Endless Frontier Exceed: Super Robot Wars OG Saga
Walkthrough by Mark Neidengard (mneideng at ugcs dot caltech dot edu)
version 1.0

This is a walkthrough, intended to be 1 (1.5?) steps removed from a full
translation.  Please do not redistribute.

Endless Frontier Exceed is a "moderate" RPG, neither completely scripted nor
completely free-form and leveling/gear-acquisition-subquest intensive.  It
features a semi-unique combat system reminiscent of Xenogears, where each
character has a series of special moves whose sequence the user designates for
maximum hosage.

For the power-leveling-inclined out there, Exceed has a interesting means for
designating when the time has come to proceed with the plot already.  Enemies
that formerly gave N experience points will abruptly give N/2 once your
party's level exceeds a preset threshold for a given area.  This is a very
elegant hint that the time has come to move on.  And if you're interested in
collecting the optional bounties in the game, this is a good signal when you
can or cannot plausibly confront the next available fugitive.

----

PROLOGUE

It was called "Endless Frontier", a strange world held together by portals
called "Crossgates", through which the denizens of various realms pass.

"Lost Helencia", whose culture is steeped in technology.
"Kagura Amahara", tranquil land of cherry blossom and maple, human and oni.
"Elf Tale" and "Dunepolis", phantasmic homes of the fae and beast-men.
"Formido Heim", airy realm where the demons dance.
"Varna Kanai", quiet submarine paradise where the merfolk swim.

Various realms, various people, various times, joined into one frontier truly
without end.  Just who forged this world?

The makers of the Crossgates, and joiners of the Realms, are known as the
"Einsts": visitors from another world.  Just when and why this massive presence
alighted on the world, no one knows.  But desiring to return home, they opened
Crossgate after Crossgate, eventually creating what became Endless Frontier.

But no matter how many Gates they opened, their home remained elusive.  As much
time passed, so too did the Einsts' vitality.  In panic, they themselves
entered the Endless Frontier they had created, in search of the living
"Miltkeil" crystals whose power fueled the Crossgates.  That power, great
enough to twist dimensions, flung most of the fae from their Realm.  And
the aftershocks, called "Quakes", spread to yet other worlds such as the
"Material Realm", bringing them into the fold and bringing together a certain
group of people.

The ironic result was the destruction of the very Einsts who kept attempting to
"Correct" the world they had damaged.  Their downfall also led to the downfall
of most Crossgates, and the energy unleashed permanently joined many of the
worlds together.  This could be called the true birth of Endless Frontier as a
world in its own right, whose residents elected to join hands and forge a new
life in their new world.

However...  Few realized that, comingled into Endless Frontier, were dwellers
of a Realm unaffiliated with any of those known.  Nor did most recognize that
the return of the fae, exiled during the long-ago war, was at hand.

This is the Endless Frontier, where a new story is about to begin.

---

Aledy Na'ash, known as Aledy of Wrought Iron, has a report for his mistress
Cindy Bard.  As one of the Shura, strenuous practice goes with the territory
for him -- which is why he did his daily thousand pushups before filing his
report.  Cindy is well-enough pleased, reminding her pupil that strong power
dwells in a strong body and spirit.  As for the latter, she asks him to recount
what's going in the land they currently inhabit.  It seems a piece of the
Shuras' original realm of "Hakoku", the Land of Waves, has been broken off and
somehow joined to another world... and that during time of war.

Aledy's best efforts have failed to track those responsible down, but he has
found a clue as to what may have happened.  For some time, the Shura have been
hosting some unexpected guests: the fae, exiled from their own home by the
power of the Einsts.  Aledy calls Neige [rhymes with "ledge"; French for
"snow"] Hausen, princess of the fae, to explain her theory.  From what Neige
can tell, the world to which the Shura castle is joined is none other than
Endless Frontier -- her own people's homeland in a manner of speaking.

How does she know?  Well, she's had Aledy doing a bit of legwork, and he's
found this ginorm-- err, "formidable" tank to the East.  Whoever it belongs to,
it's _not_ the people who invaded Hakoku: Neige remembers seeing it three years
ago when her people were flung to Hakoku.  Her own land of Elf Tale was under
attack at that point, and that tank was one of her people's foes' weapons.
Neige doesn't know what happened in Elf Tale after the fae's departure, but
Cindy agrees with Aledy that it seems a promising clue to their own fate.

Cindy asks Neige to describe the war her people fought, the so-called "Ten
Years' War" that began with a unilateral declaration of war from Formido Heim.
It in fact lasted for ten years, and Neige herself joined in the fighting with
her spear in hand.  The fae never learned why the demons attacked, knowing only
that they had to defend themselves: a bitter struggle indeed.  Cindy asks why
the struggle was so bitter -- is it not through combat that people evolve, and
thereby approach godhood and the Truth?

Maybe the Shura subscribe to that philosophy, but Neige is one of the
multitudes not signed on for that way of life.  To their credit, Cindy and
Aledy both respect Neige's position enough not to argue.  Neige describes how
the war, begun with a one-sided declaration, ended the same way.  A
proclamation from Formido Heim announced the death in battle of the demon king,
admitted defeat, and announced the immediate withdrawal of all troops.  The
message came personally from the leader of the Special Forces, Azel Granata.

Well gee, it sure sounds to the Shura like Neige's side actually won.  The
thing is, no one ever found out who killed the king.  Elf Tale's forces were
solidly on the defensive at the time, and in no position to somehow assail
Formido Heim (much less its palace).  Besides, the Formido Heim forces were
being supported by frigg-- stalwart mechanical weapons using otherworldly
technology.

Said weapons were around three meters tall, and resembled the Rasetsu-ki that
the Shura use.  The fae had a few of them of their own, but they were few and
very far between.  Even her personal machine is nowhere to be found now, but
if this world is truly Endless Frontier...

Cindy thanks Neige for filling them in, and has something to tell her and
Aledy in turn.  It pertains to the Arc-On, the Rasetsu-ki parked in front of
them.  What, that ginormous stone statue thingie?  Actually, the thing the
statue was patterned after: the mightiest of the Rasetsu-ki and guardian of
the Dragonlord Tower where the trainees live.  It is, or rather _was_, parked
on the tower's top floor.

Its departure shocks Aledy, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.  Or, some
large, crystalline thing anyway: Cindy points out a cluster of black gemstones
that didn't used to be cluttering up the floor.  Neige recognizes them as
Miltkeil, the same sort of stuff that was overwhelming Espina Castle at the
time of the fae's exile.  What's odd is that their color and shape are wrong.
Nobody knows how or why they got here, but whatever they are the Shura have
been quite unable to crack or even scratch them.  Arc-On's disappearance
coincided with the Miltkeil's appearance, which is especially weird given that
it shouldn't have a "pilot".

Cindy explains that the Rasetsu-ki are sentient weapons that gain power from
their controller's "Haki", or spiritual force.  In other words, someone with
inferior Haki can't control one -- which can only mean that someone with enough
Haki (or a comparable power) to awaken Arc-On has actually appeared in the
world.  It's conceivable that that power is responsible for the black Miltkeil,
which is actually "alive", and further conceivable that this is all somehow
connected with the fae's exile back when.

Cindy orders Aledy to go in search of the Arc-On, and to use his Haki to become
its pilot.  Aledy is eager to follow orders, but rather doubts that he's got
what it takes to control something so mighty with his immature skills.  Surely
Cindy herself would be better suited?  Cindy agrees that Aledy, who she's
instructed in Ki-Shin-Ken since infancy, is still immature...  But he's _only_
immature: nothing else does he lack.  She smiles and tells him to keep
forging himself so as to avoid shaming his nickname.

Neige points out that she's got to make a journey of her own, seeking to learn
of her kingdom and castle's fate.  She was hoping that Cindy might loan her a
Shura or several as bodyguards.  Cindy asks what Neige is looking for in a
bodyguard; of course, they should be all handsome and stuff.  Maybe the
"dependable older-brother" type, and the close-mouthed "keeps worries inside"
type?  And the cute, "younger brother" type perhaps?  Sure would make the trip
a LOT more fun *cue the imperious laughter*.

Cindy digests this, and tells Neige she's got just the man for the job.  She
commands Aledy to accompany Neige to her castle while pursuing the Arc-On.
This confounds Neige to no end, but Cindy explains that despite his youth,
Aledy is already a dependable Shura.  Plus he worries all the time about
the limitations of his training, and at age 17 surely qualifies as Neige's
younger brother.  Besides, in her biased opinion as his mentor, Cindy thinks
Aledy is plenty handsome.  Neige looks far from convinced, especially when
Aledy asks what "handsome" means.  Cindy smiles again as she explains, and
Aledy gets even glummer as he calls himself unworthy of such a compliment.

Sensing Neige's hesitation, Cindy offers to introduce her to masters of
Ha-Ou-Ken and Ki-Shin-Ken, but Neige accepts defeat and contents herself with
Aledy's aid.  As the two make ready to depart, Cindy tells them to return any
time they need to rest.  She's also got a farewell present for them: some
healing potions, and a prayer that the Star of Perdition not shine upon them.

As they leave, Cindy muses on the unavoidable destiny of all Shura: to live and
die in battle along the path towards ultimate mastery of combat.  Aledy's heart
had been emotionless as he trod that path, but the chance arrival of the
beautiful fae princess has begun to change that.  Arc-On can only be controlled
by one of truly untainted Haki, and Cindy mentally tells her pupil to find his
own path as a Shura on the journey to come.

As they pass through the castle gates, Neige somewhat irritably asks Aledy what
the deal is with him being her -- she, the lofty (and cute) fae princess' --
only bodyguard.  And why is it that her mission got made a footnote to this
Rasetsu-ki hunt?  Aledy doesn't have a good answer for that, except to say that
it's the mission his master gave him and that he always carries out his orders.
He does add with a smile that he thinks it should be good training for them
both, and Neige has to admit that he has been busting ass for the past three
years.  Perhaps blushing a little, she tells him that she may not be satisfied
with him, but wants him to do his best at the whole bodyguard bit.  No worries:
Aledy of Wrought Iron will see it done, even if it costs him his life!


Chapter 1. The Shura and the Princess

No sooner do the pair leave the Hakoku-transplant area (with its abundance of
suspicious, perfectly circular craters) than they run into what Neige refers to
as a "Kitty Tank", much the worse for wear.  It bears more than a passing
resemblance to the Formido Heim's "Giant Marcus" that assailed Western Elf
Tale during the Ten Years' War.  This one appears completely immobile now,
quite unlike how it was tearing across the desert when Aledy saw it last.  The
buildings bristling out of its back could be used as a base in wartime, but
seem more like a regular city now... and someone's modded the face section to
be SUPER cute.

Aledy offers to help Neige search the kitty tank, especially since he has no
clue where to start looking for the Arc-On.  He views that as another form of
training, whereas Neige is exhausted just thinking about it.  But hey, if he's
offering, she won't turn down the offer.  The two enter what might or might not
be the Giant Marcus, noting that it seems pretty beat up.  It's got some fresh
repairs though, meaning that someone's been there before them.

They break through the rubble in their path and advance, but Aledy draws up
short and tells Neige to beware.  He senses what he believes is Haki, meaning
another Shura is around.  Aledy reminds Neige that it wasn't only his faction
of Shura who were thrown here when their Realm was united to this one.  The
enemy Shura is likely Gelda Miroir, warden of the Iceberg Prison.  That
faction has already tried taking the Dragonlord Tower for their own during the
few months since the unification, and there's every chance that Aledy might
have to face Ice Mirror Gelda herself, as well as a certain man who works
for her.  Aledy has a score to settle with said man, and when Neige sees Aledy
starting to fret she tells him that the solution is simple: level the dude's
ass.  Ooh, another training opportunity?  That perks Aledy up, and he tells her
that the time has come to set foot onto the battlefield.  Suits Neige fine:
it's been a long time since she's had someone to show off her spear, Fae
Slayer, to.

Aledy recognizes the first batch of foes: Shura soldiers and "Juura" beastmen:
definitely lackeys of Gelda.  He doesn't think they're responsible for trashing
the kitty tank though; the damage is more like what a massively powerful
Rasetsu-ki would leave behind if it were in a hurry.  If that were the Arc-On,
it would explain why Gelda's men are here: after all, she only attacked the
Dragonlord Tower to get at the Arc-On.  Neige smirks and tells Aledy that
he's one lucky guy for running into his main target right off the bat.  Maybe
a bit early to declare victory like that...

Eventually the pair reach the engine room, or more like the smoldering wreckage
thereof.  In the words of Garry from The Thing, "The generator's _gone_."
Aledy believes the damage was very recent, and from the Haki he still feels,
the culprit must be nearby.  Is it the Arc-On?  If so, better make doubly
sure to prepare before pressing ahead...

Along the way, they find a strange[-ly familiar] person(?) buried under a
pile of rubble.  She wasn't sure if she'd ever make it out, but her joy turns
rapidly to suspicion as she recognizes Aledy's clothes as similar to the robot
that just trashed the place.  Kyon Feulion vows to exterminate him, though
she quickly gets distracted when Neige asks her what happened.  The robot
certainly matches Aledy's description, and apparently wreaked all this havoc
with punches and kicks alone.

Aledy gets very grave, telling Neige that the armor he's wearing is a present
from his mistress, called "Gouma" (Roaring Demon) and supposedly patterned
after the Arc-On's exterior shell.  Based on what the little witch has told
them, the culprit behind this mess can be none other than the Arc-On, and
there's nothing to do but charge into the fray.  ...Oh, but first there's
still Kyon to figure out what to do with.  Neige isn't planning to tell
someone that might be friend or foe who she really is (No fair! protests
Kyon, who readily gave her own name).  Neige does seem to remember that jacket
Kyon is wearing from somewhere, but reckons Kyon as in league with their
quarry, and hence an enemy.  Kyon meanwhile declares that all intruders must
be struck down, and Neige orders Aledy to use his Shura perception to figure
out her weak spot.  He concentrates, and figures that breaking her tail might
do the trick.

Poor Kyon is deathly afraid of having her tail harmed, since in fact it is
the origin of her powers, and Neige uses her fear to blackmail her into
spilling everything she knows.  Unfortunately, Kyon is a feisty little thing,
and not one to be readily cowed by a tart falling out of her top and some dude
whose topknot looks like he stuck his finger in an electric outlet.  Heck,
SHE intends to get Neige and Aledy to tell her about the robot when she beats
their asses.

Kyon can't beat the two of them combined, but Aledy has to admit that she's
far more than the average foe.  Neige meanwhile has figured out where Kyon
must have come from: Formido Heim's Orchestral Army.  Aledy asks if that's
the people the fae were fighting, and Kyon asks in shock if Neige is one of
the fae.  Neige is willing to name herself now that she knows who she's facing:
she's the daughter of the Hausen House, rulers of northern Elf Tale.  Yes,
that makes her a _princess_.  Kyon is _massively_ overjoyed that the fae
(her people's onetime enemies, mind you) are back now that the worlds have
been fused.

That puzzles Neige -- isn't this Endless Frontier?  Yeah, sorta kinda: lots of
stuff happened since the fae were gone.  It's a long story that Kyon would
rather relate upstairs in Marcus Town, perhaps over some tasty baked goods
she knows where to procure?  "Sweets" is a word that sets Neige's
(considerable) breast all aflutter, especially after the spartan diet all
Shura follow.  Aledy mutters that nutritional regulation is crucial to bodily
strength, adding that his mistress only permitted him one sweet item per month.

No time for reminiscing though: if the Arc-On is really up ahead, there's no
telling what else it might have destroyed.  The whole town, for instance,
and with it said bakery... which would be catastrophic.  Kyon eagerly offers
to help, and the party rushes forward.

Sure enough, the Arc-On is hanging out up ahead.  Aledy gives it the old
college try, summoning his (already formidable) Haki and ordering the Arc-On
to return to its rightful resting place.  Neige explains to Kyon that the
Shura, residents of another world from this one, are a warrior race who find
meaning in life only through combat.  Not a bad bunch actually... maybe a bit
weird, but pleasant as far as Neige knows.

Wouldn't you know it: it's too early in the game for Aledy to prevail.
Instead, in strides a guy with a hat only the Jagermonsters could love, busily
talking trash and adding to Aledy's gloom.  He recognizes Neige straight off,
and with a flourish introduces himself as Hamelen Silbato, also known as
Hamelen of Musical Suasion.  It's his view that his people deserve the Arc-On,
and by "his" people he means Gelda's faction.  Aledy describes Hamelen as
Gelda's top lieutenant, and Kyon has to admit he's kind of cute.

Cute maybe [not], but definitely not a nice guy.  He tells Aledy that only one
of true mettle, and of positive karma, can control the Arc-On.  And even if
Aledy's mistress, Cindy the Karmic Shadow, might be up to the task... Aledy
himself surely is not.  Gelda Miroir is probably qualified, but Aledy sees
little point in the two camps waging war over the Arc-On.  Isn't it more
important that _all_ of them work together to figure out a way back home?
Hamelen smirks and asks if Shura have ever needed a reason to put each other
to death -- these three years since the fae princess' arrival haven't been
kind to him, have they?  Hamelen remembers a time when Aledy's skills terrified
even him, enough to wonder if Cindy was that good a teacher or whether Aledy
was that gifted a pupil -- or merely that cruel a child at age 14.

That means Aledy is still quite the youngster, and Hamelen means to see he
gets no older, lest he one day threaten the grand Plan.  Which he's not stupid
enough to explain at this time.  The Arc-On remains still, watching the
dialog unfold in silence.  Aledy wants to know why it's hesitating.  What is
it seeking, and why did it leave the Tower?  Maybe, Hamelen says, the Arc-On
is having a hard time deciding whose Haki is better: Aledy's, or his.  Guess
the only thing to do is battle it out, with the ownership of the Arc-On at
stake!

Hamelen gets promptly smacked around, unprepared for the strength of Aledy's
little band.  Kyon gleefully tells him not to underestimate the Orchestral
Army, and Neige slyly tells him that she's got a _lot_ more "stuff" to show
him if he's interested in sticking around.  He'll pass on that, saying it would
be a shame if he became like Aledy.  Maybe Aledy's technique has gotten sharper
these past three years -- a lot sharper in fact -- but he lacks the
overwhelming Haki he once had.  Will the Arc-On really choose him?

Nope, the plan appears to be Door #3, a.k.a. "none of the above".  Rather than
submit to Aledy's control (or Hamelen's for that matter), it simply runs away
in the direction of Marcus Town.  Could it be that there's someone up ahead
more powerful than either of the Shuras?  Hamelen intends to find out first,
and uses his mystical flute to immobilize Aledy and friends long enough to
get a head start -- lucky for them Hamelen's been pummeled enough that he can't
deploy his full might against them.

Such is the power of Aledy's rival: the ability to control the spirit of all
who hear his music.  Aledy isn't willing to reveal much about his past history
versus the guy, other than to say that he must defeat Hamelen sooner or
later.  As the team regain control of their bodies and head off in pursuit,
Neige finds herself wondering about Aledy's past...

Marcus Town is in fact a fairly impressive city, peopled by survivors of the
Ten Years' War... including survivors of the fae.  That confuses Neige greatly:
why would the fae chose to live atop the very weapon that so devastated their
homeland?  And why was Kyon so overjoyed to hear that the fae were back?  Maybe
the handsome cat-guy nearby can answer that.  It's the very manly, very
feline, and pleasantly gay Catsy, more or less the town magistrate.  If the
Arc-On or Hamelen are in town, they certainly haven't caused any trouble yet.

Mind, the robot in question _has_ passed through, but Catsy is distracted from
divulging its whereabouts by admiring Aledy's masculine frame... especially
those iron-like abs!  He is a _dish_ and no mistake.  Kyon has to explain to
an unnerved Aledy that Catsy really likes men, like _likes_ them and stuff,
which has Aledy totally flummoxed.  Not so Neige, who still remembers who
Catsy _used_ to be: second-in-command of the Orchestral Army.

That cuts off the wo^H^Hmanizing, and Catsy tries to answer the questions in
order.  The robot in question has already departed the city, with the guy in
the clown getup in pursuit.  Before leaving, the robot made off with a certain
item: a piece of black Miltkeil that was being researched.  Up until very
recently, only red and blue Miltkeil were known to science, and every time a
new color appears it tends to signal the arrival or departure of a large chunk
of people (such as the fae, whose exile was heralded by the red Miltkeil).
Why would Arc-On want to steal Miltkeil?  OH! mysterious...

Since it's bloody hot outside, Catsy leads the group to Kyon's favorite place
in town: Sweet Guys bakery.  Much as Neige recognized him, he also recognizes
her, and despite his goofy exterior, Catsy is acutely aware of world events.
Between the return of the fae, the arrival of the Shura, and the "unknown
enemy" causing trouble lately, he's positive something big is about to hit
Endless Frontier again.  The real question is, what will Azel, new king of
Formido Heim, do about it.

Very timely question indeed.  At that moment, Aschen Broedel has arrived in
Azel's throne room in Formido Heim.  It seems she still suffers from a digital
form of Tourette's Syndrome, greeting him as "fucking Skeletor".  Interestingly
she's joined Formido Heim's army.  Ah, the wonders of living in a
multidimensional world.  Azel says that the reconstitution of Formido Heim
wouldn't have been possible without help from many people from many other
nations, Aschen included.  She tells him that she's nothing more than a combat
android in the service of the Browning family, and recommends Azel thank her
boss (who ordered her to provide that help).  That would be Harken Browning, a
man who some believe changed the world.

At the very least, it's true that Captain Harken fired the shot that killed
the Einsts' leader and led to the Crossgates going berserk, fusing the Realms
together once and for all.  Ever since firing that shot, Haken's been consumed
with finding his missing comrades: the swordsman, werefox and combat android
from another world.  Aschen is quick to point out that no matter how advanced
KOS-MOS is, she's got far superior specs, looks and sense of humor.

Azel waits until another of his soldiers arrives before explaining Aschen's
summons.  It's Henne "Mean-looking Hose Beast" Valkuria, who is less patient
with Aschen's irreverent mode of address than Azel is.  As Henne already knows,
Aschen's mission will be searching for a certain something: a Crossgate.  This
is an odd mission, given that only 2-3 Crossgates survived the fall of the
Einsts and none of them work well... given that the Realms they pointed to no
longer exist.  Odd, until Azel received word from the Northwest Tower: its
Crossgate is responding to something.  In that instant, the Gate reconnected to
something, and odds are that something is involved with the black Miltkeil.
Could it be... that some of the Einsts survived???

Azel wants the two of them to head to Megi Castle, home of the Shiki-Oni and
dwelling of Princess "Ever Heard of Flat-screen TV" Suzuka.  Said castle is
heading up research on getting rid of Miltkeil, and the word is that they're
having real trouble with this new black variety.  Azel wants to know their
status, and ominously he hasn't been able to contact them via normal channels
over the last several days.  Aschen hasn't been able to reach the Tseit
Crocodile either, and the odds are very high that someone is jamming long-
range communications.

This is why Azel sent Kyon in person to help Catsy with his surveillance of
the new continent, and why he wants Henne and Aschen to go to Suzuka directly.
No one knows if the Miltkeil is to blame for the comms blackout, or perhaps
the Crossgate itself, or some third party.  Whatever the case, caution is
advisable even with the teleportation device Azel has set to send them to the
Northwest Tower.

The tower appears to have a black Miltkeil infestation, despite the big
anti-intruder barrier Azel rigged up.  It appears that Azel means to keep
Formido Heim isolated until the current mess is cleaned up.  This way, even if
something were to come through the Crossgate, it couldn't get to Formido Heim
itself.  Speaking of the Crossgate, it's right outside the entrance to the
tower.

---

Prologue 2: Afternoon of the Machines

The two find something very strange waiting for them: a casket that appears to
have come out of the Crossgate.  Aschen recognizes it right away, and rather
obtusely tells Henne that if it's what she thinks it is, it's clear where the
Crossgate connected to.  All will be confirmed by opening it, but it's not
immediately clear how to do that.  Aschen decides to use Code DTD to increase
her processing power and find out, with the side effect of turning into a major
ditz.  The personality shift is great enough that Aschen temporarily forgets
what she's up to or that she's been traveling with Henne for some time now,
and Henne fumes about being referred to like some female gang leader.

Aschen's brilliant solution is to simply wreck the casket's outer coating, but
Henne has to stop her at the last minute when several objects emerge from the
Crossgate.  Aschen recognizes them as Gnosis, and it's now 100% certain where
the Crossgate has connected to.  Just then, a voice announces the initiation of
the Hilbert Effect and the casket opens, revealing KOS-MOS.  The silver-haired
android quickly recognizes that she's ended up in Endless Frontier, having
experienced mechanical difficulties while escaping from the Lenne L'Chateau.

The Crossgate must lead to the Material Realm, the origin of the missing
Reiji and Xiaomu.  KOS-MOS is surprised to hear they're missing, but for now
there are Gnosis to dispatch.  That doesn't take long, so Aschen explains
how KOS-MOS, Reiji and Xiaomu went missing (from the standpoint of the
Endless Frontier residents) in the wake of the destruction of the final Einst.
KOS-MOS reports that during the blast, she suffered a complete system
shutdown, reawakening back in her own world and time.  That suggests that
Reiji and Xiaomu might have been returned to their own world as well.

Henne asks the obvious question: why's KOS-MOS back?  Lenne L'Chateau turns
out to be a floating continent, and KOS-MOS was in the middle of something
very important there.  She needs to get back, but the darn Crossgate is as
unusable as ever [except by the plot].  Aschen recommends heading for the
Schlaffen Celeste, whose dimensional portal might still be usable to get
KOS-MOS home.  Fortunately, Henne and Aschen's destination (Megi Castle) is
on the way to the Celeste, so it won't entail any major detour.

Unfortunately, they run into an obstacle almost right away: black Miltkeil
blocking the way to what used to be Elf Tale and Espina Castle.  Hopefully the
folks at Megi Castle will have some idea what to do to get rid of the
crystals...

Almost immediately the party runs into Suzuka, musing over what to do about
the Miltkeil.  She's astounded to see Aschen and Henne, and even moreso to see
KOS-MOS again.  Henne explains why Azel sent the delegation, and Suzuka frowns,
knowing that her work has just gotten a lot more urgent.  KOS-MOS is starting
to understand what it meant for all the Realms to be merged into the new
Endless Frontier, and Suzuka proudly states that Megi Castle ended up in a
pretty sweet spot (especially with the big gate keeping out criminals).

There is the little problem of the black Miltkeil infestation, and since the
Shiki-Oni haven't had much luck breaking the Miltkeil, Suzuka was just on her
way to seek Dorothy's expertise, as well as pick up some new sensors for
Jaki-Gun-Ou.  Recall that Dorothy's the fae inventor who developed bullets
capable of smashing Miltkeil during the previous game^Wconflict.  Normally a
princess wouldn't be going in person to make such a request, but all
communications have been disrupted since the black Miltkeil arrived.

Apparently the black Miltkeil is giving off some kind of energy that messes
with radio, and is likely what provoked the Crossgates.  Henne's got to go
report that to Azel.  As for KOS-MOS' journey to the Celeste, it's along
Suzuka's way to Dorothy and Suzuka is only too glad to help her former
comrade.  Aschen and Henne will file their report from Mirabilis Castle, which
conveniently is located just west of here.  ...And for referring to Suzuka
as the cylindrical princess, Aschen is promised significant smackdown later.
Aschen is sure that her erstwhile captain will be grateful to hear of KOS-MOS'
safe return.  Suzuka promises to let Henne's people know when Dorothy figures
out an anti-Miltkeil bullet.

Henne heads off to report, leaving KOS-MOS to march off to the Schlaffen
Celeste.  Which, at this very moment, is seeing some activity in its
dimensional transfer device.  Out of it emerge Axel and Alfimi, and at least
Axel seems to be much the worse for wear.  No joke: he's suffering from
amnesia and doesn't remember who he is.  In her deliberate, clear voice, Alfimi
tells him his name, and recalls that in "that place" at "that time", the two
of them were both bathed in light...  She then stops in surprise, realizing
that she too cannot recall precisely where they came from.  Uh-oh.

Axel remembers the sound of his name, but all of a sudden Alfimi isn't so sure
he's really him: something seems out of place.  The two decide to pool all
their information, which Axel doesn't have much of.  He's holding something
called a Mizuchi Blade, sort of an overgrown Swiss Army knife used for
self-defense.  Interestingly, he still remembers how to use it.  Alfimi too
has weapons, a sword named "Oni-Renge" and a devil-faced servant called
"Oni-Basatsu".  And -- what makes her get all bashful -- she remembers that
she's not human (though what she _is_ isn't clear to her).

Improbably, that makes Axel actually feel better: it explains how Alfimi could
be so inhumanly cute.  Besides, she's not the first human-seeming inhuman he
knows... though now that he thinks about it, he can't remember who the other
example is.  In any case, he reckons the two of them can get along just fine,
which makes Alfimi positively beam.  With no more information to pool, there's
only one thing to do: take a walk and investigate this place they've...
fallen to.

---

Prologue 3: The Man Who Fell [to Somewhere...]

The pair quickly find a conveniently located healing device, one of the only
things still functional in the trash-heap they find themselves in.  Of course,
it's not actually a garbage dump as such: it's some kind of ship.  Evidently
it got ravaged before the two of them lost their memories, which may or may not
mean much.  In any case, it seems wise to head outside and figure out where
the heck the ship is.  Exits lead left and right, but Alfimi senses some kind
of waves coming from the left.  Waves?  What a stereotypically mysterious-yet-
beautiful little girl thing to say.

There is in fact something to the left: an elevator shaft that seems rather
impassable without the elevator itself being present.  That changes quickly
when a man and a robot come riding up.  The man is none other than Haken
Browning, bounty hunter and captain of the Tseit Crocodile.  Haken is a bit
confounded by meeting "likely-Axel" and "probably-Alfimi", and when they both
claim to have amnesia he says he's never heard anyone use that excuse before.
Axel's never tried before (since he's never had memory loss prior to this), but
Alfimi adds helpfully that the two of them appear to have dimension-traveled
from elsewhere.

As if on cue, Axel notices something familiar about Haken's robot, err,
familiar.  It's a "Gespenst", isn't it?  Haken is astonished that Axel knows
his "Phantom"'s proper name, though he tries not to let on.  Instead, he
explains that they're aboard the Schlaffen Celeste, and presumably arrived
from another world in the Celeste's dimensional transfer section.  Lots of
guests from other worlds are popping out of there lately, which won't exactly
make it easier to pinpoint where the A'n'A are from.  They listen agape as
Haken tells of one world the Gates led to, including the final resting place
of the decaying Einsts.

There's a word that sparks something inside Alfimi, though she can't rightly
recall what.  That, plus Axel's knowledge of the name "Gespenst", has Haken
convinced that the pair are a threat to world peace.  He wants them to come
with him, and won't take no for an answer.  He and Axel seem to instinctively
dislike each other for no apparent reason, and combat seems inevitable.

Inevitable, but short-lived.  Haken just remembered another couple of
outworlder visitors he was tricked into fighting -- visitors who turned out to
be the staunchest of allies.  Said visitors fought until the very moment
Endless Frontier was "changed", whereat they vanished before Haken could
properly thank them.  He's been trying to find them all this time, and where
there is one group of nice "guests", there might be more.  Rather than continue
duking it out, he wants to take Axel and Alfimi to meet his resident mad
scientist.  Axel and especially Alfimi would love to be cured of their amnesia
and regain who they really are, so they're willing to follow Haken to his
ship.

Getting there will be a bit of a pain though: the Celeste's electrical system
has been highly finicky of late.  The team will have to head downstairs and
switch over to auxiliary power, a task not as difficult as it sounds.  All
that's required is clambering down the glowing green piping...

At length, the party encounter a cluster of black gemstones, the "black
Miltkeil" that's recently been plaguing Endless Frontier.  The previous
Miltkeil infestation was actually part of the Einst's collective body, but
seeing as that only came in red and blue, no one's certain if this black
version is actually the same stuff.  After all, no actual Einsts have appeared
since the last battle...  Alfimi looks distinctly dubious as the party presses
on.

The Schlaffen Celeste is in fact massively massive when viewed from outside.
Its flying days appear to be millennia past, but it's still an active dig site
[due to a lack of pasty-skinned cannibals a la Pandorum].  Treasure hunters
have no better place to prospect for rare otherworldly tech, which is why
Haken mistook his charges for pirates.  The three start hoofing it for the
Tseit Crocodile as Haken explains more about Endless Frontier, and one thing
becomes clear to Alfimi.  She and Axel are from an entirely different world,
not just from a different locale in this one.  Axel is still in a state of
blissful mostly-ignorance, content with remembering the basics.  His own name,
how to dress himself, how to use the bathroom by himself, how to pilot a
mech...  ...Huh?!

Haken heads to the bridge, reporting to first officer Lee that he's pinpointed
the source of the Celeste's abnormal energy spike.  It's that darn Miltkeil,
plus a brief dimensional transport that spit out his guests.  Alfimi beams
at the tiger-headed man, until he dead-pans that the little girl won't make
him much of a meal.  Haken warns that their amnesia might rub off on him if he
tries to eat them, which wouldn't be pleasant.  Marion the mecha-otaku will
have to content herself with living, breathing souvenirs this time, and Alfimi
can tell that she's not a normal human either.  Half-human, half fae to be
precise, and very clear that no one is to refer to her as "old lady/woman/
whatever" unless they want a power cord up the nostril.

Unfortunately, she's too busy to help restore Alfimi and Axel's memory at the
moment.  She asks to borrow Haken's Phantom, saying that contact has just been
lost with the survey team sent in to investigate "that ship's" stern.  She's
already dispatched the Nacht and Arbent to guard the site and doesn't expect
any trouble, but it never hurts to err on the side of caution.  Matters aren't
helped by all the comms interference that started with the arrival of the
black Miltkeil, severing links with everyone including Aschen.

The two amnesiacs are offered a guest bedroom and a nice hot bath until Marion
gets a free moment.  Lee sees them to their quarters while Haken bids Marion
farewell, and then has a word in private with Lee.  While he buys their story
about memory loss, Haken doesn't like how Alfimi and Axel perked up at keywords
from the previous war.  Lee agrees to keep close watch on them while Haken
ventures out to the newly arrived continent that was originally part of
Hakoku -- maybe he'll get lucky and Reiji and KOS-MOS will be there.  Oh, and
let's not forget a certain beautiful princess who dwells along the way...

Back aboard the Giant Marcus, Neige and Catsy have just finished debriefing
each other about what happened since the last war.  Catsy's a bit nervous about
the Shura's enemies, the so-called "Agrad Heim".  A motley bunch, some have
wings, some are animalistic, and some are even robot-like.  Some of their
soldiers even resemble humans or fae, and their mightiest warriors had enough
Haki to make even Aledy take pause.  Nobody seems to know what became of them,
but Catsy reckons it's worth some investigation.  Neige wants to head to her
old castle, and Catsy recommends she swing by the Nanbu clan's castle in
(what used to be) Kagura-Amahara.  The place, which she used to visit by
Crossgate before it was sealed to keep the war out, was frigging gorgeous --
as were its ruler Sanuki and his daughter.  Boy is Neige going to be surprised
by how that princess has grown in the 13-14 years since she's seen her...

Taketori Castle and its Fujizakura tree are a short distance to the East over
the bridge, which should be an easy walk for Neige and Aledy.  Catsy tells
Kyon to return and report to Azel while he does a little digging of his
own.  Kyon will see them partway to their destination, and since this town has
a decent market, it might be wise to do a bit of shopping before departure.

---

Chapter 1. [missing]

The Fujizakura and its perpetual rain of picturesque petals is barely a stone's
throw away.  Neige knows that Sanuki's aid isn't a done deal, and looks a bit
worried as the party heads to the castle at the base of the tree.

..Meanwhile a nefarious-looking pair have sent one of the "Three Siblings" to
"that" tree, in the hopes that it might be paired with their own "tree".  Lots
of quotation marks, lots of shadow on the speakers' faces, and no love lost
for the Shura by the sound of it.  The guy(?) in blue tells the guy(?) in red
to leave the Shura be for now: he still needs more souls to slake his thirst.
Ominous words from the "king" on the left.

The capital city is every inch a postcard oriental town, which would be rather
pleasant if Aledy wasn't worrying about a certain lack of a prior appointment
with the king.  Kyon tells him not to sweat it, and introduces him to the
proprietor of a certain odds-and-ends store: the canine Shirou.  Neige seems
to recall that the Ouban-Koban is the most famous store in all Kagura-Amahara,
but Shirou takes a somewhat dimmer view.  It's less that his store is all that
great, and more that the capital lacks any other shops worthy of the name.
Shirou's interested to see a fae on the scene, and astonished when Kyon tells
him _which_ fae.

Fast-forward through Neige's explanation.  Shirou and Neige both agree that
the timing of the fae's return is rather _too_ odd, and that she really ought
to see the king.  Shirou recommends contacting the head of the Ura-Genbu as
the fastest way to get time on the royal Outlook calendar -- they're a squad
of ninjas best known as the king and princess' bodyguards.  They've also been
helping rebuild Formido Heim, and are capable of considerable stealth...

..As indicated by how Otone, leader of the Ura-Genbu, has been lurking around
listening in all this time.  Well, less "lurking" and more "shopping for
breakfast ingredients", but the end result is the same.  Apparently the menfolk
under her command can't be counted on to select halfway-decent vegetables,
something which Aledy's been scolded about too.  Shirou sniffs that all his
veggies are the freshest, and lets Otone guide the party to the king.

Sanuki cuts quite a figure, though he's the first to admit that his kingdom
isn't what it used to be.  He greets his guests, and apologizes to Neige for
not even realizing (due to his closing his borders) that the fae were gone.  He
recommends that Neige go see his daughter, quite a bit bigger [@_@!!] than
Neige might remember due to the different lifespans of human and fae.  Kaguya
is currently busy in the "Emissary's Chamber" performing a ceremony to keep
the Fujizakura in good shape.  Otone will lead the two there once they're done
shopping.

Kaguya offers a fond welcome to her friends from afar, introducing herself as
Nanbu Ui's daughter.  She's quickly surprised to see Kyon, but not as surprised
as Neige is to see how massive Kaguya's bustline has gotten.  Neige tells her
she should be ashamed of herself (not that there's much Kaguya can do about
it), and tells Aledy to back her up.  Aledy however is smitten on first sight,
saying that Kaguya is beauteous fair like a goddess.  It hasn't escaped Neige's
notice that he wasn't besotted like this when he first saw _her_, and does
_not_ want Kyon teasing her about it.

Otone tells the trio to watch their language in front of the princess, but of
course Neige is a princess too, and that of the fae.  Who outranks whom here?
Good question, and not one to be settled now.  Aledy fills Kaguya in on who
they are and what's been going on in the world.  Neige sympathizes with the
troubles Kaguya and friends have been through, noting that a lot has befallen
the both of them these past three years.

Aledy wonders where the tree's Reiki or Spiritual Power comes from, detecting
a subtle sway in it that most would miss.  Otone's certainly impressed, but
Kaguya sighs and says that the tree has been unsettled ever since a few months
past the merging of the worlds.  It's as though it fears something, and there's
not much that could scare a skyscraper-sized plant that can generate its own
Crossgate.

Neige is starting to realize she won't just be able to return to her castle in
peace. Just then one of Otone's lieutenants shows up in a dreadful rush: the
capital is under attack by parties unknown!  There are several bad guys,
including magical creatures, and a few of them have even managed to infiltrate
the Fujizakura itself.  Otone is furious at this lapse, but the ninja says
that the bad guys just appeared out of nowhere, and nobody's sure how.  It
certainly wasn't through the front door, which has remained sealed ever since
Otone led the party here.  Even more, there are no records of these particular
enemies in Kagura-Amahara's archives.

Kaguya commands Otone to return to the palace at once and protect her father,
taking Neige and Aledy with her while Kaguya seals the "Emissary's Chamber" and
prepares for combat.  Neige has a better idea: beat these invaders down without
mercy as the Hausen clan has always done.  Aledy adds that no Shura shows an
enemy his back, adding that he wants the practice.  Otone loves Kaguya's
ability(?) to garner allies from those around her, though Kyon doesn't give
Kaguya that much credit.  Still, as an Orchestral Army member Kyon isn't about
to turn deserter, fearing the spanking on her bottom that would earn her back
home.  Otone leaves her princess in the party's capable hands and vanishes,
leaving Neige to tell the team to get their butts into combat already.

Kaguya doesn't recognize the bad guys, who maybe resemble Formido Heim troops
a bit.  Aledy and Neige, hearts heavy, know exactly who they are though: the
Shura's old foe Agrad Heim.  Apparently they came along for the ride when
Hakoku got appended to Endless Frontier, and Aledy is very unhappy that their
ancestral struggle has been dumped on others' front door.  Not his fault of
course, but still depressing.  Aledy remembers hearing that the Agrad Heim
leader is in search of souls, and the Fujizakura seems to be one "soulful"
tree indeed.  Hmmm, better hurry down to the palace and figure out a way to
fend the bad guys off...

As the team head towards town, they run into Catsy.  Hard to tell how glad he
is to see Kagura-Amahara's "heifer princess"; one supposes he feels a sense of
competition with her for all the available guys.  Otone let him pass so he
could help Kaguya out, and he reports that the Ura-Genbu have the town mostly
under control.  Even Shirou was laying about with his fangs bared, fierce
enough that Catsy thinks he might actually make a decent rival.  Aledy notes
that the enemy haven't entirely been rebuffed, and Catsy just _loves_ a
cautious man.  He offers (more like insists) on teaming up with Aledy, which
isn't exactly music to Neige's long ears...

Leaving the slash stuff to the yaoi fanartists for now, Kyon asks if the
Giant Marcus is okay with him absent.  Not like it's going anywhere any time
soon, is it?  Besides, Catsy's got plenty to report to Azel, including the
fact that the fae and the Shura aren't the only new visitors to Endless
Frontier.  Looks like Catsy will be hanging out with the party for some time
to come: the second Orchestral Army member to follow Neige around.  Call it
karma, call it fate, call it downright slash-baiting or whatever you want:
Neige is in little position to look askance at a little extra firepower.
Though it won't get her anything from Catsy, Kaguya assures him he's glad to
have his help.

There's a surprise at the front door though: Hera Gand, one of the three Gand
Siblings.  She warns that she gives no mercy to those who stand in her way, and
both Neige and Aledy recognize the Agrad Heim soldier at once.  The three
siblings are known for their bestial features and their prowess with a whip,
and Aledy asks if Master Vanar is well.  Hera is surprised that Aledy knows
of her brother, but Aledy says it was hard not to know of him from when their
two nations were at war.  Hera shrugs and says that she has no interest in
the Shura just now -- unless Aledy is cruising for a bruising, in which case
he'd best have his life insurance in order.

Hera won't say what her interest in the Fujizakura is, but does note that
she's got one last thing to confirm before joining her fellows in retreat.
Kyon announces triumphantly that Hera won't be entering the Emissary's Room
any time soon now that it's been sealed, which of course just makes Hera want
to get in worse.  Kyon will probably get a spanking (courtesy of Neige no less)
if any of the team make it out alive.

They do, of course.  Hera rather underestimated the august group of fighters
gathered here, although she only has a recon squad at her disposal and not
anything more serious.  She tells the group she'll see them later, and says
that her elder brother and her "husband" will be overjoyed to face their Shura
foes again.  Aledy knows who she's talking about, although the rest of the
team have no clue.
</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
Aledy can tell a lot about someone by crossing fists with them, but he's not
psychic enough to know all of what Hera might be up to.  Whatever it is, it
can't be good.  Consulting Azel is getting more urgent by the minute, but
Kaguya has to tell her father something first.  Otone shows up and confirms
that the city is safe, but everyone has to wonder what Hera's "recon squad"
was reconnoitering.

She tells Sanuki of these new Agrad Heim foes, and announces that she'll be
traveling with Neige in search of what they're really after.  Sanuki won't
try to stop his daughter, noting that she still hasn't completed the
traditional royal pilgrimage through all their lands yet.  As though there
wasn't already enough urgency, it turns out that the Fujizakura's unease has
gone away in the wake of the Agrad Heim withdrawal -- clearly the two are
linked.  The Ura-Genbu will keep up their investigation too, and with the
Emissary's Chamber sealed, there should be no further worry about intruders
for a while.

Of course, if she's going to get off this continent, some means must be found
of breaking through the black Miltkeil.  Sounds like a trip to Dorothy Mistral
is in order, meaning a journey southward.  Neige has a bit of a history with
her explosives-expert countrywoman, but she won't let that deter the team from
seeking a way to smash the black Miltkeil.  They'll need to use the Varna
Street to the East, as it's the only route not currently blocked.

Varna Street looks like nothing that Aledy, or Neige for that matter, have ever
seen before.  Is this, like Hakoku itself, a recent addition to Endless
Frontier?  Not really, says Catsy: all these buildings used to be at the bottom
of the ocean in Varna Kanai.  Their glass facades were intended to afford a
panoramic view of the surrounding ocean, though at least this part of Varna
Kanai is now on dry land.  Neige sniffs that Catsy seems to know a lot about
the ocean for someone who's set up shop in the desert, but he reminds her that
as a merchant he's been all over the world... and under its oceans.  Goodness
knows he's been dealing with the Sirena Pirates for ages -- not that they
were actually "pirates" in the classical sense.  They functioned more as a
nautical National Guard, with sightseeing tours offered on the side.

After the merging of the worlds, the better half of Varna Kanai's residents
moved to Formido Heim in search of colder climes.  The remaining Varna Street
will lead the team to the Northeasterly "Esmeralda Region", centered around
Dorothy's Esmeralda Keep.  Sensible naming scheme for a change?  Who knew?
Anyway, best to get moving -- there's a world to save and all.  Aledy cautions
that he senses an unquiet presence nearby: the Agrad Heim have probably sent
their agents into Varna Street as a way to get at the Fujizakura.  Kyon wishes
the team had a bit more firepower, and Kaguya finds herself wishing "he" was
here.  Seeing her lovestruck expression, Neige demands Kaguya dish the goods.
Kaguya says that her love is called the "Wandering Bounty-Hunter", an alias
that even Neige knows.  He may be human, but "that man" has lived through far
more than his share of bloody battles even by fae standards.  Kaguya is of
course talking about Haken, but Neige only knows about his teacher, John
Moses (who she hasn't seen in ages).  Whoever it is, Aledy is looking forward
to testing his skills against them some day.

Kyon suspects that they're not talking about the same person, but Catsy tells
her to leave the two princesses alone: a little misunderstanding every now and
again keeps things fun!  The fun gets funner when the party ventures a little
way into Varna Street and encounters a chamber with a totally different
ambiance from what has gone before.  It's more than a little creepy, but
instead of cowering in fear Neige and Kaguya rush to show Aledy just _where_
on their bodies they have goosebumps.  Ah, the trials and tribulations of the
coolest guy in the party...  Catsy notes that Aledy is quite the stud-muffin
these days, then explains that this is part of Vilkuakint, the ruins that
used to be at the center of Varna Kanai.

Now that he mentions it, Kaguya sort of recognizes the area.  It's missing
the big red jewel associated with the Einsts, which took Dorothy's special
anti-Miltkeil bullets to break, but still unmistakable to Catsy's discerning
eyes otherwise.  On the one hand, bits and pieces of all the worlds are mixed
together at random world-wide.  On the other hand, one has to wonder why this
specific piece of Varna Kanai ended up here.  Though intrigued, Aledy advises
the group to hurry ahead: he's sensing a presence that's only getting stronger
the farther in the team ventures.  Kaguya is sensing it too: a spiritual force
that's giving her the shivers... and before the team can do anything, a bunch
of black Miltkeil materializes before their eyes.

Fishy?  You could say that: a fishman approaches from the East and demands to
know who the party is and why they're loitering in an area he was sent to
investigate.  The icthyan, claiming to be quite the gentleman, tells the girl
with big titties and her friends to hit the fucking trail if they don't want
to get thrown out on their [shapely] asses.  Of course that's not a very
gentlemanly thing to say, and Aledy can guess who the guy is: one of Hera's
colleagues, at least from his uniform.  He is in fact none other than the
youngest of the Gand Siblings, but he's not going to get a free shot at Kaguya
and friends...

---

Chapter 2. The Wandering Bounty Hunter

At that moment, Haken busts in from the North.  Neige isn't sure what to make
of this man borrowing the name of the Wandering Bounty Hunter, but all the
veteran Endless Frontiersmen vouch for him.  Haken is amazed that the new
continent includes the long-lost fae tribe, but it might really be best to save
the revelations until later...  For instance, Joam Gand now has a lot to report
to his siblings when he gets home.  However cool Haken's entrance might have
been, the main goal is dispatching the rather scary-looking enemy.

Joam gets smacked down in disgraceful fashion, uncertain how to face his
elder "brother" and "sister" after the defeat.  He vows payback, and Aledy
declares that any enemy of Hakoku will feel the wrath however often it takes.
Joam scoffs that Hakoku isn't even on his radar, unwilling to elaborate before
dashing off on God-knows-what evil errand.

Haken wonders what Kaguya's doing here, especially since he heard her power
was needed to keep the Fujizakura stable.  Well, _stuff_ happened you see.
For that matter, what's Haken doing here?  Well, he was _trying_ to say hi
to Kaguya en route to a survey of this Hakoku place, where he was hoping to
find a certain someone.  Imagine his surprise to have two of his three goals
cleared in a single combat!  Neige isn't very quick to warm up to Haken's
cool guy act, but she'll have little choice in the long run: certain events
are afoot that will definitely throw Haken together with the party.

Haken shows them what he means: a batch of black Miltkeil appeared out of
nowhere to block his path back home.  In fact, he would have been trapped
permanently if he hadn't broken through the wall with his weapon and stumbled
on Kaguya and the others.  All too convenient, huffs Neige, but Kaguya is
certainly glad to see her old friend (with benefits??).  In any case, it's off
to see Dorothy!

Along the way, the team encounter a Wanted poster.  Haken explains that lots of
folks have taken the joining of the Realms as their cue to break the law.  And
when we break the law, where do we go?  The HOUSE OF PAIN, which will net those
bringing the evildoers to justice fabulous prizes.  Mind you, anyone worth
putting onto a Wanted poster is going to be formidable, but that's life as a
bounty hunter for you.

Who should be waiting up ahead but Ann Sirena herself, apparently on Hamelen's
payroll and unwilling to let Aledy pass.  This is what happens when Hamelen's
controlling music is up to full power... and it's likely useless getting any
information about Hamelen's whereabouts from her while she's still bewitched.
As is her wont, Ann is inclined to keep things short and sweet by blowing the
party away with her cannon, which may or may not mean she's broken free of
Hamelen's spell by her own power.  Kaguya calls this one of Ann's "merry"
aspects, but Neige is far from convinced.

Sure enough, a little "moral suasion" from the team and Ann returns to her
senses.  She remembers a dude matching Hamelen's description (flute and all)
ensorceling her, which can only mean that Hamelen, and the Arc-On, have passed
through here.  Explaining to Ann what all's been going on would be rather
difficult here, so she proposes everyone come hang out on her ship.  Neige
would love some sweets to go with the debriefing, but all she's likely to
get is sushi.  That's great with Kaguya, but not so much with the fae princess.

The team board Ann's ship, the Silent Volks -- a very impressive submarine that
could become more impressive yet if it could fly.  Not quite the Excelion then,
but hey.  Aledy is temporarily unnerved at the sight of the first officer Bony
Maximad, who's rather concerned at Ann's late return.  She tells him of her
rescue by the party, and explains why she's not with the rest of the Varna
Kanaians in Formido Heim: she got kicked out, by none other than Azel himself.

Formido Heim is being besieged by lots of mystery foes, and Azel wasn't
entirely clear on why he wanted her gone, but here she is.  Before Haken can
inquire too deeply, his cel phone rings... a major feat in these days of
Miltkeil interference.  Signal quality sucks, but the team manages to discern
that the call is from Aschen, who's somewhere near the rear of "Neverland", the
husk of an outworlder ship formerly known as the "Mightiella".  As it crashed
to the ground some 23 years ago, it broke in half.  The stern section ended up
in Lost Helencia... and the bow section is somewhere very near here to the
south.

In fact, that's where Haken's mad scientist assistant was headed.  Given that
Aschen was supposed to be in Formido Heim, it sounds like trouble is brewing.
The trip to Dorothy will have to wait a while longer, as Haken and the party
head off to see what's brewing at Neverland.  Good timing in a way: Bony has
heard that Dorothy's castle has closed its gates to all comers for now.  Ann
smells treasure, and decides to join the team for good (which will also let
her earn an extra buck or two by selling the team stuff).  Her ship can travel
to any port it's already been to, which will make traveling a heck of a lot
easier.

Neverland is in surprisingly good shape considering that the damn thing crashed
into a heap.  No need to "touch the handle" after all, is what it sounds like.
There's a convenient portal nearby, with some equally convenient mechanical
menaces waiting inside.  It's starting to become clear why Aschen issued a
distress call: the W Series are active again.  Haken tells Aledy that these
lifeless dolls arrived in Endless Frontier some twenty years ago (as did Aschen
and Haken himself).  The W Series are just standing around, but given that
they're in the way, most of the party are in favor of just blowing them away.

Easier done than said. ^_^  They actually do fairly well for not having any
decent maintenance for years, and the question really is who activated them.
Hamelen isn't likely the culprit, to the extent that the Shura aren't the
multiverse's greatest mechanical geniuses.  Aledy morosely tells the others
that the Rasetsu-ki, such as the one he's after, were made with technology
now lost to the modern Shura.

This is all getting far too complicated for Ann, but there will be no pulling
out just yet, especially with two of Haken's extended family somewhere inside
Neverland.  Even Marion, guarded by Haken's two robots, isn't guaranteed to be
safe.  Onward then!

The party find Marion calmly standing in front of a control panel.  She and
Aschen have been waiting quite a while for Haken after their interrupted
communication, and she's more than a little surprised to see how many new
members Haken's added to his party.  At first she figures Neige as some slutty
girlfriend of Haken's, and with very indecent taste in clothing to boot, but
she gets a lot more polite when she finally recognizes the princess of the fae.
No real surprise that the two know each other: before joining on with Haken,
Marion was a "Yousei-Ki" researcher in Elf Tale.

Those are three-meter clockwork armors propelled by magic, reminding one of the
Personal Troopers.  Speaking of which, where are they anyhow?  Marion sent them
off to protect Aschen, who's been sent here to investigate the few remaining
Crossgates.  She would normally have headed straight to Dulceus' Mausoleum, but
that darn black Miltkeil blocked the way.  So she came here instead, and
promptly ran into a little trouble with the W Series.  There's one particular W
Series member, W-06 a.k.a. "Caldia", who met her end here during the former
battle.

In a possibly unwise move, Marion repaired the pink android... who then
spontaneously got up and ran off.  Even with all three Personal Troopers
helping out, Aschen isn't guaranteed to win in a direct fight with her sister,
not to mention whatever else this ship might throw at her.  Marion unlocks the
door to where Aschen's headed, promising to wait outside where it's
(comparatively) safe and wishing Haken and the others luck.  Since neither she
nor any of the other team members know where Dorothy is (she's not in her
castle, which is why it's all locked up), Ann recommends Marion wait in her
ship until it's time to set sail.


Chapter 03: Zero Numbers

Sure enough, Aschen is facing off against her "sister" W Number.  Caldia has
no recollection of Aschen, or where she is for that matter.  Aschen wasn't
expecting Haken this early, and is minorly astonished to see him leading the
Non-Breasted, the Fish-Breasted, the catguy, the whelp and the false-tsundere
folks as well.  Aledy is amazed at how human-like these otherworldly machines
are, though no human in their right mind would call people they'd just met that
kind of names.  Neither Neige nor Kyon are exactly thrilled with the Tourette's
Android, but the team has bigger problems to deal with.  Not only are the PT's
absent, but Caldia has no recollection of anyone in the party.  Her default
orders are to slaughter anyone not on her approved guest list, and Catsy would
love to know just who it was who issued those orders.  The only way to find out
involves getting Caldia to hold still, and THAT means kicking her gynecoid
ass in a fistfight.

Unfortunately, Caldia was also ordered to run away to a predetermined
rendezvous point if damaged beyond a certain threshold.  She bails without
telling who those orders came from or where the rendezvous point is, leaving
the team to wonder who's pulling her strings.  Aschen then relates that all
three of the PT's ignored their programming and vanished, jumping into an
elevator shaft up ahead and apparently heading downstairs.  Caldia in fact
came up the shaft shortly after the PT's went down, which happened moments
before Haken and friends showed up.

Down the shaft is Level 5, the seat of the ship's main computer Tink Erbell (or
"Pink Barbell" as Neige calls it).  The ultra-mega-supercomputer has clearly
seen better days, and is somewhat on fire when the party reaches it.  No
telling who's responsible, but the damage looks pretty fresh.  The missing PT's
are nowhere to be seen, as is the fire suppression system any self-respecting
super-important computer room ought to have.  Only Aledy is sensitive enough to
spot the man lurking in the shadows, if "man" is the right word.  It's another
hottie robot from the W Numbers, and for a wonderment this one is male.  Hey,
what's good for the goose, right?

The robot, W-03, is ominously named Pete Pain.  It's probably not a good sign
that Aschen's siblings, formerly sound asleep, are being awakened by someone.
W-03 orders Aschen to follow his orders, but Aschen enters Code DTD and
demands to know who the heck he thinks he is.  Neither Aschen nor the rest of
the team understand why W-03's orders cause Aschen to fade in and out of DTD;
it's just happening on its own seemingly.  W-03 knows enough about Aschen to
realize that she's the only W Number with access to Code DTD, and decides to
counter with Code PTP.  That means sending in Caldia, who unlike Aschen is
obedient to his commands.

Apparently _this_ was the rendezvous spot for her.  She's leaking fluids all
over the floor, but claims to be only 58% damaged and at 60% combat efficiency.
W-03 demands to know if she thinks she can fight, and Caldia of course answers
in the affirmative.  Aschen tells him that Caldia's suffered damage to her
powertrain -- why put her through this?  W-03 can't grasp why Aschen would
stick up for her (enemy) sister, and has a lot easier time understanding Aledy
when he says that he prefers fighting the wounded: it tilts the odds in his
favor.

Unfortunately, W-03 has other allies at his disposal, such as the Gespenst
Mk.III.  Also known as the Nacht, this is one of the two mecha that wrought
such grievous harm on the fae in the previous war.  Neige hadn't fully realized
what these "personal trooper" thingies were until now, and wonders if this is
some kind of big-ass fated reunion or something.  Haken reckons that W-03 must
have the other two PT's as well, but W-03 isn't going to tell him anything
about them -- after all, they're replicas that Tink Erbell created, and no
business of any outsider.  Aledy is the pragmatist here: stolen goods need only
be stolen back.  And besides, it's not like all the PT's are loyal to W-03:
after a brief delay, Haken is able to summon the "Phantom" to do his bidding.
W-03 is aghast, sure that his rewrite of the PTs' control programming was
foolproof.

Neige scowls, not recognizing this robot from the previous war.  Catsy explains
that it was created _after_ that war, in order to track down the Nacht and
Arbent after they went missing.  Perhaps that's why it's on Haken's side and
not W-03's?  W-03 knows that's not so: rather, it's got deeper programming
than the executive program he created.  In his view, it needs to be destroyed
on the spot, at the Mk.III's hands.  Sounds like a good warmup for the
throwdown with the Arc-On, doesn't it?

The Mk.III isn't a match for the party, at least with it's half-ass rewritten
control program.  W-03 orders it to retreat to the next rendezvous point,
planning to upgrade it with all the data he's garnered from watching the team
fight.  He's dispassionate enough to content himself with the theft of W-06 and
two of the three replica PT's, as well as the salvage and destruction of data
from Tink Erbell.  He thinks he'll only need 48 hours until the other PT and
Aschen are his, and bails out without further explanation.

Except for the Phantom's return, it appears that W-03 has thoroughly gotten the
better of the party (in true pirate fashion, which Ann admires).  Haken
recommends returning to Ann's ship for now, but all the while he's pondering
Pete Pain's role in all of this.  Clearly he was sent to see to things aboard
the Neverland, but the question now becomes W-00.  What were Pete's orders
regarding him?

Aschen then belatedly informs Haken that KOS-MOS has been found safe and sound.
That she was able to return (temporarily) to her own world raises the odds
considerably for Xiaomu and Reiji returning to their own world too, which is
great news for Haken.  KOS-MOS is currently following around the "flat
princess" [not all _that_ flat, relatively speaking], en route to the Schlaffen
Celeste.  Neige wants to know who these outworlders, so helpful in the previous
war, are -- in Catsy's words: a handsome guy, a hopeless beast, and a beautiful
robot.  Haken would love to say "hi", but he knows that Suzuka and KOS-MOS are
probably busy trying to get the Celeste's dimensional transporter working.  He
decides instead to head to Dorothy's castle, intending to pry open the doors if
he has to.  Marion meanwhile will mind the ship and keep working on a way to
demolish that black Miltkeil -- acting more like the responsible captain than
Ann ever has.  Hopefully she can also come up with a way to deal with W-03...

Bad news awaits at Dorothy's castle though: the place looks like it just
experienced World War III.  Nothing for it but to dash in.  Especially since
the sound of fresh explosions can be heard from outside the front gate.
Fearing for Dorothy's safety, Haken blows the gate wide open and leads the
team inside.  They find the place in a dreadful shambles, much moreso than a
single blast could explain.  They realize that the outer gate was sealed not
to keep intruders out, but to keep the truth of the carnage in.

Aledy can sense the aura of a Shura flowing throughout the castle: best to
assume they've taken the place over already.  Overwhelming this castle, which
stood fast even during the Ten Years' War, and its lord (and her personal
arsenal of explosives) can't have been easy... unless it was Hamelen's
handiwork.  He's just the sort of bad guy one would send to soften up a well-
defended area like this, and Ann knows all too well how effective he can be
against otherwise stalwart opponents.

The problem is, why would the bad guys want to take this place over at all?
It's not likely that they've come to buy some of Dorothy's famous gadgetry (or
second-hand clothing... including underwear, one supposes) per se.  Either they
want the explosives Dorothy's developing for the Miltkeil, or they want
something else she may have brought into the castle... or both.  Dorothy is
after all a notorious collector of buried treasure, including KOS-MOS herself
during the previous war.  Dorothy may be in jeopardy, not to mention Suzuka and
her entourage who were supposedly headed here.  The team rushes to Dorothy's
chambers...

..Until they reach the armory, where Aledy senses a presence somewhere nearby.
For a change, this presence doesn't appear to want to fight the party, and it
turns out to be none other than Suzuka!


Chapter 04. [missing]

She's been in a bit of a bind ever
since someone started blasting the crap out of the castle, right after she
entered.  Hard to say whether she's all that glad to see the procession of
provocatively-dressed party members, especially when they all love making fun
of her skimpy "dancer's" outfit.  Suzuka seems especially unimpressed with
Neige, wanting to know just who the fae exhibitionist is.  Way to start off on
the wrong foot, eh?

Some amount of explaining later, it turns out that Suzuka evacuated to the
castle armory while under attack by unknown assailants.  She doesn't know what
they wanted as such, but she recalls hearing some sort of voice telling them to
search for something, maybe to do with Dorothy and those black crystals.
Though Haken is worried about his new amnesiac friends back aboard the Tseit
Crocodile, he and the others know they need to settle things here first.  For
all they know, Dorothy may be in danger even now.

Esmeralda Castle's central section is dominated by a massive, ugly carving of
a face.  Inside it is Dorothy's room, a fairly spacious place accessible only
by forcing the carving's mouth to open.  Ann likes the stupid complexity of it
all, but Suzuka has to wonder just how Haken knows so much about Dorothy's
private chambers.  After all, the party didn't get this far into the castle
during the last war...  Catsy slyly observes that any red-blooded male has
ways of getting into ladies' rooms, and Kaguya starts looking archly in Haken's
direction.

Haken hastily tells the group that he was here some 14 years ago with his dad,
in order to pick up an assload of Dorothy's famous bombs.  The problem is, when
last he came, the mouth was already open.  It's anybody's guess how to open it
now, and simply yelling out Dorothy's name doesn't accomplish much.
Assuming she could hear him, that would mean she's not home... but if she's
not here, where could she be?

As the group stare at the ugly face flummoxed, an irritated voice can be heard
from the shadows cursing KOS-MOS' absence.  Its owner is clad in black: a
dangerously sexy combat android the Haken and his core posse know all too
well.  The robot, who introduces herself as T-elos -- soon to be the Law of
the world -- is KOS-MOS' archenemy, and doesn't much welcome Haken or the other
inferior beings talking about them that way.  She's looking for KOS-MOS, who
obviously wasn't to be found aboard the Celeste.  She guessed that KOS-MOS was
carried here just like the last time, and without thinking Suzuka blurts out
that T-elos must have just missed KOS-MOS if she too came out of the Celeste's
dimensional transfer device.

At the very least, T-elos knows that KOS-MOS has come to this world again.
The team try to convince her that KOS-MOS may have returned to her own world
already, and that there's no need for they and T-elos to throw down just now.
In fact, T-elos should probably go home herself, and and maybe she'd be so
kind to tell KOS-MOS to come back to Endless Frontier sometime to hang out?
Nope, T-elos is nowhere near that kind... though she had considered at least
for a moment letting the party go unscathed.  However, she decides to just
kill them all before they have a chance to get in her way, which Aledy has to
admit is the sound decision from T-elos' perspective.

T-elos does not have much luck battling the party, rather to her annoyance.
Aledy tells T-elos that she can't beat him and his friends while there's still
indecision in her actions.  He can tell at a glance the doubts that haunt
T-elos, about the next time she and KOS-MOS must face off.  T-elos sniffs at
having this spelled out, though she doesn't try to deny any of it.  Instead,
she contents herself with sauntering away as she probably should have done in
the first place: it's the curse of the _real_ tsundere out there to get into
unnecessary trouble out of not being honest with themselves.

Anyway, back to getting into Dorothy's room.  There's a keyhole in the nose,
which would imply that there's a key somewhere in the room.... one hopes.
The key isn't too hard to find, and when inserted the mouth pops open with
a bellow that's either fun or aggravating depending on your upbringing.  Inside
are an array of tables and counters: this is less a bedchamber and more a
retail storefront.  Though the others are aghast, Ann finds nothing unusual
about it -- after all, she sells her pirate wares from her cabin too.  Unlike
the mess outside, this area seems totally unscathed, meaning that the bad guys
likely didn't get this far in.

Haken remembers this place from when he and his dad visited, and says that
Dorothy's real private chamber is up ahead.  Since there seems to be no one in
the shop area, the only thing to try is to head in there.  To Haken's
amazement, the team find a life-sized statue of him within -- Suzuka smiles as
she senses a massive love triangle about to erupt.  Fortunately for all
concerned, it's not actually a statue of Haken after all, but rather of his
father from a good two decades back.  Haken recalls that his dad and Dorothy
had a longstanding relationship/rivalry, since both of them were notorious
treasure hunters.  Nice of Dorothy to immortalize her rival in stone, if by
"nice" one means "kinda twisted"...

In any case, there's no sign of the fae explosives expert, though Aledy can
sense the aftereffects of high-level Haki.  If Hamelen really got all the way
in here, he showed more consideration than most in not messing her chambers up.
Likely there's a secret way out of here: every self-respecting nobleperson
ought to have one.  Kaguya's is hidden behind a false wall, while Suzuka's
is underneath her rehearsal stage.  Neige tells them they're probably more
right than they know: she senses a magic in this room she's not felt in quite
some time.  While Haken wouldn't normally stoop to ransacking a lady's room,
there's no other choice if they want to find the secret passage...

The switch pushed, a portal opens up in the wall, from which the magic
sensation grows ever stronger.  The traces of Haki do not, however -- can this
mean that Hamelen isn't in there after all?  In any case, Haken tells the team
it's time to go rummage around in Dorothy's secret room... and with enough
glee that Suzuka tells Kaguya to reconsider dating this guy.

All joking aside, the team do eventually find Dorothy in the bowels of her
secret labyrinth.  To Neige's shock, Dorothy has a very familiar machine at
her side: the Fae Kleid, one of the Yousei-ki.  It is the Hausen family's
strongest mechanized armor, and it's been missing ever since the Ten Years'
War.  Catsy remembers facing the thing across that battlefield, and the going
was certainly rough back then.

Dorothy's obsession with unearthing and tinkering with mechanical stuff is
getting more than a little out of hand.  In this case, it's explicitly
Hamelen's fault: she tells the party that Hamelen has ordered her to kill off
Aledy and friends should they manage to reach her.  Naturally, the only way
to find out why Hamelen would do that is to ask Dorothy... who will require
"persuasion".

The team is plenty persuasive, but as Dorothy struggles to regain her senses,
the Fae Kleid abruptly disappears before Neige can even voice a full sentence
welcoming it back.  Unlike the Jaki-Gun-Ou, there's no need to directly
control a Yousei-Ki; they're supposed to simply obey their master's commands.
It wasn't obviously out of control during the fight, which means that someone
other than the Hausen heir has its ear.  Is that someone Dorothy?

Well, it certainly takes Dorothy a moment to recognize everyone, especially the
slut falling out of her miniskirt (that would be Neige).  Dorothy's confusion
is a bit understandable, given that some dude with a banana hat and a
two-dollar flute (that would be Hamelen) knocked her for a loop.  Dorothy's
orders were to guard the treasure (that would be the Fae Kleid) and get rid of
Aledy's entourage.  Said Fae Kleid came from Dulceus' Mausoleum about a month
ago, appearing suddenly in busted-ass form out of the Crossgate there.  Azel's
premonition seems to have hit the mark about the Crossgates becoming active
again.

Dorothy repaired the thing here in her secret treasure room, and was almost
done with final adjustments when Hamelen showed up.  That's probably why it
didn't respond to Neige's commands, and it's anyone's guess where it's run off
to now.  For now, Neige fills Dorothy in on what's been going on with the fae
these past few years, and explains what Haken and co. are doing in her secret
chambers.

Happily, Dorothy is _so_ on top of the black Miltkeil issue.  She's even got
a prototype anti-munition ready... which unfortunately has been stolen by
Hamelen long since.  Unlike the previous red and blue bullets, this was a
glove intended for physically smashing the Miltkeil, codenamed "Ozmagoth".
It's not at the stage where she can mass-produce them, so the only recourse is
to track down the thief and steal the thing back (and exact a little revenge
in the process).  Besides, who else is going to pay for repairs to the castle?
As such, Dorothy will be joining the party for now... unless Haken has any
objections?  How could Haken say no to such a huge fan of his dad?

Hamelen has probably gone to Dulceus' Mausoleum, the place most in need of
some Miltkeil breaking.  That's where the Orchestral Army needed to go anyway,
and as good a place as any to find clues about Neige's erstwhile mech.
Though it's not really Haken's style, the team will have to follow in the
bad guys' wake for now.  First though, there's Dorothy's store, including
the "used" clothing section.  Dorothy angrily notes that she _washes_ the
clothes before selling them, and then only the really old stuff she doesn't
need any more.  Best to buy an item or two before heading to Varna Street
en route to the Mausoleum.

As the team are leaving Dorothy's castle, Hamelen is busy testing Dorothy's
little power glove.  As expected, it works just fine, letting him get back to
hunting down the Arc-On...  Our heroes know Hamelen can't have gotten too far
just yet, and Ann recommends swinging by her ship on the way: her first officer
likely has some new stuff to sell by now.  Sadly, the stuff won't come free,
even among allies.  This is why we can't have nice things.

En route to the closest port, the team eyes the entrance to Varna Street.  None
of the other black Miltkeil has been disturbed, strongly hinting that Hamelen
is doing his damage inside if he's doing it anywhere.  With the team's luck,
he's probably got W-03 with him, and T-elos besides if the universe _really_
hates them.  And let's not forget about the Gand Siblings, who nobody's heard
from in a while.

Suzuka sighs and tells the team that nothing gets done by worrying this much.
Sound advice from the slender dancer, and Aledy at least is positively gleeful
(for him, anyway) over the prospect of such effective training.  The best bet
is to head for the blue stage-like place where Aledy's group met Haken the
first time.

..Speaking of which, a bunch of shadowy bad guys are busily plotting their
next nefarious caper.  The scene of the crime-to-be is Dulceus' Mausoleum, and
the main villain's lackey will have some help from a certain familiar-looking
vixen in cut-off shorts and a snazzy bustier.  The two of them walk off,
leaving a doubting main villain to ask another lackey if the outworlder woman
with the ears is really to be trusted.  Probably, opines lackey #2: she's the
most powerful of all the magical beasts "he" summoned from another world.  And
just to be on the safe side, lackey #3 will go along on the mission -- he's got
something called a Dimensional Excavator to test out too.  Seems his brother
and sister have delivered him fascinating reports about their opposition...
Main Bad Guy guy reminds him that said gadget will mean a lot where the "Tree"
is concerned, and tells him not to yutz up the test run.

The team reaches the blue stage area safe and sound, unmolested by demon
flautists or beast-people or even Killer Sexbots from Outer Space.  We'll do
better next time, honest.  For now, the posse are hot on the trail of busted
black Miltkeil, and Aledy's spider senses are telling him that someone with
huge Haki is up ahead.

Kaguya, ever the eternal optimist, puts it this way: Hamelen's demolition of
the Miltkeil means that the good guys can forge ahead too.  Aledy is plenty
impressed that Dorothy's glove actually breaks the previously impervious
gemstones, but Neige kind of wishes the glove _didn't_ work so well... at
least then there'd be some chance of actually cornering the bad guys.  Suzuka
sniffs that this invention is no better at situational awareness than its
inventor, and "model student" Aledy has to cut short the developing argument.

It appears someone else has passed through the broken Miltkeil first though.
Only Haken recognizes the flamboyant suit of armor, whose wearer announces
himself as Mark Hunter, self-proclaimed "underhanded bounty-hunter" hot on the
trail of Kagura-Amahara's assailants.  This rather quizzical fellow insists
on stating his name multiple times out of misplaced respect for client and
non-client alike, and when forced to get to the point tells Haken to tell him
what he knows about this "Agrad Heim" organization.

Apparently clearance has come down not only to take down individual Agrad
Heim agents, but the whole damn syndicate.  That's how grievously the
Fujizakura's wounds have affected Kaguya's dad, and although it would be nice
to simply cage up the perps inside their base and nuke it from orbit, it's
unlikely they'll make it that easy.  About the only agent Mark's heard of is
Hera Gand, which Haken's team can trump: they've actually fought Hera, as
well as her sibling.

Mark does have one piece of new info though: the way the enemy actually
managed to infiltrate.  Apparently the Ura Genbu figured out that the bad guys
_warped_ inside the Fujizakura using some kind of teleportation device... and
not one of the garden variety teleporters littered throughout Endless Frontier.
This one reportedly creates wormholes, a feat comparable to the Crossgates
themselves which has dire implications for the bad guys' prowess.  Suzuka tells
Mark that he'd better not be kidding, to which he shrugs and says that the
bad guys supposedly called it the "Night-Joining Device".  It's up to the
princesses if they want to believe him or not, but in deference to their rank
he'll waive his usual information-handling fee.  Mark's got places to be and
people to capture, and although it doesn't look like it to him, the team has
very similar plans too.

No one's sure what to make of the guy, whose overly professional attitude
comes across as fatiguing.  Catsy might be prepared to forgive that depending
on what Mark has going on under that armor, and while Haken's never seen Mark's
face, he can vouch for his skill at arms.  There's also the ugly rumors of
what Mark's prepared to do to bring in his bounties, but those remain
unconfirmed except possibly by Mark's own words.  Double-dealing, spying, you
name it: these could be the acts of an unscrupulous man, or perhaps of a man
on a deeper mission.  Haken prefers to go after the romantic aspect of being
a traveling bounty hunter, which sets Kaguya all a-twitter (and Neige, in
turn, all churlish).

Chapter 05: That Which Joins a Hundred Nights

At any rate, this isn't the time for romance as such.  Instead, the first order
of business is Dulceus' Mausoleum, lurking somewhere to the Northwest.  Aledy
can only wonder what the Agrad Heim are really up to, and what the meaning
hidden in the night-joining device is.

He doesn't have to wonder that long: a short distance ahead are Vanar Gand and
his entourage, having just materialized in the _wrong_ part of town (fucking
Garmin!)  Vanar snorts that otherworld tech always seems to be busted, then
draws up short when Haken and friends saunter in.  Aledy and Neige already
know who he is, but he formally names himself anyway as the eldest of the Gand
Siblings -- who, if appearances are any indication, have at least three
different species of parents.  Vanar actually smiles at how buff Aledy seems
to have gotten.

He refuses to tell Aledy what he's up to, but judging by the giant, exotic,
FLOATING contraption behind him it can't be anything good.  The gadget seems
to be a cross between a mobile suit and that teleportation device everyone's
been hearing about, plus the half-nekkid girl strapped to it is creeping
Dorothy out.  The isn't so much a pilot as a crucifixion victim, and Aledy
can't sense any sort of living aura from her.  But neither is the whole
arrangement inorganic -- if the girl is an android, she's a _really_ well-made
one.  Vanar predictably won't tell Aledy what the setup is, and isn't planning
on letting Aledy and friends proceed any further.

Then again, Aledy senses hesitation in Vanar's Haki.  The only thing up ahead
is Dulceus' Mausoleum, and between the Fae Kleid caper and everything else
that's been going on, there's zero doubt about dirty doings there.  SURELY this
wouldn't have anything to do with the "Soul-gathering" Vanar mentioned the
last time he and Aledy crossed swords, would it?  Uh whoops, Vanar hadn't
expected Aledy to live long enough to remember that.  It's REALLY on now.

Vanar learns a hard lesson in respecting the people of this world, including
the new-and-improved Aledy (minus the killer instinct he once displayed: Aledy
gets all emo at that).  Unfortunately, Vanar is also a hard-ass and isn't
about to reveal his secrets just because someone beat him in a boxing match.
He growls enigmatically that the party will find out for themselves soon
enough, and he means VERY soon.  He then commands the girl, apparently named
Byakuya, to get them out of here for now, and Aschen records a signature much
like the Crossgates as the group vanishes.  Guess it's off to Dulceus'
Mausoleum in search of more clues...

Like any good mausoleum, the aura of the dead pervades the musty air and
weathered stone walls.  Kaguya can sense restless souls wandering the halls,
and dollars to donuts a few of them will try to take a bite out of the party
if they can.  There's a handy elevator (the big gold plate thingy) that would
go straight to the caretaker's chamber, but unlike the last time Haken was here
the darn thing's inert.  For that matter, it was still functional when Suzuka
came through here with KOS-MOS, which likely means Hamelen's done something to
the gravekeeper, Cleo.  Three guesses what.

Catsy shakes his head, lamenting Cleo's tendency to get mixed up in all sorts
of no-good stuff.  He knows her well from her work at Marcus Town's premier
bakery Sweet Guys, an interesting second line of work that matches the double
life that Dorothy, Ann, Catsy and even Koma lead.  Koma's been busy on errands
of her own ever since the worlds were fused, though she occasionally turns up
in Kaguya's city quarreling with Ooban-Koban's owner.  The lesson is that it
takes commerce, not just fighting, to make the world go 'round... even
"commercial" dancing like what Suzuka is famous for.

*coughcough* Anyway, with the elevator out of commission, the only option is
to take the stairs, a lengthy proposition that will be good for lower body
strength if the errant ghosts and goblins don't kill the party first.  Just
as well really, since the Crossgate is on the way to the custodian's chamber.

A few flights of stairs later, who should appear but Koma herself!  She's
actually gotten her own store on Dragon Pavilion Island (conveniently located
near the Mausoleum), and is traveling the land to let everyone know.  There's
only one problem though -- if Cleo's succumbed to Hamelen, and Koma's made it
this far...  Yup, she's under Hamelen's spell too, and under orders to take
out all intruders.

It's a bit hard to tell if Koma has fully regained her senses after the
smacking the team administers -- or whether she ever truly lost them.  What
she remembers is this handsome customer showing up and paying her handsomely
for something or other, and then leaving.  Neige tells Aledy to use his Shura
powers of perception, and he figures that about a hundred palm strikes to the
gluteus maximus might jog her memory more.  A good spanking sounds great to
Ann, but Koma manages to weasel out of that by agreeing to play tour guide.
After all, _everybody_ knows how magnanimous she is (once she's been paid in
advance that is).

The Crossgate has become quite the tourist attraction, with a mysterious and
handsome dude gazing into its powerful aura.  _This_, he muses, will let him
summon "it" far more easily than before.  He hears footsteps and turns around,
expecting Vanar's people -- instead, he gets the Haken entourage.  The
Crossgate is fully active, which would explain how the Fae Kleid reached this
world at least.  The man knows very well who Neige is, depriving her of the
chance to state her name first, and Aledy can only conclude that he must be
one of the Agrad Heim warriors.

Said warrior grimaces, figuring Aledy for the Shura his friend Rig the Guard
is so obsessed over.  For good or ill, the warrior isn't responsible for
summoning the Fae Kleid, only a certain magical beast from the "New World".
He orders said beast to fight the party, and she obliges with a word of thanks
to "Rock Eye", Agrad Heim commander.  It is of course Saya, the were-fox from
the Material World who Haken and friends crossed swords with before.  Aledy,
who wasn't there last time, observes that her Haki is strong but that she
doesn't seem like that bad a person.

Neige fumes and orders the vixen to stop seducing her pure-hearted protector,
and Suzuka asks if Reiji and Xiaomu came too.  Saya merrily shrugs and says
that she's not seen them since last time -- she's been rather busy with work,
you see.  As it turns out, she did _not_ come here of her own volition, which
can only mean that Rock Eye is pretty skilled if he can summon the unwilling
from other worlds.  Rock Eye impatiently tells Saya to cut the chit-chat, and
Koma slyly asks her what she's up to -- she'd even be willing to help,
depending.  Neige orders Aledy to give her a spanking, and Koma squeals in
protest that she was just trying to gather a little info.

Whatever the Agrad Heim are up to, it's more than just battling the team.
All that snooping around the Fujizakura, and in the Vilkuakint Ruins, not
to mention the Dulceus Crossgate... they can't be up to anything good, right?
Rock asks if there's any proof that he's doing something wrong, and Haken
refers the question to Saya.  She shrugs, trilling that as a summoned being
she's got to be faithful to her summoner.  Haken knows that's bullshit, but
can't really force an answer out of her just at present.


Chapter 06: Magical Beasts from the New World

In any case, the team wants Saya to move so they can check out the Crossgate.
Rock isn't impressed, and instead decides on a little display of his
summoning skillz.  He calls forth another magical beast from the New World,
one whose powers have grown strong with the passage of time... and of all
people, who he gets is... Xiaomu!  She's very confused at the abrupt change
of scenery, wanting to know where Reiji is and rather irritated when Rock tries
to order her around.  Neige figures she's another bad guy and hastily orders
Aledy to find out her weak spot: a thousand spankings should do the trick.

Blushing furiously, Xiaomu shouts that this is no time for punishment play
(even though, as Koma slyly notes, she enjoys it immensely).  She recognizes
everyone _but_ Neige and Aledy, and isn't exactly thrilled when Saya asks her
to join her on her little "part time job" in this world.  Rock is now confused:
isn't Xiaomu supposed to be an ally of Saya's?  Sure, if by "ally" one means
"overarchingly arch enemy".  Both foxes, and the organizations they belong
to (Shinra and Ouma), are at each others' throats constantly, and Rock grouses
that this darn Crossgate thing still needs a lot more research.

He's willing to admit this much: his summoning of people from other worlds is
all about "research", as part of Agrad Heim's future plans, whatever those are.
It would appear that throwdown is the only option at this point.  Of course
the team aren't to be disposed of easily, and Rock actually smiles at having
his ass rebuffed.  This will give Rig something to look forward to at least.

Saya tells Rock that the other Crossgates are located in the Celeste, and
inside a certain whimsical castle nearby.  The two of them prepare to bug out,
and Xiaomu shouts that she won't let the Ouma have their way again.
Unfortunately, without Saya's favorite boy-toy, Xiaomu isn't in much of a
position to stop her in Saya's view.  And since Xiaomu came here by someone
else's summoning, it's unlikely that Reiji will just show up to save her
either.  Xiaomu growls that she can manage just fine by herself, and Saya is
quite looking forward to seeing her try to prove it.

Fast forward through Haken catching Xiaomu up on world events.  Xiaomu marvels
a bit at the fresh faces in the party, irking Neige a bit with her "been-
there-done-that" attitude and outmoded speech.  Then again, Xiaomu _is_ 765
years old and practically immortal, so a bit of old schoolness probably goes
with the territory.  The real question is where her sword-toting partner is,
a man beloved by everyone (especially Catsy) and possibly wasted on the
sometimes childish were-fox.

Xiaomu shrugs and says that he was off on a mission somewhere, while she was
chilling at Shinra HQ surfing the net.  She stumbled on a "demon-summoning"
program that apparently summoned her here instead, and one has to wonder if
that has anything to do with how KOS-MOS and T-elos ended up here.  Said
androids have headed off to the Celeste, and Xiaomu's best bet is probably
following them and trying to ride their coattails home.

To get there, the party must first bust out of the Mausoleum.  There turns out
to be a secret passage nearby, and Kaguya at least is delighted at the
thought of hunting for it.  The "secret" passage isn't very secret, and as
the team delves deeper into the Mausoleum the seductive scent of goodies wafts
through the air.  Almost no woman could resist the massive baking operation
hidden beneath, except for the fish-ivorous Ann and Koma.  Koma notes that
since she didn't see Cleo -- baker of all this stuff -- on the way in, there
must be yet another secret passage somewhere around here.

A bit of rummaging through the bakery later, the secret path becomes clear.
Waiting ahead is Cleo, pensively sucking on an ankh-shaped lollipop.  Her lower
torso is that of a snake, making Cleo a gorgon -- or as Aschen appropriately
notes, a lamia -- and unfortunately she's not disposed to letting the party
through... at Hamelen's orders of course.  You know the drill: smack her around
a bit, return her to her senses, and maybe find out when Hamelen came through.

This goes fairly smoothly, all things considered.  Once she figures out where
she is and who she's talking to, Cleo happily answers whatever questions she
can, starting with the Fae Kleid.  Turns out the Crossgate is a pretty scary
thing to have under one's care, turning on and off by itself the way it does.
So scary in fact that Cleo avoided the cold, drafty passageway leading to it
and simply stopped checking up on it at all.  Suzuka can't believe how
irresponsible a guardian Cleo turned out to be, blaming the invasion of the</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
Agrad Heim on her lack of oversight.  Xiaomu can understand how Cleo feels
though -- several years ago she had a nightmarish experience when she opened
the fridge, and hasn't dared open it since.

Unfortunately, the lack of oversight also means that Cleo won't be good for
much information about the bad guys, except for the vague fact that Hamelen
passed through here.  It seems the evil Shura are operating pretty much
unchecked, and Catsy won't let Aledy blame himself for not dispatching Hamelen
the first time.  The manly thing to do is hunt him down and _then_ dispatch
him, and this time Cleo opens the pathway so the team doesn't have to hoof
it all the way in and out.

Neige is still sulking, so Cleo opens her candy shop ("Fatty Hendel") to the
team, a dire threat to the waistlines of the womenfolk (especially those whose
waists are bared for the world to see).  If the girls can pry themselves away,
the door to the north leads to Lost Helencia, where Koma's own shop awaits.
The area sports a menacing new crop of Miltkeil, which wasn't here when Suzuka
and KOS-MOS passed through.  This means two things: one, the infestation is
still spreading, and two, Hamelen hasn't passed this way yet (else there would
be crystal shards instead of an intact roadblock).  This may mean Hamelen is
closer than anticipated, though all Koma is worried about is checking out
her business.  Haken agrees to swing by Dragon Pavilion Island for supplies,
which despite Koma's poor tour guiding actually has a lot going for it.

Besides shopping, the party are hoping to gather some information.  All of
them are starting to feel very uncomfortable in the crossfire between the
Hakoku Shura and the Agrad Heim Shura.  Maybe the Shura are really after the
Crossgates themselves, since that's where Saya was asked to lead them.  The
other two Gates are at Mirabilis Castle and aboard the Schlaffen Celeste,
and although there's no sign of KOS-MOS (or T-elos and Caldia for that matter),
there's no firm guarantee that they've all gone home.  Saya at least doesn't
seem amenable to simply being sent home either.

The Celeste is the closer of the two destinations, so that's probably the
better starting point.  Hamelen is already there, musing why the Arc-On's goose
chase has led him to this desolate spot.  For the good guys to follow him,
they'll have to navigate a region gripped in the throes of ice, which has only
recently sprung up out of nowhere.  Likely the Shura are involved, specifically
Gelda Miroir and her power to freeze anything and everything.  One can only
hope that this icy wasteland is the doing of more than just one person, since
that one person is on the party's To-Kill list.  For now though, the party had
best hurry on so the scantily-clad among them don't become icicles.

The Celeste itself is in fact ginormously big, and has more or less merged
with the surrounding landscape due to its long stay on the ground.  All
thoughts of history are set aside though when Aledy senses the afterglow of
Haki: Hamelen may have been through here recently.  If so, the team better
hurry if they want to bring him to ground.

Unfortunately, Miltkeil crystals are also abundant inside the Celeste, and have
managed to cut off the obvious route into the bowels of the ship.  Again,
those crystals weren't there when Suzuka brought KOS-MOS this way, and indicate
that Hamelen likely hasn't passed through yet.  If the party can reach the
dimensional teleporter, Aschen reckons that Xiaomu can get tossed in and sent
home with the push of a button -- sort of like unwanted laundry.  That assumes
of course that the party can reach the teleporter, which seems unlikely without
the all-important power glove thingie.  Fortunately, there's a workaround: an
elevator off to the left that leads directly to the bridge.  Haken's father
sealed it lest the riff-raff abuse it, but now's the time to put it back into
service, through Aschen's good offices.

This ship seems to be the world's most popular tourist destination, with
exotic tech just waiting to be picked up and taken home to sell.  Plus it's got
loads of Miltkeil, _and_ at least one homicidal robot (T-elos) likely lurking
around somewhere.  Even Haken's amnesiac guests came through here, testament
to the "power" that makes this ship the border between this world and the next.


Chapter 07: Der Wille zur Macht ("The Will to Power")

When the team reach the bridge, they find a familiar face busily typing away:
KOS-MOS, the latest and greatest in Vector Industries' anti-Gnosis combat
knowhow.  She says that her current frame is version 4 by her creator Shion's
reckoning, and her precise, level-headed tone rapidly wins points with Neige
(who was fearing another poison-tongued Aschen look-alike).  KOS-MOS has
obviously not gone home yet, thanks to a system crash in the teleporter that
required manual input from the bridge to correct.  KOS-MOS is surprised to
see Xiaomu here again, which Xiaomu explains with refreshing brevity as
"Got summoned here, the end!"

To keep explanations short, Aschen uploads recent history info to KOS-MOS,
including the party's encounter with T-elos.  KOS-MOS, from whom Aledy can
sense something like Haki, is visibly upset at the news.  What's more KOS-MOS
hasn't detected T-elos anywhere near, though she has tracked numerous Gnosis
that have come through the teleporter.  The black Miltkeil must have slowed
T-elos down, though KOS-MOS isn't especially happy at the respite: she
maintains that her duel with T-elos must be settled in their own world, not
this one.  She had hoped that if she encountered T-elos, the two of them could
have returned to their own world... this despite T-elos' proven track record
for trashing everything in sight.  Wouldn't it be better for KOS-MOS to just
leave T-elos behind and return home unscathed?  No, but the reasons why are
complicated...

Koma and Neige pipe up, suggesting a spot of tea to go with all this chit-chat.
Not the wisest move given the Arc-On and Hamelen are probably lurking somewhere
around, plus Saya, Rock and his Agrad Heim minions.  For good or ill, the
swiftest course is to fire up the dimensional teleporter pronto, which will
require someone both on the bridge and in the generator room (which is just to
the left and down the elevator).  KOS-MOS joins the party to help fend off
the bad guys.

Good thing, too.  Waiting at the bottom of the elevator shaft is a menacing
figure in red armor.  The rest of the group are stumped as to who this could
be, but Aledy... Aledy recognizes him well enough.  This is someone he's been
preparing to meet ever since he first heard the name "Agrad Heim".  The figure
vaguely remembers Aledy too, and introduces himself as the guardian of Agrad
Heim's gates: Rig the Guard.  Catsy remembers Rock mentioning this guy as a
"friend", and wants more details about just how "friendly" they are.  Aledy
doesn't answer that, instead noting that during all the years of fighting
with the Agrad Heim, this is the one enemy who made it into the Dragonlord
Tower.  Even with Neige helping in that battle, Rig's prowess was both
potent and secretly stern, and if not for Cindy Bard Aledy wouldn't be
standing here today.

Rig asks if Cindy has come to this world too, and Aledy tells him she has, and
is still busy guarding the Tower.  Rig muses that that little score needs
settling before advancing his grander plans.  And what might those plans be?
He asks what the team would do with the information, and Kyon merrily says
that she wants to ensure that Rig doesn't interfere with the team's mission
to send KOS-MOS et. al. back to their own worlds.  ...Oops, that confirms for
him that this ship _does_ have connections to other worlds.  Neige orders
Aledy to prepare for a spanking, and KOS-MOS tells her she needs to learn to
control information leakage a bit better.

In any case, all that's really important in life should be conveyed not with
words, but with fists.  Aledy tells Rig that he's about to witness what Aledy's
learned through years of trial, and Rig for his part has a few new tricks --
stolen from the Shura's store of knowledge -- to display.  In fact, Aledy
_and_friends_ (as Aledy himself is the first to admit) are far more of a threat
than Rig planned.  Rig, like everyone else these days, observes that Aledy's
skills are far more mature, but that his fists contain a hesitance they didn't
used to.

Well, no matter.  He's already finished his mission, which is to confirm
whether or not (answer: not) this ship has enough power left to open a large-
scale "gate".  He is speaking about the Celeste's "main cannon", used during
the previous war to open a gateway to the realm from whence the Einst commander
came.  The back-blast from dispatching the final boss blew KOS-MOS and the
other outworlders back to their own worlds, and apparently burned out the
cannon itself in the process.  That's as much as Rig will let slip, and he
tells Aledy to expect a rematch... on an "appropriate" stage.

The question becomes, why do the Agrad Heim want to go to the Einsts' desolate
realm?  So many mysteries, so much bother for a homebody like Ann.  For
starters, sending KOS-MOS and Xiaomu home would be nice, and in case the team
forgot, that will require throwing the auxiliary power switch...  That lets
KOS-MOS reboot the elevators, clearing the way downward.  Just watch out for
lurking Shura and so on, 'kay?

The transporter room beckons, and filling it a mountain of random trinkets and
rubbish that represents a goldmine for the entrepreneurs in the group (and a
major trashheap to Neige's regal sensibilities).  Maybe it'd be best to
teleport all of them _out_ before they spend all day looting, but Haken is
inclined to overlook them for now.  This ship has a habit of teleporting random
junk in from other worlds, most of which is non-functional... but occasionally
something interesting pops up, like the pair of guests Haken fished out of
here, or KOS-MOS herself.  This is also where T-elos and Saya were sent home,
and where KOS-MOS and Xiaomu will hopefully follow suit.

These little teleporters may be too small for a person, but Haken will take
the group farther in, where a large-sized one sits.  Interestingly enough,
Aledy can sense the Arc-On's Haki from somewhere near by -- it seems to be
interested in this place.  That means the team better hurry... but sadly
hurrying won't be part of the master plan.

Out comes Hamelen, all slender and "chocolate banana" hat and everything.  This
is the first time most of the party have met the guy, though Ann and Dorothy
remember him all too well.  They've got some high explosives with his name
written all over them, and even Kaguya cowers a bit at the impending wrath.
Hamelen congratulates Aledy on maturing further as a Shura, saying he "liked"
Aledy better before (no, not _that_ way).  Aledy shrugs that all these people
just happen to be with him by coincidence, but Hamelen isn't so sure -- Aledy
struck him as someone afraid to let others close.  Neige says that Aledy was
just a bit awkward, which she used to yell at him for a lot.  But not any more.

So, it's _her_ doing, is it?  Aledy cuts the conversation short, presuming
that Hamelen isn't here to talk.  Of course not: he's been following the Arc-On
as it alighted on the Celeste, which is no small feat.  Is it after the main
cannon?  In any case, Hamelen thinks he's tracked the pesky thing down, and
despite all the chatter there's only one outcome: MORTAL WOMBAT!!

Hamelen's hired help was nowhere near adequate to fending off Aledy's
collection of otherworldly warriors, and if Dorothy has anything to say about
it Hamelen's long hair will get blasted into an afro.  The other princesses
prepare to get in on the "punishment", and Hamelen smoothly says that his body
isn't _as_ conditioned as Aledy's and probably wouldn't survive the experience.
Besides, he needs enough stamina to retreat -- reporting the prowess of Aledy's
team is a higher priority than his pursuit of the Arc-On.  He thinks he could
probably handle things himself, since Cindy's cooped up in her tower, but his
duty to Gelda Miroir is absolute.

..Or is it?  This isn't a simple case of running home to mama in tears.  Nor
is it the case that the trail of the Arc-On's Haki has vanished entirely.
Hamelen must have some other reason for withdrawing, though he's not stupid
enough to reveal what.  Keeping in mind that this is a man with enough
resources to pursue the fleet-footed Arc-On, that other reason must be dire
indeed.  Has Hamelen actually given up on the Arc-On itself?  Nothing further
can be gained here at least -- best to simply press on and see what happens.

What happens is that the team finds the Arc-On staring at the main transporter.
It's a magnificent machine, different from anything seen in Endless Frontier to
date.  Dorothy thinks a bit of investigation into Shura tech is in order, but
there's a more pressing question to answer first: why did the darn thing steal
Marcus Town's black Miltkeil sample?  Haken seemingly has an idea, but claims
it's nothing -- privately, he plans to investigate what the black crystals
and this ship have in common.

It seems the Arc-On was in the process of initiating dimensional transport,
and the last thing the team wants is the thing to escape again.  This time,
Aledy means to stage a proper test of whether his Haki is good enough to
command the Arc-On.  After smacking it around, he tells it that it's not right
for the Shura warlord to ravage the lands of others.  He orders it to return
to its rightful place in the Dragonlord Tower, but just then the teleporter
clicks on and sends the Arc-On... elsewhere.

Yikes: does "elsewhere" mean the Material World or somewhere even less prepared
to receive a giant itinerant mech?  Probably not, says KOS-MOS: the energy
signature from the teleporter suggests a "normal" warp within this world,
instead of an "abnormal" warp across worlds.  This involves Math with a capital
M, and if not for KOS-MOS the team would be quite lost (apologies to Aschen).
It should be a simple matter of checking the terminal and finding out the
target coordinates, but before the team can move a muscle, the teleporter
reactivates... and this time, it's bringing something from another world.
If it's some rare item, there's going to be a fight between the merchants, but
in fact it's no "item" at all.

A voice announces an emergency cancellation of an Encephalon Dive, and return
to regular space.  It belongs to none other than M.O.M.O., who is at once
glad to see KOS-MOS and confused as to where she's ended up.  Aledy can sense
that she is neither "human" nor "machine", and when she hesitates KOS-MOS
explains that she's a hybrid developed to contact and observe the Gnosis, who
threaten their world.  M.O.M.O. is in fact the prototype for the Type-100
Observation Realian series, though she doesn't like to be called that.  She's
also a very composed, cute little girl who some of the non-composed, other-
than-cute team members somehow see as a threat.  KOS-MOS doesn't mince words
when telling her young counterpart to ignore their ill-will.

KOS-MOS hastily fills M.O.M.O. in on what's been going on, including the
lurking threat of T-elos.  M.O.M.O. tries to explain how she came here to
save KOS-MOS, using data from KOS-MOS' last trip here together with the
Encephalon, but the short form is that the return route for her rescue mission
just got cut off.  It seems the amount of energy needed to bring her here
overloaded the terminal, cutting off all hope of return and losing data
on wherever the Arc-On went.  Kind of bad timing on that Encephalon Dive,
but that isn't M.O.M.O.'s fault -- it's just one more ill-timed meeting to
add to the list that have happened inside the Celeste.

The other problem is that Xiaomu is now stuck here too.  Kaguya tells her
that her castle has job openings for ladies-in-waiting, but that of course
isn't what Xiaomu had in mind.  What really needs to happen is fixing the
teleporter, and Haken hopes that his resident mad scientist might be up to the
challenge.  Marion left the Dragon Pavilion some time ago, and should hopefully
be back aboard the Tseit Crocodile by now... which should in turn be in the
vicinity of Mirabilis Castle on Miltkeil investigation duty.  It seems a new
trial is about to begin, and a return to the ol' drawing board.  Try the door
to the right, conveniently unlocked thanks to the system crash...

No sooner does the team exit the ship than they detect an energy signature at
3 o'clock, as though some Miltkeil had just been shattered.  That could only
mean one thing: Hamelen.  The chase is on!  As the team nears the gap in the
Miltkeil, a transmission manages to make it through from Marion: she wants
Haken to come to her right away.  She's at the aft section of Neverland,
conveniently located nearby (which is probably how she was able to get through
on the radio).  She needs to be debriefed about the teleporter, so that seems
to be a good place to head next.

It seems Alfimi and Axel weren't content to hang out aboard the Crocodile, and
have made their own way to the Neverland at Axel's somewhat foggy suggestion.
He has a vague memory of the ship's name at least, which is more than Alfimi
can say.  Just then, Axel senses someone coming and hustles Alfimi into hiding
with him.  The person turns out to be Pete, who thought he sensed someone in
the area.  He notices that the examination bed in the room is locked, but
decides not to pursue opening it -- getting here was his primary goal anyway.

Pete wanders off, but Alfimi can't entirely tell if he's gone from within the
capsule.  Guess they'll just have to get out and see, except that Axel's first
attempt to press the eject button goes a bit... astray.  Subsequent pushings
and proddings fare no better: it appears they're locked in for now. Axel isn't
terribly worried, which irks Alfimi a bit...

The team reaches the aft Neverland section without incident, but that's
likely to change once they go inside.  If Marion has run into trouble, the
likely culprit is Pete Pain, and _he_ is going to be a very difficult
assignment.  There's a place to the Northwest that might offer some help:
Abrietta Castle, ruled by the wolf king Ruboll.  Catsy even has commercial
interests there, which should be good for a discount or two.  Better not tarry
with the provisioning though -- it wouldn't be polite to keep Marion waiting.

The Neverland's aft section is every bit as active as its stern... including
its anti-intruder defenses.  Marion's definitely in danger now, and there's no
time to waste.  There's only one person likely responsible: a certain other
android who shares M.O.M.O.'s penchant for berets.  If Pete Pain is here, he's
probably brought Caldia as well, since this portion of the ship has ample
maintenance facilities for the Zero Numbers.  Even Aschen's bed is here, though
it's been rather neglected all these years.  A certain touchstone of Haken's
past is here too, though he's reluctant to discuss it.  Neige and Catsy are
fascinated at the thought of forbidden info, but Suzuka tells them that the
vagaries of the past don't matter.  What matters now is the mission at hand,
and it's clear where to go to carry it out.  Marion, and whatever other
treasures this place holds, await!  Best peek in at the W-Numbers maintenance
facility too while the team is at it.

The maintenance room is locked, and various electromagnetic barriers erected
throughout the ship.  There is, fortunately, an emergency override in the
room immediately to the right.  This lets the team proceed to the inspection
area, with its unfailingly fascinating inspection bed area.  Interestingly
enough, the W-07 bed's lid is closed... which wasn't closed the last time
Aschen was through here.  Aschen releases the lock, and out pop a very relieved
Axel and Alfimi.  Aschen isn't very happy to see other people borrowing her
bed, and prepares to start blasting with full support from a scandalized
Suzuka.  WAY too many diminutive cute girls showing up for her taste, it
seems.  Haken forestalls any gunfire, saying that these are the two amnesiacs
he picked up earlier.  At least Axel is a sight for Catsy's sore eyes, though
now Catsy has a hard decision to make who to try to take to bed first.

Xiaomu smirks at Axel shacking up with Alfimi in the maintenance bed, which
reminds her of a certain escapade "when she was young" back in the oh-so-cliche
PE storage shed.  Axel however maintains that nothing more was going on beyond
simply being stuck.  He and Alfimi came here as a result of Lee's description
of all the otherworldly stuff in Endless Frontier: something about the word
"W-Series" jogged his memory.  After Haken catches him up on recent events,
he and Alfimi are hopeful they and the androids, and old maid Xiaomu, can find
a way home.

Interestingly enough, Alfimi has the strange feeling she's seen Xiaomu
somewhere before.  Xiaomu doesn't like being used to jog other people's memory,
but that's just the way amnesia goes sometimes.  Unfortunately, the sight of
the Neverland hasn't been as helpful as Axel had hoped on that front.  Alfimi
confirms that it wasn't they who activated the ship's defenses, and Neige seems
rather pleased that that was her cue to get it on with Axel (though Dorothy
finds this indecent).  Axel protests again that he didn't do anything with
Alfimi, and furthermore that there was someone following them.  Too bad that
they got locked inside the bed and didn't see who it was...  There are any
number of possibilities, and all of them are menacing -- Catsy says it's best
for the two amnesiacs to join the party for now and follow Haken back to the
ship.  After all, Axel at least is one hot-ass dude, and in a different way
from Aledy or Haken himself...  (Alfimi warns Axel not to get seduced.)

Kaguya Nanbu introduces herself, and again Axel has a brief flash of memories.
But nothing firm comes of it, and he passes it off as merely being impressed
at a greeting from someone with breasts as gorgeous as hers.  So rude, Kaguya
says, obviously not meaning a word of it.  Alfimi's tone is getting ever
sharper, and Suzuka recommends the party get moving before someone gets hurt.
Axel accedes, content to play the playboy role outwardly... but inwardly
something about the names "Haken Browning" and "Kaguya Nanbu" is strongly
stirring his damaged memories.

Caldia's bed shows signs of already being used, meaning she's here somewhere.
As the team advances, an electromagnetic barrier materializes behind them: a
"booby" trap that, despite appearances, is not of Kaguya's doing.  In fact,
apart from Haken's entourage and Marion, the only ones with the knowledge to
set something like that up are Pete and Caldia.  Whoever these "W-Numbers" are,
Axel actually wants to meet them in the hopes that more memories will return.
Now THAT is glass-half-full thinking!  Aledy reckons that if the bad guys
really want to force the party to move forward, their offensive can't be too
far off.

How about "right the fsck next door"?  To the team's astonishment, they see
the Arc-Gain, the previous Formido Heim lord's personal guard.  It went amok
and ran off, only to supposedly be demolished by the good guys in the last
war.  So what's it doing here?  Axel has no more idea than anyone else on the
team, but the thought of it together with the W-Numbers is seriously jogging
something in his memory.  There's at least one good explanation for why the
Arc-Gain is here despite self-destructing back when: Pete's had a new one made.
The easiest way to find out is to blow it away and sift through the wreckage:
drastic tactics that Axel can't disagree with, what with his memories at stake
and all.  Haken has things of his own to investigate here, and Aledy looks
forward to this being a good trial in advance of throwing down with the Arc-On.

The Arc-Gain succumbs rather easily all things considered, but before anyone
can investigate it, it vanishes, leaving behind the same energy signature the
Nacht did when it disappeared.  It did so with enough rapidity that its
escape must have been preset: evidently its creator isn't prepared to do
without its firepower just yet.  After all, the W-Numbers _are_ designed for
small-unit infiltration... right?  They are indeed, as far as Aschen knows
(which extends up to W-11).  Alfimi's glad to see another memory return to
Axel, and tells him the two of them will have plenty of time to make new ones
together.  That makes Xiaomu sulk a bit, and it's obvious who _she's_ missing.

Haken then deactivates all the non-booby trap barriers, and the path should
be clear to go find Marion... and whatever evildoers are hanging around.  Odds
are that W-03 may be hanging out near his own bed.  W-05's bed is empty, and
shows no sign of being used since W-05's activation.  Guess she hasn't come
back since.

Pete has in fact recently used his bed, probably less for maintenance and more
for acquisition of new data.  Some members of the party feel rather odd about
rummaging around in other people's beds, half-expecting to find something
"personal" hidden there [gosh, why would that be I wonder...].  Of course,
Axel and Alfimi actually "used" one of the W-Numbers' beds already, but that
wasn't by choice.  Haken says there's a way to figure out what Pete was up to:
there's a data room to the south that just might have a record of what was
going on here.

The team reaches the data room and power up the main display, checking out all
available data on the W-Numbers.  01, 02, 04, 08 and 09 remain active after 23
years.  03, a.k.a. Pete Pain, has been active for the past 90 days, or just
before the merging of the Realms.  Indeed, Haken remembers seeing the W-03 bed
open back then, a mnemonic feat that earns him Kaguya's praise.  He smiles and
says that the two things he never forgets are critical details, and the curves
of a beautiful body.  Color Alfimi unimpressed.  That nobody _saw_ Pete until
now, even a wandering merchant like Koma, means he must have been up to
_something_.  Axel inadvertently recalls that that's what the W-Numbers are
skilled at, but can't go any further.

All data on W-05, a.k.a. "Gimnos Bacileus", is lost, which Dorothy suspects may
indicate that someone carried it off without "properly" activating it first.
W-06 and -07 are accounted for of course.  Interestingly, the Arc-Gain is
actually a W-Number, specifically W-10, and has been remade recently.  It makes
sense that Pete would want to resurrect one of his subordinates.  The records
also show that Pete has a special program loaded called "Code PTP", "Play The
Puppet".  Aschen's databanks contain the name, but not what it does
specifically.  Apart from her Code DTD, there's also a Code ATA, which connotes
self-destruct.  Well, if it's not kaboom and it's not overheat, maybe it's
something else flame-oriented, like rice cooking?  That'd save lots of trouble
when cooking at home...

Yeah, maybe _not_.  The only way to figure out what PTP is, as well as what
may have happened to W-05, is to track Pete down and "ask".  Seems a reasonable
plan, but before Axel leaves this room he ponders all these Codes just
mentioned.  He's not heard of PTP, but ATA and DTD strike him as somehow
familiar...


Chapter 08: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Pete isn't too far off, and he certainly isn't too happy with the Gespenst
Mk.IV.  Despite reprogramming, the thing still won't entirely obey his
commands.  Maybe this has something to do with the strange energy radiating
from every corner of the machine, an energy none of Pete's records contain?
Or maybe it's just because this Mk.IV is a replica.  That would be why Pete
has plans for the Mk.III instead...

The Mk.IV has another name, though Pete wouldn't like it being used: the
Arbent.  That name stirs something within Alfimi, but there's no time to
dwell on what.  The Arbent has been in use in Endless Frontier for quite some
time, including as a mighty weapon on the Formido Heim side of the Ten Years'
War.  Since Catsy's in the atonement business these days, it's only right that
he helps get the Arbent back to the side of good.

When asked why he's been so busy tinkering with robotics lately, Pete says
it's merely part of the process of carrying out his mission.  He won't say
what that mission is though, saying only that he's got all the materiel and
manpower he needs.  That would be Caldia and the Nacht, which don't appear
to be on site at present.  Aschen wants to know what this Code-PTP thingie is,
and Pete angrily orders her to follow his commands once more.

Aschen's Code-DTD kicks in just as it did the last time, startling Axel.  She
tells him not to sweat it, and Pete laments that Aschen's "emergency code",
which reduces all other codes to "dust", is getting in his way.  He instead
orders the Gespenst to attack the party, saying that its maintenance is
complete enough that it shouldn't have any problem in combat.  And lest Haken
get any funny ideas, it's also been protected against hacking.  Haken has
the Phantom try anyway, just to be sure, and it appears there is not to be
harmony among the robots.  For the laypeople in the party, Haken tells them
to think of what Pete's done as being akin to Hamelen's flute.

Somehow Axel knows that this agile mech is a "special" Gespenst, and it isn't
going down without a fight.  As the hostilities are about to commence, Alfimi
is staring at the mech, sensing a strangely familiar power emanating from it.

The team is able to immobilize the Arbent, but only through dealing it a load
of external damage.  The internals are still intact, and without doing
something about those the team won't be taking the Arbent anywhere.  Axel's
memory is disappointingly not restored, and as Alfimi wishes hard that she
could do something for him, M.O.M.O. detects her starting to emit some
kind of energy.  She tells the Arbent that she feels a sort of kinship with
it, and asks it to aid her and her friends.

Astonishingly, the Arbent begins to emit a "ready for programming" signal.
That's the Phantom's cue to hack into the Arbent, which apparently succeeds.
The girls in the team are impressed at Alfimi's little magic trick, though
Alfimi herself doesn't know how she did what she did.  All she knows is that
this robot was somehow a friend... and that since she's not human, maybe it
shouldn't come as such a surprise that she has powers like this.  This is a
very lonely thought, and she's starting to be scared about finding out who she
really is.

M.O.M.O. to the rescue!  Even if she isn't technically human, Alfimi still
has the option to live like one, or at least that's what her father always told
her.  That puts a smile back on Alfimi's face, and an odd look in KOS-MOS' eye.
Then again, it's fair to ask what's so good about humans, what with their lack
of fins and so on.  Xiaomu allows that mankind's one true accomplishment is the
creation of the Internet, and although Neige tells the others not to spoil
the moment, it has to be remembered that she herself is a fae.  Come to think
of it, there's almost no humans in this party.  ...ANYWAYS, the important thing
is not race, but living true to one's "self".  Wise words from the young Shura.

For now, the Arbent needs to be reconfigured for its support role, and the
still-missing Marion located.  Haken has a lot to worry about privately: the
demonstration of Alfimi's ability to synchronize with Einst-infused tech is
leaving little doubt as to her identity, even if Alfimi herself doesn't
remember...

Pete has presumably headed for Level 3, where the ship's most Top Secret stuff
used to be.  The goodies got looted over twenty years ago, and both Haken and
Aschen still harbor mixed feelings for what those "goodies" are.  Sounds
pleasantly indecent to some of the ladies, and rather than endure the drama
Haken resolves to tell them what Level 3 used to contain.  Opening the door is
the fastest way to reveal the Neverland secrets Pete is trying to hard to
eliminate, but unfortunately the lock code has been changed.  The obvious
culprit is Pete, but let's not forget about Marion (still holed up somewhere
nearby).  Seeing no Miltkeil on the scene, Haken pulls out his smartphone and
dials.

Miracle of miracles, he gets through.  Marion has been stewing in the
Neverland's residential block, unable to exit the ship thanks to the pesky
security droids.  KOS-MOS explains that the residential block is south of the
team's current location, but the connection to Marion abruptly cuts out.  No
choice but to conduct a room-by-room search to find Marion, and hopefully the
new code for the door.

Marion proves easy to find, and true to mad-scientist form has already figured
out what Pete's done to the Level 3 lock.  However, before she can reprogram
the keycard, someone inside the Neverland cuts power to her terminal.  Some
brilliant[?] engineer saw fit to install an emergency power shunt in this
block, so all Haken has to do is switch over to auxiliary power and Marion can
get back to work.  Time to go switch hunting!  Oh the joy.

A bit of rummaging [and one irritable pig, if you've been keeping up with the
wanted posters] later, the power is back on and the keycard reprogrammed.
Haken wants to settle Pete's hash quickly so Marion can be tasked with
repairing the Celeste's large transporter.  There's far fewer robots and
electromagnetic barriers in the way, so Marion should have little problem
heading outside now.  She'll be waiting at Abrietta Castle to the North, and
Axel expresses his regrets that he can't see the lady off properly.

Pete awaits beyond the door, and he's not alone.  Caldia is on hand to fulfill
whatever orders Pete gives, and vows to eliminate anyone who stands in the
way -- even her sister Aschen.  Pete's peeved that the party picked the lock,
but has a question before mayhem ensues: how did the party avoid the self-
destruct program he embedded in the Gespenst Mk.IV?  That's tantamount to an
admission of how evil he is, bent on taking the party out win or lose, and if
not for Alfimi's mysterious powers he would have succeeded.  Pete knows nothing
about mysterious powers, but he does know about blowing up disobedient
servants, which the imperfectly-reprogrammed Mk.IV turned out to be.

Time for a question from Haken: did Pete come in search of the Double Zero?
Axel vaguely remembers that to be the prototype of all the W Numbers, but can't
recall anything further.  Pete demands to know where its capsule is, and
somewhat sheepishly the party points to the space behind him.  Haken infers
that Pete hasn't recovered any data about him, thanks to him yanking out all
the incriminating hardware after the last battle.  Nothing left for Pete to
delete, it seems [awww, poor guy].

Meanwhile, Catsy and Aledy have noticed an interesting contradiction in Pete's
actions.  For all Pete's talk about eradicating everything to do with the
Neverland, he went and had the Arc-Gain fabricated.  Rather inconsistent, isn't
it?  Not really, smirks Pete: he only needs it long enough to steal W-05, and
then he'll Code-ATA everything into oblivion.  Pete isn't inclined to tell
Aschen how much he knows about W-05, especially given how she's one of the
many Neverland properties that Haken's people stole.  Not so much "stole" as
"recovered", Kyon insists, and Haken tells Pete that Aschen's been with him
ever since he was born.  She's "family", and family protect each other.

Pete scoffs at this: the W-Series are nothing more than tools meant to follow
orders.  M.O.M.O. protests that that's too cruel a fate, and asks why Pete
doesn't rebel against such a destiny.  Pete sniffs that he wasn't programmed
to doubt his mission.  Indeed, he's done gathering data and ready to eliminate
the party.  A tall order with only two people on his team, right?  No, make
that three, thanks to the wonders of Code-PTP.  Aschen can't resist Pete's
"special override" code, perfected using data only found in Level 3.  Maybe
the process overloaded the local circuit breakers, like using the PC and the
electric stove at the same time for a midnight snack?

Whatever the cause, Pete has to go down, and Aschen (and, hopefully Caldia)
need to be returned to sanity.  Hopefully Alfimi can help like she did before,
but that remains to be seen.  In the meantime, Pete warns the team not to
underestimate the power of Code-PTP.

He's not kidding: winning the battle isn't enough to restore Aschen to sanity.
Pete intends to leave this place, and orders Caldia to use Code-ATA to clear
the path.  She does this without delay, resulting in a massive shockwave that
leaves the team stunned.  Pete's plan all along was to destroy both W-06 and
-07, and as soon as he nears the exit he orders Aschen to use Code-ATA at
maximum explosive force.  The team can't halt both Pete and Aschen at the
same time.

Aschen distances herself from the party, and a cruel truth appears: she
actually knows what she's doing, she just can't stop herself.  She warns
Haken, who she recognizes as her captain, not to get any closer lest her
Code-ATA activate immediately.  Unlike Caldia, her Code-ATA could destroy
this entire block of the ship.  External shockwaves, such as a pressure point
technique from Aledy, would also set the thing off, and the most Aschen can
do is to tell Kaguya to take Haken and run.  KOS-MOS tells Aschen not to go
through with it, adding with a strange note in her normally emotionless voice
that if Aschen is annihilated here, she'll lose more than just her body.

If there's any hope left, it's in the addled brain of Axel, who vaguely
remembers something about Code-ATA and -DTD from his past.  As the fate of
Aschen and probably the whole team hangs in the balance, the solution comes
to him.  Code-DTD takes priority over all other Codes, and Aschen can be saved
by forcing her into DTD mode externally.  With ATA all primed to explode,
pinpoint timing is the name of the game.

As Aschen goes into final detonation mode, Axel springs into action with
Alfimi's help.  The results look helluva gory, but success can be measured
in the fact that Aschen hasn't gone physically kablooie.  Mentally is another
story, but she's coherent enough to confirm that Pete's orders have been
rescinded.  Axel gets all the praise for about five seconds, until he
cheerfully admits he has no idea what the phrase "Dust to Dust" actually
connotes.  What he does remember is doing something like this once before, and
thanks Alfimi for working with him so smoothly.

Interestingly, Aschen doesn't seem to be reverting to her usual self, stuck in
DTD mode for now while some program within her is being updated.  She can't
tell what, but brightly says it should become apparent soon.  She does retain
sober Aschen's penchant for nasty nicknames, offering among other things to rub
Suzuka's prominently-displayed tummy for her (NO THANKS is Suzuka's reply).

Good that Aschen's safe, bad that Pete and the Arc-Gain escaped in the process.
As usual, the team has more questions than answers, and more enemies (what with
the Agrad Heim, Pete, and God knows who else) than allies.  Time to head off
in pursuit, but before he does Haken swears a solemn vow to make Pete pay
dearly for laying hands on his family.

Aschen's DTD does turn off in short order, and she has no idea exactly what was
rewritten inside her.  Haken wants Marion to take a look at her right away, and
apologizes to Aledy for taking so much time and bother when the party was
trying to ferry him to the Celeste.  Aledy tells him not to worry about it, and
says he's sorry for what happened to Caldia.  This surprises Neige, who
remembers what Aledy used to be like among his fellow Shura.  He was prone to
telling them when they got injured that it was because of their own weakness,
and that only a few short years ago to the long-lived fae princess.  Aledy
though claims to no longer remember, but indications are that he not only
remembers, but also has it and matters with his mistress Cindy weighing heavily
on his mind.  Neige is content to let it drop for now, and urges the party
North to Abrietta Castle.

By the time they arrive, Marion is tapping her foot impatiently.  Some of what
she's uncovered troubles her greatly, and she won't return to the Tseit until
she can confirm a few things.  At the top of the list is that broken bridge
to the West, link to New Lost Helencia and Treidel Stadt, the city run by
Haken's dad.  Said dad has been fretting lately about the unseasonable ice
gripping his southern lands, and Aledy can guess who's responsible for that.
Marion figures that people from the Lost Helencia side wrecked the bridge
behind them after crossing it, and that they managed to make it through the
massive Eastern gate when it was still open.  The gatekeepers probably closed
it in an effort to cut off the intruders' route home, and unless they reopen
it the party won't be able to keep up their pursuit (or return to Formido
Heim, for that matter).

Fortunately, the person in charge of the gate is also the lord of Abrietta
Castle: Ruboll the wolf-lord.  Axel distantly remembers that something about
Wolves is bad, but Xiaomu isn't worried (being, like, a fox and all).  Aledy
is worried about the paperwork required to actually meet a head of state, but
Neige points out that the party has no fewer than three princesses in it: three
_young_, NUBILE princesses at that.  Suzuka smirks and agrees, and although
Kaguya isn't quite clear on the specifics she cheerfully gets into the act too.
Aledy has no concept of what they're talking about, which shows he totally
needs to get out more.  Dorothy huffs that Aledy's just fine without the stuff
these tarts are filling his head with.

Ruboll is as fierce as ever, and reluctant to believe Catsy's story about the
fae being back with the Shura as tag-alongs.  Hard to dispute the fact that
Neige is physically present, though Ruboll had heard she was killed during the
Ten Years' War.  He asks what a grown girl is doing running around with a
kid like Aledy, prompting the team to ask just how old the two of them are.
Neige is a very maidenly 117... a mere century older than her protector.  Aledy
says that the fae are very long-lived, so there'll be no problem when he gets
older -- or so his master said.  No problem with _what_, Neige demands, but
in a rare show of common sense Xiaomu (the true "old maid" of the party) tells
them to save that for later.

Dorothy gets right to the point: she wants the gate opened.  Ruboll isn't happy
to hear that, any more than he's happy with all the other people who've been
tromping all over his territory lately.  Or, in the case of another guest of
his, flapping around in it: enter Henne, Catsy's wicked-looking colleague.
Aschen remembers that Henne was supposed to be checking out Formido Heim's
crossgates, but Azel gave her a new mission instead.  Though she doesn't like
to admit it, she's been made into a "carrier pigeon" and entrusted with a note
for Ruboll.  Drat that Miltkeil and its communication interference!

Henne dutifully delivered the message, but before she could return home
discovered a new problem: Formido Heim has been sealed off!  Apparently it's
under attack, and the whole place is enclosed in an electromagnetic barrier.
The message told Ruboll to beware the Agrad-whatchamacallems, rankling Ruboll
with the implication that he might not be on top of things.  This confirms
Aledy's suspicions: the Agrad Heim have given up on Hakoku and turned their
attentions to Endless Frontier instead.

The party fills Ruboll in on their adventures to date.  Aledy presumes that
the bridge-breakers, and the unauthorized users of the Eastern gate, were Shura
under Miroir's command.  It also makes sense why Hamelen would give up on the
Arc-On: he was headed to rendezvous with them.  Suzuka is now very concerned
about Megi Castle, and Haken is equally concerned about his ship (which is
parked in its vicinity).  There's also Formido Heim to worry about, and it
will probably take Catsy, Henne and Kyon combined to convince Azel to open
the barrier.

That's good enough for Ruboll to order the gate opened.  He has his own
designs on taking over Formido Heim, and isn't about to let outsiders grab it
instead.  He also tells Aledy to take down his rogue fellow Shura.  As Haken
prepares the team for the trip to the Megi and Elf Tale lands, Marion
announces that she'll head back to the Celeste to repair its transporter.
M.O.M.O. thanks her for going to the trouble, but Marion sniffs that she's not
doing it for the little Realian's sake.  Then again, if M.O.M.O. would consent
to a _little_ checkup...  While Marion would surely enjoy the experience
(M.O.M.O. probably wouldn't...), Haken tries to keep her on task with fixing
that transporter.  Marion sighs and heads off, leaving Kaguya to wonder just
how seriously she's taking things.  VERY seriously part of the time, is Neige's
view, and the team has no option but to trust the mad scientist to handle the
science stuff.

As to the gruntwork, they say many hands lighten the load.  And the team just
gained another pair: Henne will help out at least until Formido Heim is
opened again.  With her in tow, the team makes it to the Tseit, thankfully
un-destroyed by the bad guys.  Aledy and Ann think the ship's pretty cool, but
Neige isn't impressed at hardware that old.  Lee tells Haken that a problem
has just occurred: what order to eat all the new morsels Haken's brought
aboard.  Aledy doesn't realize he's joking, and observes that the tiger-man
seems quite formidable.  Awww, such compliments!  Lee's formidable days are
mostly behind him, but he's as able a first mate as one could want.

Someone else is aboard the ship, a man Dorothy hasn't seen in a good 14 years:
John Moses, the original "Wandering Bounty Hunter".  Dorothy regards him a long
moment, then observes that he's aged again.  No surprise really: humans _do_
get old faster than the fae.  John smiles wryly and asks if Dorothy is
disappointed, and she slowly replies no.  If nothing else, he seems a bit more
forthcoming than the last time.  Neige, watching from the sidelines, sees this
exchange for what it really is: love.

Maybe not _that_ forthcoming though: John makes sure to have the two most
eye-catching babes on the team sit on either side of him at the conference
table.  He then explains that a passel of outlaws have been pouring into his
town, humans and beast-men all skilled in the martial arts.  Their garb is
about as ragged as your average mountain bandits, and Aledy knows they must
be Shura.  Is Miroir finally making her move?

John plans to return to his city as soon as the bridge is repaired, and asks
the princesses if they have any good ideas about what to do in the meantime.
Kaguya brightly suggests hiring bodyguards, and John says he'd be more than
happy to have _her_ guarding his body, certain parts in particular.  Neige is
now fully sympathizing with Dorothy for falling for this guy, liable for a
sexual harassment lawsuit a minute.

Back to the point though: where are all those marauding Shura?  Lee says that
he recently detected an energy bloom at Mirabilis Castle, which Haken figures
came from the Gate located there.  There's a decent chance KOS-MOS and the
others could use it to get home, though M.O.M.O. isn't so sure they should
leave this world in such a mess.  Aledy tells her it's best to leave if she
can, since there's no telling when the next chance might come.  It seems
everyone is interested in Gates these days, from Rig to Azel to Hamelen, so
it's only natural for the team to head there next.  John will cool his heels
here while waiting for the bridge repairs, and NO he won't have the princesses
keeping him company (though they joke that way for a moment).  All jokes aside,
John warns Haken and Aledy to be careful: he's got a bad feeling about all
this.

Elsewhere, a shadowy figure tells Rock that the "Tree" is "withered" and asks
for a report.  Thanks to that barrier around Formido Heim, Rock has had to
suspend his investigation of the Crossgates.  A shrewd move on Azel's part,
and another shadowed figure (with wings) asks if they shouldn't make a move
of their own.  Rock already has made his move, having sent Rig out on a new
errand the moment he returned from the giant battleship he was investigating.
Rock himself has been investigating the "otherworldly apparatus" on his
own, and expects results soon.  As for the Mirabilis Gate, he's sure it has
other uses besides as a Crossgate...  He tells the winged figure to get moving,
and she asks if she can take the woman they brought through the gate with
her.  Rock has no objections, especially since said woman will become
irrelevant once he's got the otherworldly apparatus figured out.

Seeing that Rock has things well in hand, the shadowed leader says he'll have
to wait here for a while: his new body is taking a while to adjust to.  Not
surprising, given it's mechanical and all.  He's not yet to the point where he
can force the Tree's power to do his bidding, and not pleased to have to rely
on outworlder tech to make up for the loss of his meat body.  Rock is working
on that problem too, and asks him to be patient for a while longer.  The
leader is of course none other than Gagun Laos, leader of the Agrad Heim.

Mirabilis Castle is quite overrun by Miltkeil by this point, and Megi Castle
is probably in a similar state.  Fortunately, that should be the only problem
the Shiki-Oni face... assuming Shuten isn't slacking off.  Henne is dubious
about the menfolk holding up their side of the bargain, but Ann points out
that her first officer has things pretty well in hand.  Aledy adds that his</pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
mistress built him into a very able warrior since childhood, though Neige
suspects Cindy wasn't worried about the male reputation when she did so.

..Getting back to the subject, this castle has a very... "distinctive" look
to it in M.O.M.O.'s opinion.  Aww, just call it "creepy", fumes Neige, annoyed
that the castle's lord insists on putting statues of himself everywhere.  For
that matter, Cleo did much the same in Ducleus' Mausoleum, and at least Dorothy
sees nothing wrong with the practice.  The man in question is the big egg-
shaped dude in the center, "Harm Darm" by name.  One tough customer, remembers
Catsy, who ought to know since it was he who finally cut Harm down during the
Ten Years' War.  History lesson: it was the Einsts who impersonated Schtall
Deep -- former king of Formido Heim -- to start the Ten Years' War.  Neige
remembers how Harm abruptly defected to the Formido side during the war,
despite being one of the Hausen House's allies at the start... turns out Harm
was an Einst in disguise as well.

Lots to think about there, but for now the party needs to reach the Gate at
the castle's center.  Returning Xiaomu and KOS-MOS was a priority, but neither
of them want to leave while their nemeses are still on the loose in this world.
Both need to be tied up and sent home via air-mail, but that would require
finding them first.  No telling where T-elos is, but Aledy recalls that Saya
is working with the Agrad Heim.  And that means a good chance she'll be in this
castle too checking up on that Gate.  The fast way in is blocked by the
Miltkeil, so the party will have to head for the ladder on the left.  As they
set off, Xiaomu is torn over whether to go home or not... what would Reiji do?


Chapter 9: Alice in Endless-land

It takes a bit of doing, but the party manages to make their way deep into
Mirabilis Castle.  After fending off the demons of the chessboard, the party
are just starting to catch their breath when T-elos unexpectedly shows up.
Axel's first instinct is to ask for an introduction and maybe a phone number,
but the black-clad android is no one to screw around with.  Ain't no "tsundere"
without the "dere" part, for one thing.

For another, T-elos isn't quite an "android" per se -- her body is...  T-elos
cuts KOS-MOS' explanation short, annoyed at how much the party love to hear
themselves talk.  KOS-MOS asks T-elos what she's doing here... it must not be
mere revenge, or she'd have attacked the party when they were aboard the
Celeste.  Oh, T-elos would have struck then if she could... Unfortunately,
those black rocks got in the way.  What T-elos should have done the first time
she met the team is join them instead of fighting them: it would have gotten
her to KOS-MOS quicker.

KOS-MOS says that there's no way T-elos would abandon a pursuit midway, unless
something arose with higher precedence.  T-elos sniffs at that, and asks what
KOS-MOS is doing here, with the little girl in tow no less.  Blame it on the
alcohol^WEncephalon and/or Crossgates.  The sad part is that there's no easy
way out, almost as though this world is trying to keep its guests by force.
KOS-MOS tells T-elos that a gate capable of dimensional travel has been
confirmed at the center of this castle, and offers her a chance to come along
with the party to go home.  T-elos isn't interested in making new friends,
insisting that she'll be going home alone.  Combat seems inevitable, and
KOS-MOS warns T-elos that she intends to see that T-elos is brought home,
by any means necessary.

Try as she might, T-elos is in no position to overpower the team.  KOS-MOS
tells her that the party is going to go figure out whether or not the Gate in
this castle can get them home, and Haken graciously offers the "evil beauty"
another chance to tag along.  T-elos relaxes her stance a moment, and asks
if KOS-MOS and M.O.M.O. know why they've come to this world.  KOS-MOS does not,
which infuriates T-elos anew: KOS-MOS of all people, with "that soul" she
bears, really ought to know better!

..Umm, soul?  Isn't she a machine?  That would be... nope!  Anyway, T-elos
says that the lot of them are being called near by "something", and until they
figure out what it's highly doubtful any of them will be allowed to leave.
T-elos is of course on a mission to figure out who the summoner is, and leaves
before the team can make good on their plan to tie her up in the most
embarrassing way possible.  No further information from T-elos, then.

It's certainly plausible that someone or something is behind summoning all the
visitors to this world: both Xiaomu and KOS-MOS aren't here of their own
volition (and M.O.M.O. came in after KOS-MOS).  Axel and Alfimi seem to have
been summoned as well, and construed broadly enough even the Shura could be
called summonees.  Neige, at least, wasn't so much summoned as returned to her
rightful home.  Xiaomu only hopes that there _is_ a way back to her own world:
she's got someone waiting for her, and knows KOS-MOS does too.

The party nears their destination, creeped out a bit by the fact that the traps
littering this place are different than they were during the previous war.
Harm Darm certainly loved traps, didn't he?  Unfortunately, it seems there's a
bigger trap waiting ahead: Aledy points out that everyone the party has fought
on these stairs has been from Agrad Heim.  Likely, the Agrad Heim commanders
have already made it to the Gate chamber.

They have in fact: Sara and the mysterious winged Agrad Heim agent are peering
at the gate.  The winged woman doesn't like all the bells and whistles, but
Saya is overjoyed.  What's more, it seems to respond to spirit energy, so it'll
be easy to control.  That's good news to the winged woman, who tells Saya the
Gate will _not_ be used for taking a trip somewhere.  What it will be used for
is, predictably, secret.  No fun, pouts Saya, and then she gets serious.

Has the woman heard of Byakuya, that thingie that Saya's henchwoman Katana is
riding?  Nope, though the woman can guess that Saya's aid to Rock has more to
do with it and less to do with the fact that Rock summoned her.  Saya shrugs
and coyly says that she's helping because it's interesting... and that she's a
_so_ loyal servant of Rock's.  The woman pauses, then agrees to leave it at
that.  Inwardly though, Saya frets that she's got to destroy everything about
Byakuya...

At about that point, the cavalry arrive.  The winged woman introduces herself
as Hild Bran, a "soul contractor" to Agrad Heim of sorts.  What that means
exactly Hild will leave up to the party's imagination, but with all the talk
about "souls" lately Aledy gets even more concerned.  Catsy has a question
though, and not about Hild's measurements (which he couldn't care less about);
rather, he wants to know what Agrad Heim's relation is to Formido Heim.  It
can't just be the naming scheme -- the two groups' racial composition is too
darn similar.

Forget about Hild and Henne for a moment.  Rock Eye and Azel and Kyon have
their similarities, as do Vanar Gand and Catsy himself.  Even the foot soldiers
resemble each other, which can't be the coincidence Hild suggests it is.
Something deep is going on, which could be the key to unlocking Agrad Heim's
true objective and to explaining why an Ouma agent is helping them.  Xiaomu
recalls that the Ouma's goal is to plunge the world into chaos, which sparks
something in Axel's memory.

Saya figures that Xiaomu must not have been able to get home using the Celeste
(given that she's still standing here and all).  Look, STUFF happened, okay?
Give her a break!  STUFF happened to M.O.M.O. since Saya saw her last too, to
account for her radical image change.  Saya tells KOS-MOS that she's merely
acting to serve the interest of the lord who summoned her here, but Xiaomu
knows that's bull: she herself was summoned but not bound to Rock in any way.

Hild explains that Rock is the summoner of the party, and the master of beasts.
Rig is sort of the master-at-arms, though his main job is as gatekeeper.  And
Hild's job is collecting souls.  What does that mean?  That girl needs
_therapy_.  She activates the gate in a bid to suck the entire party, body and
soul, into it.

Actually, just their souls, really.  It turns out that the Gate can choose
what part of its cargo to teleport and what part to leave behind.  The souls
are to be sent to Agrad Heim's Veldtbaum Tree, which must be something like
the Fujizakura back at Kaguya's place.  Haken tells the robots to stop the
gate (since they don't have souls to worry about as such), but the gate has a
strong EM shield keeping them at bay.

KOS-MOS now knows what T-elos was referring to when she spoke of a soul-
gathering tree back when.  The party's life force is draining away rapidly, and
only Aledy has the spiritual fortitude to even move.  That must be why Rig
is so fixated on Aledy, and Saya laments that Aledy has to die so soon: he
could have matured into something special if given the time.  Such a strong
vessel might be worth leaving alive, Hild muses, but Saya is adamant that they
must be ended here.  She found out ten years ago what happens if you don't nip
certain problems in the bud.  It's a shame really that her duel with Xiaomu
has to end this way, and she tells Xiaomu that she'll send Reiji's soul to
where she's going in due course.  Hopefully the two of them will meet each
other some day.

Some day like... today maybe.  Saya has sort of expected all along that a
certain person might pull some heroic stunt and intervene, and in that she's
not disappointed.  Arisu Reiji appears from the Gate, cutting off its soul-
draining power and saying hi to the two kitsune.  Saya shouldn't be surprised
to see him, really: Shinra's intelligence operatives figured out long ago that
some of the Quakes led to this world.  All he had to do was use Xiaomu's
spiritual power as a fulcrum, and he could open his own Demon Portal to get
here.  Reiji sounds plenty confident, but Saya knows that inter-world travel
via Demon Portal is risky at best: Reiji's up to his old gambling ways again.

The newcomers to the party are impressed at the sight of Xiaomu's partner,
surprisingly normal-looking compared to the motley assortment already in the
party.  Neige is a bit critical of Reiji's two-tone hair, but Reiji says that
it wasn't his doing.  Thank the chick across the room with the hotpants for
giving him a certain cranial scar instead.  Saya confirms for Hild that Reiji
was indeed her lesson in taking care of problems before they blossom: at once
the cutest and un-cutest guy she knows, and with a bad habit of interfering
with her plans at the worst possible moment.

For example, Reiji's little stunt has left the Gate completely off-line,
spoiling any chance of sending high-quality souls to the Tree.  Hild says
mildly that she'll just have to extract Reiji's soul directly as recompense.
There's little time for detailed introductions, though Reiji does confirm that
he's free of the amnesia that clouds Axel and Alfimi's minds.  Every time he
comes to Endless Frontier it's one hell of a party, and this coming battle
promises to be no different!

After receiving her dose of smackdown for the day, Hild tells Saya she can
_totally_ sympathize with her having to put up with this bunch all the time.
Not really all the time, grumbles Saya: this time there's too many of them.
Hild still isn't ready to divulge her organization's true goals, or what
this Veldtbaum thingie is, which gets the meaner members of the party thinking
of ways to _make_ her talk.  If nothing else, Saya's cleavage seems to have
aroused the ire of the <C Cup brigade (to say nothing of Hild's).  Then again,
what if Hild hasn't been using her full power till this point?  What if Saya
reveals her _true_ form?!  Well, that'd require the womenfolk in the party to
"reveal" theirs too, in some sort of massive strip-off that the guys aren't
certain how to handle.

Except for Reiji, that is, who's realized that Hild and Saya are just stalling
for some reason.  That reason materializes in short order: Rock, flanked by
two Byakuyas.  As the party gasps, Rock demands Hild explain what's going on
and why the gate is offline.  For that, he'll have to thank a certain
reckless outworlder.  Saya isn't happy about those Byakuyas, the "Dimensional
Excavators" that Rock just finished figuring out how to use.  Coming here was
part test, part impatience over Hild's report being delayed, and the party
recognize them from the fracas in Varna Street.  That pricks Saya's ears up,
and she asks if the party ran into them before, or after, they met her.
Before, if Kaguya remembers right -- which means Rock has been running tests
behind Saya's back.

Saya tries asking Rock nicely to give the machines back to her, as they _are_
Ouma property.  Not so: he summoned them the same way he summoned her, and all
of them belong to him.  Or so he thinks.  They're pretty cool gadgets really:
capable of boring holes in the dimensional walls, even if only on a small
scale.  Eyes narrowing, Saya asks Hild if she knew about this, and Hild lightly
apologizes: it _was_ secret after all, and she wasn't in a position to honor
any request to give the Byakuyas back if Saya asked.  Which pretty much means
that any hope of surprise Saya had is gone...

Rock asks if Reiji is Xiaomu's "master", and Reiji replies that they're
colleagues in the same business (though he has had to discipline her every now
and again).  "Discipline, eh?" asks Alfimi with a gleam in her eye, and Xiaomu
shoots back that it's nothing like _that_.  Haken cuts the chitchat short and
tells Rock to bring it on, but Rock's got other things to attend to.  Rig has
put his next plan in motion, and Rock wants Hild to clean this place up stat.
He then offers Saya a chance to join his army... not that he needs her any
more since he already knows how to control the Byakuyas.  Saya pauses a long
moment, then puts on a forced smile and tries to bluff by saying she'll
consider it if it means getting the Byakuyas back.  Nothing doing there: Rock
is adamant that they belong to him now.

The party watch the drama with glee, hoping to use the enemy's infighting as
their chance to put the hurting on them.  Rock isn't that dumb, and activates
the Byakuyas to make his escape.  Saya tells Hild that she intends to settle
the score here and now, and then come to get the Byakuyas back.  It appears
that the friendship the two share is destined to be a strained one, assuming
either of them survive.

So, now what?  The Byakuyas seem to be the fruit of the Ouma's eponymous
project, which Saya mentioned as she was fleeing to safety after her last
run-in with Shinra.  So what are they doing in Endless Frontier?  Saya decides
to tell her side of the story before settling any scores, and relates that
Agrad Heim is a city-state floating in midair, in another dimension, built
around a giant tree that seems to gather spiritual power to itself.  Rock first
summoned the Byakuyas in an attempt to increase his warpower, and then summoned
someone who could help him operate the darn things... which turned out to be
Saya.

The fusion of Agrad Heim's city with its tree is very reminiscent of Kagura-
Amahara.  The fact that it's in another dimension solves the puzzle of where
the Agrad Heim forces were hiding during their battle with the Shura, though
Saya has no idea how the Agrad Heim actually manage to come and go from their
world.  She was only recently summoned, and constantly watched: she had no time
to properly snoop around the place.  Had she managed to infiltrate their
organization a bit further, she might have gotten close to the Byakuyas... but
she now knows that Rock had her figured out from the start.  And even if she
had wanted to approach, the castle's center is always guarded by that Rig dude.

And that's the reason they let Saya go so easily, despite her extensive
knowledge: they believe she has no way to even reach Agrad Heim to be a threat.
For _that_ slight, someone is going to pay.... as soon as Saya figures out
a way.  She's not disposed to explain that the Byakuyas were originally built
for, but one can pretty much guess from Rock's term "dimensional excavator".
Something about opening dimensional holes is bugging Axel, but he can't place
what exactly.  Anything that can create a Crossgate effect at will is nothing
to let some random thugs play with, and Saya says that the Agrad Heim actually
have _three_ such somethings.

It appears they summoned all the Original Byakuyas, and are now preparing to
mass-produce the darn things.  Saya _really_ wants to keep that from
happening, but it's rather hard when the bad guys also have impressed Katana
(summoned along with Saya herself) into running the Byakuyas.  The million-
dollar question is why the Agrad Heim want to open portals between worlds so
badly... ever since they first picked a fight with the Shura, that's all they
seem interested in.

That's all Saya knows, and Reiji asks what she plans to do now (given the bad
guys know full well what she'll do if given the chance).  Saya demurs, and
after a moment (and to Xiaomu's shock), Reiji offers her the chance to join the
party.  Brow furrowed, he observes that it's easy to destroy something, but
a lot harder to build.  The struggle between Shinra and Ouma is not a problem
for this world, and the Byakuyas shouldn't be either: they must be wiped out.
Presumably Saya was thinking the same thing, or she wouldn't have stayed
behind.  Saya smiles a crooked smile and warns Reiji playfully that she may
betray him yet -- which would be felicitous, since that would give Reiji a
reason to destroy her.  He matches her smile with his own, and finally Saya
heaves a sigh and gives in.

The party agree to help her take out the Original Byakuyas, though Reiji vows
that any false moves will earn Saya a sound spanking (which Xiaomu can't WAIT
to see...).  Kyaa, gotta be careful then, huh?  Anyways, the Gate's busted so
nobody will be going home anytime soon.  Instead, the best course is to head
back out of the castle, and maybe find out what the enemy Shura have been up
to.  Aledy is already fretting about that, having seen how evenly matched Reiji
and Saya are.  If Hamelen has grown as much as Aledy himself has, will he be
able to defeat Hamelen?  Not that he has a choice, as a Shura...

The team makes it outside without [much] incident, but before they can cross
the bridge, Alfimi senses some kind of a power from the other side.  It feels
somehow familiar, a power she's not felt since...  KOS-MOS can't detect any
energy signatures beyond the black Miltkeil background, though that background
has gotten stronger compared to readings taken before entering the castle.
Across the bridge lies Megi Castle, and beyond that Neige's own Espina Castle.
And beyond THAT lies Formido Heim, and even beyond that lies... oh, sod it.
Alfimi wants to see where the power is coming from, and Suzuka says it's
rather weird for the Miltkeil's power to be getting _stronger_ if someone's
been running around breaking the stuff.  Megi Castle should be just across
the bridge and a little to the North.

It's immediately apparent that something is wrong: Megi Castle's gate is wide
open, and not because of maintenance.  Aledy senses very strong Haki within,
strong enough to belong to the Arc-On, and he urges Suzuka to hurry.  Assuming
it _is_ the Arc-On, this must be where it warped to from the Celeste... and if
so, it might have something to do with all the black Miltkeil in the area
(given its track record of interest in the stuff).  If the Arc-On is here,
Hamelen might be here too, which leaves Shuten's safety in doubt.  Is the
strange power Alfimi's been sensing coming from Hamelen's bewitching flute?

Aledy and Alfimi deliver a stereo report of gloom and doom: powerful Haki, and
powerful spiritual force akin to a Gate.  But a Gate to where?  The mall?  A
club?  Circle-K?  Alfimi can't tell without getting closer.  Aschen and KOS-MOS
do have something definite to report though: an exhaust trail matching that
of the Alteisen Nacht.  _That_ jogs something loose in Axel's memory: the word
"Beowulf".  As he ponders this, Catsy points out that the Nacht is following
W-03's orders: if it's here, Pete Pain is here too.  Onigashima, where Megi
Castle sits, shares its name with a famous spot in Japanese mythology -- and
both seem popular with "treasure" seekers.  In this case, it's one dangerous
treasure, but there's little alternative but to seek it anyway.  Onward!

The party run into the Nacht sooner than expected.  Suzuka still remembers the
havoc it wrought here in the last war, and is determined to put an end to the
mischief this time.  Aledy notices that something is different about the way
it moves, but before he can say anything Axel clutches his head and collapses.
Through gritted teeth, he says he's seen a ghost, and that what awaits the
party is a... "wolf", that devours all things.  And its name is... "Nanbu"!
Suddenly it all makes sense for Haken: between Axel's recognition of the
replica Personal Troopers, and his know-how with Aschen's override code, Axel
and Alfimi must have come from the same world as the Neverland.  He resolves to
never divulge this information, however.

Pete's nowhere to be seen, and there may be a good reason for that.  KOS-MOS
matches the Nacht's energy signature with one from the past: when it was
under the Einsts' control.  That gets back to the black Miltkeil and its
suspected link to the Einsts.  The Arc-On is here for sure in that case.  That
the Nacht is out of Pete's control means the party has a chance to recapture
it, bringing back memories of the Ten Years' War.  Neige only wishes the Fae
Kleid was here to help as it did back then.

Haken asks Axel if he can fight, and Axel says it'll take more than a little
headache to slow him down.  Voice steady, he says that he doesn't want to lose
the flow, and asks in turn if Haken Browning is ready to fight.  The abrupt
use of his full name catches Haken's attention, but he smoothly tells Axel
he's good to go.

The good news: the Nacht's generator isn't too hard to power down.  The bad
news: with it goes the glimmering in Axel's memory.  Now's the team's chance
to regain control of the Nacht, but that will probably require Alfimi to do her
Magical Girl act again.  She asks the Nacht why it came here, and tells it it's
her friend.  She then asks it to help the party and to return Axel's memory,
and Aschen detects that the Nacht is now ready for a high-level override.
That's where the Phantom comes in.

Hooray for Alfimi, whose magicalness is great enough that Haken jokes he might
be falling for her.  She smiles brightly and repeats Haken's own catchphrase
"Now, don't fall for me" back at him.  There's no time for banter though: the
bad guys seem to have come up with some new species of minions, and probably
have more high-level servitors like the Nacht waiting in the wings.  And if the
Arc-On has fallen under the Einsts'(?) sway, matters might be worse yet.
Nobody has yet figured out what the Arc-On's strange series of movements means,
and Axel figures the only way to find out is to confront the thing.  And since
he has yet to see it in person, that sounds like fun to him.  The Arc-On is
probably upstairs, so that's where the party decides to head.  Dorothy is
curious in particular what the Arc-On is planning to do with the black Miltkeil
it stole...

Chapter 10: Rare Hunter

Sure enough, Shuten awaits at the top of the elevator.  Catsy is awestruck by
Shuten's muscles, and Suzuka has to agree... briefly.  Shuten explains why all
the oni have been attacking the party: some asshole with a flute's been
wandering around causing trouble.  Three guesses who that is, and the first two
don't count.  Shuten asks Suzuka how she got all these servants, and she
ascribes it to a blend of clean living and seductive hip-shaking.

All jokes aside though, she explains to Shuten what she's really been up to.
He explains in turn that the castle has come under attack from what he
believes to be a new type of Einsts, the disposal of which is pulling men away
from guarding the gate.  Most of the troops have fallen under Hamelen's sway
and are nowhere to be found, but one foe Shuten has tangled with was a giant
battle automaton with white hair.  The darn thing nearly kicked Shuten's ass
before abruptly ignoring him and flying deep into the castle... apparently it's
got errands to run.

Alfimi's sense of mystical power is becoming ever stronger as the party
advances.  Interestingly, it didn't peak while the party walked past that
mountain of black Miltkeil; whatever is causing the sensation Alfimi feels is
bigger and farther inside.  No way to be certain that that's what the errant
PT is after, but Alfimi doesn't seem like she's wrong often.  Suzuka tells
Shuten to relax and let her motley crew handle business up ahead, which is the
only logical destination left.  Shuten wants to go along as a show of Shiki-Oni
"unity", but Suzuka points out that the Shiki-Oni are totally screwed if
something were to happen to their feudal lord.  At that he relents, promising
his aid if the team need it.  Everyone likes the sound of that, and Suzuka
promises him a _handsome_ reward once the fighting is done.  SWEETAGE!

Once Shuten is out of earshot, Suzuka admits that she didn't want him coming
along for fear of his safety.  After all, he _is_ destined to be king of all
the Shiki-Oni.  And besides, there's more to being a man than charging in with
fists swinging (that gets Aledy thinking again).  For now though, the hunt
is still on for Hamelen.

Turns out he's not far up ahead, having finally traced the Arc-On down.  The
Arc-On is still clutching a chunk of black Miltkeil in its hot little hand,
the same one it stole from the residents of Marcus Town.  Hamelen wants to
know what brought the Arc-On all the way here, but before his dulcet tones
elicit any response, the party shows up.  They offer him a chance to leave in
peace, which he of course declines, telling Suzuka he'll leave her castle in
peace as soon as he's boxed up the Arc-On for shipment.  It's about this point
when Alfimi senses the beckoning voice she's heard getting stronger, emanating
from somewhere under the surface of the nearby pond.  M.O.M.O. can't detect
anything, but apparently the Arc-On can: its Haki confused (according to
Aledy), it abruptly jumps into the drink.

The pond leads to a subterranean waterway, though Suzuka professes not to
know where it emerges in the jumbled geography of Endless Frontier.  It seems
safe to assume that the Arc-On is interested in what lies on the other side,
and that whatever it is is linked to all the Miltkeil growing in this castle.
Now more than ever, Hamelen needs that glove of Dorothy's to keep up the chase,
and a few reinforcements wouldn't hurt either.  Despite how he boasts about
his skill at arms, most of what he's been up to -- knocking down bridges,
covering the Western lands in ice -- is more underhanded than upper-cut.
At least, sniffs Hamelen, he hasn't forgotten his Shura heritage to go
gallivanting on some fun little holiday.

It pains Hamelen greatly to see Wrought-Iron Aledy's Shura fangs dulling with
disuse, but a higher purpose keeps him from sticking around to force the issue.
He wants that Arc-On, though Aledy's mecha would do in a pinch.  After a
moment's thought, Aledy tells Hamelen that he's welcome to them -- if he can
beat him in combat.  As per the ancient code of battle, "to the victor, the
spoils".  Hamelen's glad that Aledy remembers at least that much.

Ain't no way Hamelen is winning if _Aledy_ of all people is talking trash.
If there was any doubt Hamelen needs more firepower, it's gone now.  His plan
is to meet up with Gelda and regroup: he, like Aledy's bunch, has errands that
need running.  He promises Aledy a better fight next time, and has no intention
of leaving the all-important anti-Miltkeil glove behind while he still draws
breath.  But M.O.M.O. (and her stylish beret) swings into action, transforming
into magical-girl mode and using godlike fishing technique in the blink of an
eye.  Her fishing pole isn't studly enough to ensnare the enemy Shura, but
it is agile enough to snag the glove from him.  Hamelen isn't pleased, but
neither is he the the sort for sour grapes.

After Hamelen splits the scene, M.O.M.O. breathes a sigh of relief and hands
over the Ozmagoth.  KOS-MOS explains that M.O.M.O.'s "Rare Hunter" equipment
is part of her Starwind ether circuitry, one more way in which M.O.M.O. has
the other mystical little girls beat.  Kyon fumes that her only special
attack is stripping, which as Saya points out is pretty potent if the stripper
is suitably young.  Anyways, Miltkeil breaking for the win, and missing
Rasetsu-Ki for the loss.  No doubt M.O.M.O. won't be able to catch it with
her fishing pole, but there's someone in the party who can: Captain Ann!

One would expect the robots could come along for added protection, but KOS-MOS
isn't currently configured for aquatic combat and Aschen is worried about
rusting.  Dorothy isn't impressed, but Ann tells her not to worry: the least
she can do is figure out where the Arc-On went.  Suzuka agrees, and tells
Ann to be sure to come back alive.  Ann makes the unwise move of promising
to treat everyone to a round of drinks once she gets back, and promptly
the chain holding her good-luck charm breaks.  UN-LUCK-E!

Undaunted, Ann dives into the pool.  Almost immediately the water starts to
boil, and nobody really wants to see Ann made into sushi.  Xiaomu yells for
M.O.M.O.  to fish Ann out with that Rare Hunter thingie, and shockingly it
works like a charm.  Ann is smarting a bit from getting fish-hooked in the
derriere, but is otherwise undamaged.  She reports seeing masses of Miltkeil in
the canal, and beneath them hordes of barnacle-like objects.  This is clearly
where the new types of bad guy came from: they tunneled right beneath Megi
Castle.

Ann saw the Arc-On striding across the ocean floor, but when she tried to
approach it it went berserk and trashed the surrounding corridor.  In the
process, the flow of power Alfimi felt has entirely ceased.  Haken is now sure
the Arc-On has something to do with the Einsts, and is also fairly sure that
his guess -- that the Einsts the party's grappled with are survivors of
the last war -- is also bunk.  There's not enough information to solve that
riddle however, and the only thing to do is press ahead.

Now that the team can break Miltkeil, the logical next stop is Espina
Castle, Neige's home.  The prospect of returning after all this time is more
than a little daunting, and Neige seems to feeling a bit guilty for hauling
everyone else along for the ride.  No sweat, they say: lots more stuff to do
regardless, and besides Espina Castle is even on the way to Formido Heim.
Neige' angst ends pretty quickly, and the party continues forward.

Rock Eye is impatient for something to be done to nourish the Veldtbaum Tree.
Rig tells him not to worry: it's all taken care of.  As soon as a couple
preparations are made, Rig will "descend".  Hild then offers her report:
Aledy and friends are about to head to Espina Castle, supported by Saya.  Rock
doesn't care about her treachery, repeating that Saya's only role was to teach
him how to control the Byakuyas. In which case, they need only wait for the
"blossom" in Espina Castle to bloom...

Elsewhere, Hamelen has returned to Gelda with his tail between his legs and
no power glove in his pocket.  M.O.M.O. stole it without his even noticing,
which has Gelda intrigued enough to confront Aledy's band in person.  Hamelen
is horrified, but Gelda is well-enough guarded.

Shuten reluctantly consents for Suzuka to continue accompanying the party,
vowing mayhem if anything should happen to her.  Suzuka tells him to keep a
close watch over their castle, which he's all too happy to do.  Once out of
earshot, Suzuka grumps that Shuten can never seem to let her out of his sight.
Axel beams and says that there's nothing which worries a man more than for
his beloved to say that "everything's okay".  Alfimi takes notes, but Reiji
tells a puzzled Aledy that this is likely just a product of the male ego.
All that aside, it's time to free the harbor to the East of the Miltkeil's
grip, and then head South to Espina Castle.

Espina Castle is, depending on how you look at it, either the world's worst
example of feng shui, or the best example of an evil stronghold ever built.
Of course, this is "thanks" to all the red Miltkeil protruding from it, present
since right before the fae expulsion to Hakoku.  The building itself is just
the way Neige remembers it, but the rather prominent pillar of rainbow-colored
light is new to her.  It is *not* just a special effect, as Suzuka guessed, and
it wasn't even here the last time Aschen scouted this area for the Orchestral
Army.  If it's the proverbial "rainbow bridge", Xiaomu bets it doesn't lead
anywhere romantic.

Rainbow connections aside, let's get back to that Miltkeil.  Recall that in
the last battle, all the red and blue Miltkeil was eradicated... everywhere
but here apparently.  It would seem the new generation of Einsts have made this
their home base, which rather spoils any chance at a joyous homecoming for
the fae princess.  Aledy sees it as his duty to help deal with whatever is
inside, and not just drop his ward Neige off at the curb.  Neige is of course
flattered, but tries (and fails) to conceal her gratitude behind a snide
remark.

No sooner have the team wiped their feet at the doormat than a group of...
_Gnosis_ attack!  These unpleasant critters are from KOS-MOS' world, and it's
anybody's guess what they're doing here.  Maybe they came at the same time
KOS-MOS did?  Still, it's an unexpectedly rough start to the exploring, even
given the long-disused state of the castle.  What's more, the castle is dotted
seemingly at random with gaping holes of various sizes.  The sight elicits a
bad pun from Xiaomu, which in turn elicits a spanking from Aledy (at Neige's
direction).  Makes Reiji's life easier, that does.  Still, these holes are
all the more eerie for their resemblance to the craters dotting the part of
Hakoku now joined to Endless Frontier.  They're geographically far apart, but
_something_ must connect the two together...

A little farther in, the party encounter a giant foreign object somehow
resembling a flower bud (or maybe a colossal seed).  Something about it catches
Kaguya's attention, and she concentrates on it so hard that she nearly falls
out of her eminently fall-out-able dress (much to Axel's amusement).  She says
she feels spiritual power emanating from it, something similar to the
Fujizakura yet opposite in nature... and a tad "bitter".

KOS-MOS recalls the term "Veldtbaum" which Hild so thoughtfully spilled before.
Even Saya knows little about it from her time in Agrad Heim other than that
it's probably located in the sealed central block.  Neige sighs and supposes
the team will have to take a "peek" at it using her family's ancestral "Magic
Mirror".  This mighty artifact hangs in the Seal Chamber, located in the first
floor basement, and in the interest of time Neige defers further explanation
until the team makes it there.

The Seal Chamber is well-defended, and well it should be, since it used to
be where the Fae Kleid was stored.  The Magic Mirror is still here at least,
its towering surface gleaming with magical intensity.  It's also surprisingly
easy to use: you just ask it questions.  Such as... where is the Fae Kleid?
The Mirror seems a tad reluctant to answer at first, and at length says that
the magical armor is inside this castle.  It adds apologetically that a
substance possessing magic is present in the castle as well, precluding
a more precise fix.  Nor can it tell Neige anything about the craters, or the
Miltkeil, or the rainbow pillar...

Not a very useful mirror, is it?  The problem, it tells Neige, is that there's
too much magic concentrated in this castle for it to work properly.  At least
one of the magic sources has been wiped out by Neige's entourage: that giant
seed(?) thingie in the entrance hall.  Well then, maybe there's more objects
like it the team can break?  Something big and magical is in the "Audience
Chamber" at the center of the castle, which sounds like a good place to start.

The Magic Mirror is pretty good at analysis, but not quite as mobile as any
of the team's androids.  It _does_ have other phenomenal powers though, which
Neige is coy about.  Xiaomu guesses it can summon some phenomenal warrior,
and Neige squeals that she's _this_ close.  Before she can explain though,
Gelda Miroir shows up, determined to take the mirror for herself.

Ice Mirror Gelda isn't properly speaking Aledy's arch-enemy -- she's his
_mistress_ arch-enemy, which can't be a good sign.  Then again, the signs
aren't all bad: when she accuses him and his mistress of shaming the Shura, he
counters by pointing out that it's hardly Shura-esque of her to inflict the
Shura's war on other worlds.  She growls that war knows no nationalities or
boundaries, that the Shura way is to surround oneself with battle.  It's Cindy
and her Karmic Shadow bullshit that taints the whole!  Aledy will endure any
insult directed at him, but disrespect to his mistress is unforgivable.

The team restrain Aledy from starting a fight on the spot, instead telling
Gelda in words how unhappy they are with her people messing with (and freezing)
various parts of Endless Frontier.  She too has heard of the party from
Hamelen, including the outworlders.  Axel shrugs and says that mixing it up
with her forces was more coincidence than design, not that he's backing away
from it now.  What Dorothy wants to know is what a landed lord of the bad guys
is doing on the front lines: doesn't she have _people_ to do the screwing
around on the front lines?  Gelda shrugs and says she hadn't actually come here
to fight the team -- originally, she meant to accomplish her mission and clear
out at once.  However, _someone_ stole the otherworldly tech she needed to
break the Miltkeil, forcing her hand.  Guess who that was?

Gelda is after the Magic Mirror, intending to use it to strengthen her armies.
Neige is amazed Gelda has heard of it, but she shouldn't be: Cindy's faction
weren't the only Shura to host the fae after they arrived in Hakoku.  Some of
the other fae told her _all_ about the Magic Mirror, and Gelda just _has_ to
have it.  She's even brought some new servants along to carry the blasted
thing: Dokumezu and Dokugozu!  Just what are _Saya_'s servants doing working
for the bad guys?  ...Well, kinda, investigating the, sorta.  After Saya
was summoned, her two mighty knuckleheads got summoned along with Katana to
fortify the Agrad Heim forces.

Saya _had_ had them snooping around Iceberg Prison, and after Gelda got her
hands on them she decided they were too powerful to just kill off.  Instead,
she had Hamelen brainwash them, and they now loudly trumpet their loyalty to
their new mistress.  Saya can go do herself in her centuries-old ass for
all they care!  Saya's smile freezes on her face for a long moment, and then
she actually scowls as she tells Reiji to give them a good three hundred
spankings each.  Brow furrowed and eyebrow twitching, Reiji mumbles something
about not being in the mood, and tells Saya to discipline her own subordinates
for a change.

Gelda had expected that Aledy might attack on sight, based on how much trouble
he caused Hamelen.  In that she's rather disappointed, and tells him she'll
start the hostilities if he won't.  If that's supposed to make him cower in
fear, it doesn't...

In fact, the team have so much firepower that Gelda wonders if Aledy is trying
to foment his own personal war... something Gelda is quite familiar with.  For
now, Gelda contents herself with the battle outcome as a little "hello" from
her to Aledy... and with taking the Mirror in a cloud of poison gas from the
ex-Ouma strongmen.  By the time the gas clears, the Mirror is nowhere to be
found, likely teleported out of the area using stolen Ouma tech.  The two
bull-men may not be too bright, but even they're capable of that much.

The thought of the evil Shura, fortified with Ouma and fae technology and
with the Arc-On at their disposal, is a grim one indeed.  Fortunately the
inner mysteries of the Magic Mirror won't be apparent to the uninitiated, and
Neige urges the party to focus on their more immediate problems first.  She
wants to confirm what the Agrad Heim are up to here, and to find the Fae
Kleid.  Axel remembers that the doors to the central chamber upstairs were all
locked, but Neige remembers that an emergency release mechanism should be
hidden somewhere in this room.

The mechanism isn't so hard to find, but the Audience Chamber isn't open to
the party yet: _somebody_ not originally belonging to the castle has set
up an electromagnetic barrier across the final door.  Judging by the large
number of circular craters, that "somebody" is up to no good.  As KOS-MOS
tries to correlate her readings to previous combat data Kaguya announces that
the magical presence she felt from the "seed" at the entrance is even
stronger within the Audience Chamber.  Whatever it is is probably generating
this barrier, which the party has no way to break... that is, unless they
find the Fae Kleid.  Neige explains that the Refined Swayers on its two arms
are more than equal to breaching a barrier like this.

The only other areas available to search are the Archives and Neige's personal
chambers.  The prospect of rifling through a princess' effects may be
a tad embarrassing to Aledy, but there's no other way the party can hope to
thwart whatever evil is gripping the castle.

Neige's room is enormous and elegantly appointed: perfect for holding a victory
bash if the bad guys could ever just die.  There's a reason it's this large: it
formerly belonged to Neige's mother Stula, the fae queen lost during the Ten
Years' War.  Neige has mostly come to terms with it by now, and if anything
the Orchestral Army officers feel worse than she does.  Haken reminds them
that that war wasn't their fault per se -- it was the Einsts who put Formido
Heim up to it.  With an abruptly different note in his voice, Axel declares
that war is war -- whoever starts it, whoever maintains it, chaos is the only
result.

But enough of that: Neige is resolved to live richly enough for both her and
her mother, and to do what she can to find her missing father.  Aledy commends
her on her strength, but she admits that it's less that she's really strong,
and more that she thinks she has no other choice.  Just then, KOS-MOS detects
an energy signature from the door to the left (which leads to Neige's bedroom).
Could it be the Fae Kleid??

Yes... and no.  When Neige asks why it's here and not in the Seal Room, it
orders the party to leave its "daughter's room".  It announces that no
intruders will be allowed to disturb the room until she returns.  The voice
belongs to Stula, and the Fae Kleid adds that this room is its bond with its
daughter.  Unfortunately, this seems to be pre-recorded dialog, which the
Fae Kleid repeats when Neige tries to get it to recognize her.  Dorothy
guesses that the dialog was recorded during the Ten Years' War, and that when
she repaired the thing it headed straight back here.  But how could this be?

Reiji and Saya explain that certain objects can harbor souls, just as people
do.  Objects which people cared greatly for, or objects of great antiquity, can
manifest the spirits that flow through all things.  KOS-MOS can certainly
relate, as can Axel.  "Machine Soul", huh?  The Fae Kleid warns that if the
party does not leave, it will fight them out of pride for the Hausen name.

Kaguya urges Neige to fight the Fae Kleid, and free her mother's thoughts from
this place.  Doing so is more important than Neige might realize.  Neige
agrees, vowing to prove to the Fae Kleid that she really is the daughter of
the Hausens.  She orders it to entrust its Machine Soul to her!


Chapter 11: Machine Soul

After the battle, the Fae Kleid tells Neige that it couldn't do anything
for her, but it does pray that the fighting will end even a day sooner, that she
may live her life happily.  With its mission complete, its power decreases to
stable levels, accepting Neige's commands.  Mother's love is a powerful thing,
and one Haken wishes he got to experience.  Suzuka is certain of one thing:
if anything can outlast this war, it's not force of arms.

Aledy ponders that, and asks Neige who designed the Fae Kleid.  It was indeed
her mother, which explains how her mother's feelings rubbed off on the mech.
Axel has the feeling he's run across something like that before, and Aschen
has too for that matter [maybe like, her herself?]  Anyway, Neige feels a good
deal better now, and Aledy encourages the party to press ahead and unravel
the true meaning of what's going on in the castle.

The Fae Kleid blows the barrier away with one blast, to Neige's delight.
Inside is a shocking sight: a ghastly tree that looks like either the parent
or the germinated sibling of that dried seed the party wrecked in the entrance
hall.  Kaguya shudders at the spiritual force emanating from it, almost as
though it was gathering spirits to itself.  Fairy spirits both good and evil,
as well as the spirits of the dead, are swirling around it.  This explains
what the Gnosis are doing here, given their penchant for all soul-related
matters.  Henne asks what the "Gnosis" really are, but before KOS-MOS can
explain, two balls of light emerge from the tree.

It's Rig and a Byakuya, here to guard one of the Veldtbaum's seedlings.  The
tree is clearly involved with the Agrad Heim / Hakoku struggle, especially
given the similar craters the two areas share.  The theft of the Byakuyas
is also involved, allowing in Rig's words the "tuning" of the Veldtbaum
tree and its fruit.  Catsy guesses this to mean linking trees in disparate
locations smoothly: not the most ethical reason for pwning somebody else's
dimension.  Neige is especially peeved that it's happening in _her_ castle
of all places, but Rig intones that this was a nexus between worlds in the
previous war.  Such places naturally harbor many spirits and shades, which
constitute the Veldtbaum's nutrients.

Rig never expected Aledy's rag-tag band to get this far, but now that they
have, he plans to proffer their high-powered souls to the tree.  The Veldtbaum
is a picky eater, and is particularly interested in KOS-MOS' soul.  It does
something to her that shuts her control circuits down temporarily, causing
KOS-MOS' soul to manifest.  Voice trembling, KOS-MOS says that this tree has
the power to bind and alter souls.  She then walks toward the tree, apparently
bound to it by her "machine soul".

The team yell for KOS-MOS to come to her senses, but Rig says that KOS-MOS
_is_ with her senses.  KOS-MOS hesitates, and a familiar voice rings out in
fury from across the hall.  It's T-elos, shouting that KOS-MOS' soul isn't
some cheap toy this lot gets to play around with.  Reiji wonders what she's
doing here, but she tells him to stuff it and pummel KOS-MOS back to her
right mind.  She's even willing to help _if_ the team make up their mind
pronto, and Saya can vouch for how strong T-elos is in a fight.  T-elos sniffs
at how low Saya has sunk if she's hobnobbing with this lot, but Saya claims
she's just using them for her own ends.  T-elos smiles nastily and says she
can identify with that part.

Rig finds all of this interesting in the extreme, and asks if Aledy doesn't
as well.  Aledy says that "interest" has nothing to do with battle.  Fight.
Win.  Period.  Oh, and he's taking KOS-MOS back too.  T-elos hopes that she
can finally settle things with KOS-MOS here...

Rig has made a major error: with his control over the Veldtbaum Trees not
as firm as he initially claimed, he put one of his three Byakuyas at risk.
Lo and behold, the team obligingly destroy it, forcing Rig to retreat and
settle the score with Aledy some other day.  He warns Aledy that the Veldtbaum
will continue to devour all souls around it and grow.  Aledy had best leave
too if he doesn't want to become one of its victims...

Rig teleports out, but interestingly enough it looks as though he vanishes
_through_ the tree.  Any thoughts of pursuit will have to remain on hold until
KOS-MOS is dealt with.  Her soul is still bared, and T-elos initially revels
in the sight of her rival so vulnerable.  She half-jokingly asks if she should
just finish KOS-MOS off now, but draws up short when KOS-MOS tells her that
if she wants to, she should do it quickly.  At this rate, "that person's"
heart is going to disappear, and KOS-MOS implores T-elos to destroy her.
W-whoa, who said anything about destruction?!?  M.O.M.O. screams for T-elos
to help KOS-MOS, and very grudgingly T-elos does... something.

Whatever it was, it causes KOS-MOS to return to normal, soul concealed once
more.  T-elos sighs and observes that the only way to truly Fuse with KOS-MOS
is to get her completely offline.  KOS-MOS asks why T-elos would save her,
and T-elos growls that she owed KOS-MOS one from the previous battle.  That
debt is now repaid in full.  She confirms KOS-MOS' suspicion that _this_ is
what she told the party about before: the Veldtbaum summoned her and the Gnosis
to this world.  Endless Frontier is attempting to invade their own world, and
that connection must be severed -- the fewer unknowns, the better.  Besides,
it's the only way to return to Eternity, the moment of which is when the two
of them will truly Fuse.

The rest of the team are having a very hard time following all this.  If</pre><pre id="faqspan-5">
you fuse KOS-MOS and T-elos, do you get a KOS-los?  Who cares?  The point is:
it'd be really nice if T-elos kept the party company as the best way to ensure
the bad guys leave the other worlds alone (Hakoku included).  T-elos considers,
and sniffs that she isn't doing this out of any sort of camaraderie with the
peons.  Her interest is guarding KOS-MOS to ensure nothing like this happens
to her again, got that?  _Definitely_ got the "tsun" half of "tsundere" down
to a science.

Okay, next issue: that damn tree.  The party is preparing to evacuate the
soul-sucking shrubbery when Kaguya has an idea.  If the thing is similar to
her Fujizakura, it may respond to her powers the same way.  Suzuka encourages
her to try, and after considerable exertion the thing heeds Kaguya's command
to descend into eternal slumber.  She explains to the impressed party that
this tree has the "opposite" power to the Fujizakura: rather than "closing"
portals to other worlds, this tree exists to "open" them!  She's sealed that
power, so it can never mature again.  Even Aschen has to hand it to Kaguya,
glad to see that the Kagura-Amahara princess is good for more than just
falling out of her dress.

Best of all, this paves the way for the fae to mount a proper return home.
Neige isn't in any hurry on that score, with the enemy Shura, the Agrad Heim,
the Einsts, and even that pesky Pete Pain dude running around.  All the
evildoers need an ass-whupping, after which Reiji and the others have to find
a way home.  PLUS there are still two Byakuyas to trash, and the Magic Mirror
to steal back.  In short, Neige tells Aledy while blushing furiously, she
could still use him as a bodyguard.  With pleasure, he replies with a smile.

Catsy has a good suggestion for how to proceed: head to Formido Heim!  That
pesky barrier can now be broken thanks to the Fae Kleid, so there's no need
to figure out how to contact Azel just yet.  That's fine with T-elos, who just
wants to know who she has to kill to set things to rights.  All in good time,
Aledy tells her, and off the party trots.

Well, more like trudges in Haken's case: he's helluva exhausted from this rough
homecoming of Neige's.  Looking back at the castle, the party is shocked to
see that the rainbow pillar is gone.  Was it emanating from the tree Kaguya
sealed?  Catsy thinks it's more than likely, and figures the party will need
another way to reach Agrad Heim eventually.  Laying hands on an Agrad Heim
agent and forcing an "invitation" out of them is probably best.

Just then, a projection of Azel appears, addressing his current and former
Orchestral Army officers.  This isn't any sort of radio broadcast, but rather
a psychic projection.  Azel tells the party that the magical interference
around Formido Heim has gotten weaker (again thanks to Kaguya), and says that
someone is attacking the place.  That someone's weapons are leaving massive
craters all over the place, much like what the party just saw near the
Veldtbaum Tree: that pretty much narrows the culprits down to the Agrad Heim.
Catsy tells Azel to lower the barrier, and that the party will be there as
soon as they can.  Forward ho!

An astonishing sight awaits in the West Tower: the Crossgate has vanished
entirely!  Only KOS-MOS' inspection tube is left.  No one is sure what the
Agrad Heim are up to, but seeing as how they've somehow tapped into all the
known remaining Crossgates in Endless Frontier, it can't be anything good.
The farther the team ventures into Formido Heim, the larger the craters
get, and the more the scenery resembles Hakoku or Elfe Tale.  If this truly
is a full-scale invasion, the Agrad Heim forces will be headed for the top
floor of the Balerianea Tower and its still-functioning Crossgate.  Nobody
wants the bad guys to purloin yet another Crossgate for themselves, especially
given how that would dim the odds of return for T-elos and the others.  Better
hurry out to the south.

Haken asks if the teleporter the party sees nearby is still usable.  It _does_
lead to the tower, but not to the top floor.  Useless for helping Azel hold
the fort, but possibly useful for pilfering an item or two.

Elsewhere, Rock Eye is gloating about how he's surrounded all of Formido Heim
in a kekkai, and sent in some of his troops for good measure.  Yeah yeah, but
what about the Veldtbaum Tree, whose withering continues unabated?  Rock
admits he didn't anticipate the Espina tree getting sealed, though Hild didn't
fare any better after Reiji's interference put the Oratorio gate offline.
Gagun is feeling pretty well adjusted to his new body, and orders Rig to
open a portal to the Surface.  Rock wants to go along too, to at least say a
brief "hi" to the new Formido king.

Taking out more of the barrier devices will open the path to Dorothy's castle:
a good chance to get in some last-minute shopping before heading to Azel's
aid.  When the shopping is done, the team find the front gate to the Tower
already smashed in.  Henne frets about being too late, but T-elos sniffs that
everyone should already know the party is playing catch-up.  Nothing will get
accomplished by standing around and fretting, but as the party gets moving Axel
frowns and announces he has a bad feeling about this one...


Chapter 12: Dark Knights

Who should be waiting inside the tower but Hera and Vanar, two of the three
Gand siblings.  Their "brother" is off on another errand, and they've been left
to guard the fort.  Hera lets slip that the party aren't the first "intruders"
they've faced, a lapse that is matched by Kyon letting slip that the Crossgate
is on the top floor.  The Gand siblings are smart enough not to tell Aledy who
the other intruder is, and at long last bring in their hired help: Mark.  The
bounty hunter got bought off by the very bounties he came to collect, and is
now working for the Agrad Heim.  Not much of a bounty hunter, but still a
dangerous enough opponent.

Vanar is quite impressed at the gaggle of fighters Aledy's gathered to himself.
Aledy calmly says that he's making sure the Agrad Heim won't get the better
of him at the least.  Vanar may have lost this battle, but he hasn't lost
the war yet, despite how much Mark belittles him and Hera.  Hera asks Vanar
what to do now, and Vanar says that it's time: their mission is over.  Their
next move is to withdraw and await word from Joam, leaving Aledy's party to
Rock Eye and the others.

They take off without paying Mark's fee, which the bounty hunter is extremely
incensed over.  He's still tight-lipped with his information, but reveals that
while he was fetching his weapons, a dude in a green beret and a blue mech
passed him by.  That would be Pete and the Arc-Gain, who had intruded _prior_
to Mark's anti-intruder contract kicking in.

Job here over, Mark prepares to head to his next employer -- which is
impressive, given how bad his reputation is.  It seems John Moses has
announced a general gathering for bounty hunters in Treidel Stadt, providing the
perfect excuse for Mark to bug out from this troublesome work with the Agrad
Heim (Koma can identify with that).  He tells the team not to get themselves
killed and dashes off, leaving the team to ponder what Pete's been up to all
this time...

Pete and the Arc-Gain aren't far ahead, and Pete is quite aghast to see the
party still very much un-blown to smithereens.  He's even more thunderstruck
that Axel was able to externally override Aschen's Code-ATA, and quickly
fires up Code-PTP again.  His order: maximum destructive force, and don't
worry about him or W-10.  Aschen isn't falling for that one a second time:
her Code-DTD rewrote itself after the previous battle to preempt even a hint
of Code-PTP: miraculous self-training that has Aledy in awe.

Pete is furious, growling that Aschen must really be "her"... something or
other.  This jogs something in Axel's memory, but he can't quite bring it to
the surface.  Pete certainly isn't forthcoming with any more information, and
instead is determined to destroy Aschen by force since he can't do it via
more underhanded means.  He's finally found "it", and won't brook any
interference now.

Before the first punch can be swung though, Haken tells Pete to stop messing
with his family.  He punctuates the thought by pummeling Pete and the Arc-Gain
so ferociously that neither of them can continue combat.  Whatever Pete's
grand plan is, he's been in too much of a hurry to execute it, losing all his
robot servitors in the process (including the unfortunate Caldia).  It doesn't
hurt that Haken's crew have their cute little magic-user Alfimi on their side.
This gives Pete an idea, and he asks what the party is planning to do next.

The only way is forward, intones Aledy.  No choice then, muses Pete as he
surveys the smoldering hulk of the Arc-Gain, and he immediately dashes off.
Apparently he's decided that the W-10 is now just so much trash... but as
someone wise once said: "One man's trash is another man's treasure".
Translation: Arc-Gain GET!

Between Dorothy and Aschen, the Arc-Gain is restored to functionality and joins
the party's growing assortment of giant-ass robots.  Haken is rather worried
why Pete would just leave the thing behind, but there's nothing more the team
can do to puzzle out Pete's motive now.  The team has to use the nearby
teleporter and emerge in the East Oritoria Tower.  From there, they have to
travel to the North Oritoria Tower in order to teleport... a few floors
upstairs.  The rearranging of world geography in the great Joining is to
blame for that, and Aledy figures it'll make good training for the legs.
Ann wishes there was a way to swim the distance instead, but such is life
sometimes.

En route to the North tower, the team spy something very weird: a big scary-
looking island where no island was before.  It's Vilkuakint, the ruins that
sat at the center of Varna Kanai until very recently... at the bottom of the
ocean!  It served as a construction facility of sorts for the Einsts, and was
where the party secured a large Miltkeil of exceptional purity, needed in
preparation for the final battle.  It feels to Alfimi like the thing surfaced
of its own accord, and that doing so is related to the power surge she felt
back in Megi Castle when Ann followed the Arc-On into the flooded tunnel.

Is the Arc-On here?!  If so, it's not showing up on sensors.  How does Alfimi
know?  Haken grits his teeth and tells this party his suspicion that Alfimi
is connected to the Einsts, if not an Einst herself.  T-elos finds it hilarious
that the party might have an enemy in their very midst, but it would hardly
be the first time (herself included, for that matter).  It takes Reiji to
point out that this hardly matters: just look at all the were-foxes and demons
and God-knows-what other races make up the party.

Just so: Alfimi doesn't care _what_ she is, but she does want to find out _who_
she is.  That resonates with Axel too.  Weighty stuff, but the party really
is in a bit of a hurry.  And that undersea ruin wouldn't surface out of mere
coincidence (or is that "mer coincidence"?).  If there are Einsts and they're
up to something, they'll be headed the same place the party is.  Alfimi
certainly hears some kind of voice calling her name...

The North Tower contains a conveniently-located teleporter that goes to where
Azel is.  However, there's more in this tower: a frightening relic that Alfimi
can plainly sense awaits in the next chamber.  This tower, formerly known as
the "Isolation Tower", is used to isolate and contain the dread Einst spirit
that replaced the former emperor before the previous war.  There's no time
for proper sightseeing though, with Azel's life in the balance.

The party arrives at the top of the tower just in time to see an amazing
tableau: Gagun (and his borrowed body) greets Azel and demands he return
Formido Heim, _formerly_ a part of Agrad Heim.  Big reveal, but Azel sensibly
points out that this fact alone constitutes no reason for him to hand over his
lands.  Catsy agrees heartily, though Rock wonders why Azel would take the news
of his long-lost homeland at face value.  Azel snorts that any demon could
sense the kinship in their souls, including the soul currently inhabiting
Gagun's borrowed "vessel".  Ooh, "vessels for souls"!  That got KOS-MOS'
attention.

Haken introduces himself, and asks where Gagun got his body.  Or maybe he
should guess: W-05, "Gimnos Vajileus", pilfered from the Neverland.  That's the
one W-Number whose whereabouts are totally absent from the computer, and quite
likely the reason Pete was here.  Axel vaguely remembers that W-05, unlike
the rest of the W-Numbers, was designed without a "personality", which explains
for Rock why this was the first Vessel Gagun managed to actually bond with.

'Kay so, how'd Gagun get to be a spirit-only being?  It's that damn Veldtbaum
Tree's fault: the thing went on a bit of a rampage during the battle with the
Shura.  Something caused a series of fissures in the walls of spacetime, and
the Tree reacted with a mass teleportation that relocated part of Agrad Heim
here.  Haken can guess what the "something" was: the violent event that fused
Endless Frontier into its current state.  For that matter, that's probably
when part of Hakoku came here too.

Rock scowls and tells Aledy he'd better count his blessings.  If not for
Gagun's act of sacrifice, there's every possibility Hakoku would have been
ripped completely apart and scattered across the multiverse.  Koma spits that
the Agrad Heim will get no gratitude from the Shura, who _surely_ were not on
the top of Gagun's list of reasons for halting the Veldtbaum.  Very true:
what Gagun was trying to avert was his own country's self-destruction.  He
explains to Aledy that the craters scattered around Hakoku-lite and here are
all the result of the Veldtbaum's power dissipating explosively -- power that
has yet to fully recharge.  Azel doubts they're mere craters; rather, he thinks
that the stuff formerly occupying them has been transported to other worlds.
Good guess, smirks Rock.

That's a hefty amount of power backing the Agrad Heim cause, but apparently
they've got problems -- otherwise, they wouldn't be wasting their time coming
here.  What Gagun wants is for Azel to unleash the spirit he's got locked up
in the North Tower: they have no need for _another_ Crossgate, especially
with two Byakuyas still at their disposal.  "Another" meaning that they stole
the one formerly situated in the Northwest Tower, bastards they.  Suzuka asks
what unleashing the spirit has to do with all these Crossgates, and Rock
refuses to tell her on the theory it would make her resist.

Of course, the team plan to resist anyway.  Aledy has the Shura score to
settle with the Agrad Heim, and Haken has a bit of responsibility for how the
worlds ended up in this state.  Azel will lend a hand himself, completing the
reconstitution of the old Orchestral Army.  Gagun's good with some throwdown,
hoping to further acclimate to his new body and harvest some young, fresh
souls for the Veldtbaum.

Gagun clearly can't move the way he wants to, and Rock recommends they pull
out and wait for another chance.  Aledy wants to settle the score right now,
but Gagun tells him he can't afford to risk his life like Aledy, not with the
weight of an entire world on his shoulders.  Azel has one question before the
two sides part: why were the two Heims split, and who knew about it?  Schtall
Diev did -- a man who once called Gagun his lord.  Gagun tells Azel the next
time they meet may not be in this world...

Well this is a fine how-do-you-do.  Not only are you fighting pan-dimensional
bad guys, equipped with a W-Numbers body, but they're also the primary key to
Axel's memory.  Azel thanks the party for saving his bacon, and then gets a
full debriefing on what's been going on outside.  Azel tries to apologize
again for the Ten Years' War to Neige, who's getting a bit tired of every
Orchestral Army officer flagellating themselves in front of her.  She knows
Azel did his best to set things to rights, and the only thing left that bugs
her is why the fae got teleported to Hakoku.

The real question is what the Agrad Heim's ultimate aim is, stealing a
Crossgate and trying to free an ancient, malignant spirit.  For once, they
weren't babbling about souls too much, and that from people who tried to rob
KOS-MOS of her insides.  Azel says that that spirit seems to have gotten
weaker lately, ever since he ordered Aschen and Henne out to check up on the
Crossgates.  How does he know that?  The Orchestral Army, no fools, installed
monitoring devices inside the electromagnetic barrier before stuffing the
spirit inside.  That would also be around the same time the foreign invaders
beset Formido Heim, which Azel sought to seal _inside_ by erecting the barrier
around the entire country.

These were surely Agrad Heim forces, and Haken's glad that the party barely
made it to the rescue: sliding into home safe, as it were.  ...Or not,
depending on the instant replay: Alfimi wants to go back to the Isolation
Tower to check on something, and knowing her connection to the Einsts Azel
agrees.  As the team make their way, Alfimi's fears seem confirmed, and she
tells everyone to hurry.

Alfimi's worst fears are confirmed: the spirit is no longer imprisoned in the
Tower.  Azel can't sense it either, but says it'll take a while to disengage
the barrier long enough to check.  Time for the Fae Kleid!  It blows away
the powerful barrier in a single hit, exposing... nothing in particular
inside.  It's unthinkable that Gagun and his stooges could have abducted
it with the barrier still operational, and Alfimi thinks the spirit has
transferred itself to that nearby Vilkuakint Island.  After all, inside the
barrier are the remains of a long-disused teleporter [uh, whoopsie].  The only
way to be certain is to step onto it and see where it leads: perhaps to the
power flowing through the deep that Ann felt before?

The inside of Vilkuakint is patterned after the innards of a monster, and all
the denizens feel "dead" to Aledy.  Suzuka shows him all the goosebumps she's
got, causing the other girls to follow suit.  Goosebumps aside, the place has
changed considerably from when it was resting on the sea floor.  It seems this
is how the spirit escaped, staging the escape so as not to arouse too much
suspicion.

Alfimi focuses on the spirits in the vicinity, and declares that these are
the very same spirits who flowed underwater to the previous battle.  The Arc-On
is also somewhere nearby, and this time Aledy means to recover it by any
means necessary.  Alfimi will have to guide the team toward the concentrations
of spiritual energy, though she makes it quite clear she's no "guard dog".
She instructs the party to head Northwest, as there's something on the
other side of the left wall.

That something turns out to be pretty horrific: an immense heart, improbably
suspended in midair.  In front of it is a monster, which names itself
Velzent Richeit: the first to be born, and the last one left.  This is the same
bastard who replaced the former king, the Einst who caused the Ten Years' War.
How this creep got free is an interesting question, but the heart is likely
involved.  What's more, Velzent looks an awful lot like the final Einst from
the last battle, Varlshein Richeit.  Varlshein was red, and had a lot to say
about wanting to return to its own world... a fact which gives Alfimi a severe
headache when she hears it.

Velzent is startled, and asks who the heck Alfimi is... but Azel doesn't give
him time to hear her reply.  The Einst is a direct threat to the world, and
needs to be beaten down forthwith.  Challenging?  Hell no, as T-elos is all too
glad to point out.  With its dying breaths, it laments how it hasn't yet
returned to the Realm of Silence, and bequeaths its consciousness to Alfimi,
she who has "regained herself".  It then crumbles into dust, as M.O.M.O.
detects some sort of powerful energy field surrounding Alfimi.

Some moments later, Alfimi announces that she's regained at least part of her
memories: she knows who she is.  As Haken suspected, she is an Einst, come with
Axel from a different world than the Einsts that precipitated the wars here.
Both she and those Einsts are from some world other than this one, though she
doesn't remember if all the Einsts are from the same place originally.  None of
the Einsts seem to know exactly where they're from, but they all share a strong
urge to return.  Axel had been prepared to dwell here if he couldn't find a
way home, but Alfimi's revelation makes it clear that that won't cut it.

As someone once said, "You can never go home again" for real.  The original
worlds Haken and friends came from are now all mooshed together, for good and
for ill.  Neige in particular, having managed to return "home" herself,
scarcely recognizes the place.  Still, that doesn't mean Reiji, KOS-MOS and
the others can't try to return to their homes once their task is done here.
And that task includes searching deeper within this place: Alfimi knows that
the spirit that animated Velzent isn't vanquished yet.  The voices Alfimi hears
are crying out for a strong, unwithering body, and to go home at long last.

That body -- could it be a robot?  Could it be the Arc-On?  Probably, but
before the team can find out they first must face a very startled Joam.  He
had to swim all the way here, and not an easy passage it was either.  He
peevishly tells the team their luck's run out now that they've crossed his
path, but Aledy tells him it's the other way around.  He _will_ tell the team
everything he knows...

Joam isn't utterly defeated, but his puny little recon team stands no chance
against the party.  He isn't sufficiently cowed to tell everyone what he's up
to, but he has figured out what he needed to know to return home.  That makes
things simple, smirks T-elos: he simply can't be allowed home alive!
Unfortunately, Joam can swim, and abruptly dives into the drink.  He's too fast
for Ann (or M.O.M.O.'s Rare Hunter) to immediately follow.  The Agrad Heim will
now know the party is here, and Koma recommends plundering whatever there is to
plunder and bugging out fast.  That would be the Arc-On, dead ahead to the
North.

Things don't go quite as planned though: directly to the North is a teleporter
that leads... apparently inside the giant Einst that the party faced during
the previous war.  Aledy senses Haki coursing through the entire area, with
each breath the creature takes.  Alfimi murmurs that it's about to be
reborn, about to evolve.  This _must_ have something to do with that heart
upstairs, the seat of life as Kaguya puts it.

It's also become clear why the Arc-On was interested in the Neverland: its warp
cannon was used to open the path to the final assault on the Einsts in the
previous war.  It wanted access to that "entrance" method, but had to settle
for the gate beneath Megi Castle instead.  Having made it here, it's presumably
headed for the "brain" chamber, which should be up ahead.

The party finally find the Arc-On.  Aledy tells it it belongs in the heat of
battle, not in a grave for the defeated like this place.  The Arc-On
then _speaks_, denying that these are the defeated at all.  It says that a new
round of evolution is about to begin, and with it a return to the Realm of
Silence.  It's not actually the Arc-On, but rather a being once known as
Varlshein Richeit.

Its spirit has been wandering in search of a new and improved body, and the
Arc-On provides the ideal vessel.  It's almost as though the Arc-On is
Possessed, or has become animate after ages of exposure to the living.  The
Einst claims that the Arc-On actually desired such a spirit to indwell it, and
Alfimi has to wonder if the Arc-On is in fact responsible for all the
outworlders being summoned here.  Aledy is especially emo: aren't the Shura
good enough for the Arc-On?  Isn't he strong enough to be the Arc-On's "will"?
Hasn't he trained enough yet?

The Einst spirit tries to get a word in edgewise, but Haken and Neige tell
him to shut the hell up: it's time for the main actor and the main robot to
have their climactic scene.  With a word of encouragement from Neige, Aledy
tries to assert his Haki once more.  He needn't ask what the Arc-On came here
in search for, but he tells it it can choose between the spirit of the dead,
and the Haki of the living, based on the outcome of this battle.


Chapter 13: The Roaring Destroyer

Aww, sucks to be Varlshein.  Beaten twice, and now kicked out by the very
mech that summoned him back in the first place.  Feeling the Einst's Haki
draining away, Aledy orders the Arc-On to heed his voice and return to where
it rightfully belongs.  The power coursing the through the depths dissipates
into the sky...  Wait, the sky?  Is something drawing it there, Alfimi
wonders.  Aledy tells the Arc-On that he must look very immature to it.  But
he is determined that, through many trials, he will become a Shura worthy
of commanding it.  For now, he needs its help, help to prevail in this struggle
spreading across the world.  At long frigging last, it agrees.

Neige congratulates her young protector, who's already busy angsting over
how he didn't achieve the feat on his own.  Azel says it best: Aledy needs to
realize that there are limits to what any one person can do.  An important
lesson indeed.  Aledy's mission will end when he returns the Arc-On to the
Dragonlord Tower, but he realizes he's got other things to do as well.  For
now, the party needs to leave this place, with maybe a bit of treasure hunting
so long as it's along the way out.

Alfimi seems a bit pensive, and Axel asks if it's over the death of her
comrade.  She smiles brightly at that, saying her comrades are everyone in the
party.  What has her worried is how the Varlshein's spirit seems to have been
sucked up by something.  She has the feeling that the party had better vacate
quickly if they can.

Koma scouts ahead for any treasure that might be lying around, but the pickings
are slim.  All she found was a bunch of meat-esque stuff that some adventurous
chef might want to try cooking into steak.  She's determined to sell
_something_, and given how dangerous the path out of here is, Axel figures it
might be worth perusing her wares.  Just, no steak.  Shopping completed, the
party trudges ahead only to discover a nasty side effect of defeating the
boss Einst: the whole damn structure(?) around them is rapidly decaying.
There's about 9 minutes left before everyone is buried alive, so NO MORE
DETOURS.

After a terrifying chase, the party hops onto the final teleporter and ends
up... near Abrietta Castle.  Maybe the shock of the collapsing structure
threw the destination off?  Just as well really: the party was close to being
dumped in the middle of the ocean, and few besides Ann could have survived
that.  Now's as good a time as any to brief (and debrief) Ruboll on what's been
going on...

Elsewhere, Rock passes Joam's report on to Gagun.  Aledy and the gang took down
the spirit (and the whole damn island it dwelled on), but Rock slurped down the
spirit once defeated.  That did the Veldtbaum a world of good, and Hild wants
to know what's next.  Gagun wants to wait a bit and see what happens,
predicting a huge fracas brewing between the Shura factions.  The other set are
quite dangerous, as Rig found out to his cost.  He's physically fine, but one
of the Byakuyas has been stolen by the Shura's bull servants.  Rig didn't
expect their ambush, and he _definitely_ didn't expect them to know the control
codes for the Byakuyas.  Rock's fault for not disabling all access while the
one Byakuya was undergoing maintenance.  Rock offers to take the remaining
Byakuya and steal the lost one back, but Gagun says his people only need one.
And when the Shura kill each other off, his people will get to siphon off some
of the highest-grade souls around.  ...And what if none of the Shura actually
die?  Rig's fought the Shura many times, and says that he's only run into Shura
who would die rather than simply losing.  Rig just hopes he can settle the
score with Aledy with his own hands...

Ruboll is in extremely high dudgeon upon hearing what's been going on, yelling
into Azel's face that no king should be tramping all over creation gathering
information.  That's what the goddamn SERVANTS are for!  Catsy knows why
Ruboll is so mad: he probably wants to get in on the throwdown too.  That said,
he still has a sense of responsibility, growling that the evil Shura have
invaded his lands all the way to Treidel Stadt.  Ruboll has to hand it to
Gelda: she can expand her territories just by freezing the nearby countryside.

Ruboll is grimly amused to see the normally unflappable John Moses panicked and
assembling as many bounty hunters as he can to protect what's left of his
lands.  Seems that Mark Hunter was telling the truth, though there's no
guessing which side he'll be on next.  T-elos asks if John is the next target,
but Haken corrects her: it's the Shura the team are after, and maybe the stolen
Magic Mirror in the process.  Ruboll's finished repairs to the broken bridge,
and gruffly tells the team to use it on their travels.  Kyon asks if Aledy
should go and report the Arc-On's recovery to Cindy, but he's still got a lot
of unfinished Shura business to transact -- and Neige to guard.  Neige still
gets embarrassed when he puts it that way, though less so than she used to.
As the party prepares to move out, Catsy recommends everyone swing by his
store for some new provisions -- very sound advice.

Meanwhile, Hamelen has been trying to decipher the secrets of the Magic Mirror.
He's got high hopes for using it to further strengthen the army, almost as
high as his hopes for the Arc-On -- assuming Aledy's acquired the thing.  As
for the captured robot (the Byakuya), it has something to do with the two
beast-men from afar.  It will take a bit more time to get the thing up and
running, and Gelda is impatient to settle the score with the Shura's old
rivals the Agrad Heim.  She knows quite well that she's outmanned, and believes
Hamelen when he claims his Mirror experiments will achieve the results she
wants.

Before saying hi to Haken's dad, the party goes to survey Gelda's winter
wonderland.  Some of the party members find themselves a little... under-
dressed for the occasion.  That the womenfolk are freezing their scantily-clad
asses off isn't very enlightening, but Haken at least can testify that it
wasn't nearly this cold the last time he was here.  This cold is obviously
artificial, and likely to reach Treidel Stadt soon at the current rate.  Aledy
feels Haki on the wind, surely the work of Gelda.  Strong though she is, Gelda
couldn't generate this much cold by herself -- she's got help from some of the
cold-using Shura-Ki.  Xiaomu is rather peeved that Gelda isn't frozen herself,
given her ludicrous outfit.

It's abundantly clear to Haken that no army of bounty hunters is going to avail
against this, so off the party go to chat with John.  John, like Ruboll, is
rather jealous of Azel for getting to leave his country and gallivant around
the countryside.  Haken fills his dad in on all the adventuring the party's
been mixed up in, including Aledy's success in recovering his Shura-Ki.  Aledy
says that his mission won't truly be over until Gelda is dealt with, but that
seems difficult when the ice keeps all interlopers away.

John knows of a way to get in, using the city-below-the-city hidden beneath
the party's feet: Treidel Borden.  Even Haken hasn't heard of that, which is no
wonder given that it's only just been discovered.  It seems to be some kind
of facility, and John speculates it was "docked" to the surface city when the
various Realms were fused.  Its Southernmost exit leads to the ice fields, and
to explain further, John ushers in Marion.

She's been a busy mad scientist, hard at work on the Celeste's teleporter.  It
_works_ after a fashion, but isn't yet controllable enough to simply send
everyone back home.  In fact, a little "issue" came up during testing: a boy
from another world got sucked into this one.  The kid's name is Fighter Roar,
a.k.a. Kouta Azuma, and Marion brought him here as soon as the bridge was
fixed.  Axel and Alfimi have the feeling they've heard of him before, but
everyone else draws a complete blank.  The kid is already underground,
insisting on repaying John for his hospitality by fending off the Shura, and is
apparently handier in combat than his tender years might suggest.

Fighter Roar's armor is similar to that worn by Mark Hunter, who's gone along
with him for guard duty.  Marion describes it as a very pleasant environment,
with working electricity and the whole shebang.  ...The whole shebang including
overzealous guard mecha, bandits, and invading Shura.  Pleasant indeed.
Marion hasn't been able to get all the way to the South entrance, and John had
been planning to go himself, in the interest of not putting any of his family
at risk.

Just then, Cleo shows up with a special delivery: a cake with a girl's name on
it.  Does this mean he's the mackness, or the wackness?  Sighing, John tells
Cleo her timing fails and explains himself.  Since he can't leave the city,
he has to seek adventure within its walls... and adventure means having
weapons (in this case chocolate).  You could call it "pioneering spirit", or
you could call it philandering.  Anyway, the common denominator is sweets,
which Cleo can sell by the truckload from her branch bakery here in town.  She
merrily tells the team to load up on some provisions for their snowy trek.
Super-great timing as far as everyone _except_ Koma is concerned: once more,
her traveling-salesmanship has been shown up!

As the party makes ready to leave, John tells Haken not to worry about him
(umm, yeah) and asks him to have Fighter Roar resurface and report.  Marion
fills Aledy in on what Fighter Roar looks like, and says she'll head back to
the Celeste to run some more tests on that teleporter.  Haken and friends
have their work cut out for them, hunting up treasure, searching for Fighter
Roar, and maybe even reaching that Southern entrance some time this year...


Chapter 14: Fighter and Hunter

A little ways into the journey, the team encounters something extremely
shocking: exact mirror images of Dorothy, Cleo and Ann.  Neige explains this
as the Magic Mirror's doing: it has the ability to instantiate strongly-held
images from a viewer's heart.  This takes considerable power, which a full-
fledged Shura would have in spades.  Aledy is the first to recognize what the
three mirror images have in common, followed by Catsy: all are prior victims
of Hamelen's bewitching music.  Neige says that the team need merely defeat
them in combat, and the Mirror's power will dissipate.  Will the fake Slim
Shady please sit down?

The mirror images (sized "small", "medium" and "large") turn out to be glass
shards, proof positive that the Shura have used the Magic Mirror.  It's
high time to get to that Southern exit, or thereabouts.  En route, the team
runs into a certain armor-clad boy staring at some vending machines.  So many
snacks to choose from, eh?  The grand quandary: go hungry, or insert that $20
and get a pocketful of Susan B.'s?

Azuma (a.k.a. Roar) says hi, amazed to see Axel and vastly more amazed yet to
see Alfimi.  He remembers well what he and Axel went through to save Alfimi,
but Axel and Alfimi have no idea what he's talking about.  Both of them are far
more easy-going(?) than Azuma remembers, and he swears on his upbringing in
Asakusa that he's not lying about it.  Wait, as in Asakusa, Japan?  Suddenly it
appears that Reiji and his contemporaries are somehow related to the world Axel
and friends are from.  What's more, Azuma momentarily mistakes Aschen for
someone named "Lamia".

Azuma is now thoroughly flummoxed, and it's time for some serious explanation.
The upshot seems to be that Azuma is from a parallel version of the Material
World (or possibly a different time, though Reiji doubts it).  Reiji's already
had to deal with generals from a parallel Warring States-era Japan, complete
with mystical powers not in any history book, so he should know.  Axel tells
Azuma to come along with the party, since it appears the two of them are bound
for the same eventual destination.

That suits Azuma fine, and he recounts that the Shura have appeared in his
world as well as this one: a rough bunch, but with some good folks among them.
He reckons that Aledy is from a different Shura bunch than the ones he knows
though.  Aledy looks forward to training together with him, though Azuma has
had quite enough training for a while already.  He says that Mark Hunter has
headed South to close the emergency shutters, supposedly to keep the bad guys
out.  Azuma got a card key that will presumably open the door.

As the party get going, Azuma frets that he isn't able to hear Roar's voice
ever since coming to this world.  Seeing how Axel and Alfimi seem like
different people due to their amnesia, did Roar do something to protect him at
the moment of teleporting here?  He must have, and must be protecting Azuma
still given that he's still got the Roar Armor on.

Soon enough, the posse runs into Mark Hunter, who's been busily sneaking around
on secret business he didn't want Azuma to see.  Aschen tells him that Daddy
John is mighty pissed and wants a status report pronto.  Speaking of status,
Mark has learned that the enemy Shura are using "Ice Rasetsu-Ki"s, as Aledy
had feared.  They're also using this Mirror thingie to increase their warpower.
Tell the team something they don't know!  How about Gelda wanting to take out
some schmendrick named Aledy Na'ash, using a bunch of replica Katanas?

Mark comments that these little ones don't even require much power to mass-
produce, drawing a sigh from Saya.  The Katanas _were_ designed for that to
begin with after all...  Mark has been hired by the Shura, and his pride won't
allow anything less than a thorough shellacking of Aledy and friends.  The
feeling is, of course, mutual.

Mark has the oddest way of "admitting" defeat.  Most people would think of
what he's done as treachery deserving death (that would likely include Haken),
but he sees himself as doing no more than fulfilling his contract.  And since
that contract is now over, he sees no further point in dilly-dallying here.
He agrees to report in to John, and tells the party that the south exit is
right behind him.  The rest is up to them...

The outside world is cold as hell, and the womenfolk aren't faring so well.
Aledy tries to tell them how to cool their Haki and allow it to pass freely
across the boundary between self and air -- which isn't very helpful to the
newcomers in the party.  The most helpful thing is probably just to keep going
and stop bitching: there's a disturbance in the Haki to the Southeast, where
a port should sit.

A very suspicious mech is hunkered down near the port, similar in form to the
Arc-On and definitely not one of the Ice Rasetsu-Ki.  All the same, Aledy can
sense Gelda's all-freezing Haki emanating from it.  Given how chilly it is,
how about a little exercise, and kick the thing's ass: that should let Ann's
ship enter the port at least.  The sooner the better, as far as the ladies are
concerned.  Defeating the mech will slow down the spread of the ice, but
until Gelda herself is defeated, it won't start melting.

The first officer is very glad to see his captain back -- Ann was worried
about becoming tuna on ice.  Unfortunately, there's little time to relax:
the Iceberg Prison is to the south, in northern Hakoku.  Probably best to make
a thorough tour of all the various shops before heading there: the going isn't
going to get any less tough.

Word of Aledy's imminent arrival has reached Gelda's stronghold, and Hamelen
is understandably worried.  But what does he know; Gelda claims to have
everything in hand.  Once they have their hands on Aledy's power and the
Arc-On, they'll be ready to face the Agrad Heim.  Hamelen doesn't look
convinced, but is willing to follow wherever this struggle leads.

It hardly seems possible, but it's colder YET when the party surfaces,
threatening to freeze Kaguya and her formidable assets solid on the spot.
The landscape is barren, dusted by phantasmagoric snows and seemingly inhabited
only by penguins.  The only features of note are the familiar circular craters,
aftereffects of the Agrad Heim offensive that rent the multiverse asunder.
Whatever master plan Gelda had before that war surely got suspended, and Aledy
finds himself fretting over the fate of _all_ Shura in this world: their
struggle against each other may not be the highest priority after all...

Unfortunately, the longer he frets, the more the cold starts getting to the
women.  Suzuka is starting to like how certain parts of her body are
stiffening [@_@!], while Kaguya suspects she's about to meet her departed
mother.  Clearly it's time to get a move on, and Iceberg Prison is only a
short distance away to the South... as the crow flies.  Since there are no
crows in the party (Henne notwithstanding), they'll have to go the long way
around.  And when Aledy arrives, he'll show Gelda and Hamelen his answer to
the challenge they pose.


Chapter 15: Feat of the Shura

The Iceberg Prison is, shock and awe, made of ice... and not much warmer than
the blizzard outside.  Kaguya really needs to stop whining and get acclimated
to the cold one of these days.  There's a bigger problem though: this is an
enemy stronghold, and one without any guards in evidence.  The implication is
clear: the party has been invited here for a reason.  Azel asks if Aledy's
ever been here before, and Aledy says that he's only been here once, well
before Neige and the other fae were teleported to Hakoku.  Indeed, if not for
that teleportation, he might not have had a second chance to come here.

Somehow, he doesn't feel the sort of enervation he expected when standing
here again, even given his years of practice for battle.  Neige isn't
surprised, given the massive brigade at his back.  Xiaomu grins: bright, fun
and VIVID is just how this bunch do things.  Reiji sniffs at this, and Haken
points out something Aledy already knows: it's not time to let down his guard
yet.  There's a prison to storm, and with the elevator likely out of
commission, the party will have to take the stairs.

The "prison" turns out to be more of a barracks, though it is used to imprison
enemies and dangerous beasts if needed.  Every one of them are subject to
Hamelen's mind control, adding to the Shura's warpower.  Almost too slick, and
Henne snorts that Hamelen would have come in handy for the Orchestral Army.
Aledy adds that there are other dangers roaming the halls, including low-level
Shura-Ki that have gone out of control.  This is as far as he got the last
time, when the might of the denizens forced his unpolished ass to withdraw.

Now, just imagine the barracks filled to the brim using that Magic Mirror: the
Shura sure know how to pick things to steal.  Aledy believes there's a way
forward hidden in one of the cells, and Azuma is already dreading the fell
beasties contained therein.  Ooh, beasties -- Saya likes the sound of that.
Maybe there's a student and teacher locked in one of them, unable to escape
and forced to put their time together to good use?  Isn't it a moral obligation
to go take a peek?  Alfimi sure thinks so.

There's a small bump in the road though, or rather two large ones.  Saya isn't
impressed at the sight of her lackeys at the beck and call of the Shura,
especially since everyone keeps mistaking them for part of the Shura's beast
army.  Even more interesting is the hulk behind them: the Shura's Byakuya!
What's it doing here?  Well, the workings of the mighty Shura are far beyond
what words can explain, but the bull-men are stupid enough to try anyway.

It all started when the Shura ran into one of the Byakuyas near this big-ass
tree.  Dokugozu withholds further details until he can get Kaguya all alone
[err...]  Dokumezu is slightly more coherent: can't let the team return alive
now that they know the info etc. etc.  Ho-hum.  Saya acknowledges that the
Byakuya will need to be demolished, but nicely requests that "Gozzy" and
"Mezzy" get captured alive -- they are her servants, after a fashion.  Probably
easier to just nuke the whole crew from orbit, but oh well.

A bit of rumpus later and it's two Byakuyas down, one to go.  The two bullmen
also finally regain their senses, vaguely recalling how they were ordered to
override the Byakuya they faced when battling the Agrad Heim near the
Fujizakura.  Recall that the Agrad Heim (Hera in particular) made an attempt on
the giant tree at least once before: they seem to have something big in mind,
and that something must be stopped.  And before the Agrad Heim can be dealt
with, the enemy Shura must go down.  Saya tells her lackeys to go and secure a
safe path home, so that she can escape once the last Byakuya is dealt with.
They've already got something in mind, and Saya purrs that she might consider,
as a reward, punishing them herself instead of having Reiji do it.

That's either really great, or really terrifying.  The bulls tell Saya she can
proceed by breaking the wall behind them: it's the way they carried the stolen
Mirror when they brought it here.  They take off, and Saya more or less tells
Reiji the truth about the conversation (leaving out the escape route part).
Aledy thinks their story is genuine, at least insofar as he can sense some
faint Haki seeping through the wall.

Through the secret entrance is an ice bath, frosty enough that even Ann
couldn't swim in it.  Haken's sure that there's a way to drain it somewhere.
Of course there is.  After a bit of plumbing, the team forges ahead and finds
the Magic Mirror, suspiciously unguarded but surrounded by machinery that
resembles the technology of the Schlaffen Celeste.  It's apparently been
deployed in a bid to control the Mirror, but all it's done is to destabilize
the artifact.  Azel walks over to investigate, prepared for whatever the
machinery might do to him (worse come to worse, he can self-destruct, much
to Neige's horror).

The Mirror immediately copies three of the people nearest and dearest to
Azel's heart: Catsy, Kyon and Henne.  They're glad their king cares so much
about them, but the reflections still need destroying.  Catsy is impressed by
how dangerous his doppelganger is, but there's little time to pause for...
err... reflection.  Since the mirror is too big for almost anyone to move,
Neige's only real option is to seal its power away for now.  It could
conceivably come in handy to figure out what the bad guys are up to, but on
balance it's better to avoid any more reflections to fight.

As she finishes sealing it, Aledy frowns and observes that the Mirror's
guards are too few -- he expected at least someone comparable to Hamelen
to show up to protect it.  This can only mean that the Mirror's role in Gelda's
plans is over.  Guess the party will just have to track down Gelda and ask
her in person.

At last, the party reach Gelda's sanctum, where Gelda and Hamelen have been
waiting.  Seeing that Aledy's got the Arc-On with him, she smirks that all the
pieces are now in place.  In place for what, you ask?  She tells Hamelen to
call out the Arc-Ontes.  This jet-black Shura-Ki resembles the mecha the team
have been facing all this time, but from it emanates a Haki similar to the
Arc-On itself.  Gelda's been busily researching Shura-Ki tech all this time,
and the only thing preventing the work from proceeding faster yet is getting
the Arc-On to use as a sample.

The plan now is to use the Arc-On as a sparring partner for the Arc-Ontes:
a "trial" for it to pass, as it were.  _That_ is why Gelda arranged for the
party to come all the way here.  What's worse, the Magic Mirror can be used
to mass-produce the Arc-Ontes once it's fully trained, and Neige's seal won't
matter much if Hamelen controls her and makes her release it.  With all the
new firepower, Gelda's army will finally be able to face down the Agrad Heim.

This strikes T-elos as hilarious.  Did Gelda stop to consider the fact that
bringing her greatest antagonists into her lap could be _dangerous_?  Like,
REALLY DANGEROUS?  Gelda growls that she'll take that risk: she _will_ live
through this conflict with the Agrad Heim.  Hamelen adds that, unlike Aledy's
little jaunt around the countryside, his Shura have actually been busy with
serious business.

Axel points out that the Agrad Heim are obviously up to something in this
world -- something that will surely affect the Shura too.  Wouldn't it make
more sense for everyone to cooperate and take down the Agrad Heim together?
Or at least, not throw down here and now?  Hamelen scoffs when he hears Aledy
advocate that: the Shura way is to take what you want with your own hands.
That's why he busted his ass so hard to learn his bewitching music, and Aledy's
suggestion is an insult to all that hard work.

Fine then, says Aledy, no more words.  Gelda vows to end the vendetta with him
here, and next with Cindy Bard.  With a cold light in his eyes, Aledy informs
Gelda that she'll never make it to his mistress.... not as long as he's here!

The Arc-Ontes reduced to so much scrap metal, Gelda is forced to admit defeat.
She tells him to kill her: to the victor, everything; to the loser, death!
She apologizes to Hamelen and tells him to carry out his mission, but he
says he wants to die by her side.  He then tells Aledy it's his right to
strike the final blow, and says not to disgrace them in their final moments.

Aledy stays his hand, enraging the wounded Shura.  But he's got an explanation:</pre><pre id="faqspan-6">
until he met Neige, he lived solely for his own sake, by his own power.  He
expected to die the day that power failed him, believing that that was what it
meant to be a Shura.  However, that's an irresponsible way to live: how could
one hope to achieve perfection without assuming responsibility for his life,
his very soul?

Man has evolved through conflict, approaching godhood through the strength
of their fists and the techniques behind them.  But how far can such things
last?  It will take more than physical strength -- spiritual strength beyond
one's own trials is required.  And now is the time for the Shura, wanderers
one and all, to grasp this basic truth.  This fact is what Aledy's travels have
made crystal clear.

Gelda screams at him, asking if he wants them all to abandon the path they've
followed their entire lives.  Not abandon, but redirect: this is the Endless
Frontier, where all people and all ways of life are possible.  What Aledy
proposes is a new type of conflict, one against the Shura's entire history.
Hamelen tells him that only one person could do that: one with the makings of
the "King".  Could Aledy be the one...?

Hamelen considers a moment, then suggests to Gelda that they withdraw.  That's
the last thing Gelda wants to do, but Hamelen counsels her to accept her
loser's shame, heal her wounds, and wait for another chance.  He at least is
willing to avail himself of Aledy's generosity: Aledy's right that abdicating
responsibility is akin to fleeing an enemy.  And a Shura must never flee...
though Aledy might not quite be a Shura anymore.  He stops himself from
uttering whatever he has in mind next, bidding Wrought Iron Aledy farewell.

Biting her lip, Gelda vanishes, and Hamelen behind.  Aledy is content not to
dispose of them once and for all: he figures he can stop them again if they
renew their offensive.  For now, his conflict with them appears over, and it's
largely thanks to his comrades.  Though it would shame any Shura to rely on
the strength of others, he finds himself believing that it's for the best.
Perhaps, as Hamelen said, that makes him a Shura no longer.  Axel says that
perhaps he just found where he belongs, something he vaguely understands is an
all-too-uncommon occurrence.  Azuma's Shura friend was also worried about how
he should live, and he tells Aledy to do what he thinks is right.

Even Neige was forced to admit that what Aledy did was pretty cool, though he's
still pretty clueless to the compliment.  For now, the team decide to search
for that elevator and get out of the Prison.  When they emerge, they discover
that the ice has begun to melt, and the breeze become decidedly warmer.  The
ice advancing on Treidel Stadt will be toast at this rate.  Time to go fight
the next fire: the Agrad Heim's designs on the Fujizakura.  The party need to
gather more information on what the Agrad Heim are really up to, and along the
way Aledy wants to report in to Cindy.

Elsewhere, Rig is just preparing to head out on an errand for Rock Eye.  The
Gand siblings have their orders too, and Vanar bids farewell to Gagun before
heading out.  Gagun tells him to take care so that farewell doesn't become
permanent.

Aledy is somber when he faces his mistress.  He presents her the Arc-On, which
has accepted him as its master.  He then tells her that he was only able to
pull it off with help from Neige and the others; had it been up to him alone,
his will would have only gotten him halfway to his objective before he
perished.  Geez does this kid know how to fret or what?  He then continues
that Gelda and Hamelen have been defeated, drawing a gasp from Cindy.  She
expected to have to confront Gelda herself, and smiles at the thought that
her student "cut in line".  Aledy tells her he has something to say regarding
that, and Cindy realizes immediately that Aledy didn't actually kill them.
She asks him as much, and his silence is all the answer she needs.

Aledy had phrased it as "defeated", and that means that whatever score needed
settling has been settled.  Aledy replies that the Shura way has been to seek
the steely power to take lives, victors standing alone atop mountains of the
defeated.  Where does it all lead?  What could possibly remain at the end of
this endless cycle, but one's own death?

That was the thought in Aledy's mind as he suffered his enemies to live, and
embarked on the next struggle.  That's how he's learned to find meaning in his
actions, via all he's experienced on his travels.  Cindy tells him that, "as a
Shura", he's become weak, and lenient.  But compared to every "Shura", he's
become a very strong "man".  And she's extremely proud to have had such a man,
able to find his own path in a foreign land, as her student.  She tells him
to embrace all of himself from now on, not as a "only strong" Shura, but as a
man with both strengths and weaknesses.  He's still young, and he will find
in due course that time is on his side.

Man, _finally_ Aledy can take a deep breath.  But only one: the struggle
against the Agrad Heim still looms.  Cindy tells him to be careful: since
shortly before his arrival, Cindy's sensed something very strange.  She's not
felt this note in the air since the time Hakoku was torn apart.  Aledy too has
felt it, although KOS-MOS can sense nothing abnormal with her sensors.  Reiji
staggers just then, clutching his head in pain.  It's a similar sensation to
that produced by a Quake (that being a dimensional rift), and Cindy prays that
the Star of Perdition not shine upon Aledy's new struggle.

Outside, Haken phones up his first officer.  Comms are now crystal clear,
probably due to defeating the Einsts and weakening the influence of the black
Miltkeil.  Lee's taken the Tseit Crocodile to Treidel Stadt in the hopes of
contacting John.  It seems a number of perfectly round holes are starting to
appear all over the place.  It's as though Treidel Stadt is being eaten one
bite at a time, and according to John the craters aren't any sort of explosion.
It's as though the contents simply... vanish.  Haken tells his dad he'll go
investigate his hunch about what's causing them, and prays that one of these
craters doesn't occur in the middle of a populated city.  Haken also has Lee
head back to the Crocodile to await orders.

The implication is clear, Agrad Heim is attacking Lost Helencia, as they did
to Formido Heim and so many other parts of the world.  Their ultra-doomsday
weaponry is going to kick everyone's ass at this rate, apparently powered by
that damn Veldtbaum Tree.  The Agrad Heim seem to have been quietly building
their strength, and the last clue to how was Joam lurking around the Einsts.
Come to think of it, Megi Castle is connected to Vilkuakint, and Suzuka busts
out her Psychic Friends Network powers to contact Shuten.

The news ain't good: something's taking chunks out of the area, emitting a
spiritual power similar to the Fujizakura's.  With every chunk missing, there's
the sensation of air rushing in to fill the void, confirming that entire
zones are being teleported away.  Suzuka tells Shuten that she's heading to
the Fujizakura, and orders him to guard the castle while she's gone.  Yeah,
but how's he supposed to prevent these hole things?  Suzuka stammers a bit,
then impatiently tells him to think of something for himself for a change.
Poor guy.

There is only one known way to stop the holes: demolish the place that's
generating them!  And to pick up the trail, the party should head straight to
the Fujizakura, the last known Agrad Heim sighting and the place where the
Byakuyas were last used.  By the time the team arrive, the Fujizakura is
surrounded by circular craters and surmounted by an all-too familiar rainbow
pillar.  Time to rush to Taketori Castle and see what's going on!


Chapter 16: The Sal Tree that Pierced the World

Kaguya's dad is doing pretty well, well enough to trade puns with his daughter.
What's going on in his kingdom is no laughing matter however: the Fujizakura's
spiritual powers are out of control.  Though he's sealed the Emissary's
Chamber in a bid to keep the power from escaping, the Ura Genbu report that the
previous batch of enemies have snuck back inside, and in large numbers.
Apparently the last fracas with Hera's forces was just the early phase of the
Agrad Heim plan -- and that plan now seems near fruition.  Even for a fellow
king, Sanuki can't just dismantle the symbol lest a tidal wave of power be
unleashed; Kaguya fortunately knows a secret way in.

Koma "valiantly" offers to get all sorts of weaponry and armor ready for this
bid to defend her homeland (or at least make a killing from marking it all up).
When the party is ready, the secret entrance is on the left of the main portal
to the Emissary's Chamber.  Otone's already inside, and Sanuki tells the party
to be careful.  [Word of advice: go to Koma's place at the Dragon Pavilion
before visiting her competition at Ooban-Koban.]

The secret passage is hidden in what looks like a dead end (with a suspicious
blue magatama, of course).  The passage yields to the princess of the Nanbu
Clan, to the delight of the party.  Time to find out what the Agrad Heim want
with the Fujizakura.

A good place to start would be the Gand siblings, together at last.  Just what
the hell is up with all the craters, and what about all the poor people whose
lives are being ruined?  Oh, don't worry, purrs Hera: there's going to be a
lot more to worry about soon.  Vanar won't say what this means, but KOS-MOS
can take an educated guess: the bad guys have probably planted another
Veldtbaum seed somewhere in the Fujizakura.  Not quite: they want the
immense Fujizakura to become a second Veldtbaum, and they've got everything
ready to make it happen.  ...Everything, that is, except actually stopping
the party from interfering.  Before the Gand siblings get their asses
rearranged, Alfimi has a question: just what did they do with the residual
Einst spirit they siphoned away from Vilkuakint?

Hera isn't saying, least of all to someone dressed like Alfimi.  Why not,
given her own attire, is a mystery, but it's pretty clear where the bad guys'
operation must be set up: the Emissary's Chamber at the heart of the tree.
Neither side has much more to say to each other, and since the Agrad Heim
insisted on starting this fight, Aledy insists on finishing it.

Vanar does have one word of advice for his siblings: there's no meaning to
who wins or loses this fight.  But winning would still be preferable, right?
Of course: all of them want to see what's to come.  Umm, what's the phrase
here...?

..F-A-T  C-H-A-N-C-E!  Consider Vanar's goose cooked, and by that snot-nosed
kid (and friends) from back when.  The three siblings are about to have their
souls collected by one of the Trees, and they seem remarkably calm about the
prospect now that their role is over.  Vanar comments that this will make "it"
mature even faster, and tells Aledy he'll be waiting "ahead", whatever that
means.  Well, it's pretty clear what it means: that damn Veldtbaum Tree is at
it again, just like when the final Einst was defeated.  That they were willing
to sacrifice their very souls for the cause shows how desperate the Agrad Heim
are, and Reiji is getting very unpleasant sensations from whatever is going on
at the center of the Fujizakura.  If they don't want a very large- scale Quake
on their hands, the party had better hurry...

Waiting in the Emissary's Chamber is Rig, who by now has figured out the fate
of his comrades the Gand siblings.  He figures their souls will be good
fertilizer for the Veldtbaum he's trying to grow in the nursery that is the
Fujizakura.  Kaguya sure as hell isn't going to let that happen.  Aledy has
figured out that this place is connected to the Agrad Heim's own realm, the
passage to which the one remaining Byakuya has been brought to stabilize.
Should he perish here, his soul will simply be transported to the original
Veldtbaum Tree, situated at the center of Shtelven Schloss.

Just why did the Agrad Heim turn the Fujizakura into a giant soul collector,
and why were they so foolhardy as to let their greatest threat waltz into the
place?  Because, explains Rig, they weren't able to harvest the souls of the
most powerful Shura.  Either Gelda's faction, or Aledy, were supposed to
perish at the climax of their conflict.  No one on the Agrad Heim side expected
_both_ camps to walk out alive.  Rig won't say just what would have happened
had his people actually gotten one side's souls, but it can't be anything
good.  More validation that Aledy chose the right course of action!

Time to settle the score that began way back in Hakoku's past.  Aledy does it
with style, his former hesitation replaced with formidable strength.  As a sort
of reward, Rig explains (before his soul is sucked away) that the Agrad Heim's
entire plan was to collect as many powerful, vengeful souls as possible.  This
explains why they were messing with the remains of the Einsts, and why they
were so content to let Aledy's party roam around "liberating souls" for them
to vacuum up.  Even the Arc-On played into the Agrad Heim's hands, by heading
for the mighty power the leader of the Einsts possessed (and thereby leading
Aledy's bunch to have a showdown with it).  As for why the Agrad Heim were
so interested in Crossgates and the Celeste... well, they have another world
to go to, and anything to ease the journey helps.

Rig dies before any further explanation, and the sooner Kaguya cleans up the
mess he's made out of her tree, the better.  Unfortunately, it won't be as easy
as it was in Espina Castle: the Seed planted here is of an entirely different
magnitude.  Aledy then has a brilliant insight: if Kaguya can't close the
portal to the Agrad Heim realm, can she _open_ it instead, allowing the party
to infiltrate the enemy home base?  You know what they say about the best
defense, right?

The result is a dazzling rainbow bridge that can be easily crossed with
Kaguya around to keep it stable... and not crossed at all from the enemy's
side without a high risk of teleporting to God-knows-what random world.  It
is time to rest and replenish before storming the bastion, and Kaguya gets
her dad to pay for everyone to stay at the onsen hotel Shirasagi... even
getting their own rooms!  This is thanks in large part to Shirou, who owns
both the Shirasagi and the Ooban-Koban.  Koma isn't pleased to hear that he's
richer than she thought, and their quarrel never seems destined to end.

As the party disperses to their own rooms, Catsy invites Axel on an old-
fashioned peeping mission.  Axel is rather torn over this, until he hears that
Catsy wants to peep on the other _boys_ (e.g. what is Azuma hiding under that
armor, etc. etc.)  Yikes.  Even the androids are planning to freshen up their
appearance with washing, though T-elos sternly reminds KOS-MOS and M.O.M.O.
that they're still enemies.  Saya hasn't gone away either, reminding Reiji
that she still has a strong reason to cooperate with the party: Rock Eye and
his ability to summon replacements for the Byakuya.  Xiaomu stammers that
it _would_ be a shame for her to leave in the middle of things, just like
pulling up a web page and then forgetting to close it.  What kind of
web page would that be?, says you.  What be the Internet for, says I.  Azuma
alone won't get the full benefit of the onsen, since he can't take off the
Roar armor at the moment.

Another person who really isn't resting easy is Aledy, who finds himself
talking to the Arc-On about how large the conflict with the Agrad Heim has
gotten.  He doesn't want to see the whole world end up like Hakoku did, and the
only way he knows to prevent that is taking down the Agrad Heim leader, Gagun.
He actually intends to leave and settle things himself, but Neige wakes up
early enough to intercept him.  She reminds him what Hamelen said, that he
isn't one to do things on his own, and also that he promised to keep her safe
until the very end.  Besides, if he left, she'd be all alone.  He smiles and
observes that he seemingly needs to train more, and the two return to the
onsen for a little breakfast.  And after that, the grand finale!

And what a finale it will be, with a good half-dozen robots shoring up a
veritable brigade of heroes.  Speaking of robots, where'd that Pete Pain dude
go?  Haken radios in to Lee to have him check, and to explain that the party
is about to head to the enemy stronghold.  Marion warns Haken that the Tseit's
engines haven't been fully repaired since the last battle: he's on his own if
anything goes pear-shaped.  And should the team need to return to town, Otone
tells Kaguya to tell her: the Ura Genbu can accompany her at least as far
as the entrance to the tree.

The journey to Agrad Heim takes no time at all.  Hacking through the bad guys
en route to the enemy leadership takes longer.  At length though, Shtelven
Schloss comes into view, emanating a massive power from its heart that Alfimi
can plainly sense.  This is what the real Veldtbaum Tree looks like, and what
the Agrad Heim were trying to grow in Espina and in the Fujizakura.  The air
is thick with the spirits of the departed, still bearing their sentiments from
the moment of death.  This explains a lot to T-elos about why the Gnosis were
able to manifest in this realm.

Aledy is deadly serious when he tells the party that all they can do is walk
forward: the final battle is about to begin.  Haken corrects him though: he
isn't planning on a final _anything_; rather, this is about to be a new
beginning for Endless Frontier.  And that beginning begins with demolishing
Gagun and friends.


Chapter 17: The Distant Battle Begins

The front door to the central structure is wide open, almost certainly a trap
of some kind.  Given the Veldtbaum's penchant for eating souls, it seems that
the party have already been penciled in at the top of the menu.  In fact,
there's a real danger that just getting physically close to the tree will
result in everyone's soul being drained away.  Then again, loitering outside
isn't likely to do much good either.  The best course of action is just
entering the darn thing.  But first, a word from Aschen.  She draws up short,
only to claim it was nothing.  She's lying in this case -- she sensed a
teleport signature.

The open gates lead to... an apparently blank wall.  The trap the party feared
has seemingly been replaced with a conundrum: how to get at all that spirit
power Kaguya feels emanating from within.  The obvious(?) answer is that
there's some other way to get in, but before the party can start searching a
familiar voice comes from behind.  It's Pete Pain, who's been able to follow
the party around thanks to a transmitter he planted on W-10 before leaving it
behind.  It turns out he knows a great deal about the party... and about
Haken's true origin as W-00.

Wait, Haken, a robot?  But, his Haki is human...!  Of course it is -- Haken
hastily explains that he's one of those "test-tube babies", related in a
sense to Aschen and the other W-Numbers.  Axel is floored by this, as yet
another distant memory about the program struggles to surface.  Haken isn't
especially interested in the family reunion aspect though, and asks Pete
what he intends to do now.

What Pete intends to do is summon up some replica Gespensts, which he made
with data from the Neverland's database.  All kinds of interesting info was
in there, including about Formido Heim's previous king.  Haken sighs ruefully
and says the party shouldn't be impressed: after all, Pete _was_ able to
repair the Arc-Gain back when.  He figures Pete is out to destroy W-05, and
tries to offer Pete a chance to join the party to see that it happens.

Pete isn't interested in destroying W-05 however; in fact, he's interested in
_preserving_ W-05... at least temporarily.  As the party knows: his goal is
eradicating all information related to the Neverland.  What power in this
world is equal to the task of actually destroying the fragments of the ship
itself, not to mention Haken's troublesome band?  You guessed it: Agrad Heim.
He's learned that W-05 has no means of resisting his Code-PTP.  He even admits
that he may not have enough firepower to stop his brother, but there's no time
left.  Haken for his part isn't about to just roll over and play dead, and
tells W-03 that he will send him back to Neverland [on his shield].

Pete is of course not successful in taking Haken and friends out.  He laments
that the only targets he wasn't able to take out were W-06 and himself.  He
tells Haken to stand aside, rather than self-destructing and trying to take
the whole party out in one retributive strike.  He's been ordered to leave
all execution to W-00 in the event he cannot complete his mission himself.
Haken, naturally, has no intention of destroying his own family, and Pete has
nothing more to say to his newfound -- and confounding -- commander.  One
thing only remains: clearing the path for him.

He prepares to use Code-ATA, defining his entire existence through the
carrying out of orders.  That makes him nothing more than a puppet in Axel's
eyes, and he's fairly sure that whoever made Pete would grieve over his
decision.  Pete tells Axel that if he ever meets Pete's creator, he should
tell that person -- Lemon-sama -- thank you for building him.  Axel's mouth
falls open upon hearing that name, but Pete's self-destruct sequence has
already begun.

The blast punches a sizeable hole through the wall ahead, easily big enough
to have taken down much of the party had he wanted.  This sacrifice is a
heavy one, and even T-elos is moved (though she expresses it by griping about
a soulless android pulling a stunt like this).  Haken quietly tells the party
to get moving, putting the route his distantly-related brother made to good
use.  Axel has a lot on his mind too, a strange note in his voice as he
assures Alfimi and the others that he's okay, and that there's just a little
further to go.

A few secret switches later and the passage ahead is revealed: a warp gate with
a massive amount of power emanating from it.  Haki, spiritual power -- you
name it, the bad guys got it.  The first thing the party notices as they pile
through the gate is a gigantic tree, wreathed in the same type of spiritual
energy as the Fujizakura.  The difference is the quantity of that energy: the
Veldtbaum has become drunk with too many souls, and is about to go berserk.
That would be why it's teleporting chunks out of other worlds, and Xiaomu
snaps at the Agrad Heim to keep their damn garden under control.

A bit difficult with all the souls it's been presented with recently.  Gnosis,
Shura, Einsts, power from the Crossgates... the list goes on and on.  In fact,
the Agrad Heim have almost gathered enough power to achieve their ultimate
goal: leaving this world behind in search of another.  Never mind the fact
that Endless Frontier will likely be ripped apart in the process of liberating
Agrad Heim from it, ending up like Hakoku did.  Worst of all, they plan to
repeat the whole process wherever they end up next, continuing to build up
energy until the Veldtbaum Tree spreads its roots to all worlds.  Their final
piece of business here is harvesting the party's souls, and sending them to
be with the Gand siblings and Rig.  Think that's happening?

The word you're looking for is "HELL NO HE REPLIED".  Hild and Rock flame out,
their souls going to further fuel the tree.  That seems to be the tipping
point for the Veldtbaum... just as Gagun had planned.  Whichever side won,
the teleportation of Agrad Heim was guaranteed to start, or so Gagun claims.
He tells the Veldtbaum to lend him some of its power, so that it may bathe
itself in yet more mighty souls.  The impressive result names itself
"Svisser", made possible thanks to W-05's powerful body.  Gagun's previous
body wasn't able to handle this kind of strain, but W-05's can.

Its energy reservoirs hold enough charge that should it get blown away, the
shockwave would cause the Veldtbaum to go critical.  For that matter, adding
any of the party's souls to it would achieve the same effect.  Aledy however
has a plan, and tells the party to immobilize Svisser.  Svisser tells him it's
too late: the only thing they can do is pray that little bits of their world
might remain somewhere, as was the case with Hakoku.  Aledy tells him there
will be plenty of time for prayer after this battle is over -- right now,
this moment, is what he's trained for all this time.  May his Haki serve to
protect this Endless Frontier, and all its endless possibilities!

The Agrad Heim should have never brought their quarrel with the Shura here in
the first pace, but since they did, it's only fitting a Shura put an end to
it.  Aledy's plan was a brilliant one: use his techniques to _seal_away_
Gagun's access to his Haki.  And since Gagun's body is mechanical, there's
no way he can do the movements necessary to counteract the soul-sealing.
The technique was developed specifically to combat Shura-Ki, and is of no use
against a flesh-and-blood opponent... which is why Aledy hasn't used it until
now.  He inwardly thanks Cindy for bequeathing it to him, and the rest of the
party would likely agree.

Let this be a lesson to you, kiddies out there in the audience: don't borrow
other people's bodies and expect to amount to anything in life.  Axel seems to
have most of his memory back, enough to tell Gagun that the android whose body
he's haunting is worth far more than this.  In any case, the path is now clear
for the party to focus all their spiritual strength on Kaguya.  It's hard for
some of them to keep their personal wishes out of it, but they manage somehow
anyway, even Axel -- who's now seen the nature of what a world of chaos can
truly be.

With Neige's help, Kaguya puts the Veldtbaum Tree to sleep forever, sealing
away Gagun in the process.  And who knew: taking out the support structure of
Agrad Heim causes the place to... you guessed it: collapse.  It's a mad dash
back to the rainbow bridge, only to find that it's gone!  In its place is
the Tseit Crocodile.  It appears to be the only way out, especially since the
air around Agrad Heim is too turbulent for the winged in the party to fly
(not to mention the energy field surrounding the whole thing, which would
likely fry anything touching it).

Of course, the Tseit got in here somehow, so it stands to reason it can get
out again.  Lee explains what happened once the party are aboard.  They got
word from Sanuki that the rainbow bridge was broken, and figured Haken and
friends might have gotten stranded.  They were in the process of following
Pete as per Haken's orders, when they discovered him using the Celeste's
teleporter (which Marion had just finished fixing).  The party couldn't stop
Pete, but they could get the record of where he went... and with that, they
were able to use the Celeste's main cannon to open a wormhole and follow!

Now, the Celeste's main cannon, so helpful in the previous final battle, was
basically rendered inoperative back then.  Even now, it's no good for
crossing dimensions... but with a little maintenance, it works just fine for
traveling through normal space.  Only one problem: the Tseit's engines got
fried in the process.

The best they can do is set its shock absorbers to maximum and hope for the
best, knowing that the ship was never designed for this kind of abuse.  It's
a bad bet, and Axel hates bad bets (unlike a certain other person he knows).
The party do what they can to secure the ship, even enlisting T-elos' reluctant
aid.  There's little Aledy and Neige can do but help those not doing anything
else to get to safe spots in the cabin block and hope for the best.  Aledy
momentarily thinks he should have come alone, but of course even he knows he
would have stood no chance.  Neige figures that if everyone makes it through
this alive, she's going to throw one heck of a thank-you party at her castle.
Aledy's last thoughts are a prayer to the god of the Shura, asking Him if He
exists to move the Star of Perdition far from above the party's heads.

News of the floating island's descent reaches Sanuki, along with the fact
that the Tseit Crocodile hasn't been spotted leaving it.  Sanuki knows his
daughter and friends have won, and asks to be alone in this desperate hour.
He offers a prayer to his departed wife Ui, to keep their daughter at arms'
length a bit longer and protect her in this dark hour.

The crash as Agrad Heim hits ground can be felt throughout Endless Frontier,
including at Treidel Stadt.  John ponders how Haken, Aledy and Neige have
defeated not one, but _two_ towering foes between the Einsts and the Agrad
Heim.  He fully expects Haken to get even stronger, confident that the second
Wandering Bounty Hunter is still alive.  He inwardly tells his son that he has
to strike out for an even wider world before all is done.

..Of course, everyone is just fine.  Neige, good as her word, gets the party
rolling at her castle, a massive buffet at which everyone seems to be having
a good time.  Aledy is a bit embarrassed when she tries to feed him a spoonful
of tasty stuff, but he'd better get used to it at this rate.  Kaguya is
hesitating to chow down on all the meat, fearing what it'll do to her system:
her people subsist mainly on fish (if so, fumes Neige, how'd she get that body
of hers??).  Suzuka meanwhile is wondering if this massive meat-intensive
diet is how Neige got her figure.  Dorothy half-feared an all-apple feast, but
fortunately that didn't come to pass.

And no, Kyon, it isn't possible to convert all that meat directly into
"upper body" mass.  Besides, says Henne, balance is what matters most,
especially since Kyon's belly seems to be bulging instead of elsewhere.
Azel, possibly smiling behind that skull face of his, tells her to try using
the stairs for a while.  M.O.M.O. is loving the food too, wishing she could
take some how to Shion and Junior.  T-elos is impatient to leave, but manages
to summon enough patience to wait for M.O.M.O. to finish.

Elsewhere, Alfimi asks Saya and Reiji about the struggle between Ouma and
Shinra.  Saya sighs that the Shinra bunch get in her way at every turn, and
adds that it's not like her group has a huge headcount.  Reiji pointedly says
that no organization bent on world chaos can be allowed to grow.  That gets
Axel's attention again: world... chaos...?  Saya says slyly she wishes she
could find a good man to help her cause, and Xiaomu smirks at Reiji that she
needs a good man to encourage her too.  Reiji tells her with his characteristic
grimace that it won't be him.  Axel puts on a silly smile and tells them both
to give it their all, earning him scorn from both foxes.  Xiaomu even tells him
to go to hell, but Alfimi says that even in hell, Axel would still be Axel.

In short order, Cleo delivers a load of sweets, which Kaguya isn't sure she
can finish.  What, deadpans Aschen, is she worried that all that beef and
sweets will make her start producing chocolate milk?  Ruboll isn't in the mood
to joke though: he's worried about Agrad Heim, which happened to land in an
ideal spot as far as Neige is concerned.  It's got easy water access, which
let Ann fish the Tseit out from the wreckage (though Haken has no idea if the
thing can even be fixed).

As the meal winds down, the time arrives for the party to disperse.  First stop
is Formido Heim, where the last remaining Crossgate will be used to send
KOS-MOS and the others home.  This is easier than it sounds, thanks to the data
left over from when M.O.M.O. came (though there's still an element of luck
involved, much to T-elos' displeasure).  The probabilities get even better with
the use of data from when KOS-MOS arrived, which Cleo will happily provide when
she returns to Dulceus' Mausoleum.  Mark Hunter will be heading to Agrad Heim
directly, hired by Ruboll to check the place out.  Ruboll wants to expand his
territory, though logically speaking it should belong to the Hausen House given
where it landed.

Everything gets set up at the Crossgate, and final farewells are said.  Cleo
has even provided M.O.M.O. a few souvenirs to take back to her friends.  Xiaomu
tells KOS-MOS to say hi to "battle programmer Shion" from her, and Aschen has
a bit of hard-won advice for T-elos: try to get along with KOS-MOS; few things
are sadder than kin bent on destroying each other.  With promises to bring
their friends next time, the trio step into the Crossgate and vanish.  Aledy
tells Neige that he hopes T-elos and KOS-MOS can resolve their struggle
peaceably.  Such beautiful dolls, says Suzuka, shouldn't have to fight each
other.

Next on the agenda is Saya, whose servants have figured out a way home through
the gate at Mirabilis Castle.  Before the party heads over there, Azel says
that the time has come for the Orchestral Army to return to its duties in
Formido Heim.  Henne had sort of hoped that Reiji and Axel would join up, but
both of them have their own worlds to return to.  Axel vaguely recalls that
he's just left some kind of organization, but not which one -- and Azuma
can't really remember what it's called either.  Cleo and Catsy will take this
opportunity to return to their respective dwellings as well.  Aledy bids
Azel farewell, and Azel is sure he'll see Aledy again one day: as a king.

The bull-men are a bit miffed that they didn't get to eat any of the tasty
food, but Saya tells them it's part of their punishment for getting caught by
the Shura.  They can expect more punishment when they return home, and oddly
enough they seem to be looking forward to it.  Haken wonders if Saya is really
going to be okay going home with these two, and she assures him they're both
pros at teleporting.  Saya wants to teleport separately from Reiji and Xiaomu,
lest bloodshed erupt immediately upon arrival.  The bull-men don't care, but
in deference to Kaguya they're willing to await their next chance.

And they'll definitely get one: Saya says the Ouma's next plan is already in
motion.  Reiji quickdraws his pistol and asks what she's up to, but Saya is
just as fast on the draw.  Of course she won't tell him _here_, and besides,
their score is meant to be settled elsewhere.  Reiji is willing to wait, but
promises her that when the proper time comes, it will be him pulling the
trigger first.

They both holster their guns, and Cleo is a bit indignant at the sight of
near warfare breaking out.  Saya smiles coyly and says that every time she
sees Reiji, she gets this uncontrollable urge to tease him.  Xiaomu and Koma
both figure "kids" like Reiji deserve it, but Reiji takes a different view:
two thousand spankings apiece for the both of them.  Saya doesn't sound
convincing when she promises Aschen and Neige not to build machines to menace
other dimensions with, but does have one concrete pearl for Reiji on her way
out: their next plan will be called the Hundred-and-One Wombs Project.  That
doesn't sound at all... menacing or anything.

Anyway, Reiji and Xiaomu have to be going too.  They're pretty sure that
they'll see Aledy and friends again, now that the worlds are all joined
together.  And if they ever find themselves in Xiaomu's world instead, she
promises to show them all the hot spots in Akihabara.  "Akihabara", which
sounds like "Field of Evil Demon Lords", will definitely take some preparation
before braving its depths.  Until then, Haken bids Arisu of the City of
Quakes and his partner farewell.

Now, it's time to send Axel and friends back home.  Ann splits off from the
group at this point, needing to go to Megi Castle to seek treasure in its
subterranean waters.  Suzuka tells her to tell Shuten that she'll be back
shortly, and Ann tells Suzuka to come by and trade with her sometime.  The
rest of the crew head to the Celeste, where the teleporter is ready to rock.
Axel however isn't feeling so good, and there's an even bigger problem.
Should Alfimi, an Einst, really be allowed to go free?

Azuma vouches for her, saying that she's a good Einst who actually saved his
friends at the cost of her own safety back in his world.  He wouldn't have
fought by her side if he didn't trust her.  Haken smiles and assures Azuma
he wasn't planning to do anything to Alfimi -- he just wanted to hear Azuma's
assurances with his own ears.  Aledy too is confident that Alfimi is one of
the good guys; else it would have shown over the course of the conflict they
all lived through together.

True enough, says Axel with a new note in his voice.  Aledy notices in
alarm that Axel's Haki has abruptly changed, and it seems the guy has finally
gotten his memory back entirely.  He thanks Azuma for looking out for him,
and says he owes him one again.  There will be plenty of time for repaying
debts back home; for now, Axel gets to rue all the goofy lines and sexual
harassment he pulled.  He also has one question for Haken before going home,
and his tone is _not_ warm when he asks it: just where did Haken get his
last name from?  It sure as hell wasn't from his adopted father, John Moses.

Haken smiles and says it came from his mother, Lemon Browning.  Mind you, it
was Aschen that actually acted as mother in raising him.  Axel is astounded
that a W-Number could raise a child, musing that that possibility must have
been Lemon's gift to the W-Series, to help confront a world in which warfare
is commonplace.  Axel then offers to tell Haken the secret of his birth, but
Haken stops him.

It's enough for him that he be John Moses' "son", and successor, something he
can be proud of.  There will be time enough for the rest, including who his
real father is, some other day.  After all, he's got his hands full
dealing with the Shura and the fae, and at least one non-small princess.
Axel smirks, not surprised that a dweller of this Endless Frontier wouldn't
be interested in such a veiled past.  The trio step onto the transporter,
saying their final goodbyes.  Azuma is sure Aledy will make a fine Shura,
since he's so much like the Shura he knows from back home.  That Shura was
always worrying about something, and always got stronger because of it.
Suzuka tells Alfimi to teach her how to manipulate the oni masks the next time
they meet, and Alfimi promises to even teach her how to combine them.  Haken
tells Axel he's sure they'll meet again sometime, though there's little
telling when.

Only one outworlder left to deal with: Aledy.  Koma offers to take him back to
the Dragonlord Tower, though she does wish he'd buy a bit more stuff from her
in gratitude.  Aledy promises to visit Cleo's store as often as Cindy will
let him -- luckily the Shura burn more calories than normal people, or he and
Cindy would both get spherical quickly on Cleo's treats.  As for Catsy, Neige
says she'll come to fetch the fae in his care once Espina Castle is repaired.
Waxing serious for a moment, Catsy tells her to come whenever she pleases.
Dorothy will split off here and head back to her castle, cautioning Neige that
she's not getting a discount or anything just because they fought side by
side.

Haken will split off at the Fujizakura, hoping that the next time the posse get
together it will be under more pleasant circumstances.  Aledy leaves them with
the Shura benediction, that the Star of Perdition not fall upon them.  The
tree itself is so beautiful that such a dire fate seems distant, and boy is
it a good thing that the link to Agrad Heim didn't tear a giant hole in the
center of it.  Aschen will be surveying Varna Street a bit before returning
to her Orchestral duties, and Suzuka will finally return to her castle too...
though she wants to be sure Kaguya makes it home safely first.  Haken plans
to walk her home, though his hopes of some private time with her are dashed
when Kaguya brightly suggests rounding up Shirou and Otone for a victory
meal.  Haken is visibly crestfallen, Suzuka is relieved, and Aledy is confused
as to why.  Neige sighs and tells him he'll understand later.

Final thanks are exchanged between Haken and Aledy for the parts they played
in bringing this titanic conflict to an end.  With Agrad Heim toast, there's
no obvious way of rejoining what remains of Hakoku -- so the Shura will
simply live here in Endless Frontier!  By that, he means _all_ the Shura,
even the "Snow Queen" and "Pied Piper" -- there's more to life than just
conflicting with each other after all.  Mind you, conveying that message
will likely entail knocking a few heads together, and he'll have the full
support of the Nanbu Clan and the Orchestral Army to do it.  The end goal is
to become citizens of this world, and Haken for one welcomes them all.


Epilogue: The Shura, the Princess, and the World

Aledy and Neige return alone to the Dragonlord Tower, the place where their
journey began.  Neige will head home after making her report to Cindy, but
before she and Aledy enter the tower, Aledy tells her he's grateful he got to
know her and her fellow fae.  Meeting her granted him more strength than a
thousand trials, and he wanted her to know that in this brief interlude
between conflicts.  She is, put plainly, his savior, teaching him so much he
never knew and brightening his outlook even at the darkest points of his
struggle versus Gelda.  She hopes he's not implying she's some kind of
Pollyanna, and he says it's how spiritually strong she is.

Aledy's mistress taught him the strongest, most unparalleled skills for
battle.  And it is she, princess of the fae, who taught him how to strengthen
his heart.  Add in numerous helping hands from his friends from other
realms, and anything is possible -- even becoming a member of this world.
Neige tells him that he was strong to begin with, and has always had the
ability to attract others.

She wants to give him some sort of reward for all the help he's been to her,
saying it would dishonor the Hausen House not to.  She hits upon relieving him
from his original mission as her guard, and reassigning it (after all, she's
_so_ vulnerable and needs to be protected on her way back to her castle...)
She actually has another form of reward in mind, and tells Aledy to close his
eyes and, under no circumstances, open them until she says to.  Fade
tastefully to black...

                              T H E      E N D

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