelouch, though
 they got turned against him.  He tells Charles that Lelouch has his memory
 back, and that he's even got control of Nanaly.  Charles coolly replies that
 V.V. is lying, and when Lelouch zooms in for the kill, he gets caught in the
 same light that got him at Kaminejima...

Goat and his friends have been dragged along by Rochina to look after Fiana,
while Rochina watches Kiriko's final duel.  Rochina is still cagey with Aron
and Gran about how he found them, and what the whole Red Shoulder march
business is, saying only that everyone will find out soon.  He tells Fiana that
he desperately wants to know how Kiriko can fight on equal footing with a
Perfect Soldier, though it seems there's something else he's _not_ telling
her as well.

As Kiriko and Ypsilon square off, Ypsilon demands to know how Kiriko's been
able to keep fighting him all this time.  Kiriko initially thought it was
simply because Ypsilon was chasing him, but has realized since that it's all
because he wants Fiana... which come to think of it is probably Ypsilon's own
motivation too.  Ypsilon protests that in _his_ case, he and Proto One are the
only ones of their Chosen kind, and totally different than Kiriko.  Ahh, but
what was he _before_ entering the PS program?  Ypsilon screams that he has no
past, just like Proto One, and wants to know why the hell Kiriko keeps calling
her "Fiana".

Even Kiriko himself has no good answer for that.  Maybe there _is_ no good
answer.  There will, however, be a definite end to this otherwise-unending
battle, when either he or Ypsilon falls.  Fiana implores Rochina to stop this,
to keep Kiriko from having to experience the sorrow she has, but Rochina
tells her that Kiriko must have realized his Destiny by now.  But what could
that be?  Some greater flow that's swept up the Red Shoulders, the PS's, and
everything else.

 Ypsilon finds himself hating both Kiriko and Proto One, hating them for not
 sharing the pride he feels in battle.  Kiriko replies that there's nothing
 about fighting to be proud about -- any pride Ypsilon might feel is just his
 own personal hang-up.  Seeing Ypsilon's mania about PS-dom deepen ever
 further, Kiriko finds himself pitying the guy  Certainly Ypsilon hasn't
 somehow transcended humanity or anything...

When Kiriko strikes the final blow, Rochina reaches a startling conclusion:
Kiriko must himself be a PS.  How could a mere human defeat the perfect Perfect
Soldier?  It _would_ explain a lot, and even Fiana buys into it.  She runs
over as Kiriko prepares for the coup de grace, yelling that Kiriko, a fellow
PS, will have to go through her first.  At first Kiriko attributes his victory
to his customized Mission Disc, but come to think of it that disc is completely
burned out... while he's still fine.  But how the hell could he be a PS when
nobody's ever modified his body?  Ypsilon is sure that Kiriko must be a PS,
else his fading pride would never allow him to die in peace.

Fiana murmurs to herself that she may be the real cause of Ypsilon's death,
and at this rate of Kiriko's as well.  Rochina asks Kiriko if he wants further
proof of his PS-dom, and tells him to go visit Quent -- which conveniently
is now part of this solar system thanks to all the dimensional upheaval.
Rochina will even make the travel arrangements, provided that Kiriko leave
Fiana with him for the duration.

Kiriko has a decision to make, and lots about his victory to doubt.  But Zero
stands as an example of someone who knows their fate and is doing everything
they can to confront it head on.  He resolves to do the same, and go on this
voyage of self-discovery.

Zero and the Shinkirou are nowhere to be seen, and Rolo is nearly beside
himself with panic.  There's little to be done though but continue searching.
C.C. meanwhile has gone to see what's left of V.V., telling him that she's
been unable to escape her fate after all.  He tells her he'll take that fate
upon himself, and C.C. realizes that V.V. has actually passed his Code on to
Charles right before the burst of light.  Why would Charles choose _now_ to
steal the Code from the brother he loved so dearly?  C.C. realizes that V.V.
actually loved Marianne, and her children, far more than he let on...

Lelouch meanwhile has found himself outside his mech and standing on the
platform at the base of the Sword of Akasha.  Charles announces to his
prodigal son that the Time of Redemption is at hand, but Lelouch has questions
that need answering.  Like why Charles didn't do anything to protect Marianne
despite knowing how much the other courtiers hated her.  Charles answers with
his oft-stated maxim that people aren't created equal, and tells Lelouch to
try to use his Geass to make him answer.

Lelouch instantly distrusts this invitation, knowing that looking into Charles'
eyes would mean Charles looking into his in turn.  How to solve this quandary?
The answer is to fire one of the Shinkirou's reflector missiles by remote
control, using its numerous mirrors to direct his Geass before Charles could
react.  He orders Charles to die, and Charles obliges and shoots himself in
the chest.  Holy shit, did Lelouch just win?  It instantly feels hollow, with
so many people deserving of an apology from the now-deceased tyrant.

..Who it turns out isn't deceased after all.  Charles intones his
disappointment that his son would try to do him in with cheap tricks: come
like a KING, if Lelouch really wants to inherit the King's Power.  It seems
that Charles has exchanged his Geass for immortality, and Lelouch instantly
senses that he's screwed.  Charles then offers (insists, really) on showing
Lelouch what the world is really like.

Lelouch demands to know what the hell is really going on around here -- for
starters, just what is the Geass, anyway.  Charles scoffs at a lying child
should ask him for the truth, and demands to know what the Zero facade has
bought Lelouch.  PLENTY, if you count the fact that it's let a mere high
schooler build a private army and whatnot.  On the other side, it cost him
Euphemia, and sundered his ties with Nanaly and Suzaku.  Lelouch won't let
Charles judge him on that basis, saying that _everyone_ lies to each other to
make life livable.

Charles counters that people are simply afraid to know their true selves, and
cover the gap up with lies.  There's no need for that though, since Charles
is Lelouch and Lelouch is Charles.  Say what?  Charles declares that there's
always only ever been one person in this world for all of history, and
refuses to elaborate on the theory that the holder of the Black Knowledge gets
to make the rules.

C.C. then enters the picture, telling Charles that playtime is over and that
Lelouch is of no further use to her.  Charles says he'll grant her wish, and
the fact that he knows it in the first place is a nasty shock.  She tells
Lelouch at long last what her wish is: to die, to have her existence
extinguished permanently.  It turns out that those whose Geass has progressed
to its final phase can inherit the Code of their maker, gaining the ability
to kill them.  None of C.C.'s several previous Geass recipients was able to
go that far, even including Mao.  But hey, Charles is here, and he's clearly
full-fledged!

Lelouch is struggling with the concept that she's been living only to do, and
she tells him that that's the whole point of "life" in first place.  He
counters that the point of "life" is to be alive, and that there _is_ some
deeper meaning behind being born into the world in the first place.  She
counters that a "life" with no death isn't living at all, but just one more
"experience".  She challenges him to kill her if he's got a reason to live --
doing so will make him equal to Charles.  He can't begin to bring himself to do
that, and she bids him farewell, telling him he's too kind.  She does something
that allows Lelouch to escape this place, and then poses Charles the question
why he stole V.V.'s Code.  Is that question even meaningful, given that she's
about to die?

Lelouch finds himself in another place, hearing C.C. explain that it's her
inviolable memory.  This C.C. doesn't recognize him, and tells him to behold
those memories, including images of her as a young girl when she first
received her Geass.  C.C. was a very ill-treated orphan then, who found herself
at the mercy of a nun who inquired if she had a reason to live.  C.C. didn't
know if she had a reason to live, but she certainly had no wish to die.  The
nun conferred on her the power to go on living, in return for granting the
nun's own wish someday.

C.C.'s Geass was to be "loved" by all, probably because it was her deepest
wish to have _someone's_ affection.  The problem was that so many people gave
her so much love that before long she no longer knew what real love was.  The
nun, the only person not infatuated with her, wasn't much help, eventually
telling C.C. it was her turn to inherit the nun's curse of eternal life.  Far
from being an act of benevolence, the nun's selection of C.C. for Geasshood
was just a stratagem to end her own life.  Suckage.

This C.C. suspects that Lelouch must have been important to her future self,
though Lelouch tries to deny it.  After all, the future C.C. probably sent him
here for his own protection, and that must mean that in the present C.C. is
in some terrible danger.  Oh crap!

Back in real time, C.C. says that everyone she's ever hated, everyone who's
ever treated her with kindness have all been carried away by the eternal flow
of Time.  Charles thinks those days are about to end, but Lelouch
rematerializes by his own power.  Charles is astounded that Lelouch was
actually able to operate the Logic Elevator, and if there's one thing Lelouch
will _not_ have, it's Charles killing _his_ woman!  He demands to know why
C.C. didn't confer upon him her curse of eternal life, choosing Charles to
kill her instead.  Is it out of pity?!  She IS NOT going to die with that
sad look on her face.  He vows that when her time comes to die, he'll make her
have a smile on her face.  And by the way, Charles is NOT going to steal
anything else away from his son!

He opens fire on the mechanism of the Sword of Akasha, and dashes over to grab
C.C.  He tells her he now knows of her Geass, and of her real wish, and the
two of them make good their escape.  Only one problem though: C.C. has lost
her memory, reduced to a compliant, borderline terrified peasant girl....


CHAPTER 40. For Whom To Sing

Back to Karen, who's imprisoned in one of the more unique holding cell systems
ever invented.  Her only visitor is Nanaly, who is of course now revealed to be
a princess and not the mere sight-challenged classmate Karen might have thought
her to be.  Of course, Karen wasn't exactly the picture of an urban terrorist
either.  Karen has figured out quickly that Nanaly's life could be forfeit
if Charles learns that Lelouch's memory is back, and has reached the same
conclusion that Lelouch did: Charles must go.

Outwardly, she praises Nanaly for actually restoring the Japanese people's
smiles, but the words probably sound hollow to both girls.  Nanaly replies
sadly that she's well aware of being a figurehead, but adds that she means to
do what she can anyway as a devotee of Queen Rilina.  Karen may not be the
foremost expert in Absolute Pacifism, but she does suppose that fighting would
be more likely to cease with gentle folk like Nanaly on the case.  She then
asks what kind of brother Lelouch was, and Nanaly allows that for all his
stubbornness, Lelouch was always as kind to her as could be.  Karen's brother
was much the same...

Their conversation is interrupted by Suzaku, who insists politely but firmly on
having a word alone with Prisoner #107, on a matter of "strategic" importance.
Suzaku is determined to get Karen to divulge Zero's identity, and she is
equally determined not to.  Negotiations at an impasse, Suzaku announces that
he'll do whatever he has to, and that means using drugs to force her.  Karen
has good reason to fear drugs after what they've done to her mother, and her
increasing panic doesn't stay Suzaku's hand.  He does stop at the last minute
however, when he realizes that he's doing precisely what he accuses Zero of.

An intruder alarm sounds at this point, and as he runs off Suzaku promises to
resume the questioning and get the answers he wants, one way or the other!
No sooner is he gone than Sayoko shows up, announcing that Lelouch has ordered
her to free Karen.  That seems somehow out of character, but Sayoko isn't
interested in debating the issue just now.  She takes Karen to the hangar,
where the Guren awaits.

While all this has been going on, Wiseman has been steadily leaking more data
about Arrow's brutal suppression of Catalon.  Ribbons hasn't been sitting
idly by however, and has been able to narrow Wiseman's location down.  He's
in no hurry to attack, despite how the chaos throughout the Federation is
growing on a daily basis.  Grace isn't thrilled by this, and credits Rilina as
the only thing keeping the powder keg from blowing wide open.  Ribbons scoffs
that Rilina is just a figurehead, and that humanity shouldn't be allowed a
gift like Absolute Pacifism until far more time has elapsed.  Perhaps so, but
isn't it a shame someone besides Ribbons has arisen with the ability to chart
the course of humanity?

Grace isn't trying to provoke him though -- she's trying to _help_ him.  She's
got a dramatic way of getting rid of Rilina, and catching Zexis up in it to
boot.  All she wants in return is the opportunity to try a little experiment...
one that might mean Cinq Kingdom vanishes for good from the world.  Ribbons
permits this, and promises her the necessary firepower, but after she hangs up
he admonishes her to not get too greedy.  She only need help him perfect the
system for leading the common people around by the nose...

Meanwhile, news has come from Liu Mei that the Britannian emperor has vanished,
which is sure to provoke some kind of reaction from the legions of Britannia
loyalists.  Given that someone matching Charles' description was spotted near
the battle in the special forces facility (where Zero vanished), it stands to
reason that he might have actually been caught by the same phenomenon.  Many
doubts still linger about that operation, which took place in what felt more
like a dormitory than a military base... then again, soldiers AND Secret
Society types led the counterattack, so the military must have been involved
somehow.  Zero's description of it as some kind of secret agent training ground
is probably accurate.

Speaking of Zero, he's been locked away in his room caring for C.C.'s wounds.
Setsuna is adamant that this is not a case of love affecting Zero's judgement,
though he doesn't himself know why.  Amuro and Quatro know why, however --
Setsuna's awakening as a Newtype, with all the powers of perception, has begun
thanks to the Double-0.

Kiriko meanwhile has abruptly left the team, and Renton is rather depressed
about it.  Or more accurately, he's depressed that he hasn't been able to get
his own girlfriend back through battle as Kiriko has.  Tifa tells him she
thinks he may just be seeing Eureka again soon, but it doesn't take
precognition to anticipate Hiiro's reunion with his theoretical love interest.
They _are_ heading to Cinq Kingdom after all.  More than anything, Tifa loves
how Rilina is fearless about expressing the desire for peace that everyone's
buried deep in their hearts despite all the violence.

Rilina certainly didn't strike Duo as the queen of a generation when she was
a student at Ashford Academy.  She was a very composed, very _genuine_ person.
Not that Hiiro will admit to any of it.  Zexis mission for now is to go guard
Rilina as she delivers a speech meant, it's thought, to calm the world's
nerves in the wake of the Wiseman Shock.  Wufei distrusts this, fearing that
she might voice support for Arrows, and Hiiro has already decided that if
Rilina endorses a false peace, he'll kill her.

Back in Insalaum's science section, Unblown has just finished her last study
on her stable of Singularities, who believe that they're not about to be set
free.  Eureka is of course eager to return to Renton, and Mome equally eager
to return to Kei.  Unblown isn't sure what she sees in the brash pilot, and
Mome huffs that Unblown just doesn't understand Kei.  In a surprisingly
unguarded moment, Unblown admits that she's never known a man's love, having
invested her whole life into Science(tm).  She sounds like she regrets now the
end result of all that searching, frittering away the best years of her life
for a goal she couldn't even see.  Eureka tells her she mustn't give up yet,
that if there's anything Renton's taught her it's that one should always
give one's all for the happiness of those one cares about.

Unblown can't bring herself to thank her enemies for this kindness with words,
but she does give them a little something anyway.  On a map of the world,
she's indicated where Zexis is -- heading for Cinq Kingdom.  Something strange
is emanating from Cinq's capital: dimensional waves that resemble nothing so
much as _breathing_.  She interprets this as the presence of a system for
controlling dimensional boundaries in the city, and whatever's going on, Orson
and the others know they've got to hurry.  Unblown uses her authority to open
the hangar doors and facilitate the Singularities' escape.  Watching them
go, Unblown thinks to herself that she's already decided who she lives for,
and who her Dimensional Science is devoted to: Yuusar.

Delmeier is receiving some bad news from his daughter: his tendency for
military persuasion has fallen out of step with the times.  It's plain to see
that the UN Assembly prefers Rilina's approach, and in case Delmeier gets any
funny ideas, Dorothy points out that he'd be at the top of the list of suspects
in the event any misfortune were to befall.  By the same token, Dorothy doubts
Rilina's Absolute Pacifism will go over too smoothly, especially since
Milliard's White Fang folks are getting frisky up in space.  She reckons that
this Absolute Pacifism will ultimately just cause more fighting, and whoever
can suppress that will be the ruler of the world.

She advises him to cool his heels and maybe even learn a thing or two from
Rilina until he's needed again.  Delmeier grits his teeth and smiles when
Rilina comes in, informing him that she's personally brought the ceremony's
opening act to the hall.  Sheryl is suitably impressed at the decor, befitting
the peaceable new heart of the Federation.  Sheryl, frankly, is a bit startled
to have received the invitation to open, noting that she's not been that much
of a headliner of late.  She _has_ been busy with humanitarian work, however,
and Marina at least would dearly love to here Sheryl sing again.  Delmeier is
starting to wonder just who the hell Sheryl is that she knows _multiple_
members of the world's power elite on a first-name basis.

The fact is that Sheryl's songs have gotten deeper, informed by all the people
and all the songs she's encountered in the depths of her personal despair.
She's found renewed passion in the idea of singing for someone else's sake,
and no longer cares where she does it so long as there are those to listen.
She means to give her all at Rilina's event, knowing that she doesn't have
that much time left...

That gadget Unblown thinks is near Cinq's capital?  Totally a Fold Wave
transmitter, put there by Grace to bring "Them" into this world.  She'd
actually rather have the world in upheaval, and in that sense Rilina is in her
way.  "They" turn out to be Vajra, and the plan is to get rid of Rilina _and_
Sheryl in one fell swoop.  Sure to send despair throughout the world!

But first, there's Zexis to worry about.  They're concentrating on taking out
the unwanted Vajra visitors, and on going to meet Eureka (wherever she is).
Kei tells Atena that he's pulling for her in her romance with Orson, and she
predictably snaps that he should concentrate on the battle.  Grace is actually
looking forward to Zexis winning, thanks to what she's got planned next.

 As Rilina and the others hurry toward the shelters, Delmeier curtly orders
 Sheryl to shoot down the Vajra -- isn't that what the Twinkle Project is
 for?  She refuses, and Delmeier snaps that they should have gotten Ranka
 instead.  That has to sting, but Sheryl is determined that her songs not be
 used as some sort of weapon...

 After dealing with the Vajra, a bunch of Mobile Dolls appear.  Is Arrows
 really brazen enough to attack Zexis despite Zexis' defense of Rilina??
 Maybe not, in which case these might be someone else's forces -- Quatro is
 suspicious of the fact that none of the mecha seem to have pilots, which
 violates standard operating procedure for the Feds.  The Feds, you see,
 always have at least one piloted mech in the mix with the Mobile Dolls, to
 clean up the mess in case something goes haywire with the Mobile Doll
 command system.

 Hot on their heels are Orson and the others, bearing dire tidings of some
 kind of Dimensional Science-based trap in the city.  Marin can detect that a
 Quake will be coming soon, and it would seem that a) someone REALLY hates
 Rilina, that b) that someone was able to somehow engineer the Vajra showing
 up on cue, and c) that Zexis totally fell into this entity's trap.  There's
 no way to evacuate Rilina or the citizens with all the Mobile Dolls around,
 so the team's got to crush them within the five turns before an unavoidable
 Quake occurs.  Grace isn't pleased with Orson as she watches from the
 sidelines, but it's still her belief that Zexis won't be able to avoid her
 "Dimension Eater".

 Just to make things a bit more interesting, a bunch of DBs show up, making it
 seem as though Unblown's helpfulness was just an act.  Delmeier makes the
 very very bad mistake of trying to flee in the chaos, merely getting himself
 shot down by the DBs in the process.  It's looking grim in the evacuation
 shelters, as even Rilina finds herself unable to quell the children's fear.
 But Sheryl can with her singing, which more than anything else she'd love
 for Alto to hear.

 Alto does indeed hear her song, coming faintly but distinctly from Sheryl's
 earring.  Basara says he can tell it's Sheryl in his heart, and if Sheryl
 can keep singing despite all the terror, Alto can damn well keep flying.
 At about this point Karen hacks and slashes her way onto the battlefield in
 what turns out to be a heavily-modified Guren: the "Guren S.E.I.T.E.N.
 Eight Elements edition".  As all the model collectors in Akihabara get busy
 cleaning up all the spooge from this revelation, Karen gets busy making up
 for lost time.  She always new Zero would come for her, and immediately
 forms the vanguard of one hell of a counterattack.

Unfortunately, Grace's little toy doesn't stop, and even if Zexis manages to
get clear, the rest of the city and its people are about to be cast into an
abyss between dimensions.  That would leave Grace and her cronies to become the
new queens of the age.  What Grace hasn't counted on is yet another singer,
in this case Eureka singing the song that once restored her memories.  In
response, a herd of Emerge show up (weren't they on vacation somewhere?) and
dispel the dimensional distortion.

Eureka's friends are pretty wonderful, but unfortunately she won't get to
spend any time with them.  Marilyn shows up, tickled pink at Eureka's
miraculous powers, and grabs her in short order.  Seems that letting Eureka
go was just another experiment...

Lloyd's been having a pretty rough time of it, having lost both Lakshata's
KMF and the captive pilot who goes along with it.  He admits to Schneizer that
he didn't think to guard it all that fiercely because he expected that only
Suzaku was equal to piloting it in the first place.  Oh well, at least he got
some nifty data to feed back into the Lancelot, whose Energy Wings have just
been completed.  Schneizer keeps his chat with Lloyd short, given that Dorothy
is in his office.  Dorothy suspects that Schneizer went along with this plan
in order to destabilize the Area Eleven government, believing that he, like
her, isn't content with the current state of peace.  She's resolved not to
cry over her grandfather's death, and in fact is overjoyed that Rilina pulled
through the chaos okay.

The question is, if Dorothy values Rilina so much, how come she's sided with
Schneizer?  Well, for one thing she admires his scheming mind, capable in
theory of establishing a new world order.  And it seems to be Schneizer's
temperament to make that order a peaceful one, even if it's a false peace.  And
for another thing, she feels obliged to say a formal goodbye, preferring to
side with a certain other person as they work on realizing the sort of future
Rilina desires.  Gee, could that be... Treize?

Dorothy, it must be said, is dangerous.  The only way Schneizer seems to know
for dealing with such unhinged sorts is overwhelming force, which is where Nina
and her F.L.E.I.J.A. weapon comes in.  The thing is still in testing, but both
it and Damocles are inches from completion.  Schneizer has Kanon hurry
preparations -- with Charles still absent, Schneizer may have no choice but to
take matters into his own hands.

As Karen greets her teammates, Lakshata finds herself staring at the newly
powered-up Guren.  She recognizes the handiwork of "Earl Pudding" (her
Britannian nemesis, as it were) and his assistant Cecil.  She assures the team
that "Pudding" has his shit together and that the mech will be a combat
monster.  Karen wonders where Zero and Kiriko are, and Crow advises her to go
get some rest -- they'll fill her in on the full details later.  At least
Lelouch should be glad to hear that Nanaly's doing well...

Orson tells Kei that his folks have been here quite a while, having been
sucked into the Abyss not long after actually confirming its existence in the
first place.  Roger figures they probably got sucked in due to their
Singularity factor, and wonders if this is anything to do with the "Stigmata"
Eim mentioned.  By the same token, if Eim is right about there being some
single will behind all the teleporting, why didn't that entity see fit to
bring Orson along at the same time as the rest of ZEUTH?

Good question.  All Orson knows is that Unblown was most curious about the
Singularities, and about Eureka's contact with the Emerge.  It's really
interesting that they can be summoned by song, that which (says Liina)
transcends space and time and resonates with the soul.  All Eureka's done is to
reenact the South Polar incident where she got her memory back, and Tifa thinks
that the other Emerge have effectively returned what Eureka gave them then.  In
any event, Eureka needs rescuing from these Insalaum jerks, and there'll be
plenty of pilots lining up behind Renton to make it happen when the time comes.

As Rilina's speech finally begins, Hiiro is off on an "errand".  Rilina's
speech opens with musings on the nature of intra-human conflict, concluding
that mankind must become completely "one" for the fighting to stop for good.
That may sound idealistic, but unless people have ideas to head toward,
revolution can never occur.  She then asserts that any armed force which would
turn its arms on the people must not be allowed: what the world needs now is
coexistence, not conflict.  And once true harmony is achieved, all weapons
can finally be cast aside.  She hopes Hiiro is somewhere listening to this,
and in fact he's a lot closer than she knows.

The other Zexis pilots are watching with Hiiro, and though they admit that
there are some overly idealistic tenets here, the basic idea seems attractive
to nations throughout the world.  If her ideals can become reality, then
even the bitterly contested colonies will have a chance to enter the Federation
on equal footing.  And it'll be the job of an outfit like Zexis to fend off
any external enemies who try to start static.  Hiiro seems satisfied, and
encourages Rilina inwardly to give it her best shot.  He'll kill all her
enemies for her.

Sheryl is once again grateful for Alto's protection, and tells her the
feeling's mutual.  Her song as it came through that earring was really
inspiring!  Of course it was, she grins, who does he think she--  She collapses
on the spot before finishing the sentence...


CHAPTER 41. [Route Split]

Lelouch is having Jeremiah and Rolo coordinate the search for the rest of the
Geass Order forces... and for Cornelia, who managed to escape the previous
battle despite her injuries.  With Charles apparently still hanging out in
the Sword of Akasha, it seems like Nanaly should be safe for the time being.
With Karen now safe, everything seems to be going his way... unless you count
C.C., who is so amnesiac that she a) can't tell when he's joking, and b)
doesn't even remember what pizza is.  At least that latter part can be readily
fixed, and Lelouch has Saji recommend a flavor for her to try.  He's confident
enough that he can finally leave C.C. alone for a bit and get back to
conferring with the other commanders.

The topic du jour is Wiseman, who from Liu Mei's info seems highly _unlikely_
to be hanging out on the Earth's surface.  Wiseman's unnecessary provocation of
world events has gotten beyond a level Zexis can ignore.  There's also the
Gilgamesh and Valalant forces massing around the "Neo Planets" brought by the
Quake -- though Rochina swears they'll be smoothly integrated into the
Federation army, Zexis has plenty to doubt.  It sounds like a detachment will
be needed in space, especially given Wiseman's spooky use of the Red Shoulder
March.  And that detachment will need to include the Frontier forces, which are
being requested for a major anti-Vajra offensive.  Meanwhile, the Tower will be
headed to Japan for some serious maintenance on all the super robots in advance
of whatever major fragdown will happen with Insalaum (et. al.).  Crow as usual
will get to choose which way to go, with plenty on his mind.

Traia's been on the lookout for rumors about Carlos and Gaiou, but nothing
concrete's hit her desk.  She has been very busy figuring out how the ZONEs
work, and has a scheme for rendering them inoperative if their tuning knobs
can be accessed.  How to do _that_ is still anyone's guess, as is Eim's
whereabouts.  Eim has _not_ come calling to the only remaining free Sphere-
bearer the way Crow figured he would, and that's just fine with him as it gives
him more chances to perfect his Sphere mastery.  If he's lonely for anyone,
it's Esther.  He isn't getting much payment this time, but at least he's
not too depressed: money isn't everything.

 [To go to Japan, head to Chapter 41J.  To go to space, go to Chapter 41S.]

Sheryl wakes up in a room aboard the Ptolemy-2, en route to the Frontier fleet.
Elmo is on his way to pick her up, and after a moment's reflection she
decides that that suits her fine.  Alto starts to protest that she ought to
rest, but she's adamant that she's going to spend what life remains as she
sees fit.  Then, with an expression he's never seen before, she implores him
to help her check out something aboard the Frontier...


CHAPTER 41J. Grudge Match!  Kurogane-Ya's Longest Day

Tsubasa is outside, watching the moon... one so nice it's almost as though
Dr. Hell doesn't exist.  But then she gets a visitor: Tsurugi Tetsuya, who
is supposed to have died back on Bardos Island...

The Mazinger team return to the Photon Power Lab for the first time in God-
knows how long.  There, she's amazed to hear that the Mazinger army --
Million Alpha-1, Billion Beta-2, and Daion Gamma-3 -- are all ready to rock
and support Vyunas.  Professor Yumi wants to get right to work overhauling
Vyunas, noting that Kouji isn't on the scene.  Of course, he's gone to Atami
to see Tsubasa, who seems to have undergone some kind of massive turn for the
worse.

She doesn't speak, and gets weaker by the day.  The doctors have no clue, and
her subordinates are worried sick.  Kouji is pretty worried too, which is an
unpleasant surprise to Shiro.  Isn't Kouji supposed to hate his mother for
killing his father?  Kouji isn't quite that kind of guy, but as he gazes on
Tsubasa she suddenly speaks up, apparently speaking to Tetsuya and telling
him that she won't let him get "it" back.

Just then Ashura shows up out of nowhere, gloating over how Tsubasa is tied up
talking to Tetsuya's ghost.  It seems Ashura's been on the run from Dr. Hell
ever since the Gedora incident, and (s)he explains that Tetsuya's ghost has
possessed Tsubasa, draining her life force at an alarming rate.  After a bit of
thought, Kouji's concluded that the possession was spurred by the glimpse of
Tsubasa's former priestesshood among the Mikeene.  His own glimpse of Ashura's
memories -- and Tsubasa's -- has provided very valuable insight.

Kouji's tentatively willing to share some of that insight, but he starts with
the "confession" that Tsubasa is his mother.... which totally surprises no one
else.  For starters, there's a strong family resemblance to their faces and
voices.  That there's blood ties certainly makes the other pilots predisposed
to help save her.

He explains that his father and grandfather, Tsubasa and Dr. Hell were all
involved in exploring the Mikeene ruins on Bardos Island.  This lead to Tsubasa
and his father getting married and having him and Shiro.  Tetsuya turns out to
have been his father's best friend, and the test pilot of the prototype
Photon Power-driven robot.  His skills are legendary, apparently.  Anyhow,
Grandpa Kabuto and Dr. Hell discovered a giant robot in the Mikeene ruins,
which they modified into the first of the Mecha-Beasts.  They also found the
mummy of Ashura, and the Gedora, which scared the other party members shitless
and led them to try to flee the island.

This failed though when Kouji's father betrayed them, nervous system already
compromised by the Gedora.  Tetsuya used the prototype robot to face Dr. Hell
and Kouji's dad in a bid to save Tsubasa and Kouji's grandfather, sacrificing
himself to immobilize Kouji's dad.  Tsubasa fired the gunshot that pierced
them both, after Tetsuya himself told her to fire.

Shiro's overheard the whole thing, and Kouji assures him it's the whole truth.
Kouji himself has taken a long time to finally accept it, and Shirou isn't
likely to manage the same feat quickly.  The closest target for his rage is
Ashura, but Kouji tells him to stop -- Ashura's the only one they can count on
now, regardless of Ashura's role in their grandfather's death.

Ashura tells the team that the curse was placed by Pigman, and there must be
something nearby that's concentrating or amplifying its power -- something with
deep associations to both Tsubasa and Tetsuya.  Destroying it will save
Tsubasa's life, but that could be easier said than done with Pigman himself
getting in the way.  He appears as a hologram to taunt the team, though Takeru
sees through the ruse right away.  Pigman claims that no one can stop him
with the Power of Darkness overshadowing the world, since that's the very thing
that fuels his power anyway.

He says he's here to actually dispel Tetsuya's ghost, but even he can't do
that until Tetsuya's last wish is fulfilled.  What's the last thing he saw?
The greatest of all the Mikeene treasures: the Arm of Zeus!  Apparently lots of
people are interested in it, including Nia -- who shows up out of thin air.
Her plan it to eradicate the thing, on the theory that it's a power too great
for the Spiral Lifeforms to possess.  Corwen and Stinger are on the scene too,
lamenting how mere humans can't comprehend what the Anti-Spirals are thinking.

Metarl also shows up without warning, making me either doubt the writers, or
the team's powers of perception.  This Arm of Zeus thing must be pretty
important, and Pigman snorts that if not for it, Tsubasa would never have been
cursed in the first place.  Kouji yells that Pigman has no right to say that,
and Pigman counts that Tetsuya himself does.  Oh, and there's one other person
on tap with something to say too...

Tsubasa/Tetsuya summons Energar Z from the ocean -- very similar to Mazinger
Z except for small details.  Aboard it is none other than Kenzou himself, back
for the Arm of Zeus that Tsubasa stole.  The robot had been sunk along with the
rest of Bardos Island, but it's back now.  Tsubasa, recovering her own will,
drags herself up to survey the scene.  Pigman tells her that if she simply
hands over the Arm, Tetsuya and Kenzou will both simply vanish.  She's not
trying to hear _that_ noise; in fact, she'd rather here something like Sheryl's
singing if she's going to die anyway.

Nia vanishes as the Tower appears, along with a horde of Dr. Hell's troops.
Kouji scrambles to launch, ordering Shirou to keep Tsubasa safe -- whether or
not he's prepared to accept her as his mother.  The Energar Z has the same
weapons as Mazinger, and quickly disables Kouji's Jet Scrander.  Still, Kouji
insists on facing his father alone while the rest of the team take out the
small fry: only a Photon Energy-powered mech can prevail against another one
here.

 If Kouji visits his house, he'll find Ankokuji lurking around.  He's got a
 present for Kouji, which turns out to be a Hyper Jammer.  Just why he's got
 one of those is more than a little suspicious, but he tells Kouji that he's
 counting on him.

Kouji handily pummels Energar Z, but rather than just collapse it starts to
overload, building up to what will surely be a devastating high-yield blast.
Tsubasa meanwhile seems in no hurry to hand over the Arm of Zeus, looking up
instead at the sky and thinking it's a nice color to die beneath.  However...
it's "Ashura's" day to die, not Tsubasa's!  Or should we say... Pigman, who's
been dressed up as Ashura all this time.  How'd she find out?!?  Tsubasa
starts snickering, and busts up laughing -- Pigman _really_ needs to get out
more, doesn't he?  It wasn't Sheryl's song she heard during the Gedora
incident: it was Ranka and Basara!

Oh noes, foiled by his own faulty pop music knowledge!  And if it really _was_
Ashura and Ashura had equal pop cultural suckage, oh well!  Tsubasa totally
expected someone to come after the Arm of Zeus, and everything clicked when she
saw Tetsuya's ghost.  She'll even tell him where the Arm is, and he figures
it out for himself: it's amidst the Japanium alloy used to make Mazinger Z.
The best place to hide a twig, after all, is in a forest.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Brocken's the dude pretending to be Kouji's dad.
He razes the ground around Energar and flees, leaving the team unable to
directly go in and stop the blast.  Or... not, thanks t Tsubasa's little
present from Juuzou to Kouji.  It's the God Scrander, the final and greatest
wings for Mazinger, which in its entirety was born of the Arm of Zeus.

Nia and friends show up, planning to take this remnant of the God of Light
away from the humans, but this time Dr. Hell himself tells them to stuff it.
He's got words for both Kouji and the Baals: all Photon Power is his!!  He
knows of the Baals from the Black Knowledge, data that apparently spans the
Universe's timeline from its creation to its eventual destruction.  Nia and
friends aren't pleased that the humans've gotten yet another useful piece of
info, and they focus their attention on Mazinger Z.  Which is exactly what
Tsubasa was hoping for, since it makes it that much easier to get rid of them
all at once.  She shouts to Kouji that this is his big chance to protect his
brother, and a strange face shows up on the screen to agree.  It's the
"Ultra-Gorgeous Computer" Grandpa, created to help out Kouji in the worst
exigencies, and Kouji loves it on sight.  As he gets busy trying to stop that
blast, Tsubasa thinks to Tetsuya that _this_ is what he bought mankind at the
cost of his life.  See what the Arm of Zeus can really do!

 As the team comes to grips with Energar Z, Apollo finds himself mumbling to
 the God of Light that he will inherit His power.... and not remembering what
 he said afterward.

Kouji remembers his grandfather telling him that Mazinger could become a god
or a demon, depending on how it's used.  And if Kouji's got anything to say
about it, Photon Power will never be used for evil!  Is Nia impressed by all of
this?  No, just mildly peeved, which she shows by ratcheting the mankind
destruction system up to its next phase.  Corwen and Stinger had better get
their own plans in gear or they'll miss the party!  Dr. Hell actually praises
Kouji for how well he's using the Arm of Zeus, planning to pull out for today.
But don't forget: _he_ is the lord of Photon Power.

"Grandpa" goes to sleep for now, promising to wake up again when the time is
right.  Ankokuji too is impressed, telling his employer that it seems there's
no need to worry for now.  About the only person in Atami not happy is Pigman,
who's been transfixed by Tsubasa's Super Alloy-Z needles and immobilized.
Pigman uses his last resort, tearing off his skin to reveal another body
underneath.  Tsubasa reminds him that he's going to suffer greatly if anything
happens to her, but Pigman has already decided that a double-knockdown is in
Dr. Hell's best interest.

Shirou intervenes at this moment, trying to keep is promise to protect Tsubasa
despite his diminutive stature.  Kouji shows up and diverts Pigman's
attention, letting Shirou actually make contact.  Overwhelmed, Pigman flees,
and Shirou tells his "moms" that he doesn't need any thanks.  Shirou scurries
off, leaving Kouji to talk with his now-acknowledged mom alone.  He's still
struggling for the right words, telling her that he's incredibly impressed with
how she put her own ass on the line to defeat Pigman.  He doesn't believe her
when she calls herself a "fragile" woman, and tells her he knows that Tetsuya
was actually her brother, raised by separate parents.  She found that part out
well after she actually shot the guy, and Kouji finally understands why she's
been training him so hard: to keep the same thing from happening to him and
Shirou.  She tells him she's got nothing more to offer her son, now that he's
a full-grown man and that she's handed over Juuzou's final memento.  One
thing's for sure: Dr. Hell is going to bring it for real now that it's clear
where the Arm of Zeus is.  And when he does, Kouji means to finally settle the
Kabuto/Hell feud once and for all.

Tsubasa means to get busy preparing for the fragdown, and tells Kouji that
Kurogane-ya is going on a little hiatus.  She leaves her five servants, and the
Boss gang, to Zexis for the time being.  She'll keep Shirou with her for now,
and assures Kouji that she's not so old that he has to fuss over her.  Just a
little time and her body'll be back to normal.  Tsubasa means to get good and
plastered tonight, and means to have Shizuko join her.  But they won't be
alone -- they'll have the moon to listen in on all their secrets, as well as
Tsubasa's do-gooding younger brother.  Gonna pour some brew for his dearly
departed ass and PROPER.

Back on Bardos Island, Metarl comes to congratulate Dr. Hell on getting his
hands on the Black Knowledge.  He asks if Metarl means to make good on his
former promise and become his true ally, and Metarl knows Dr. Hell now knows
his real identity.  If not, Dr. Hell would never dream of seeking out their
help.  With the Baals in motion, Dr. Hell figures that Zexis is the only real
obstacle to his plan.  He means to set the Baals on Zexis, and swoop in once
they're depleted to finish Zexis off.  Metarl agrees to include Dr. Hell among
his number as the ruler of Earth, but Hell himself says that it's not time for
that yet.  Only once he acquires the full secrets of Photon Power will he be
worthy of that name.  And when that happens, he'll need Ashura's powers once
more.  Some day very soon, he _will_ truly become the ruler of the world!


CHAPTER 41S. Triangular

Sumeragi calls Michelle and Klan into a private briefing: she's got something
she doesn't want Alto -- or rather, Sheryl -- to hear.  From what examination
the Ptolemy-2's medical apparatus can conduct, it seems Sheryl is _not_
suffering from exhaustion.  The diagnosis is V-type Contamination, a disorder
caused by contact with the Vajra, usually through exchange of bodily fluids.
If Michelle and Klan aren't aware of it, odds are good that Alto doesn't know
either.  Evidence suggests that Sheryl has progressed well past the point where
treatment is possible, and even the medication she's been using to keep the
symptoms under control looks like it's hitting the wall.

Michelle knows how direly this will affect Alto, and asks that everyone keep
this from Alto.  Sumeragi assures him that she has no intention of intruding
into the team's private lives, and leaves the pilots alone.  Michelle notes
that Sheryl herself didn't -- or probably couldn't -- bring herself to tell
Alto.  Klan protests that she's a woman too, and it's feminine intuition that
they ought to notify Alto, but Michelle says that there are some things so
important that they transcend the must-notify level.  That's not to say that
there isn't anything they can do for the two...

Back aboard the Frontier fleet, Cathy shares her suspicion with Ozuma that the
weapon which nearly destroyed Cinq Kingdom used Fold Quartz.  Ozuma and Luka
concur, and Cathy notes that this world's Superdimensional science has been
basically frozen since Limonecia (where the DEC is mined)'s downfall.  And
given that Fold Quartz is only made inside the bodies of the Vajra (and thus
realllly hard to come by), it stands to reason that someone from their world
is behind the mess.  The signs point to Mishima, and Ozuma promises to keep up
investigations as Ranka's next concert draws near.

Cathy and Ozuma's relationship is clearly still strained, not the least because
Cathy is still technically Mishima's fiancee.  They've quarreled over Ozuma's
seeming lack of ambition in the past, as well as Ozuma's childish obsession
with pop stars.  Cathy knows that Ozuma's cooked up an excuse to go visit
Zexis in order to see Basara, going through Bobby so she supposedly wouldn't
find out.  But then she's known he's always been the obsessive type, and is
prepared to forgive him his fandom... especially since she also knows he's
not actually gotten to meet Basara due to a litany of logistical problems.
It's kind of like the legendary girl with the bouquet who never gets to give it
to Basara at the Fire Bomber concerts, which Ozuma mentioned to her once.  It's
okay though: even if he doesn't get to see Basara for now, Ozuma will always be
a fan, and always have Basara's blazing music in his soul.

Sheryl turns up at the concert ahead of time, looking for a little time alone
with Grace.  She brushes off Grace's claims that she's been worried sick about
Sheryl, especially with the mess in Cinq Kingdom, and asks her "why".  Why
did she become Ranka's manager?  Why is she trying to tie Sheryl to the bed (so
to speak)?  Why does Ranka's singing affect the Vajra?  Why... why is it _her_
and not Sheryl herself?!

Grace muses that it's a pretty pitiable thing.  Call Sheryl an "artist", a
"singer" or what have you, but at her core she's an "idol", a graven image for
others to look at.  Sheryl protests that she's come this far entirely on her
own steam, but Grace claims that if she'd not pulled Sheryl out of the Galaxy
slums, she'd still be there to this day, covered in filth.  But "Sheryl Nome"
is about to die, Grace says, admitting that she knows Sheryl is suffering from
V-type Contamination.  Sheryl, however, doesn't seem inclined to just fall
over dead from such a proclamation.

Elsewhere, Zexis' pilots are conferring about this new operation to get rid
of the Vajra.  Whatever it is, Ranka's singing is presumably involved, and that
means today's concert may be the last the public gets to hear of Ranka for
some time.  Lacus just hopes that that's by Ranka's own choice.  Shinn hates to
see Lacus so downcast, and tells Kira to do something to cheer her up... like,
tell her he loves her or something.  Is that what Lunamaria does for Shinn?
Nope, because she knows he doesn't need her words to know she loves him.  Kira
figures he'll do the same with Lacus, and when Aslan asks what all the
whispering is about, the group fall silent.

The concert starts, and Lacus explains that "songs" are the embodiment of the
feelings the singer has for another.  They aren't a weapon as such, but rather
a means to stop fighting.  This doesn't compute for Setsuna, and Lacus
continues that it takes more than power alone, more than feelings alone, to
make the world go 'round.  If Zexis is the "power", someone has to be the
"feelings" -- someone like Marina for instance, who also has been known to
sing on the battlefield.  Amuro likes that Setsuna is starting to understand,
and is sure that everything will become clear some day soon.  In the meantime,
Crow and the others mean to chill out and enjoy the music.

The concert's taking place at a school, and in one of the classrooms Alto and
Michelle are hanging out for a little confab.  Alto says he was able to see
Ranka briefly before the show, and as one can hear from the singing outside,
she's plenty pumped.  Michelle gets down to why he called Alto out alone:
isn't it time he make up his mind?  Look: several songs in Ranka's set are
obviously aimed at Alto specifically, and the same could be said of Sheryl.
The _last_ thing Sheryl would want to do is worry Alto, but Sheryl's in fact
in very bad shape.  This startles Alto, and he demands to know what Michelle
knows.  Michelle can't come out and say it directly, and he admits that he's
a coward of sorts -- combat pilots can die at any time, and the thought keeps
him from getting serious.

Sheryl comes in at this moment, and Michelle makes a show of leaving the two
of them alone.  Sheryl loved what she saw of the stage, but says she felt no
desire to go out there and sing herself.  She's kind of tired, after all, and
doesn't think she's got long left.  Alto tells her to stop lying: there's no
way Sheryl of all people would cast away the desire to sing.  How else did her
songs touch so many people?  Alto knows for sure the difference between an
authentic performer and a charlatan.  Just then, Ranka comes in, having
planned to tell Alto how she really feels.  But seeing the two of them
together gets things totally flustered, and she runs off again...

Michelle had Klan bring Sheryl, and Klan has serious doubts whether she did the
right thing.  She asks where Michelle's love is at, but instead of answering he
directs her attention to a little problem: a Vajra incursion!  The attack is
ongoing both inside and outside Island-1, so the regular army won't be in time
to help save the citizens.  Alto pleads with Ranka to sing and quiet them on
the citizens' behalf, but she totally doesn't feel like singing now.  She's had
enough of being used as a tool against the Vajra, and is on the verge of crying
when Sheryl slaps her.  Certainly feelings are needed to sing, as Sheryl knows
better than most.  But Ranka's a pro, and pros do their job.  There's a power
in Ranka's voice that Sheryl herself lacks, no matter how badly she wants it,
and as Alto pleads too Ranka gets the fire back into her eyes.

Hearing Ranka singing, Basara shouts that she's doing it wrong.  Ranka's
heart is paining her immensely as she sings, and the result seems to be that
the Vajra's attacks are getting _fiercer_.  Alto hastily leads the two singers
toward safety, running into Michelle and Klan along the way.  As they're about
to head to the nearest S.M.S. shelter in search of weapons, Nanase runs over,
relieved to see that everyone's okay.  She herself doesn't stay okay for long
though, as an explosion throws her to the ground in a heap.  And that just
after telling Ranka that she's everyone's hope.  Hope, huh, thinks Sheryl, and
she tells Ranka and Alto to leave Nanase to her.  They need to go do something
about this mess.  After all, who does Alto think she is?

That's encouraging for a change, and Alto takes Ranka's hand as the two run
for it.  Ranka senses that Alto's hand is very very warm, warmer than
anything she's experienced since... her brother's...?

Why the hell wasn't the Vajra attack detected ahead of time?  Could it be that
the Vajra are nesting _inside_ Island-1?  Anyway, there are no workable
mecha on hand, but there _is_ some Valkyrie-style armor and ordnance, AND
a Zentraedi bigifier.  That's good enough for Klan, but before she throws
herself into harm's way, she wants Michelle to answer her question about love:
where is it?  He says that he's been searching for it ever since it went
"missing" -- if in fact it existed in the first place.

Yep, that's a cowardly answer if she ever heard one.  She decks him in the
face, then -- blushing furiously -- tells him directly that she loves him.
Why now, he wonders?  If not NOW, when??  She tells Michelle and Alto to get
this through their thick skulls: no one afraid of dying can ever truly be in
love.  Michelle kisses Klan just as she heads to the bigifier, impressing
everyone present.  Love really is a battlefield, huh?

Actually, it is -- a Vajra larva breaks into the room while Klan is still
transitioning: she's completely vulnerable, and Michelle throws himself in
harm's way to keep the Vajra at bay.  He in fact manages to protect her, but
he lays down his life to do it.  Klan emerges from the device just a second
too late, and she is PISSED OFF.  I wouldn't want to be a Vajra based on what
happens next.

 There's nowhere near enough Vajra for Klan to kill to satisfy her, but when
 Luka radios in to tell her that Zexis is working on a general counterattack,
 she manages to control her anger and head to the scene.

The plan, according to Luka, is to lure the Vajra into Island-3 and detonate a
Fold Bomb, the latest weapon to come out of L.A.I.  Basically everything
within a 50km radius will get cut off from this universe and presumably reduced
to A-level maths.  The similarity to what almost happened to Cinq Kingdom is
NOT lost on Cathy.  Originally this was supposed to be done somewhere out in
deep space, but with circumstances this dire President Howard has decided to
do it right in the middle of the fleet.  The question of course is... how are
ALL the Vajra to be lured to one place at once?

Luka looks mighty uncomfortable at this point, as it of course hinges on Ranka.
This is the last thing he wanted to do, but the sad fact is that Michelle is
now dead, and Nanase in a coma, thanks to the Vajra.  The Frontier fleet will
be finished if this goes on, and Luka says through clenched teeth that this is
mankind's one chance to fight back: kill, or be killed.  Ranka surprises Alto
by agreeing to sing, for "everyone's" sake.

Zexis job will be to keep "Cinderella" safe during the five turns or so
required to lure the Vajra to the scene.  Alto is with Ranka, promising to
keep her safe no matter what.  Ranka's sure she can properly sing this time,
and as Alto leaves to get into the cockpit, Brela tells her she needn't sing
if she doesn't want to.  Her songs are her heart, and her heart is her own.
She thanks him but says she's okay, thinking that she'd rather do what the one
person she most wanted her songs to reach, wants (that's Alto, BTW) than
remain silent.

Meanwhile, there's a very uncomfortable meeting between Grace and Lacus.  Grace
tells Lacus she was blown away when she first heard her songs, a perfect
blend of sorrow and strength.  Many people must have been very moved.  Would
Lacus consider joining Twinkle Project when this is all over?  Lacus tells
her that songs aren't some sort of tool for Grace to wield as she sees fit.
Lacus is sure that Ranka and Sheryl will yet show Grace what the _true_ power
of singing is...

As though Alto needed more motivation to defend Ranka, Ozuma comes on the
radio to add his plea... not as Alto's commander, but as Ranka's elder brother.
Alto means to lay down his life if that's what it takes.  Ranka begins, and
the team are immediately struck by how sad her song is.  The Vajra must be
kept far away from the stage so as to not disturb Ranka -- much less kill her,
in which case the entire Frontier Fleet could be wiped out.  Crow and the
others are still coming to terms with Michelle sacrificing himself for the
woman he loves -- it's both quintessentially him, and not.

 Though there are a _lot_ of Vajra inside Island-3, they're not infinite; in
 fact, there's precisely 100.  Once they're vanquished, word comes in that the
 remaining Vajra outside are converging on the scene.  One of them shows up
 sooner than expected, and as Klan prepares to mount what may be a suicidal
 counterattack, a sniper round comes in and hoses it.  Yes, it's Michelle,
 not quite as dead as reported.  There's no time to talk, so Michelle tells
 Alto to grab Ranka and bug the hell out.  In fact, there's no need for that
 even, as Lacus is on the case.

It turns out that Michelle was saved by Ozuma, who found him while heading to
help Ranka out.  The rapid first aid is what kept him alive, though he claims
to be slightly amnesiac.  In fact, he's just a minor sadist, wanting to keep
things vague between him and Klan just a little longer before going into full
love-love mode.

Word comes in that Ranka's made it home safely, though Alto suspects that she
was somehow pushing herself.  Basara is clearly not thrilled, and when Alto
pushes him enough Basara demands to know just who decided that this was a
kill-or-be-killed scenario.  Did the Vajra fucking declare in as many words
that they want to destroy mankind?!  Basara spits that Alto ought not to decide
other people's feelings for them, and Gamlin intervenes before it comes to
blows.  Basara's got his way of doing things, and the soldiers have theirs,
is Gamlin's explanation.  Basara stalks off, and Gamlin tells Alto he's pretty
sure Alto must be having some doubts of his own.  Alto admits as much, knowing
that Ranka is somehow forcing herself to sing, and Gamlin advises him to keep
one thing in mind: if he's going to fight, he ought to do it for the sake of
those counting on him for protection.

The Vajra mess will have to be tabled, however: the Gilgamesh forces are up to
something big around the Neo Planets, and Zexis is to go and investigate.
Among those Neo Planets is Quent, and every indication is that Wiseman must be
somehow involved.  The commanders are concerned enough that permission has been
granted to use Reactive weaponry, as well as the newly-developed MDE rounds.
Reactive weapons are essentially "clean" fusion weapons, using gravitons as the
explosive agent, but the "Micro Dimension-Eater" rounds come from a totally
different lineage.  This _must_ be something to do with the Cinq Kingdom mess,
given that they're Fold-based, and Alto has to wonder if this accelerating
conflict is really for the best.

Surveying the wreckage in Island-1, Sheryl inwardly bids Alto farewell.  If
Ranka sings from hope, she's decided to try singing from despair, meaning to
put what little life is left to the best possible use...


CHAPTER 42J. Inheritance From One's Father

Marin is man enough to admit that the Bardeos overhaul isn't going smoothly
without Dr. Queenstein, in particular the subspace entry/separate/recombine
sequence acceleration.  God Sigma is having similar difficulties.  Watta's only
difficulties are being forced to do his homework, and he's managed to get a
little free time to go fishing with Apollo and Jiron.  He'll be staying the
night at his own house for a change.  Meanwhile, Shotarou and his friends are
busy training Black Ox at Domeki's place, even as Domeki herself has come to
deliver the Great Knot Punisher.  It's an _expensive_ weapon, and the paperwork
authorizing it had to go all the way to the top of 21st Century.  Domeki tells
the team to think of it as a memento of Ookouchi, who's about to retire soon
and leave the reins to Nishijima (according to rumor, anyway).  Nishijima has
engineered a takeover of Takeo General Company as the means to ascend to the
throne, and indications are that even Watta hasn't heard about.  Mind you, the
proceedings have been going on since the Breaking.

The Takeo representatives have gathered at 21st Century, and Nishijima isn't
surprised that their child CEO is absent.  Probably busy with homework or
whatnot, he figures, and truth be told 21st Century's CEO isn't here either.
Who is here is Dokujima from the Federation army, since Nishijima plans to
cede Dai Guard and Trider G7 to the army upon his coronation as CEO.  Dokujima
would be in charge, and Watta would be expelled from the cockpit... and the
rest of the management team from Takeo would be given "suitable" posts within
the joint company.

Nishijima thinks that tossing in $20M will sweeten the deal so much that
Kojirou and the others will forget their loyalty to Watta, but his faith in the
power of the almighty dollar is, shall we say, misplaced...

Meanwhile, Black Ox's training is going smoothly.  TOO smoothly in fact, and
Watta recommends calling Mackie up and going on a date in Odaiba.  Shotarou
protests that Mackie is _his_ girlfriend, but just then the two boys notice a
man being accosted by a Gishin Esper.  The man is no ordinary fellow, in
reality being the Robot Empire's top scientist Navaron.  The Esper's been sent
to capture Navaron and put his mind to use for Gishin's war effort, and Navaron
refuses outright.  He wants to make _genuine_ robots now, not tools of war to
be mass-produced and tossed out like yesterday's diapers when broken.

Shotarou sends Black Ox to save the guy, and Ox seizes the Esper and tosses him
far out to sea.  As Kappei goes over to see if the man's alright, Navaron
sees telltale signs that Kappei has Bialy blood in him...  That was enough for
Kappei to bring the guy back to the Tower, despite not yet getting a straight
answer about who he is.  The fact that Gishin's after him is enough to make
him worth protecting, for now at least.

The man is interested by the synergy between Zexis' awesome robots and its
equally awesome pilots: this is the answer he's been seeking!  Kappei wants to
know why he recognized his heritage: nobody in his own world's ever known that
before, much less anyone from this alternate world.  The man relents and says
that he's seen data about the Bial and Gaizock war, and says that he's designed
a robot based on Bial's final weapon's plans.  He's referring to Zanbot 3, and
specifically it's variable geometry system -- though he claims his days as a
scientist are long past.

Kojirou walks up and actually recognizes the guy: Umemaro!  It turns out that
_he_ is the one who designed Trider G7, back when he was friends with Watta's
father.  He's saddened to hear that Michitarou passed away, but gladdened to
have a chance to work on Trider again.  Kojirou gladly gives him permission to
check on the team's other robots too.  As the old guy heads off, Atsui explains
that Watta's dad took Umemaro in after finding him drifting in space.  Umemaro
made Trider in gratitude, and upon its completion set out on some kind of
quest... though for what, he wouldn't say.  Kojirou meanwhile asks Umemaro to
power up his shuttle, saying he's got $20M on hand to finance things.  Does
that mean he gave in to Nishijima after all?

Umemaro's done amazing stuff with the mecha, and Watta only wishes he could
have met the guy.  At least he and his guests had a great meal at his mom's
place!  Word of the merger seemingly hasn't reached him, and the other pilots
don't want to be the ones to break the news to him.  Fortunately(?) there are
Mecha-Beasts to fight, and even Kojirou agrees to show the team what his newly
modified shuttle will do.

Dr. Hell's forces include some Gishin units, recalling his alliance with them
during the Breaking.  The team's not worried though: for all that Brocken's
forces have grown, so too have their own warpower.  Takeru has a very bad
feeling about this battle, but he knows that he mustn't just cower in fear
either.  Kojirou asks Crow how much each of the enemy are worth in salvage, and
tells the team that it's time to earn some serious dough.  In fact, he needs
to earn at least $35k before the battle ends for a Skill Point...

 Metarl shows up, and Shotarou finally persuades Takeru to tell the team
 about the Devil Ring... except that Metarl does it for him.  Metarl gloats
 that God Mars has become the death of Takeru, due to how it draws upon his
 psychic powers and thus drains his life, but the Rose Knight shows up again
 to assure Takeru that God Mars is his Protector.  It is, in essence, Takeru's
 father's heart made manifest, and Watta has finally gotten sick of Metarl's
 cowardly babbling about how _scary_ this Power of Darkness crap is.  It's
 all about what parents pass on to their children, something the Dark dudes
 have no clue about, and Kojirou pledges to be right by Watta's side as he
 fights the good fight in Trider.

 Takeru's rejuvenated now, much to Metarl's annoyance, and the only thing
 left is an outright brawl.

 Kojirou's debts are pretty easy to pay off (being a measly 35k).  After the
 battle, Watta calls out to Umemaro, thanking him for giving him this
 wonderful memento of his father.  He vows to keep fighting for peace with
 it, and Umemaro in turn thinks that it's he who should be grateful for what
 he's seen here today.  He's looking forward to a day when he and Watta can
 sit down and chat in peace.

The other pilots are supportive of Takeru's resolve to keep on fighting, though
Kouji tells him (from first-hand experience) not to do anything that would make
Takeru's mother cry.  Meanwhile, Watta finally gets to learn of the proposed
merger between his company and 21st Century -- the dowry for which Kojirou
seems to have already spent on Shuttle upgrades.  Watta breathes something like
a sigh of relief when he gets all the info: unlike his teammates, he is 100%
sure that Kojirou will _not_ sell the company.  All Crow's jibbering about the
mass pile of money won't make him trust Kojirou any less.

Indeed, Kojirou delivers a firm denial for this and all future attempts, on
Watta's behalf.  Nishijima's line about putting a grade-schooler in harm's way
does not face Kojirou one bit, especially since he trusts Watta and Trider to
weather any battle in the future.  And if that's not enough, all Takeo's
employees have his back.  Dokujima expected nothing less from his old mentor's
(former, since Michijirou himself is deceased) employees.  He's had his
perspective expanded quite a bit since the Breaking, watching numerous ordinary
salarymen and women do extraordinary things to help defend the peace.

Oh, and about that $20M?  Kojirou had that much squirreled away in numerous
banks for a rainy day, and has Banjou bring the whole amount in in small
change.  Poor Nishijima, all outmaneuvered by a kid and his elderly butler.
Ookouchi shows up at this point, informing Nishijima that $20M is _waaaay_
beyond his personal signature authority.  He orders Nishijima into virtual
house arrest until a formal decision is made about what to do with him.

Well, that's that.  Kojirou will earn back the rest of the $20M in no time
flat with his upgraded shuttle... assuming of course he can make it off the
bench.  Dokujima heads off just as the Zexis pilots show up, relieved to hear
that the merger is off.  Watching all this Ookouchi thinks to his departed
friend Michijirou that the seed he's planted is maturing very nicely indeed.

No time to reflect, though: word has come in that a bunch of Moon WILL troops
are en route.  This should have been caught immediately, but Wiseman has
interfered.  In fact, he's been broadcasting a declaration that he's now the
ruler of the world.  The Red Shoulder march plays in the background, and the
world's information networks seem paralyzed by the hacking.  Between Wiseman
and Moon WILL, it seems Metarl's proclamation of everything coming together at
once is underway.


CHAPTER 42S. Super-human

Evidence points Ribbons and cronies to suspect that Wiseman's base is out
among the Neo Planets, and Ribbons has sent in a battalion of Astrageus
forces.  He actually kind of hopes that Wiseman trashes them, as the
Astrageus folk -- who seem capable of nothing other than fighting -- are of no
use in the future he's got planned.  Rijeene sniffs that Ribbons seems to be
even more pissed off at the Secret Society than he thought, and Ribbons smirks
that he's got no use of subordinates who act on their own -- even special ones
like the PS's.  Seeing that they've chosen to act apart from Arrows, it seems
_highly_ likely they're somehow in cahoots with Wiseman.

Ribbons insists that Rochina has no ties with the other Astrageus folks, but
given that even Ribbons himself hasn't figured out how Rochina rose to
General, it's safe to assume he's also somehow connected to Wiseman.  What the
hell is Wiseman up to, one wonders.  Ribbons figures Wiseman fancies himself
a god, and suspects Wiseman has something Ribbons wants: the Black Knowledge.
Neither of which is permissible, especially since it turns out Veda's uttermost
depths are still protected by codes Ribbons can't break.

It's been 72 hours since Kiriko touched down on Quent, and Rochina is
expecting him to come back with some kind of information any minute.  Rochina
seems to have an uncanny way of predicting what Kiriko will do next, and is
in NO hurry to explain how that works.  He's rounded up pretty much all
Kiriko's friends as "insurance" -- hostages, really -- with the promise of
something more valuable than money as recompense.  They will, in Rochina's
words, get to witness something far beyond their imagination.

Fiana doesn't like any of this, and asks again just what Rochina knows.  He
finally tells her that he's been acting according to a certain plan since long
before the Astrageus folks came to this galaxy.  His ruler has bent all his
will toward Kiriko, through Rochina's time in the Gilgamesh army, his Arrows
work, and newfound independence.  This Ruler is a mysterious will born of the
85,000 years of Quent history (a "will"??), and it ordered Rochina to keep
watch over Kiriko -- since before the first time Kiriko ever boarded an A.T.

Yikes, very ominous.  Fiana and Kiriko will get to see what this will thingie
really is soon enough.  At least Goat and friends have accepted Kiriko's lady
into their motley little band, though that offers little comfort given what
incredible fate Kiriko seems burdened with...

As Zexis heads toward the Neo Planets, speculation runs rampant about who
this Wiseman character really is.  A super-hacker?  A justice-mongering
journalist?  No true journalist would sow this much chaos with their reporting,
so maybe this is some maniac bent on world domination?  Yeah, but that'd take
an army even bigger than Insalaum of Dr. Hell's.  Whoever it is, they've
pissed off both Zexis _and_ Arrows, and given the Red Shoulder March, have
certainly attracted Kiriko's attention.  And attracting Kiriko's attention is
often a good way to die.

Among the Neo Planets is a... Death Star, or a Unicron or Iserlohn, take your
pick.  It's been concealed by stealth till now, but Wiseman has apparently
decided that the time has come to reveal himself.  Goodman is on hand to see
it, but before he can order his troops to take the thing over, a lone A.T.
flies into the area.  It's Kiriko, fresh from an encounter with that great
will thing on Quent.  It told him to come here, so here he's come.

Zexis shows up too, and Goodman immediately orders an attack to keep them
away from the Death Star.  Kiriko keeps heading for it, ignoring friend and
foe alike, and Zero tells the team to honor Kiriko's wishes for solitude.
With Goodman leading from the rear, with reinforcements at the ready, Zexis
will have to fight the enemies right in front of them.

 Goodman's forces are hilariously unsuited to faces Zexis, and the way before
 Kiriko is cleared in no time flat.  As he approaches the Death Star, he
 abruptly vanishes in a flash of light -- the same light that teleported Zero
 back on Kaminejima!  Who the hell is this Wiseman, if he's hold up in an
 artificial moon^Wbattlestation with _that_ kind of power.

 While Kiriko is putzing around inside the Death Star, an Arrows squadron
 shows up, with Innovators in the lead.  Lockon is ready to exact cold-blooded
 vengeance for Anew, but the real quandary is Saji and Louise.  Louise is
 resolved to throw her past away, but that could be a taller order than she
 thinks.

 And just to make this battle more complicated, Milliard^WZechs shows up.
 He means to punish Arrows and Wiseman for sowing discord throughout space,
 and is prepared to take on Zexis too if they won't play ball.  Hiiro
 _totally_  won't play ball, telling Zechs that he doesn't believe for a
 moment that Zechs actually thinks his actions will bring the Colonies peace.
 He denies Zechs' very being, and Zechs joyously challenges Hiiro to stop him
 if he can.  Bushido figures that Zechs is nearly at the summit, and means to
 use his new sword, the well-named "Susano-O", to help.  Wiseman-hunting will
 have to wait till all these yahoos are dealt with.

 Bushido has a pretty good attitude actually: he declares that his defeat will
 make him stronger!  The question on Setsuna's mind is, just where is it
 Bushido is trying to go?  Louise is a much more interesting case: she's
 blinded by the belief that Saji and Setsuna have been deceiving her all this
 time, despite Saji's best protestations to the contrary.  Setsuna however has
 been growing in spiritual sophistication all this time, and he can now sense
 that there's.... "somebody" overshadowing Louise.  The best they can do for
 now is neutralize her as a combatant.  When her mech's weapons are disabled,
 she feels like her head is going to split in two, and while fleeing yells
 that she'll never forgive Saji... like, EVER.  Amuro and Quatro can only
 watch grimly as yet another misunderstanding causes yet another battle to
 unfold.

 Andrey is another interesting case.  Pieres demands to know if Andrey
 _really_ thinks his father would stage a coup d'etat, and isn't fazed when
 Andrey points out that she's defected to the CBs.  She's Sergei's super-
 soldier, and she _will_ have revenge!  The two Innovators mainly experience
 disbelief as their supposed superiority proves to be nothing of the sort.

The Innovators have yet more reserves hiding in the wings, proving just how
important Wiseman is to them.  As the battle rages outside, Kiriko finds
himself teleported outside his cockpit and into the middle of the Death Star.
Fiona is there too, as are Rochina and co.  They have been Summoned, as
Rochina puts it, by his Ruler -- the one Kiriko must have sensed on Quent
given that he's come here.  Rochina even has some idea who Kiriko's mystery
benefactor is, a so-called Super-human born on Quent.

Long before the modern Astrageus race arose, the ancient, unrelated Quent
culture flourished.  Its zenith was around three millennia ago, when their
ultra-technology gave rise to a New Humanity, the Super-humans.  Those super-
human abilities caused them to be exiled from Quent, and predictably set out
to conquer the galaxy.  Thus was mankind torn between two ruling factions:
Gilgamesh and Valalant.  The Super-human is Rochina's "Ruler", and turns out
to be Wiseman in the flesh.  Rochina points to the Death Star as proof: the
Innovators and their precious Veda are all but powerless before such advanced
technology.

Wiseman is calling Kiriko, and Rochina wants to know why.  Does Wiseman intend
Kiriko to defend his followers, the Secret Society, in the PS's stead?
Wiseman's certainly called the Secret Society leaders (who were busy watching
Zexis' battle) to the scene as well.  Rochina introduces Kiriko to Kiry, the
leader of the Secret Society, who's pleased as punch to meet the man even
mightier than the PS's.

Wiseman then starts speaking directly to Kiry, Kiriko and Rochina, in words
that sound like random static to everyone else.  Interestingly, Wiseman has
something to tell Kiriko alone (much to the faithful Kiry's dismay), and
despite Fiana's misgivings Kiriko heads off to find out who he _really_ is.
Kiriko wants to know why Wiseman chose him, and the answer turns out to be
his 1-in-25-billion genetics -- remember, he's an Abnormal Survivor.  He is,
in fact, a natural-born PS, like Wiseman himself: the end product of the
entire arc of Astrageus' history.

What Wiseman wants is a Successor, and Kiriko agrees to shoulder that
responsibility.  Looks like the Secret Society's usefulness is at an end, and
Kiriko simply kills Kiry off.  As Fiana watches in horror, Kiriko tells the
scientists that they're working for him, the child of God, now.  He's headed
to Quent alone to meet Wiseman in person, leaving Fiana and Rochina behind.

He's got the good grace to notify Zexis that Wiseman is about to blow up the
Death Star, turning all those who tried to steal or stop Wiseman's power into
space dust.  He tells Zexis that their deaths won't be in vain, as he heads
off to be one with He who ruled Astrageus from the shadows all these many
years.  Wiseman is beneath Quent's surface, waiting these three thousand years
for his exiled children's return.

Zero frantically orders the Ikaruga towards the Death Star at ramming speed,
even as Sumeragi tries to get the rest of Zexis to flee.  What the hell is this
Wiseman guy thinking??

Zero's quick thinking let the Ikaruga grab Goat and the others moments before
the explosion, saving them from disintegration.  They're struggling to come
to terms with Kiriko's conversion to demigod, and Fiana in particular is in
pretty bad shape.  Rochina managed to bug out on his own, skilled as always
at saving his own skin.  One thing that strikes the team as odd is why Kiriko
would need to go see Wiseman if he's already His Successor.  Another odd thing
is why Wiseman would have pulled the Wiseman Shock.

It seems incomprehensible to Zero that a man like Kiriko would have given in so
easily to the lure of godhood.  Maybe Lu Shakko can shed light on it, as he
calls in from Quent.  He tells Zexis to come to Quent, promising to tell them
everything about Wiseman even as his people prepare to stop Kiriko.  Karen
promises to help Fiana get a good explanation for all of this from Kiriko, and
it so happens that Fiana will even get a mech to pilot from the hold of the
abandoned Secret Society ship.  What Goat's people know for sure is that
Kiriko's expression was exactly the same as he wore when they first saw him: he
must have had something really important deep inside.  The question is...
what?


CHAPTER 43J. The Fangs that Cleave Darkness

Moon WILL's forces are hours from Dragons' Hive, intending to finish off
Earth WILL once and for all during the uproar at the Neo Planets.  Even Queen
Rilina won't be able to quiet the people's fear after seeing what those troops
leave in their wake -- the menaces facing the world today all seem to prefer
psychological insinuation over outright clashes of power.  On Quent, meanwhile,
Zexis is in hot pursuit of Kiriko as he goes to pow-wow with Wiseman... the
ancient Astragean "god".  At least one "shadowy figure" doubts that Kiriko has
actually become infatuated with inheriting this god's powers, and that shadowy
figure's arrival signals that the "fangs that cleave darkness" are assembled.
Now it's just up to WILL.

Kurara is taking Moon WILL's attack philosophically: since Zexis barged into
its front door last time, it seems to be mainly returning the favor.  All the
members of Team D are pumped to face their arch-enemy, but Shinobu is
uncharacteristically quiet while watching his "underclassmen" pose.  He and
Ryou both sense a dark, familiar presence threatening them all -- someone
beyond just Moon WILL's pessimistic malice.  Fortunately the Dancougar forces
won't have to face this menace alone: the Gran Knights have their back, as do
the rest of the squad.

Moon WILL is leading its troops personally, and as always is quick to claim
that humanity is too stupid to arrive at the truth of the universe.  Zexis'
pilots are equally quick to tell Moon WILL to get stuffed, not buying into the
smokescreen of unintelligible jargon.  That, Moon WILL declares is even more
proof of mankind's folly -- just like that Kiriko with his pretensions of
godhood.  Don't the humans at least realize that Wiseman is trying to remake
their world?  Doesn't Moon WILL realize that humans don't give in to evil that
easily?

Well, some of them seem to.  Moon WILL sees in mankind a group of cowering
sheep, waiting only for the Almighty to punish them.  And of course, Moon WILL
claims to be that Almighty presence.  With nothing more productive to say,
Zexis set up their defensive lines and get busy fending Moon WILL's forces
away from Dragons' Hive.

 Of course Moon WILL gets pummeled, and of course it can't believe it.  It
 pleads with the omniscient, omnipotent ones to grant it power, and Sayuri and
 Metarl (showing up out of nowhere) to agree.  They grant Moon WILL even more
 power than before, and Moon WILL names his saviors as those with the Black
 Knowledge.  It won't be beaten by animate bags of water and protein, and
 tries to prove it by eluding the team and blasting Dragons' Hive.

 In Moon WILL's view, the ultimate fate of the universe is pitch darkness.
 If so, far better to sign up with the Dark beings who would be the
 universe's custodians.  What the Black Knowledge shows is that the world's
 future is one devoid of all light!!!

 That's too many exclamation points for Sandman, who dramatically appears on
 one of the parapets.  Along with him are F.S... and WILL, who's apparently
 ready at last to settle the score with its sibling.  If Moon WILL has the
 Power of Darkness, Earth WILL now has the Power of Truth, and with it F.S.
 has him convert Dragons' Hive into...

 ...one fucking huge dracoform battleship.  Good on F.S. for somehow keeping
 this monstrosity hidden.  The God Sigma Gravion is also on hand, with Sandman
 at its controls.  He means to be the fangs of the fangless, and not to be
 outdone F.S. declares that Dragons' Hive and Max God Nova can combine their
 might to produce something called "Absolute Nova Beast", which sounds pretty
 dire if you're a bad guy.

 It's even more dire than that.  Moon WILL is forced to implore the
 omnipotent ones for more power, but Sayuri has seen enough.  She thanks him
 for buying some time, and then finally showing her real colors informs him
 that it's about to get sent to sleep with the fishes.  No wait, that's wrong.
 Moon WILL is getting sent to sleep with the undead demonic types in the
 Darkness, who will be continuously feasting on its soul.

Apparently Sayuri's body has been expropriated by the real bad guys, who needed
a vessel to incarnate a God through.  Wouldn't you know it: the culprit turns
out to be none other than Muge Zolbados, who's having the dickens of a time
rebuilding his body after the original Dancougar team atomized it.  Sayuri's
body will just have to do in the meantime, though strictly speaking Muge
doesn't need it.  He is, in fact a pan-dimensional being with delusions of
literally being synonymous with space itself -- greater, in other words, than
the Black Knowledge itself!

The plan will be to bring the team to his world, and utterly defeat them
there.  But until that happens, they'll have other minions of his to play with,
and the loss of Sayuri to lament.  One of those other minions turns out to be
Saotome, who's just turned up with Shin Dragon in the skies over the Pacific.
Since the other half of Zexis is on the way back from defeating Wiseman, the
plan must be to reunite and bring the noise as one.

All the Getter Rays produced don't go unnoticed by Gaiou, still on his
hotdog-munching world tour and still wearing the cool shades.  He's been
waiting for this to happen, and reckons the Baals are sure to react somehow.
Gaiou tells Carlos that it's not time to get personally involved yet, so Carlos
heads off to pass along Gaiou's instructions on how Revive Cells work.  Carlos
has done his best to lecture Gaiou on every last detail of this world, leaving
judgement about it up to Gaiou.  He invites Gaiou to devour this world if he
truly finds it worthless, as he and Gaiou both drop their smiling facades.
Neither of them is permitted the luxury of leisure, or simple companionship, or
normalcy of any sort.  Carlos tells Gaiou that he's the best friend he's ever
had while bidding him a final-sounding farewell.  Gaiou's experienced the loss
of friends before, but none, he reckons, as big a loss as Carlos.  Nor will
there ever be...

The pilots come together for a what-happened-on-the-other-path session, and
in addition to Alto's worries whether he's doing the right thing, there's
Kiriko.  It's kind of true that he was a God's inheritor, given that the
joint consciousness of ancient Quent's supermen was pretty godlike.  That is,
until the team blew the crap out of the computer that was maintaining the
whole shebang.  How precisely the team took out a being capable of manipulating
thousands of years of history is an interesting question, but Zero smoothly
says that degree doesn't matter.  What matters is the result, which is that
the whole Wiseman Shock incident is over.  End result: Kiriko chose Fiana over
life as the new god.

C.C. too is back online after a little amnesia incident.  Her concerned
teammates ask how she's doing, given that she supposedly got badly injured at
one point.  Kiriko seems to be basically unkillable, but she's nearly as
indestructible, and now has a renewed understanding of the system Charles is
trying to build.  Sara too has a lot on her mind about Sayuri, but Shinobu
manages to get her back on task (that task being Shin Dragon's destruction).


CHAPTER 43S. Ashura

The recent turn of events has caused the Zexis pilots to reappraise Kiriko.
Grim Reaper.  Badass.  Wolf, among the starving curs of the ghetto where Goat
found him.  Unexploded bomb.  Hiiro puts it best though: at first, Kiriko was
purely a soldier, nothing more, nothing less.  It was Fiana who changed him
for the better, as often happens when men and women [or shall we say, gender-
compatible N-somes] get together... though it seems Chiba hasn't yet made
much headway with Toudou.  His recent relapse, triggered by Wiseman playing
that Red Shoulder March, is hard for many on the team to fully fathom.

But Crow can empathize, having spent part of his own past as a studiously-
emotionless soldier and having worked VERY hard to put that behind him.  All
the pilots agree that they'd rather have their comrades evince a human side:
power without empathy is mere violence.  The million-dollar question is
whether Kiriko will really become Wiseman's successor, and presumably continue
the campaign of destabilizing the world.  If so, Karen is adamant that Zexis
be the ones to take him out -- because of how much she likes him.  Not in a
boy-girl kind of way but, umm, you get the idea.

Basically, there's just something about the guy that nobody can take their
eyes off.  Call it concern, call it that deep-seated desire to watch horror
movies, whatever.  Fiana certainly felt her heart seeking him from the very
first moment they met.  Now, the whole team is on the trail, hoping to get
some info from Shakko when they reach Quent.

Shakko relates how he brought Kiriko to his village after the showdown with
the Geass Order, summoned by his elders to give an accounting of conditions
on Earth.  No worries about the Heim farm though -- Shakko was sure to hire
some hands to keep it safe in his absence.  Those would be their former
squadmates, who had about a week of nothing much happening till Shakko
summoned them all to Quent.  Shakko wanted all Kiriko's old mates to hear
about his rather unusual situation.

Kiriko's trip to Quent was in search of his real identity, after Rochina's
natural-born PS speech rekindled his curiosity.  It was only in the depths
of Quent's oldest ruins that Kiriko encountered the will of Wiseman, the
"Superhuman".  Shakko defines superhumans to be spontaneous mutations with
the ability to merge their mind with computers, which explains how Veda fell
prey to him.  This power promoted the development of many of the fundamental
technologies of the old Quent society, which turned out to be less blessing
and more curse for Shakko's ancestors.  This led them to expel not just
the superhumans, but virtually all forms of technology, from their world... or
so they thought.  In fact, the superhumans continued to lurk on Quent, and
from it fomented war on a galactic scale.

Shakkos' brought everyone to meet Mej, the eldest and wisest of the Quent at
the ripe old age of 200+.  The guy looks very much like a mummy, and spends
his days in an otherworldly trance.  He's also got a special sort of telepathy
that lets Shakko serve as his mouthpiece, and explains in this way that there's
a reason the ancient superhuman has chosen _now_ to reveal himself.  That
reason is inscribed in the Black Knowledge, something which no one in the party
could have heard of (and yet, Crow gets the oddest sensation at the words.

Zero asks what this Black Knowledge is and what its connection to Wiseman
might be, and Mej tells the Bearer of the Power of the King to ascertain it
for himself.  Lelouch is of course astonished that someone from another galaxy
would have any clue about Geasses, much less Lelouch's specific one.  Mej has
it that the awakening of the Baal's has made the superhuman decide to pull up
stakes and move to another universe.  This requires recruiting a Child of God
to help decide this universe's fate, though precisely how that works even
Mej isn't sure.

What he is sure of is that Kiriko is headed for the Gomor desert, an area rich
in ancient Quent ruins.  Zexis needs to get there fast, since another Wiseman
Shock has just rocked the Earth Sphere again.  Even Rilina can't keep calming
people forever, and it's no stretch to imagine outright war erupting -- just
as the superhuman wants.  Zero orders everyone to get their asses in gear
and head to this Gomor place: Wiseman must be dealt with, and fast!

Meanwhile, C.C. is in Zero's room reflecting about her new master.  He seems
to be a really busy man, coming and going frequently and scarcely eating.  But
unlike her previous masters, he doesn't hit her or hurt her -- and she's
really glad he's taken her in!  Just then some sort of electronic noise
pierces her consciousness, and her memories of more recent history return all
at once.  It appears that she can't run from her fate that easily after all.
Nor can Kiriko, or Lelouch...

It seems Arrows is trying to keep Kiriko from reaching his goal...  which
mainly has the effect of increasing the amount of junk scattered across the
countryside as Kiriko cleaves on mech after another in half.  He knows Arrows
couldn't have forecasted his course this perfectly, meaning that one of the
Secret Society must have been feeding them information.  Two, in fact, though
they don't agree on how to handle Kiriko's violent ascent in their order.  Aron
in particular doesn't like the prospect of being a disposable asset the way
Giry was, something he didn't have to worry about under the old "god" whose
power was evident from all the historical tempering he did.

Hell, Wiseman is huge enough that he might have actually been responsible for
the original Breaking.  Aron'll be damned if that power passes to Kiriko.
Or at least shot ignominiously, when Kiriko -- or rather Wiseman -- summons
reinforcements.  Kiriko is merely Wiseman's mouthpiece at this point, and
nothing Gran can do at this point could deceive him.  He's come here for the
final challenge standing between him and Wiseman's throne...

..which would be his friends.  Shakko asks if Kiriko is serious about all
of this, and he's in fact deadly serious.  Kiriko insists that the world needs
to be ruled, that battle and death is the driving force behind all the progress
there ever was.  And given that war is indispensable to mankind, it ought to be
regulated... but one, solitary, god.  And who, but Kiriko, who's been forged
into a man by all this battle, is suitable to take on that mantle?

Kiriko has _definitely_ changed for the worse, now full of himself and claiming
to be protected by God.  Or at least God's Mobile Dolls, which for Wiseman is
easy-peasy to arrange.  This is more then Fiana, Shakko and Goat's crew can
handle alone, so of course Zexis will have to step up too.  They're far from
happy to see what Kiriko's up to, which is plunging the world farther into war,
and Kiriko claims he's just doing what Wiseman wants.  Wiseman says that the
Innovators lack the power needed to chart the world's future -- a future in
which neither Zexis nor Arrows will have the victory... or anyone else for
that matter.

With Kiriko unwilling to listen to his friends' or even his lover's pleas to
stop, warfare is the only answer.  Fiana is kind of crushed, but soldiers on.

 Kiriko is SUPER hard to kill, and that immortality is part of what Wiseman
 has been seeking for a very long time.  When he speaks, the entire party can
 hear his voice in their heads.  Wiseman implores Kiriko to make the whole
 world his enemy, and reach him under his own steam.

 Kiriko's down with that plan, and he manages to elude Zexis' combined
 efforts to stop him.  Only Fiana can even get close, desperate to know if
 Kiriko really wants Wiseman's power that badly.  She tells him that if he
 really wants that world of perpetual warfare that badly, she's going to
 have to kill him, even though she'll die in the process.  Kiriko scowls
 that she can die on her own, and easily blasts her mech away from him.

 Just then C.C. appears in her mech, telling Zexis not to get in Kiriko's way.
 She adds a shot of her own to prove her point, and tells Zero and the
 others that it's not her they should be worried about.  That would be Ali
 and friends, whose employer is desperate to get their hands on Astrageus'
 mystery ruler.  Kiriko vanishes in the chaos, and explosions ring out all
 around.

 Gran wonders if this is the end, and Rochina tells him that he's to be
 commended for his loyalty to Wiseman these many years.  If Gran's role was
 to be Wiseman's hands, Rochina's role was to be his eyes -- and he'll
 witness Kiriko's ascension in Gran's stead.  He blows Gran away, looking on
 the chaos as precisely what Wiseman wants.

Kiriko makes it to Wiseman, and certainly says all the right things about
wanting revenge on all creation, perpetual war and infinite sequels, etc.
Wiseman manifests a glowing ball of light to illuminate Kiriko's path, telling
him that his flesh has turned to dust long ago.  Wiseman's will however is
just fine, perfectly preserved in the giant computer Kiriko is standing before.
It is no mere memory bank, but rather a thinking, living machine.

More precisely, it's a machine that's accumulated the consciousnesses of all
the supermen over the past three millennia -- and can transfer all that power
to Kiriko in an instant.  Yea verily, the selfsame power that cast the planet
Monad into the abyss between dimensions, teleporting part of Astrageus to this
world in the process -- all of it was Wiseman's doing.  And now it'll be
Kiriko's job to keep all of mankind mired in doubt and desire and warfare, so
that eventually the day will come when mankind masters all the Fundaments,
even the power of the Spiral.  That will be the true dawn of mankind, the
moment when man overcomes the despair spoken of in the Black Knowledge.

All Kiriko has to do is stretch out his hands and receive the baptism.  Instead
he stretches out his gun and shoots the transfer device, having guessed
correctly that this innermost chamber lacks any sort of defense.  For all its
wisdom, all its power, Wiseman simply couldn't comprehend why anyone wouldn't
want what it has.  Kiriko, however, has no desire to live in darkness, and
starts shooting every sensitive spot in sight.

Rochina rushes in to try to get him to stop, but Fiana is hot on his heels,
knowing full well that Kiriko and C.C. both deliberately avoided hitting her
cockpit.  She understands fully now how Kiriko trusted Zexis enough to leave
them behind and come here alone, and tells him to strike the final blow.  This
he does, leaving Rochina a screaming wreck.

Outside, Wiseman still retains enough of a personality to sortie a few A.T.'s
in a bid to make sure Kiriko perishes too.  This isn't looking likely, as
more Zexis units show up to help.  Kiriko's deliberate near miss on Fiana, and
C.C.'s repetition, removed all doubts from Zero and the team's minds.  It was
tough to keep up the act in front of Wiseman, but the team's gotten used to
stuff like this by now.  Just how C.C. knew what Kiriko is up to is unclear,
and Wiseman is furious that the Code-bearing Witch would defy him.

He then starts playing the Red Shoulder March, declaring that it's one of the
numerous subliminal things he planted in the depths of Kiriko's psyche.  Fiana
is another one of those, their meeting having been arranged in advance.  This
explains why Kiriko somehow knew her name from the start.  Wiseman claims
credit for "humanizing" Kiriko, giving him a tangible reason to live and fight
on, and declares that Kiriko seems to have changed even more than anticipated.
Rather than suffer under the weight of the sins he's done, he seems to glory
in them.  The Red Shoulder March is his proud past, and Wiseman commands him
to either embrace it and Wiseman himself, or perish.

Kiriko though doesn't take orders from anyone, not even a god.  Especially an
imperfect god, which is what Wiseman finally admits to being in its final
moments.  In fact, it was hoping to entrust its powers to Kiriko precisely to
make up for that imperfection, and to enable mankind to evolve as it must if
it is to overcome the Baal onslaught.  Wiseman revealing himself to the world
was a calculated risk, hoping that the discord sown would spur mankind to
evolve faster than the it would bring the Baals forward, and whichever side
won, the immortal Kiriko would still inherit Wiseman's knowledge.  See, the
petty revolutionaries of this world are starting to become content with their
little walled gardens, ignorant of the end the universe as a whole is hurtling
toward.  The world must be bathed in flame, if the Black Knowledge is to be put
to use and anyone is to actually survive.

As Wiseman flickers out, it tells Kiriko - puny, limited little lifeform that
he is -- that he's just made an irreparable mistake.  And then, Wiseman
stammers that it is afraid, so dreadfully afraid.  Kiriko has no mercy, telling
it to begone.  C.C. on the other hand believes that Wiseman was doing its best
to live up to its responsibility as a bearer of the Black Knowledge -- its main
error was in picking a man who valued something more than godlike power.  She
tells Duo that she's come with important news: Shin Dragon has appeared over
the Pacific, and Zexis must reassemble to fend the damn thing off.

Crikey, that sounds bad.  Zero figures that the ruins should probably be
blown up to prevent anyone getting funny ideas about using Wiseman's lingering
powers, but Rochina won't have it.  He accuses Kiriko of cowardice in not
shouldering the responsibility of rulership that Wiseman bore, and Kiriko
merely tells the team that it's time to go.  Rochina, he figures, will mop
things up for them.  This system is very similar, C.C. thinks, to the one
Charles has at his fingertips...  As the team leaves, Rochina's real angst
comes out: _he_ wanted to be a superhuman, and is beside himself that Kiriko
slew the very power he himself desired.

See the other path for Carlos and Gaiou's conversation.

F.S. tells Sumeragi what's been going on on the other path, and she agrees
that Zexis will get back together as soon as possible.  Meanwhile, Kiriko
actually tells his fellow pilots "thanks" for sticking with him, even smiling
when Crow makes a joke about money.  Of course, the war isn't miraculously
over yet -- Wiseman is but one of the ringleaders of the mess the world finds
itself in.  Still, it's an improvement.  Gregor and the others will follow
Kiriko into the next round of combat, while Goat and friends will burrow into
war-torn society and try to build themselves a bona fide home.

Off to the side, Shakko is gazing at C.C., and not just because of her nifty
outfit or physique.  He states that she too is a superhuman, and C.C. admits
that that's accurate enough.  Her path seems very different to him from
Wiseman's though, and when she says that she's not in charge of it, he vows to
watch how she travels her path.  With something between a smirk and a sneer,
she notes that she can never tell when the Quentians are joking or being
very subtle.  If the guy wants to get out there and kick ass on the
battlefield, he should just out and say it.  Shakko obliquely admits that he's
kind of bashful about certain things, and C.C. says that she like shim for it.
Zero observes that she's gotten a bit nicer since getting her memory back,
and she deadpans that she's only nice to _certain_ people.  Maybe she was
better as she was, muses Zero, and C.C. asks if that means Zero's got a thing
for the compliant, maid-type ladies.

Nearly laughing at that, Zero says he's relieved she's fully back to normal.
However, even C.C. might wish that she'd remained in blissful ignorance after
the fragment of Wiseman's memory she saw when her own memories were restored.
She now has an inkling of what the Black Knowledge has to say about the world's
fate.  All Kiriko knows is that he won't be able to stop fighting till warfare
is gone from the world -- and he intends to bust ass (with Fiana by his side)
to bring that about sooner rather than later.

He and Fiana are to live in a world where god is dead, nor does he regret his
choice even though despair may await.  The most important part is that he
chose it for himself, and that he's got Fiana and his companions by his side.
He'll go on fighting through the flames -- today, and tomorrow, and the day
after...


CHAPTER 44. The Devil Who Calls Forth Armageddon Appears!

[Though I liked the space route, I kept the Earth route.

The clone of Lowgenome is certainly still sharp, noting that the recent spate
of bad guy attacks must signal The End(tm).  If the Black Knowledge has taught
him anything, it's that mankind requires a ruler to have any chance of
survival.  Or do the humans think they really stand a chance as they are now?
In any case, the curtain is rising on the final act...

Kinon has turned in his resignation to Roshiu, meaning to help Zexis save
the world and all that good stuff.  He leaves Kinon to tend things while he's
gone, and tells Kiyaru to take good care of Kiyou and Anne -- surely Dayakka
will be a bit too busy to manage it on his own.  He's still the same old
reckless dude who once led the Gurren Gang's shock troops, and his friends
wouldn't have it any other way.  Dayakka gives him one final present: the
key to a hangar outside town where his old "partner" awaits.  And with him
will go Youko, still her old self too and still happy to pitch in.

Shin Dragon has apparently taken up residence a kilometer below a small
volcanic island, surrounded by defensive lines of Invader forces.  This last
detail seems very very odd, given that Shin Dragon was basically made to be
the leader of the Getter forces that _fight_ the Invaders.  Kouji's noticed
that the Invaders have appeared to be seeking Getter Rays all this time...
what the hell _are_ Getter Rays anyway, and what do the Invaders mean to do
with them?  Ryouma has a general idea, but can't bring himself to talk about
it now.  Better, he says, that the team _feel_ Getter Rays with their own
bodies.  Ryouma's starting to sound like Gou, and _Gou_ is very afraid.

Ryouma and Gou can both sense Shin Dragon's rhythm, and the implications are
dire.  Alarms go off at this point, and word comes in of three man-sized
shapes appearing on Shin Dragon's island.  That must be Corwen, Stinger and
Saotome, who are busy trying to wake Shin Dragon up.  Zexis makes their
way through the Invader defenses just as Saotome offers himself up to become
part of Shin Dragon, to sound the clarion roar of Evolution and usher in the
world's final day.

This is the part where it gets more than a little sketchy, as Stinger and
Corwen begin to moan in pleasure as "genetic material" starts flowing backwards
into them.  "Evolution", as apparently they call it in their neck of the
woods, feels extremely pleasurable.  Apollo tells the team to burn this image
into their eyes: this is what happens to those whole lose sight of Evolution's
true purpose.  Out of the volcano's mouth comes the new and improved^Wevolved
Shin Dragon.

Shikijima explains that the real point of Getter Rays isn't their energy: it's
their ability to make life forms evolve.  _That_ is why the Invaders sought
them, and Saotome's original plan was to lure them in and destroy them with
Getter Robo... whose Getter Beam represented too much "Evolution" for the
Invaders to absorb at once.  I believe the term is "Too much!  Too quickly!"
The problem is that Shin Dragon has evolved in a totally different direction
from what the plan called for, into a beautiful, terrible god of death.  Will
the Earth be remade in the Invaders' image?  Not if Zexis can help it, though
Gou seems to be having some kind of foreboding.

 Formidable though Shin Dragon is, it seems its awakening was a _tad_
 premature.  There's an opening to destroy it once and for all, but Gou is
 wavering between doing the right thing, and following his father's
 instruction to come and help wake up Shin Dragon for reals.  Kei swings into
 gear, vowing to be the one to protect Gou this time, but she too is
 momentarily swayed when Saotome calls her "Genki".  Fortunately Ryouma is
 on hand to keep her from getting demolished, seeing in her stricken, sad
 expression a vision of her younger self.

 Neither Getter is in shape to continue fighting, so both have to retreat to
 the Tower.  But before the Invaders can revive Shin Dragon, Nia and a bunch
 of Anti-Spiral forces show up.  Nia notes that it's so sad that mankind
 chose intellect and evolution, instead of staying ignorant and safe.  It's
 those Getter Rays to blame for all of this, and Saotome thinks he's got the
 answer for how Evolution _ought_ to work.  Higher, faster, huger, and above
 all... stronger!

 If that's all the Invaders mean to do, slaughter all other intelligent life
 on instinct, then they deserve no quarter at all.  Nia notes that these
 beasts will never be anything more, and yet they're useful enough as part
 of the Spiral Nemesis vision of utter despair.  This is where Kitan and
 Youko show up, announced by a direct hit on Nia's mech from Youko's
 ultrasonic rifle.  And if this newer, meaner Nia is the real one, Youko will
 just have to blow it away so the kids will have somewhere safe to play again.

 All very well and good, but the blah-blah has given Shin Dragon time to
 recharge.  Guess it's time for the Tower to use its trump card, huh?

Inside the hangar, Shikishima is hastily checking Gou's neural functions, which
frankly are off the charts electrically.  Is this what Saotome needs to
properly control Shin Dragon?  And what the hell did Saotome do to Gou to make
him end up this way?  Whatever the case, Gou was born for Shin Dragon, not the
other way around, and Shikishima tells Gai and Kei to take Gou and get the
hell out of dodge: Hayato is about to do something _big_.

That turns out to be a gadget that actually absorbs Getter Rays, and they
actually start using it to absorb all of Shin Getter's power.  Shikishima
shouts in glee that this energy, this Quickening, is life itself.  Of course,
there's that Too Much/Too Quickly business to worry about, but Shikishima
orders Hayato and the others to get themselves to safety and leave him behind
to finish his work.  He sees a similar pattern in the energy to Gou's, but
how could that be when Gou's was due to abnormal synaptic activity??  Suddenly
it all makes sense to him, but he's too busy cackling in glee to actually
spit out the real purpose behind Shin Dragon and Gou.

The Tower explodes, though all the other personnel from it are safe.  That
includes Hayato, who's reluctantly resumed his seat in Getter's cockpit.
Saotome isn't impressed, and as Shin Dragon burrows underground again he
emerges with Corwen and Stinger inside Shin Getter, or rather Metal Beast
Getter as it's now been modified.  Ryouma tells the rest of Zexis to
concentrate on the Anti-Spirals and leave Saotome to his team.  Saotome yells
back that Ryouma's about to feel the wrath of the _ORIGINAL_ original Getter
Team... since, like, they're the ones who actually built it and stuff.

 Saotome seems to be sinking further into madness as the combat proceeds,
 beginning to laugh his head off.  It strikes him funny, you see, that the
 very same people who killed his daughter and let their own friend be killed
 would be challenging him.  OH NOES TEH DESPARES IT BURNSSS USS!!1  Really,
 it takes nothing more than one sentence to throw them off their game by this
 point??

Cue Michiru bitching about how "It hurt so terribly, awfully much when I was
squashed between Dragon and Liger".  No actually it didn't because it happened
in a fraction of a second, but that would make for bad television -- just like
Musashi whining to Benkei about not abandoning him.  Fortunately, this
foolishness gets rectified when the REAL Slim Shady^W^WSaotome Michiru
interrupts the psychic onslaught.  She tells her teammates that she had already
been parasitized by an Invader at the time of her death, and deliberately
loused up the combination timing in order to purify her flesh.  That it's
tormented her teammates all this time is unfortunate, but she's always kept
on believing that they can bust through to the _true_ future of Getter power.

Musashi too.

Arewedoneyetokaygoodandaboutgoddamntime.  Bad luck for the Invaders, really,
since Apollo was on hand to pierce their little mindfuck-space with a bit of
science.  Apollo tells the Baals that they've proved themselves nothing more
than animals.  Unfit to embrace the son, they are to be destroyed utterly by
the mecha-angel Aquarion henceforth.  It's the humans' turn to dish out a bit
of comeuppance, and Apollo tells his comrades (of a distant, pan-dimensional
struggle, which makes no sense to them) to unite the Suns within their hearts
with the Getter rays.  This is all rather high-falutin coming from him, and
as he sort of regains his own senses he stammers that he means for everyone
to just go and kick ass.

Okay, so we're clear that the battle will be decided by whoever deals more
damage while avoiding taking it?  Good.  Where it gets interesting is when
Crow tangles with Shin Getter.  The Invaders are furious that the Key-bearers
are on Earth (referring to the Spheres, of course).  The Spheres are what
decided the course of their evolution, and as such their Bearers are enemies to
be hated and feared.  Crow doesn't need them telling him that.

 Just to show how far off his rocker Saotome is, he tells the Getter team that
 Michiru and Musashi are waiting for them in Hell.  Unlikely, one might say.
 The real question is why the other Invaders aren't coming from space to help
 like Saotome expected.  Surely with all of them together Zexis wouldn't stand
 a chance!

 Too bad for him the White Fang forces have shot down _all_ the inbound
 Invaders before they could make planetfall.  No matter though, they think:
 surely their infinite power will carry the day anyway?  They wait for what
 they think is an opening in Getter's stance and launch a "sure-fire"
 transform attack of their own.  What they don't count on is just how well
 trained their combat proteges are.  There's a big difference between
 designing something and _living_ it.

 As Ryouma prepares for what will be the final duel, he hears Apollo and Gou
 in his mind, telling him to remember the Sun -- that is, "Stoner Sunshine".
 If they can truly think and feel as one, the Getter team can do it!  And
 what's more, marijuana is even legal in several states now!  The result is
 more damage than the Invaders can regenerate.  In his final moments, Saotome
 seems to regain his sanity, telling the Getter team that they're awesome and
 more than suitable to entrust the future of mankind to.

As the explosion reverberates across the land, Nia demonstrates her command
of the obvious and notes that, you know, humans can be kind of dangerous.
Time for some next-level shit with Phase Two, whatever that means.  Meanwhile,
Gou has decided to actually go to Shin Dragon, and his teammates will go with
him to what turns out to be Shin Dragon's cockpit.  They unite their minds,
fusing mind and body with Shin Dragon and sensing the immense power it wields.
Gou tells them to believe in themselves and in the power of Getter-ness.

This is good for halting Shin Dragon in its tracks, but also results in Gou
entering some kind of deathlike state.  His heart has stopped, but cellular and
neural activity continue.  There's no telling what Arrows might do if it got
its hands on Shin Dragon, so Kei and the others decide to stick around it and
keep watch as Gou slumbers.  Meanwhile Ryouma and friends will use Shin Getter
to help save the world.  There's no way now to know if Saotome had in fact
avoided total infection by the Invaders, so all the team can do is proceed
along the "rails" Saotome said he laid for them to see what awaits at the end.

No time to reflect though: word comes in of another ZONE manifesting.  Is it
finally time for Crow to lay down his life for mankind?  There's no telling
till the team actually gets to the scene.  Kei struggles to muster a smile as
she sees her (adopted) father and friends off, recalling one thing she felt
when synchronized with Shin Dragon: all these things are moving toward the
end of all things...

Well, that's the starting Demons of Destruction defeated, in Lowgenome Mk.II's
view.  Since he's a clone, this Lowgenome has no person enmity toward the
people who took out the original; on the contrary, he figures Zexis is to be
commended for standing up in the face of terrifying odds.  They've got enough
power to fend of Phase One, but of course Phase Two just started.  Roshiu
can't bring himself to break the news to the Federation, and Lowgenome sneers
that he'd better be grateful that Wiseman didn't leak this mess to the public.
Roshiu tells him that he's going to be getting the Space Daigun ready, and
Lowgenome sneers even harder that he's quite a _mensch_.  Roshiu snaps back
that mankind _must_ survive this, even if there's only one human left!  And if
that means casting away his own emotions, so be it!


CHAPTER 45. Dimensional Power

Unblown reports Zexis' victory over the Invaders to Yuusar.  He's heard of
the concept of "Baal"s, enemies of all intelligent life in the galaxy before,
which surprises Unblown greatly.  He asks if she knows why the royal family
outlawed Dimensional Science (she does not), hastening to add that he's not
trying to blame her anew.  He and she are both to blame for violating the
taboo, and their best penance will be to and the Insalaum people victory.
Yuusar knows that Eim was using her to get at the Insalaum royal family's
deepest secrets, which are mixed up with the so-called Black Knowledge.

Yuusar only knows those portions of the Black Knowledge stored in the royal
records, but even those make mention of the Baals.  He warns her sternly not
to seek that information for herself, not because he considers her unworthy
as such, but because he believes only the royals should have to bear that
terrible burden.  What he wants her and the Arcsabers to do is to give the
people a place to settle pronto -- nothing more, and nothing less.

ZONE, by the way, has the improbable expansion of "Zodiac Of New Energy", which
has all the earmarks of a forced retronym.  What's more, there's a finite
number that can be emplaced on Earth -- and the last one under the quota is
now undergoing final tweaks before activation.  That it's the last one
available led Unblown to put it in the most central, pivotal place possible:
the very spot where Gaiou appeared in this world.  This place, Limonecia,
bears the most resemblance on Earth to Insalaum's own capital...

After their little tete a tete, Yuusar goes to chat with Esther some more.
He tells her that a new battle is beginning, one that he's got to win, and
takes her disapproval in stride.  After all, it's not like he's got somewhere
to return home to.  Wayne comes over at this point, with news that Federation
forces are approaching the Zone.  He assures his lord that he's got the back
of anyone who's willing to fight, and Yuusar replies that there's been so much
fighting already.  But the loss of so many precious comrades is not yet enough:
the world is not yet ready for renewal.  He gives Wayne command of the first
defensive line, expecting Zexis to strike the ZONE directly instead of joining
the main Federation assault force.  Wayne wants to be where he can best
protect Yuusar, though he won't deny that he'd like to settle the score with
Crow in the process.

Yuusar will leave the main force's protection to Marilyn, who's been
eavesdropping with Yuusar's tacit approval nearby.  She's not just prepared
for the assignment, but positively giddy at the prospect of an old-fashioned
bloodbath.  She will be the one to have to face Crow, and promises to be
faithful "in her way" to Yuusar's ideals.  She glomps Wayne and drags him off
(against his protests) to get ready to launch, and Esther seems very
displeased.  Of course, she's got reason to dislike Yuusar too.  He tells her
it's time to go become the real king of Insalaum...

The Limonecians flee the wrath of the Luke Adamon, who Marilyn really hopes
is up to executing Unblown's oh-so-clever strategy.  She isn't intending to
let Crow or his friends get anywhere near the ZONE, though Zexis immediate
worry is the Luke Adamon and not her per se.  With the ZONE up and running,
the team is on the clock: five turns till matter in the vicinity starts to
crumble.  The real question is what fiendish second wave is lying in wait for
the Luke Adamon's defeat, but this isn't the time to fret about that.

 A nasty surprise is in store for the team: this Luke Adamon has the ability
 to do a localized version of the Dimensional Overload Bomb effect that Eim
 mentioned.  It seems his lies contain a kernel of truth.  This attack is
 impossible to avoid, so in the words of Sandman, destroy the source sooner
 rather than later!

 Marilyn doesn't do a very good job of defending the Luke Adamon, which stands
 little chance against the combined might of Zexis.  The ZONE is another
 matter however, and Crow exchanges a few brief words of goodbye before
 moving to halt it.  Eim, however, has other ideas.  He's seen how the ZONEs
 have elevated Crow's Sphere abilities, and vows to make Crow "his" today.
 Crow tells him to take a number... unless he'd rather deactivate the ZONE
 and thereby clear Crow's calendar?

 With no such action forthcoming from Eim, Crow heads to the ZONE, telling
 the others to take care of Esther in his stead and to keep his creditors at
 bay.  One of those creditors is waiting in the wings however, and refuses to
 let Crow commit "bankruptcy".  He's brought a new weapon from Traia,
 conveniently called the "ZONE Breaker".  It seems Traia's figured out how
 to disrupt the ZONE's delicate tuning, and in a way that doesn't rely on
 Sphere power any more than Insalaum's D-Extractors do.

 Eim tells him to stop this foolishness, warning that a price must be paid for
 using a D-Extractor to the extent required to stop a ZONE.  Carlos won't say
 precisely what he means to do, other than that he's risking his life -- the
 ZONE Breaker is less of a production item and more like a pre-prototype.
 He ignores Crow's pleas to stop, telling Zexis that they're all too nice for
 their own good.  Maybe it's fitting a "bad" guy like him do this, then.  And
 let this be a lesson to Eim that not everything goes his way -- though Carlos
 desires revolution, he does _not_ desire ending the world outright.  And
 getting back at Eim isn't quite as fun as he might have hoped, given that he
 won't be around to see it change with Traia.

Eim simply can't comprehend why Carlos would sacrifice himself for something
like this: surely he's got the intellect to turn any situation to his
advantage.  Crow for once is forced to agree, realizing that what Carlos did he
did to save Crow's life -- burdening Crow with a new debt he'll never be able
to repay.  But if there's anything Crow _can_ do, it's to master the VX and
kick Eim's ass with it.  Eim isn't one to die easily, desperate to see the
new "awakening" that Crow's power can bring.

Yuusar shows up at this point, telling Eim that though he's Insalaum's enemy,
he'll let Yuusar off the hook for today as thanks for the fortifications he's
brought to the Arcsabers.  Eim waxes thankful to receive a portion of Yuusar's
famous benevolence for his people, and Yuusar tells him to get lost instead of
bandying creed words.  As he leaves, Setsuna feels a strange sense that
something is out of place.  The other Newtypes have felt that already, and it's
proof that there's yet more to Eim's Byzantine schemes.

Yuusar apologizes (sort of) for interrupting Crow's duel, and warns Crow
that the life of Insalaum's prince won't come cheap.  He then formally
announces to all of Zexis that he's come to face them with the Seiou-Ki and
the royal sword Coalbrand now that they've stopped the last ZONE.  His forces'
morale is high, and Yuusar seems like a totally different leader from before.
Esther is also to be seen among the Insalaum forces, and Zexis agree to help
Crow capture her so she can't be made to fight any more.

 Oddly enough though, when Esther is disarmed Yuusar steps in himself and
 tells her to get back to safety.  He claims that he "needs" Esther, and
 doesn't care what Crow makes of that.

 The truth is that he's not exactly king of the battlefield, for all his
 hit points and annoying Double Motion antics.  He damn near gets himself
 killed by the time Wayne and Unblown arrive.  Unblown sends Wayne to protect
 the Seiou-Ki, diverting the Palace's energy into the ZONE.  It acts as an
 amplifier, and Unblown means to toss Zexis into God-knows what dimension.
 Crow isn't having any of that, and blasts the ZONE's control system,
 inadvertently destabilizing the entire shebang.

The result is everyone getting thrown into a land fo dead dust.  Insalaum
itself, as Margret explains when she conveniently shows up.

Meanwhile, word of the mass departure from Limonecia reaches the Scott Lab,
where maybe Traia can take small comfort in the fact that her ZONE Breaker
seems to have done its job.  Coming up with it was sort of a side effect of
her VX research, spurred on by an interesting trinket she was given to play
with.  The lab's computers get busy trying to figure out where Zexis went,
and Traia sure hopes they're okay -- Crow in particular.  Once left alone
however, it's clear who she's really vexed about: Carlos.  How could he go
and try to settle his score like this?!


CHAPTER 46. The Lost Holy Kingdom

Gaiou has done about the smartest thing possible, which is to put his head
together with Anemone at the Vodala Shrine.  Between the two of them, they've
pieced together pretty much all the missing gaps in his memory, and it's now
clear what his Duty(tm) is.  The question now becomes, is he feeling duty-bound
these days?  It's an ingenious paradox, because on the one hand he knows no
other way of life... and on the other hand, he's doing what he does of his own
free will.  Anemone sees hope in him, but he corrects her that he's someone
who _protects_ hope.  Or at least, he used to.  Anemone asks him to take The
End along with him on his journey, which should help ease the loneliness
oppressing him.  The End isn't sure he(?) likes this plan until Gaiou feeds him
a hot dog, and Anemone wishes him a truly fruitful journey.  Impressive that
Gaiou, the general of Dimensionality, could go on fighting despite all he's
lost.  Perhaps one day the whole of the Multiverse will know true peace, and
let him rest...

Back aboard the Dragons' Hive, Margret relates her failed peace mission and
subsequent incarceration.  She escaped during the Palace's destruction, but of
course didn't get far when the ZONE went out of control.  Her guess is that
Unblown minimized the damage by steering everyone towards the most familiar
dimension she knew, and that would be Insalaum itself.  The degree of ruin
leaves no doubt: it was ZONEs themselves that laid it waste.

She recounts the Gaiou's assault and the Arcsabers' defeat, after which many
civilians died and one seventh of the Arcsabers became DBs.  That much can be
laid on Gaiou's account.  But it was an out-of-control ZONE that did the real
damage, apparently when it ran out of Dimensional Energy to siphon away from
Zexis' world.  Margret explains that Insalaum's prosperity stemmed from
research into the technology of its predecessor culture, but that by royal
decree the most fundamental elements (the Dimensional Science) were forbidden
to explore or use.  Still, its descendants fuelled quite a lot of prosperity
until Gaiou's arrival.

The Lord of Destruction's power transcends culture, ecosystem, pride -- and
any other classification one could name.  With no other available option,
Unblown violated the taboo and sought a remedy in Dimensional Science, devising
the ZONEs as a means of extracting large amounts of energy from the world's
meridians to power weaponry.  Guess what happens when you concentrate energy
without fully knowing how to control it?  Yeah, oopsie.

After all this devastation, and after Gaiou and Eim left, there were half a
billion Insalaumians left.  They've all been moved to makeshift colonies
situated in the rift between dimensions, forced to battle despair while their
leaders try to find them a new place to live.  Unblown doubled down on her
Dimensional Science exploration, gleaning from Eim the knowledge necessary to
perfect the ZONE and to fortify the Arcsabers' weapons.  Unblown, Margret says,
has shifted the blame for her own atrocities onto Gaiou, and manipulated the
prince into invading the Earth, all to satiate her craving for ever-deeper
Dimensional Scientific knowledge.

Every new weapon needs a battlefield to test it on.  And every rule set to
restrain her access to remnants of the progenitor culture must be gradually
broken, by weakening the royal family's hold.  Frankly, Unblown would rather
see Yuusar die in battle, if Margret is any judge.  F.S. notes that this
Dimensional Science, which confers no boon on its users, seems to have been
taboo for a pretty good reason.

The Insalaum forces are apparently hunkered down around 100 klicks away,
clinging to what's left of the Palace.  There's no better time to go strike
Unblown down and hopefully end the conflict, but there's something to do first.
Eureka and Esther have got to be saved!  Xingke will lead the rescue team, with
Crow and several others along for the ride.  If Crow learned anything from
Carlos, it's to pay his bills with his own hands.  Renton, despite his initial
lack of confidence, will of course be going too, with the hearty backing of his
teammates.  Takeru figures that he can amplify Renton's feelings for Eureka and
use that to locate her more quickly, Devil Ring or no Devil Ring.  Margret will
be playing tour guide, especially since Palace Insalaum is currently resting on
what used to be the capital city.

Unblown is going to have a very rough day, since Marilyn and her troops were
_not_ caught up in the teleportation and hence are in the wrong dimension to
offer help.  Zexis has the perfect team to make a distraction, letting the
infiltrators readily penetrate to the Palace's bridge.  Any guards in the way
get swatted aside pretty easily, ample testament to how Zexis' strength isn't
limited to piloting skill.  Margret goes to strike Unblown down for her crimes
in her lord's stead, but Wayne shows up to block her sword thrust at the last
moment.

As Unblown is rushed to safety, Margret tries in vain to follow: a level of
distraction that nearly costs her lift until Crow blocks Wayne's next
sword strike with a _knife_.  Wayne recognizes Crow from his voice, and Crow
says he hopes his looks are even better than advertised.  Well, he's either
the world's smoothest badass, or its biggest moron, but in either case he
cuts a nice figure in Wayne's eyes.  That means Wayne will have no further
hesitation in killing him!

Viral can tell that Wayne is seriously handy with his swords, and given that
this is _Wayne's_ turf, it might be best to stage a tactical advance to the
rear while the actual swordsmen on the team buy him time to find Esther.
Among the others holding Wayne off will be Margret, who poses the interesting
question of which of them is the _real_ traitor to the Insalaum cause.  Wayne
informs her that she's wrong on at least one point: this whole fight is
precisely what Yuusar wants!

Crow does find Esther, who indicates that she still understands his speech.
Before he can let her loose, Yuusar shows up in person, having heard plenty
about Crow.  After a tense interchange of pleasantries, Yuusar says that he
will "entrust" Esther to Crow, on the theory that he's the only one capable of
saving her.  Eim said the same thing at one point, and Yuusar reckons that
only one who's actualized Sphere power has that potential.

Oh and Renton manages to rescue Eureka too.  Isn't that nice?

Of course it will take a little while for the rescuers to make it to the
battlefield, so the rest of Zexis will have to keep the bad guys occupied.
Eureka and Renton fail their stealth roles, but interestingly The End shows up
and fends the nearest DB off long enough for Nirvash to help.  Renton is
totally pumped, and vows to do everything and anything to protect Eureka.
Unblown doesn't mind seeing Eureka go, publically claiming that her research
usefulness was over anyway.  She orders the troops into battle, and Zexis will
just have to buy enough time for Crow and Margret to take the field.

 Insalaum should count itself lucky they've got so many former citizens to
 feed into the wood chipper that is Zexis.  Once enough of them are lost,
 however, Yuusar is forced to take the field himself, with Wayne by his
 side.  He tells Wayne that letting Crow on the loose is his final act of
 weakness -- with that out of his system, he can concentrate fully on
 Insalaum's resurrection.

 However, let's not forget that there's a Negotiator on the team.  Zero is
 just as happy to let Roger try to find a peaceful solution to Insalaum's
 problem, based on what Margret's told them about Yuusar -- he and F.S. are
 both convinced that the less unnecessary fighting mankind must endure, the
 better.

 But unfortunately, Yuusar has -- by his own choice -- become precisely the
 sort of evil ruler who's not interested in peace.  He tells the Arcsabers
 that Rogers words are a craven, devious attempt to avoid facing his noble
 self head-on.  Roger protests that this battle won't profit either side, but
 Yuusar is convinced that it _will_ profit him and his people, as he charges
 out in the Seiou-Ki and prostrates some ass.  Roger is now in the difficult
 position of having to decide if negotiations have, in fact, failed.

 But then something new happens: some force begins to warp this area's
 dimensional boundaries... or rather, to _destroy_ them!  This can only
 herald one thing: the arrival of Gaiou.  He's come to spectate on the
 ensuing battle, saying that he's personally responsible for setting up the
 whole thing.  And whoever wins will get the honor of becoming his servants!
 That is, if they will if they want to survive the True War -- what the humans
 like to call the Black History!

 That's got the ZEUTH members' full attention, but Unblown pipes up first,
 telling him that he's not going to get his way.  He tells her to stuff it,
 and Yuusar has both her and Wayne stand back.  He means to bring Gaiou to
 account for all the death and misery he's wrought on Insalaum, and at long
 last he's able to draw Coalbrand, proving himself to be the true King of
 Insalaum.  And when he does, it _appears_ that he's able to blow Gaiou
 away completely, to the shock of everyone watching.

 Everyone except Eim, who's got a little business with Yuusar: the
 Inexhaustible Water-Bearer.  Uh-oh, that means Yuusar too is a Sphere-bearer.
 In fact, of all the Spheres Aquarius turns out to be one of the hardest to
 get to activate, and Eim has gone through some _serious_ shit to orchestrate
 it.  In fact, Yuusar's Sphere factor might even be more powerful than Eim's
 thanks to the fragdown with Gaiou, and that concept has Eim tickled pink.

 Dorothy, meanwhile, seems to have had her memory jogged by Gaiou's words.
 It seems the seal on Roger's Megadeus' memory has begun to crack, and Roger
 and Dorothy agree that Eim must be stopped, and FAST.  Roger unleashes
 Big O's full power, damaging Eim's mech enough that he's forced to retreat.
 Even he didn't predict that Gaiou would help unseal a Megadeus.  Still, he
 fully expects to win in the end, and exhorts the Inexhaustible Water-Bearer
 and the Swaying Scales to strengthen each other as best they can.

 Roger apologizes for intervening in Yuusar's attempt to strike down his
 enemies, and Yuusar says that he's merely acting as the king, meaning in the
 best interests of his people.  At this point Crow, Margret and Esther
 emerge, and Yuusar orders Wayne to convey them safely back to their ship.

Crow and Yuusar have a newfound respect for each others' Sphere powers, and
Crow proposes that they try a little joint experiment.  Crow tells Yuusar
Esther's name, and together they focus their power on her.  What they
experience is the primordial order of the multiverse, and its many
manifestations [gentlemen, start your kanji dictionaries!]: points, surfaces,
volumes, time, parallel worlds, teleportation, tempero-portation [that's time
travel to our audience at home], vacuum, absolute temperature, imaginary
numbers, Tremors... all of it controlled by the Law of Destruction and
Creation.  And, in the case of the artificial Revive Cells, reversible.

Witness the power of Origin Rho, and have an Esther as a souvenir!  Wayne
acts quickly, telling Yuusar that he's got more important things to do than
tangle with Zexis here.  He has Unblown take Yuusar away, and Yuusar promises
Wayne that he'll be waiting in a renewed future.

For reasons I can't quite fathom, Wayne still seems determined to fight Zexis
on Insalum's behalf, and he's dangerous enough that the team can't just ignore
him.  Even Esther insists on pitching in, resolved to protect those she cares
about.  Crow is glad to see that she's changed for the better, and notes that
everything in the world must change too.  And if Wayne wants to get his ass
beaten in this badly, Crow will just have to oblige!

 Margret asks Wayne where Yuusar is headed, and he tells her with a half
 smile that she's not entitled to know now that she's left the Arcsabers.
 She retorts that she's still fighting for the Insalaum people, knight or
 not, and if Yuusar insists on dragging those people into this war, she'll
 fight him too!  And THAT, Wayne exclaims, is what makes the Pearl Knight
 such a bad-ass woman!

 Get Margret to the old palace treasury (2 down, 9 left of the upper right
 corner) and she'll find the Jewel of Insalaum.  Perfect for a crusader of
 Justice like herself.

 Wayne in fact can't beat Crow, but he's got a little insurance.  Insalaum's
 ZONEs are still active, and still trying to obliterate everything nearby.
 This battle has provided fuel for them, and though Wayne had intended to
 go rejoin his lord before Insalaum was swallowed entirely, he never counted
 on actually losing.  If Wayne had to lose to anyone, he finds himself
 actually rather glad it was Crow, the same guy who did his master in.  Crow
 vows to carry the memory of the Knight of Knights graven in his heart.

Wayne's sorrow touches Eureka, and a bunch of Emerge helpfully show up so Zexis
can escape.  Even Wayne has a chance to escape, but he actually elects not to
go, and to let the Diamed and Insalaum's capital be his grave.  Crow honors this
wish, and he and the rest of Zexis make tracks.  Wayne is glad he saw Yuusar
become king before he died, and in keeping with the ancient law of Ashes to
Ashes, Dust to Dust, he leaves only a prayer for a better tomorrow behind.

Zexis find themselves teleported to Limonecia, where Dr. Hell is waiting to
great them with Bardos' Island's mightiest Mechabeast: the Mechabeast Baron
Ashura(tm).  Dr. Hell doesn't mean to throw down just yet though: he's merely
come to give formal notice that shit WILL get real in their next battle.
What better time could there be for a showdown than now, with so many of the
Earth's menaces gone?  (Not counting the numerous ones still present, of
course...)  Saying that he doesn't want to damage Mother Earth any further,
Dr. Hell proposes that the two sides have a formal duel, at the Photon Power
Lab in five days' time when the Earth is at perihelion.  Kouji accepts this
challenge standing up, and the race to prepare is on!

Dr. Hell probably has something sneaky planned after all, but all the team can
do is face him as best as they can.  And if their victory over the Knight of
Knights is any indication, their "best" is pretty darn good.  Esther seems
more or less back to normal, and is willing to take orders to rest until
tomorrow before hearing what all has been going on in her absence.  Crow
meanwhile is locked in his room, no doubt fretting about Carlos' sacrifice and
no doubt back to himself by tomorrow.

As soon as she's out of earshot, Esther resolves to not rest quite as much as
all that.  Margret's waiting down the corridor, and asks what happened during
her time in Insalaum.  What does she make of Prince^WKing Yuusar...?


CHAPTER 47. Life or Death!  Dr. Hell's All-Out Assault

The final fragdown with Dr. Hell draws nigh, and for now all Tsubasa can do is
wait and see how he'll jump...  Oh, and quiz Ankokuji on what the hell he's
doing sneaking around in her garden.  She knows both he and the Gamias are on
the scene, and _those_ only come from one place.  Ankokuji is the kind of old
school dude who doesn't just divulge that kind of information, and that's fine
with Tsubasa: she'll have _plenty_ of time to smoke him out once Dr. Hell is
dead.  Ankokuji finds Tsubasa's ferocity entertaining: as they say, "Once in
love, one thousand times in hate".  She takes that remarkably well, even
offering to go with him to the Photon Power Lab to spectate on the first round
of the Hell-Kabuto feud's climax.

Dr. Hell meanwhile is ordering his lieutenants to attack the Photon Power Lab
at once, and they vow to stake their lives on success.  Among them, Ashura is
in a funny position, having been hypnotically ordered to _not_ die so long as
Dr. Hell still lives.  Dr. Hell, it seems, values Ashura's services very highly
indeed... or at least that's what he tells them.  His collaborators Metarl
and Sayuri figure they're fit for little more than the guillotine, but Dr. Hell
needs them at least as part of his plan to fend of the Baals.  And if worse
comes to worse, he's still got Bardos to help him control Ashura... a ticking
time bomb if you ask Metarl.

If anything, Dr. Hell wants to know why they haven't tried to enlist Ashura's
help and resurrect their old comrade, the "Savage God".  They claim no interest
in the past, now that Dr. Hell has inherited the Black Knowledge, and he
explains that his confrontation with Zexis should cement their loyalty.
Therefore, he orders them to stay out of the battle, and trust in the special
surprise he's got prepared -- using Bardos Island itself!  Metarl warns him
to hurry: they've precious little time left now that the Shadow Moon is in
motion...

The Federation Army shows no signs of aiding Zexis in its battle with Dr.
Hell, though thanks to Ootsuka they _probably_ won't come in to finish off
the weakened victor either (assuming Zexis is victorious, of course).  Ootsuka
has managed to get everyone in the projected path of Dr. Hell evacuated, so
the team can start blasting to their hearts content.  Sayaka tells Kouji not
to push himself too hard, finally showing a bit more courage toward her
(would-be) boyfriend.  Esther loves to see all the romantic progress that's
gone on, though she herself maintains stoutly that she and Crow have nothing
going on.  What about Margret?  FLUSTERED DENIALS TOO, and it gets worse
when a bunch of the team's tomcats take that as an excuse to advance on her.

Aslan has to step in and tell them all to go jump in a lake, since their
"humorous" attempts to get Margret to loosen up are obviously having the
opposite effect.  It seems even he is making progress on the human relations
front, in his way.  Off to the side, Esther promises to deck any guys who make
further unwelcome advances on the former Arcsaber.  And, one suspects, former
love interest for the prince.  Margret knows as well as Esther does that she
and Esther have some tricky relations going on regarding both Crow and Yuusar,
and tells Esther that despite all of that she's looking forward to fighting
by her side.  Yay, I guess.  Crow then tells Esther that he's sent Traia email
regarding Esther's un-monstering; he didn't call her voice since she's still
mourning Carlos.  The guy might have had a lot wrong upstairs, but it's clear
he wanted to change the world, and for that Crow vows to remember Carlos
from time to time along with the other people fallen for the cause.

Time to see just how much Kouji has grown.  All Dr. Hell's forces are on hand,
including Pigman who seems perfectly comfortable without a mech of his own.
Brocken on the other hand has gotten his own personally-styled mech, the
Brocken V2 Schneider.  Dr. Hell's forces have brought more of those kamikaze
bomb mecha, but the biggest concern is probably Ashura -- it's done on him/her
that its hatred of Kouji is every bit as important as its love for Dr. Hell.
Kouji meets this challenge head on, and it's not like the rest of Zexis won't
have plenty of bad guys to blow up.  Dr. Yumi's got contingency plans in case
things don't go well, but... hopefully things will in fact go well.

 [Note the tricky victory condition, which stipulates that Ashura, Brocken
 and Pigman must be shot down in the same turn.  Also note that Boss, his
 lackeys, and the Kurogane guardians can pick up a Super-Alloy Z from Tsubasa
 if they go to the spot she's spectating from.

 Brocken turns out to be quite the pervert when it comes to battling the
 fairer sex, and the female pilots quickly draft a long list of terrible
 punishments for him before he even has a chance to do anything.

 Pigman is a different story, as he dashes inside the Photon Power Lab as soon
 as he's "shot down".  He means to destroy the place from within with his
 dark enchantments, but Ankokuji and Gamia-Q aren't about to let _that_
 happen.  Pigman can't immediately figure out why Stroheim's automatons
 would be helping the enemy, but suddenly it dawns on him.  "He" has decided
 to rub Pigman out, and given Ankokuji very special bullets that can rot
 Pigman's body from the inside out.  Pigman frantically tries to flee and let
 Dr. Hell know, but Ankokuji's got more bullets and nowhere else better to
 aim them.

 Dr. Yumi asks who the hell Ankokuji really is, and Ankokuji will only tell
 him that his life is complicated.  Anyway, the lab's safe for now -- he just
 hopes that Yumi won't have to use "it", the lab's real secret.  Ankokuji
 thinks to "Blade" that he didn't need his help today.  Yumi tells the team
 only that the lab's "defense system" carried the day today.

 Ashura's got his/her own drama -- when shot down (s)he ejects and starts
 lamenting how nothing ever goes his/her way.  Maybe if (s)he can just get
 back to Dr. Hell...?  Ankokuji shows up to arrest him/her, but just then
 Gaiou appears too and tells him to cut it out.  It seems that "Tristan" and
 "Isolde" recognize Gaiou a little bit, so he jogs his/her memory completely.
 Tsubasa meanwhile now has a better idea of what Ankokuji's been ordered to
 do.

 Of course, Dr. Hell's ambitions at world domination haven't ended with the
 loss of his subordinates.  This is his cue to emerge in a TRULY enormous-ass
 mech, which has the lions' share of Bardos Island's gadgetry in it.  He
 demonstrates this by going over and burninating the Photon Power lab, saying
 that he's only interested in the lode of Japanium buried underneath.
 Recall that Japanium is the stuff that generates Photon Power, and Dr. Hell
 states that he _must_ have it.  _Why_ he must have it involves the Black
 Knowledge, so he's almost sympathetic to Kouji not buying it.

 See, Photon Power is the light that once lit the world during its fight with
 the Baals: the power of the Old Gods!  That would be the Mikeene, and it's
 an interesting shock that they too had Baal to fight.  Dr. Hell asks if
 anyone knows why the Dimensional Quakes led to two Japans appearing, then
 answers his own question by saying that the Arm of Zeus kept the two from
 superimposing upon each other.  Yes, Photon Power is to thank/blame.

 Dr. Hell is doing all this to prepare for the True War to come, and claims
 there is no other _but_ him equal to the task.  Yumi however isn't buying
 that for one moment, saying that anyone who would misuse science that badly
 is totally unfit for any such thing.  He unleashes the "seal" on the Photon
 Power lab, which falls away to reveal a huge fortress underneath.  It's got
 Photon Powered armor, and can travel the land and the seas: a fortress of
 Photon Power, by Photon Power, FOR Photon Power.  It is: the Science Fortress
 Laboratory.

 ...Which is about the most uninventive name possible, made all the worse by
 Yumi's histrionics about how he never wanted to use Photon Power for war.
 Oh, like, no problem on that front: Zexis will do all the warlike stuff for
 him.  And the fact that Dr. Hell's shown up in his ultimate base means that
 said ultimate base is now available for pulverization.

It's as though Dr. Hell can't understand why Kouji might want to kick his ass.
Like, DUH!  Hell is proud of his mech "Gordon", which is powered by Dimension
Energy and thus capable of prodigious regeneration.  However, not everyone else
is equally impressed, including the artist formerly known as Ashura.  To Dr.
Hell's horror, it turns out that Ashura has gotten his memory back, and is no
longer content to be Dr. Hell's lapdog.  He breaks Dr. Hell's control device,
and vents the fury of the gods of old Mikeene on the eminent (and blue-skinned)
scientist.

So, just what is it Ashura has remembered?  Well, his/her time as priest(ess)
of Mikeene, for one.  For two, the time when Dr. Hell had the bright idea of
fusing two perfectly fine sleeping people into one messed-up lackey, using all
kinds of drugs to atrophy away half of each.  He had Tsubasa fuse what was
left, then implanted the whole "saving Ashura's rotting ass" story to make
him/her into one more tool for world domination.  Ashura was the perfect guide
to all that Bardos technology.

But now, Ashura is hyper-pissed off at Dr. Hell stealing everything, including
the two missing halves of Ashura's shattered self.  So pissed off in fact that
he's got little to do but laugh at the ludicrosity of it all.  Ashura begs
Kouji for help in defeating Dr. Hell once and for all, and as Dr. Hell tries to
regroup, Kouji's Grandpa computer awakens and yells that it's go time.  Yumi
gets ready to fire all the spare Rocket Punches the base has, even as Ashura
pinpoints the location of Dr. Hell's Dimensional Converter.

How many Rocket Punches is that?  Many.  Kouji's even got Silent Chuujou's
Big Bang Punch, and he uses it to obliterate Dr. Hell once and for all.  Peace
on Earth tiems aren't quite here yet though, since Corwen and Stinger are still
alive and still bent on messing things up for everyone.  Since their plan to
lure their fellows using Shin Dragon fell through, they've turned their
attention to the Power of Light slumbering within the Earth -- the same power
that vanquished their people's ass back in the day.  Surely _it_ will bring
their fellows!

It seems the Kabuto family's problems are only just beginning.  Ankokuji knows
far more than he's letting on, and tells Tsubasa only that she'll know the
upcoming doomsday when she sees it.  He strides off, telling her to help toast
Zexis' victory for now, and she wonders furiously where the hell Kenzou is and
what he's doing.  In any case, if more Invaders show up in search of Photon
Power, Kouji will simply help bash their skulls in like always: all his Photon
Powered death weapons are for purely peaceful purposes, of course!

Meanwhile, in Shin Dragon's cockpit, Gou breaks his catatonia long enough to
mutter "They're coming".  Which is totally not ominous or anything.

Now where the hell did Ashura get to?  Hanging out with Gaiou as it turns out,
and resolved that "Tristan" and "Isolde" are as good as dead.  Ashura's got
at least one task left, and it'll have to wait till the Invaders actually
invade.  Hell, if the Dimensional General succeeds, maybe Ashura won't even
need to do whatever it is.  One can only hope, right?  Maybe not, seems to be
Gaiou's thinking...


CHAPTER 48. Godbless Universe

Peace on Earth ain't in fashion yet, what with Arrows and anti-Federation
forces (especially White Fang) skirmishing and the looming Insalaum threat.
That more Invaders might be on the way only makes things worse.  Japan has so
far been holding onto the independence it enjoyed before the Federation's
founding, but Ootsuka's already had at least one attempt made on his life --
he won't be able to hold off the clutching hands of Arrows forever.  Even if
he is far handier in unarmed combat than his middle-aged girth might suggest.

Perhaps the biggest worry is Muge, whose agents (including Sayuri) torment the
living even as he apparently resurrects the dead.  It would sure be nice to be
able to concentrate on more mundane foes like Arrows.

Takeru's mom has heard about the Devil Ring and sits him down to talk about it.
He admits that the pain is gradually getting worse, and since the Ring isn't a
physical device it can't be removed via some sort of surgery.  Takeru assures
her that he means to lead his (remaining) life right, keeping his promise to
Marg to defend universal peace as long as he's able to stand.  She won't try
to stop him, but asks him to remember that she'll always love him.

Elsewhere in Japan, the Twinkle Project is back to holding concerts -- outdoors
no less.  Shinobu finds this more than a little ironic, but most of the rest
of the Dancougar folks are prepared to enjoy the fruits of their labors... even
if the credit for said labors has all been publically given to Arrows and the
Federation.  Isn't it cool to be the secret agent types who actually get
things done?  Not if you ask Shinobu, and Aoi has to admit that his old-
fashioned way of doing things is pretty hot.  Sara huffs a bit at this, and
when Crow tries to calm the two "lovebirds" down, Sara tells the "X-Brothers"
to shut up and stop bugging the other concert goers.  Huh?  Well, Shinobu's
got "slanty" eyes, and Crow's got "droopy" eyes: combine for an X!

Bizarre humor aside, the team has to marvel at the Twinkle Project's ongoing
popularity, given that Eiyda's graduated and Sheryl's totally MIA somewhere.
Ranka has been hailed as the anti-Vajra Messiah, but it seems that's about to
change.  As she takes the stage and approaches the mic, she finds herself
unable to sing.  She murmurs an apology to the vast crowd, who's ecstatic
anticipation immediately toggles to near riot-level anger.

Fortunately Basara has been hanging around, and he strides on stage and tells
Ranka (nicely) to make room.  The other Fire Bombers assure Ranka that everyone
has days like this, and convince her to let them hold down the fort.  Pierre
for one is about ready to totally jizz on everyone and everything nearby at
the sight of his idol performing live.  Riot averted, the question turns to
why Ranka can't sing.

Lacus can answer that one!  Songs are like a mirror that inevitably reflects
the soul.  She's noticed something changing about Ranka's singing lately: a
blossoming of love -- not just for Alto, but for all those who enjoy hearing
her sing.  And for the singing itself.  Unfortunately, anxiety and sorrow have
also been creeping in, and Alto finds himself wishing he's noticed sooner.
Shinobu's pouting a bit at all this talk of love, sniffing that he doesn't
get that stuff at all.  Sandman pipes up, grandly proclaiming that even wild
beasts know how to love each other.  Maybe he should be more honest with
himself!  Oh and Sara, maybe she should try being a bit less afraid to love
others too!  Holy smokes, is this guy Dr. Phil?  Sara asks to be alone a bit
and walks off, leaving Shinobu the choice of whether to follow.

Shinobu grouses that Basara chose to open with "Dynamite Explosion", after
which every one of his other songs would just be a letdown.  Believe it or not,
Shinobu's been a band himself, so he's got a fine ear for this kind of stuff.
He tells the others he'll be back after this song is over, and heads off after
Sara.

Ranka's now huddled in her dressing room, with Grace apologizing for not
noticing how anxious Ranka's become.  Grace tells her to take some time for
herself to calm down, internally calculating that Ranka's emotional level has
fallen too far to be of use... bad timing, given how long it's been taking to
decipher the Vajra's networking protocol.  After the door closes, Ranka speaks
to the absent Sheryl and Alto that there's no way she can sing when she's in
pain like this.  The door opens just then, but it's not Alto here to rescue
her...

Sara thinks that she might be able to open her heart to Shinobu if he opens
his to her, but her thoughts are disrupted by Sayuri showing up.  Sayuri
claims to have escaped from Muge, who's held up in the Central Information
Control center.  Actually, when Sayuri said "escape", she meant "came as a
saboteur", and zaps Sara to sleep so she can carry her off.  Shinobu runs
over at this point, aghast at seeing Muge/Sayuri in person.  Muge explains
that Sayuri's last wish was desire for Sara, but with that over he plans to
craft a new world, using Ranka's power.  And by the way, it's too late for
Shinobu to stop a new dimension from being built!

[We apologize about the chapter title BTW; "Godbless" is honestly written as
one word.  Loan English can be a very strange thing...]

That new dimension has half-superimposed itself on this one, recasting the
surroundings into a nightmarish Muge-scape that emanates from that CIC Center.
Muge shows up to taunt the team with how he and Sayuri are now fused, and how
awesome his evilness is.  Ranka's role in this is to sing, of course.  See, her
songs normally overflow with the light of life, but wherever there is light,
there's also darkness.  And with a little help, Ranka's heart can be plunged
into Darkness (with a capital-D) and make the conversion to a new world
complete.  And to power it all, Muge means to use "Information Energy", a
concept that actually kind of exists in real life.  What does not exist in
real life is the massive computer hacking that can even outmaneuver Veda's
attempt to contain it.

In any case, there's a simple fix: save Ranka.  That will mean fighting through
a legion of Muge's troops, but hopefully while Zexis is doing that Shinobu and
friends can sneak in the back and effect the rescue.  And since the team has
Basara, who also sings with Life, that shouldn't be thaaaat hard.

 Well, except for the part where Muge's dark powers are inexhaustible.  In
 theory.  After vanquishing about fifty of the bad guys, Zexis' pilots start
 tapping their feet in impatience.

Inside, Sara is all strapped to <insert fiendish contraption here> by Sayuri,
who tells her (unconvincingly) that her _only_ interest is in saving her.
Sayuri has it that the foolishness of humans requires an absolute ruler to
rein it in.  And conveniently, teh Intarwebz can do just that, now that she
(that is, Muge) has started broadcasting the mother of all worms from the CIC.
And lest we forget about Ranka, Sayuri has her strapped to another <insert
fiendish device here> waiting to be reborn as the DARK IDOL SINGER(tm).  Sara
yells that she won't let Muge lay one filthy finger on Ranka, which apparently
exhausts Muge's patience with Sayuri's last lesbian wish.  Better that Kishimo
use Sara as bait for the intruders, while Ranka gets corrupted by Muge/Sayuri's
tender mercies.

[Pause while you go look for doujin scans of that.]  Back to business though,
as Takeru prepares to risk his life in a desperate attempt to defeat Muge's
lackeys and let Shinobu and co. forge on ahead.  Insofar as Muge stands at the
pyramid of all these dark forces, defeating him is one of Takeru's top
priorities... and no, he doesn't mean to actually _die_, in case Shinobu was
worried.  After the others hurry ahead though, Takeru finds himself alone and
confronted by Metarl... who means to strike the final blow as a twisted sort of
benevolence.

Shinobu gets separated from his teammates when he hears what he thinks is
Sara's voice.  He's not wrong, and comes face to face with Kishimo, who's
holding Sara hostage.  Shinobu does the most sensible thing anyone's pulled
all month and fills Kishimo full of lead with a _machine_gun_, but sadly
Kishimo's been made a cyborg by this point.  Any other guy would die from
Kishimo's counterattack, but as Sara tearfully pledges her love, Shinobu finds
new reserves of strength and rebuffs Kishimo till the rest of the team arrive.

One machine gun may not be enough, but _several_ do the trick.  Finish off with
a rocket launcher strike and Kishimo has _had_ it.  Shinobu will have to get
used to his teammates recognizing him and Sara as lovers, but right now there's
still battle raging.  Alto has joined a "collaborator" and headed toward the
CIC's core.

That would of course be Brela, who vows to do everything including lay down his
life to get Ranka back.  Alto yells at Muge to vacate Sayuri at once, and
Muge gloats that his mind simultaneously dwells in this world and in
cyberspace... much like Grace here.  He's not surprised that all this is
beyond Altos comprehension, but one thing he won't do is hand over the Dark
Idol Singer(tm) now.  Muge hasn't counted on Basara though, who sings at him
loud enough to louse up his plans.  Plus energy canceling out Minus energy or
whatever pseudoscientific gibberish.

Muge tries to grab Ranka and run, but Ranka's pet Ai finally transforms into
a mini-Vajra and starts machine-gunning his ass.  Nothing for it but to retreat
in disgrace, as Ranka tries to convince Alto that Ai isn't like the other
murderous space monsters.  Grace orders Brela to get Ranka out of here and
leave the rest to her.  As the three others flee, Grace can't help but admire
how Ranka's tamed a Vajra already.  Hell, even that Dark Idol Singer(tm) has a
certain ring to it.  Surely this Muge dude has the answers she's been seeking,
like how to take control of the Vajra's network...

Meanwhile, Metarl has sensed Muge's forced retreat, and to his annoyance the
Rose Knight shows up to gloat.  The power of LOVE will always prevail!  The
knight tells Takeru to live on and find a way to defeat the Devil Ring, and
bring peace to the Universe!  That gives Takeru a clue as to who the knight
might be, and with a bit of the knight's power Takeru blasts Metarl something
fierce.  Destroyed utterly?  Maybe, in which case the knight's immediate role
is over.

The knight turns out to be Rose, who's been willingly possessed by Marg's
eternal soul.  Marg's told her that when the Light defeats the power of
Darkness, the Devil Ring will vanish.  That's a bit cryptic, but Takeru vows
to go on fighting anyway.  That's good, because Muge has just accumulated
enough energy to resurrect his proper body, meaning Sayuri is of no further
use.

The Real Slim Muge is human-sized, but with vast rump-shaking action that
Earth WILL is wise to fear.  In Muge's view though, both he and all the
annoying humans need to be messily killed.  Shinobu takes a different view,
and with Takeru and Roze on hand to help, Alto won't even be needed right
now (this lets him go fetch Ranka).  Muge isn't fazed, saying that he's got all
the Earth's power at his disposal and is about to become a true god over all
the universe as a proper apostle of the Black Knowledge.  Ryouma reckons that
Zexis will need that Black Knowledge too to properly fend off these boss
characters, but that sounds somehow wrong to Crow.

Sayuri's unconscious form gets recovered by the 21st Century folks, so the
team can show Muge the full power of love.  And as they sometimes say, "Love
hurts."

 Muge sucks up a decent amount of damage before starting to gloat.  That
 there's a second Dancougar on the scene doesn't faze him one bit; in fact,
 it fills him with glee.  Cause: Aoi has unresolved psychological issues
 stemming from her youth as an orphan, making her the weakest link.  However,
 Muge is surprisingly amateur at these psychic attacks, since Aoi's teammates
 can all chime in to cheer her up.  It turns out that what's really going on
 is that she's a bit shook up over Shinobu ending up with Sara -- but if
 Shinobu can't be her lover, he can still be her role model.

 And Shinobu's always been good at role-modeling ass demolitions.  Aoi
 declares to a shocked Muge that she's more than capable of using her past
 pain as fuel for her inner fires.  She and Shinobu charge forward and
 pull off "Dan-Kuu-Sou-Ga-Ken", the "Twin-Fanged Air-Cleaving Sword" for those
 keeping score at home.  Who knew _that_ was hiding in the works?

 It makes a great photo op for Isabelle, who's managed to get cozy enough with
 Ootsuka to be briefed on the Dancougar pilots' identities.  Ootsuka in fact
 has specifically brought her here so she can broadcast Zexis' valor to the
 world in the brief period before Veda resumes control of the Internet.  This
 is all part of Ootsuka's master anti-Arrows plan: the "Zexis Movement".
 Rather than just laying Arrows' misdeeds bare, this way the public have an
 alternative candidate they can actually root for.

Ootsuka is more than capable of keeping Isabelle safe while the rest of the
team kick Muge's ass.  This is over in no time flat, and Zexis can record
another major win for mankind in the books.  Besides the Dancougar folks,
Basara deserves a lot of the credit for motivating the team, even if he is
kind of a waste of roster slots under normal circumstances.  It would certainly
appear that all the Power of Darkness dudes are now toast, making it case
closed once Alto brings Ranka back.

Alto finds Ranka looking out over the city, hugging her tame Vajra with Brela
by her side.  Ranka asks what originally motivated Alto to want to fly, and he
slowly relates how his mother was always frail by the time he could remember
her.  The two of them would spend hours gazing at the "skies" of their colony,
and on one particular occasion she murmured that she wished she could see the
_real_ sky: endless blue to the horizon, with little fluffy clouds.  To Alto,
born and raised on a colony ship, that sounded like a fairy tale.

Everyone wants their freedom, Ranka supposes.  She tells Alto that she's
started recovering pieces of her lost memory, and as scary as it is to say,
she suspects that today's fiasco may be the fault of her songs.  She's decided
to go to where the Vajra are, if for no other reason than to return Ai to his
own kind.  Alto protests that this is obviously a BAD IDEA, given how their
two species are locked in a life-or-death war, but Ranka's mind is made up and
Brela is more than happy to play enabler.  Ranka earnestly tells Alto that she
was hoping to go with him at her side, telling him she loved him right before
taking off.

Alto gets the thankless task of breaking the news to the rest of Zexis.  Even
Grace herself doesn't know if Ranka's search for her roots is for the best,
but she's got plenty of juicy data from Muge to pore over.  Her plans are now
ready, and she need only wait for the insect queen to appear.  And then it's
Showtime(tm)!

If Ranka's gone to the Vajra, she's probably headed to the Neo Planets --
Frontier recon has concluded that the Vajra nest is likely in that area.
Mishima's stated plan was to use Ranka as the core of an expedition to wipe the
Vajra out once said nest was pinpointed, but that's going to be rather harder
now.  The alternative is a full-scale human assault, but that would require
getting Arrows and White Fang to bury the hatchet... a task that only Zexis
seems capable of.  Many among the military are waiting for something like the
Zexis Movement to galvanize their actions, and with the recovered Sayuri
helping stymie Veda, it all is starting to sound plausible.  And if Arrows
loses support and implodes, the Federation as a whole will become vulnerable
to Zero's final plan.

One. Problem.  Word comes in that Rilina is being removed as queen, presumably
by the Innovators.  This strikes Zero as an absurd move, given the amount of
chaos sure to follow the loss of so charismatic a leader.  Why is Arrows so
eager to slide their own neck into the noose?  Perhaps something to do with
Rilina's replacement: Emperor Charles.  Yikes!!

Charles gets on the mike, and the first words out of his mouth are that not
all men are created equal.  Nor are they raised equally, etc. etc.  Basically,
humans exist to be segregated, which causes the friction and infighting that
powers progress.  Equality, he declares, is the true evil, and no one who
shuns fighting is entitled to even be born into this world!  Let all who hear
fight to the death, to gain or lose it all!  Godbless the Universe!


CHAPTER 49. Zero and Lelouch

In case you were wondering how the current and former head of the Federation
get along, you're about to find out.  Sitting comfortably on his throne in
the Britannian capital of Pendragon, Charles tells Rilina to her face that
she's incapable of shouldering the burdens the current world presents.  She
freely admits that she alone isn't equal to the task, but adds that the world's
future is to be decided by more than any one person.  She expects the hopes
and dreams of the masses to prevail, but Charles is in way too much of a hurry
for that.  He declares that _he_ alone can change the world, and Rilina asks
if he now styles him a dictator.  He makes no reply, so she demands further
to know what he's done to Lelouch and Nanaly.

Charles begins to get irritated at this point, but Lady Une conveniently shows
up to insist nicely that Rilina go and rest.  Scowling alarmingly, Rilina snaps
on her way out that the Britannian emperor would do well to remember that this
world wants peace, not war.  Once she's out of earshot, Charles muses that
Rilina is one entertaining girl, and all the more for not cowering in his
presence.  Still, her ideals won't wash in this world of lies.

Charles' next annoying guest is Ribbons, whose favor-currying Charles takes as
a sign that the Black Knowledge has still eluded his grasp.  Ribbons allows
that there've been a few "difficulties", and Charles scoffs that a task like
merely ruling the world could be called "difficult".  Ribbons smirks faintly
and says that ruling such an assemblage of idiots is beyond him, which doesn't
make him foisting the Federation off on Charles sound all that good.  Charles
warns that putting him in charge will make the world _more_ chaotic, not less,
but Ribbons sounds fine with playing guide to those who fell through the
cracks in Charles' announced worldview.  Charles clearly thinks Ribbons is an
idiot who doesn't know how the world should be led, and Ribbons has much the
same view of any human.  But once Charles fails spectacularly, and he will,
Ribbons plans to swoop in and fix things with Grace's system.  He takes his
leave, to watch the chaotic world from the sea of stars (and maybe get some
payback on Zexis in the process).

Once _Ribbons_ is out of earshot, Charles says that Ribbons is _not_ going to
get his way.  For instance, _Charles_ knows all about Ioria's plans and thinks
himself quite capable of carrying them out.... in his own way!

Meanwhile, Zero is frantic over how to save Nanaly.  Charles is immortal _and_
immune to Geassing, and not likely to respond favorably to hostage demands
over Cornelia.  What the hell to do?  C.C. doesn't know how Charles managed to
escape C-Space, but observes that his power seems to have exceeded even her
imagination.  Faced with no other option, Lelouch decides to use his last
resort and pulls out his celphone.

He phones Suzaku, who after a moment asks if indeed Lelouch is Zero.  Zero
admits it, telling Suzaku that Charles is holding Nanaly hostage to use against
him.  While he doesn't expect Suzaku to honor any of his requests, even one to
help Nanaly, he's asking anyway for lack of anyone else to turn to.  After a
moment, Suzaku agrees to protect Nanaly... IF Zero comes alone to Area Eleven,
to the Kururugi Shrine.  Lelouch agrees...

Meanwhile, word spreads among the pilots that Arrows and the Knights of the
Round are massing in Area Eleven, spurred on by the worldwide fighting keyed
by Charles' broadcast.  Arrows' swift move to crush remaining dissenters is the
exact opposite of Rilina's Absolute Pacifism, though it seems that the
Innovators have actually withdrawn from active governance.  The resolute,
unhesitating show of massive force has all the earmarks of the Britannian
emperor.  The real problem is that the huddled masses still need _a_ leader,
and the very chaos Charles has provoked is ironically bringing those afflicted
closer into his fold.  Rilina may have been a constitutional monarch, but
Charles will soon become an absolute monarch at the rate things are going.

Hiiro says that it's obvious what Zexis needs to be doing, and it's _not_
playing hide-and-seek with the missing Rilina.  It seems that Charles isn't the
only one without hesitation in these parts.  Esther needs a bit of cluing in,
so Hiiro tells her they're going to strike down anyone who brings warfare
to the people.

Charles probably means to make an example out of the area that spawned the
Black Knights, despite all the peaceful progress the resistance movements there
have made by working _with_ Nanaly.  They're still resistance movements though,
and Charles has a poor track record with tolerating such things.  So to Area
Eleven Zexis will go, and conveniently enough Zero has headed there "ahead" of
the team, to get things ready for battle.  AND he's done so alone, leaving
even C.C. behind.  Crow is sure the hyper-cautious Zero will be just fine,
but Karen knows that Lelouch must be having fits over Charles' resurgence.  The
question is, what does he mean to do about it?

Lelouch hasn't seen the Kururugi Shrine in eight years, since he and Nanaly
were taken in by then-prime minister Genbu.  That's where Lelouch met Suzaku,
possibly the world's most stubborn individual -- and Lelouch's first real
friend because of it.  It's that friendship Lelouch is hoping will carry the
day... assuming Suzaku can accept Lelouch.  Lelouch can only wait and hope he
doesn't have to use his "insurance" instead.

Suzaku shows up and starts the conversation on a suitably acerbic note.  He's
mildly, ironically impressed that Lelouch had the guts to show his face in
front of Suzaku again.  Suzaku doesn't sound much inclined to place any stock
in any promise Lelouch might make, so Lelouch asks why Suzaku, too, has come
alone.  Suzaku says he's tired of lying, having already lied to Nanaly just as
Lelouch has.  He blames Lelouch for betraying not just him, but Nanaly, the
student council, and even Euphy.

He asks if Lelouch Geassed Euphy, and one thing Lelouch _never_ does is make
excuses for the consequences of his actions... even when excuses might be
justified.  Lelouch says coldly (and precisely) that it was his Geass, and his
order, that led to Euphy slaughtering the Japanese.  He explains it by
claiming that the Special Administrative District would have led to the Black
Knights' collapse, attempting to accept the blame for everything in return for
holding Nanaly blameless.

Suzaku finds mention of Nanaly exceedingly unfair, but Lelouch then gets down
on his hands and knees to beg Suzaku's pardon.  This is the first time in his
whole life he's ever bowed his head to another, saying he doesn't even need or
want his Geass power if Suzaku will see to it that Nanaly stays safe.  Suzaku
yells that if Lelouch is that sorry, he should use his power to bring Euphy
back to life THIS INSTANT.  If he's that sorry, let him use his evil to bring
good to the world, THIS INSTANT!  Isn't he Zero, maker of Miracles?!

Lelouch protests that those miracles were all just smoke and mirrors, that
"Zero" is just a mask to hide behind while lying.  So what?!, snaps Suzaku: if
lying is what it takes, then he should lie the rest of the way to the truth!
Lelouch murmurs that there's no way to repair the mistakes of the past, and
Suzaku demands to know why Lelouch Geassed him "to live" back on Kamine-jima.
Does he have any idea how much that Geass has perverted Suzaku's ability to
live as he sees fit?

Lelouch says that he simply wanted to survive.  And as for why he saved Suzaku
when he was to be executed for murdering Clovis, Lelouch claims it was all to
gain the Japanese's trust.  Saving the students from the terrorists at Mt.
Fuji was a propaganda move for the Black Knights.  Etc. etc.  The thing is
though, Suzaku recognizes the look in Lelouch's eyes -- the look of someone who
would rather be punished than to divulge the truth.  Suzaku knows that feeling
well, as it's what drove him to enter the Britannian army in the first place.

He tells Lelouch that there's but one way for him to atone for his sins: to
make his lies reality.  Since he's lied and claimed to be an Ally of Justice,
he must now become one for real.  In Suzaku's view, that means making Zexis
cease its resistance, irrespective of the fact that Zexis is far from Lelouch's
personal plaything.  If he does, if he can stop the fighting, Suzaku will
protect Nanaly by reforming the Federation from within... with Lelouch by his
side.

Lelouch is in the process of agreeing when Schneizer's agent Kanon emerges from
hiding.  She's well aware of Lelouch's secret identity, and orders Guilford to
arrest him on the spot.  It all looks like Suzaku meant to sell Lelouch to his
enemies from the beginning, and circumstances proceed too fast for Suzaku to
set the record straight.  Kanon thinks that this is her chance to take Zexis
down, and Zero yells in fury that Suzaku's betrayed him.

Meanwhile, the other Knights of the Round are all assembled, and clearly not
the best of buds either.  Luciano isn't thrilled that Charles would supposedly
send the "traitor" Suzaku on a special mission for the crown, but there's
little time for them to bicker as Zexis show up.  Toudou is somewhat dismayed
to see the Knight of One on hand, and Ougi knows that this will be effectively
the final battle versus old Britannia: win here and he and "Chigusa" can live
together in peace.  Zero is still absent, and C.C. tells Karen privately that
she's got no choice but to honor his wish to not follow him.

Nanaly hears all this with considerable anxiety from the castle.  Roemeyer
tells her that Schneizer is off on some crucial mission with Suzaku...
something or other to do with Zero.  Bismark, the Knight of One, orders all the
loyal troops to strike down the traitorous Zexis and prove their fealty once
and for all.  Meanwhile Alto is gritting his teeth and putting concerns about
Ranka aside for now.  Crow can only hope that when Zero shows up, he'll have
some magical way of turning the tables as a souvenir...

 As the battle rages on, Lelouch has been taken to a car, where his brother
 is waiting to chat in a private little teleconference.  Schneizer expresses
 sorrow that the royal family's serial killer is one of its own; nevertheless,
 he reckons he can make amends with Charles enough to at least save
 Lelouch's life.  Lelouch snaps back that he's opted not to believe in people
 anymore... not after having his friendship betrayed.

 Guilford clucks his tongue at this impudence toward a high noble, but
 Lelouch informs Guilford that he's _his_ knight now.  He orders Guilford to
 set him free, making Suzaku wonder what the hell is going on -- when did
 Lelouch have a chance to use his Geass?  Long before this little meeting,
 Lelouch announces: a little insurance in case _someone_ betrayed him!
 As Guilford spirits him away (with Suzaku screaming his name), Lelouch has
 a moment of sorrow for the loss of his first, and last, friend.  The Zexis
 troops notice the upheaval from a distance, and Karen clings to the belief
 that Zero will return if she keeps up the fight on her side.

 Zero rushes back to his mech and takes the field, announcing to Zexis that
 his plan has failed and that a frontal assault is the only option left.  Not
 something you'd hear Zero say often.  He tells Jeremiah and Rolo to help out,
 as there's no turning back now.  Why "Orange" is piloting the giant, umm,
 orange-colored, orange-shaped mech is anyone's guess, though Lakshata at
 least knows that it's called the "Knight Giga-Fortress".  Apparently Jeremiah
 now claims "Orange" as a token of fealty to his lord, which is good enough
 for the other Zexis pilots.

 As expected, Suzaku takes the field too.  Schneizer and his people have
 suspected something fishy going on between Suzaku and Zero for some time,
 and the transcript of his little chat with Lelouch has brought everything
 into focus.  Schneizer "apologizes" to Suzaku for mistrusting him, and
 Kanon adds that though she can't punish a Knight of the Rounds, she really
 wishes Suzaku had saved everyone the trouble and just come clean at the
 outset.

 It's now up to him to find a way to make amends for what he's done, and
 break these chains of love^Wsadness.  Schneizer has even shown up on the
 battlefield "in person" (really, in his flagship), indicating how sure he is
 of victory.  Such hubris, thinks Zero, must be punished _severely_ up the
 ass.  He blames himself for trying to count on emotion, and now believes
 that he's got to be totally dispassionate if he's to have any hope of saving
 Nanaly.

 Sayoko's been sent into the palace, and Lelouch is sure that a chance will
 come to extract Nanaly safely during the battle.  Lelouch calls to all the
 Zexis units to follow him and show the Britannian emperor their might.  That
 strikes Suzaku as arrogant, but the fact is that the vaunted Knights of the
 Round don't stand a chance in hell versus the death brigade that is Zexis.
 Bismark, vaunted Knight of One, hies him hence to warn Charles of the
 approaching danger, while Luciano simply loses his psychopathic life -- that
 he holds most precious.

 Anya has a more interesting reaction: something unknown within her stirs at
 the sight of Zero.  What could it be?  The real prize is Suzaku though,
 infuriated beyond measure to be forced to retreat in Zero's sight.  He's got
 good reason to do so though: Schneizer means to defeat Zero with a
 F.L.E.I.J.A., fired by none other than Suzaku himself.  Of course, that
 would also wipe out most of the Tokyo Settlement, but Nina tells him that
 most of the civilians have been evacuated anyway.  Suzaku growls that that's
 not the point, but has little choice but to retreat anyway.  Lelouch vows to
 complete their duel once he's rescued Nanaly.

 Schneizer doesn't fare any better, though it seems he half-expected to lose
 anyway.  At this rate they'll have to call for reinforcements, though
 Schneizer tells Kanon that there's no way Charles himself will ever take the
 field.  Or does she think that Charles cares anything for "today"?  In any
 case, Schneizer holds all the trump cards, and it's just a matter of figuring
 out when and where to play them.  Zero isn't happy to have him on the loose
 now that Schneizer knows his identity, but the top priority is Nanaly.

Once all the guards are gone, Sayoko finds Nanaly being loaded onto a shuttle.
Zero orders Jeremiah and Rolo to keep the shuttle from taking off, and Rolo is
happy to comply in the interest of _killing_ Nanaly and thereby securing (he
thinks) his place in Zero's affections.  Suzaku then retakes the field,
figuring he's got to _make_ Zero atone for his sins.  He warns Zero that he's
equipped with UBER-strategic weapon, and orders everyone to cease fighting.
It's unclear that a KMF could even carry such a thing, but assuming it could,
is Britannia prepared to actually sacrifice Tokyo to stop Zexis?  Zero however
is done listening to Suzaku, and orders Karen to strike Suzaku down.

This time Karen has the upper hand, and it becomes rapidly clear that this
duel can only end with someone actually dying.  Crow orders the rest of Zexis
not to interfere: this is the path that all of them have voluntarily chosen to
walk!  Suzaku is _really_ reluctant to withdraw to safety, despite his mech's
disadvantage, and no amount of calling him a dumbass by Lloyd and Cecil will
change that.  Karen tells him that she bears him no personal ill will... but
any enemy of Zero's is an enemy of hers!

Nina screams at him to use the F.L.E.I.J.A., the whole point of which was to
get revenge for Euphy's death.  He counters that its value is as a threat:
were he to actually _fire_ it the consequences would be too dreadful to
imagine.  He prepares for his own death as Karen bids him farewell, prepared to
pay the price himself for what he's done... but then the old Geass kicks in,
and his body decides on its own to live to fight another day.  He reflexively
fires the projectile secreted at his waist.

Lakshata is aghast that Britannia has finally completed the F.L.E.I.J.A., a
limited-range nuclear weapon!  Sumeragi yells for everyone to get as far away
as possible, and Lelouch rushes to try to save Nanaly... only to have Guilford
(still convinced Lelouch is his mistress Cornelia) forcibly haul him to
safety.  He can only watch helpless as everything dissolves into light.

At least the Ptolemy-2 got far enough away.  The aftermath is dramatic:
everything within the F.L.E.I.J.A.'s radius has been completely obliterated.
The Tokyo Settlement is done for.  All Zexis members are accounted for, except
for C.C., and Zero has returned to the blast zone...

Zero asks Rolo where Nanaly is, saying that he can't contact her, or Sayoko,
or C.C.  Rolo tries to tell him that they weren't in time, and all vanished in
the light, but Lelouch brushes this off -- all he wants to do is talk with
Nanaly.  Rolo gets more direct, saying that Nanaly is dead, and again Lelouch
tells him to stop lying.  Just a moment, just an instant of talking with her
will do...

Elsewhere nearby, Suzaku gets to survey what he's done.  Jeremiah was nearby
and spotted him, and has come to chat (no hostilities intended).  He means to
thank Suzaku for saving him back when, and smiles ironically at the fate that
seems determined to make them enemies.  He takes his leave to search for
Nanaly, though Suzaku is pretty sure Nanaly's been atomized.  Not far away,
another person is regretting getting such good grades in theoretical physics.
There's nothing Suzaku can say to comfort Nina of course, and with nothing
else to do, he breaks into maniacal laughter, which echoes through the vast,
spherical crater...

How does all this strike Diethart?  Awesomely.  He thinks that broadcasting
this will bring about a whole new type of chaos in the world, one ordained by
God himself.  His rantings are disrupted when he discovers Cornelia, in the
process of escaping in all the chaos.  Diethart calls for the guards to aim for
her legs, meaning to use her to further advantage, but this gets back-burnered
because of a ship approaching the Ikaruga.  It's Schneizer, come with a
peaceful request of parlay with Zexis.  Holy crap!

Lelouch has returned to his room by this point, and the _last_ thing he needs
now is Rolo trying to play sibling to him.  Hasn't he figured out yet that
Lelouch hates him?  He yells at Rolo to get out and never show his face before
him again.  Rolo leaves, and almost immediately Karen comes in instead.
Toudou and the others are waiting for him, and she promises to stay by his
side until he return to Zero-hood.  But what can he do with Nanaly and even
C.C. gone?

Since Zero is keeping himself incommunicado, the other Zexis commanders have
no choice but to go through with this conference with Schneizer without him.
Schneizer has requested a chance to address as many Zexis folks as possible...
Cornelia meanwhile has been filling Schneizer in on everything she's learned
about the Geass Order, giving Schneizer all the ammunitions he needs for the
conference.

Schneizer is certainly very well informed about who Zexis' pilots are, though
Roger has done this enough to be instinctively distrustful of Schneizer's
bon homme.  Schneizer isn't surprised that Zero is absent, noting that he's
always been the type to shun others' counsel and keep them at arms' length.
Quite familiar with Zero, eh, asks Sumeragi.  Sure, given that he's Schneizer
and Cornelia's brother.  Indeed: Zero is none other than Britannia's eleventh
prince, Lelouch vi Britannia, the man "most loved, and most feared" by
Schneizer.

This provokes bewilderment among many of the pilots, though nobody on hand
can deny the claim either.  Diethart isn't swayed by the accusation, noting
that "Zero" has always been judgable by his miraculous results and not by his
identity.  But what, asks Schneizer, if those miracles were all false?  Zero,
he says, can issue hypnotic commands via an ability called "Geass".  Where's
the proof?  With Viletta, from whom Ougi has heard everything.  Ougi asserts
that Zero's been deceiving them all this time... using them as pawns!

..None of which changes, Diethart asserts, the results that Zero has achieved.
If this so-called "Geass" actually exists, it sounds like an extremely useful
weapon.  Maybe if it was only pointed at the bad guys, but there's the
possibility it's been used on Zexis too.  At least, Cornelia is quite convinced
that Zero used it on Euphemia to cause the slaughter of the Japanese... and
Schneizer has the audio recording of Lelouch's conversation with Suzaku as
Lelouch's admission of guilt.

It starts to become clear why many of the people near Zero have acted as they
did, and Roger can sense the chain of doubt leading all the pilots toward
the conclusion Schneizer desires.  Sumeragi too knows what's going on here:
Schneizer wanted as many Zexis pilots as possible to deepen the overall sense
of hysteria.  Hiiro and Kiriko remain silent as Schneizer asks to have Zero
handed over to him.

Karen then walks in with Zero, and Zero realizes almost immediately that
Schneizer is trying to sever his ties with Zexis.  NOW Roger intervenes before
Tamashiro and the others do something rash.  What proof, he asks, is there
that Zero has actually _misled_ Zexis?  Sure he's kept secrets, but it's hardly
fair to turn against a teammate without hearing their side of the story.  That,
adds Sumeragi, has always been Zexis' policy.  Perhaps Zero's very identity
constitutes a betrayal to the Black Knights, but she for one would like to
know what reason drove him to kill his own brother in the interest of battling
his own homeland.  Hiiro observes that Zero is neither just, nor evil... and
everyone knows that Hiiro's seen lots through the Zero System.  Nor does anyone
doubt that Hiiro will kill Zero if he ever believes he's truly turned to the
dark side.  Besides, notes Kiriko: everyone in Zexis is at least partially in
Zero's debt.

Crow, a self-confessed liar, is prepared to hear Zero out.  And Simon
recalls Kamina's words, that Zero is truly prepared to risk his life in battle.
The question is, for what?  The rest of the team will leave the choice up to
Ougi, de facto second-in-command of the Black Knights, whether to believe in
Zero or not.

 [This whole business of having a choice comes about only if you've garnered
 enough Zero Points.  If you decide to NOT believe in Zero, the following
 happens.]

Ougi tells Zero that he can't forgive him, and Toudou orders the Black Knights
to surround him.  Diethart pulls out a camcorder, saying that they will tell
stories about Zero for generations, despite the fact that he will have died
with his revolution half done.  Mind you, Diethart _had_ wanted to stick with
him to the end, but at least he can post the execution footage to FaceTube.
Karen doesn't want to leave Zero's side even as the Black Knights prepare to
fire, pleading with Lelouch to tell her what she was to him.

Lelouch is now in "check" thanks to Schneizer, who he knows won't have left
him any escape routes.  That leaves only one option: self-sacrifice!  He
grandly removes his mask, sniggering at the team for taking this long to
figure it out.  With almost too much stereotypicality he claims that they all
were his pawns... especially Karen, who was of great use in this game.  She
sadly nods and bids him farewell, but as she turns to walk off, he murmurs
gravely at her to keep herself alive.

But just then the Shinkirou breaks in, with Rolo at the controls.  He gives
Zero a chance to escape with his Geass, appearing to simply vanish before
the eyes of the Zexis pilots.  As the others try to rush off in pursuit, Karen
can only gape and ponder what Lelouch told her.

Eluding a bunch of people with machine guns is one thing.  Eluding an array
of mecha spread far and wide is quite another, even with the Shinkirou's
Absolute Defensive Zone... which, as Rolo finds out, is _really_ hard to
operate.  Lelouch is like totally a genius and stuff!  Lelouch protests that
he's got no reason left to live, but Rolo goes on using his Geass on a grand
scale to keep them on the path to freedom... even as the strain on his heart
mounts.  Rolo explains his actions by saying that he'd been someone's tool for
so long that it felt wonderful to have an actual family... even if it was
fake.  The memories of their time together are what finally made him human!
What he's doing now isn't for anyone else's sake but his own!

As Rolo's heart gives out, he tells Lelouch that he saved him because he knows
he's a liar.  All that stuff about hating him had to be a lie, right!  Seeing
that Rolo is beyond aid, Lelouch agrees, having to hand it to his brother for
figuring him out.  Rolo smiles and says that he's always known what his
brother is thinking.  As he slumps lifeless to the ground, Lelouch agrees
with one thing: Rolo's "brother" is indeed a liar.  That doesn't make any of
this easier to take, of course: Lelouch has lost Nanaly, C.C., the Black
Knights, and now Zexis.  Maybe this was the only logical outcome.  Maybe he
had this coming.  But if so, that's all the more reason to go on, to use the
life that Rolo saved to do what must be done.  And that is to take his father
Charles Ji Britannia to hell with him!!

 [If however you try believing in Zero, the following happens.]

Ougi is clearly conflicted, but he reminds the team that he's wanted to
believe in Zero ever since _he_ asked him to be the Black Knights' leader.
And despite the mess at the end of the Battle of Tokyo, Ougi doesn't want to
believe that all the successes they _have_ enjoyed together are lies.  He
means to talk this all over with Zero until he's satisfied, and if that doesn't
work, he promises he'll defeat Zero himself!  It's the least he can do as the
first person to ever give Zero his trust.  F.S. asks Schneizer to leave, and
Schneizer warns that Zexis will surely regret this decision.  Roger observes
that Schneizer seems to have not expected this... but there's a lot Schneizer
doesn't expect that makes Zexis strong.

Viletta tells Cornelia that she'll stay here, with her man -- obeying an
emotion with which Cornelia herself isn't yet familiar.  Viletta admits to
being pretty new at it herself, and all Cornelia can tell her (ironically) is
that there's more to life than king and court.  Schneizer strides out, telling
Zexis that their true battle has just officially begun.

Expression grim, Lelouch removes his mask in view of the team, tossing it
away as unnecessary now.  Wufei wants to hear the whole truth, and Hiiro tells
Zero that it's his obligation to come clean.  Zero warns that it's a very
long story, and Crow all but brings the popcorn in anticipation.  Lelouch
ponders the loss of his beloved Nanaly, and C.C., AND Suzaku, and even the mask
that protected him.  What else has he to lose now?  Go to Chapter 50B.


CHAPTER 50A. The Emperor Deposed

C.C. comes to near the F.L.E.I.J.A. crater, finding Anya watching over her.
It's not Anya at the controls though, but someone else inside her mind -- and
that someone wants to know why C.C. sealed her own Code rather than let Charles
grant her wish to die.  C.C. recognizes the speaker, telling her that she's
uncertain and even a bit shocked herself why she did it.  Anya's passenger
explains that she saved C.C. from total evaporation (which even C.C. might find
a _tad_ inconvenient) and announces that they're going back to Charles to
settle things once and for all.  C.C. sniffs that this woman is the only one
who's ever been this pushy with her, and the woman smirks that it's her way
of saying thanks for granting her her Geass.  C.C. points out that the woman
never kept up her side of the bargain, but isn't that all the more reason to
go along with her now?  C.C. notes that the woman, none other than Marianne
"The Flash", must be really worried about Lelouch to go to this extent, though
both of them have to admit that Marianne doesn't exactly seem like the world's
most ideal mother...

At Diethart's recommendation, the word has been put out to all the Black
Knights' allies that Zero has been killed in battle -- making it easier to
brand Zero an imposter and dispose of him if/when he resurfaces.  It seems
Diethart's obsession has shifted to Schneizer, and he accompanied him when he
left Zexis.  Viletta however is staying with her man, no longer aligned with
any specific force...much like Margret.  Love knows no borders, is Crow's view,
and as long as Ougi calls Viletta by her name and knocks off the "Chigusa"
business, all will be well.

Of course, "all" excludes the fact that Zero himself is missing.  Ougi will
have a very hard choice to make once Zero is found, but Hiiro proclaims that
he'll go kill Zero himself when the time comes.  He admits to the team that
he's known Zero's identity for some time now, but judged that that identity --
and the existence of the Geass -- were not in and of themselves any sort of
betrayal.  If anything, the problem is how the rest of the team did what
Schneizer wanted them to do.  The other Black Knights still reserve the right
to be butthurt over the whole thing, but Karen is in a much more complex
position as the closest thing Zero had to a real friend among them.  Crow tells
her that his gut says Zero will appear before them again -- though whether for
revenge or some other purpose even he can't say.

One thing Hiiro will _not_ do is divulge what the Zero System revealed of
Zero's future.  That's okay with Karen, who doesn't believe that a machine
could know the future anyway and who still thinks there's a chance to talk
things through with Zero.  If that talking fails is where Hiiro plans to come
in, though it looks like he might have to fight Wufei for the chance.

Now _until_ Zero resurfaces, the most pressing problem is the autocratic crap
Charles is pulling.  He's been quite successful in stamping out most of the
remaining anti-Federation resistance groups who had come to the peace table
Rilina had set -- picking up where Britannia left off when Insalaum attacked.
Interestingly, there have been odd twists in the Britannian strategy, such that
world balance has been perilously maintained.  For example, why invade only
_one_ of the Japans and then stop?  Even this most recent purge has been more
a show of force than of high-probability military theory.  It's not even
comprehensible as set-up for a sounder future government.

In any event, Charles' evil must be struck down, and if it's true that he's
in direct command of the military, that gives Zexis an official excuse to
murderize his ass... after going through the motions of asking what he's really
up to, of course.  Bump him off, put Rilina back on the throne, and world
peace should return so long as those pesky Innovators stay out of it.  But
when to strike at Charles?  Tamashiro thinks the team should just ask Schneizer
for help, since he seemed so cooperative just now.  He probably just wants to
supplant his father on the throne or some shit, right?

Tamashiro has always been an idiot, and this latest bad idea earns him Death
Glares from all the pilots with functioning gray matter in the room.  Schneizer
is probably a far bigger threat than Zero, in point of fact.  Just then
info comes in that Charles is headed to Kamine-jima alone, which sounds like
the perfect time to strike.  Ahh, but where did the info come from -- Schneizer
himself?  Apparently not, though precisely who _did_ send it is impossible to
pin down.  Karen figures that that must mean it came from Lelouch...

Back at the Britannian embassy, Cornelia hears of the Tokyo Settlement's
destruction.  Schneizer says that it's not bad news: at least now the world
knows the might of the Federation Army.  Thanks to Guilford for firing the
thing, eh?  Cornelia sure knows how to pick her knights!  Cornelia is shocked
to hear that Guilford would do that, and with good reason -- Suzaku is
standing right there, and points out that _he_ is the one who fired it and
_he_ is entitled to the honor that entails.  After all, he's out for the
Knight of One job.  He presumes that Schneizer is just trying to avoid
disgracing Guilford, who's gone missing ever since succumbing to Zero's Geass.
Schneizer tells him to leave off, but Suzaku continues that his previous
insistence on means rather than ends was mere sophistry.  Or will Schneizer
himself confer the Knight of One title on him?

Cornelia tells him that that's going to far, and Lloyd adds that the only one
able to grant said title is the emperor.  In short, a coup is needed: and
Schneizer "reluctantly" agrees to be at its head.  The emperor, you see, has
characterized everything from the battle with Zexis to the chaos gripping the
world as "trivia".  Cornelia must know how Charles is prone to vacating the
throne in favor of his research, treating war and governance as mere games.
No man with such detachment from the world is fit to be emperor, are they?

Suzaku pledges his loyalty as Knight to Schneizer, and asks to be given the
order to assassinate Charles.  Gino tries to protest, but Suzaku says that if
the only thing he's good at is killing, he'd rather just own up to it and do
things right.  What they all need now is an End!

Charles takes most of the remaining Geass Order priests with him to
Kamine-jima, which they've pinpointed as the most suitable spot for what will
come next.  Their fellows are scattered across the world to the other ruins,
all of which will be brought online at once as part of the Sword of Akasha.
Apparently Kamine-jima's ruins are old and busted compared to Pendragon's
new hotness model, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Zexis show up at this point, with Roger stepping to the mic to ask Charles
why he gotta be all dictatorial.  Charles snorts that he can't leave
governance of the world up to the common mobs, and refuses Roger's offer to
justify his own actions that are plunging the world into war.  He orders his
forces to open fire instead, dispatching a bunch of Mobile Dolls because that's
just the way he rolls.  He then tells Zexis that he's held them in high
regard, that if the world was wholly populated with strong folk like them, it
might actually be going places.  Unfortunately the world is _actually_ filled
with weaksauce mo-fos, and while weakness is not a crime _per_se_, Charles will
_not_ stand for that weakness twisting the path of mankind.

The ultimate expression of that weakness is the lies people tell one another.
He says that Zexis' desire to avoid battle, despite their strength, is the
sort of arrogance only the strong can afford.  But in the world he means to
create, there will be no more notion of "strong" or "weak" -- and that's what
this battle is really about.  Esther doesn't follow that all, so Charles uses
small words so she'll understand: battle is a means to make people realize how
stoopid they are!  That's why the world can now be changed, as the battle
Ragnarok will end the reign of the old gods!

Something similar to Quakes begin to manifest here and at several other sites
around the world.  Lakshata has no clue what this portends, but if the emperor
has come with power, Zexis' only real answer will be in kind.  Charles isn't
thrilled that Zexis would keep opposing him, claiming to have planned to leave
the new world in their care.  Of course, the entire meaning structure of the
new world will be a tad different...

Charles heads for the same cave where Schneizer was screwing around before,
and where Lelouch and Suzaku had their fateful duel.  What the hell, Karen
wonders, is so special about that place?  To find out, Charles will have to
be defeated -- and that means taking out Bismark and the goon squad.

 Bismark may have the power to see the future, but seems to lack the ability
 to _avoid_ it when it comes to trounce him between the eyes.  when his mech
 is disabled, Charles gives him a reward for his years of service -- he allows
 him to retreat instead of laying down his life here, so that he may witness
 the new world arrive.

 Lelouch turns up on turn 2, announcing himself as the discarded son of
 Queen Marianne, and Zero, the Man Who's Lost Everything(tm).  Charles points
 out that shooting him down here won't solve anything, but Lelouch is
 determined to try anyway.  Lelouch makes no answer to Zexis' hailing, but
 privately appreciates it when Hiiro tells his teammates to concentrate on
 Charles first.  Lelouch is hoping that Zexis can take out all Charles'
 companions, which will give him the chance he needs.

 Charles fails to comprehend why his son would fight him, both of them
 knowing that Charles is undefeatable.  It's as though Lelouch has progressed
 not one step since his childish temper tantrum in the throne room all those
 years ago.  Lelouch counters that his only motivation back then was vengeance
 for his mother.  But he's got a wider perspective now, and far more people
 whose lives depend on his actions.  Charles calls that an outright lie, and
 snorts that he can expect nothing from a liar.  Perhaps Charles is right
 about him, but that doesn't change Lelouch's obligation to strike him down.

 Charles manages to eject from his flagship before it explodes, hastening his
 way to the cave.  He commends Zexis on how kick-ass they are, reckoning that
 they might have actually been able to defeat him once.  But it's too late
 for that now, and Zexis and Lelouch are about to witness the Ragnarok
 Connection in action!

 More Britannian reinforcements arrive, and there's no way for Zexis to keep
 Charles from entering the cave.  On the other hand, nobody is left to
 directly protect the guy either, and that's all Lelouch needs...

Waiting for Charles inside the cave is Suzaku, who once captured Lelouch on
this very spot.  He means to slay Charles now, not for Schneizer's sake, but
for his own.  He thanks Charles for the honors he's granted him, but says that
Charles has committed two unpardonable sins -- the first of which being his
abandonment of a king's rightful obligation to govern.  The second is Charles
soiling his hands with Geasses, though Charles differs on whether that's
actually a sin.  Suzaku figures that Geasses bring out the worst in people,
using Euphy's death as an example: Charles had enough information to prevent
it if he chose.  Suzaku draws his sword, saying that within it are Lelouch
and Nanaly's despair, but unfortunately for him time is, as they say, "up".
Either a Code or a Geass is needed to pass through the door next to Charles,
and Suzaku has neither.

No sooner does Charles vanish than Lelouch walks up, telling Suzaku to stand
aside.  He means to follow Charles and to never return, claiming that Charles'
score is his alone to settle.  See, Charles _thought_ his duel was with God,
but Lelouch sets the record straight when he follows Charles inside.  Zexis
gave him shot at Charles solo, and he means to make the most of it.  But how,
when neither bullet nor blade nor Geass can affect Charles?  Well for starters,
Lelouch has to thank Charles for showing him the inside of this place, which
gave him the hint of how to win.

His plan is simple enough: destroy the entrance with time-bombs, sealing both
Charles and himself, and all Geasses, inside for all time.  No longer will
Charles be able to affect the outside world!  He tells Charles it's time to
start suffering in this eternal prison, but a strange surprise then appears:
Zexis!  Apparently their Stigma allows them to enter, which is good because
Eim can also enter at Charles' bidding.  Zexis apparently didn't come of their
own volition, but got dragged in by the Ragnarok Connection starting.  Note
that not just the ZEUTH folks came: Eim tells them that _all_ of the Zexis
members seem to have been Stigmatized by now... probably part of the reason
why Crow Brust has Awakened.

He intends to see that Charles has the time to finish the Ceremony, and Charles
doesn't exactly sound grateful when he says that Eim's usefulness is over.
Nor does he understand why Eim would bid him "good luck", given that Eim is
about the most opposite being from what Charles has planned possible.  Actually
that difference is precisely what's got Eim interested -- that and the fact
that the fate of a _single_ world is of trivial account to him.

Lelouch demands to know why Charles is in league with Eim, and Charles says
it's all thanks to his Code, and the Black Knowledge it's imparted to him.
Eim seems to be in a talkative mood, since he actually gives Crow a sort of
straight answer to the question of precisely what the Black Knowledge is.  It's
a record of all phenomena in the galaxy, both past and future -- a fragment,
as it were, of a Higher Power.  Just like the Spheres are.  Unfortunately,
he who acquires such power also acquires despair and suffering, though _why_
that should be he won't say.

He won't stay to battle Zexis here in person, saying that _if_ they can break
free he'll take them on later... at a time when his powers will be at their
peak!  As he vanishes, Crow tells Margret to not worry about pursuing: all that
bit about the Black Knowledge was just a ploy to aggravate Zexis.  Better data
can be had from Charles, and _that_ means taking out all his protection.  Hiiro
tells Zero to hang on until they can reach him, but Zero has more pressing
questions for Charles: Who was it really who killed his mother, and why did
Charles not protect her?

 As Zexis slugs it out with Charles' hired goon squad, Zero repeats his
 question.  Charles finds it ironic that such a pathological liar would seek
 the truth, and tells Lelouch that he's no different from that Eim dude.
 Lelouch admits to lying, not only about his name and his past, but about the
 true contents of his heart.  Of course he did: how else would one converse
 with others, found a community -- a country, a _people_ -- with them?  All
 men measure out lies: to their family, their friends, their society in turn.

 How can this be a crime, when the definition of the truth is itself in doubt?
 And has Charles himself not hid behind the false mask of "emperor"?  Who can
 take a single step without that a Persona is involved?  Charles disputes
 this, saying that Personas shall be cast aside the moment people realize that
 lies are futile in Eternity.  Mutual understanding will quiet war, Charles
 declares; Lelouch isn't impressed by this typical metaphysical platitude.
 Then again, there are plenty of people who act as though the ideal really
 exists, including one Ioria Schoenberg.  Oh, and by the way, the Ragnarok
 Connection is going to actually make it happen, but ripping away everyone's
 masks to reveal the truth.  But before that happens, there's someone
 Charles wants Lelouch to meet.

 That would be Marianne, no mere illusion, who is able to manifest inside the
 special space inside the Sword of Akasha.  Charles proceeds to answer
 Lelouch's question, hearkening back half a century to a time when the royal
 family was in an all-out war for succession to the throne.  Assassination
 and betrayal were daily occurrences: a toxic stew of lies that claimed his
 own mother.  He and his brother V.V. hated the world, and grieved for it, and
 swore that they would create a world without lies -- a dream undimmed by
 the Breaking.

 Marianne and C.C. concurred with that pledge, but V.V. himself abandoned it.
 Indeed, it is he who killed Marianne, enraged at the extent of the
 understanding she and Charles shared... and terrified of being left alone
 in the unaging, undying body he received his Code in.  Though V.V. managed to
 kill Marianne's body, her spirit lived on thanks to her Geass -- a very
 special one that lets her cohabit the heart of another.  It first manifest
 as she lay dying, letting her conceal herself within the nearby Anya and
 thereby elude V.V.'s grasp.  It was also this elevation of her soul that let
 her converse with C.C., though it also led to the gaps in Anya's own memory
 that torment her so.

 When she learned the truth, C.C. turned the Geass Order over to V.V. and
 vanished.  V.V. in turn lied to Charles about what happened, and the rest is
 history.  Lelouch, however, isn't going to let Charles blame everything on
 his deceased brother: why the hell did Charles send him and Nanaly to
 Area Eleven?  It's obvious: one must distance themself from that most
 precious: C.C.'s words that Marianne now repeats.  Not only was it to keep
 the two children safe, but also to keep Marianne's own corpse from V.V.'s
 hands -- so long as it remains intact, there's even the possibility for her
 spirit to return to it.

 As part of this grand protection, Charles was forced to overwrite Anya and
 Nanaly's memories: the fact is that she was nowhere near.  Her false
 memories and associated false blindness were supposed to keep her from
 approaching the truth.  But Marianne found out something through her
 research: even though any Code should have done, it turns out that only C.C.
 could give a 100% guarantee for what they had planned.  And when C.C.
 disagreed, Charles saw no option but to use Lelouch.

 So what the hell has Lelouch been fighting for all this time, heaping so many
 heinous crimes on his own name?  Charles tells him that the Ragnarok
 Connection will make such tragedies moot, and that everyone will accept and
 be accepted just as they are.  The Sword of Akasha was built long ago by
 one who touched the Black Knowledge, as a tool to withstand the Judgement
 they knew would come.

 What Lelouch takes from all of this is that even the whole battle between
 Britannia and the Black Knights was just another gambit to lure C.C. in...
 and his role nothing more than noise in the system.  What, he asks, do
 C.C. and Suzaku make of that?  He expected at least her to show up, given
 how pivotal she apparently is to the plan, but isn't sure why she brought
 Suzaku along.  C.C. says that he's very much like her in that he's denied the
 very death he longs for so much.

 C.C. says that she's used Lelouch all along, prioritizing keeping him alive
 above all else so that she could eventually taste the fruit of her own
 death.  Suzaku asks if she regrets this, and she sniffs that any unaging,
 undying witch would have cast such human concerns off long ago.  That makes
 them different in Suzaku's book, in the sense that he finds himself unable to
 do anything but keep bowling forward, even if everyone calls him an idiot for
 it.  Suzaku knows he can't do much against the similarly invincible Charles,
 but he wants to know if the world Charles is trying to make is the same ideal
 that Euphy and Rilina share.  It is, or at least so Charles claims.  He
 declares that the plan can now begin, and promises to grant C.C.'s wish once
 it's over.

The ceremony starts, and Lelouch beholds a writhing mass of human hearts and
memories: a joint consciousness that looks suspiciously like Jupiter.  C.C.
need but join with their sigils to make the god-killing process complete.
Suzaku asks why Lelouch tried to make the world his, not letting him get by
with the excuse that it was "for Nanaly's sake".  Lelouch sees his point, and
says that he was doing it to protect everything he holds dear.  Results require
actions, and for every action there is a myriad of other actions not taken.
And that can mean one thing only.

Lelouch yells that he rejects Charles' world view, that lies exist only for
fighting.  Lies, Lelouch declares, exist because people seek something!  A
world where status quo is just fine is no world worth living in, if "living"
is even the right world anymore: a frozen, circumscribed world of memories.
Marianne asks if Lelouch means to reject her, and she tells him that this plan
will bring everyone back together at last.  Even the dead, even Euphemia can
be with him again!  Lelouch laments momentarily that she would think of that
as a good thing, calling it a spurious Good that can't be distinguished from
Not-Good morally.

This much he knows: no matter how much they claim to have his and Nanaly's
best interests at heart, Charles and Marianne still cast them away.  Else,
why didn't they stop the war between Japan and Britannia?  Oh, snap -- that
apparently never occurred to them.  They, so self-satisfied with their
excuses, abandoned their children for the sake of their little project.  They
saw only the past, with no care for the future.  And this "kind" world they
sought to create is only "kind" from their standpoint -- what Nanaly wants is
a world kind to all!  Suzaku is starting to see the sense in that, suddenly
recalling how neither Shirley nor Euphy divulged Lelouch's secret identity
before dying.  _They_ understood what Lelouch is trying to do...

So what the hell does Lelouch intend to do about it, thunders Charles.  His
Geass won't work on anyone here!  Oh yes it will, counters Miracle-Man
Lelouch.  He hasn't yet Geassed the joint consciousness lurking here in
C-Space... and for the record, people are NOT created equal, just as Charles
himself once stated.  Charles cries out that Lelouch is a fool if he thinks
his power can beat God, but Lelouch says it's not a question of "beating" God,
it's a matter of wishing _to_ God.  He's finally realized his own nature, and
cries out to the assembled souls, to NOT stop the steps of time.

Marianne can't believe Lelouch would do something like this, or that Suzaku
would let him given that he stood to see Euphy again.  Suzaku won't let her
_force_ him to see Euphy, and Lelouch says that he _obviously_ can pull off
this feat because, unlike Charles, _he_ is seeking the future.  And you know
what, he's right!  The Logic Elevator begins to crumble, and with it Charles',
Marianne's and V.V.'s dreams.  C.C. tells Charles that it's time to stop this
foolishness, and Lelouch gives them a bit of Truth for a chance: their ass
is grass.  Charles and Marianne are being sucked away into C-Space for all
time, but C.C. isn't -- she's finally realized that the only people they really
ever loved was themselves.  Why the hell can't they see the real meaning
behind Nanaly's smile: a small token of gratitude for all the help she's
received, after being forced to realize that there are things in this world
one can't do alone.

Charles screeches that Lelouch has no right to do this, to plunge the world
into the despair spoken of in the Black Knowledge.  And before that, all the
lies, the goodwill and malice inextricably woven together!!  May be, but
Lelouch wants the world Charles envisions even less.  He finally gets his
parents to STFU and GTFO, and with C.C.'s help sends Zexis back to realspace.
The question is, what happens now?  Time still marches on, and there's plenty
still wrong with the world.  And there's still Euphy's death, which hangs
over Suzaku and Lelouch like a pall.  But Lelouch has an idea about that too...

Zexis' pilots find themselves back on Kamine-jima, but two weeks into the
future!  And as fate(??) would have it, a new Federation president is about to
be announced.  Will it be Rilina?  No, amazingly enough it will be Lelouch
himself, introduced by the new supreme army commander Treize!!!  Lelouch
announces himself as the 99th Britannian emperor, saying that he is the one who
killed his predecessor Charles.  He easily Geasses everyone in attendance
(including his eldest brother, but with the possible exception of Treize, who
might have had his eyes closed) into accepting him as the new emperor, and
then makes a further announcement: his personal knight Suzaku.  Insofar as
Suzaku surpasses all the Knights of the Round, Lelouch dubs him the Knight of
Zero.

As he calls upon the whole world to answer his call, Lelouch knows that Zexis
is listening.  Let the final battle between they (who already tried to kill him
once), and the world that worships his very footsteps, begin!

Schneizer and the Knights of the Round watch this from a safe distance.  Farce?
Maybe, but Schneizer tells the others that it's part of human nature to be
ruled by something... and that something is currently the Federation.  Cornelia
asks if Schneizer is saying Lelouch is incapable of sitting at the head of such
an institution, and while he doesn't answer that directly he _does_ say that
that seat isn't well suited to an usurper.  The last thing the world needs is
another falsehood in the form of a Geass.

However, even the mighty fortress Damocles, with the Knights aboard, isn't
equal to the might of the Federation army.  That's why he's enlisted a bit of
aid (or is that AIDS) from his good butt-buddy Milliard.  White Fang brings
a lot of firepower to the Round Table...


CHAPTER 50B. The Inaugural Battle of the Super-United States

C.C. and Marianne have the same conversation as on the other side, but this
time C.C. isn't willing to go along with the ghostly imperial consort.  She's
got promises to keep... and many miles to go before she sleeps.  Marianne
smirks at this, finding it quite out of character, and with something between
a frown and a half-smile C.C. muses that she doesn't mind the character she's
become now.  Telling Lelouch the whole truth won't solve anything with the
Sword of Akasha about to activate, at least in Marianne's opinion...

Back aboard the Ikaruga, Lelouch is winding down the tale of his past and his
Geass, a power so fantastic that it beggars even Banjou and Char's belief.
Lelouch grimly, and unhesitatingly, admits that his power is responsible for
the Princess Slaughter incident, believing (correctly) that the saner heads
on the team will understand: to have fessed up then would have caused the Black
Knights to implode on the spot, whether or not one of them had executed him for
the Japanese citizens' accidental deaths.  Accident or not though, it's an
unpardonable turn of events in Wufei's book.  He reckons Zero sent the Black
Knights to Zexis in part as a form of penance, and wants to know how he means
to pay the rest of it now that he's confessed.

Lelouch states flatly that he's prepared to pay the ultimate price, despairing
of a world without Nanaly in it, but suddenly Karen steps up and hands him
his discarded mask.  Suddenly confused, he heeds her instruction to put it
on... and a good thing to, as Karen punches him in the head with all her
strength moments later.  The impact actually dents the high-tech mask, and
almost surely Karen's hand too as Esther notices.  Karen yells at him to get
up, reminding him of how he once said that those who "shoot" must be prepared
to be shot in turn.  She agrees, on the basis that those who shoot do so with
their heart.  Well this was a bullet from her heart to him, and to herself for
following him... following him without being able to help him.

He tells her he's the one who should apologize, for all the terrible,
irrevocable things he's done in the service of his ultimate goal.  There are
so many people who he owes an apology to that he's not sure he can do it.  And
if Karen's urging to live on and try anyway isn't enough, there's Rolo too.
While Rolo now knows he can't take Nanaly's place, he can serve as Lelouch's
brother... and like a brother he forgives Lelouch for the little spat they
had earlier.  Rolo knows better than most what it's like to have to live with
the consequences of having done wrong.  Jeremiah also has Lelouch's back,
faithful as always to his lord both as rightful heir and as someone to whom
his soul seems drawn.  He wants to share whatever fate awaits Lelouch.

The other commanders tell Lelouch that he's got a chance to decide where to
go from here.  Obviously all the doubts (and even resentments) won't vanish
over night... but everyone has the ability to create trust anew.  He digests
this a moment, and tells Jeremiah that there is no more Lelouch Lamperouge, or
Lelouch vi Britannia.  Only Zero, the man who will liberate the world.  This
is all he can do now, and that he had even that much freedom to decide is
thanks to Ougi for deciding to hear him out.

It's not easy for some on the team to watch a man turn his own identity to
"zero", especially after all the good he's done.  Zero invites Tamashiro or
any of the others to strike him down if they feel he betrays their trust any
further... the same role that Hiiro's borne up till now.  They all know that
Zero will be going forward wearing a mask of punishment after Karen's mighty
blow... though said mask won't be exactly all that photogenic.  Enter C.C.
with a spare mask... not all that surprising, given how she's an immortal,
_wisecracking_ witch and all.

The new mask seems to do wonders for him, and without delay a war council is on
for what to do about Charles' power grab over the Federation.  Zero, as it
happens, has planned for this day for a long time.  He asks Zexis to head for
the China Federation, where he means to consolidate power around the Empress
and the former Japanese government.  He means to raise an empire that can
confront, and beat, the Federation itself: the Super-United States!  He admits
that the idea started as a scheme to take Charles down, but whatever the
genesis, it's undeniable that the world needs a dose of freedom now.

Lelouch may have lost everything, especially Nanaly, but he's still got the
power to cause miracles.  The world Nanaly and Euphy wanted will be his to
create!

Flash forward to the official announcement, made by none other than Tianzi.
She introduces Kagura as the head of the Supreme Council, who in turn announces
that this new union already has several dozen current or pending member states.
This Super-United States offers an elegant alternative to the tyranny of Arrows
and the suspiciously abrupt dismissal of Rilina.  All nations that participate
will be able to claim "liberation" as their noble cause, and the fact that so
many have signed up already despite the obvious problems of fielding a
patchwork military is testament to just how untrustworthy the Federation has
become.

A decisive defeat on either side of this new rift could prove fatal, and
it'll be Zexis' mission to protect the nascent Union.  The problem of course
isn't the Federation per se, but those leading it -- and the ultimate goal of
all this pantomime is returning the Federation to its rightful state.  And Zero
has that all under control.  Good thing he's on Zexis' side, right? *WINKWINK*
*NUDGENUDGE*  Anyways, Kagura concludes by announcing that Zexis will be
handling diplomatic "relations" with the Federation, including monitoring
Charles' monopolizing the Federation army.  Supporting Zexis' mission is the
Union's first official Resolution.

Watching all of this from the bleachers, Watta wonders aloud why the team had
to go through all this boring stuff if Schneizer is planning to depose Charles
anyway.  Well, Schneizer might have been willing to take on Zero as an agent of
chaos, but his (apparent) plans for world peace weren't likely to work on the
man in command of the greatest army on Earth.  Schneizer is the sort who only
jumps when he believes victory assured, a useful sort of fear that drives many
high-positioned folks to do whatever it takes to guarantee that victory.
Instead, Charles' deposition will have to come about via a four-sided war: the
Federation, the Union, the White Fang, and probably Insalaum.

The suffering will be minimized if the Union can topple the Federation fast,
and it might be useful to have a rallying point for the cause... someone like
Rilina perhaps.  But Hiiro is confident that Rilina would never take sides in
a way that further divides the world.  The point is moot though given the
latest intelligence reports: Charles is massing forces to him in Area Eleven.
If that's not a challenge to Zero, what is?

Charles and the Geass Order folks are busy with basically the same stuff as on
the other path.  As on the other path, Charles refuses to repent for his
asshattery, taking specific care to tell Lelouch that he'll always be the
lesser man.  While it's true Charles may have the numerical advantage in high
class bed-bunnies, Lelouch clearly has the edge with his phenomenal White and
Red Queens.  He's also better at ignoring Charles' smack-talking, and marshals
the troops to kick Charles' ass once and for all.  They'd better hurry though,
before the Sword of Akasha comes online.

Perhaps to buy time, Charles delivers the same speech about lies distorting the
world as he did on the other branch.  But there's more than one way to change
the world besides the End of Evangelion -- just bumping Charles off will be
enough to get positive change started.

 Charles' flagship takes a pounding before Suzaku and friends show up.  He's
 content to withdraw and leave the "lesser matter" of taking it up the ass to
 them, so he can concentrate on polishing his Sword.  Suzaku sounds nonplussed
 to hear his proctology alluded to as "lesser", and baws at Zexis for
 following Lelouch despite his crimes.  Not following, fighting alongside!
 Major difference, that.  And what about calling the kettle black, which is
 what Suzaku is doing via his allegiance to the man who simultaneously seized
 the Federation's throne and got busy jacking off instead of actually
 governing from it.

 Everyone on Zexis knows that Lelouch wants to dash off in pursuit of Charles,
 trusting that he's already worked out how to kill the unkillable emperor.
 They trust him to do the right thing and to return in one piece, and Karen
 in particular is determined that Suzaku _not_ get in the way.  As Zero rushes
 off (and Crow muses that Zero might in fact not be coming back from this one
 after all), Suzaku orders the troops into battle.  Even Gino thinks this is
 lunacy, what with Anya missing and their emperor having apparently fled in
 the face of the enemy.

 But Suzaku has decided that he's been a chimpion all this time, hung up on
 means instead of ends and bringing many to death because of it.  And if
 killing people is all he's good for, might as well accept it and get pwning
 over with.  And his new Lancelot Albion, fortified with data taken from the
 Guren, might just be equal to the task.

 Unfortunately, Suzaku himself is not, and Toudou tells him he ought to know
 it.  If Suzaku really wants results so badly, he needs to stop being so hung
 up on the here-and-now.  That seems to get through to him, as he momentarily
 leaves the field just in time for Schneizer to bring out his trump card:
 White Fang!  He's engineered Treize's release on the theory that Zexis is too
 powerful to control now -- and uncontrollable power is just "violence".

 Yeah whatever.  Suzaku comes back to pick up C.C., both of them interested in
 seeing how Lelouch's duel with Charles will end.  Suzaku figures that C.C.
 must have some role to play in the drama, and Karen reluctantly gives C.C.
 her blessing to go help her "partner in crime".  Toudou instructs his former
 student Suzaku not to do anything he'll regret later.  Just as he's given
 Zero a chance to prove himself worthy of trust, he'd like to believe that
 Suzaku deserves the same shot at redemption.  The question is, just what
 the heck are Lelouch and Suzaku about to go do?

Suzaku isn't entirely surprised when C.C. leads him to the fateful cave on
Kamine-jima -- the very spot where he captured Lelouch the last time.  Waiting
for them is Anya... well not really Anya, but rather Marianne vi Britannia's
spirit, possessing Anya's body.  She's (sarcastically?) appreciative of all
the good care Suzaku has taken of her son...

Inside the Sword of Akasha, Charles is ready for throwdown with God.  Too bad
for him that Lelouch is on hand instead, determined to kick his ass on behalf
of his trusting battalion of friends.  Charles finds it laughable that a master
of betrayal like Lelouch would rest on others' endorsement, musing aloud that
the Zexis clowns must be even denser than he thought.  And just how does
Lelouch intend to beat Charles, given how Charles is all invulnerable and shit.
A series of distant explosions are his answer: Lelouch has set some time bombs
to destroy the entrance and trap both he and Charles inside for all time.  Time
for Charles to FACE THE FACT that he's as good as dead.

Charles is impressively unimpressed, calling the whole business stupid.  Eim
shows up out of nowhere and agrees, commenting that Lelouch's face is quite
shota^Wboyish without his mask on.  Supposedly he's hear to congratulate
Charles on the impending Ragnarok Connection, but since he's about as
diametrically opposite as possible to what Charles has in mind, the emperor
makes a grand show of ignoring him.  Lelouch wants to know why Charles is in
bed with Eim [winknudge], and Charles ascribes it all to the info his Code
has granted... info akin to the Black Knowledge.

Eim explains what the Black Knowledge is as on the other path, and then
withdraws to let Charles and Lelouch scowl at each other.  Lelouch orders
Charles to tell him the truth about his mother's death and Charles' failure to
protect her -- admittedly a bit shaky given all the lies Lelouch himself has
told to get this far.  Charles and Lelouch then have their argument about the
value of lies from the other path, and things proceed through Marianne's
appearance and C.C. and Suzaku's coming to Lelouch's side.

Things come to a head as the Sword of Akasha powers up, and Lelouch confirms
that it is NOT a good idea to melt everyone in the world together into LCL as
Charles and Marianne want.  That's certainly not what _Nanaly_ or Euphy wanted.
With Charles and Marianne vaporized, the question becomes what Suzaku will do
next.  He's having a very hard time forgiving Lelouch for Euphy death, but
Zero declares that "Lelouch" is effectively dead, leaving only Zero behind.
If Suzaku still wants to strike him down, he's welcome to: Zero's role is now
effectively done now that Charles is toast.  Kagura can certainly care for the
Super-United States herself, and once Zexis strikes down the Innovators even
the Federation will be repaired in time.

_That_ is the sort of peace Euphy and Nanaly wished for, and helping assure
it was the only way Zero has of making amends for what he's done (oh, that
and trying to sacrifice himself in that bid to trap Charles in here).  Or does
Suzaku have any other bright ideas?  Maybe he'd like to go back to Schneizer
and try to become the Knight of One?  Would owning Area Eleven satisfy him?!
Is he still seeking to be punished?!  This turns into shouting match so huge
that even the game's own writers Tl;dr'ed it.

Eventually Zero and company reemerge from the cave, where Karen has been
faithfully waiting.  Zero explains that Charles has been annihilated, and that
despite arguing with Suzaku all night they've not been able to work out their
differences.  It turns out however that a full _week_ has passed in the outside
world, testament to how differently time works in C Space.  And during that
week, the Federation has been turned upside down...

After Charles vanished, Schneizer pushed to have him treated as war dead and
seized power in his stead, once again restoring ass-comrade Treize to his
former glory in the process.  Treize is now head of the army, but Schneizer
himself is _not_ the head of the Federation.  Schneizer claimed that that
role should follow royal succession, and that anyway he's unfit for the job.
Lelouch isn't surprised: Schneizer has always been one to choose the surest
path to victory with the most "insulation" from other people, something Suzaku
isn't thrilled to hear from Lelouch's lips.

This isn't the time for Suzaku's grudges however.  The Super-United States
are in dire straits thanks to Schneizer signing a peace accord with White Fang.
What the hell is _that_ all about?  What it's about is ending the war between
the Earth and the Colonies, and the new head of the Federation is none other
than _King_ Milliard Peacecraft!  Milliard is happy to have extended "peace"
beyond what his predecessors managed, and vows suitable retribution upon those
who would threaten it.  Kinda ironic, dontchathink, that some dude named
Peacecraft is all threatening the violences against those he doesn't like?

Rilina herself, huddled in some distant refugee camp with Marina and Sheryl,
sure isn't thrilled.  She tries to tell herself at first that her brother must
have some deeper stratagem going, but that quickly rings hollow.  As if on cue,
Gaiou shows up and tells her to come correct.  He declares that Milliard shall
be the King of War-Strife...


CHAPTER 51A. Schneizer's Mask

News of Lelouch's ascent to the Federation's causes no small stir among the
Insalaum.  If there's a silver lining to the brilliant strategist's promotion,
it's the number of Earthlings opposed to it.  Yuusar predicts that Lelouch's
coronation will split the Federation in two, which would seem to Unblown and
Marilyn to create the perfect conditions for an Insalaum takeover... especially
with Yuusar's newfound mastery of his Sphere.  Yuusar sounds rather dubious
about the "takeover" part, and he announces that he's going to go rest in his
quarters.  As he saunters out, he tells Marilyn to come see him in said
quarters in half an hour, which has the normally stoic lolita _genuinely_
blushing like a schoolgirl.  Unblown (stifling a grin) tells Marilyn that
Yuusar must be lonely after losing both Margret and Wayne, and implores her to
"comfort" the emperor.  Marilyn assures her that her "small breasts" are
heaving with anticipation.  I meanwhile I am heaving with nausea like a mo-fo
as things mercifully cut to the Britannian throne room.

There we find Lelouch conferring with Treize.  Schneizer has become a rallying
point for all those who wish Lelouch the Usurper deposed, who total around 30%
of the Federation's strength.  Lelouch has expected as much, and made certain
preparations that Treize is happy to assist.  Lelouch knows he'd never have
gotten to this point without Treize's help, and yet can't help but feel odd
that Treize of all people would turn out to be one of his closest comrades.
Perhaps thanks are due to Wufei, whose hatred(?) for the both of them actually
drove them to overcome their differences?

At any rate, Lelouch has more than just Treize to turn to now: Lloyd and Cecil
have joined Jeremiah and Suzaku(!!) in aiding his cause.  Cecil probably has
the most qualms of any of them, but has firmly suppressed them once she heard
what Lelouch and Suzaku have planned.  Lloyd smirks and supposes aloud that
none of them have any real choice, as Lelouch would have just Geassed them into
submission anyway had they refused.  Wouldn't it be fun to try and study how
the Geass works?  Jeremiah asks if Lloyd has some kind of death wish, and
Lloyd is _oh_ so sorry to disappoint him when he says that he's not yet
despaired of this world.

Maybe so, but Lelouch himself isn't holding out that much hope -- the
Federation's splintering was _waaay_ too predictable.  Maybe the common people
have gotten too feebish after letting Zexis fight all their battles for them?
C.C. observes that the Schneizer faction of the Federation are exactly the kind
of power-grubbing scum that Lelouch expected... precisely the sort of people
who need to be taught a very hard, historical-grade lesson.  Let them curse
Lelouch's name, but remember the Truth.  And for that to happen, he's got to
stain the pages of misery with enough blood to wash away the tainted memory of
Euphemia... in short, Lelouch needs World Domination(tm), and to his credit
the ring of those words gives even him pause.  All the same, someone's got to
stop the serious business that Schneizer has going on, and nobody but Lelouch
and cohorts are in a position to stop it...

Even among Zexis, Lelouch's ascent to the throne at age 18 can't but inspire
a certain amount of admiration.  He's perfectly captured the zeitgeist of a
populace weary of the shadowy domination of the Innovators, and in the first
two weeks of his rule has cracked down _hard_ on government figures who allied
themselves with the criminal underworld.  This seeming show of Justice is,
in Setsuna's view at least, really a show of terror... and at least 30% of the
Federation don't much like being terrorized.

Then again, Schneizer isn't precisely the answer to everyone's prayers either.
All that seeming goodwill is nothing but a mask for something much more
terrifying: let's not forget that Schneizer is probably the one who bumped
Treize off after he got a little too warlike for Schneizer's tastes.  Schneizer
seems to be a very detached individual, like many born into privilege, and
is very unlikely to take on Lelouch without some kind of ace-in-the-hole.

The question is, with whom should Zexis side?  Lelouch clearly wants Zexis in
his camp, since he's gone through Treize to set up a little meeting with them
at Ashford Academy.  Lelouch had the courtesy to notify the Student Council
that he and the fabled independent battalion are coming, so rumors are
swirling over what kind of meeting it will be.  President-emeritus Milly has
returned from her reporter training to help run the event, and to play hostess
to fugitive, penitent genius Nina.  F.L.E.I.J.A. was successful beyond her
wildest nightmares, and she's got a lot to ponder as she surveys the ruins of
her city.

Even Saji turns up (!!) in hopes of glimpsing the emperor, and maybe other
illustrious former members of the Student Council.  Besides Lelouch, there's
renowned knights Suzaku and Karen, and former Federation head Rilina.  Even
Nina has become famous in her way.  Shirley on the other hand (assuming she's
still alive) is in no mood to look upon her old friend, and Louise isn't
anywhere in sight... but Saji vows to bring her back here one day, returning
her to the way she once was because of course everything just works out that
simply in life.

NOT.  Before Lelouch makes his appearance, he sends Lloyd and Cecil to pick
Nina up (yeah, not very hidden, no surprise there).  Greeting Lelouch and
Treize officially are Karen, Hiiro and Wufei.  Karen struggles to keep up an
"official" front before her old commander, but Wufei makes no such pretense
before Treize.  He only volunteered for this detail so he could better memorize
Treize's face: the better to kill him later.  Hiiro wants to get a good look
at both Treize and Lelouch, and all the attention seemingly makes the emperor
"bashful"... really just an excuse for a private walk through the Ashford
grounds with Karen.

Lelouch is glad to see his old school intact, _juuust_ barely spared by the
F.L.E.I.J.A.  Karen offers him thanks for saving her and all the Black Knights,
who without him would have died ignominiously in the Shinjuku Ghetto.  But more
than that, she was incredibly happy that "Zero" would value her so highly.
The revelation of Zero's true identity has left her confused, and Lelouch's
power play with Suzaku and Treize has confused her more?  What is it he really
wants, and what is she _really_ to him?!  Why'd he tell her so intimately to
keep herself alive on the brink of his near-execution aboard the Ikaruga?
Lelouch makes no reply over several long moments, and Karen finally apologizes
for taking time away from the formal conference.  Once she's headed out of
earshot though, Lelouch bids her a fond -- and final -- farewell.

Once closeted together with the Zexis commanders, Lelouch coyly suggests that
they needn't stand on ceremony with him: he is, after all, their _former_
comrade-in-arms.  Treize tells Zexis that the Innovators seem to have
"despaired" of humanity, which surprises Amuro not a bit based on his time
with Ribbons.  It's plain that Lelouch and Treize don't intend to leave the
governance of the world up to Schneizer now that Ribbons is out of the
picture; yet Lelouch doesn't intend to _force_ Zexis to do his bidding...
especially since he knows they've prepared for his Geass.

He's prepared for their preparation, of course, but still does them the
courtesy of telling them to follow his orders rather than _making_ them.
Sumeragi isn't having any of it, which seems to be just what Zero hoped for.
Of course this defiance makes them outlaws of the Federation, though Lelouch
claims he won't hold it against their friends or family.  He wants, it seems,
a "fair" fight, as does Treize.  Treize's contribution is to tell Zexis the
whereabouts of Elgan: hostage to the Innovators and pawn in Ribbons' twisted
schemes, though even Treize hasn't figured out what role Elgan plays.

The conference is interrupted by some ghastly news: the Britannian capital
city has just been obliterated by a F.L.E.I.J.A.: it seems Schneizer has
stolen a march on Lelouch and co.  He radios in to gloat, in fact, and to
announce that he's got all the remaining F.L.E.I.J.A.'s with him... as well
as his own preference for emperor.  Or shall we say, "empress"?  It's none
other than Nanaly, not quite as dead as presumed!  She's been coached by
Schneizer to try to shake Lelouch and Suzaku's resolve, questioning whether
their use of Geasses is somehow better than nuking a whole metropolis, but
this time Lelouch is having none of it.

He calls her an entitled little emokid, calling her out for depending on others
to execute her ideals.  He vows to crush any who oppose him as emperor, her
included if she insists on siding with Schneizer, and Schneizer calls upon
Zexis to join his little crusade.  Amuro is the first to turn him down, with
Sumeragi close behind.  Lelouch may be trying to rule the people with fear,
but Schneizer and his no-warning mass slaughter is surely no better.  Treize
has no love for Schneizer either, and announces that they are to fight their
final battle in three days time at Mt. Fuji.  Schneizer promises to be there,
with Nanaly in tow.

Lelouch clearly isn't happy with all of this, and makes a hasty end to the
conference.  On the way out, he asks Sumeragi what she thinks it takes to rule
the world.  She claims to be unqualified to answer, which he sort of expected
from a Celestial Being.  In his view, to rule the world one must be prepared
to destroy not just it, but oneself too if need be!  He bids Zexis farewell,
and Sumeragi tells the other commanders that one thing the CBs will _not_ do
is simply watch the battle for the Federation from the sidelines.

Once in private, Lelouch demands to know why C.C. didn't tell him Nanaly is
still alive.  C.C. sniffs that she has no way of knowing what's going on with
random people she's not connected to via Geass, and recommends he ask Sayoko
what happened.  Sayoko hasn't been able to act or radio in all this time, but
when she finally escaped she seems to have elected to serve Lelouch over her
nominal boss Diethart.  What Lelouch thought was Nanaly caught in the blast
was actually a decoy arranged by Schneizer, and despite his best efforts to
stay calm Lelouch can't help but be shaken by the ruse.  It takes Suzaku to
have him go pull himself together.  Even C.C. wonders at how stern Suzaku is
being, but he tells her that' he's become Lelouch's sword -- to drive out all
Lelouch's weakness.  He wants her to be Lelouch's shield and protect him --
who better for the role than she, Lelouch's partner in crime?

When Schneizer and friends arrive, their advance forces are already in combat
with Lelouch's troops.  Schneizer's fortress seems lightly defended, but
he's got F.L.E.I.J.A.s to keep him safe, and "reinforcements" on the way.
It only takes Schneizer one more lie -- that he "evacuated" the residents of
Pendragon before firing -- to get Nanaly to help him out of her own "free"
will.  She actually asks for the firing controls for the nukes, wanting for
herself a share of the blame since she can't pitch in in any other fashion.
Cornelia isn't at all happy with Schneizer lying like this, and is even less
happy when it turns out that he lied to her too about the true purpose of this
mission.  He is _not_ out to merely punish Lelouch: he wants to put the 3km-
long Damocles into orbit, from where it can bombard anyone who doesn't agree
with him with nuclear goodness.  Schneizer, it seems, never really believed
in peace on earth at all -- save for that brought about by people living in
fear.

And if that's the province of God to describe, that's what he'll be.  He has
Cornelia escorted forcibly off his bridge just in time for Lelouch to arrive.
The Knights of the Round start arguing almost at once, and a one-on-one duel
between the Knight of One and the "Knight of Zero" kicks off.  It rapidly
becomes clear that Suzaku's got his work cut out for him: Bismarck has a Geass
of his own that allows him to predict the future.  But Suzaku can't afford to
fall here, and with Lelouch ordering him (again) to "Live", Suzaku comes up
with a very novel trick -- overcoming the "flight" reflex by sheer force of
will and thereby converting the Geass he's under into pure "fight" goodness.

Who cares if Bismarck can see Suzaku coming, if there's nothing he can do to
block or dodge?  Even Lelouch is impressed momentarily, until Zexis show up.
He's not surprised when Sumeragi orders the troops to attack _both_ sides (she
is, after all, a CB).  Schneizer sounds miffed, but Lelouch focuses on the
task at at hand and orders Suzaku to focus on guarding the Avalon.  His grand
speech to the troops is all inspirational and whatnot, but it won't stop Karen
and Zexis from doing what they must.  Upon the battle rests the fate of the
world!

 Schneizer isn't going to leave the fate of the world to chance.  He rebuffs
 Lelouch's first sneak attack with a F.L.E.I.J.A. strike, emboldened by a
 shipment of mobile dolls from his new butt-buddy Zechs.  He figures that
 Lelouch is no good at utilizing his "masks".  He figures wrong.  Lelouch
 counters by firing at Mt. Fuji, detonating some of the Sakuradite within and
 turning those reinforcements to ash.  Zexis is starting to get a bit scared
 facing the full fury of these two consummate strategists, but no one on the
 battlefield can turn back now...

 Karen is greatly confused about why Suzaku, who formerly hated Lelouch's
 guts, would proclaim himself Lelouch's "sword".  She's also confused by why
 he seemingly pulls out of battle prematurely, but he in fact knows exactly
 what he's doing.  Jeremiah too vows loyalty to Lelouch, despite all that's
 come out about his tactics.  As for Lelouch, he knows when to make a
 strategic advance to the rear -- it's time for the second phase of his plan.
 As the Avalon heads out, he heads from the bridge toward the hangar, meeting
 Nina along the way.  He promises her that her research won't all be in vain,
 and she admits that she'll probably hate him for the rest of her life.  But
 even more, she feels she's got to find an answer to all of this -- and
 Lelouch plans to give her that chance.

 Anya and Gino make relatively meek exits, probably because they're far from
 clear whether they're on the right side.  Schneizer has no such issue, secure
 in the beliefs that he's in the right and that his fortress is invincible.
 It is possible to cripple the damn thing though, and all Lelouch needs is a
 momentary pause in its motion.  He and Suzaku race towards Damocles, only to
 have Schneizer fire a F.L.E.I.J.A. in their direction.

 Nina radios in that the weapon's core is about to change composition: if they
 can hit it with a countervailing reaction, it'll be unable to reach critical
 mass!  That's the idea behind her F.L.E.I.J.A. Eliminator, but the final data
 needed can only be had on the spot, in the 19-second window between munition
 deployment and detonation.  Daunting, but there's never been anything Lelouch
 and Suzaku can't do if they join forces.  Lelouch completes the program in
 the theoretical minimum 15 seconds, and Suzaku puts the final 4 seconds to
 very good use.

As the F.L.E.I.J.A. falls useless to the ground, Lelouch and Suzaku force their
way through the hole in Damocles' shield where it was fired from.  They start
rapidly wrecking it from the inside, and Schneizer half-smirks, half-sniffs
over having to actually _play_ his final card: deliberately detonating the
remaining F.L.E.I.J.A.s to blow Damocles -- and Lelouch -- away.  He's
confident Lelouch will love this splendid coffin, and tells Diethart not to
sweat Zexis: what could one lone battalion with the "whole world" against it
possibly do?  I'd call these famous last words, but Schneizer's impending
infamousity makes that a Lie.

Kanon prepares to go retrieve Nanaly, but Diethart tells her there's no need:
the whole reason Lelouch has broken in here in the first place is to get to
her.  Schneizer adds that it's not even worth trying to value her one life
against his plans for world peace.  Lelouch gets on the intercom at this point,
telling him (nicely) that he's fucked up the pooper this time.  How has Lelouch
read his brother's intentions this thoroughly?  It all goes back to something
Treize said once: Schneizer never intended to "win" this fight at all.
Every game he's played, even the chess match back in the Chinese capital, were
ones Schneizer had no way to lose.  Well he gets to lose this time.

Schneizer asks if Lelouch will kill him, and Lelouch counters with a question
of his own: was Damocles intended for ruling the world?  Not at all: it was
made for bringing about "peace", in accordance with the wishes of the people.
A nice platitude, given how good Schneizer has proven at ignoring those wishes.
What Lelouch won't tolerate is Schneizer's desire to petrify the world, to make
its people go from "living" life to merely "experiencing" it.  Charles in his
blind arrogance desired the past.  Schneizer, it seems, craves the present out
of an abundance of intellect.  Only Lelouch among them cares for the future,
and regards it with hope based on all he's seen firsthand.  Schneizer's
pessimism is typical of insular royalty, and rather than rethink his approach
he'd rather have Zero just kill him, and die in turn in a nuclear holocaust.

Lelouch of course has had other ideas all along.  His plan was to get Schneizer
off guard and enslave him with his Geass, forbidding him from laying down his
life and ordering him to serve "Zero" forever.  Diethart is frantic at the
thought that Lelouch would depose his newly chosen master, but Suzaku
bitchslaps him when he tries to resist.  Lelouch tells the journalist that he's
still useful: after all, even the Spiral Lord left Viral to act as mouthpiece
after his death....

Schneizer gets on the mic and orders his soldiers to stand down as Damocles
enters Lelouch's service.  Treize shows up with more Federation troops at this
point, ready to get "phase 2" underway.  Meanwhile, Rilina is ill at ease over
in the refugee camp -- she feels like she should be doing _something_ to help
the Federation from going down the crapper.  It's a problem of power: had
Rilina refused Treize's "offer" to get out of Dodge, she'd probably have just
been kidnapped and used in someone else's nefarious scheme.  Besides, Rilina
is pretty sure Treize has saved her for some other plan for the world's future.
So why not go find out?  Kagura turns up and invites the deposed leader over
to Area Eleven to see what Lelouch (her "husband", as she claims) will do
next.  Seeing that Kagura knows both Treize and Lelouch's plans, Rilina is
glad to come along.

Will boredom strike Sheryl and Marina dead on the spot?!?  Surely not: if
there's one thing Sheryl knows, it's how to show a girl a good time(!!?!).  Her
sales pitch is this: Marina really ought to see the Earth from the outside,
ought to give herself a new appreciation of how hard all its people work at
just staying alive.  Sheryl sees something of her younger, less resolute self
in Marina, and Marina has the good sense to agree to the journey.


CHAPTER 51B. Peacecraft, King of Warfare

Insalaum regards Treize with a bit less respect than they afford Lelouch on
the other path, but he's certainly proven himself a force to be reckoned with
after vowing to slay his enemies during his inaugural address.  And like the
other path, Yuusar seems in no hurry to hit the battlefield himself to exploit
the Federation's impending rift.  Marilyn gets enlisted to comfort Prince Emo,
with Unblown's blessing, given how all his other confidants are gone.

The Super-United States is turning into the who's-who of small nations, plus
China (former centerpiece of the HPL).  Not only is it shaping up as an anti-
Three Great Nations club, it's also garnering support from Colonials who don't
like how Milliard and White Fang are representing them.  One thing's for sure:
the week of peace since the inauguration won't last much longer.  Crow isn't
exactly thrilled at the prospect, but if there's going to be war he can take
at least some comfort in the thought of it earning him a bit of dough.

Quatro on the other hand has bigger worries on his mind.  He can't figure out
why Treize and Milliard, who he's known for a while now, would join forces with
Schneizer.  They're up to _something_, but what?  Saji meanwhile is fretting
over Suzaku and Lelouch, whose personas outside of school have turned out so
differently from those he thought he knew as friends.  The same could be said
of Karen, who gets annoyed when Saji mentions her double life.

Her ire gets cut quite short though when Margret intervenes, telling her and
Esther to listen closely.  Sure they're all warriors, but they're also women:
and it takes a lot of manners, refinement and knowledge to produce a feminine
aura!  This devolves into a full diatribe, the upshot of which is that ladies
should learn to embrace even their unpleasant aspects in pursuit of a fuller
life.  Watching the womenfolk smiling and nodding, Saji just wishes Louise
was among them.

Setsuna tells him that Louise's story isn't over yet, any more than Suzaku
and Lelouch's are.  Suzaku for instance has currently lost sight of what to
fight for, even as Lelouch found something new to fight for.  As long as Saji
has something worth fighting for in his life, all will be well.  As well as
anything else in the world anyway...

Schneizer has a very optimistic view of the Super-United States: Zero's
brainchild has gathered all the Federation's enemies into one place.  AND made
it easy to blame Zexis for the Federation's splintering.  Take Zexis out,
Schneizer claims, and the rest of the Super-Union will scatter like a flock
of geese.

Dorothy walks in at this point, having brought Liumei as instructed.  She's
happy to serve Milliard and eager to try out a certain system the next time
combat occurs, yet another warrior for peace in Schneizer's delusional brain.
The Britannian prince is cagey about whether he'll actually show himself on
the front lines, and takes his leave to go prepare a certain gadget Tomoro
has been working on.  Quite sure of victory then?  Milliard himself isn't,
nor Treize, which is why they never considered themselves truly colleagues
of Schneizer.  By rights, the two of them should be at each others'
throats too, but Zexis has provided them a common enemy compelling enough to
make it worth Treize's time to play at allying with Milliard.  That's partly
why he had to get Rilina out of the way, though Treize was also worried that
Charles thought Rilina's presence was bad for humanity in its immature state.

Liumei figures in thanks to her Innovator connections, which have shat out a
list of "dead men" more interested in their own lust than in helping govern
the Earth.  She hopes it will be of some use in Milliard's planned purge,
claiming she's doing it all for Teh Revolution.  Dorothy assumes this means
Liumei wants war as much as she does, and that that's why she hooked up with
the Innovators.  She promises Liumei the best seat in the house for Zexis'
destruction, preparing to do something Treize probably won't like.  Treize
tells her he's in little position to quibble about methods now, and wishes her
good luck.

The two men realize that the Innovators are going to come after Liumei for her
duplicity, and that will afford them a chance to get the last pieces of info
they need to pinpoint the Innovator hideout (and within it, Veda).  Milliard
has to smile in spite of himself at how similar the two of them turned out
to be... similarly stupid in fact, given that neither has any better ideas of
how to proceed.  Wherever Rilina is, she's probably laughing in scorn.

The Federation forces are moving to intercept Zexis while they're still in
China, testament to their military might and to the charisma Milliard has
brought to the Federation's top job.  As Zexis takes the field, Suzaku's been
put into "protective custody" aboard the Ptolemy-2 -- he needs to be kept away
from any vengeful types among the Black Knights who might wish him ill.  Saji
asks if there's anything Zero can do for his friend, but there's little time
for psychology with the wolf at the door.

The enemy is a mixture of Federation and Colony forces -- an ironic realization
of the dream of unity throughout the Earth Sphere if ever there was one.  The
White Fang forces have even hauled out the red and blue mecha Trois and Hiiro
were made to pilot.  But something is different about the Mobile Dolls this
time: their collective movements exhibit some sort of human touch.  _That_ is
what Dorothy's been up to, utilizing the Epyon's control system.  Liumei herself
doesn't much care which side wins... so long as the result is a new world.

 Dorothy isn't too happy when Zexis wrecks her red-and-blue toys, but Liumei
 seems pleased on the sidelines.  As a little reward to Zexis for being so
 bad-ass, she decides to leak them a little info.  The Ptolemy-2 picks up a
 short-range encrypted transmission from her, in which she claims to have info
 so sensitive she fears Veda intercepting it.  The realtime decryption
 reveals that the Innovators have a crucial collaborator aboard the Frontier
 fleet, whose name is--

 Oops, more enemies, including Neina in her Gundam Throne.  She is _not_ here
 for Zexis as one might expect, but rather for Liumei, who protests that
 Neina was supposed to be keeping the Innovators under surveillance.  Neina
 doesn't intend to take orders from a triple agent, especially one with so
 sordid a past as Liumei.  To wit: the dude she's hanging out with is in
 fact her brother, booted from leading their moneybags family for being
 impotent and hence incapable of siring an heir.  Liumei got the assignment
 instead and hated every minute of it, vowing to change the entire world on
 account of the trouble her brother's erectile dysfunction caused her.  No
 word on where the Viagra deficit came from.

 Anyways, it's all BAWW and "Revolutionize the World" ass-haberdashery.
 The only reason Neina put up with it this long was to avoid an early grave.
 Liumei was soooo eager to trust Neina when she showed her the slightest
 inkling of lesbianical receptiveness, making it all the more satisfying to
 blow Liumei into smithereens.  From now on, Neina is going to live as _she_
 sees fit and make _herself_ happy for a change... and that includes avenging
 herself on the Innovator lackey who killed her brother when the time comes.
 She'll like, rip out his throat and shit with her bare teeth!

 Maybe.  Then again, maybe someone is coming to give her a proper bitch-
 smacking for turning against the Innovators.  So sayeth her blue Haro, which
 turns out to be a mouthpiece for Ribbons.  Ali appears, but with him is
 Louise... who goes berserk at the sight of the Gundam that murdered her
 parents.  Neina growls that Louise isn't the only one with family to avenge,
 and is damn sure not going to die here after all the hell her creators put
 her through.  The question is, can Setsuna and Saji do anything to prevent
 the two butthurt girls from butchering each other?

 Not really.  Louise by this point has gone batshit insane, impelled by the
 thought that her parents didn't even have time to say "I don't wanna die"
 before, umm, dying.  All the Newtypes know Setsuna needs to hurry if there's
 any hope of saving what remains of her mind.  Before he can charge in
 however, Mr. Bushido -- really Graham with that $2 mask on -- shows up and
 challenges Setsuna to one final duel.  It's FATE, I tell you, F-E-I-T-O that
 has brought them to this moment, surpassing love and hate and every other
 platitude the writers can list.

 In a way, Graham is yet another victim of the C.B.'s meddling in world
 affairs.  But how to fend him off and save Louise at the same time?  Sumeragi
 solves that by uncaging Suzaku, who promises to hold Graham off while Saji
 and Suzaku go to Louise.  Suzaku calls this an apology for his past misdeeds,
 but the real explanation is simpler: straight up friendship.  Graham
 recognizes him as the Knight of Seven, but Suzaku declares that he has no
 lord to serve any longer: his allegiance is blank.  What to call him, then?
 Hmm.  Hummmm.  What about... the "Knight of Zero"!  That fits, somehow,
 especially when Suzaku is able to overcome his "flight" reflex and parlay
 the "Live!" Geass into unrivaled fighting ability.  Suzaku yells at Zero to
 watch as he carries out his own version of Justice.

 The longer Louise fights, the more unhinged she becomes.  Amuro urges
 Setsuna to stop her pronto: whatever's wrong with her, Ribbons is behind it!
 This is easier said than done however, on account of how powerful the mech
 he "gifted" her for her revenge is.  Saji blames himself for not stopping
 her rampage, and vows to do better next time... if there _is_ a next time!
 See, Eim's put in an appearance, and Crow knows that Eim's power is faaar
 stronger than usual.

 Why's that?  Eim claims it's because the world is full of lies, which Zero
 and Suzaku are experts in.  But Treize, Milliard, even Prince Yuusar are also
 hiding behind a liar's mask.  It all adds up to Eim spooing his pants and
 Body Dividing in an orgy of Dimension Power.  His lies will fill this world
 of chaos, and then They will come with the Spiral Nemesis to take him home.
 As before, his speech quickly becomes incoherent, and further parlay is
 useless.

 But the words he did use stung Zero and Suzaku pretty bad.  Pep talks at a
 time like this are Zexis' stock-in-trade, and Lelouch pulls his shit together
 first.  Preventing a world like Eim describes is the whole reason he's here,
 and when Suzaku stops to think about it, the same goes for him.  Eim finds
 this totally farcical, but Crow points out that the only reason Eim seems
 to deride people growing (proverbial) balls is that he's got none of his
 own.  Maybe the world is full of lies, but as recent events have shown, those
 can be as much a hindrance as a help.

 Oh, and don't forget about that Bushido guy.  When he gets taken down, his
 consciousness merges with Setsuna's.  HE thinks he's dead, but Setsuna's
 finally figured out what Amuro and Camille were trying to tell him: this
 state is brought about by the GN Drive -- a meeting of the minds that lies
 at the heart of Ioria's true plan.  The armed intervention stuff he had the
 CBs doing was merely instrumental to help force human evolution along.
 Evolution by revolution, in fact.

 Now Graham's got a dilemma.  He thought he could only find enlightenment
 through perfecting combat, believing that war is all he and Setsuna were
 good for.  Now that he's lost in battle, he wants Setsuna to finish him off
 entirely.  But Setsuna doesn't roll like that: he battles to seize tomorrow,
 not to kill dudes like him.  He orders Graham to try simply fighting to stay
 alive, and Graham flees in a burst of emohood.  Will he ever find his way
 back to the light?

 Back to Eim though.  Despite all his talk about being SO MUCH MORE WINZOR
 than Crow, his ass goes down without much delay.  He gets so incoherent at
 this point that even the Japanese character set can't adequately express it.
 His renewed energy is of course just what Asakim has been waiting for.  Whoa,
 wait, how'd he get out of the ZONE?!  No word on that yet, since even Asakim
 is impressed at how high Eim's Sphere factor has become.  Eim declares that
 Asakim is about to be eradicated, unless of course he wants to offer his
 soul to Them again.

 Oops, that was bad.  That was a mistake.  Eim just pissed Asakim off, and
 I'm fairly sure that's a recipe for disaster.  Here's a little info for Eim:
 Asakim left the ZONE of his own free will, having figured out there how to
 actually _use_ the Ultimate Power he's received.  The Sphere power Eim fears
 most is already in Asakim's hands!  Witness the wrath of the INQUISITIVE
 SEA-GOAT!!!

Yeah, that's Greatest Of All Time.  Or Genius Of Ass Termination, if you're
keeping score at home.  That's right, Eim's about to get capped in the ass by
Capricorn, and there's nothing he can do about it but flash back to a happier
time, when he was a lowly research assistant named Harmal.  Sure, even then he
was a pathologically-lying fuckup, on the verge of getting fired for mixing
himself up in occult research beyond his comprehension (and then trying to play
it all off like he was the next Laura Croft).  The Sphere he was studying
apparently reacted then to his desperation when b& approached, and his final
plea was to his supervisor to see him as a whole human being.

 This flashback is visible to the whole frigging battlefield, thanks to the
 power of Asakim's Inquisitive Sea-Goat Sphere.  It is keyed off of, you
 guessed it, Curiosity, and is capable of delving to find the Truth(tm) even
 in the face of the False Black Sheep's lies.  This Sphere's former owner's
 curiosity, unfortunately for her, led her too deep into Asakim's darkness,
 where she was eventually swallowed whole.  The interesting question is, what
 is the _other_ Sphere Asakim bears?

 Ah well, we'll find out eventually.  For now, Harmal Algor has basically lost
 the ability to access his Sphere power at all.  Asakim explains to Crow that
 certain of the twelve Spheres have special interactions with each other:
 the Goat and Sheep, for instance, and Crow's own Scales with the
 Water-Bearer.  That's why Crow and Yuusar were able, if only for a moment,
 to tap directly into the Origin Rho to save Esther.

 Before Asakim strikes the final blow, Yuusar appears out of nowhere and vows
 to punish Eim for what he did to Insalaum. He strikes the final blow, gaining
 the power of Eim's sphere in the process.  Maybe the souls of Insalaum's
 people will rest in peace, but Yuusar himself surely can't yet.  Asakim
 tells him why Eim brought Insalaum to the brink of ruin: only with Yuusar's
 love for his country pushed to the absolute limit could the Water-Bearer's
 Sphere engage.  Mind you, had Eim not gone to all that trouble, Asakim would
 have had to do it himself...

 That makes the Accursed Wanderer Yuusar's enemy, just like the person who
 set Asakim free: Gaiou!  They've become colleagues of sorts, and Asakim says
 that their duel will be settled later -- for now, Yuusar an hang onto Eim's
 Sphere.  He jets off, and the question now is, is there going to be more
 throwdown with Yuusar?  Not unless Zexis really wants to: see, Insalaum has
 just signed a peace accord with the Federation.  That puts the Super-United
 States in a _really_ bad position.  One thing's for sure: Eim was right about
 the pervasiveness of the lies filling the world just now...

Elsewhere in a refugee camp, Rilina, Marina and Sheryl are fretting about
the state of world events, and wondering at the words of a hulking, war-torn
man they all separately met.  Fearsome, yes, but also beset by an indescribable
loneliness.  Fighting to protect that most precious to you seems like common
sense, but can it really bring about peace?  Milliard seems to think so, but
Rilina isn't convinced: time for a journey to find out where her brother's
head is really at.  She'll avail herself of allies in Cinq Kingdom, and hopes
that when she sees the other ladies the world will finally be at true peace.
As on the other path, Marina then accepts Sheryl's invitation to see the world
from space.

Back aboard the Ikaruga, Suzaku has decided to immerse himself in this whole
Knight of Zero persona, forsaking all countries and causes other than world
peace.  He and Zero are _not_ repeat NOT going to forgive each other for
anything that's happened.  Saji's pretty worried, but Karen says that this is
the best they can hope for right now.  Hopefully the day will come when
everyone can return to Ashford Academy together... Louise included!  Soma is
watching this attempt to overcome hatred and work together from the sidelines,
and Crow in turn is watching her reaction.  She accuses him at first of reading
her mental activity, but it's really much simpler than that: he's merely
trying to "understand" her.  A lot could get done in this world if more people
tried to do that and fewer behaved like Eim.  Even "Mary" inside her would
love that, right?  Soma tells him to mind his own business and stalks off,
but in fact that's precisely what she needed to hear.

Back across the room, Suzaku recalls the quote that there is no such thing
as an "unforgivable" act.  There are simply acts that people don't forgive --
that they don't _want_ to forgive.  Zero recognizes the gravity of that
statement, and observes that both he and Suzaku have decided to reject Eim's
world-of-lies view.  In some some sense, they're fortunate to be able to start
from scratch, fighting only for the desire for peace that Nanaly and Euphy
bequeathed them.  Suzaku agrees to stick with Zero till that day, and Zero
can rest a little easier knowing that there will always be an element within
Suzaku he can trust.


CHAPTER 52. Battlefield of Confusion

Lelouch makes his way to Nanaly's chambers, where she sits clutching the
scepter that launches the F.L.E.I.J.A.s.  She's expected him, and to his vast
surprise _opens_her_eyes_ and regards him for the first time in eight years.
Kind of sad to exert all the energy to break Charles' Geass only to find that
your brother has been out killing people.  Then again, she's got blood on her
hands too, and it was worth it to try to stop Lelouch from running riot.  So
he shouldn't expect her to hand over the Key of Damocles, even if he Geasses
her into it!

Come to think of it, Nanaly's one of the only people he hasn't Geassed yet,
on account of her being blind and whatnot.  Now's his chance!...and stuff,
except that he'd really rather not twist _her_ will on top of everyone else
whose lives he's already altered by force.  Fortunately, he doesn't have to
debate himself for long: Nanaly helpfully breaks the deadlock by telling him
that he's unfit to rule the world after all his lies.

He who makes the first move, dies.  Isn't that the cliche?  Well Lelouch has
an opening now, asking Nanaly if she'd have rather left the two of them
cowering in fear for all eternity -- he did this for her sake too.  ORLY?  Did
she _ask_ him to?  Maybe she didn't have to: so many powers tussle over the
world that one has to fight just to stand one's ground, much less advance.
Quite so, but it's precisely the vividness of this universal struggle that
makes Lelouch's Geass so unfair: it disrespects people's autonomy.

If so, is a monstrosity like Damocles, ruling by fear, any better?  Yes, Nanaly
says, insofar as it is meant to become a symbol -- a focus of hatred!  It dawns
on Lelouch suddenly what Nanaly is trying to: take all the blame on herself.
That makes his course clear, and he unleashes his Geass to force her to hand
over the Key.  She really doesn't want him to heap any further sin upon
himself, but after a long moment even she succumbs.  He tells her that her
belief in her own ideals is what lets him be true to his, and accepts the key
from her hand.

She realizes only too late what he's done, and Lelouch summons Suzaku to
take Nanaly into custody.  Still wheelchair-bound, she's unable to do so much
as follow him towards the door, crying out that he's a demon, unfair, etc. etc.
All he can do is LOL the laughter of someone who is already doomed.

Just to get the media's attention, he fires a F.L.E.I.J.A. and blows up some
random scenery.  He then broadcasts that Damocles and the remaining WMDs are
his, and offers amnesty to all rebel troops who swear loyalty to him now.
Those that refuse should be prepared for rump-shaking action -- for THIS,
this very moment is when the world becomes his.

That sounds villainous.  Like, _too_ villainous.  He withdraws to a safe
distance with Treize, leaving Treize's troops to attempt to take Zexis down.
It would appear that the whole of the Federation are now Zexis' enemy, and just
for good measure the White Fang show up to help seal Zexis' fate.  Once upon
a time, the CBs would have loved this shit; now, it's just one more clusterfuck
en route to a better tomorrow.  From somewhere nearby, Liumei and her brother
are watching nervously.  It's patently unsafe to be on foot near this quantity
of military mecha, but there's no other safe way to contact Zexis.  If the
CBs can win here, she promises to tell them the way to change the world.

 One thing nobody seems to have realized is just HOW dangerous Zexis really
 is.  Or as they say in the Shinjuku Ghetto, "Bitches don't know 'bout my
 Continuous Action!"  Someone deep within the Force Which Is Called Bandai(tm)
 thinks you're cool if you can beat up 30 sacrificial lambs within 2 turns.
 *I* say it should take less than one PHASE on your first playthrough, without
 excessive SP burn.  Apocalypse Now this isn't.

 What it is is a repeat of Neina's assassination of Liumei, and Louise's
 assassination of Neina, as depicted on the other route.  Seriously, that
 bitch CRAY, and I ain't praising her floating point prowess.  More like how
 high maintenance she's turned out to be, and before Saji and Setsuna can go
 make any adjustments a challenger appears -- Graham.

 Setsuna and Graham have the same meeting of the minds as on the other path
 when Graham's ass is neutralized in battle.  He's still uber-emo at not
 getting killed by Setsuna after he asked all nicely like.  Louise too isn't
 gonna become sane just by getting Setsuna's beam saber up the exhaust
 manifold, and makes good her escape thanks to new enemy troops showing up.

 Both Treize and Milliard have brought henchpeople, which Treize finds
 _terribly_ convenient.  He'd like to settle the fight between Earth and
 Space once and for all, content to spread the bloodshed at Zero's side.
 He lectures Zexis on the fact that the Federation has emphatically failed in
 its original mission to bring peace to the populace, menaced by hooligans
 like Zechs on all sides.  Call Treize hypocritical if you must (and I must),
 but this is what he believes the Earthlings need right now.

 Milliard begs to differ, spitting that "peace" is the furthest thing from
 the Federation's deeds.  The Earthlings spout nothing but malice, and the
 Federation government is the wellspring from which that flows.  The
 Federation must be destroyed, and Treize as the Federation military head
 bears the biggest target on his forehead.  Now at this point, prudent folk
 might quietly tiptoe out of the way and let them beat each other's brains
 in... but no one ever accused Wufei of sanity.  He plans to PREVENT the
 two leaders from settling their score with each other, preferring instead to
 settle HIS score with them both in parallel.

 Hiiro actually agrees, declaring that Zexis' mission is to take out
 aggressors even-handedly.  It will fall to others to actually fill the
 ensuing void with peace (others like Rilina) but for now, it's game on.

 Milliard can't seem to agree with his sister Rilina's way of doing things,
 determined to demolish the Federation for its role in sparking all this
 bloodshed.  He's not going to be able to go through Zexis to have that
 revenge though, and is forced to temporarily withdraw when even the Epyon
 doesn't cut it.

 Treize may be many things: poet, fencer, career bureaucrat, but one thing
 he ain't is titanium.  When shot down, he falls, and when he falls, he
 busts out the history lesson action.  These here Mobile Dolls are the
 realization of an ages-old dream -- nightmare, really -- that wars could be
 ended with the push of a button.  Both war and defeat are atrocities in a
 war without the human element, and no God would bless either side once all
 the dust has settled.

 Wufei is sick of being lectured about war by some REMF no better than Zero.
 He rhetorically asks if Treize knows how many people have died on his
 account, and Treize _promptly_ gives him the precise count as of yesterday:
 999,822.  That shuts Wufei up real fast, and while Treize says he can do
 no more for the dead than memorialize them, he promises everyone listening
 that these dead have not died in vain.  He tells Wufei and Zexis in general
 that they're his BFFs, calling it an honor to have fought them.  He concludes
 by telling Quatro that he believes Quatro has the power to choose a better
 way forward than he's chosen.  He then allows himself to be claimed when his
 mech explodes.

 Only now does Wufei understand what Treize, what Zero himself are trying to
 do... and it's driving him nuts.  But Hiiro tells him to keep it to himself:
 after all, it was their choice, made of their own free will.  Milliard
 inwardly promises his fallen comrade that he'll keep up the farce, and just
 then Lady Une shows up.  She announces that Zero has just signed a peace
 accord with White Fang, and that he's forbidden any further warfare.  Zexis'
 role in today's battle will _not_ be subject to inquiry if they quit now.

 Lelouch seems to have the clout to finish the process of demolishing all the
 old vestiges of elitism that divided Earth and the Colonies, and with
 Treize dead the decks are clear for a full-blown renaissance.  The problem
 is that such a peace will be underwritten by fear... and Hiiro has to wonder
 if Zero really is destined for the future the Zero System showed.

Then again, Zexis may not live long enough to see that future come to pass.
Nia is on hand, musing on how the human's foolish, warlike nature does have
the useful property of turning the spiral and forcing things forward.  It is
apparently time for Phase 2 of the Anti-Spirals' plan, and she's come to make
the official announcement.

Let there be despair throughout the world (to whose ears Nia's voice is being
carried courtesy of hax0red internet service).  In one week's time, the Shadow
Moon will leave its current orbit and crash into the Earth.  Bummerooski!  Nia
leaves without further confab with Simon, and confirmation comes in almost at
once that the world is already beginning to panic.  THIS is precisely the sort
of thing that Veda ought to be used to blunt, but of course the Innovators are
off "surfing" the internet or something.  What to do?  Duh, save the day!

"The" day is apparently not _to_day, since the pilots have some time to
themselves after returning to their motherships.  Karen in particular is in
mental agony, trying fruitlessly to figure out what Lelouch could possibly be
thinking.  She believed that becoming emperor was part of a deeper scheme to
topple Schneizer, but she can't think of any good reason why he'd ally himself
with the White Fang.  Why would he do all of this?  Fiana, like Wufei, seems
to have a guess.  And Kiriko, like Hiiro, tells her to keep it under her hat:
apparently Karen can't handle the truth.

Maybe Rilina can, or Kagura?  They've rendezvoused with Zexis, and want the
assignment to go hear from Lelouch's own mouth what he's really after.  Rilina
has the leverage to pull this off, as former Federation head and brother of
the White Fang commander, and Hiiro as much as gives her his blessing.  He
promises her to defend the world she's busting her buns so hard for.  He and
the rest of Zexis will be headed to that Shadow Moon to try to
head off whatever doom Nia has foretold.  Karen might be having issues, but
Simon at least isn't the least bit fazed at the prospect of trouncing an
entire moon if that's what world peace requires.

Back at Innovator HQ, Revive comments that the world isn't the only thing
being revolutionized -- Setsuna himself is undergoing a revolution, judging
by his prowess in combat.  It's the only explanation for why he's not outright
_dead_ from cellular damage from that bullet back when.  Could he be a
sort of natural-born Innovator, Earth's first?  In any case, the battle for
Earth's future is entering its final phase, now that Lelouch and Milliard --
two of the most unpredictable sorts Ribbons has ever seen -- are at the Earth's
helm.  Time to get and Louise and Billy Katagiri ready for the eventuality
that some of the plucky Zexis folks actually make it to the this seekrit
hideout.

The five Colonial scientists, by the way, are still keeping mum on the Zero
System.  They too are beyond the Innovators' ability to second-guess, and have
vowed to take their own lives at the first sign of anyone using truth serum on
them.  Ribbons is unconcerned, quite certain that his Gundam can handle
whatever Zexis has planned.  And as for that dark moon thing, plummeting to
the surface and all?  Totally unconcerned, and maybe even a plus: if Amuro
was right about souls being trapped by gravity, maybe this is the perfect
excuse for the populace to vamoose.

No, what Ribbons is worried about are some traitors close to home.  Or, did
Rijeene really think he didn't know how she was supporting Liumei?  Ribbons,
after all, is essentially the "creator" of the Innovators, and his Neural Wave
powers lay bare any plots his "children" might try to hatch.  One thing he
didn't expect, however, is for Rijeene to freak and outright _shoot_ him on the
spot.  Rijeene, it seems is determined to be the one to guide mankind, and is
willing to go so far as to reawaken Elgan and somehow force him to divulge the
Black Knowledge and the key to Veda as well.  Uhh, sure -- you go, girlfriend.


CHAPTER 52B. End Game, the Final Battle

It turns out that Yuusar's little alliance pack with the Federation has one
major catch: it doesn't become active until a certain condition is met.  That
would be "world peace", achieved at the point of guns that Insalaum is helping
supply.  Call that a gesture of "gratitude" for taking Insalaum's refugee
people in.  Lady Une will take point on integrating the Insalaum common
people into Earth society, but all the commanders know that it's going to be a
long, prejudice-marred road.  Still, that the Federation won't have to face
Insalaum in pitched battle is pretty good news.

Schneizer wants to put the Arcsabers to work right away squishing the Super-
United States.  He doesn't want to leave Zexis duty entirely to non-Earth
forces, but he _does_ want a way of whittling away at Yuusar's power a bit;
like Lelouch, there's something in Yuusar's eyes he doesn't think he can trust.
He claims to have readied several trump cards to help him clean up the mess he
made when he failed to separate Zero from Zexis, and means to start with a card
that Zero is going to feel most poignantly.

Word reaches Zexis about a mysterious explosion near the island housing the
Japanese exiles.  It seems that whoever was responsible deliberately staged
the explosion so as to not hit the island itself: a bluff, using a F.L.E.I.J.A.
as ammo.  And the bluffer wastes no time phoning Zero up -- it is of course
Schneizer, who's got all the nukes and all the smugness on his side.  But it's
not the hostage crisis at the heart of his call: it's his choice of replacement
emperor now that Charles is dead.  He presents Nanaly, who declares herself
Zero and Suzaku's enemy.

In her mind, threatening people with nukes is no different than the threat of
Zero's Geass, and calls her brother and Suzaku out for lying to her all this
time.  Did they think they were trying to protect her or something?  Lelouch
processes this _remarkably_ quickly, and tells her not to flatter herself.  If
she thinks she's somehow _entitled_ to others' protection, she's the very
epitome of the toxic old feudal culture.  He tells her that he fought the whole
world for one person's sake alone (his), and that if she wants to ally herself
with the man he's going to crush, that's her problem.  Yikes.

As she stammers and falls silent, Schneizer says that the Super-United States
are as good as toast with the addition of Insalaum to his cause.  He
challenges Zero to a duel in one week's time at Mt. Fuji and hangs up.  Now,
most of the other Zexis folk wonder why Schneizer would stoop so low as to
mix Area 11 up in his vendetta.  The better question for Lelouch and Suzaku
is how it is that Nanaly is still alive.  Clearly Schneizer pulled some
shenanigans and saved her from the previous blast, but why didn't C.C. at least
realize she hadn't died?  C.C. tells Lelouch that she's not God -- she can
only sense the condition of people directly bound to her via Geass.  Maybe
Sayoko, who just conveniently turned up out of nowhere, can answer that
question?  Like on the other path, she's left her boss Diethart for reasons
even she can't adequately articulate.

Lelouch is in fact more rattled by this turn of events than he wanted to
admit in Schneizer's hearing, but again as on the other path Suzaku tells
him to go pull himself together.  When he acquiesces, he promises to be
Zero's sword, and tells C.C. to be his shield.

Word of the impending fragdown has circulated throughout Area 11, and everyone
with half a functioning neuron is fleeing somewhere safe... like the Tokyo
Settlement, which totally couldn't be blown the fuck up by nukes or anything.
The Student Council is watching the flood of refugees from the relative
safety of Ashford Academy, discussing how odd it is to hear about the
Federation army battalion Zexis battling the Federation's central government.
Milly's been hearing things in the course of her news career, and the rumors
are that Zexis has done the world far more good -- and has many more
celebrities in its ranks -- than the public knows.

Even Nina is back among her Council friends, and Milly has to remind her to
keep a low profile.  The budding scientist is, after all, on the run from the
government after fleeing her military lab -- and stricken severely by her
conscience after inventing the world's leading WMD.  Milly tells her to take
as much time as she needs to figure out what to do with her life; after all,
that's worked out great for Shirley!  Wait, isn't she dead?  NOT IF YOU WERE
AWESOME several missions back and got enough Zero Points.  Anyways, Shirley's
back on the scene, filling out the ranks of the Council once more.  Those
absentees are currently busy rocking world events, and Milly has to be given
lots of credit for having such an awesome circle of friends.

Oh, that whole hiding-from-the-military thing?  Totally ineffective where
Lloyd and Cecil are concerned.  They've come at Suzaku's request to pick her
up...

As the battle lines form up at Mt. Fuji, Gino is having serious second thoughts
that he wont' let on.  Anya can't explain why, but she feels like something is
different about her lately.  Bismarck tells them to shut up, believing that
once Zexis is defeated the world will peaceably fall in step with the
Federation.  ORLY peace?  Meanwhile, this is the first time some of the Zexis
pilots have seen this Japan's Mt. Fuji, which looks like something out of
Blade Runner thanks to the massive Sakuradite mine.  Is this an indictment of
Britannia's callous environmental policy?  Sure, why not, though it's kind of
late for that several dozen missions into the game.

Rumor has it that Schneizer, de facto head of the Federation, won't actually be
participating in today's battle... as though it's beneath him or something.
For that matter, C.C. isn't planning to sortie either -- Zero's got plenty of
allies without her and her new Lloyd-designed mech getting involved.  Hiiro's
attention is fixed on Schneizer, a different sort of threat than that Treize or
Zechs pose.  Zero knows Schneizer's got more up his sleeve than just dangling
Nanaly in front of him, but there's only one way to find out what that is...

 The Mobile Dolls don't seem to be immediately bum-rushing Zexis, content to
 hang out near Mt. Fuji for now.  This can't be anything good, and Zero
 assures Xingke that he's already busy trying to decipher their stratagem.

 Gino isn't really surprised when he gets his ass pounded: he knows full well
 that his heart wasn't in this fight.  Seeing as how Suzaku is actually
 getting things done, maybe he'd make a better role model than this Bismarck
 creepster?  Whatever he ends up doing, Karen hopes Gino won't disappoint her.
 Anya however doesn't give up so easily: she's convinced that she amounts to
 nothing, and therefore has nothing left to lose.  Jeremiah rushes to her
 side, vowing to give her the duel she needs.  Anya thinks him weak for his
 reliance on technology, meaning to take his picture for personal Wall of
 Shame.  But Jeremiah is a lot harder to kill than he looks, and if she's
 going to take a picture, he's going to autograph it for her with STEEL.

 Autographs wouldn't do her much good, given how she can never remember things
 right anyway.  Maybe it's Alzheimer's.  MAYBE IT'S A TOOMAH!  Protip: it's not
 a tumor.  Jeremiah kicks in his Geass Canceler, and suddenly it's like
 clouds part inside Anya's head.  She knows "Orange" did something to her, but
 what?  She goes off to ponder the topic, and Jeremiah follows to help keep
 her safe.

 Bismarck just sucks, incapable of grasping the fact that Zero comes before
 One in computer sciences.  With his defeat, the signature Knights of the
 Round are history.  However, there's no rest for the weary yet -- Zero
 frantically orders everyone near Mt. Fuji to GTFO ASAP.  Schneizer, it seems,
 has stolen a page from Zero's playbook and _detonated_ the Sakuradite mine,
 producing one hell of an explosion.  An eruption, in fact, and if the
 environmental lobby was irate before they have now officially just gone to
 plaid.  Schneizer himself finally appears to gloat, riding a fucking 3
 kilometer-long flying fortress: Damocles, whose vast destructive powers are,
 of course, purely there for the pacifism.

 With him are a bunch of Insalaum's brain-hacked DBs, and in control of them
 is Marylin.  Her participation at Yuusar's behest is NOT going to bring
 world peace any faster, which was the ostensible reason behind Insalaum's
 peace treaty with the Feds, but then again maybe that's what Yuusar had in
 mind all along.  Not that Zexis needs worry their little heads over it:
 Schneizer's packing a little something something that will end the war
 right quick.

 Yeah, it's more F.L.E.I.J.A.s, the display of which is supposed to (quote-
 quote) make Zexis surrender on the spot.  Schneizer makes a show of being
 OH SO EMO when Zexis doesn't, and with even more genuine emohood Nanaly asks
 to be the one pushing the proverbial Big Red Button.  She'd rather bear at
 least some of the sin for this mess, since she can't do jack shit otherwise.
 Schneizer puts her in the safest part of the fortress.  Cornelia doesn't
 like him maneuvering Nanaly into a role like this, but he starts waxing
 philosophical about how the common people NEED to be ruled by fear.  Even
 peaceniks still count on a police force, right?  Crime will never stop.
 Lusts of all sorts will never stop.  So what's wrong with building a system
 to give people the kind of peace they want?

 And here Cornelia thought Schneizer was building a small Star Destroyer
 just to destroy Zero, but nope, it's to be an unassailable terror platform
 for keeping the world's rabble in line.  In Schneizer's view, peace is a
 mere illusion, and always has been -- what's wrong with administering a
 little punishment^Wass-raping if it makes that illusion a reality?  Cornelia
 yells that no one but a God is allowed to lecture humanity in that way, and
 Schneizer smirks that that's what he intends to become... assuming "the
 people" want him to.  Diethart sure wants him to at least, and Schneizer
 has Kanon take Cornelia off his bridge before she causes him any more bother.

 What does Zero make of all of this?  Put it this way: in the world he and
 his fellows seek to create, nobody like Schneizer exists.  I know you are
 but what am I, is Schneizer's reply, with the postscript that he hopes this
 is mankind's final fight.  Uh huh.  But Zero needn't ask Zexis to "borrow"
 their strength to bump off his brother: the Zexis members all want Schneizer
 out of the picture as bad as he does.  What Zero needs to do is give the
 order, and that he does with gusto.

 Obviously Zero has the largest axe to grind with Schneizer, but surprisingly
 the next in line is Roger.  Ever since the debate over Zero's fate, Roger
 has figured Schneizer as having the face of an angel and the heart of the
 devil himself.  He had really wanted to unmask Schneizer's lies in some
 suitably public forum, but world events have forced Roger to simply blow
 Schneizer the fuck up.  Oh well.  Lelouch meanwhile has learned an important
 lesson that seems to elude Schneizer: the world needs something better than
 self-righteousness.

Now, it takes a lot to shoot down a 3-km mobile fortress, but Zero and Suzaku
have it wired, thanks to a little help from Nina's latest creation.  Ougi then
has the Ikaruga punch a hole in the Damocles' Blaze Luminous barrier to let
the two inside.  There, Schneizer sighs and puts into motion is "final plan",
and Diethart is ready to broadcast every second of it to the world at large.

Zero goes to Nanaly's room, where Schneizer and Diethart are waiting for him.
Diethart has taken Nanaly hostage, though Schneizer was notably not in any
hurry to stop him.  Schneizer's objective is to force Zero to apologize to the
world for all his misdeeds, causing the Super-United States to abruptly
collapse.  Zero expected something like this from his brother, and Kanon and
Diethart are SURE that there's nothing Zero can do about it, even with his
Geass.  This guy must be retarded as well as Nazi, since there's an infinite
range of things Zero can, in fact, do about it.

What Zero chooses to do is pull out a gun and shoot Diethart in the shoulder,
missing Nanaly by mere millimeters.  One thing Schneizer never expected is
Zero actually abandoning Nanaly, and Diethart (who apparently never knew about
the battle with Mao) is _certain_ that Zero Geassed himself beforehand into
not caring about Nanaly.  Zero responds with more gunfire, growling that he'll
not use his Geass again.  There's no need to, anyway.  He then asks Queen
Nanaly for her forgiveness, saying that he may be forced to take her life
after all and vowing that, if he does, he'll take his own shortly thereafter.

Schneizer realizes that his brother has come prepared for death, and tries to
claim that he too has that much cojones.  Zero points out that he's full of
it, grown ossified and arrogant from years of controlling the game instead of
playing it for real.  Schneizer recovers his composure quickly, declaring that
now that he knows where Zero's head is at he can execute him without further
delay.  Zero seems to smirk at that, and says it's time for yet another chess
analogy.  NOT that Zero has just applied checkmate, or even that he's a King...
in fact, Zero names himself as just one more pawn in the Zexis armada -- and
like all pawns, all he can do is advance.  But remember what happens if a pawn
should make it all the way through the enemy's defenses?  That's right,
mother-fucktards: *PROMOTION*!!!

Promotion apparently involves lots of explosions, as Zexis troops carry out
instructions to fire on Zero's location from outside.  And let's not forget
his knights Suzaku and Jeremiah, who run to the rescue now that the guards have
all been dealt with.  Even Rolo is on hand to make extra sure nothing goes
wrong, and the time has finally come for Schneizer to admit defeat.  Does
defeat taste like dying?  A question from Zero first: was Damocles truly meant
to rule the world?  Naw, it really was a death-weapon intended for peaceful
purposes in Schneizer's mind.

As on the other path, Zero dismantles Schneizer's argument in favor of a
"static" peace by pointing out that stasis isn't really "living" life, just
"experiencing" it.  Charles was obsessed with yesterday, Schneizer with today,
and only Zero among them looks for tomorrow.  With hope.  Schneizer gets sick
of hearing it quickly and tells Zero to just kill him, so that Damocles too
can vanish in a burst of nuclear fire and purge him too.  Nanaly protests at
this point that it was she who committed the sin of firing the WMD, and Zero
tells her that everyone commits sins during their life... himself included.
He believes himself unfit to hand down such judgement, and instead has
Jeremiah lead Schneizer and his party away.  Lest Schneizer misunderstand
though, Zero warns him that he's going to drag Schneizer down to where he
himself has ended up.  And remember: "Lelouch" himself is gone now.

What to do about Diethart, who's foaming at the mouth in rage at Zero coming
back from beyond "The End" of his tale.  Zero regards him with what might be
pity, recalling how badly Diethart wanted to document the revolution of the
world.  He then announces that Damocles is to be Diethart's, to use as he sees
fit: if he wants to change the world, he'd better damn well roll up his
sleeves and do it himself.  Diethart begs to at least have Zero Geass him or
something, and Zero shouts that Diethart isn't worth the effort.  As Diethart
runs off, Zero observes that the "Zero" Diethart wanted is already dead.

Nanaly is then left alone with her brother, or at least the man who once was.
Zero is now the kind of (highly practiced head-shooting marksman FPSer always
ganking you online) cold-blooded dude who would point a gun in her direction.
Or maybe, she figures, he's just scared to face her.  She _opens_her_eyes_,
having broken Charles' Geass by force of will alone.  She tells him she was
prepared to stop him with nuclear force, after all the lives he's trampled,
and he asks if she'd rather he left the both of them trembling in constant,
impotent fear of their lives.  As on the other path, Lelouch figures out
quickly that what Nanaly is really trying to do as they argue is take all the
blame on herself.

But this time, he also realizes that Nanaly no longer needs him to save her.
Having told him everything in her heart, she demands to know why he's still too
afraid to show her his face.  How unfair!  Just then someone walks out of the
shadows, telling Zero to get back from the queen.  It is, to both Zero and
Suzaku's utter astonishment, Euphemia!  Privately, she's happy beyond words to
be able to see Suzaku again.  Publically, however, she declares aloud that
Suzaku is no longer her knight after pointing his sword at the Federation.  He
is to leave her sight, and go wherever and do whatever he pleases.  Cornelia is
by her sister's side, announcing Suzaku's official ouster from the Knights of
the Round (which may or may not matter depending on whether Britannia even
exists after today).  Euphy figures that this is the only way to save Suzaku
and Lelouch, and Suzaku is _really_ glad to see his erstwhile girlfriend still
alive.  He has a brief moment to thank Cornelia for letting him see Euphy
alive, and Euphy quickly tells Zero that she still believes that he truly
wants to work with her for peace, despite the terrible events of that fateful
day.  Lelouch thanks her in turn, if "thank" is the word, for allowing himself
to finally remove himself from Nanaly's presence.

Before he does, however, Rolo uses his Geass to create a little bubble for
Lelouch to say a private goodbye to Nanaly.  Lelouch thanks his "brother", and
takes off his mask.  He thanks Nanaly for becoming such a fine, self-sufficient
person, and tells her he'll always love her.  He then bids her a final goodbye,
re-dons his mask, and bids the three princess a grand farewell as Zero, the
Man Who Will Change the World!

Back outside, it's been confirmed that the princesses have cleared out and
that Schneizer and friends are safely imprisoned aboard the Ikaruga.  All that
remains is to wreck the Damocles, and in it the gibbering Diethart whose
dreams of New World Order producer are rapidly coming to an end.  Before Zero
can give the order to fire however, a barrage comes in from overhead and
blows Damocles away with more or less one volley.  Its origin is a MASSIVE
battleship situated near the White Fang capital ship Barge, where one must
assume Treize and Zechs are held up sex0ring each other ad nauseum.  A weapon
like this is clearly as dangerous as Damocles was, and is obviously Zexis'
next target.

The new battleship is called the Libra, and turns out to be what the five
Colonial scientists have been building at gunpoint all this time.  Its only
weakness seems to be that the previously-fired main cannon can't be fired
repeatedly -- but the scientists are working on that.  Not that they expect to
be done by the time Zexis come to get them, regardless of Carns' orders to the
contrary.  White Fang seems to subscribe to the Schneizer school of peace-
through-terror, and distressingly Treize admits that he's not as "elegant" at
it as Schneizer was.  Rather than hang a Sword of Damocles above the world's
head, Milliard simply wants a big enough battering ram that NO ONE's stronghold
would feel safe.  Which ever side wins the battle to come, mankind is about
to reach the Next Level(tm), even beyond what Ioria imagined.  The plan is to
breach Veda's defenses and broadcast the whole thing to the world in realtime,
and on that at least Dr. J is even happy to help.  Oh, and one more person is
needed for the plan: Rilina!


CHAPTER 53A. Falling Moon

We find Gaiou doing something very un-Destroyer-Of-Worlds-ly: gazing up at the
moon and thinking.  Thinking about how badly the Anti-Spirals must want this
planet demolished, that they'd enlist the help of some REALLY annoying
friends...

Now, with the Earth in imminent peril, one might naively expected a global
exodus... given how there's a _colony_fleet_ of spaceships conveniently parked
nearby and all.  One like the Frontier's president, say.  But Lelouch has _not_
authorized the Earth's peoples to head for the exits, going so far as to
execute a few influential string-pullers who tried to privately head to space.
Howard wonders if Lelouch is trying to murder the entire populace, but if so,
it looks to be a murder-suicide insofar as Lelouch himself shows no signs of
leaving.  With the Surface-Colony war resolved, Mishima expects the remaining
Earthlings to refocus the remains of the Federation around the Colonies once
the Moon falls -- if "Federation" is the term for the monarchy Lelouch has
orchestrated.

In any case, Mishima figures this Earth is a lost cause, and says it's high
time to get back to the Frontier fleet's original mission to the galactic
center.  The Fold System is basically repaired, but before the fleet can leave
there's still the Vajra menace to take care of.  Mishima tells Howard that
the Vajra next has been pinpointed, as has their "queen".  And though Ranka
Li (and Grace, for that matter) have gone missing, Mishima's got her
replacement all lined up...

Back at Atami, the non-combatants are painfully aware of the Shadow Moon's
approach -- looming larger in the sky by the day.  About the only good news is
that it exerts no gravitational pull on the Earth, due perhaps to the
dimensional distortion surrounding it.  If there's one thing Tsubasa's sure of,
it's that that moon isn't long for this world: Kouji and his mates are going
to pulverize it to save the world.  Again.  It's just kinda what they do.

Mishima's sources seem accurate on at least one point: nobody is being allowed
to leave Earth.  Milly's hanging out at the Academy, since the world's media
is basically on forced vacation during the crisis, and confirms that even the
high nobles of Britannia have no access to space.  People are plenty pissed at
Lelouch and his government, but there's no force that can oppose the Federation
and White Fang militaries, and no time to even try with the Shadow Moon bearing
down.  At least there isn't panic and rioting in the streets, but if this is
"world peace", there's going to be "Malice at the Palace" before too long.

As if on cue, Lelouch gets on the mic and sends a message to the world.  It has
been uncovered, he says, that the message of the so-called "Anti-Spirals" is
merely a vicious prank by HACKERS ON STEROIDS, just like the whole "Wiseman"
business.  Apart from the lulz, their objective seems to be projecting a
world-wide hologram of the Shadow Moon moving to cause panic.  The hacker base
has now been pinpointed, and as the Federation army moves in for the kill the
people of the world should expect the Moon to return to normal shortly.  Let
the people fear not, and conduct themselves in an orderly, rational fashion...
or get IRL permabanned for disrupting society, whichever they prefer.

This is of course all lies (except maybe the banhammer part), meant to keep
the people from freaking out any more than they already have.  Lelouch himself
has an awful taste in his mouth after threatening the world, and not exactly
happy to get a "sympathy" card from the head of the Innovators, who say they'll
be "watching over" the world.  What this really means though is that both they
and he are equally powerless -- only Zexis has any hope of stopping what's to
come, and if they can't, the world has no future anyway.  Or so his gut tells
him anyway.  The fact is, he and Milliard are just as scared as everyone else,
but they've done the best to set the world up for a brighter future in the
hopes that this crisis is over.

There's a bit more to it than just gut feel, of course.  Lelouch _did_ get a
glimpse of the Black Knowledge when he faced down Charles, and though he
hates to admit it, he finally understands what the hell Elgan is up to.  Word
is that the Colonists are brimming over with sympathy for their terrestrial
comrades, lingering resentments washed away as the final phase of the farce
Treize gave his life to orchestrate.  All except for Carns, who's thrown in
his lot with the Innovators in the hopes of seeing the Earth punished.  One
of two things will happen: either Zexis will pummel the Shadow Moon and then
the Innovators themselves, or Lelouch's enshrinement as the wickedest emperor
in history will come a bit earlier than planned.  Assuming of course that even
the Colonists have a future...

It seems, by the way, that there's some sort of commotion in the Dark
Continent... one which Lelouch has no interest in trying to quell just now.
As he knows firsthand, these are the kind of people whose drills reach the
heavens, no matter how much pressure is applied from above.  Better to let
Kamina's scions do what good they can in peace.

At least 640k people have evacuated into a kilometer-long underground shelter
which just conveniently happened to be buried near Kamina City -- a present of
sorts from the previous culture to modern man.  A culture which, lest we
forget, got its ass handed to it by the Anti-Spirals.  The shelter is SO not
going to withstand Moonfall, which is why Roshiu had to lie like Lelouch to
get people to go cower there.  About the best Roshiu knows how to do is to
save the immediate residents of Kamina City by flying them to space in the
massive Ark Gurren.  Roshiu's feeling pretty bad about hiding the existence of
Phase 2 from the Federation government and only focusing on saving his own
people's butts, but his only other option -- full disclosure -- would have
probably just accelerated the Anti-Spirals' timetable and denied _anyone_ the
chance to escape.  Without any irony, Lee Long says (s)he's glad to have helped
Roshiu do as much as he did.

The good work isn't over yet, though.  Booting up the Ark Gurren will require
plugging the darn thing into zombie-Spiral Lord, who's the only one who can
actually get the thing to operate.  Somewhat like the Lagann only responds to
Simon, in fact.  The boot sequence goes through and the Spiral Engine comes
online thanks to Lowgenome's can-do attitude, so here's the scenario.  Once
the moon falls, no terrestrial shelter will stand up to the shockwave.  The
blistering heat will make the surface totally inhabitable for one year, and
asking the existing Colonies for help would just strain their resources too
far... so the Ark Gurren will do what the Frontier fleet was designed to do and
seek out a new home for mankind.

Lowgenome, or what's left of him anyway, calls Roshiu a good leader for never
losing sight of the big picture.  And that's really what's been eating Roshiu
all this time: he'd rather be out there fighting, not forced to make decisions
for others.  Anyways, that's a worry for the future -- for the present, the
Ark Gurren takes off as soon as the final citizens get loaded.

So it comes down to this: Happy Fun Ball turns out to be the giant disembodied
head of Jack Skellington.  Which is _damn_ peculiar.  The sight stirs memories
of the battle with Gaiou, and it should -- this is what brought Gaiou's
memories back after all.  And if Roshiu thinks he can make a clean break for
outer space, he's sadly mistaken.  Out from the Shadow Moon come a large horde
of Mugan, which the Ark Gurren's defenses are entirely too feeble to handle.
After all, this thing _is_ supposed to make the Spiral-based lifeforms despair
and all.

What really sucks about this is how the Spiral Engine actually runs on
emotion, and with hordes of depressed mo-fos aboard the horsepower is going
nowhere slow.  In fact, even the bridge crew -- or _especially_ the bridge
crew -- are down in the dumps, and Roshiu realizes that he's finally hit his
limit.  Fortunately... Dayakka is on hand!  What he's supposed to do is rather
unclear, but fortunately he's not the only ally Roshiu has.

Simon and Viral are at the vanguard of the Zexis onslaught, reminding Roshiu
that it's only ever really over if you give up.  Remember that his is the drill
that pierces the Heavens!  Insta-morale for the team, and a new lease on life
for the Ark Gurren, which doesn't have any actual weapons to defend itself.
Guess those pesky Mugans will have to be kept at bay then.

 When even Zexis can't keep one of the enemies from approaching the Ark
 Gurren, Roshiu figures all is lost.  Emoboy has to be reminded that the Ark
 Gurren is, in fact, a Gunmen in its own right, and that means Simon can
 combine with it.  Of course he can: nothing is too outrageous for the leader
 of the Gurren Gang to pull off!  Of course, nothing is too outrageous for the
 Anti-Spirals either, and the two head Mugan manage to revive enough to pull
 off a combination of their own.  Two on two battle?  No problemo.

 Defeating the symmetrically-docked bad guys jogs something in Lowgenome's
 memory.  He urges Simon to go to the surface of the Shadow Moon, which would
 be a lot easier without Eim getting in the way.  This will not be the "final"
 battle, for which a certain Important Person must be present... no, today is
 about keeping a full-blown Spiral Nemesis from happening, and for that, the
 Earth must be destroyed.  Even he never expected things would get this bad
 thanks to the Abyss opening.

 Well, if Eim is gonna step into the firing line, that's his problem as far
 as Crow is concerned.  At least one person agrees with Eim though, Metarl,
 who means to put the Earth to good use once mankind has been cleansed from
 it.  His plan is to teleport all of Zexis to the World of the Dead!

That's bad, isn't it?  Well, it sure ain't good.  Shin Dragon reacts to
whatever Metarl has done, and Kei and friends can sense the effects without
the need for fancy instruments too.  Something big is about to go down, and as
if in anticipation, a certain group of people have come to pay a visit...


CHAPTER 53B. The Final Victor

Schneizer's duplicitous ass will going to live to see another day, and the
credit goes to Nanaly and Euphy.  They've got the idea that Schneizer will
make a good devil's advocate for debates with the Super-United States, and one
can only hope that this might be the first step in healing the rift between
the two sides.  The fact that Euphy is still alive at all might help heal the
rift between Suzaku and Zero, though signs point to that being a long process.
The good news is that Euphy herself has forgiven Zero for the whole mess, and
the fact that the two of them took out that F.L.E.I.J.A. is a pretty good sign.
They certainly won't have to do it alone.

Watching the merriment from the sidelines is Noin, who's gotten info from Cinq
Kingdom about the huge battleship the team will be facing.  It's called the
"Libra", and the G-boys aren't thrilled to hear that their mentors are the
ones that built it.  They've given Treize the perfect new vantage point from
which to look down upon the world's peoples, and the latest intelligence
reports note that he's got Rilina with him.  She's presumably gone to find out
what Treize and Zechs are really up to, but Hiiro doubts Zechs will heed his
sister's words any longer.  Rilina presumably knew that and went anyway, and
that thought puts The Look(tm) into Hiiro's eyes.  Someone's gonna get real
dead, real fast at this rate.

Quatro's pondering Treize and Zechs' ploy too, and asks what Zero makes of the
Libra.  An arrogant gambit Schneizer would be proud of, incompatible with
world peace.  Duh!  ...Or not, maybe: Quatro can only conclude that the Libra
is some kind of joke, and _not_ meant for Zechs to fight Zexis.  If anything,
Zechs is hunting the ills of mankind itself -- something that Zero, who wears
a mask before his own sister, can probably understand better than most.  Not
that Quatro is speaking from experience or anything.

If Rilina is going to exert any influence over her brother, she'll have to go
through Dorothy first -- and Dorothy is convinced that Milliard, like her,
is interested mostly in peace through war just now.  It's just too far-fetched
to Rilina that her brother would truly desire a peace built on depriving the
people of their freedom, and Dorothy thinks of that as Rilina's limit... a
limit Milliard doesn't share.  Dorothy leaves Rilina alone, promising to prove
that peace will follow this fighting, and unfortunately all Rilina can do is
emo about it.

But then a new challenger appears: it's Milliard himself!  Rilina doesn't give
him the warmest of greetings, shaming him for claiming the Peacecraft name
while acting like a tyrant.  Milliard isn't impressed, citing how the peace
between Earth and space just now is unprecedented.  Maybe things are quiet, but
they're not _peace_ful at all -- according to Rilina Peacecraft, who apparently
is the self-evident authority on such things.  Milliard likes how strong his
sister has become, but says that that strength isn't what the world needs now.
Hopes she, of the two of them, can keep her innocence.  He, as he embraces her
goodbye, has clearly already lost his.

The enemy come into view, and at first the team are glad that they're only
facing Mobile Dolls: easier to fire when there's no risk of killing someone.
Rolan takes a different view however, warning against the slippery slope of
getting used to the thought of violence without consequences.  The pain and
rage of fighting other people is actually productive, in a certain sense.  And
given how nobody would voluntarily choose to experience suffering, this fight
must be ended pronto.

It finally dawns on Zero that Treize and Zechs aren't trying to win the most
probable victory like Schneizer would, but have something else in mind.  The
more powerful Newtypes can sense his realization, and like Zero have no intent
of letting them get away with it.  Hiiro presumably concurs, but his top
priority is rescuing Rilina, held somewhere aboard the Barge.  He'll have Zexis
at his back, and boatloads of Milliard's troops at his front... and Mr. Bushido
waiting in the wings (wasn't it nice of White Fang to take him in?).  Crow
thinks he knows why the Arcsabers haven't joined the White Fang cause: makes
sense for Yuusar to let the humans duke this one out themselves.

 As the battle unfolds, Zexis realize that the whole thing is being televised
 live to the whole world: either the work of Veda or someone with comparable
 multicasting gadgetry.  Making a spectacle out of humans killing humans would
 fit the holier-than-thou Innovator M.O., but Zero is savvy enough by this
 point to realize that someone else must be responsible.  Not that Ribbons
 has any interest in stopping the broadcast, believing no doubt that Zexis is
 going to go down in flames.  He's about to be learned, thinks Amuro, that
 there's much more to humans than that...

 Hell, the Innovators even had the gall to send the Libra a message, wishing
 both sides good luck in battle.  Milliard and crew will need it more than
 most, seeing as how they've deliberately fed themselves into the Zexis meat
 grinder.  The Libra is pummeled in short order even as Hiiro races inside
 the Barge, and Treize gives the order to for a fighting-abandon ship.  Shit
 is about to get even more really real than the last time reality set in, and
 if that doesn't compute for you, try this:

Hatred, rage, sorrow and love are about to have a quadruple date with destiny.
That's what Bushido thinks anyway, and dudes in Cato masks are always good for
entertainment.  Hiiro's the one busy actually doing it though, killing his way
through all the guards to reach Rilina's room.  He tells her he wanted to see
her face once more before the final battle, and she nearly breaks down in
tears.  Why Milliard and Treize are bent on spilling this much blood for
"peace" is beyond her, but Hiiro points out that they're even willing to have
their own blood spilt in the process.  For that reason, he has no plans to halt
the battle -- and Rilina had better watch the fight with her own eyes if she
isn't convinced.

He's going to defeat Treize and Milliard, and if Rilina lives long enough,
she'll get to see that peace she so desperately wants.  That's the only thing
Hiiro can do for her and all peace-niks like her.  He swore to protect her, and
this is the only way he knows how.  Rilina fears that Hiiro means to lay down
his own life in the process, but he asks her to believe in him.  Lady Une then
shows up, asking Hiiro to leave Rilina in her care as Treize instructed.  Hiiro
accedes, telling Rilina that life is in fact pretty cheap these days...
especially his.

At least Hiiro can now concentrate on fighting, and that's important since
Libra's main reactor is still operational.  That means Carns can crash the
damn thing into the Earth, causing massive devastation and essentially wiping
both Federation and the Super-United States off the map.  This will make the
Colonies the new center of humanity, something Carns views as necessary if
mankind is to have a future at all.  Dr. J agrees that mankind needs some kind
of shock to restore its respect for life and fear of war, which is what Zero
had suspected: they only wiped out Damocles to demonstrate their even more
terrifying terror-weapon.

Treize and friends are, in fact, trying to teach mankind a lesson in the
futile cycle of power kowtowing to greater power.  Carns, insofar as he was
trying to _be_ that greater power, is going to be very disappointed by the
fact that the scientists want the Libra to fail (including how they hacked the
main gun to be unable to fire repeatedly).  Dr. J credits the "Zero" Gundams
for showing him this vision of the future -- and by that he means both the
Wing Zero and the Double-O.  Cripes, was the Wing Zero really part of Ioria's
plans all along?  Well, the scientists no longer care much, hoping to leave
the world to a more decent group of people than they style themselves to be.

Dr. J's final admonition to Hiiro is to _not_ self-destruct like J's about to
any more.  He then detonates the Libra's main reactor, sending everyone left
aboard to wherever Ioria is now.  Wufei is livid at Treize for all the lives
lost in pursuit of this "lesson" of his, and that's just as Treize and co.
like it.  Whoever wins this fight will have brought about world peace, and what
grieves people like Camille the most is that brainboxes like Treize _ought_ to
have come up with a better way to get peace than to kill half the frigging
neighborhood in the process of acquiring it.  Sorry to disappoint, Milliard
is not.  What is _is_, is eager to get this over with.  And by this point, so
am I.

 Mr. Bushido gets a warrior's end of sorts, if you ignore the fact
 that he's not actually dead.  Farewell to Gundams at least, as the core truth
 of the Way of the Warrior finally manifests: one must lose one's life, to
 gain it.  Setsuna for one hopes that Graham will live on, and fight on, as a
 better person.

 It's much easier for Milliard to become an hero, knowing that THE Hiiro will
 look after his sister.  As on the other path, Treize has one final speech
 about how God will not smile upon those who wage war with weapons whose
 human hearts have been removed.  Milliard meanwhile offers up a defense of
 his war, ostensibly to protect the weak from the strong.  Hiiro once hated
 the weak, for their inability to say what they feel and their constant
 cowering from an attack that might never even come.  Milliard tries
 protesting that it's the strong that make the weak that way, but Hiiro has
 finally learned the Truth: there _are_ no strong people in the world.

 Surely Milliard can see the future, thanks to the Epyon if nothing else.
 It's not about his blood-stained past, it's about what he can do going
 forward.  He and Hiiro exchange one final blow, and Hiiro comes out on top.
 He also deliberately avoids striking Milliard in the cockpit, lest Rilina
 start bawwing.  Milliard accuses Hiiro of being too pure, and too kind...
 the very same reasons, ironically, that Hiiro is fit to live while he is not.
 If it's folks like Zexis who will create the future, it's the least Milliard
 can do to watch them do it, with a warrior's eyes!  Let the people of the
 world turn all the pages he drew -- let them curse his name, but remember the
 truth.

With the unseating of the Federation's top two military figures, the war is
ovah!  Time for the Federation to return to being a democracy, what with the
king dead and all.  All the people must join their voices in figuring out where
to go from here, and putting down all the guns would make a pretty decent
start.  Let everyone know that now, the 21st Pan-Dimensional Century, is the
end of war.  Hopefully everyone's learned enough from watching this battle
that they'll do the right thing.  And in case there are some lamers who don't
get the message, people like Zexis will be around to set them straight.  The
new target is the "history of war", and if there's anyone willing to cast
Magic Missile at the darkness, of course it's Hiiro.

Shooting down the darkness (and with it, the Barge) doesn't end all war on the
spot, but it's kind of a nice start.  It next falls to Rilina to forgive Lady
Une, and more importantly to forgive Dorothy and convince her that maybe, just
maybe, mankind's seen enough tragedy for one lifetime.  When Dorothy finally
relents, Rilina has a private moment of silence out of respect for all Zexis
has done, before resuming her good work at trying to help mankind's wounds
heal.  All that remains now is the pact with Yuusar, and God only knows where
_that_ will end up...

Back on the Surface, Schneizer still can't believe that Treize and Milliard
actually went through with their plan -- it's too far-fetched that they could
actually stir the spirit of the masses with their ideas of war-forged peace.
They probably _would_ have failed if they'd made their appeal with words, but
instead they appealed with their own lives.  It's unpardonable that they mixed
up so many other lives in their quest, but the result is undeniable: even
Schneizer feels like he's been schooled a bit in what it means to risk life for
an ideal.  The princesses three seem to buy that he's turned over a new leaf,
and enlist his assistance in the renewed (and this time, genuine) peace talks
with the Super-United States.  It seems that Zero's dreams for the world are
about to come true, thanks to all his and Zexis (and Suzaku's!) hard work.
The question now becomes, what to do about the Innovators and Insalaum.
Schneizer has to wonder what Treize and Milliard had planned there...

Speaking of the Innovators, a large posse of them just showed up near the
moon, in great shape to menace everybody.  Only Zexis is in position to
intercept, natch.  Meanwhile, the new Getter team sense that something uber-
bad is about to happen -- especially given that Shin Dragon is starting to
respond to it.  Maybe that's why they've gotten some visitors just now...


CHAPTER 54A. World of Despair

Lo and behold, Zexis have been sucked into a pocket dimension run by
smartass^Wfartass Metarl.  Eim narrowly avoided his steely clutches, but
something else did not: a FRIGGING IMMENSE Gunmen that Lowgenome says is the
real form of the Shadow Moon.  Nia seems unhappy that Metarl loused up her
plans for world blamimation, but even she has to admit that "world domination"
requires, above all, the _world_ in question to go on existing.  Metarl tells
Nia that the the Earth is _not_ going to bend over for them, not with the
pieces of the Ultimate Power coming together, and Nia as much dares him to
live through this.  She's confident that Simon won't be so lucky, or any of the
others on the cusp of Evolution.  The rest of the Earth can be readily
destroyed once they're taken out.

She's got a pretty big mouth for a mere page-girl, and aims it at Zexis once
Metarl vanishes.  The Cathedral Razangun will be their DOWNFALL... that is,
if Metarl's little toys can be taken out of the narrative first.  She tells
the inquisitive team that this is literally the World of Despair.  Like, their
despair, all of it, made manifest as a world.  Now, some of the Zexis folks
weren't the brightest students in school, and the word "despair" is
conspicuously absent from their inner dictionaries, but Mars at least is
feeling the love^Whate from that Devil Ring with every second he stays in this
place.  Guess it behooves the team to bust out fast, huh?

 The cannon fodder get fodded upon in no time flat, but the Cathedral
 Razangun proves to be a lot tougher... seemingly impregnable, in fact.  But
 Simon knows that discouragement is precisely what the enemy wants, showing
 what Nia calls "visceral" understanding of what Evolution means.  Ryouma
 her a hypocritical bitch for letting the Innovators Evolve unchecked, but
 Nia corrects him that the Innovators, strictly speaking, haven't "evolved"
 at all.

 Such insatiable, bestial hunger can be dealt with in any number of ways.
 The problem are the Spiral Lifeforms, which don't venture outward, but
 _upward_ toward increasingly forbidden realms.  Who the hell decides that,
 huh?  The Anti-Spirals, in Nia's view.  Ryouma, however, takes a different
 view altogether, sensing the approach of something special.  It's that
 paragon of evolution, Shin Getter Dragon, AND both Setsuko and Rand.  Is this
 a case of BERI GUUDO TAIMINGU, or yet more deus ex machinations by the
 writers?  Well, the claims is that Traia pulled a Zone Breaker out of her
 ass and rescued the two Sphere-bearers, whose mecha are suspiciously in
 tip-top shape, so you be the judge...

 Even with all this help, the 5XL Gunmen isn't easy to destroy.  Just stopping
 it is an accomplishment, which Metarl shows up to congratulate the team on
 before Simon can try to bring Nia to her senses.  Metarl is one CONFIDENT
 dude, claiming that it is the Power of Darkness that keeps him immortal and
 undying.  But really though, it's about time that he take off that frigging
 mask, to reveal his true self: Zhul!  It is he, along with Muge, that are
 behind the Darkness bullshit...

 ...and guess who shows up!  Supposedly this World of Despair is also the
 Realm of the Dead, where the fact that they got their asses nuked last game
 counts for nada.  And in fact, it is the very spirits of the dead gathering
 in this place that gives Zhul power.  So he sics them on the party, draining
 their vitality so they can watch as he and Muge take over the Earth.  It
 among all planets seems most suitable for the Inheritors of the Black
 Knowledge to inhabit, though nobody's figured out until now just why.

 Apparently the Sphere-bearers haven't awakened their powers enough to just
 find out on their own, so the two evil masterminds gloat and fill everybody
 in.  Their true objective is to control the Origin Rho, the power governing
 all phenomena.  No mere energy source as the puny humans seem to think,
 Origin Rho is not _generated_ by the Spheres or the D-Extractor system: those
 are merely tools for expressing it.  In truth, Origin Rho is an animistic
 power imbuing all things, and it shines most brightly in the radiance of
 stars, _literally_ the power of death and rebirth.  Yea, even black holes,
 even the Big Bang itself, are manifestations of the Origin Rho's might.

 Admittedly it sounds like a tall order for mere humans to somehow wield the
 power that brought Something from Nothingness, and could return it again.
 The puzzling part is, if it's the _stars_ that have so much Origin Rho in
 them, what's the point of pursuing the Earth?  Mum's the word on that,
 since Zexis are about to get their asses killed on the spot.

 Or not: the latest in the string of conveniently-timed arrivals is none
 other than Marg.  Call this a silver lining of the fact that this is the
 Realm of the Dead: he's dead, so he's able to show up and give the team a
 much-needed morale boost.  What's more, among the dead here are many that
 died _because_ of Zhul and Muge, so Marg has an easy time convincing them
 to rebel and rejuvenate poor Mars.  The final push comes from Marg himself,
 who exhorts Mars so much that he's finally able to break free of the Devil
 Ring.  Of course, this pisses off the bad guys, and of course, they deposit
 more foes to fight...

 Muge's death is fairly anti-climactic, and Dancougar team don't sound too
 worried about the possibility that he might just revive again somewhere
 or somewhen else (after all, he _is_ the incarnation of Evil(tm) and
 whatnot).  Zhul is far more surprised that Muge is incapable of resurrecting
 in the land of the dead of all places.  He himself is capable of about
 one revival, but with the power of Love(tm), Mars is able to overcome the
 ensuing counterattack and smite Zhul once and for all [at least until the
 next game or whenever...]

 All this fragdown has re-re-reconfirmed for Nia what she knew all along: the
 humans and all their rump-shaking action are Public Enemy Number One.  Seeing
 the Cathedral start up again, Lowgenome has an interesting idea: why not try
 to hack into its computer core?  Viral finally figures out how Roshiu has
 sort-of-resurrected his boss, but Lowgenome tells Viral not to sweat it --
 becoming an AI like this is kind of fun.  He directs Simon to directly
 interface his Spiral Power [is _that_ what they're calling it these days??]
 with the Cathedral's core, knowing that what awaits within is...

..the Anti-Gurren Lagann, piloted by a genuine Anti-Spiral.  Is Simon fazed?
Duh, of course not.  Especially since the Anti-Lagann is a total pushover.
It's got the typical "oh, just TRY to be awesome" and "until we meet again"
bullshit going, and as it detonates Nia ejects.  Simon claims at this point to
be willing to kill anyone who threatens mankind, even Nia, but he hesitates at
the last second.  Nia says that that hesitation is the fatal weakness that
mankind tries to pass off as "love".  But what if _she's_ the one hesitating?
Witness the fact that she's still wearing the ring Simon gave her!

Oh snap!  Simon's just caught on to what the Anti-Spirals are up to here:
making him kill her would be the most despair-filled trap of all.  Not only
did she stop him from falling into that, the fact that she's appeared in
person must mean that the real her is crying for salvation between the
expressionless mask!  She can't contradict him, and he manages to force his way
past her to royally screw the enemy nucleus.  Yeah, spiral-related puns are
all the rage these days.

Cathedral vanquished, the team find themselves back in realspace.  Lowgenome's
had a hard day hacking its systems, and his controllers give him some well-
deserved time off.  Nia is finally back to her old self, safely aboard the
Gurren Lagann thanks to Simon's heroics.  Roshiu now knows beyond any
reasonable doubt that he'll always be deficient in the manhood department
compared to the Gurren Gang leader.

You'd think it would be time for a triumphant return to Earth... "but you'd
be wrong".  Turns out the Frontier Fleet has gone off without permission to
kill the Vajra queen, and without a qualified singer, it's anyone's guess how
they intend to pull it off...

Traia had a little help from Carlos improving the Zone Breaker, which works
via the usual magical Dimensional Energy tech.  It took all her lab's
resources, but it was worth it to save the two Sphere-bearers (and tag-along
Mail).  Crow gets busy filling them in on recent developments in the Sphere
sphere, and Rand gives him a physical letter (yes, analog mail, who knew!)
from Traia that turns out to be a bill for the Zone Breaker... a BIG one.
Why is it that the harder Crow works to erase his debts, the more he seems to
accumulate?

As the rag-tag fleet goes off to see what the hell Mishima intends to do to
the Vajra, Simon takes a quick tour of the Ark Gurren.  Pretty snazzy stuff,
but not really cut out to be the new Zexis flagship (Getter Dragon can serve
that role maybe).  The Ark Gurren is going to abort its colony mission and
return its residents to Kamina City, but it seems that Simon should be able to
instantaneously summon it to his side for combination purposes... even out at
the Neo-Planets, where the Vajra nest is supposed to be.  Even as Simon thanks
Roshiu for doing such a good job as Kamina City's ruler, Roshiu describes
himself as a rotten human and submits himself to judgement for all the lives
he was about to sacrifice.

Simon simply punches him in the face, saying that that's how everyone got
"corrected" where he was from.  To err is human.  To get socked in the kisser
is how humans should repent them of their mistakes -- it makes good motivation
for trying to make amends.  And amends, he believes, are always available.
With Roshiu's confidence restored, Simon can go off to battle with a clear
conscience.  Oh, and one little tidbit from Lowgenome that Lee Long wants
Simon to hear.  It has to do with the Vajra, and it's up to him and to Ranka
what they do with the info...


CHAPTER 54B. The Final Battle, Until Endless Evolution

The Invader herd near the moon is nothing if not "vast", and getting vaster by
the moment.  To the extent that their motives _can_ be understood by humankind,
it seems like they're focused on massing their strength and not actually
attacking (yet) -- in Mishima's view they're waiting for the arrival of their
ruler.  When that ruler appears, the world is probably toast, and Mishima
wants the fleet to get back to its original mission before that happens.  No
time to think about "evacuating" the Earth or anything of the sort, especially
now that the Fold System is back online.  The only loose end is taking out the
Vajra queen, and Mishima's got a plan for that.  Yessss, soon "his turn" will
begin in this whole mess.

Zexis is very well aware of the Invader menace too, and mean to go confront it.
The plan is _not_ to kill as many as possible before dying however, a lesson
the old hands want the youngsters to learn very well.  Crow isn't so bullish on
the team's chances, but intends to do what he can to give the world enough of a
future that he'll have some time for repentance.  Margret meanwhile is getting
nervous about Insalaum's next move, seeing as how the Federation is about to be
reborn.  Crow tells her that one can only hope that Insalaum decides they can
be friends with the new Federation, and that everything ends peacefully.
Esther as usual doesn't like watching Crow and Margret getting all lovey-dovey
right before a big battle, but I say if life's short, try to enjoy it!

Yup, lots of Invaders.  We call this a "target-rich environment".  It gets
richer when their butt-buddies [no wait, that's way too undignified.  "Ass-
allies"?  Posterior Comrades?  can space-monsters even _do_ that?] the Vajra
show up, with a different paint job and a new attitude that has Basara on edge.
No word on what their deal is, other than that they're out for Zexis blood.

 As the fight proceeds, Eureka starts to sense some sort of hatred from
 the Vajra.  Before everyone says "no duh!" it turns out to be the sort of
 hatred that comes from the Vajra being controlled... by none other than Nia!
 The Anti-Spirals have apparently pressed the Vajra into service for Phase 1
 of their anti-mankind plan, Phase 2 being so apocalyptically destructive that
 even Simon isn't worthy to get a straight description from Nia.

 This kind of sounds ominous -- so ominous in fact that Holland has gotten
 his ailing ass back into the cockpit to help out.  With him are Anya and
 Gino, who astutely point out that there's no Britannia or Black Knights
 anymore: only one world and one vision.  Hell, even the S.M.S. (or at least
 Luka and Ozuma) are all in on stopping the Invasion, as are the pilots of
 Shin Getter Dragon _and_ the missing Sphere-bearers.  See the other side for
 how Traia and her ZONE Breaker got their asses out of jail.

 ALSO showing up are some extra jumbo-size Invaders, proving that the ones
 the team's skirmished with so far are just peon grade in the grand scheme of
 things.  The good news is that at least the team can now confront the real
 menace directly instead of just worrying about it in the abstract.  If you
 can call that "good".

 Zexis is starting to get too good at this, so just to keep things interesting
 the Invaders finally send in their boss, a hideous fusion of Corwen and
 Stinger who are eternally merged in grotesque mutual buttsecks or something.
 It's icky times two, or probably to the *power* of two as Youko (the 1337
 m4th t3ch0r) puts it.  Of course something that big and that gnarsty has to
 talk the team to death before actually firing the death rays, so what
 commences next is a history lesson.

 Once upon a time there was this thing called the Oort cloud, and in it
 numerous solar systems with planets and shit.  And no life AT ALL.  It took
 those funky Getter Rays, source of all life and driver of all evolution,
 to cause liquid water to condense on the Earth's surface and start the cycle
 of life, leading all the way up to the greedy humans.  At the same time, the
 Getter Rays have shown the Invaders that the two species are actually one,
 and of the lineage that sowed life into the Ort Cloud in the first place.

 Hold the phone.  Does that mean that continued bombardment by Getter Rays is
 going to turn mankind into big (or tiny) ugly mo-fo's like these guys?  Not
 If Kei has anything to say about it: she's convinced that mankind is in
 charge of its own evolutionary destiny.  As the other pilots pile on, the
 theory is advanced that the Invaders are only ravening, destroying fucktards
 because their _hearts_ are that way.  Their counterargument is this: there's
 a whole shipment of Despair headed their way, and the Invader body type is
 perfect for _surviving_ that Despair.

 In short, it's a feature, not a bug.  And since the humans need a further
 course in just how pathetically insignificant they are, the Invaders gesture
 toward the Shadow Moon, which is... moving!  This is the Anti-Spiral's
 dreaded Phase 2: crashing the whole frigging moon (battle-station! Happy Fun
 Ball! whatever...) into the Earth.  Of course it must be stopped, and that
 means blowing this popsickle stand within five turns in order to have any
 chance to intercept.  Damned if the Invaders get to live on the Earth after
 its indigenous residents are wiped out!

StingWen (CorGer?) has a fuckload of hitpoints, but when it comes right down
to it there's one of it and N murderous members of Zexis.  What drives such
nobly-intentioned bloodletting?  In Gai's case, it's an outpouring of memories:
memories strong enough to actually fuel evolution itself.  And Gai's not the
only one: many on this team have things in their hearts that drive them
forward.  The head Invader scoffs at this, vowing to kill them all in a flood
of Getter Rays and moving to summon even more Invaders from elsewhere in the
universe.  External bombardment won't be enough to stop it, so someone's got to
go inside and make something go boom.  Gai is going to take the assignment,
but Ryouma insists that that final blow is his team's role.

As Ryouma pushes the Getter Reactor into explosion mode, the scenery suddenly
changes to a strangely familiar scene.  It's a vision of themselves, seeing
themselves, recalling the reason they were chosen as Getter warriors in the
first place.  The time has not yet come for their epic battle in the abyss of
time...

Was it memory?  Tragedy?  Whatever it was, it blows StingWen away entirely,
its last words that the Invaders' species is eternal!  Thus end (for now) the
starting Demons of Destruction you might remember hearing prophesied about
way back when.  Getter Robo is only gone for a short while before
rematerializing, still with a mission to fulfill in "this world".  Happy
ending, and stuff.

And BTW, there's a moon to stop!

Down in Kamina City, people are being hustled aboard the Ark Gurren even as
more spill into the ineffectual shelter below ground, much like on the other
path.  The Shadow Moon is going to _really_ fuck things up if not stopped...


CHAPTER 55. "Y-o-u-r S-o-u-n-d"

Grace and Brela are on the verge of deciphering how the Vajra communicate with
each other, thanks to watching how Muge manipulated them in the last battle and
a bit of borrowed processor time on Veda.  Something very peculiar seems to be
afoot with Ranka, and Grace tells (the absent) Ranshe and Doctor Mao that their
daughter and granddaughter are about to start tearing each other to shreds.
And when they do, it'll prove that Grace has been right all along: mankind can
and _will_ surpass the Protoculture!  And as for Brela, well, he's basically
a mindless puppet now, disabled when Grace used her override code on him...
which she _wouldn't_ have done if not for him stealing Ranka and trying to head
to the Vajra nest on his own.  Oh well, at least that let Grace steal Ranka in
turn.  As word comes in that the Vajran queen is folding her way, it sounds
like everything is in readiness.

Ranka's absence is forcing mankind to consider drastic measures, including
recruiting Sheryl to fill Ranka's shoes for disturbing the Vajran order.  The
same V-type Contamination that's killing her has also imbued her voice with
weak Fold Waves that Mishima intends to amplify and weaponize.  It's anybody's
guess how much of that Sheryl can take, but conveniently (if you can call it
that) the waves get stronger the closer the illness brings her to death.
Nobody has yet figured out why Ranka's songs generate Fold Waves without her
having V-type Contamination, or why both ladies' songs produce totally
different Fold Waves from Basara.  What they _have_ found out though is that
the Vajra differ from humans in at least one fundamental way.

Humans reason with their brains, and it's to be hoped for that any other
life form with a sort of brain could, to a greater or lesser extent, be
reasoned with.  The Vajra don't actually have brains; instead, their Fold
organs also serve as nodes in an information-exchange network that spans an
entire herd.  The individual Vajra literally have no "heart" to be moved by
Basara's or anyone else's songs, but each Vajra herd is in essence a collective
intellect.

So uh, how did Ranka's songs affect them if person-to-person communication is
impossible?  Well, Mishima believes that Ranka has essentially betrayed mankind
and sided with the Vajra.  Normally V-type Contamination affects the brain,
but there is the theoretical possibility that a human could have the infectious
cells end up in the rest of their body instead.  That would involve a pregnant
mother being infected and passing the trait onto her fetus.  And guess what:
the 117th Expeditionary Fleet that Ranka came from probably had quite a number
of cases of V-type breaking out.  Mishima's theory is that the Vajra themselves
see Ranka as a comrade, and want to capture her as a fulcrum to aid in the
takeover of mankind.

What's more, it seems the huge Vajra the team fought during the Breaking wasn't
really the Vajra queen after all... and the real one has been busy feeding back
all the combat data she observed into making even nastier Vajra for her
counterattack.  If left unchecked, odds are pretty good that human weaponry
will simply stop working... making this operation the last, best chance for
survival.

Alto as usual gets pissed off at the thought of one of his girlfriends being
treated like an enemy spy, and demands to know what Ozuma makes of all of this.
Ozuma isn't sure, but he can tell Alto that, as a man, Ozuma's done the best
he can to keep this women in his life safe.  If Ranka _has_ sided with the
Vajra, it's of her own volition.  Ozuma's been acting on his own volition too,
and wonders if Alto is man enough to do likewise.  Alto storms off, leaving
Jeffrey to discuss in more level tones the contents of Ozuma's special report:
that Mishima is endangering the fleet for his own personal glory in undertaking
this anti-Vajra operation.  Such naive action is probably the result of letting
Grace pull his strings -- she of the Vajra research back aboard the 117th fleet
and the suspicious connections to all the recent Vajra attacks.  It seems to
be _she_, not Mishima, that Liumei referred to as an Innovator collaborator.
Zexis is going to have to hurry if they're to avert some kind of disaster for
the Frontier fleet.

Basara's take-home from all of this is: who cares if the Vajra have brains
or not, so long as they have hearts for his music to move.  This is a mostly
retarded notion that might have a kernel of truth: information _can_ be
exchanged in ways inscrutable to outside observers.  None of this has done
anything to improve Alto's mood -- he's seething over Ozuma apparently telling
him that _real_ men ignore orders and do whatever the hell they want.  Takeru
tries to cheer him up, now that the effects of the Devil Ring have been
vanquished by the power of LOVE(tm).  Maybe that's what Alto really needs, is
to figure out once and for all the answer to his love triangle.  Fair warning:
none of the rest of the team sound receptive to the polyamory option, except
maybe Kishimo.  Oh JUST KIDDING, hahaha *snork*

Alto likes getting trolled about as much as the next guy with nukes mounted
to their fighter aircraft, but he has to admit that he's been dodging that
among many issues of late.  But no longer.  If Ranka's songs will truly
destroy this world, a world with so many people trying so hard to survive,
then he'll kill her himself.  Crow and Lockon show up at this point and tell
him to stop stressing himself out so much.  Trying to force the issue is a
great way to lose sight of your real goals.  Conversely, Crow was once told
that he seems to need something hanging over his head to focus himself on who
he really is.  Maybe Alto is too much of an actor, playing the role he thinks
those around him want?  Whatever the case, Alto is sure to regret whatever he's
about to do if he does it for the wrong reasons.

The question is, just what is it does Alto really want?

Elsewhere, the Battle Frontier has set up a special stage for Sheryl to
perform on.  Mishima tells Sheryl he's expecting great things from her on
behalf of mankind, but she's in no mood to hear his honeyed bullshit and asks
him politely but firmly to GTFO.  Marina, however, Sheryl asks to stay a bit
longer -- apologizing for dragging the pacifistic woman all over.  Marina
smiles and says it's been quite educational, especially regarding the actual
meaning of what it is to "fight".  And she also knows that Sheryl won't be
singing in order to "fight" the Vajra.  Sheryl has finally realized just how
much she loved singing and having people listen, and she's going to be
leaving the world the same way she entered it: with nothing but herself.
As Marina too walks off, Sheryl thinks to herself that she still has some
regrets left, but there's nothing else she knows to do.

So what she can do, she'll do to death.  Literally, maybe.  Mishima meanwhile
gets on the mic and tells all the fleet members that it's time to seize their
dreams of new frontiers away from those evil, murderous Vajra that dog their
every footstep.  This is to be Holy War, and the Galactic Fairy's songs will
lead them to Vwikutorii!!!  Actually, the data Grace left behind says that
the chances of victory are a shade over 80%, and that's before using the
helpful gadgetry the Innovators loaned him.  President Howard is more than a
little worried that there wasn't enough time to prepare the _whole_ fleet for
this kind of battle, but Mishima points out that it's probably safer to not
have any stragglers.  Besides, if Mishima doesn't hurry, his links to Grace
will become obvious to everyone.

Sheryl's song certainly summons some Vajra, and the first wave fall easily to
the Frontier's gunnery.  Mishima thinks things are even better when Zexis shows
up to help, but boy is he about to be surprised.  Alto can hear (or feel)
Sheryl's singing through her earring, and Sheryl for her part desperately wants
Alto to come and hear this, her final concert.  Only he can give her the
courage to truly finish her songs.  Alto in turn now knows that no one can or
should fly alone, and he's going to do everything he can to save the people
who taught him the lesson.

Grace then unleashes her secret weapon, using the mind-controlled Ranka to
power up the Vajra.  She tells Ranka that the humans are the real enemy.
Surely, Brela tells her, her mother would want her to do so.  The results are
dramatic: all Mishima's proud firepower is obliterated in an instant.  Grace's
true plan is now clear: SHE wants to be the queen of the Vajra!

Alto meanwhile knows that the figure shown singing cannot be the real Ranka --
who never _ever_ would have used her songs to actually make war worse.  He
yells for his fellow pilots to attack the illusion, and Jeffrey gives the
order only to have Mishima protest that he's the one in charge here.  Jeffrey,
finally fed up with his bullshit, drops his level exterior and yells at him
to shut the fuck up and take the fleet out of danger RIGHT THE FUCK NOW.
Basara (and then Ozuma) kick into gear, and the fight is _on_.

 Shooting the ginormous Ranka in the forehead enough will result in something
 very unexpected showing up: the Macross Galaxy!  What the hell is it doing
 in this universe?  Grace's doing?  It's not immediately clear, but what _is_
 clear is that the Galaxy's got a swarm of Ghost X-9's aboard, and despite
 stern regulations sorties a bunch of them in an attempt to ruin Zexis' day.
 Brela also sorties, telling an irate Alto that it's his and Ranka's destiny
 to fight by the Vajra's side.  Then again, he sounds like a frigging robot
 and probably is pretty close to one thanks to the Galaxy's fleet's famed
 cybernetic technology.

 Alto calls out to Sheryl to lend him her strength while he goes to rescue
 Ranka: he wants her to sing a song that will open Ranka's eyes.  Alto, for
 the record, is sick and tired of hearing Brela tell him he's unworthy of
 Ranka.  Ranka, in essence, is Alto's wings... and when Brela gets his ass
 rebuffed, the path is clear to go save those Wings from the forces of evil.

It seems like Alto and Sheryl's combined voices may be getting through to
Ranka, but something else is afoot: Grace has gotten busy "doing protocol"
with the Vajra queen and is now having SERIOUS delusions of grandeur.  This,
she claims rapturously, is the almighty power that even the Protoculture
feared... and no need for no steenking Little Queen anymore neither.  In simple
terms, she's cybernetically implanted a piece of Fold Quartz into her own body,
letting her use the Vajra's info network to gather information from the
entire multiverse in realtime.  And once mankind has more of the Fold Quartz
implanted in them, everyone's minds can be harmonized and all wars ended.

Yeah yeah, "You will be assimilated" etc. etc.  Those who agree will be
subordinated to this egomaniac... and those who refuse will simply be killed
by the Vajra.  Ranka figured in because she was the only human who could
directly communicate with the Vajra, and lest there be any doubting Thomases
among Zexis, Grace reminds them that all their greatest foes thusfar were
bent on unifying the collective will of mankind.  Now she'll be the one to
seal the deal!

As though to welcome the new Queen, a bunch of differently-colored Vajra show
up, along with a bevy of tame Invaders (normally the Vajra's mortal enemies,
but hell good help is hard to find these days).  Sheryl's Fold Wave amplifiers
seem to be on the frizz, so it's time for Basara to swing into action.  Or try
to, anyway: Grace already has the power of numerous people united in her being.

 Mega-Grace is ugly as hell and twice as durable, but luckily Basara is too
 stupid to get depressed.  As he sings his fool head off, Alto reemerges
 triumphant with Ranka in tow... right into the line of fire again.  Before
 Grace can blow them out of the sky, Brela reemerges, having come to his
 senses when Alto blasted his ass.  Amuro yells to Setsuna to crank up the
 Trans-Am system to full power, the better to show Grace what unified human
 will _really_ looks like.

What it looks like is... Evangelion, sort of.  Sheryl is about as emo as anyone
else would be when they've just literally burned their life out, so Ranka has
to literally slap her out of it.  Alto reminds the ladies that they're both
the reason he can fly, and even Brela exhorts Ranka to sing more and reawaken
all the long-lost human parts of his combat cyborg body.

As Zexis' members all draw close to each other (in accordance with Ioria's
plans, one supposes), Grace furiously orders the Vajra to take them all out.
Ranka meanwhile tells them to stop, and Simon gives her the key: her "Aimo"
song: according to Lowgenome, that very song is a Vajran love song that Vajra
herds sing when they encounter one another.  Now that sure 'nuff is the
weirdest thing I've heard all month, but it works like a charm.

 The Vajra start fending off the Invaders instead, giving Alto time to drop
 the singers off at the Frontier and pick up an Armor Pack at long last.  With
 the firepower sorted, it's time to get rid of Grace once and for all.  Grace
 just can't comprehend why the Zexis bumpkins don't recognize the next phase
 of human evolution when they see it -- maybe because it involves sacrificing
 an unending stream of Vajra to maintain the lifestyle?

 One of said Vajra isn't a fan: Ai-kun provides terminal guidance for Alto to
 strike the fatal blow.  Before Alto does though, Basara suggests that Grace
 be given one last dose of the music she helped produce.

With Grace gone, the Vajran queen and her troops Fold away.  Brela explains
that the Vajra have realized a) they think different from mankind, and b)
humans too can do Fold-based communication, which c) made it clear that they
aren't the Vajra's inevitable enemies.  All thanks to Ranka's singing, of
course.  How he knows all this is, of course, totally not explained.

The remaining loose end is Mishima, for whom the jig is, unquestionably, up.
Fudou (remember him?) shows up just long enough to cause a little delay,
letting Cathy and Ozuma catch up to him.  They've got proof galore about the
coup d'etat he was planning, as well as his Fold Quartz dealings with the
Imperium.  Their plan is to _not_ reveal everything right away, instead holding
him in perpetual blackmail in the hopes that he does right by the fleet as
it resumes it journey.  Cathy does however permit herself the satisfaction of
slapping her (former) fiancee.  Apparently Fudou's been helping ever since the
S.M.S. squad split up, glad to pitch in on the amazing prospect of coexistence
between human and Vajra.

Sheryl?  Completely rejuvenated.  Brela?  Still an asshole.  Shoji?  Still
hopeful he can get back together with Louise.  _That_ will require getting
rid of those Innovators, who've been lying low all this time... but no longer!
Ribbons decloaks (figuratively) to give Zexis a little reward for solving the
Grace problem: the uncloaking (literally) of his flag ship...


CHAPTER 55B. The God of Darkness, Reborn

The Innovators are watching the mess on Earth with a mixture of false sympathy
and "I told you so"-ism.  The main questions are, how will Zexis stop an
entire moon from falling, and, what's gotten into Setsuna these days?  Revive
is convinced that Setsuna has begun Renewal, both from how he fights and from
the fact that his cells haven't all simultaneously called it quits.  Setsuna
may be a sign of things to come, but all that will be moot if the Earth is
destroyed.  That would force the Innovators to take over the Colonists, or
maybe hitch a ride aboard the Frontier fleet for parts unknown (which Ribbons
thinks Ioria would have approved of).

Louise and Billy get sent to keep an eye on things, "just in case".  Meanwhile,
all the professors' research records have been totally wiped out, including
all data on the Zero System.  That's okay with Ribbons, who's attention is
focused solely on his own plans.  Hell even if the moon _does_ reach the Earth,
it'll mean nothing more than a good chance for mankind to do what Amuro called
"freeing their souls from gravity".  As on the other path, Ribbons confronts
Rijeene on his treachery, and as on the other path, Rijeene just up and shoots
him.  The plan now is to reawaken Elgan and force him to spill the beans on
the Black Knowledge.

The Shadow Moon's approach to the Earth unfolds basically as on the other path,
with those still on the surface pinning their hopes on Zexis.  Rilina's got a
message for the world's huddled masses, and it begins on an ominous note.
Not only is mankind facing annihilation, but she has no power and no words of
prayer to contribute.  What everyone _can_ do is think good thoughts about the
joint force of their best and brightest who are up in space busting ass.
Let everyone accept their fears, and share their hopes with those around them,
and try not to like, riot or anything.  Keep it classy, y'all hear?

Not everybody heard, so Gaiou has to choke a bitch or two to keep the peace,
or at least threaten to do so.  Seeing Rilina fight for order without firing
a shot is inspirational, which means that he _doesn't_ just pulverize the
townsfolk stupid enough to be out on the streets giving him lip (or in the
case of one little boy, a compliment).  Before long, Marilyn shows up.  Though
she longs to kick his ass for messing with the ZONE, she's been sent to
actually pick him up...

Roshiu's forces are no more effective on this route than on the other, but as
on the other route, Zexis shows up to save the day.

 Where things get different is when Asakim shows up, greeting his fellow
 Sphere-bearers.  They're in no mood to play "Name That Constellation" with
 him in the middle of battle, figuring he doesn't give a shit about the
 Anti-Spirals anyway, but he says that ain't so.  See, Eim opened the Abyss
 specifically to set the Anti-Spirals in motion, not having the faintest idea
 what would happen to he himself in the process.

 So what exactly _does_ Asakim know about all this?  That his hope lies amidst
 a future of despair, and peril to the Fundament itself -- for beyond them
 lies the power to break the chains of Karma!  ...Which is all very well and
 good, but he gets rebuffed in all of three actions and smirks his way off
 again without mentioning anything more of interest (except that he seems to
 be bromantic with Gaiou these days).  WTF?

 The enemy boss Mugan start out split in two.  When divide-and-conquer results
 in only their rectums getting conquered, they Combine and try again.  Same
 result, so attempt number three involves a pesky assault on the Dai Gurren.
 Now it's Simon's turn for combination (after reminding Roshiu not to be a
 pussy).  This works like a charm, and makes everyone momentarily very happy
 inside.

 Happiness goes "WTF?" again when the Shadow Moon transforms into its real
 form, a fucking ginormous Gunmen.  Intimidating?  Yes, but also *really*
 hard to miss.  A few hits later and the Gunmen is disabled but still
 plunging to Earth.  Something stirs in Lowgenome's memory at this point,
 and Simon is hastily dispatched deep within the Gunmen to seal the deal.
 But before he can move, Metarl shows up to gloat and to please save
 Mars's Earth.  He does this by teleporting ALL the combatants to the
 World of Death, which would sound ominous if not for the fact that there's an
 Intermission immediately thereafter...


CHAPTER 56. Beyond

Did you really expect Ribbons to die easily?  You know, for a moment there,
you kind of did.  Ribbons is very much alive AND mentally linked to Veda,
something even Rijeene didn't manage.  While Rijeene gets kudos for waking up
Elgan, he also gets the gift of lead from Ali for being a treacherous bastard.
Apparently shooting treacherous bastards with a handgun doesn't burn many
calories, so Ribbons sends him outside to deal with Zexis.

That leaves him alone with Elgan.  While Ribbons may not have accessed the
full Black Knowledge, the tidbits he did get are more than sufficient for
him to rule the world.  He plans to make Elgan spill the beans on the rest,
but only after he makes Elgan watch his chosen Zexis forces get crushed.  Now,
in case you suspect Ribbons might actually be bright enough to pull this off,
consider what he's named his interstellar space battleship: the "Celestial
Being".  Yup, _that_ is originality for you.

Then again, maybe those die-hard Colonial scientists are partially to blame.
They failed to escape during Rijeene's little rebellion, so they too get to
watch the battle unfold.  What we have therefore is the secret ruler of the
world, the even more secret architect of the world's government, and the
not-quite-as-secret-but-still-kind-of-covert traitors against that government.
All of them are joined by a single thread: that Ioria guy we keep hearing
about.  Has the time finally come for his ultimate plan to come to fruition?

Zexis is understandably surprised to see a giant jellyfish-esque thingie
materialize up ahead.  After all, the Innovators have been invisible, out of
sight -- they've designed a secret place to play their games.  That place
is now out in plain sight, and Ribbons is all "I've got the GN Drive, and Veda,
and this here ship, plus I'm an Innovator -- I am *GAWD* Almytee!!"  Zexis
meanwhile are furiously licking their wounds [what wounds???] after the
previous battle, and trying to dodge the Celestial Being's long-range death
ray... which for a change is NOT for purely peaceful purposes.

The death ray is dangerous enough that Zexis can't flee, but they _can_ try to
attack between shots.  That's where Ali, Louise and a lot of _really_
bad life insurance risks come in.  Shoji finds calm in formulating the battle
as a simple struggle to get Louise back -- a neat metaphor for the "future"
Zexis, the singers, and indeed all right-thinking people are trying to defend.
Even Lasse is back on the job, miraculously cured of the V-type Contamination
the same way Sheryl was.  Sumeragi gets the honor of ordering the troops into
battle, meaning to settle the Ioria score once and for all.

 Ali, in a way, is a casualty of the times: the age of universal war is
 drawing to an end, and with it the habitual theft of innocence and happiness
 that is the warmonger's stock-in-trade.  The original Lockon might not rest
 any easier with his arch-enemy's passage, but those still living might.

With the enemy reeling from the Zexis onslaught, an opening presents itself for
the Ptolemy-2 to barge into the Celestial Being.  There's hordes of Automata
to deal with and Veda to localize, but the biggest hazard to Sumeragi is Billy.
He blows a hole in the wall and orders Sumeragi to surrender, claiming that
domination by the Innovators is the ideal state for inferior mankind.  After
all, "true" freedom amounts to abnegation of the moral contracts that make
"society" possible in the first place, amirite?  No, not rly.  The "future"
that the Zero System showed Billy is meaningless in Sumeragi's view: what
matters is atoning for one's mistakes and actually making things better with
your own hands... concepts beyond Billy's comprehension.

 Andrei is in no position to keep Louise "safe", what with his suck-assfulness
 and relative lack of hit points.  Louise meanwhile is _not_ apt to simply
 accede to Shoji's efforts on her behalf, so with Setsuna's encouragement
 Shoji has to smack her upside the head, then talk some sense to her.
 Contrary to Sumeragi's little speech above (perhaps), a future gained through
 combat isn't good enough: it's all about mutual understanding -- something
 she should have seen from watching Zexis' "aggressive negotiations" with the
 Vajra.  Louise is totally torn between hatred for the CBs and sympathy for
 her former boyfriend's point of view, and it looks like her personality is
 going to be ripped asunder when...

 ...more bad guys show up: "Gaga"s, powered by the same Trans-Am that Setsuna
 uses (sort of kind of).  They lack regular weapons and are basically
 designed to suicidally ram themselves into the Zexis mecha.  Will the CBs be
 destroyed by their own technology?  Will Louise kill Setsuna in a fit of
 pique?  Has the social distortion started by the CBs spread to far?!?

 Fuck no, Setsuna declares.  He fires up his Trans-Am to its fullest extent,
 broadcasting a warm light that helps Shoji and Louise finally have a meeting
 of the minds.  The same goes for Soma and Andrei, where Soma points out that
 Andrei _might_ have considered trying to understand his dad before _killing_
 said dad for the crime of not understanding him first.  DOH.  As Andrei
 starts BAWWWing like a mo-fo, Soma tells Allelujah that she's returning her
 body to "Mary" as soon as the war is over.   Allelujah tells her to save
 that decision for later -- she is _herself_, after all.

Even Billy benefits, finally freed by Setsuna's light from the Zero System's
nightmare.  Still conflicted, he can at least admit at long last that he's
loved Sumeragi (aka Kujou) all this time.  The threat of bloodshed is averted
just in time for the Colonial scientists to run over and divulge the exact
location of Veda so Sumeragi can get back to the front lines.  They have plans
of their own for making right all the things they've helped wrongify, and tell
Ian and Billy that the future will be in their hands now.  Doctor J's final
message to Hiiro and friends is to "fulfill their obligations".

Setsuna has vowed to change in order to create the future, and that's not good
news for the Innovators.  From somewhere or other comes Rijeene's voice,
telling Healing and Revive that Setsuna has proven himself truly Evolved:
an Innovator among Innovators.  Andrei promises to take the now-unconscious
Louise somewhere safe, and Shoji is prepared to trust him.  Before the other
Innovators can cause more trouble, the Epyon and Lancelot show up on Lelouch's
orders to punish those who would turn the Federation to their own ends (ironic,
one might say).

There seem to be infinitely many enemies to battle, and it's something of a
relief when Sumeragi emerges with Veda's location.  That means it's Tielia's
turn for heroics, and to do so he'll have to face Ribbons himself, with Veda's
core hanging in the balance.  Ribbons wants to know why Tielia would want to
turn on his fellow Innovators, but Tielia finally has an answer for that.  He
and his fellows aren't Innovators at all, but life forms modified to try to
hasten the manifestation of Innovation: in short, the Innoveyed!

Yeah, but what if an Innoveyed were to evolve further?  Ribbons figures he's
beyond everyone know, and means to shoot anyone (like Tielia) who disagrees.
After all, who but he has the right to make Ioria's plans his own?  Nobody, it
turns out: Elgan has a gun too and isn't shy about shooting at Ribbons -- a
person whose very being Ioria's plans reject.  That's the whole reason why the
Colonial scientists stole the Zero System in the first place!

Elgan then entrusts Tielia with the final vestige of Ioria's plan, the keyword
to the "Black Knowledge" (Kuro-no-Eichi): "Chrono H".  Just switching
Romanization systems doth _not_ a secure password make, but evidently Ribbons
wasn't smart enough to figure it out before now.  Veda abruptly severs its
link with him, and Tielia quickly seizes all control instead.  Elgan tells
Ribbons that overconfidence was his undoing just now, and in fury Ribbons
starts shooting indiscriminately at the elder(??) statesman... who yells for
Tielia not to care about him and to concentrate on his own work.  Ribbons then
vows to burn EVERYTHING down and start anew.

That will be hard with Tielia deactivating all those pesky defensive drones.
For once, Tielia is glad he was born an Innoveyed, as those abilities have
allowed him to save everybody's bacon.  Thanks to total link with Veda, he now
knows the entirety of Ioria's plans.  The CBs armed interventions were a gambit
to force the world to draw close together, whether or not the CBs themselves
survived to see it.  Ioria's rationale was that it was too dangerous to allow
mankind to head into its future still clutching the sparks of internecine
warfare.  Ioria foresaw the need for mankind to converse with other species, as
merely the first of many trials ahead, and before being able to understand
others, mankind first needed to understand each other.

The true meaning of the "Innovators", as per the dictionary definition of the
word, was to be the vanguard of that new breed of humanity.  The Double-0 was
the main vehicle for awakening the natural-born Innovators like Setsuna, along
with its sister Zero System.  The two mechanisms were supposed to link with
Veda to open up infinite possibilities for mankind, but Ioria knew full well
that the _premature_ appearance of Innovators could forever blockade mankind
from reaching its destiny.  The Zero System in particular was seen as a sort of
driver's exam for Innovators -- a will unshakable enough to master the Zero
System was indispensable for the road ahead.

The consequences of inferior Innovators falling prey to the Zero System would
be dire indeed: at worst, all mankind would succumb to its nightmarish visions.
The Colonial profs therefore _stole_ the Zero System from the CBs' ken, meaning
to keep both it and the Colonies safe and to counter the CBs in the event that
things went pear-shaped.  In fact, Dr. J and the others didn't even really
believe in Innovation at first, but damn if Hiiro didn't master the Zero
System _and_ help mold the man who would master the Double-0.  In fact, the
Zero System and Twin Drive enhanced each other, and if Ioria in fact
anticipated that much, he's a far better man than any of the profs.

They feel their role is now over, and their final act will be to destroy the
giant beam cannon they helped build (with themselves on it).  Carns shows up at
this point to try to stop them: he's convinced that the Earth must be made to
pay for its sins (just as Ribbons promised him).  Dr. J tells Hiiro that what
happens from here is up to him: his only advice is to not self-destruct like
Dr. J is about to do.

Well, there's only one target left now: the same man who saved, led around,
and then lorded over Setsuna.  It's Ribbons himself, determined to be the
shadow ruler of mankind in perpetuity.  No thought has he for coexistence, for
mutual understanding, only for getting his hands on the original GN Drive and
Zero System to make his power complete.  Well, he's gonna get those things
alright: right up the pooper!

 Ribbons just cannot get it through his head that he should use his vast
 powers for Good(tm), and finally even Amuro gets fed up with his holier-than-
 thou act.  The final showdown comes down to him and Setsuna, and Ribbons is
 convinced that if he loses, his whole existence will have been meaningless.
 Umm, hello?  Mankind is supposed to work _together_, dumbass!  Ribbons' main
 problem is that he insists on looking down on mankind, even on the eve of
 his own demise.

With Ribbons gone, all the other Innovator forces fall silent.  Zechs and
Suzaku note that nothing now stands in the way of their final battle with
Zexis, and announce that they'll be waiting on the Surface.  True Peace isn't
on hand yet, but it's just gotten a lot closer...

Marina really has to wonder why her path and Setsuna's don't cross more often:
the two of them both love peace so much and all.  She also wonders what is is
that keeps him going: all the scars, all the sins he's chosen to shoulder: will
eliminating war really fulfill him that much?  Such a lonely life, giving
happiness to others while scarcely touching it himself.  She can only pray
that that day will come for him.  In the meantime, she's got a lot to tell
the people back on Earth about what she's experienced in space, and can only
hope that she'll be able to chat with Rilina about all of this at some point.

The Zexis team go into the Veda core room, where Elgan lies slowly dying.  He's
done his best to enact his best friend Ioria's plans, living over 300 years in
the process.  "Elgan Roddick" was his real name from back when Ioria was
still alive, but for most of the intervening time he's been known by another
name: Ji Eidel Bernarl (no, not the one the ZEUTH folks know!  Thank god...)
He's this parallel world's version of the ZEUTH world's evil supergenius,
though in this case his powers aren't nearly as advanced.

This one's powers mostly extend to long life and the ability to communicate
across dimensions, but all of the parallel copies have at least _some_ special
abilities.  This is because one of them, somewhere, came into contact with
the Black Knowledge: a compendium of all lore past and present, and a fragment
of the Ultimate.  To him who receives the Black Knowledge will be all things
known, in payment for which he shall also know a Future of Despair.  See, all
life forms in existence face a Fundamental peril, one that transcends
dimensions and would bring all to ruin.  The ZEUTH folks glimpsed it briefly
in the Black History warfare recorded by the D.O.M.E., whose construction was
likely aided in some way by Ji Eidel.  As, Roger surmises, was Paradigm City's
founder Gordon Rosewater.

In ZEUTH's world, with its circular timeline, the Black History fragdown was
in the past, but in _this_ world, it is still to come.  Neat, huh?

The Black Knowledge exists in many forms on many planets, but the version
Ji Eidel found must have been truly something, if it affected not just him
but all his doppelgangers in other parallel dimensions.  Perhaps the happy-go-
lucky facade of the one from ZEUTH's world was an attempt to flee from the
truth?  In any case, Elgan found out about the Black Knowledge just about the
time he met Ioria, a man obsessed with assuring a future for mankind.  Elgan
agreed to be the boots on the ground watching over mankind and gently raising
the people who could see to it that Ioria's ideas came true (that would be
Zexis).

Many people in many worlds have tried to resist the peril as Elgan and Wiseman
have... Gaiou, in fact, raised his army of Dimensional Beasts in the first
place in order to fend that off.  This raises a slew of new questions, but
Elgan conveniently chooses this moment to die.  His final advice to Zexis is
to not lose (duh!) and to keep their eyes facing toward the future, as
Setsuna has done.  What Setsuna does from now on, will be up to him as the
First Innovator to decide.

Elgan's eyes close for the last time, and in his angelic voice Apollo bids
this Accursed Wanderer a peaceful sleep.  Zero radios in at this point, having
hacked into Veda while nobody was watching.  He says that while running
society with Information is an interesting idea, he prefers a more direct
method: fear.  He announces that the traitors Rilina and Nanaly are to be
executed in Area 11 in one week's time, the result of them questioning his
plans in person.  He wonders rhetorically what they're so upset about now that
all the fighting is done, and pretty much does everything he has to to provoke
Zexis into coming to confront his ass.  This could be tough, as he's got
Damocles and its F.L.E.I.J.A. arsenal at his disposal, plus the newly
reconsolidated Federation military.  Let their final battle commence in a week,
and let it be _wicked_!


CHAPTER 56B. Spiraling into Hell

This is basically the same battle from the other route, where Metarl and Zhul
are in league and want the Earth, undamaged, for themselves -- much to Nia's
annoyance.  She points out that everyone here is going to get their ass judged,
including the Lord of Darkness (that would be Metarl) when "he" shows up.
Who "he" is isn't clear, but odds are decent that it might be Sunshine given
Metarl's given epithet.  Will the sun set forever tonight?  Not on your fucking
life, if Simon and friends have anything to say about it.

Metarl vanishes, leaving behind a motley assortment of bad guys for Zexis to
fight.  This is really nothing more than an annoying waste of your team's
time, but at least you'll get some XP from it.  Nia tells Simon that this is
the World of Despair, which would sound ominous if not for the utter lack of
any real threats to the team's well-being.  Well, Takeru's life is being
sapped by that Devil Ring contraction, but like all misbegotten sex toys there
has to be at least _some_ way of removing it.

 Nia gives the same speech about humans being greedy like the Invaders, and
 Metarl a.k.a. Zhul does the same tag-team entry with Muge.  Fear the wrath of
 the Dead(tm)!  They also give the same speech about Origin Rho and its
 connection to the Spheres.  AND, like on the other path, Marg shows up to
 save his brother's bacon.  Cue another round of monsters.

 Muge and Zhul combined can only offer token resistance, which clears the
 deck for the wrath of Nia and the 1337 h4x0r1ng $k33lz of Lowgenome's head.
 See the other path for the full details, such as they are.  Simon spearheads
 a little expedition deep into Nia's ship's core, only to confront the
 Anti-Gurren Lagann.

 The bad guys in this universe seem to have the mistaken impression that ever
 increasing despair will eventually make the team quit.  Simon and friends are
 simply blind to the menace that is supposedly "creeping up behind them",
 preferring instead to pulverize what lies ahead.  The Anti-Spiral almost
 finds this amusing, and tells the team to enjoy their relative peace while
 they can.

Mind you, Simon almost falls for Nia getting out of the Anti-Gurren Lagann and
daring him to physically squash her.  He has the good sense to realize a
despair trap when he sees it, and in no time flat Nia is back to her old self
(horrifying cooking and all).  Result: the team returns to real space, leaving
the Cathedral Razengan slumbering in the abyss between dimensions.  Lowgenome
decides to take a long nap as well, and everyone agrees he's earned it.

Now comes the next menace: Yuusar, AND Gaiou!  Yuusar announces that he's
actually ceded a _treaty_ with the same guy who laid his world waste: Gaiou
is now Gaiou I, Holy Emperor of Insalaum.  That would tend to mean that
Insalaum's alliance with the Earth is now null and void, and in case that's not
astounding enough, Yuusar announces that they've emplaced yet another ZONE
on Mars.  He intends to use it to fuel yet another full-scale war with Earth,
and almost too obviously dares the Earthlings to stop him.  He'll be waiting
on Mars and whatnot, with the fate of his nation hanging in the balance.

What. The. Hell.  Before the team can even start to decide what to do about
this new turn of events (hint: go kick some ass), word arrives that the
Frontier Fleet has found the Vajra's nest and is going to demolish it.  How's
that work, with Ranka missing and no way to power the Fold Wave Amplifiers?
Ozuma growls that "they" have moved faster than he expected, and Zexis hastily
regroup for the trip towards the Neo Planets.

See the other path for the Rand+Setsuko rejoining the party confab.  The new
material is Yuusar's surrender to Gaiou, which Margret is sure would never
have happened under normal circumstances.  Had this been an age of peace,
Yuusar should have made a fine king for their people... instead of rapidly
leading those people to ruin.  Margret now knows what she has to do, and asks
Setsuko not to try to console her overmuch lest that resolve waver.  Esther
has the vague idea that Yuusar spent lots of time with her while she was a
DB, and that actually he doesn't want to fight at all, but all that will be
academic until after the team does something about the Vajra menace.

Simon gives Roshiu the pep talk (read: my fist, your face) from the other
branch too.


CHAPTER 57A. Zero Requiem

Louise is doing pretty well, all things considered: her headaches are receding,
and according to the medical staff she's even finished her regimen of anti-
cellular damage meds.  Somehow or other all the ill effects of the Pseudo-
Solar Reactor have been washed away.  This is good, as it means that Louise has
the time to get to know the real Karen (as opposed to her facade from school).
On Louise's finger is a beautiful ring Shoji once gave her -- despite all
that's happened, she was never able to make herself discard it.d

Shoji has been mostly busy helping investigate the Innovator ship, vital
cultural artifact of Ioria's that it is.  For the most part it's being put into
cold storage until the world calms down and an orderly investigation can
occur, and Andrei will even be among the forces left to guard it.  Billy will
be in charge of the whole process -- still awkward around most women but quite
relaxed around Sumeragi.

The two tell Louise that they're headed to Earth to battle Lelouch: not because
they hate him, but because they feel an obligation as his friends to stop him.
Sort of like with Shoji and Louise, except that Louise is even more than a
friend to him.  There's more to be said between him and her, and Karen
excuses herself so they can have some privacy.  They all promise to meet up
on the Frontier fleet again once the war is over, and Louise's rehabilitation
has run its course.

Speaking of Lelouch, it seems he managed to save Liumei from sharing her
brother's fate.  She'll have VIP seating for the big execution in recognition
for her role as a CB agent; the rest of the world will have to watch via
realtime netcast.  Still, Diethart is quivering in anticipation, which is
even creepier than it sounds.  Preparations are also being made to fend off the
inevitable Zexis offensive, with the surviving dregs of Arrows -- led by
Arthur, now that Homer's committed suicide -- making up the first wave.  The
second wave will include Milliard's newly-upgraded Mobile Doll System
(conducted by Dorothy), and goodness-knows what else.

After the functionaries leave, Lelouch has some time alone with C.C. and
Suzaku.  They want to know if he's regretting any of the events that've led up
to today.  Nope: regret is something he left behind long ago in the Shinjuku
Ghetto, or so he claims.  He's kept up appearances even in front of his sister
Nanaly, aided (if that's the word) but an inability to find any other way of
doing things despite bending all his brainpower to the question.  C.C. at least
finds it all very pitiable, but like Milliard, Lelouch can no longer turn
back... or afford the luxury of treating his sister any better than the rest
of the pieces on the board.

Showing more concern than she normally lets on, C.C. asks if Lelouch hates her
for altering his life with the gift of the Geass.  On the contrary: it's thanks
to her that he was able to take his first real steps under his own power.
Lelouch says that everything after that is entirely on his own head: a
remarkable show of candor that C.C. has never seen before.  But true to form,
she vows to be his co-conspirator till the bitter end.  Perhaps so, but there
are places he can go that even she can't follow.

Rilina and Dorothy then have their little disagreement from the other path.
This time when she finally sees Milliard, she refuses to acknowledge Lelouch's
approach to "peace", even if it costs her her life.  In fact, she's hoping
that her death will at least serve as a message to the world about how mistaken
Lelouch is.  Milliard counters that mankind must change, and that Lelouch has
managed nothing less than poise mankind on the starting line.  Yeah, via FEAR.
The conversation goes nowhere, and Zechs bids her a final goodbye.

Over in Kumen, the Federation army troops are being recovered to help
prepare for the showdown in Area 11.  That sounds like the government doesn't
view the rebels as a threat, and that only emboldens the rebels to, well,
rebel.  Let the Emperor Lelouch know that there's still plenty of people
ready to resist him!  Roshiu and the folk in Kamina City too are inclined to
join the rebellion as soon as Lelouch should fall, and unless Roshiu is much
mistaken, that's precisely what Zero wants.  Nina certainly understands this,
and back at Ashford tells her classmates to take a good, hard look at what
Zero is really up to.

Even the perpetual hard-luck bad guys have a lot to think about.  Kan Yur has
the idea that going and answering Lelouch's call for strong bodyguards would
be a good use of resources.  Timp and Beck know better, realizing from their
long dealings with undesirables that the emperor is _not_ playing to win.  At
about this time, Marina shows up and offers the starving trio a hot meal at the
refugee camp.  They're not exactly accustomed to accepting charity, but when
she then offers them work, helping out with physical strength that she herself
lacks, Timp and then Beck accede.  If this is the depths to which they've
sunk, may as well waste no more time in starting the long climb back out.
Marina is proud to be doing her part to make the world a better place, and
can only hope that everyone else has similarly noble goals.

Of course _someone_ has to disrupt Lelouch's parade to the execution site, and
that someone is a large contingent of rebels and Black Knights.  Katy and her
men have merely acted as the vanguard for the real attraction, which is Zexis
in the flesh.  Some of the best special forces-type pilots have gotten busy
rescuing the condemned, and most are already under Cornelia and Guilford's
care -- they just happened to have independently been waiting for the best
chance to strike.  Hiiro gets to escort Rilina to safety, giving them a much-
needed chance to chat.

Rilina can't understand why Lelouch and Milliard are so determined that blood
must be spilt to bring about peace: that's the rhetoric of despots.  Perhaps,
but insofar as the two of them are prepared to spill their own blood to see
it happen, Hiiro finds himself willing to take them on.  Lest Rilina forget,
Lelouch went to an immense amount of trouble to prepare today's spectacle --
all with the goal of stopping everyone fighting.  Once Zechs, then Lelouch
are defeated, the fighting will cease, and if she lives long enough she'll
get to see real peace.  That chance is the best the fighters like Hiiro can
offer the peace-lovers like her.  She'll just have to trust him to keep his
twin promises to both keep her safe and to not die in the process.  And in the
interim, Lady Une vows to keep her well cared for.  Having said all that,
Hiiro's farewell to her sounds awfully final...

Zexis' arrival signifies that the other rebel troops can skedaddle and avoid
getting caught in some epic crossfire.  Gino and Anya, however, have opted to
stand and fight as citizens of the world.

 The red and blue Mobile Dolls are different than the others, expressing as it
 were a "humanity" in their movements.  That's Dorothy, at the controls of
 the Mobile Doll Command System that Milliard has so graciously given her.

 Guess who wants to crash the party?  Who else but Eim, drawn by all the lies
 that Lelouch has overspread the world with.  Supposedly all the falsehood
 causes his power to grow ever more, and he's now able to Body Divide at will.
 He's also unable to hold a level conversation, and that means one thing:
 kicking his ass without further hesitation.

 Eim starts going into total gibberish mode as his Sphere power builds, and
 even Crow has to admit that getting rid of him is looking like a tall order.
 This is about the time when Asakim shows up, having freed _himself_ from that
 ZONE.  Eim taunts the Sphere-hunter, claiming that he's no match for Eim
 now, and that means Eim's going to need a little punishment before dying.
 Riddle me this: just why _did_ Asakim voluntarily go into the ZONE?  Rand
 and Setsuko know why: immersing himself in all that Origin Rho energy was a
 gambit to figure out how best to use his own abilities.

 As on the other path, he unleashes might of the Inquisitive Sea-Goat,
 neutralizing all Eim's lies.  AND as on the other path, Yuusar shows up and
 takes Eim's life (and Sphere) before Asakim can.  Perhaps upset by this
 Asakim taunts Yuusar with the knowledge that had Eim not arranged for
 Insalaum's downfall, he'd have done it himself in order to activate Yuusar's
 sphere.  Yuusar curses him, and the person who let him out of the ZONE
 (that turns out to be Gaiou, not Asakim himself).  It seems Gaiou and Asakim
 now have interests in common, and Asakim does intend to take Yuusar down in
 fullness of time.  For now, though, Gaiou wants to watch Yuusar and Zexis
 duke it out.

 His plan is the same as on the other path: use yet another ZONE on Mars to
 power a renewed takeover of the Earth.  Someone's obviously got to put a
 stop to that, and that someone is Lelouch and his trusted troops!  He accepts
 the declaration of war, but requests that Yuusar and friends take off for
 now and conduct the final battle on Mars -- he's got some "trivia" he wants
 to settle first.

 In fact, the stage is set for one hell of a grudge match with Lelouch, who
 has fully abandoned the moniker "Zero".  Only he, in his words, is capable
 of ruling this world.  Rilina tried and failed with kindness.  Charles
 tried and failed with competition.  The Innovators tried and failed with
 supervision.  Only with him at the controls can the world reach a new stage.
 Maybe so, maybe not, but what all sides agree on is that this battle will
 alter the course of world history one way or another.

 When Jeremiah gets shot down, Anya gives pursuit, seemingly annoyed at how
 weak he is that he has to rely on help beyond his own abilities.  In
 reality, she's just projecting her frustration over her own faulty
 memory, and when Jeremiah realizes she's been Geassed, he uses his Geass
 Canceler right before his mech goes kablooie.  Anya is stunned, feeling
 as though some sort of clouds in her mind just cleared.

 C.C. seems unsurprised that she lost, and drily amused at herself for still
 keeping score after all these years.  Truth be told, she's the one who's
 been closest to Lelouch all this time, a fact that makes Karen more than a
 little sad.  Suzaku meanwhile doesn't seem as broken up over losing his mech
 as one might expect -- Hiiro at least knows that Suzaku's battle isn't over
 yet.

 Milliard and Hiiro have one last little war of words as his mech starts
 piling up the damage.  Hiiro hates how Milliard and his ilk keep claiming
 broadly to be protecting the weak, when in fact they're doing no such thing.
 Milliard counters that it is the strong that _make_ the weak, as the Earth
 made the subservient Colonies.  Hiiro said that he once hated the weak,
 people quivering in fear of getting shot, unable to speak what's on their
 mind, et cetera.  But he's now realized that there _are_ no Strong in this
 world: everyone is Weak!  Hell, Zero already destroyed the old institutions
 that kept the Colonies and Earth at each others' throats: why can't
 Milliard see that furthering that conflict is pointless now?  Well, if
 Milliard is determined to get his ass beat, Hiiro will just have to
 oblige, deliberately avoiding Milliard's cockpit though lest Rilina get all
 emo.  Ahhh, now _that_ is communication, that is strong-heartedness in
 action -- just the sort of pure gentleness needed to build the world ahead.
 And if so, Milliard is determined to live long enough to see it in action.
 He then breaks free and flies off, warrior till the end (whenever the end
 might be...)

 Graham goes out like a warrior, living by finding out how to die properly.
 Well, figuratively speaking: Setsuna senses that he's still alive, and still
 capable of the struggle needed to live on.

 The real fracas is with Lelouch though.  Outwardly he wants Zexis to hate
 him as much as possible, as though to make them get it all out of their
 system.  He as much admits it via psychic friends network to Eureka.  This
 is in essence a teachable moment, meant to sear into everyone's minds the
 qualities they'll need going forward.  The farewell is especially painful
 with Karen, who Lelouch has to outright make hate him to make her strike
 the final blow.

 When the Damocles suffers fatal damage, Lelouch heads for the exit, claiming
 to be able to rebuild everything so long as he lives.  He scorns Diethart's
 pleas to be allowed to come along, saying that no man like him is fit to
 see the world to come.  The same goes for Liumei, who unlike the hapless
 cameraman has made peace with her impending end.  Lelouch will let the
 Damocles, icon of the old order, be their grave.  Oh, and no getting Geassed
 for Diethart: he's not worth it.

Lelouch ejects in the Shinkirou, but even its defenses can't fend off all the
Zexis firepower aimed in his direction.  He then has to try to escape on foot,
furious that the people of the world are watching him sink so low.  Cornelia
and Nanaly show up to block his path, though they won't be able to stop him
with Jeremiah on hand for protection.

But hark, who's that masked man?!?  It's ZERO, who agilely eludes Jeremiah's
(token?) attempt to fend him off and plunges an awesome sword deep into
Lelouch's chest.  The mantle of Zero has in fact now fallen on Suzaku's
shoulders, part of Zero's plan to first concentrate, then sublimate the world's
hatred via his own death.  It will be on Rilina and other peaceniks like her
to finish the world's transformation into one where discussion, not force of
arms, brings the people together.  This is "Zero Requiem", fulfilling the hopes
that Lelouch and Suzaku glimpsed in C Space.

Lelouch notes that hopes are a bit like Geasses, seeking in others what one
cannot do for oneself.  In that sense, he's sort of just Geassed the whole
world to become a better one.  He's also just made Suzaku a hero [not, not
_an_ hero] AND punished him in one swift stroke: Suzaku can now never remove
the Zero mask outwardly again.  Nanaly makes her way over to her stricken
brother during all this chitchat, discerning with a touch of his hand what he's
really been up to.  But of course it's too late, for the man who broke and
remade the world.  Let them all curse his name, and remember the truth.

Hiiro knows the truth, having seen it via the Zero System.  Wufei figured it
out too, as did Crow, but they all knew that trying to stop Lelouch would have
just made things worse.  Lady Une conveniently gets up on the PA system and
announces Lelouch's death, and the beginning of the world's renaissance, right
on cue.  Seems that Milliard and Treize were in cahoots too.  There is going
to be _beau_coup_ angst now, especially for Nanaly and for Karen, who's going
to need serious counseling to accept that Lelouch is actually dead.

Lakshata is at long last reunited with her lifelong partner-cum-nemesis Lloyd.
Was there any other way, she wonders?  Who can say?  All Lloyd knows is that
Lelouch made the call himself, and he just did his best to offer support.  What
Lelouch did is kind of in keeping with the larger arc of Science: epicycles of
failure that still contribute to overall forward progress.  Call it
"evolution", or "progress".  Or something.

Lady Une tells Rilina that she's discharged all the obligations Treize gave,
offering Rilina the chance to take final revenge for her father's death.
Rilina is done with revenge and war, and offers her hand to Lady Une to take
going forward.  Dorothy is furious about war going out -- what did her father
die for if not more dying?!  Umm, how about some living instead?  Indeed: it's
time to stop all the sad fighting, and when Dorothy finally gets with the
program Rilina vows to herself to keep walking the path Lelouch and the others
prepared for them (after a brief pause to mourn their passing).

..Except one thing: Lelouch isn't dead!  He wakes up in the Ptolemy-2's
medical room.  He is _very_ startled to be alive, unpleasantly so in fact, and
isn't getting much sympathy from the other commanders gathered here.  They
note that the world _in_fact_ isn't all wine and roses just yet, and want from
him what he wanted from Suzaku: to be Zero for life and to complete the peace
process.  Remember how Elgan once gave Zero full authority over Zexis?  Well
Elgan's last words were that he still believed in Zexis, and in the future.
Sumeragi says that the entire team is still obligated to live up to his faith,
and Zero in particular will not be permitted to shirk it.

Lelouch _can_ run if he wants to; nobody on Zexis will try to kill him a
second time.  But of course he's not going to -- after listening in silence
to the lecturing, he sucks it up and accepts that all different "Lelouch"
incarnations are toast: only Zero remains.  They've even got a mask ready for
him, and once he's got it on they expect a full disclosure of everything he's
been up to all this time -- and none of his usual prevaricating either.
He warns that it's a long story, and it's pointed out that it's a long trip
to Mars.  Indeed.  Well, with him as Zero and Suzaku as the Knight of Zero,
Zexis should have little to fear at least.  He bids farewell to all the
people whose safety now depends on him and his mask, especially his beloved
sister.


CHAPTER 57B. Next Frontier

This is, like, the same Macross Frontier fragdown from the other path.  So.
Not. Transcribing it.

 Be sure to have Alto shoot down both Ranka and Brela.  If he's got >70
 kills, this will get him the YF-29 Durandal.

 Sergei goes down in a big hurry, as does the warmongering Sarchez.  Louise
 however is a tougher nut to crack, and it's up to Shoji to persuade her
 back to the Light Side when she's cornered.

 Disabling the Battle Galaxy allows Alto to rush inside to save Ranka.  Just
 as he does, a whole host of white Vajra, full of hatred, show up... as do
 a herd of Emerge.  Something even bigger materializes in front of the fleet,
 and it seems that Ribbons might finally be ready to make an appearance.

Saji finds Louise in what remains of the Battle Galaxy's hangar.  Her mind is
being torn in half by her love for him and her artificially-enhanced hatred of
the Celestial Beings.  She collapses in a heap, and things look pretty dire
for the star-crossed lovers.


CHAPTER 58A. Flash! The End of Evolution!

What do you suppose Marilyn has been up to all this time?  Working her way
into Yuusar's bed, that's what!  She's good at keeping this sort of thing
secret from the watchful Arcsaber guards, so she's waiting enticingly for
Yuusar when he gets back.  As she removes his makeup, it turns out that Yuusar
is actually in very bad shape, suffering so much that it's a struggle to
stay conscious.  What on earth keeps him going?  The power of Love, but for
what?  Whatever it is, Yuusar asks Marilyn to help him hide his weakness under
another layer of makeup.

Back aboard the Ikaruga, the team try to make sense of the battle they just
fought.  Billy seems to be a decent guy, though his fear of women gives Crow's
a run for its money... or so you would have thought, until Margret came along
anyway.  What's _she_ been up to?  No comment, from the writers.  Anyway,
Jeremiah has been busy un-Geassing everyone Zero ever affected, eradicating
that particular scourge from the world at large.  All that remains is to
restore true peace... and to help Zero and Suzaku relax a little along the way.
That is, if Zero doesn't choke himself first trying to drink ice tea through
the eyeslit in his mask.  Even Gino and Anya get to join in the fun, now that
Anya is free of Marianne's Geass.

The question is, will Zexis really be up to the task of taking out Yuusar, now
that he's all hard-core and stuff.  Esther vaguely remembers enough about him
from her time as a DB to somehow not want to fight him, but if he insists on
sending half a billion Insalaumians in to conquer the Earth, there's no choice
but to fight back.  The conflict is reminiscent of that between Earth and S-1,
whose residents traveled through time at their dictator's behest in search of
a little lebensraum.  Even after the dictator was toppled and the war halted,
the surviving S-1-ians weren't much welcome on Earth and had to head out to
space in search of a home.

The Insalaum folks may face a similar fate, given the most unfortunate way
they and the Earthlings met.  Crow too is going to have to find a new way of
paying down his massive debts once the war's over, given the lack of major
foes to fight in the Re-Blaster.  The war ain't over yet though, as
evidenced by the huge horde of Invaders who've shown up in the fleet's path
near Mars.  Have they finally come to extinguish the light of the sun for good?

 There is a serious fuckton of Invaders, and every single one of them is in
 very bad luck for having run into Zexis during this mission.  On the other
 hand, they have a lot of friends -- the kind of friends who *don't* help out
 when it might have made a difference.  Among the second wave are Corwen
 and Stinger, who've fused with each other in a truly awful display of yaoi.
 This happened on the other path too: the whole history of Getter Rays finally
 gets told.

 Are the humans going to accept the invitation to give up and join the
 Invaders?  Duh, no.  And apparently the humans aren't the only ones opposed:
 Insalaum and the Vajra are pitching in as well.  This means that Zexis gets
 to concentrate on fragging CorGer, who seems to suffer from standard-issue
 villain overconfidence.

 StingWen has a fair question when the inevitable ass-handing occurs: just
 what _is_ it that powers Zexis?  Crying babies, like the Ideon?  Nope:
 Memory!  It's the thing that connects the doings of the past into impetus
 for the future.  This sounds pretty absurd CorGer, so they fire up their
 Getter Ray generation and attempt to summon yet more Invaders to the area.
 Their immense bulk makes it unlikely that an external assault will carry the
 day, so the Getter Team decide to take one for the Gipper and detonate
 their reactor from the inside.

 Very heroic, and when they do there's a psychedelic vision of an eternal
 battle yet to come.  Can still has living ploz?

So fall the Starving Demons of Destructions.  The End, except not because
Yuusar's ass is still hanging around.  He won't even let Margret try to talk
to him, and shuts Esther down promptly when she opens her mouth.  He taunts
Zexis for having trouble dispatching such "puny" enemies, apparently ignoring
how much his own troops must be depleted from the war.  Or maybe he's gone
totally psycho, threatening to turn the entire remaining population of
Insalaum into DBs to advance his agenda.  If there's two things that would
make Margret hate him forever, it would be calling her a traitor to her face
(twice) AND threatening her entire nation with the same fate that claimed
her brother.  He does both.


CHAPTER 58B. Revolution

As on the other path, Ribbons proves unkillable by Rijeene.  Rijeene _is_
killable by Ribbons, who wants Elgan to reveal the final key to the Black
Knowledge.  First though, Zexis has to perish, and that's what the spaceship
called the Celestial Being is for.

Zexis is already pretty tapped out after all this fighting, and it's not
looking good with even the Emerge ready to fight mankind.  Have they reversed
their decision to coexist with humanity?  Eureka sure seems worried at least.
What's worse, Louise doesn't seem to be breathing as Saji's retrieved her
from the enemy ship.  Can it be that she's dead after all this?!

Setsuna grits his teeth and has the Riser recombine with his mech.  He assures
a furious Amuro that Zexis _will_ strike Ribbons and all his sinister schemes
down, though to do so they'll have to hack their way through yet another
round of bad guys -- bad guys who seem outfitted to be suicide bombers.
Suicide bombers powered by the Trans-Am system, no less!

And, just for extra measure, Andrey shows up and starts shooting at Setsuna,
blaming him for Pieres's defection.  Has Amuro seen the futility of his
position now?  Nope.  Holland then delivers a grand speech about how he doesn't
want anyone else to be as assholish and poisonous as he used to be.  Sumeragi
agrees and the Ptolemy-2 uses Trans-Am speed to dash inside the Celestial
Being, where wave after wave of Automata await.

Even worse, Billy is also waiting to deliver the same little conversation he
has with Sumeragi from the other side.  Setsuna also has his Innovator
awakening, letting Saji and Louise, Andrey and Soma and Allelujah, Sumeragi and
Billy, and even Suzaku and Zero understand each other at last.  The ailing
Holland and Sheryl experience some kind of sexual^Wspirital healing as well.
And Louise?  Simply asleep, and ready to be carried somewhere safe by Andrey.
Emerge: gone.

 What the Innovators need to learn is their direction isn't necessary for
 mankind to advance.  If having two of their own shot down isn't proof
 enough, Katy, Patrick and some former enemies of the CBs show up as
 reinforcements.  Sumeragi figures out Veda's location in short order, and
 Hiiro helps blow open a path for Tielia to get close enough to put the
 info to good use.  Katy's can't stay long, as there's lots of other
 Innovator forces nearby to fend off, but the seemingly unkillable Patrick
 sticks around for a bit of payback against the boss of his former nemesis.

 We then get the same scene as the other path, where Elgan helps Tielia
 take over Veda from Ribbons using code "Chrono H".  Yup, switching
 Romanization systems is all-powerful.  With Veda's abilities safely in the
 hands of Zexis, and all those stupid self-destructing mecha offline,
 Ribbons shows up in person.  He blasts Tielia's mech, disrupting his
 immediate ability to interfere further, but Hiiro tells Tielia to combine
 Veda's power with his Zero System to figure out how to shut down Ribbons'
 troops once and for all.

 That sounds pretty dangerous, but Hiiro's the sort of guy who eats danger
 like breakfast cereal.  Ribbons must now face the fact that he's crap, as
 Tielia announces that both Setsuna and Hiiro represent the kind of people
 that Ioria was hoping to bring into the world.

 The Plan goes like this.  In order for mankind to pass the many trials
 awaiting it -- including the probability of conversing with aliens -- it must
 first be united.  The embers of war within human hearts are an impediment
 to that, and the CBs' armed intervention was part of a gambit to extinguish
 mutual hatreds and bring humanity together... whether or not they lived to
 see the day.  He foresaw the need for a true "Innovator" with the ability to
 bring people's hearts together directly, and the Twin Drive system was meant
 to foster that ability... as was the Zero System, whose precognitive
 would have fused with Veda's processing abilities to open up a world of
 possibilities.

 Of course, it would be heinously dangerous for a weak-hearted person to have
 all that power, so the Zero System also was to serve as a trial mechanism...
 and as a counter against someone from within the project misusing it.  Hence
 the scientists' flight to the Colonies.  As it turned out, this pitting of
 their Zero System and Twin Drive against each other actually fostered both
 pilots' abilities, resulting in _two_ people who have overcome all their
 hesitations.  And if Ioria forecast even _that_, someone's gonna have to have
 a word with him in the afterlife.

 For now, Ribbons insists on spouting every egomaniacal cliche in the book.
 Clearly, he's got to go.  But before he goes, Grace pokes her nose in, all
 gooified and and tentacle-ridden like a redshirt from The Thing.  She's on
 the same ego trip as the other path, and poses the same danger of world
 domination.  That is, until Basara and the other singers kick into gear,
 and Setsuna unites everyone's hearts (again).

 Yay, Sheryl is still needed.  Yay, Brela isn't 100% asshole.  Yay, love is
 in the air.  And yay, that damn "Aimo" song makes all the Vajra give up and
 go home, when everyone on the team sings it.  This is the point where Alto
 will get to fly the Durandal if you fulfilled all the conditions.

 Ribbons simply cannot wrap his head around the thought of coexisting with
 regular humans.  THAT is why he can't have nice things.  Grace basically
 can't have nice things because she's a manipulative bitch, eager to climb to
 the summit of the world on the backs of the poor Vajra rank-and-file.

After both bosses are toasted, it's time to head to Mars and settle things
with Prince High-And-Mighty.  Almost.  First we get Elgan's death scene (as
per the other path) where he explains that he's really Bernarl.  And that Gaiou
was building his army of DBs to _help_ protect mankind from the coming
apocalypse, not to hasten its demise.


CHAPTER 59A. The Last Holy Emperor

Unblown is going to be leading the first wave of defenders against Zexis.
Victory, she claims, is assured.  And thanks to the gracious king for giving
her the chance to find out, for the first time EVAR, what Science(tm) is all
about.  The fact of the matter is that she's actually been an emo all these
decades on account of not getting laid [no, seriously], and means to make up
for it now through an orgy of violence.

Speaking of sex, Marilyn stands at the ready.  She and the surviving Arcsabers
are ready to follow Yuusar into a full-fledged war, but the question is, is
he ready to lead them?  Well, no worries on Margret's account -- Yuusar never
so much as touched her hand, so he's not pining away for her now.  What he is
doing is kind of shriveling up like a prune thanks to his Sphere's power, and
he can no longer bear the sight of himself in a mirror.  Nor can he use the
Black Sheep Sphere to lie to himself about his chances.

Marilyn tells him the fairy tale of the "Generous Prince", a golden-and-
bejeweled statue that once graced a certain small hamlet.  Seeing the poverty
of the townsfolk, the Prince asked the sparrows to pluck off his finery and
distribute it, leaving himself a denuded, shabby wreck afterwards.  Though the
statue was reviled and eventually torn down, the Prince's heart was filled
with happiness to the last.  Marilyn sounds like she might have actually turned
over a new leaf for real, knowing for the first time the joy of making someone
besides herself happy.  She needs only one thing from her Prince now: the
command to give herself fully to the cause of Insalaum.  Why Yuusar seems so
bound and determined to do "whatever it takes" for Insalaum's future, when
that's the best way to lay that future low, is anyone's guess...

Margret meanwhile is stealing herself for the showdown with her former boss.
Unlike Crow and the others, she does not _yet_ consider herself a true member
of Zexis.  Rather, she is fulfilling her ultimate duty as an Arcsaber to save
Insalaum from those imperiling it.  Translation: Yuusar.  Once he's dead,
_then_ she can get her driver's licence updated.  Plenty of Insalaumians are
waiting for a chance to change things, though it's highly unlikely that the
Earthlings will all suddenly just kiss and make up.

And what will Zexis' legacy be in all this?  You know, with only two maps
remaining and all.  The short form is that Larger Forces(tm) orchestrated
the upheaval and renewal in the world -- Zexis' role is essentially masked by
the larger arc of the Federation's military.  No big deal though -- it's not
like any of the pilots _want_ to run around fighting nonstop.  Better that
Zexis just fade back into the shadows than make front-page news.

So the final two battles are forecast to be: 1) Yuusar and co., and 2) Gaiou.
Yeah, that's right -- mister Lord of Destruction himself is sure to show up
for some kind of throwdown once the victor of the conference finals is
decided.  Maybe the team can at least get some useful info about the upcoming
MENACE (in all caps) everyone keeps prophesying about, before bashing said
head in?  Or maybe Asakim might turn up in a talkative mood?

Anyway, things have gotten past the "chewing bubblegum" stage, and the ass-
kicking is about to commence.  Again.  For the first time.  Anyway, Crow and
Yuusar's tiff will be the star attraction, pretty much destined ever since
Crow took out the Knight of Knights back when.

Margret's guess about low Arcsaber morale proves to be right on the money:
many in their hierarchy are openly expressing doubts about the wisdom (or
honorableness) of invading _another_dimension_ just because their own was
laid waste.  However, that's where Unblown and Marilyn come in.  See, you
thought they'd seen the light, went from bad to good.  Got the religion, as it
were.  Their only religion is krazy-ass violence, and always will be: just
that now it's directed at dissenters in their own ranks!

None of the soldiers has the courage (stupidity?) to step forward when
Unblown asks for volunteers to be executed for cowardice.  Which kind of seems
strangely obvious for some reason.  Better, it seems, to die on Zexis'
swords than on a couple power-tripping bitches' from closer to home.  Unblown
insists on driving the first wave to their deaths personally, telling Marilyn
to go hang out with Yuusar and watch how an old lady can fight.

The only silver lining is that Yuusar hasn't _yet_ turned all his citizens into
DBs.  But with the new mega-ZONE, that's just a matter of time.  And don't
expect they'll be half-assed versions like Esther was neither, on account of
all the Dimensional Energy at her command.  Nice story, sis.  Too bad the
Arcsabers' fear is apparent -- strike Unblown down, the implication is, and
it's one more short hop to Yuusar and then another conference banner to hang
from the rafters.

 Unblown doesn't die easily, deciding first to show people a little of the
 Dimensional Science she's been enlightened in by Yuusar's awakening.  Using
 the power of the ZONE to amplify her artificial Revive Cels, she turns
 herself into a DB: an Exa-Adamon!  Eureka fears that Unblown is going to
 obliterate her soul in the process, but I suspect she's the only one worried
 about _that_.  Most everyone else is worried about making sure Unblown and
 her unholy creations never see the light of day again.

 No problemo!  About the best you can say for her is that she sort of
 recaptures a bit of her wasted youth at the moment of her death -- cryptic
 enough that even Eureka can't figure out precisely what she was trying to
 accomplish from all of this.  Yuusar finally shows his bishie face, sniffing
 that his servant's Dimensional Science was all smoke and mirrors after all --
 kind of harsh when the last words on Unblown's lips was that her life was
 Yuusar's.

 Then again, Yuusar's view seems to be that, even if Unblown had the gall to
 open the forbidden door, she lacked the balls to actually step through it.
 He's talking about Origin Rho, though he supposes that the feeble Earthlings
 have no idea how important their planet is to that almighty power.  Ahh,
 is that why Muge and Zhul worked so hard to take over the Earth?  Yup: thanks
 to nothing more substantial than the Law of Plot Convenience, the Earth
 turns out to be a special depot for accumulating the Origin Rho power of
 countless other planets.

 Turns out there are 12 such nexi, one per constellation, and in each, a Key.
 The Earth is ideally situated for drawing out the power of the Twelve
 Constellations, and Yuusar thinks he's man enough to control the torrent of
 Dimensional Energy his Spheres are trying to draw from said Earth.  That
 much power could make DBs out of all the remaining Arcsabers, and if that
 isn't enough out of all the remaining common people.  Winning this fight
 will make him the true Holy Emperor!!!!!!

 That's too many exclamation points for Margret, who calls upon those
 Arcsabers to remember their original purpose of defending their nation
 against all foes... external and internal.  Yuusar has clearly gone all
 assholic, and needs killing, and even if the Arcsaber regulars are too
 craven to help out, at least they decide to bug out while the bugging is
 good.  That's right bistaznich, nobody loves you any moar!

 Yuusar starts laughing hysterically for being revealed as the Emperor with
 the "new clothes" instead of the Generous Prince, even as Marilyn reaffirms
 her loyalty to the guy ['s sexual prowess].  There's one thing that she and
 Crow agree on: it's time they finally ended their duel once and for all.
 This doesn't last long.  The sight of her shedding her last drop of
 species-treacherous blood makes Yuusar get all hot under the collar, putting
 the power of the Inexhaustible Water-Bearer on full display.

 By this point though, everyone is thoroughly sick of hearing how Yuusar is
 supposedly doing all this for his people.  Notice how all his people have
 abandoned him?  Yeah.  But here's the thing: the whole reason he's been
 fighting all this time is to heighten his Sphere powers into enough of an
 inferno that he can eventually beat Gaiou.  But he's got a backup plan too:
 in the event that he were to lose, he's got someone in mind to mend fences
 with the Earth: none other than the hero Margret!

 Zero understands right away what Yuusar is up to: turning himself into a
 lightning rod for the hatreds of the people, just so he can die and wipe
 them all clean.  What bugs Zero most about this is that even he never
 expected another person to actually go through with it -- and for that
 matter, neither did Sumeragi or any of the other Very Wise(tm) people one the
 team.  Chalk that up to a little assistance from Eim's Sphere, perhaps.

 Now, the option was open to make Unblown the scapegoat for all of this, but
 Yuusar took the position that it was the royal family's responsibility for
 letting her open Pandora's box in the first place... just as it was for
 losing to Gaiou's forces.  Crow tells him to shut the fuck up and not blame
 past mistakes for this current campaign to ruin so many lives.  It's Yuusar's
 fault for not finding a way to overcome that defeat, the way the Zexis folks
 have.  Call him too gentle for his own good, perhaps?

 In any case, with Margret left holding the bag for Insalaum leadership,
 Asakim arrives to collect Yuusar's soul.  Rand and Setsuko can sense the
 pain Yuusar's going through thanks to his Sphere's debilitating influence,
 and Crow is surely well aware of how unshakably resolved Yuusar is.  With a
 brief benediction of "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust", he
 strikes the final blow.

This, it seems, is the cue for Gaiou to appear, and for the rump^Wsoul-shaking
final battle to begin.  But first, a little interlude while Marilyn finds
herself slowly dying amid the wreckage of the Insalaum flagship.  She suddenly
remembers how the tale of the Generous Prince ends: even the Sparrows
themselves die.  Hey, at least they were happy too...


CHAPTER 59B. Insalaum Turns the Tables!

See the other side for Marilyn's little date with Yuusar, including the tale
of the Generous Prince.  There's a major difference though: Gaiou is at the
controls, and interrupts the billing and cooing to order Yuusar and Marilyn to
the bridge.  That Yuusar would bow the knee to the selfsame person who laid
his country waste is supposed to indicate how badly he wants to win this
fight.  It actually indicates how monumental a retard he is, but saying it that
way isn't terribly romantic.

Near the Neo Planets, Louise is doing surprisingly well considering her
ordeal.  All cellular damage from the Pseudo-GN Drive has miraculously
vanished, though what may never vanish is the memory of the terrible things
Louise has done.  Fortunately, she's got the rest of her life ahead of her to
turn over a new leaf -- as Lelouch and Suzaku have done after unending hours
of reviewing their lives.  They're a good example for the citizens of the
world at large, who must learn to set aside their differences in order to
truly claim the victory Zexis has prepared.

Louise too bore the seeds of redemption with her: even in her darkest moments
she never cast away the ring Saji gave her.  Saji's been busy helping survey
Ioria's ship, but the initial investigations are wrapping up.  The plan is to
keep the ship on ice for now, and undertake a more thorough investigation
once the world is truly at peace.  Andrei will be among those guarding the
ship until that day, and none other than Billy will head up the operation.
Saji will of course be part of the final mission to Mars, not so much to fight
per se as for the purpose of "creating the future".  Translation: someone's
gonna get shot.  All the same, Louise promises to wait for Saji's return,
saying that she'd love a chance to chat with Setsuna too.

Marina meanwhile is saying a prayer of sorts in her heart for Setsuna, the
boy whose generosity to his fellow man has cost him so dearly in pain.  Why is
it she can do so little for him, when he and she seem so agreed on the need
for peace?  Setsuna turns up as if on cue, telling her he sensed her presence
during his last battle.  She did too.  ...Words aren't exactly forthcoming
when the two of them face each other like this, but the fact that they can
understand each other a bit is already a plus.  They may never see each other
again, but Marina sincerely wishes him a safe journey and hopes that he too
will find happiness one day.

Alto, the singers, and Brela have been watching this from a distance, musing
on their own role in the upcoming battle.  Brela is still convinced that Alto
isn't worthy of Ranka, though his own account of his relationship to Ranka is
as her "fan".  Will Alto choose between the two singers?  Not until after
getting back from Mars at least, which gets a sort of knowing/contented
sigh from THE REST OF THE FRIGGING TEAM who have somehow been lurking in the
bushes nearby all this time.

Zero has figured out that Yuusar has probably submitted to Gaiou's rule in a
bid to secure his people's future -- a pretty wrong-headed way to go about it
and no mistake.  But Crow tells Margret she shouldn't let it get to her, and
Margret gives her "Arcsaber till this is over" speech from the other side.
See also the "Zexis' place in history is less than a footnote" speech.  The
fragdown with Gaiou, and probably with Asakim, has all the pilots ready and
raring to go.  Even Crow is ready to go out there and get PAID IN FULL, not
such much for the money itself but for the clean break it will let him make
with his own sordid past.  And it doesn't hurt that there's a decent chance
of h0t lurv1ng$ once the battle finishes.

For that to happen however, everyone is going to have to shut up and start
_fighting_ already.  Gaiou feels this frustration keenly, telling Unblown
to stuff it when she tries to propose some tactics.  Since she's never had
sex in her life she doesn't seemingly know (or care) what he's talking about,
insisting that she be allowed to lead the first wave and wear Zexis down a
little before Yuusar all swoops in heroic-like.  Uh huh.  Asakim sardonically
wishes the Inexhaustible Water-Bearer the best of luck before going to cozy
up with popcorn and scotch.  Yuusar promises all his fallen comrades that
he won't let their resolve be in vain...

As on the other path, the Arcsabers are sharply divided on whether any of this
is remotely a good idea.  And, as on the other path, Unblown and Marilyn force
all of them to fight and die for their lord anyway.  Emphasis on the word
"die".  Margret plays on this heavily to try to keep enemy morale low and Zexis
hacks and slashes their way toward Unblown, and happily most of the Arcsabers
do the smart thing and bail.

 As on the other path, Unblown does her whole "You got real ugly" thing, but
 this time Asakim is on hand to admire the grotesquery... and to hunt down
 the other Sphere-bearers.  When Banjou challenges him on what he's really
 up to, he informs the team that they, like he and Elgan, were all eternally
 cursed by the Stigma of the Origin Rho.  And rather than be fuxorated for
 all eternity or something, Asakim would rather be the predator.

 He doesn't last long on the battlefield, but that -- he smirks -- is all
 part of the plan.  Oh, and don't plan on beating Yuusar easily either.
 Marilyn and Unblown have the same sorry exit as on the other path, and for
 some reason Unblown's death in particular has Eureka very sad.

 Their deaths bring out Yuusar and Gaiou, who are _about_ready_ to start the
 final fight.  BUT not quite...

Why?  To make the game an even 60 episodes, evidently.  And to give Marilyn
her final death scene too...


CHAPTER 60A. A Future of Renewal

As promised, Gaiou's ready for throwdown with the victor of the Earth/Insalaum
semifinal.  Gaiou's motives are, from a certain standpoint, noble: he wants
the strongest fighters to turn into the strongest DBs to fend off whatever
transcendentally horrendous menace he's tasked with facing.  Ah, but it's not
just him: thanks to their Stigma, all the ZEUTH pilots -- and now, all the
Zexis pilots -- get to suffer like he and Asakim for all eternity.  Well, that
blows.  Blame that damn Origin Rho stuff.

Asakim smiles and points out that it would go a lot easier for the Zexis folks
if they just let him have their souls.  Not that they have a choice: Asakim's
black cloak is draped over them all!  Mu-ah-ha-ha! and stuff.  Actually
that's pretty lame as a threat, but Gaiou is picking up the slack something
fierce.  Far more frightening than his usual bluster is his level assertion
that, now that they know his mission, the Zexis folks are going to live, and
die, with him.  _Especially_ if they want to save the Earth.

Any chance of talking it over, and maybe Zexis opting to help him with his
mysterious mission of their own accord?  Gaiou isn't interested, saying that
putting the team out of their misery is the best he can do for them.  This,
kiddies, is what we call a "facade": something is seriously eating Gaiou, and
Zexis knows it.  It's fair to say that this won't be the same boss fight that
ZEUTH faced before.

..Especially not when Gaiou utilizes all the pent-up Origin Rho in the ZONE
to cloak himself with the same impregnable field as protects that Luke Adamons.
Only this time, there's no weak spots for the snipers to exploit.  And if that
isn't daunting enough, he brings out his "True DB" army for backup.  See, he's
not allowed to fail at his grand task, and that suits Asakim just fine.  The
main question is: how is Zexis supposed to prevail?  Asakim has it that none
of the Sphere-bearers are capable of stopping this massive ZONE, but Crow
certainly doesn't agree.  If anything, it designates Asakim as the team's
principal target: only after he's taken out can the ZONE be demolished.

 Now, Asakim is the type of menace that doesn't actually die when you kill
 him.  There's that Infinity Prison thing his soul is trapped in, you see,
 and before you know it he'll be reborn and back on his dark journey to...
 wherever.  This recent nightmare has been bliss for him, etc. etc.  Now, Rand
 and Setsuko are pretty nice people, and they intend to give him a nice
 present: Oblivion.

 Well, kind of: they've thought of a better use for him, using his powers to
 seal away the ZONE (and him with it).  Astonishingly, he actually states that
 being put eternally to sleep isn't a bad turn of events.  C.C., cursed with
 being up and about (and hawt) eternally can legitimately wonder which of the
 two of them has it worse.  Not that she has any regrets now though.

 Gaiou means to keep Asakim's dream alive, and with the ZONE and its shielding
 offline, he activates the full power of the Vishlakarla.  This giant, armored
 form is the true nature of the Dimensional General, and the General is
 something of a storyteller.  Long, long ago, in a dimension far, far away,
 mankind encountered the worst of all conceivable enemies.  It crushed stars,
 caused the moon to fall, and blotted out the sun.  The saints proclaimed
 that the Apocalypse was at hand.  The sages insisted that man had violated a
 taboo.  In any case, the last hope was to be found in the Generals, willing
 to forsake it all for the greater good.

 There were four Generals, tasked with traveling the galaxy in search of
 warpower to fight the... whatever it is.  Gaiou was numbered among them, but
 was defeated and fled... across spacetime, ending up in Insalaum.  Though
 he lost friends, family, memory, and even hope, he always cleaved to his
 basic mission of gathering the power to fight back against the primordial
 menace.  Sure the ZEUTH folks (and the Zexis folks, for that matter) are
 bad ass -- that's precisely why he needs their power, with or without their
 consent!

 Here's the thing though: Gaiou isn't precisely burdened by his mission.
 Rather, the reason he was chosen as General in the first place is that he
 simply loves fighting that much.  So-called "evil" simply means getting
 things done, and so-called "lust" is the power that fuels it.  If there's one
 thing Gaiou won't stand for, it's Zexis trying to judge his fight according
 to their own aesthetics.

 Evidently all the talk of his mission was just window dressing.  What he
 now articulates is a very new idea: so long as he himself is willing to be
 shot now and again, he claims the right to shoot as many other people, as
 often, as he wishes.  When asked if he could bear to say that in front of
 all the people he turned into DBs, he smirks that DBs ain't got no human
 reason left in them.  He means to enrage Zexis with material like this,
 wanting them to fight him with blind rage.  They _will_ fight him all right,
 but out of a desire to live and protect instead of to destroy mindlessly.
 And should Zexis lose, Gaiou promises to burn down both this Earth and the
 Earth ZEUTH come from.

 Basically, it's _on_.  That is, until it's off again, and Gaiou seemingly
 reveals that it was the inflammatory bullshit, not the bit about his heavy
 mission, that was the lie.  Gaiou's chosen to go out like a shooting star,
 naming himself a fallen hero who's paid the price for stooping to use the
 Violation System (aka the Revive Cells -- "Violation" System just sounds so
 much more accurate).

Ultimately, coming to love fighting itself was his undoing: the guardians of
the world ought to do so out of benevolence, not bloodlust,  But hey, given
that Zexis has kicked _his_ ass, they should be equal to the trial he's been
trying to protect them from.  One thing he can assure the team of: the world
is filled with _much_ more fighting than they could ever imagine, and if
there's any law in the multiverse, it's that peace is always followed by war.
Nobody can _promise_ eternal peace -- it has to be constantly re-earned.  And
let the team not show mercy to their foes: they aren't allowed even a single
defeat, if they truly want to protect that most precious to them.

His last words are to let him rest in peace... and that he really wanted to eat
at least one more hot dog.  This infuriates Ryouma no end, and he's not the
only one.  Still, that's about as much closure as you're going to get out of
this game.  Cue everyone saying "yay the battle's over!" in a zillion ways: not
poetic of me to put it that way perhaps, but if you've every played SRW before,
you know the drill.

Shocking no one, Azadistan will finally join the Federation, trusting Lady Une
and Schneizer to help organize the Federation under Nanaly and Rilina's able
leadership.  Margret meanwhile is leading a colonization effort on -- where
else -- Mars!  Gee, guess Insalaum didn't have to tussle with mankind for
Earth after all.  This is going to be a lengthy process for sure, and Rilina
can only wait patiently till Hiiro comes back home and they finally get to hit
the sack.

Takeo General Company?  Totally swamped with orders, now that they're no
longer on a military footing (and given that the ZEUTH and Zexis worlds are
now permanently joined by the Abyss).

Daiguard?  Still on the scene, and back to its civilian defense role... and
still fending off Heterodynes.

Kurogane-ya: still dishing out massages and quality hot springs thanks to its
cadre of shady employees.  Kouji is back to training there harder than ever,
meaning to be ready when the next pan-dimensional menace shows up.  Boss is
_so_ fucking not going to beat him, evar.  The new Getter folks are hanging out
there too, though it won't be long before they return to the Dark Continent to
seal Shin Getter away until the plot demands it get unsealed again.  Ashura has
left for God-knows-where, and Kouji can only hope the next time they meet it
won't be as enemies.  But if it is, he and his mech will be ready!

Shotarou and Ox: still doing the ICPO thing.  Sorry to those partisans of the
second-tier super robots, but all the second-tier super robots and crews are
doing their usual stuff: moral-supporting the planets oppressed by Zhul and
generally do-gooding around.  Maybe Roze and Mars can finally get it on without
the threat of a world-exploding mech overshadowing them non-stop?

Dancougars: totally sidled up to the bar assessing the young hi-tech workers
and -- no, wait, wrong cougars.  The Dragons' Hive contingent, including
Sandman's contingent, are also back to defending the world from the shadows.
The Nova pilots will be returning to their former occupations (if you can call
"homeless" an occupation, in Kamon's case), while the ZEUTH folks will be
heading back to the other Earth for now.

Totally Superfluous Gundam (not to be confused with super-fluid Gundam, which
might actually be cool) and friends: bidding the Heim farm goodbye and heading
home as well, full of stories to tell Kiel.  Gregor and friends plan to remain
behind and provide security, and since there's already a Renton and Eureka on
the other side, this world's favorite young lovers will be staying put also.

Kiriko and Fiana: off on a sightseeing trip, trying to learn about something
besides war.

Xabungle crew: also ready to head back home, leaving Kamina City and its
denizens behind.  Simon's got a ring ready to propose to Nia, and it might
be nice if he got around to actually doing so before Youko goes back to her
students out in the boondocks.  Viral promises to tell Timp that Jiron's gone
home, if he ever runs into the outlaw cowboy.

Frontier Fleet: totally heading to the galactic center, once repairs are done
anyway.  Brela's totally vanished, leaving Alto to wonder what the hell his
relation to Ranka was.  So uh, is he ever going to choose between the two idol
singers?  Probably not.  The team does assemble to bid farewell to Fire Bomber
and the Aquarion folks, resulting in an impromptu concert and much outpouring
of manly bromance.

Eternal: going home with its complement of Gundams.  Amuro makes it clear to
Quatro that the Innovators and Treize have reinforced his resolve to not let
anyone force a way of life on the common people.  HINT HINT.  Which is not to
say that certain extremists like Yuusar didn't contribute to peace, despite
themselves as it were.

G-boys: totally getting integrated into the Federation at Lady Une's
invitation.  Say hello to the Preventers!  But that's for next game maybe.
Hiiro and Setsuna say goodbye mainly by staring at each other, which by now is
par for the course.

Ashford Academy: finally welcoming Louise back.  Ougi and Toudou have
joined the fledgling Japanese government, but Tamashiro has actually opened a
bar and is doing well enough for himself.  Viletta is now married to Ougi and
is a full-time Ashford P.E. teacher, and the other Knights of the Round are
seriously considering formally enrolling as students as well.  Gino, for
instance, has designs on becoming Karen's paramour, though Anya is mostly
content to help Jeremiah run his orange orchard.  That would be irony if it
wasn't so damn obvious.  Don't forget about Zero and Suzaku though: although
they can't ever become students again, what they can do is seriously mess up
anyone who dares threaten the peace everyone's worked so hard for.  And hey,
at least Zero's got C.C. as his long-term girlfriend: maybe the Power of the
King isn't quite as lonely a thing as originally made out to be...

Rand and Setsuko: totally going home.  There's loads of questions about the
Stigma remaining, but they won't be solved until at least the next game
anyway so there's no point in worrying about them.  And with Asakim sealed
away in the ZONE, maybe they won't have to worry about Sphere drama again?
Uh huh.  SUUUUUUURE.

Turns out that favorable alignments of the Abyss for travel between worlds
happen about once per year, so it'll be awhile before ZEUTH and Zexis can
meet again.  It'll be one happy reunion, one supposes.

At long last, it's time for Crow's reckoning.  Crow's calculated that he should
be owed 150k credits, and even Traia comes up with 145k.... but only means to
pay 100k, and not out of a desire to keep Crow working for her.  That damn
Coin Drop System is expensive enough to cost 45k, leaving Crow with 100k.
More specifically, installing the system itself was free -- but not the coins
that it actually _drops_.  Lucky for him there's still lots of DBs to go
around fighting...


CHAPTER 60B. Renewing Dimensions

This is, you guessed it, the same as the other mission 60.  We start with
Yuusar's speech about how the Earth is optimally positioned to draw forth the
Origin Rho contained in the 12 Zodiac Constellations, then watch as Gaiou
enlists the ZONE to make himself temporarily invulnerable.  That, plus his
personal army of golden DBs, will make for a rough day at the office.  Yuusar
has the brilliant idea of gloating about this, ordering the other _pathetic_
Sphere-bearers to just up and give their Spheres to him, since like, he can
put them to such better use.  And since the Arcsabers seemingly failed to even
slow Zexis down, he vows to execute their survivors personally once he's done
with Zexis itself.  What that really does is paint the big neon bullseye right
on his crotch: all his power, all his bishieness, won't make him or anyone
else happy...

 All this turns out to be an elaborate ruse: what Yuusar does when his
 strength begins to flag is ask Gaiou for a powerup.  So of course Gaiou
 complies... and promptly gets blown away by Yuusar.  Yuusar _had_ {
 intended to beat Zexis and use its Spheres to overwhelm Gaiou, but this
 method works just as well.  Well, for him that is: Zexis' pilots
 opinion is that without his bullshittery, the peoples of Insalaum and
 Earth could have got along just fine.

 That, as it happens, is precisely what he wanted.  To even Zero's
 chagrin, he's pulled off the same gambit of drawing the people's hatred
 unto himself, then sublimating it.  Who gets left in charge after his
 reprobate ass is kicked?  None other than Margret of course!  The fact
 nobody realized this till now may be thanks to Eim's Sphere of lying
 your ass off, but whatever the case, Zexis isn't having this extreme
 sacrificial way of atoning for Insalaum's past failures.  WTF was he
 thinking?

 He was thinking Margret could handle everything.  The one fly in the
 ointment is that Gaiou is a tad stronger than even Yuusar thought,
 coming back on the scene that evil -- pure, sacrifice-everything will --
 is how to REALLY get things done.  He transforms into True mode,
 using those DBs as armor and summarily obliterating Yuusar's ass
 before any yaoi fic'ers even get the chance.  Crikey.

 But fear not, yaoi fans, for Asakim is still around and appears at
 Gaiou's call to strike the FINAL final blow.  In response, Crow
 summons up the posse and seals Asakim away "forever" inside the
 ZONE.  Neato.  See the other path for all the attendant moralizing.

 Quo vadis, Gaiou?  He tells the Swinging Scales that in a dimension far, far
 away mankind encountered the worst of all enemies.  The details are on the
 other path, but the summary is that he wants to add Earth's stalwarts to his
 army to help get payback for his former failure a dimensional guardian.
 Or... maybe he just loves fighting!  Maybe he [or the writers] are
 schizophrenic?

 Anyway, you're actually given a choice whether to join this charade.  If you
 say "yes" (option #2), Crow admits that Gaiou's "evil" power is kick-ass.
 Choose option #2 again, and Crow declares that in order to defeat a demon
 like Gaiou, he'll just have to show him what an _even_ bigger demon looks
 like!  This makes Gaiou _really_ happy, so happy in fact that he goes all
 level 99 and jillions of HP on the team.  He warns them all that if they come
 with one iota less than their very best, they, and both the worlds they
 protect, will become lakes of fire and whatnot.

 If you say no either time, you'll get away with a fractionally easier battle
 on account of Gaiou having fewer HP.  But that never stopped you before,
 amirite?  In any case, Gaiou is the master of cryptic references to every
 multiverse-spanning menace ever, and in such a way as to maximally piss
 the pilots off.  Been there, done that ain't the half of it.  AND, given
 his Ace Bonus (you did check that, didn't you?) he's got a decent shot at
 casualtying at least part of the team if they're not nimble.

Nimbleness goes with the territory for this crew though, and it seems that
Gaiou will fulfill neither his own, nor Asakim's ambitions after all.  He
sounds satisfied with the massive fracas it took to beat him down though,
certain that if Zexis can handle him, they can handle what's coming up
next.  And that is what exactly??  Question mark!  Nope, he's not saying,
meaning you'll just have to play the next game to find out.

One thing for certain: every age of peace is always followed by an age of war.
No one, but NO ONE, can promise otherwise.  The only hope is to keep fighting
until the next peaceful period arrives, and given how much war is gripping
the multiverse these days, it sounds like the Earthlings have their work cut
out for them.  As on the other path, he asks for a little peace and quiet as
his life of battle ebbs, wishing only for one more hot dog to munch as he goes.

The denouement is basically the same as the other path, and as usual is long as
hell.  There's a bit of a banquet thrown in as the setting for the
conversations, where Zero (unwilling to take off his mask) damn near chokes to
death drinking through a straw, and where the musical sorts start singing their
lungs out.  Simon sort of half-proposes to Nia, and Holland (amazingly still
alive) has Eureka and Renton promise to look after his friends circle's
children down the road.

Kiriko/Fiana and Allelujah/Mary get quality sendoffs from the team (despite
Kiriko's attempt to slip out quietly).  The rest of the CBs and G-Boys are
committed to being minute-men, on standby in case new enemies crop up.  The
same will go with the S.M.S. pilots, though on the agenda will be romance as
well as combat readiness.  Maybe Hiiro should make a _little_ time to go
apologize to Rilina for ripping up that invitation though...

Shit gets real when Traia asks how things are going between Crow and Margret:
after all, isn't Crow supposed to be some huge woman-hater and stuff?  Esther
in particular is _very_ interested in whether Crow will renounce his gynephobic
ways.  Crow can punt on the question (option 2) and defer making that change
in his life till his debts are repaid.  OR he can conclude that one instance
of lousy ramen shouldn't damn all ramen stands in existence, and praise Zexis
for having so many good women (Setsuko included) to help him change his
thinking.

In either case, Esther saved Traia the strain of asking Crow the question
herself.  Not that she needs Carlos to reminder her of that.  Carlos is up to
his usual glad-handing ways, but inwardly he assures his departed friend
Gaiou that Zexis can keep fighting the good fight in his stead.

Yay, send off for the ZEUTH folks back to their own world.  As per the other
path, the residents of this world can see them again at regular intervals.
Margret will be busy leading her people's colonization of Mars, but the next
time she sees Crow, she'll have a certain question for him.  Traia knows what
_that_ means.  But first, there's the final reckoning scene to do.

If Crow is sticking with his gynephobia, you get the calculation scene from
the other side.  But if Crow has turned over that leaf, Esther insists on
Crow choosing between herself and Margret before the finances are tallied.
Traia won't allow that to happen, in part because Traia herself insists on
being part of the choice set.  Is this a ploy to make the final dialog like
infinitely longer?

 Anyway: Esther is of course happy if Crow chooses her, glad to tag along as
 crow goes and works off any remaining debt.

 If you select Margret, Esther is pretty bummed at first, though Traia gets
 her to brighten by reminding her that she's the one who asked Crow fair and
 square for a verdict.  Margret, Esther concludes, is a choice she can get
 behind.

 She's willing to congratulate Traia if Crow goes that way, though Traia
 cheers her up by telling her that Crow probably just made the "safe" choice
 (under the circumstances) and that Esther will surely have further chances to
 win Crow's heart.  Crow quietly thanks Traia, since she (apparently) entered
 the derby just to give Crow this out.  I have to wonder...

At any rate, see the other side for Crow's debt, which hasn't been reduced all
the way on account of the CDS.  And with that, it's ZA ENDO!