------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xenogears: The Full Game Script Encoded by Forrest forrest@zenogias.com Script copyright 1999 by Xenogears: The Nisan Sanctuary http://nisan.leamonde.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES: This script is the original text adaptation of the Squaresoft game, Xenogears. It is based on the English version of the game, and the dialogues were encoded as is. The in-between narration, however, are from the writer's own wording, and may not necessarily be the text present in the game itself. No part of this script may be reproduced in any form, may it be electronically, or in print, without any written consent from the author or The Nisan Sanctuary webmaster. Squaresoft copyrights the original source of this material, and no illegal intentions were meant in the production of this document. For questions, comments, or suggestions, please write to the author at forrest@zenogias.com, or to the Nisan Sanctuary webmaster, nutz@zenogias.com * * * SCRIPT START: On the continent lying in the Northern Hemisphere called Ignas, a war has been raging between two countries for hundreds of years. In the north of the continent lies the Kislev Empire, in the south lies the desert kingdom of Aveh. The war has gone on for so long that the people have forgotten the cause, knowing only the pointless circle of hostility and tragedy. The chronic war obsession was soon to encounter a devastating change. This was due to the 'Ethos', an institution that preserves the world's culture, repairing tools and weapons excavated from the ruins of an ancient civilization. At once both countries excavated these ruins, and had the Ethos repair the discoveries, in order to increase their military power. The various weapons excavated from the ruins greatly changed the form of warfare. The outcome of the battles between two countries was no longer decided by man-to-man combat, but by 'Gears' -giant humanoid fighting machines- that were obtained from deep within the ruins. Eventually, after continuous swings in the state of the war, Kislev gained the upper hand. The major factor behind this lay in the enormous difference in the amount of resources buried within their ruins. But suddenly a mysterious military force appeared in the continent of Ignas. Called 'Gebler', this force decided to make contact with Aveh. With the assistance of this Gebler military force, Aveh was able to recover from being hopelessly outnumbered to being back on an even standing with Kislev. Then, taking further advantage of it's newly gained momentum, Aveh started to capture one territory after another from Kislev, showing no sign of slowing down in their invasion campaign. The remote village of Lahan, in the outskirts of Aveh, near the border with Kislev. This is where it all begins. (Fire shrouds the village as trees all around fall and burst into a mix of red and orange. The crackling flames can be heard throughout the village, and only the stomping of large robots can be heard over the blaze. Women and men run all over the village, helping children as best as they can amidst the panic.) (And the immense humanoid machines crush and shoot at both people and their homes. One black gear stands against them, and a young man inside shouts in anger.) Young man: Huff, huff… Damn you! (A gray Gear with a machine gun aims, but the black Gear outmaneuvers it, punching it's opponent to the ground. Young man: Huff, huff… That's one down!? (But the Gear rises almost as soon as it fell.) Young man: What on earth are you? No matter how often I knock you down you still get up! (Suddenly a man in a green shirt and white pantaloons shouts from the ground, arms in the air.) Older man: Fei! Stop! You must not fight here!" (But the enemy Gear shot the rifle, hitting Fei's machine hard.) Young man (Fei): Guh! Boy are you persistent! (The black Gear attacked again, this time punching and kicking the gray soldier to the ground. Fei: Huff, huff… Damn it! How come? Why did it have to come to this? (The surrounding flames brightened, and burned hotter than before, shining on the Gears' armor in the night.) (In a different scene, with a small, comfortable room, the same young man finger-paints flames against his easel. Finishing, he steps back to admire his work.) Fei: Whew! That about does it! Alright… now for a short break. (Walking upstairs, Fei approaches a door, and just as his hand goes out to turn the knob, a small boy about half Fei's height bursts in.) Boy: So there you are! Fei, I have to talk to you about something! Fei: Why hello there Dan! You're lively today… as you are everyday! (A sturdy-looking man standing to one side interrupts.) Man: Dan! Don't be so rude. What's this barging in and all? Dan: Argh! Timothy's here too… Butt out, Timothy! Until you marry my sister, you have nothing to do with me at all! I just have some business here with my friend Fei! So anyway, Fei, I errh… I have something to talk to you about later… Fei: What is it, Dan? It sounds serious! Dan: Yeah, that's why I can't talk about it here… There's a certain person listening who could cause us trouble…! It's really important! We gotta talk, seriously, one-on-one, man-to-man! I'll be hanging around outside. So I'll se ya there later, ok!! Be seein' ya, Timothy! Take care of yourself until tomorrow… (As Dan exits, Fei turns to his friend Timothy, a confused look on his face.) Fei: Huh? What's up with him? Timothy: As of tomorrow, I'm going to be that kid's brother in law… Hah! That part isn't going to be no honeymoon! (Fei walks out into the morning sunlight, and a familiar woman engages him in conversation.) Village Woman: Alice and Timothy's wedding tomorrow is the talk of the town. I guess that's to be expected, though… It's one of life's biggest events. The women of the village are born, raised, and live the rest of their lives here. There must be some happiness in that, but… I've been thinking from time to time. Sometimes I wish I were born a man so I could travel the world and live an ever-changing life… Heh, it's weird isn't it Fei? Fei: Yeah! That is weird! Village Woman: Ooooh! You think so? Maybe I should rethink this! (Continuing on, Fei spots Dan by the village elder's house, and stops to talk.) Dan: Oh good, Fei! Ya ready to talk? As you know, tomorrow's finally the day of my sister's wedding… So what I want to talk to you about is exactly that… Alice's marriage. Fei, to be perfectly honest with you… I've always wished that you could have been my brother. It's still not too late. You could go steal Alice and run off with her! If you need me to help, I'll be glad to! It may sound odd for me to say this, but my sister's beautiful and a good cook… (And this is just between you and me, but she's well endowed too! Heh heh heh.) So come on! Go for it! Fei: Alright, Dan. You've got it… I guess I'll just go and sweep Alice away and make a run for it! Dan: Really!? I knew I liked you, Fei! That's the spirit! …But if only it was that easy… It's not like we can change their feelings… And you would need to have love for her too… But I'm not gonna forget this, Fei! You were really willing to go that far to help me… Fei, you're a good guy! (Moments later, as Fei walks through the village, he finds himself in front of Alice's house. A woman talks to Fei as he walks by.) Woman: Hello, Fei! Are you here to see Alice? Actually, it's customary that we don't let any men in to see the bride today… But you can be an exception. (The woman steps aside, allowing Fei passage into the house. Fei walks inside and up a flight to see Alice, standing in front of a long, intricately decorated dress.) Fei: Hello, Alice. Is that your wedding dress? Alice: Oh!? Fei, you startled me! Yes it is… I just finished it. It took more work than I expected. Fei: Hmm… You did a great job there! It'll look wonderful on you Alice… Congratulations! Alice: Thank you… (An awkward silence follows, and the two begin speaking at the same time.) Alice: Oh, um Fei… Fei: Hey, uh, Alice… Fei: What is it? Alice: Oh nothing… Fei: I see… Alice: Oh yes that's right… Have you seen Dan? Fei: Yeah, he's outside… bragging as always! Alice: Ugh, that kid! I just told him that I had an errand for him to run! Fei: Oh yeah? What kind of an errand? Alice: It's for my wedding tomorrow… I was hoping he could go and borrow a camera and some lights from Doctor Uzuki, up on the mountain peak. Fei: If that's all it is, I'll be glad to do it for you! Alice: Could you? Oh, but I couldn't possibly… Fei: Don't worry! It's no problem! Anyway, it doesn't exactly make me comfortable to have Dan handle such delicate instruments. What's more, I might have a chance to eat some of Yui's cooking if I go to the doc's place. Alice: Hee-hee… That's my Fei! Fei: Well, I'll go up there now and get them for you! Alice: Oh… Fei, wait! Fei: Huh? Is there something else you want me to get from Citan? Alice: No… It's not that… Fei: ..? Alice: Fei… Have you ever thought about things this way? If… If you had only been born in this village… And we had only known each other earlier on… Fei: … Alice: …Oh, it's nothing. I'm sorry… Fei: Well, I think I had better get going now! Alice: Oh, ok… Be careful on the mountain path. And give my regards to Doctor Uzuki! (With that, Fei walks back down the steps, and begins his walk up the mountain upon which sits the house of Doctor Uzuki.) Alice: …Is this fate..? I feel so foolish… Who am I kidding? On the Mountain Path (Fei walks along a vague path up the mountain, recalling.) Fei: Doc Uzuki's house is over the bridge and up to the north. (After a few more minutes of hiking, Fei reaches the large house, and enters to be greeted by Citan's wife, Yui.) Yui: Hello, Fei. Fei: Hi, Yui, have you seen doc anywhere? Yui: I think he's tinkering with his junk in the backyard. Fei: Thanks, Yui. (Fei walks to the backyard, and looks at a shed with a giant crab-like machine crouched over it.) Fei: Where are you hiding, doc? (Suddenly, an explosion goes off on top of the big machine.) Fei: Wh, What's going on? A voice: Ohhh, this is no good! Why do they use such inferior parts? This is why their intervention strat… (Looking up, Fei sees Citan Uzuki standing in the center of a recession in the top of the huge machine.) Fei: Doc! So that's where you were! Citan: Oh, Fei! Good to see you. Fei: Are you alright, doc? What are you doing all the way up there? Citan: I thought I would try to restore this Land Crab. Oh, and that explosion was nothing to worry about! It happens all the time. Ha, ha, ha…! Could you wait a while? I'm just about ready to call it a day. Oh yes. There is something interesting in the storeroom. Why not check it out? Fei: Okay, doc, I will. But please hurry up. It will get dark before you know it. (Fei walks into the storeroom and approaches a large rectangular box half again his height.) Fei: So this is what doc was talking about. Let me see… what's so interesting about it… (Fei searches the box, and, finding a knob, turns it. Cogs and wheels begin to spin behind the box.) Fei: Wow!? (Steam shoots out of the sides of the box as they fall, and a marble statue of an angel is revealed within.) Fei: Wh, What is this…? (A sad tune begins to play, slowly, quietly. The angel spins to the music, and the cogs stop turning.) Fei: This music…? I've heard it before somewhere…? A Voice: What do you think? Not bad, huh? Fei: Doc… Citan: Hello again Fei. Sorry to have kept you waiting. (The two share a moment of peace as the angel dances to the gentle tune.) Citan: Music is a mysterious thing… Sometimes, it makes people remember things that they do not expect. Citan: Many thoughts, feelings, memories… things almost forgotten… Regardless of whether the listener desires to remember them or not… Fei: Doc, what is this…? Citan: It was excavated from some old ruins, and is still under repair. Obviously it is an audio device of some type. Long ago people would listen to this melody, just as we are doing now… At times they would have been cheered up… while at times they would have been made to cry. Fei: … Citan: By the way, what brings you here today? Fei: Oh yeah, that's right! Alice asked me to borrow some camera equipment from you. Citan: Oh, yes. Her wedding is tomorrow, right…? Understood. Well, we had better get ready then. Oh, and dinner should be ready soon. Would you like to join us? Fei: Would I ever! I was hoping you would ask. Citan: I still have some cleaning up to do out here. Would you mind giving Midori some company in the house? Fei: Okay. Take your time, doc. I'll go ahead and eat when dinner is ready! Citan: Ha, ha, ha. Go right ahead. But I will not be responsible if you get a stomachache from my wife Yui's cooking. (Fei starts to exit, but pauses.) Fei: Doc… I feel strange when I listen to this music… I feel something warm inside… Citan: That just may be because you have someone living inside you… And he too must have liked this music a long time before he became a part of you… Fei: … (Fei exits) Citan: Is Timothy and Alice's wedding really tomorrow… It might actually be better to live an ordinary life, in this condition… As a son of man… Well, anyway, I suppose I had better adjust the gyro at least… (The music slows) Citan: Huh? (The statue of the angel shakes, clattering… And shatters, shards falling to the bottom of the box.) Citan: This cannot be… Is… is this… an omen…? Now what is going to happen…? Fei: Mmm… That was good! Your cooking never fails to impress me, Yui! Thank you for such a delicious meal! (Fei walks to the door, followed by Citan.) Yui: You're welcome. If you like my cooking that much, then I'd be happy to cook for you anytime, Fei! Citan: I will bring the equipment you need to the village tomorrow morning, myself… It does not exactly make me feel comfortable to have you handle such delicate instruments, I am afraid! Fei: …Where have I heard that line before!? That's alright by me… Well, see you tomorrow doc! Good night, Yui, Midori! Yui: Good night. We're looking forward to tomorrow's wedding. Midori: … (Citan and Fei walk outside, under a dark blue night sky, crickets chirping all around.) Fei: Well, good night, doc. Citan: Yes, good night. (Fei turns to leave.) Citan: Oh, Fei! Please be careful… Ah, I mean… the path is dangerous when it is so dark… Fei: What's wrong doc? There is nothing to worry about! Well, anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. (Fei walks quietly down the path, listening to crickets as the gentle wind blows. As he crosses the bridge, though, the peaceful night is broken. A deafening noise, like a jet engine, roars across the valley.) Fei: What's that? (Turning, he looks into the sky to see a huge black humanoid machine fly by, immediately followed by three others.) Fei: Giants…? (Doc Uzuki comes running down the hill and across the bridge, to Fei's side.) Fei: Doc! Some flying objects just went toward Lahan!! Citan: So you saw them too! Judging by their shadows, they appear to be a group of Gears from our neighbor country, Kislev. Fei: Those were… Gears…? Citan: !! Oh no! They are headed directly for Lahan! Fei: The ones I just saw? Citan: Let us make haste! Fei: Right! (Fei and Citan run over the path, and into the village of Lahan as fast as they can. Fei looks over the village, to see nothing but fire, falling trees, and panicking families.) Fei: No! Lahan's…? (An explosion rocks the ground, and a fir tree crashes into the elder's house. Women, men and children all run aimlessly, trying to escape the flames.) Citan: Alice!? Timothy!! (Fei and Citan run up to Timothy and Alice, who stand in the middle of the village.) Alice: Doctor Uzuki!? Fei!! Timothy: Doctor! They just came out of nowhere and landed right in our village…! Citan: I know. What on earth are they doing starting a battle here…!? Are you all okay? Alice: Yes! But it's Dan… We can't find him!! Timothy: I'll go look one more time! Alice, go ahead and get out of the village. Citan: No, Timothy, wait! You, Alice, and the villagers should evacuate to a safer location! Timothy: Doc, you know I can't just leave Dan behind! Alice: Timothy… Citan: I understand how you feel, but leave the rest up to Fei and I! The primary thing you should be concerned with is your own safety… Timothy, your responsibility is to protect Alice! Timothy: But… Fei: It's just as the Doc says. The two of you should get out of the village now! Don't worry about Dan. Knowing him, he has already evacuated and is waiting for you! Timothy: …I guess you're right… Timothy: Okay! Alice, let's evacuate the village now! Alice: Yes, okay. Thank you, Doctor! But Fei… Please look out for Dan! Fei: Yeah, don't worry. If he still happens to be in the village, I'll be sure to save him! Citan: Now, both of you, hurry!! (Timothy leads Alice away, and they run to help other villagers) Citan: I will go check inside the houses to see if there is anyone left behind. Fei, please go around the village and guide the stragglers to a safe location! Fei: Alright! But Doc… You be careful, okay!!? Citan: You too, Fei! (Citan runs into a nearby house, and Fei stars off to his left, but suddenly, he spots a gear with a machine gun, shooting left and right. Fei stops in his tracks and watches as another gear, this one black, make a stand. The gun fires rapidly again, and Fei leaps aside, as he feels something smash the ground nearby) Fei: Whoa!! (Another crash heralds a huge footstep of a gear, right in front of Fei. A body falls out of the Gear's cockpit, and Fei looks up. Fei:…Ah…!? (The gigantic black gear kneels before Fei, having lost it's pilot. Fei's heart beats loudly in his ears, and quickens, getting louder and louder. Fei blinks, and looks into the cockpit. Inside, a man sits, but strands of his red hair cover his face. Fei suddenly sees nothing but blackness for an instant. Another second and a necklace holding a cross flashes before his eyes. Gleaming red, the cross swings back and forth. Fei shakes his head, shouldering the strange vision, and leaps into the gear's cockpit. His heart beats faster even than before. Citan emerges from the house, and sees Fei. He shouts in frustration.) Citan: Huh…? Fei!? Wait, Fei!! (But the giant robot starts up again, and stands tall against the burning night, preparing to defend the village.) Citan: Do not do this, Fei! You must not fight here…!! (Fei ignores the doctor, though, and the gear runs off toward they fray. Inside the cockpit, an automated voice sounds…..XafbEWfadJZ….. …Linguistic modifier enabled. Identified: Lamb, Ignas dialect. No piloting experience. Easy mode set. Synchronizing input interface with pilot's normal reflex time. Warning to pilot: COMBAT MODE… About to enter combat! 1200 units of fuel left. Utilize command ring in upper left of screen to select ATTACK… then triangle, square, and x buttons to commence auto-attack sequence. Power and fuel usage differs with type of attack (button): triangle:10, square:20, and x:30. (Charge restores 30 fuel units.) WARNING! Enemy gears are now preparing to attack! Terminating help mode.) (Fei faced two gears slightly smaller and stockier than his, but they had subguns, and Fei had never fought in a gear before. Fei hit a few of the buttons as he was directed, and the gear leapt into action. The first gear raised its gun, but was punched twice right in the cockpit. It fell, and the entire machine broke apart in a mass of metal and fire. The second shot at Fei's gear, but missed, and the black gear ran up to the other before it could try again. He hit the keys again, in a different pattern, and before Fei could even look, the other gear had been destroyed as well.) (But a different gear, this one with a rifle, flew to the ground in front of Fei. Then another of the same type came, and another. Four gears were around Fei now.) Fei: On my right too! Damn it! How many of them are there…? (And without any warning but the sound of wind under it's feet, a fifth gear landed. This one was far different from the others, for it had no weapon like the other gears had. The odd gear crossed it's arms over it's chest, and stood before Fei. Fei could feel his heart pounding into his chest, could hear it's furious beat against his ribs. A gear fired at Fei, and the bullets hit home, then the other gears stared shooting in turn, taunting him.) Fei: I guess… there's no choice… but to fight… (Fei charged his gear into their midst, and began fighting.) (Citan, off to one side of the battle, held his chin with a hand, saying) Citan: Fei…!! The way you are fighting… Oh no… This is not good! If 'he' awakens here… A voice: Doc!! Citan: Dan!? (Dan leaps from the balcony of his sister's house, and runs to Citan.) Citan: Are you alright!? What on earth are you doing here!? Do you not know how worried Alice and Timothy are? Dan: I'm sorry Doctor Uzuki! I got out of the village earlier, but I came back… I just couldn't bear leaving my sister's wedding dress behind here… Citan: You returned to save your sisters wedding dress…!? Heh… Yo are such a sentimental boy…! Let us evacuate to a safer spot while Fei has their attention! It appears that they are after that gear Fei is in… Dan: …?!?… Fei's… inside that monster!? Citan: Fei is bound… by the dark, cruel destiny of God… Dan: …Fei…? Citan: Come on now, Dan! We had better get away from here. Timothy: Dan!! (Timothy, standing a distance away, sees the two and shouts) Timothy: I knew you were still in the village! Boy, I'm glad you're okay! …. Huh? (Timothy turns as a sound catches his attention. One of the rifle gears spots him and turns.) Citan: Oh no…! Timothy!! Timothy: …Uh!… Fei: Wait!! Don't shoot! Stop it!! These people have nothing to do with you! Timothy! (Two other gears jump in front of Fei's gear, barring his way, and holding him still. Fei screams in anger.) Fei: Out of the way, you bastards! (An behind them, a solitary gear, the one with no weapon, stands and waves his arm upward. A rifle shoots rapidly, right at Timothy.) Fei: Stop it! I said sto-p i---t! (Several bullets from the gear's rifle flies to the earth, striking Timothy in the heart and passing through. Fei watches from his gear in horror, and then a sharp pain strikes his head. The red cross flashes in front of his eyes again, and falls out of sight. Fei sees in his mind a little boy of about five with blood spattered on his face, eyes wide. Then, the boy is replaced in his mind by another boy, with long brown locks of hair covering his face, and while the blood remains, the boy smiles and chortles wickedly. Fei reaches his hands to his head, and screams in agony. Then, Citan and Dan watch from a cliff nearby as the black gear goes out of control. Red and blue beams emanate from the body, and the soldier gears are smashed to pieces by the dagger-like rays. A shock wave starts inside of the gear, and then envelopes the village in a fire that incinerates all in it's path. Stone houses are shattered like glass, and earth and trees disintegrate as the violent wave passes. Alice holds her hands up as they burn away into nothingness, and a sad smile touches her lips before she is swept away by the inferno. Dan screams, but only to be silenced by a blast that destroys everything.) __Outside of Lahan__ Fei:Uh… Uhn…? (Fei wakes up under a conifer outside of the village and looks around.) Fei: Huh…! Where am I…!? (Fei sees a ragged group of survivors, numbering no more than fifteen. Citan is with them.) Fei: Doc! Citan: Oh, you have finally gained consciousness, Fei… Fei: Doc… What happened…? Where's Chief Lee, Timothy, Alice…? What did I…? Citan: Yes… Well that is… Dan: You murderer!! Citan: Dan! Fei: …!? Dan, what do you mean…? Dan: It… was because you had to get in that monster…Alice and Timothy… The people of the village are all…!! You killed everyone using that monster…!! Fei: …?!?… Dan: Why did you have to fight in the middle of the village…? How do you even know how to operate such a monster…? A girl: Mother…? Where mother…? An elderly man: See, I told you so… I said allowing someone we knew nothing about into our village would spell disaster… Another child: Owww… Hurts… It hurts… (Fei turns around, to see the black gear, intact, behind him. He looks up into the face, searching the dark eyes for an answer.) Fei: Dan! (The children scatter, running back.) Children: Yikes!…. No! Keep away!… I'm scared… Dan: Murderer!! My sister… Give me back my sister!! Citan: Dan! There is nothing to be gained from putting the blame all on Fei alone. What is more, you know Fei had no control over the malfunction of that gear. Dan: I… I know that! But… But…!! I HATE YOU! (Dan runs off over a hill, crying angrily.) Citan: It might be better if we left him by himself for a little while… He does not know what to do with his grief, his anger… Fei:… Citan: And Fei… it may be a good idea for you to leave this place. There is no guarantee that reinforcements from yesterday's units are not going to come… They will probably want to know what happened to their comrades. Also, if you stay gere, I do not think the atmosphere is going to be very joyful… If you know what I mean. It is probably best for both you and all the other vilagers here. Fei: I guess you're right… This disaster happened because I was here… But… what am I supposed to do now? Citan: Yes, well… Why not go through the Blackmoon Forest and head for Aveh? I am sure those soldiers from yesterday were not from Aveh. If you can manage to get to the Aveh side, they will not be able to track you down very easily. Fei: Okay… I understand, doc… Well, anyway… Please take care of the rest of thngs here, doc. Citan: Of course… Well, do take care now. (Fei looks over the people he had lived with for the past three years and walked off, leaving the gear and people behind. As he passed the gear, Fei recalled what they had said to him) You killed everyone with that monster…!! Murderer!! My sister… Give me back my sister!! Fei: …Gh!… (Fei leaves the village, and heads for the Blackmoon Forest.) __Blackmoon Forest__ (As Fei enters the heavily wooded place, several birds startle in their perches and hop into flight. The forest is dark and quiet, except for the caw of a crow and hoot of owls throughout the deep woods. Fei makes his way across several large fallen trees, and climbs up several hills to pass through the forest.) A voice behind Fei: Rhana hod! (Fei turns around to see a beautiful woman with orange hair standing, a gun held level, aimed at Fei.) Mysterious Woman: Katenayu ta dah bintunah achba! Dhan naranta! Rhana kaotay! (Realizing that Fei doesn't understand, the woman switches to an Ignas dialect.) Woman: Throw down your weapon! Make one wrong move and I'll shoot! (Fei stops, and looks at the woman closely. She is dressed in a white uniform and has deep blue eyes, and a slim form.) Mysterious Woman: Errh… Turn around! Fei: … Woman: I said… turn around! (Fei turns slowly, and she approaches, putting the gun to the back of his neck.) Fei: …Are you shaking? Woman: Be Quiet! … You don't seem to be one of the Kislev soldiers who are after me. (Fei turns back around, to face her.) Mysterious Woman: Don't move! I have orders to kill all surface dwellers, -Lambs-, I come in contact with… It's part of my mission. It's nothing personal. I have a question for you… How do I get out of this forest? Fei: Are you… lost? Woman: Just answer my question! How do I get out of here? Fei: Sorry, but I'm looking for the way out of here too. Woman: Oh… (She lowers the pistol, and looks down for a few moments) Fei: How long are you just going to stand there like that? If you're going to shoot me, then hurry up and do it. Mysterious Woman: What an odd thing to say! Don't you understand the situation you are in? (Fei looks pathetically at the ground, and dejectedly responds.) Fei: I don't care about my situation… I'm just a guy whose life is worthless… There's no point in me living anyway! (Fei walks toward her) Woman: Don't come any closer! (A shot is fired from her gun, but it misses and hits a tree far away. Fei: What are you aiming at? Here! Shoot me here! C'mon… Woman: Are you mocking me? You're weird! Something's very wrong with you! You should at least resist a little bit! (Out of nowhere, a large purple beast lands behind the woman with a crash.) Mysterious woman: What's this? Who are you? (The tall beast punches the woman in the stomach, knocking her out. Fei runs toward the monster.) Fei: Stop! Keep your hands off of Elly! (Fei crashes into the beast, punching and kicking it until it stops moving. He runs to the woman and checks her for wounds.) Fei: Are you alright? Hang in there! (The woman wakes up to see a big fire a few feet in front of her, as well as the young man from before sitting on the opposite side of it. Night had fallen, and crickets could be heard over the blaze of the fire.) Fei: Good, you finally woke up! You didn't move for so long that I started to worry… Mysterious woman: … Fei: How are you feeling? Mysterious Woman: … Fei: Do you still intend to kill me? Then go right ahead and shoot me! But you'd better not do it while we're in this forest. Forest monsters hate loud noises, you know!? Mysterious Woman: … Fei: Fine. Don't talk to me if you don't want to… But it wouldn't kill you to thank me for tending to your wounds. Mysterious Woman: Th… Thanks… But you shouldn't have helped me. Don't think it will save your life, though. It really doesn't change a thing. Fei: What are you so afraid of? Mysterious Woman: I'm not afraid, I'm just being cautious. It's natural for me to be this cautious considering I've met such a suspicious surface dwelling -Lamb-. Fei: Hm. Don't you worry. I'm not going to do anything. Besides, you're much more suspicious than I am. Woman: Huh? Fei: So, what's your name? Mysterious Woman: I won't give my name to a surface dweller -Lamb-. Fei: What's with you and this 'Lamb' thing? We're both lost in this forest, surrounded by dangerous monsters… Shouldn't we at least be cooperating with each other until we get out of here? Woman: … Fei: Good. So what's your name? It's going to be hard for us to cooperate with one another without at least knowing each other's names. Anyway, my name is Fei Fong Wong. You can call me Fei. Mysterious woman: I'm… Elhaym. But my parents call me Elly. Fei: 'Elly', huh? Somehow I already 'knew' that. Elly: ?? Fei: Anyway, it's too dangerous to travel in these parts this late at night… Let's wait till daybreak before we continue looking for a way out of here… If that's okay with you? Elly: I guess we have no choice, do we? Fei: Okay then Elly… How about having something to eat. (And the crickets chirped on into the night.) (Fei fell asleep, and before long, dreamt a disturbing dream. Fei say himself as a child of five or six again, but this time he was sitting in the middle of a desert. A man appeared in the distance, followed by a line of others. They walked single file, ignoring Fei's cries…) Young Fei: Wait! Don't leave me here…! (Fei sits down and cries more, then wipes his eyes as he sees another figure coming towards him. This time, it is a woman with a soft voice.) Woman: You must be lonely by yourself… (Fei sees the same red cross as before on her chest, and it gleams a bright red in the sun. She offers a hand to him, and he accepts, reaching for her. Her voice calls his name softly.) Fei…Fei………Fei Elly: Fei? Elly: Fei? …Are you awake? (The two make their way over a few big hills and rocks, and eventually came to a small plateau.) Elly: Fei… Yesterday you said that your life was worthless. What did you mean by that? Fei: Why are you asking? Elly: Why? Yesterday you looked like you had a death wish. You think it wouldn't make me wonder…? Say, how did you get stranded in this forest in the first place? Fei: I should ask you the same question. Elly: Huh? Well, I, errh… Fei: I… ran away… from my village… or what's left of it… Elly: Village…? You don't mean…!? Fei: …Lahan… It was a small village that existed between this forest and the mountain range. I ran away from there. Elly: That village…? Fei: It was a nice, peaceful village. Everyone there treated me like family. Then, last night, a group of Gears suddenly appeared and started fighting right in the middle of the place. The village was engulfed in flames… I couldn't just stand there and watch Lahan be destroyed… So to try and save the villagers, I got in an empty Gear… without even knowing how to operate it. I just thought that maybe I could do it… no… it was more like someone whispering to me… Telling me to do it… But it was a disaster! The village… Elly: Was it destroyed by the Kislev army? Fei…? Fei: No… the village was destroyed… by me… Elly: …? Fei: Yes. It was me. I destroyed Lahan. I'm sure of it… Elly: What do you mean you destroyed it? I thought you were trying to help save the villagers? Fei: I did try to help. I actually took out a few Gears. But then I came under heavy fire from a new group of Gears… And then my friend… Timothy… was hit by a hail of bullets… Then I lost it… Everything just went dark… Then I don't remember anything after that. The Gear I was in went out of control… Well, that's what doc said. When I came to… the village… and everyone in it… was… Fei: Alice… She was such a… Alice and Timothy… Oh God…! Everybody! All such good people… Elly: Went out of control…? The Gear..? What about the village? Fei? Fei: …Yes, the Gear! Elly: !… Fei: If only they hadn't come… (Elly remembers her experience from the previous night, and it comes back into her mind.) ~~~~ (Three Gears fly through the night, Elly in the lead) Elly: Damn them… They're still giving chase… We've entered Aveh territory… I'm not giving up now. This Gear's too important! (A shot hits the back of one of Elly's comrades, and the Gear goes down in smoke.) Elly: ! …That's done it! I'm at a disadvantage now. A man's voice: Van Houten! What's wrong! Respond! Elly: Sh, Shrapnel… In my back. My thrusters' output is dropping. I can't maintain altitude. Man's voice: Damn it! Everyone land now! Regroup on the ground. We'll have to engage them… (Elly's Gear hit the ground in the middle of Lahan, and she jumped out immediately, followed by the remaining two gears. Then the bullets started to fly…) ~~~~ Fei: If they had never come to the village, never started fighting there… Then I wouldn't have tried to pilot that Gear. It's all their fault… Not mine! They're the ones to blame. If they'd never come… None of this would have… If not for them! Them! Them! Them!! Elly: Enough of that! Fei: !? Elly: You're a coward! Fei: A coward? … Me? Elly: Yes, you're a coward. All you're saying is 'them, them, them'. Don't talk as if you had no part of the blame, as well! Fei: I'm to blame? Elly: Yes, that's right! Of course the direct cause of the battle was that a Gear made an emergency landing in your village. But all Kislev wanted was the Gear, right? They weren't invading or out to destroy Lahan. The real damage occurred because you climbed in a Gear and tried to fight back! Fei: … Elly: What ever made you get into that Gear? Not just anyone can pilot them! It takes training! There is no way a civilian could hope to pilot one! Besides… you should have been helping the villagers flee to safety instead! How can you blame the damage on a Gear when you made the decision to fight in it in the first place? Why don't you take some of the responsibility yourself? Why are you putting all of the blame on others? That's just running away! That's what makes you a coward! Fei: Well, if you put it that way… Yes… that's right, I am a coward! I didn't realize my own strength and have been blaming what happened as a result on others. I'm a pitiful excuse for a man. But… I just felt this rush of blood in me and I couldn't help myself! Couldn't help myself… or help others. (Fei sits down in the dirt and holds his face in his hands.) Elly: Fei, I, I'm… Fei: Shut up! What do you know!? When I came to I was surrounded by piles of rubble… I didn't remember what had happened or what I had done. I remembered absolutely nothing. All I knew was that my hands could still feel what they had done. The only thing that penetrated the Gears barrier were screams… Screams accompanied by the stench of blood, the sound of crushing bones, and my own curses. (Standing, Fei holds his hands out to Elly, shaking.) Fei: Look! Look at my hands! Can you hear their voices? Can you understand this feeling? The feeling of having destroyed your village with your own hands…? Of not being able to do anything for the children left behind…? Now they have nothing… I have nothing… I have nowhere… no one… (Fei falls and holds his head in his hands again.) Fei: I didn't want to get in it… I had no choice… There was no other way… (Elly steps forward, as if to comfort Fei, but turns away and walks off between two cliffs.) Elly: Why did I go and say that to him…? (Elly, walking alone, recalls something in her own past, and vivid memories are brought back suddenly.) ~~~~ You talk as if it's not your responsibility. They didn't do anything… They died because you had to pilot the gear and start fighting. (Elly sees herself kneeling on the floor, several dead men around her, and blood spattered on the wall and floor.) It wasn't me! (Elly lifts her hands and sees blood covering her palms.) Not just anyone can pilot those machines, you know! I didn't do it! Why won't you take responsibility? Elly: I'm not so strong. What are you trying to blame on others? Elly: I'm not even all that talented. You're a coward! Fei: That's right! I'm a coward! ~~~~ Elly: Yes… that's right… I am a coward… (Elly continues walking around the bend and out into a clearing. Loud footsteps are heard, and a giant dragon-like creature stomps into the clearing. It stands twenty times as tall as Elly, and resembles a tyrannosaurus. Upon seeing Elly, it leaps toward her, and opens a mouth full of sharp teeth, roaring.) (Fei, still sitting against a tree, hears a scream, and gets up immediately, running toward the clearing.) Fei: Oh no! (Fei runs up to see Elly being held in the monster's claws, and he runs headlong at the monster he knows as a Rankar.) Fei: Elly! Elly! Are you alright?! Darn! She's unconscious! (Fei, despite being fifty times smaller than the Rankar, fought quick and hard. He ran up and punched the huge beast hard, but it didn't seem affected. Fei held his fist high in the air, and slammed it again into the Rankar, and it fell back, only to rise immediately.) (Just as the Rankar opened it's jaws to kill Fei, a voice came from the sky.) Voice: Fei!! (From between a crop of trees, a big vessel flew, holding Citan on the top, and the huge black gear underneath. It was the sand crab that Doctor Uzuki had been working on!) Citan: Fei! I have been searching for you! Here, you can use this! (The black gear was released from the sand crab's legs, and fell to the earth, the cockpit opening immediately.) Fei: Hey! Hold on a second! To tell me I can use this is one thing… (The Rankar ignored Fei and suddenly turned its attention to Elly, roaring again.) Fei: Elly… Damn it! Doc. I have a favor to ask! I will defeat this monster! But, if it looks like I'll go out of control like last time, then shoot me! Citan: Fei… Let us pray that that won't happen! (Fei enters the gear and without hesitation, begins fighting. The black Gear immediately attacked, pummeling the Rankar just as Fei had, but when the Gear stopped, the Rankar did not get up. Citan landed and came up to the Gear, but no one got out.) Citan: Fei! Are you alright? (Fei hopped to the ground, and replied.) Fei: Yeah… I guess so. Citan: That fight with the Rankar was remarkable. An ordinary Gear could not defeat that monster. And you certainly keep yourself in good shape… Fei: Why did you bring this here, doc? Citan: This…? You mean Weltall? Fei: Weltall? This is the Gear that destroyed our village. Why did you bother bringing it here? I never want to see another Gear again… Citan: I understand how you must feel… But, in order to protect yourself you need a certain degree of strength. Even more since we are being pursued. Fei: I agree that a certain degree of strength is needed for self-defense. And if it weren't for this Gear here, Elly and I'd be in that Rankar's stomach right now… But it's power goes beyond what is necessary. Does one really need the power to destroy everything? Citan: … Fei: I don't need that kind of power… I just hate Gears. Citan: Fei, using power or being used by power… is that not a problem of the heart…? If humans do not use their power for wrong it can be a good thing… I believe such power can help us. In that respect, I know you will be fine. It sure helped you out this time. Am I right? Fei: I want to believe that. But something is holding me back. This Gear… Well, whatever… At least Elly is safe now. Citan: She seems to have come to. Elly: Huh…? Citan: I am Citan… a friend of Fei's. You almost did not make it. If Fei had not helped, I hate to think what may have happened. But I was not too pleased with his rashness in trying to take on that Rankar with just his bare fists. Elly: Bare fists? Citan: Well, I am glad that you were able to find a use for what I brought you. Elly: (seeing the Gear)…!! Citan: Let us just say that we are borrowing what the Kislev army left behind… Elly: …Oh. Thank you, Fei. This makes twice. Fei: Don't mention it. I'll just put it on your tab. Citan: It is getting dark. Let us make camp now and start out early tomorrow. The both of you look tired and I need to make some repairs on our friend here… __Later that Night__ (Citan, sitting on the Gear's knee, inspects it as Fei sleeps and Elly sits by the fire.) Citan: It is no use. The knee actuator and bypass circuit are both ruined. The actuator can be fixed, but the circuit needs to be replaced… (Citan jumps off of Weltall and walks up to Elly) Citan: Oh, having trouble sleeping there? Elly: Yeah… Citan: I imagine you would. You have had quite a day. This is the machine Fei used when the village was attacked. There was another machine left sitting on the outskirts of the village… Nil bayer dars legus? (It was yours, right?) Elly: !! Citan: Just as I thought… The missing pilot from the Gear that made an emergency landing in Lahan… and the mysterious woman found wandering lost in the forest… are actually one and the same person. Judging from your uniform, I would also say you are with the military… Am I correct? Elly: How…? Who are you? Citan: I checked the ID tags of the soldiers who died in the attack on Lahan… The design on their tags and the design on your uniform there is the same. Elly: ! Citan: Do not worry, they were given proper burials. But, they may not have been too pleased to die in a foreign land. Elly: …Maybe. Citan: Does Fei know about you? Elly: I don't think he has realized yet. Citan: Most likely… Fei knows nothing of the world outside of Lahan. Elly: I see… So how come… Citan: In any case, it is best if we do not pry into each other's pasts anymore. Elly: But… Citan: Let us just say that I know a little more about the world than most do. Anyway, Elly… I have a favor I must beg you to do… Elly: …What is it? Citan: Go straight ahead and you will come to a road. Then just keep going… Would you please leave while Fei is still asleep? Elly: !? Citan: Unfortunate things keep happening around Fei. I would like to protect him if possible… I do not want him caught up in any vain struggles. I am also saying this for your benefit. Elly, you do not belong here. Go back to your family. Elly: Um…I… Citan: Do not worry, I will not tell Fei what your true identity is. I will… just tell him you went to meet up with your family… Elly: No, it's not that! I did something terrible to him… So… I want to… apologize. Citan: Something terrible? Elly: Fei told me it was our fault the village was destroyed. Fei kept saying… If only 'they' hadn't come… Then, I called Fei a coward because he was trying to escape from the responsibility… But in fact it was me who was trying to escape from taking the blame… If I hadn't crash-landed there, they would all still be living peacefully now. All those people wouldn't have been caught up in that tragedy. But I accused Fei… Citan: You are a rarity. I did not expect your people would ever think like that. To your people, surface dwellers are nothing more than domesticated animals, are they not…? Elly: The Shepherds, -Abel-, took control over the surface dwelling -Lambs-… Possessing the right to give them life and death as they see fit… Citan: Exactly. Yet you seem to feel responsibility toward Fei and the villagers. Why is that? Elly: I don't know myself… At Jugend I was taught that surface dwellers were stupid and base… And that is why we have to control them… But… Citan: But upon meeting Fei, something about him made you feel differently? Elly: Yes. He's no different than we are… In fact he seemed more powerful. He possesses something… something we don't. He also risked his life to save me…twice. Citan: Most of your people would feel ashamed at receiving such an act. Yet, you are grateful to Fei…? Elly: It's probably because of my father. He had an open mind to surface dwellers. My nanny was… a surface dweller. No one knew about her though… Besides… I am the same as Fei… Citan: The same? Elly: No, nothing. Nevermind… Citan: Hmm. I think I understand. I am sorry. After just saying that we should not pry… It is my nature, you know? My wife says I am too persistent and that I talk too much. But, personally, I do not think I talk too much. It is probably best if you return home to your country. You really should not be here. Elly: I'll return to headquarters. But then what…? Citan: You are worried… Elly: Yes… Citan: Worrying is natural. Even I used to worry once too, you know!? Elly: Oh, Citan… Citan: Anyway, let me handle what to tell Fei… You had better go now. (Elly stands from her seat on a tree trunk and walks off into the night. Citan sits down and the night passes on.) __The Next Morning__ Fei: Has Elly gone yet? Citan: Oh, so you were awake? Fei: Yes, I woke up midway, so I only heard part of what you two were discussing. Citan: … Fei: Elly… so that's what she is? Citan: Fei, she is… Fei: I know, it's not Elly's fault. What happened to the village is all my fault. I took out all my pent up feelings on Elly. I'm the one who should apologize. Citan: Fei, do not blame yourself. It was not your fault either. You were just trying to protect the village. Fei: Thanks, doc… By the way, how is everyone from the village going? Citan: Do not worry, Yui is taking care of them. I told her to leave soon and take them all to a certain place. They should be safe for a while. So you just worry about yourself for now. Fei: Okay, doc. Citan: Now to think what we should do next… Shall we leave this forest and head for the desert town of Dazil? We may learn what Aveh and Kislev are up to… not to mention getting some parts for Weltall. The leader of Aveh is not going to sit back and let the other night's fiasco go unpunished! (Fei and Citan walk South, and overhead, a humming sound fills their ears. Through the trees, against the clear blue sky, a leviathan of an airship cruises by. The rear of the protracted ship tapers into a tip at the end, with two tiny fins projecting from the tail. It drifts slowly, the long fuselage followed by the four fins that extend from the front of the ship.) Fei: What is that…? Citan: I would assume it is an aerial battleship from Aveh… Fei: An aerial battleship? I've never heard of Aveh having anything like that. Citan: Of course it does not come from Aveh originally… Most likely it belongs to the Gebler forces stationed in Aveh. Fei: Gebler? Citan: Special forces from the Sacred Empire of Solaris known as Gebler. I am sure you have heard something about them. They are an organization providing large-scale military aide to the kingdom of Aveh. They showed up in Ignas several months ago. Until then, Aveh was being routed by Kislev. But with the Gebler's help they have managed to regain half their losses. They are now expanding their territory and gathering resources buried in the ruins. Fei: I've heard the village elders talk about it… Is Elly a part of that? Citan: Quite possibly so. Their group has superior technology and power. It is rumored they are here solely to get the resources in the ruins. I am surprised they are using something as powerful as that ship… It must be to suppress the recent border skirmishes. Fei: So they are fighting the Kislev Empire? Citan: Yes. It seems they have found new ruins on the northern edge of Aveh. Those ruins are under a five-hundred-year-old temple. Three weeks ago Kislev took over those ruins. Most likely they are fighting over that. (Citan and Fei walk out of the forest and continue on into the desert, where Dazil lies in clear view.) (Fei walks forward as the two reach the archway to Dazil's simple desert town, and admires the place as people bustle around in all directions, buying, selling, and even just looking.) Fei: This is… Dazil… Citan: Yes, that is right. The desert town of Dazil. (A soldier stands at the large stone wall before, and looks at the two. Men and women stand at makeshift merchant carts, selling their goods to all. Stone houses with dark wood for roofs stand scattered here and there, and people move back and forth through the place.) Fei: This town's lively. Citan: This is the center for all excavations in Aveh. People come from all over Ignas to try and find the resources buried in the ruins around here. We should be able to find out what both Aveh and Kislev are up to, here. And we also have to gather the things we need to repair Weltall. Fei: Repair Weltall… Citan: Yes, we must exchange the broken parts to fix Weltall… Otherwise it will not be able to function at all! There is an 'Ethos' workshop in the Southern part of this town. Let us go there, Fei. Fei: Yeah, okay doc, let's check this place out then. (The two men walk through the town, and come to a dune behind a stone house. Over the walls, in the desert outside of the town, lies an excavation site.) Fei: Huh? What's that…? (Cranes hang from enormous tractor-like machines, pulleys and wheels working on the surface. At one point, the sand ends, and a floor of thick, dull metal begins. The metal floor recedes into a hole, out of which the machines are pulling a wrecked Gear.) Fei: That's amazing. They're doing digging right next to this town too? Citan: This is an Aveh-run excavation site. The machines and Gears found here are valuable resources that could turn the tide of the war. They are indispensable to the war effort. Anyway Fei… Let us move on. We have more pressing matters to do than taking in the 'sites'! (They press on, and eventually come to a large metal dome, with two flags hanging from either side of the entrance. The insignia upon them resembles a cross, but is split at the tip, and the sides fall, making for a heart-shape at the tip. Fei walks inside with Citan, and they are greeted by a fast hammering of metal on metal.) Fei: Wow… So this is the 'Ethos' workshop, heh, doc? Citan: Yes. The 'Ethos' workshops are the only places that officially repair Gears. Let us see if we can get the parts we need to fix Weltall here. As they say, time is money! …So we should do whatever we can as soon as we are able to. (A giant green Gear lies in the center of the facility, with three men working on it with their tools. Citan approaches one man standing to the side.) 'Ethos' man: Huh? How can we help you? Citan: Sorry to bother you. Our Gear has broken down, so I would like to buy some parts to fix it. 'Ethos' man: Tough luck, huh? Can you tell me what make of parts you are after? Citan: Yes, we are hoping to replace an X-29 model injection bypass circuit. 'Ethos' man: X-29 model injection circuit? That's only used on the latest military models. We don't keep those kinds of parts in stock here. You can only get such special parts by placing an order at the 'Ethos' headquarters. This workshop is only for the repair of civilian Gears… Citan: I see. Sorry to have bothered you. 'Ethos' man: Sorry that we can't help you. (Citan exits the store, followed immediately by Fei.) Fei: …Doc, do you have a moment? I need to talk to you. Citan: Yes, of course, Fei… (The two walk to a small stone bridge that emerges from the sand over a walkway, and begin to talk as they watch the never-ending bustle of Dazil.) Citan: So Fei, what did you want to talk to me about? Fei: Well doc, it's about Weltall… We can't find the parts we need, so is it alright if we just don't fix it? Citan: Do not repair it. What is the problem, Fei? Fei: Well, we've been able to come as far as Dazil on our own… So doesn't that show that we don't need Weltall as much as we thought? Actually, I've been thinking that after things cool down I want to go back to Lahan and help rebuild. That's all I feel I can do now… Citan: …I see. If that's what you want, Fei, then fine. But I think we should try and move Weltall as far away from there as possible. Fei: Move it away? But why do we need to do that, doc? Citan: It is only my speculation, but… I suspect that the incident that evening occurred because the Gebler Special Force stole a Kislev military Gear. Fei: Special Force… You mean Elly's group? Citan: Exactly. When I examined the broken Gear in the village, I realized that the Gebler pilot was riding a Kislev Gear. It must have had some new technology involved in it for the Kislev army to send pursuit forces after it. Fei: New technology? Citan: I suspect that the Gebler Force was out to steal a new experimental Gear. I am sure news of the Special Force's failure has reached the capital. They will be investigating the Lahan area to reclaim whatever parts of the new Gear they can find. Fei: Hold on, doc! Won't the Kislev army still be in Lahan too! Citan: Most probably. An in that case, there will be a conflict between Aveh's inspection team and Kislev's pursuit troops. If they find where we have hidden Weltall… Fei: The armies will fight over who gets Weltall… And right near Lahan too. Citan: So, to avoid any problems, we should move Weltall somewhere else right away! Fei: But, we can't fix it in order to move it… Citan: Right. But staying here will solve nothing. Fortunately, this is the center of all excavation work in this country. There is bound to be some information on where we can find parts… Anyway, the fear is often worse than the danger itself… We should not let such fears hold us back! (Walking around some more, they come across a metal machine with large wheels underneath.) Citan: This is a sand buggy… That is it, Fei! I have thought of a good way to get the parts we needed for Weltall. First, we have got to find out who will rent us this buggy. Fei: Sand Buggy? Citan: A sand buggy is a special car made for the desert. Its tires do not sink into the sand, so it is a must for long trips into the desert. Fei: So then doc, what do you plan on doing with this sand buggy? Citan: Well, leave it to me. Just you wait and see. (Citan and Fei enter a small stone hut, and a man wearing a light turban sitting behind a desk acknowledges them.) Man: Hm? Never saw you before. You want to rent out a sand buggy too, heh? Citan: Yes, that is right. Do you have any we can rent right now? Man: Of course… The keys are in the ignition, you can take it now. Citan: Well then, if I may. Fei, I am going into the desert to search for parts for Weltall. Fei: Going to the desert? Doc, are you going to excavate some ruins or something? Citan: The Kislev and Aveh armies are confronting each other in the desert all the time. There is talk that their forces often break into battle over the ruins. Fei: What does that have to do with that Gear? Citan: If I search the battlefields for the wrecks of such army Gear… I should be able to find the parts we need. Besides, Weltall is a Kislev Gear, so we need parts from Kislev Gears. Fei: But… Citan: Fei, you are such a worrier. Things have a way of working out. You do not need to worry so much. Why not go kill some time at the bar until I get back. (Citan exits.) Fei: Doc… Man: Hey, are you letting him go out there alone? Lots of fights break out in the desert… it's a real dangerous place. I've heard about a group of pirates riding around attacking people on a sand cruiser. You really shouldn't let him go out there by himself. (Fei runs outside, but the buggy, and Citan, are already gone. Fei goes to the bar, as told, and talks to a big man wearing a strange red suit. He introduces himself as Big Joe.) Big Joe: …Hic… Where's your friend? There's a war on in the desert and he just goes wandering off there? If your friends are important to you, then don't let them get away. Especially if it's a lady friend… Gahahaha! (Fei, realizing this, runs out of the town and immediately heads west in the desert.) (Before having gone very far, Fei sees two Gears begin jumping through the desert, throwing up sand as they smash against the dunes.) Fei: W, what are they!? Are they Aveh Gears? … I'm worried about doc… Guess I may as well follow those Gears. (Fei runs over the dunes for a long time, until he loses sight of the Gears.) Fei: How far has doc gone? …And now I've lost sight of those Gears too. (A rumbling sound can be heard, and the ground starts to shake.) Fei: What's happening? (Suddenly a colossal shape flies over Fei, enveloping almost his entire line of sight in a huge shadow.) Fei: !! (Fei looks into the sky, and to his amazement, sees an incredible floating city. The gargantuan metal ship floats slowly past, and Fei sees that it is covered entirely by a glowing bubble of energy, possibly a force field. It appears to Fei to be almost the size of a small country, and resembles a disc with a tall tower in the center. A long post runs down the center and ends in a metal globe, which seems to be the source of the golden ball of energy.) Fei: W, what the heck is that thing? (Fei starts off after it, but two more Gears of the same type jump by again.) Fei: A different unit? Are they going toward the direction the saucer went? I'd better follow them so as not to lose sight of them… (After running further, Fei notices that the sky is getting darker, and he has still not found Citan.) Fei: Does this desert ever end? It'll get dark soon, so I'd better hurry up and… (Interrupting Fei, a desert motorcycle shoots by, the driver not even noticing him. Another follows, their bikes kicking sand out as they pass. Then two more drive by, following the previous ones quickly.) Fei: What's going on here? Gears, a flying saucer… and now these guys… I hope doc's alright! (Another bike came into view, and Fei ran in front of it. The driver swerved out of the way and crashed into the sand.) Fei: Eyaaaah! (Fei tips the bike back up, and jumps onto it, revving the engine before blazing off into the distance.) Fei: Errh, sorry about that! Just let me borrow this for a while! (The soldier charges after to no avail, shouting.) Soldier: Hey, wa~it! (Fei went after the other bikers, searching for trails of dust, but couldn't find any. His new bike flew over the sand, jumping from dune to dune as a trail of sand rose behind. The night got progressively darker, and the moon rose into the sky. Fei stopped the motorcycle for a moment, and heard the blaring of an engine just before a gust of wind blew over he and his bike. Fei got up and immediately, one of the Gears from before landed right beside him, shaking the ground. Its single eye beamed red as its head turned in Fei's direction. Fei backed up, and made a run for it, only to see another Gear land right in front of him.) Fei: What's with you guys? Aren't you overreacting a little for just stealing a motorcycle…? (The Gear in front of Fei rose its fist to kill him, but bullets rattled the armor on its chest, knocking it to the sand. The other Gear turned only to suffer the same blow.) Fei: Ah…! (Weltall stoops down to one knee, and Citan walks out onto its outstretched hand.) Citan: Fei! I was looking everywhere for you. Fei: Doc! You're alright? Citan: Yes, of course…! Looks like we do not have time to chat. (Fei turned around, just as the two Gears got up off of the ground.) Citan: Fei, hurry! Fei: Hurry and do what…? Citan: I cannot use Weltall very well! Only you can use its full potential… Hurry up and get on board! (Citan slides to the ground, and Fei starts into the Gear.) Fei: …A, a, alright. (Weltall attacked, running up to the massive gears, and punched one of them, in the chest. It stood shakily now, so he kicked it down, never again to rise. The second Gear seized its opportunity and attempted to hit Weltall, but the black Gear dodged the fist and unleashed a barrage of punches on its foe. The Gear crashed into the ground, exploding. Inside of the Gear, Fei speaks his thoughts aloud.) Fei: I don't know how… but I beat them! Strange voice: HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! Fei: W, what the? (On a tall, slim mountain peak five times Weltall's height, stood a familiar Gear. It held no weapon, and had thin wings that hung from the monstrous machine's frame. A dark, burly figure with a strange headdress stood on the shoulder of the Gear, just level with the head. The red moon glowed behind the two, encircling them like a ring of fire.) Man in Black: Your hot blooded desire for battle has not been tamed, I see. Fei: Who are you? (Fei has a vision, and sees the red cross swing before his eyes. It blinks in and out of reality as he sees the mask of the man on the mountain.) Oh, right, I know you. You killed her… It wasn't! Not me! (The boy with the long hair appears, and smiles, cruelly.) You coward… (Fei sees himself as a child, with the cross lying at his feet as he sits on the ground, head hung down.) It wasn't me! (The vision ends.) Fei: You're the one from… Lahan…!! Citan: Here we go again… Man in Black: My name is Grahf… The seeker of power. You certainly showed how much power you had back there in Lahan, didn't you, Fei!? Fei: How much power I had? What are you talking about! Grahf: A greater power… is what I need to fulfill my mission. I sent those Gears into that land as a catalyst to awaken the power in you… To make contact with you. Fei: As a catalyst!? You mean you caused that intentionally!? Grahf: That's right. The death of your loved ones… And you powerless against it happening… The grief, the screams from your heart born out of the tragedy… There! That was the catalyst for triggering your power. Fei: You mean you attacked my village just to get me into that Gear!? Why!? Why did the villagers have to die…? Grahf: Who cares why! It does not matter how many of them died… They were wretched vermin, only living from day to day without ever fulfilling their prescribed destinies! And have you forgotten? You were the one who destroyed the village. I did not lift a finger. Fei: No!! I was just trying to save the village and its people! I never intended to destroy it!! Grahf: Is that so? Surely you have heard it? It is the very essence of you… the voice of desire from within you that craves destruction. Fei: Shut up! Even if that were true, weren't you the one who caused it!? If you hadn't come, the village wouldn't have suffered the way it did! Grahf: Ah, so now you resort to blame? I see… That sounds like something 'you' would say. That's good. Your basic nature remains unchanged. Fei: Crap… You said you need my power? What were you intending to do with it!? Grahf: You know very well… it is to destroy… Mother God… Fei: D, destroy God? Grahf: Yes, we will destroy god. That is our purpose… That is our destiny! Fei: Don't be ridiculous! I won't get involved in such a thing! If you want to destroy God, or whatever it is you're on about… do it by yourself!! Grahf: Hah, hah, hah… You resemble your father. Fei: My father? You mean my dad? You know my father!? Grahf: That was… a most delightful scream. I was enthralled by it. Nothing is more beautiful than a scream of death. Fei: What did you do to my father!? What happened between you two!? Grahf: Hmph, do you really wish to know? There is no use in you knowing it now. Fei: What!? Grahf: Your power is still beneath that needed for my purposes. Anything unusable must be tried until it becomes suitable. (The ground shakes, strongly and loudly.) Fei: What? (Sand rises like mist from a large diameter of sand, and a huge worm with a split head emerges in front of Weltall, screaming hideously.) Fei: What in the hell is that!? Grahf: What will you do, Fei? If you die here, then so be it. You may indeed gain some happiness from not knowing. But surely, that is not what you truly want…? If you want to know the truth… and that is what you want, isn't it, Fei… then here is what to do… You must show me that you have attained the level of strength I require… To do that you must destroy others using your own strength! Then you will gain all that was lost in exchange for that scream of death! Ha, ha, ha, ha!! (The dark Gear floats silently upward, disappearing into the black sky.) Fei: W, wait! We're not finished yet!! (But the giant worm attacked, striking at Weltall, who fell to the ground. Fei maneuvered it back up, and charged the worm. Weltall kicked at the worms stomach, but it was not even slowed by the attack. The monster swung it's giant head at Fei's Gear, and it stabbed at the fuel tank and started to suck the fuel out. Weltall smacked it with its fist, and did an uppercut to the beast in the throat. The worm screamed hoarsely and fell onto one side, dying only a moment later.) Citan: Fei! Are you alright!? (The doors in Weltall's chest open.) Citan: Fei! Fei: …I'm fine… The Gear seems to be broken, though… Citan: I am so glad that you are unharmed. The Gear had only temporary repairs made on it. They were not made to survive an outright battle like that. Fei: … Citan: Fei? (Two Gears identical to the ones before landed on either side of Weltall, and Citan looked around, shocked.) Citan: Oh no! The Aveh military! Not now…! Fei, I think we should remain calm…? Fei: … Citan: Fei? __The next morning__ (A huge platinum sand ship runs through the desert, holding Weltall in the open center of the dock. A wave of heat shoots out of the rear, hazing the air for a moment. Six fans on the bottom of the ship propelled it forward, while keeping it over the surface of the scorching sand. An immense cloud of dust and mixed sands flew behind, following closely.) (Fei and Citan sat in a cell with two beds and a solid, metal floor and walls. Fei slept soundly, despite the fact that his rest was filled with nightmares.) (A storm rages over a grassy field, and Fei sees himself standing alone in the rain. Off in the distance, three figures face each other. The two on the outside glow crimson as if lit on fire, while the person in the center radiates a blue light. One of the red men, Grahf, begins to speak in harsh tones.) Grahf: Let us join together… (A bolt of lightning strikes, lighting the sky, and the man covered by blue light retorts calmly.) Mysterious Man: I never thought we'd meet again like this. It must be… Fate… How ironic. But, I'll never let you have him. (The other man glowing in red smiles and chuckles, and a lock of his deep red hair covers his eyes and face.) Mysterious Man: Even if it kills me! (Fei awakes, and walks from his bed, facing the wall quietly.) Citan: How are you, Fei? Did you sleep well? Fei: Huh? Ahh… well… sort of… Citan: Sorry I messed up… I was careless. That Gear is a top secret experimental model from Kislev… It was only natural that Aveh would also be madly searching for it. Fei? Are you hurt? You do not look so well. Fei: Well… I suppose you could say I was hurt… Citan: That man in black… spoke of your father's fate… Is that what is wrong? Fei: There is that too, but… It's the other stuff he said… What happened at Lahan was all planned to get me to ride in that Gear… or so he claimed. That's got me worried… Citan: To get you to ride in that Gear…? Fei: Doc, before the village was destroyed, I lived without doubting myself. But it's different now. I don't… know who I am. I've never felt like this before… Citan: Well we cannot do anything as long as we are prisoners… even if w wanted to. Let us rest a little. Maybe it will sort out your feelings a little. Fei: Let's talk more. Citan: Are you worried about what he said about your father? Fei: All I know is what the maids at my home in Lahan told me… One night a strange masked man carried me to Lahan. I was heavily wounded at the time… In my delirium I called out for my father… That's all they could tell me about my background. I don't remember anything of my father or my past… so I guess I'm not really all that lonely or sad… Citan: Let us rest a little. Fei: Good idea. (Fei lies down and Citan remains sitting.) Citan: …(It was him! No mistake… That was no coincidence… Could it be that we are approaching… the -Time- of the -Gospel- …?) (In a seemingly different world, Citan stands on a pedestal before a giant of a man, with a skull- like face and deep green eyes. No earth or sky surrounds the two, but instead a void of dark red nothingness. Around the two float fragments of mirrors, reflecting images of life on Ignas and around to the man on the throne.) Emperor: Yes, the -Gospel-. We are the people expelled from paradise and forced to live on the cruel surface of the earth. (Blue and red lights appear and vanish around the tall throne as the emperor speaks.) Emperor: We who fill this land will once again return to the presence of God in paradise and live there eternally. That is the -Time- of the -Gospel-. That -Time- is at hand. We, the Gazel, must find God's resting place by then and resurrect him. That is our final prayer… Citan: Our final prayer? Emperor: Our final prayer to escape from the -Fate- that was determined at our genesis. (Citan stands up in the ship with Fei on his left, awake and gazing out the window.) Citan: (Majesty… Is this the end…?) (Through the lens of a telescope, someone watches every move of the ship Fei and Citan are held on. The yellowish sand ship crosses the telescope as it zooms in.) A voice: Bingo! Just as the report said - and Aveh transport. And look what we have on top…! No mistaking it! That's a new Kislev model! It has to be the stolen Gear everyone is after!! Whatever the case… There's no way we are going to let that Shakhan guy have it… (A young man with long blonde hair stands on the bridge of another ship, and pushes the lens upward.) Young man: Gunner! Gunner: Turret A 'Anton' and turret B 'Belta' can initiate their electropometers twenty seconds after opening their hatches. Young man: Franz! Franz: I don't hear anything other than the flowing sound of the sand… No suspicious radar activity detected! Young man: Marseilles! Marseilles: Maitreya's units are on standby at the catapults. They'll all be able to launch one minute after we resurface! Young man: Good! Let's do it! BattCon level 1! (The lights go off for an instant, and then a red light floods the room, followed by a low pitch buzzer.) Voice 1: Engine room, ready! Voice 2: Torpedo room, ready! Voice 3: Anti-Gear guns, ready! Voice 4: Navigation and Engineering are also ready! (An old, refined looking gentleman walks into the bridge.) Old man: Y, young master! What is happening? What was the alarm all about…? (Another man follows in, this one with silver hair and an eye-patch.) Silver-haired man: Not again…? Young master! Hold on a second! 'Young master': Battle stations, everyone! Surface navigation, begin operating the sand pump! Prepare to fire starboard cannons upon surfacing! Two elders: Young Master! Young master: Trim to the right! The wind is strong up there and we may be blown off balance! …Jerico! Hand the helm over to me! Citan: Look! What is that…? (Fei and Citan stare in awe out of the window. Out of the pale sand, a giant blue nose of a ship emerges, and then the full body of what appears to be a submersible.) Citan: A sand cruiser… It must be those desert pirates! (On top of the main body of the sand cruiser, two turrets turned in the direction of the Aveh ship. In a flash of red and yellow fire from the guns, the two turrets fired one after the other. Inside of the sand cruiser, another one of the crew spoke to the Young master.) Crew man: Alternate firing between A 'Anton' and B 'Belta'! Calculating adjustments! Young master: Awww yeah! Switch mode over to salvos after the initial shots! Let's slow 'em down. Get ready to give them a spankin' they won't forget! Elderly Gentleman: Young master, please wait! It may just be a requisitioned ship, not a warship… Young master: Let me handle this! Whether it's a warship or not, it's carrying a new Gear! Gunner! Let 'em have it! ( shot fires.) (The hull of the Aveh ship is smashed, and knocks Fei and Citan off of their feet.) Citan: Oh, oh! (Another hit rocks the ship, and it tips slowly over at an awkward angle, creaking unnaturally.) Citan: Judging by the angle… it seems as if a gun blast has made a whole in the hull… We will probably sink within minutes. Fei: A few minutes… Doc!! (Citan walks to the metal door.) Citan: It is locked… Somebody free us! Argghh!! (The door is thrown open, and a blast of sand fills the floor of the room. Across the hall, sand is pouring into the ship, filling it fast.) Fei: Let's get out of here, doc! (Citan and Fei rush out of the cell, but the thick desert sand slows them immensely. Making the best progress that they can, the two spot a square hole in one corner with a ladder, and leap down. Sand flows down the shaft right after them, and the two run, lost, through a large engine room. The boat tips further, and explosions rock the ship frequently. The two run across a small walkway, and behind them, it falls apart, panel by panel. At the end of the walkway, Fei grabbed a ladder, and he and Citan climbed up, immediately followed by the raging sea of sand behind them.) Citan: Whew, that was close. (They ran once again, passing by large boxes and crates as they dashed for this room's ladder upward. Climbing, Fei came out on the top of the ship, in a large crow's nest. A thick metal cable swooped to another side, as well as a large crane that extended from the nest.) Fei: Doc!? Where did you go, doc!? Citan: Fei! Can you hear me? I am moving the crane towards Weltall's cockpit. Hurry! Go up the crane to Weltall! We are going under fast! Fei: …I got you, doc! But when you're done you hurry up there too, okay!? (The giant crane shifts, swinging to Fei's right, and bringing the cable with it. Fei rushes out onto the crane, and as he ran over it, he looked down into the sand. Weltall, large and luminous against the sand, was indeed sinking quickly. The legs were not quite covered with sand, but the arms were, and Fei knew he must hurry. At the tip of the crane, Fei grabs the metal cord, and shimmies down as fast as he can. At the end of the cable, though, he was still thirty feet away from the sand.) Fei: Here we go again… You and I seem to have a fated relationship! (Fei jumps down, and climbs into the cockpit. Citan watches from the ship as Weltall stands and reaches out for him.) Fei: C'mon doc! Over here! Hurry up! (Citan leaps into the curled hand and Weltall dashes off. In a blare of a heat wave from the engines, Fei's Gear landed, just as the Aveh cruiser sank.) Citan: Wooh… (Citan jumps down, walking a little shakily before he regains his balance.) Citan: Whoops… Fei: Are you okay, doc? Citan: Ha ha ha… Well, Doctor Citan Uzuki! Feels like you have sacked your saccules, and tickled your utricles enough for one lifetime! Wow, dizzy! Fei: Sorry about that, doc! I didn't have time to open up the cockpit… Are you really okay, doc? Citan: Fei, I was only joking. Riding in the hand was not so bad. I can see what is so good about this top-secret experimental Kislev machine. Fei: Yeah, when I started it up, it began doing all kinds of stuff by itself… The environmental response system and weight-reduction hovering kicked in straight away… automatically! Citan: Really…? Amazing…! A voice from behind: Save yourselves but leave your friends to sink in a sea of sand… don't you believe in comradeship? (Citan and Fei look, bewildered, to see three red Gears standing in the sand. The central Gear had a golden crest and an eye-patch. In the background, the same desert cruiser that sunk the Aveh vessel lay in the sand. A transmission to Fei's Gear showed the face of the lead Gear's pilot. A young man with long blonde hair and an eye-patch on his left eye spoke angrily, taunting Fei.) Pirate: It's not very manly of you two to leave your platoon to die while you run away in a Gear, you know? Fei: wait one moment! We're not Aveh soldiers! Pirate: Hm. Can't you make a better plea for your life? You come jumping out of an Aveh ship and claim that you are not Aveh soldiers! Stop trying to fool me! Fei: I tell you, it's true! Pirate: Tsk. How pathetic are you?! Even if you're the pettiest of soldiers, how's about showing a little spine… and put up a decent fight! Fei: Stop it! I'm telling you I'm no soldier! I don't want to fight! Pirate: How nauseating! Why don't you stop grumbling, and leave the Gear and run away? (The red Gear attacked, throwing a long metallic whip across Weltall's chest. The black Gear defended the hit, though, and stood it's ground.) Pirate: For someone who doesn't want to fight, you're quite powerful… I see, an all-environment model… so that's it, huh? Now I want it even more! (Fei, forced to do so, gives in and fights. The two Gears strike each other, hitting back and forth until the ground begins to shake violently.) Fei: !? Pirate: Oh no! This is not good!! In the heat of battle, I get caught in quicksand! Darn. Me, of all people! Damn! It's all your fault! Boy are you going to get it later. So be darn ready! Fei: Why! (The two Gears sink rapidly, and after a few seconds, they disappear underneath the swelling sand.) __Underground cavern__ (The young pirate jumped down from his Gear, and walked up to Weltall.) Pirate: Hey, come down here now! I'm not gonna kill you. All I want is for you to leave this Gear… huh? (Fei hops to the ground.) Pirate: Hey!? You're not an Aveh soldier? Fei: I told you that in my intercom transmission earlier. You're the one who refused to listen to me, right? Pirate: Hah, ha, ha. Sorry, sorry. Yes, I remember you were saying something like that. I went off half-cocked and thought you were the enemy. Uhh, ahem… My name is Bart. I'm the pirate that works this territory. Fei: My name is Fei. I was arrested for no reason, shoved into that Aveh transport ship… And was nearly about to be sent to a concentration camp until you went and blew the thing to blazes. Anyway, I'm just glad to have been able to survive. (Bart admires Fei's Gear and steps back a few paces.) Bart: I see… Well, I'm glad I at least helped you out a little. But I didn't expect a civilian like you would be riding in a military Gear. (Motes of dust and sand creep down through the air, and fall onto Fei and Bart's Gears.) Bart: Besides, this Gear is a brand new model. I've never seen this type before. Fei: Let's just say that a lot of things have happened… It wasn't like I wanted to pilot it! Where are we anyway? Looks like we fell into one weird place. I've never heard of huge stalactite caves such as this existing under the desert before. Bart: What? You don't know anything, do you? Where are you from? The desert only covers around 1000 sharls of the outer layer of the earth. The stratum underneath that consists of igneous rock. Fei: From a sea of trees to a sea of sand… and now a stalactite cave… What's next…? Bart: What are you talking about? Fei: Oh, nothing… Never mind… Bart: We're in trouble… Look, the hole we fell through has disappeared. We'd better find another way out. So, you wanna call a truce for now…? At least until we find an exit and get out of here. Fei: Yes… agreed. First we gotta find the way out of here… So, let's get going… (On the sand cruiser that blew up the Aveh ship, several of the Aveh soldiers stood, surrounded by pirates.) Aveh Guard: Phew, thank God… I didn't wanna dry up and die in the desert… Pirate: Hey, you! I know you're tired but don't go any further than there! 2nd Aveh soldier: Shut up! You sunk our ship! Don't you forget that! (A tall man with a bandana on his head steps forward and looks down on the captive guards.) Pirate: No, you shut up! Just be thankful that you were saved! Nurse: Excuse me… Is there anyone who is almost dead, with no arms and legs, or in need of an abdominal operation!? No one…? Well, that's depressing… (Citan stands off to one side with the silver haired man who has an eye-patch on his right eye.) Citan: I see… So your 'young one' has not just been shooting at anything and everything then, Sigurd. Sigurd: Yes, he actually calculated this attack… or so he says! As you can see… no one has died this time, either. (One of the large red Gears that accompanied Bart stomped by, and stopped before the side of the ship, speaking to Sigurd.) Desert Gear: Sigurd, sir! The collection of the goods and soldiers from the Aveh transport is almost complete. We still can't locate the young master… General Maitreya's platoon will scout around again. Sigurd: Okay. I'm counting on you. Desert Gear: Yes, sir! Since I'm part of the unit I'll also excuse myself. (With that, the Gear raised its posture, and shot off into the sky.) Citan: So, what happened to this 'young one' you call 'master'? Sigurd: He fell into an underground cave with that other guy in a Gear. It's near an old excavation site, and he is riding in a Gear, so he'll probably be able to come up somehow… We'll try to find him for a while, and if that doesn't work, then we'll wait for him at our meeting point. Citan: You seem to trust him a lot… Sigurd: Trust him… Yeah, I trust he'll get us into trouble. But I never thought I would meet you here, 'Hyu…' Citan: It is not coincidence. It is an inevitable consequence… I assume. Sigurd: …Hyuga… Are you saying something is about to happen? (In the underground, Bart and Fei wander through the large cavern they are in until they come across a large rock.) Bart: Hey, Fei! My sensors are responding to something. There appears to be quite a large cavern on the other side of here. If we can get rid of this rock… But I don't think it's possible. (The two size up the boulder in silence for a moment.) Bart: Hey, this is huge. What can we do with this? I doubt you can break it. Fei: I guess we could try pushing it… (Weltall presses his frame against the solid boulder, and it shakes a little and just barely budges.) Bart: Wait, no matter how you look at it… Fei: What the heck are you doing? Hurry up and help!! (After pushing with all of the combined Gears' might, the huge rock falls out of the hole it is wedged into, and falls down into the ground. Fei jumps in after it.) Fei: We can get by if we help each other. Let's keep it up so we can get out of here. Bart: The hydromechanic pipe for my knee is on the verge of breaking down. It's all because of that fall from the ceiling... followed by pushing this mega-colossal boulder. It won't be funny if my Gear malfunctions in a huge cavern like this. Fei: Your friends won't come and help us? Bart: It'd be a waste of time waiting. They probably won't come. Fei: But, aren't they your friends? Bart: We believe in a liberal upbringing. They'll think we can escape by ourselves. Fei: I wonder if doc is okay… Bart: Don't worry about the man you were with. I'm sure our guys saved him by now. Fei: … Bart: What is it? Fei: … We wouldn't have fallen in here if only you had listened to me. Bart: Don't blame it on me! You should've surrendered instead of challenging me. All I wanted was your Gear. Fei: Don't be ridiculous! You're the one who blindly attacked me. What else was I supposed to do? I thought I might die if I didn't fight you. Bart: I was taking it easy on you. Couldn't you tell? Then you're a bit dense. Fei: Don't lie to me. I know you were serious. Bart: What! You want some!? Let's have it out! Right here! Fei: … (Fei jumps off and starts heading towards a possible exit. Bart hesitantly goes after him.) Bart: Wait! Settling it right here comes first. I won't be able to get anything done until we settle this once and for all! Fei: I thought you wanted a truce for now? Getting out of here should come first! Once we're out of here, I'll fight you all you want. Let's hurry up and move on out of here! Bart: I don't like you very much… Damn it! I'll get you when we get outta here. (The two Gears head up into a passageway that emanates a dim, pale green glow. The path slants upward, and the two Gears follow it until it leads them to a natural bridge of stone. Waterfalls of clear blue water shoot from cracks in the walls, falling down into the depths of the cave beneath. In a new cavern , a small stone cave can be seen in a corner. Smoke rises from a man-made chimney projecting out of the entrance.) Bart: Who'd have ever thought there would be someone living in a place like this!? Let's check it out! (The two Gears jump over several thick, odd looking cylindrical rocks, and approach the small hut. Fei and Bart climb out of their Gears and walk into the glowing hut. An ancient, wrinkled man with long gray hair slowly walks toward them.) Bart: Hey, Fei! This is a surprise! There's someone living in this place! Old man: Hmm, it's been a while, but I thought I heard the sound of Gears… I assume they are yours? Well anyway, come on back in here and make yourself at home. (Fei and Bart follow the old one further into his stone house, passing barrels, sheets lying on a stone protruding from the wall, and a small generator and stove. Old man: It's been a long time since my last visitor. What happened? Did you fall from the surface? Bart: I guess that's it. Old man: I see… That's too bad… I can tell from the sound that you both ride good Gears… But the legs seem to be playing up a bit. Fei: You mean, you can tell what's wrong just by the sound of its footsteps? Old man: Ha ha ha. It's easy to know what's wrong with Gears by the sounds they make. My guess is that one of them needs a new hydromechanic pipe in its joints. It's making a nasty sound. It must be hard to walk with too. Oh, by the way, the name's Balthasar, but you can call me Ol' man Bal. Bart: Oh yeah? So it looks like we've got a real fanatic here, huh! What's a old man like you doing in a place like this? Ol' man Bal: I guess you can call me a 'fossicker' or a 'collector of things'. There is much to be found lying around in this here stalactite cavern. Bart: A collector, huh? Sounds interesting. The things on this shelf, are they some of the stuff you have found? Ol' man Bal: You mean the fossils? They're one of the things I collect. Feel free to have a look at them. (The three men walk back into another room, led by Bart. Within lies two shelves of what seem to be skulls.) Ol' man Bal: Around here you can dig up ancient machines along with human and animal fossils. Notice anything particular on these shelves? They go from oldest on the left, to newest on the right. Bart: Are you an archaeologist or something, old man? I don't quite see what you are talking about. They just look like a bunch of old bones to me. Fei, what do you think? (Fei steps forward, and inspects the skulls, one by one.) Fei: …Let me see. First, there are no human bones up to here. Then, from here on over to the right, something is slightly different… I guess. Ol' man Bal: Yes, from a certain point in time, human fossils suddenly no longer appear. That point is roughly 10,000 years ago. Bart: What does that mean? Ol' man Bal: Don't ask me. I don't know for sure… But my guess is, there were no humans on this earth before then. At least it appears so. Bart: How could that be? What about all that talk about evolution? Ol' man Bal: You mean the theory of evolution as taught by the 'Ethos', right? You can't trust that! Rather, I believe in the old legends and myths. Fei: Legends? Myths? Ol' man Bal: Haven't you heard of this story…? (Balthasar walks back into a large study, as he begins his story.) Ol' man Bal: They say that humans and God lived together in a paradise in the sky. With God's protection, there was no fear of death, and natural disasters were entirely unknown. Then one day, humans ate a forbidden fruit which gave them incredible wisdom. But God drove mankind from the paradise for their sin. Bitter at having been driven out of paradise, humans used the wisdom they had to make giants. With these giants, they planned to challenge God himself. But God poured his wrath down on them. All who defied God were destroyed. But God himself did not escape unharmed. Taking paradise with him, the wounded God buried himself deep beneath the ocean to sleep for eons. Before going to sleep, God used his remaining power to create right-hearted humans to live on this planet. These people are said to be… our ancestors. Well, anyway, I'll stop my rambling now. Fei: By the way, does this cave have… Ol' man Bal: An exit? There is an exit in the excavation site beyond the sand barrier. You can get outside through there.) Bart: Sand barrier? You mean that huge wall you can see from your entrance? Ol' man Bal: Yes, that's it. On the other side is an old Aveh excavation site. They built the wall when Aveh was excavating to keep the sand from falling in from above. But they've stopped working there now. Fei: So, how do we open a huge thing like that? Bart: If it's a wall, you can probably break it down. Ol' man Bal: Hold your horses there young 'uns. No matter how good a Gear you have, you'll never break that wall down. It's much too strong. So… Let's make a deal. Bart: A deal? Ol' man Bal: The wall was closed due to the reaction of the 'Sand Sensors'. Thanks to that, now I can't get through to the other side either. Maybe it happened when you two fell in here. Were you boys fighting up there or something? Fei: You seem to be able to tell everything! Anyway, so what can we do about it? Ol' man Bal: It is very simple. You just have to turn off the Sand Sensor switches. Doing that will keep the barrier from closing again. While you two are doing that, I'll open it up. Fei: Right, got it. Ol' man Bal: The sensors are in two places. You should see their flashing red lights. Well, good luck then. Fei: Let's go Bart. Ol' man Bal: Oh, before you go… I can share some parts and fuel with you. Just talk to me whenever you need something, right. Bart: Thanks, old man. Well, we'll go and finish our part of the deal then! (The two men get into their Gears and start up the path leading north. After a minute or two of walking, they come across a red, flashing beacon half the Gears' height. Fei hits the switch, and the lights fade. Then they jump down the side of the wall to find themselves back where they fell to begin with. Journeying again through the long passageway, they come to the waterfalls, and see the second sensor. Fei hits the switch on this one, and its red beams stop their bright glow. The two walk over the strange rocks a final time, and then enter Balthasar's house.) Ol' man Bal: Oh, good timing. I was just about to open up the sand barrier now. (Outside, the thick metal gate pulled itself back into the ground from which it had once emerged. The path was clear.) Fei: Well done, old man! Ol' man Bal: Our deal is done. Bart: Hey, old man. There's one thing I want to ask you. Ol' man Bal: What is it? Bart: I've heard somewhere on this planet is a Gear far superior to all others. I've heard it was called 'the God Gear' and was made in ancient times but was hidden away somewhere. Do you know anything about it? Ol' man Bal: A man-made God, created with the wisdom of God! Such a Gear would have the power of a thousand Gears. In a wave of its arm, it could destroy whole cities. Its battle cries would thunder in the heavens. You must be speaking of the 'Omnigear'. Bart: You know of it? Then perhaps it was what you were speaking about in that tale you told us of the battle with God… Ol' man Bal: Goodness gracious, you too, boy? Those stories were made to inspire man's soul. But they're just legends. They don't really exist. Anyway, allow me to take a look at your Gears. It'll only take a little while, so wait here, please. (The weathered old man walks outside, leaving the two alone in his study.) Bart: Hey, wait! Arhh, he's gone… Fei: Hey Bart. Do you think the Gear in that story's buried in the ground somewhere? Bart: I think that's what I've heard. Fei: Could one of the Gears we are using possibly be it? Bart: Yeah, right! What are the chances of that happening? Fei: ? Bart: The Gears that are excavated lately… are usually only a few hundred years old. Nowhere nearly as old as the Gear in that legend. Fei: Then why were they in the ground…? Bart: I don't know. There are no records. Except… Fei: Except what? Bart: There must be some truth in the tales that they were buried after a great war… The bullet wounds covering most of the Gears' armor would appear to confirm that. Fei: You mean that there are no records from the last several hundred years? How about before that? Bart: None from either period. The 'Ethos' controls all the records from that time period. Maybe they have some very ancient records too… All we know about our history is from the little pieces that we find for ourselves. Anyway Fei, what do you make of the old man? Fei: What do you mean…? Bart: Why would such an old man live all alone in this abandoned cave? Fei: I don't know. Probably digging for ancient Gears or something? Bart: Right! So you think so too? Fei: Hey! I just said that as a joke. Don't take all that stuff seriously. They're only legends, you know. Bart: No… that old man is up to something! (Something hits the floor outside, and a shout is heard.) Ol' man Bal: This can't be… Fei: ?? Bart: What's wrong, old man? Ol' man Bal: Is this your Gear? (The two go out to see what is the matter, and find Balthasar standing in front of the black Gear, looking up at it in awe. He re-enters the house to speak to them.) Fei: Well, sort of… Ol' man Bal: Where did you get it? Fei: I'm just borrowing it. Balthasar: This is… the host for the spirit of the slayer of God… Fei: Wait a moment! What did you just say? Ol' man Bal: Nothing. I didn't say anything!! Fei: No! I heard you! You said, slayer of God… That's what you said, isn't it old man!! Ol' man Bal: Your Gears are fixed. You have no more business here. This is a bad time for me. Be on your way! Fei: Be on our way…? Listen here, old man…!! (But it was to no avail. The old man Balthasar would not speak another word of it, and Fei and Bart left, not knowing what to think…) (Outside of the gate, the two young men found a gondola, and crossed it to discover a switchboard. An automated voice spoke to them: "Aveh excavation site main power generator. Currently, main power is off." Fei hit the switch for the main power, and the voice spoke again. "Main power is turned on. Operating normally. Once back to their Gears, Fei and Bart climbed onto a platform and pressed the 'down' button. The platform proceeded to carry them to a lower level of the cave, in which the two found an exit to a separate area on another elevator. The two went onto this, and it took them to a lower level. As soon as the elevator stopped, a gigantic Gear with two fuel tanks on its back flew right overhead, but then could not be seen or heard, so they continued. Before going very far, the ominous noise of the engine sounded again, and this time, the Gear landed and engaged the two in battle. Fei moved just faster than Bart, and punched the Gear twice, then hopping back. Bart jumped in just as Fei backed off, and slashed his Gear's whip across the enemy's torso. The giant gear was stunned momentarily. Before Fei could rush in to fight, the Gear wound its arm back, and released. The thick metal arm flew off of the body, and smashed into Bart's gear. Bart jumped back up, but didn't expect such an attack. Fei ran in again, and spun his Gear in a sidekick which knocked the Gear to the ground. Bart immediately followed, and struck the monstrosity six consecutive times against its shoulders and arms. Pulling back his Gear, the whip lashed out another time, slamming the Gear back against the solid, rocky ground. But it rose again, and fought back. A panel on its back opened, and ten or so tiny rockets hit Bart's Gear, knocking it back into the ground. Fei, taking advantage of this, attacked, hitting the Gears back with a hard punch and a kick. The Gear fell over, sparks flying from its chest, and did not rise.) Bart: Huh! What an idiot. Trying to scare us with all show and no power, eh, Fei! (Bart turned his back on the fallen Gear, but Fei watched it closely.) Fei: ………… Bart: Anyway… Looks like that's the exit. So, it'll soon be adios to this old cavern! (The giant Gear suddenly leaps up, and raises its fist to kill Bart. Fei watches in horror as the fist shoots into Bart's Gear.) Fei: !? Bart: What the…!? (But Fei's consciousness fades in and out for a split second, a single heartbeat pounding in his ears. Another beat hits Fei's chest, and his head pounds as he almost blacks out.) Fei: Get out of the way, Bart!! (Bart steps to one side, as Fei runs at the Gear. Weltall's arms spread out, and a black cloud encircles Fei's Gear. It is absorbed in a second, and Weltall punches the giants chest, his arms pierce the metal like butter, sending black embers flying from the assault. The fists struck faster, and faster, until Weltall's arms were a blaze of furious speed. The Gear fell again, but this time, its entire body fell into a million pieces as fire rushed in small explosions all over the body. Nothing remained but a pile of rubble when the fires died down.) Bart: Woooh! What the hell did you just do? Fei: …… Bart: Hey!! Fei: ……huh? Bart: What do you mean 'huh'!? What in blazes was that? …Don't you know? Fei: …No, I err, ……I don't know. Bart: That was incredible! You just blew that huge thing to pieces! Why didn't you use that technique a bit earlier? Fei: …I don't know that technique… I have no idea how I even did it! Bart: Hmm. Oh well, I guess that doesn't matter. Anyway… Thanks for helping me out! Fei: ……… Bart: So, now that we've got rid of that nuisance, let's get out of here, eh, Fei! (The two Gears jumped onto a broken remainder of a concrete bridge, and headed into the light.) (The sky rippled with hundreds of stratus clouds, making for a beautiful myriad of hues, the blues of the sky pressed and magnified under the transparent puffs of air. In the distance, mountains could be seen as the desert became more and more rocky.) Bart: Wow… I never thought we'd end up here… Fei: Where are we? Bart: You see the twin mountains over there? That's where Bledavik, the royal capital of Aveh, and Fatima castle are located. Currently, there's no king living there though. Anyway, that's my old hometown. Fei: Hometown… Bart: I'd like to go ahead and settle our dispute but… considering how close we are to the capital of Aveh, we'd probably get caught. Fei: … Bart: Hey, stop looking so glum, chum. I guess I'll have to get you back to your friend soon or you'll die from fretting or something. Anyway, the rendezvous point with the Yggdrasil is right over there. Don't worry, you'll be meeting your friend in no time at all. (Aboard the sand cruiser 'Yggdrasil' Citan and Fei stood before Weltall in a huge Gear hangar.) Citan: Fei! I was worried about you! Fei: Doc… (The elderly man from before walks up.) Maison: Welcome to the sand cruiser "Yggdrasil". We apologize for that earlier incident. (Bart walks behind Maison, and stands between Citan and the old gentleman.) Maison: I'm sure everyone has already had the courtesy to introduce themselves. But allow me to introduce the sand pirates' leader, Master Bartholomew. By the way, may I ask, young master, did you apologize to Master Fei? Bart: What? Uhh…Yeah… I told him I was 'wrong'… Right? Fei: … (The first mate with silver hair and an eye-patch like Bart walks up and interrupts.) First Mate: Just telling someone you were 'wrong' after the event isn't going to solve everything, young master. I'm sorry I've delayed introducing myself… My name is "Sigurd", the first mate of this sand cruiser. Maison: Well then, please let me know if you need anything. Bart: …That's the situation… So now, forgive me, will ya!? Sigurd: Young master! Stay out of mischief. (Sigurd grabs Bart by the ear, and pulls him away. Followed by Maison, the three pirates exit.) Bart: Ouch ouch ouch! Don't pull my ears! Citan: Let us go and wait in our cabin until we arrive… It is well made and comfortable. Fei: … Citan: What is wrong? You look down. Fei: No… Well… Citan: Something happened? Fei: No, nothing. (Fei and Citan walk out of the huge Gear hangar and through a hall that leads to their room. Inside, people lie on bunk beds, some reading, some sleeping, and some just sitting. A man talks to Fei.) Man: This is where we rest. Do you want to rest, too? Fei: Yes. Man: It's a little messy so bear with it. (Fei and Citan lie in their bunks, and fall asleep within minutes. When the two men awake, they rise and begin to exit the room.) Man: See ya. (Fei and Citan exit, and go down the hallway until they come to an elevator, which they board and ride up to the bridge.) Sigurd: We're almost at the hideout… We'll probably stop there for a while for supplies and repairs. (Outside of the ship, a beautiful day rises, the sun shining down, reflected off of the armored Yggdrasil. The sand cruiser rides through the sand as a boat would through the sea, sending waves of sand behind it. Within minutes the ship arrives at a large rise in the sand, which is revealed to be an enormous underground hideout made not of sand, but iron and steel, machines and computers. As the ship enters, lights illuminate the runway underneath, and cranes and lines attach themselves to the hull. A large squared bar passes over the ship of it as a long platform elongates to the bridge.) (At the hatch of the ship stand three young children and five soldiers lining the rails behind. The hatch pops up, and Bart emerges from within. Fei follows, then Citan and the gentlemanly Maison.) Children: Bart, good to see you back! Children: Welcome back, Bart! Soldiers: Welcome back! (One of the children jumps up and down in excitement.) First child: Bart! What did you bring us? Bart: Well… I've got a new model Gear and two people that we helped out. Second Child: Ehh! A Gear… how boring! Don't you have anything more interesting? Bart: I thought you'd say that… Look! This is amber I found in a stalactite cavern under the desert. It's rare to find one with a bug in it! (Bart hands the third child the amber.) Third child: Wow! Thanks Bart! Children: We got some amber! What's that? Let's go! We gotta show it off to everyone! (The three kids run off over the dock and out of sight.) Bart: Well then… I'm gonna tune up my Gear a little… Why don't you two go have some tea with Old Maison? Thanks Old Maison. (Bart climbs back into the ship, and disappears down the hatch.) Maison: Please, walk this way. (Walking onto a platform, they are lifted up into another area with a rectangular scaffold surrounding the elevator.) Maison: This is the residential section. Walk this way. (Maison leads them into a large room filled with people eating and drinking at the bar.) Maison: This is the dining hall. I'm sorry it's so gauche. (The three come to a large, semi-circular table. Fei and Citan stand on the inside of the crescent as Maison walks around to stand.) Maison: Please take a seat. (Fei and Citan sit.) Maison: Perhaps you would like some of my famous tea? Master Fei? Good Doctor? (He pours the tea from a bronze kettle and Citan sips it politely.) Maison: Young visitors are rare indeed, the young master must be very happy. If things were normal we wouldn't be living in the desert, but rather back in the royal palace… Citan: Royal palace…? You mean that young one is connected to the old Fatima dynasty? Maison: Pardon? N, no… I'm just a senile old fool who talks too much… Pay no attention to what I just said… Hahaha… Citan: But… that one-eyed youth does have a certain bearing. Maison: Oh…oh…oh…! Well spoken sir! Awfully good of you to notice! If I may, I would like to tell you. The young gent is the last forgotten reminder of the once proud Fatima dynasty. …That is, before it was destroyed by Shakhan's minions… Prince Bartholomew Fatima. Citan: Bartholomew? Edbart IV's successor… I am sure they announced Bartholomew died of an illness 12 years ago. Maison: Officially, yes. However, in reality, we rescued the young prince from Shakhan's evil grasp. Citan: Then why must the prince, the rightful heir, resort to piracy…? Maison: … Since fleeing here, we have had only one wish… That the young master would grow up to be a great man… Citan: Not to… Reclaim the throne? Maison: That is correct. Of course, to say we have absolutely no desire to restore his rule… would be a lie. We have plans for that as well. Citan: And part of those plans would involve piracy…? Maison: Well, yes… But there is a reason for that… Both Aveh and Kislev are devoted to excavating the ruins. Each country's strength is increasing daily. Even if we could get the help of all our comrades to start a revolution… the combined strength of all of us would still not be enough. We would certainly be suppressed by Shakhan's guards in no time at all. We needed power. We tried excavating the ruins using the Yggdrasil but it didn't work as well as we expected. Excavating requires large amounts of time, labor, and capital. The best we could do with our sand cruiser is find small items in the sand. Citan: And the piracy… Maison: Regardless of who gains the ruins' technology, one thing is certain… Both Kislev and Aveh will simply use that power to oppress the other. I agreed with the young master's idea of creating a new power to balance things out a little. Citan: I see… It is far more effective to plunder from the shadows, than to excavate the technology oneself. Maison: Of course pillaging is an unpardonable act. However… For Aveh, for Ignas, to continue like this… I'm sorry if it sounds rather self-righteous. Citan: That is something which outsiders like ourselves cannot comment upon. From what you have told me, I feel that the result of what you are doing will be good. Seeing your children here tells me that. Maison: I am much relieved by your words. Another cup of tea? Citan: Yes, please. Thank you. (Maison pours Citan more tea.) Citan: You mentioned you had plans. Why have you not put them into action? Maison: With Miss Margie imprisoned, we dare not do anything. Citan: She would not happen to be Nisan's…? Maison: You are well informed, my dear doctor. She is the Great Mother Marguerite of Nisan… and the young master's cousin, as well. Citan: Why would Shakhan take her captive? Maison: For the 'Fatima Jasper'! Citan: The Fatima Jasper that is said to show where the great treasure is? Maison: My, good doctor! You do know an awful lot. I am most impressed. (Maison lifts the pot to serve Fei more tea, but notices that Fei has not touched it.) Maison: You do not like my tea, Master Fei? Fei: No… I'm just not thirsty now! Maison: Well, we have no idea what the great treasure actually is… But it is said to be strong enough to save our kingdom if it is ever in plight! Citan: And Marguerite has the Jasper that tells the location? Maison: Only half of it, to be precise. The young master and Miss Marguerite each have half. Only by combining the two halves will anyone know where the treasure is. Citan: What exactly is the Fatima Jasper? When you say a half of the Jasper, I imagine some kind of necklace… Maison: Only the heirs to Aveh and Nisan know what it really looks like. Citan: I see. So that is why they have her locked up. My guess is that when they do find out, her chances of living are not… (Maison turns and takes a few paces away.) Citan: Ah, I apologize. I simply, I mean… I was only supposing the worst case. So please do not take it to heart… Maison: No, that is a terribly realistic scenario. Citan: …Ahem. What exactly do you mean by great treasure…? Maison: Well, I haven't the foggiest… A voice: The Gear…! He means the Gear! That has to be it! (Bart dashes up the steps and stands beside Maison.) Maison: Young master… are the Gears alright? Bart: Yeah… Even though they were sealed, sand's gotten into the joints. It's a pain in the neck to fix, so I'm having the crew take care of it now. My job is just to pilot them anyway. Besides, I'm bad with machines, so I'd just get in the way.) Maison: Young master… (Maison pours Bart some of his famous tea, and Bart takes a sip.) Bart: Anyway, what were we talking about? Citan: Whether the great treasure could be a… Gear? Bart: Oh, yeah. You know, something like that is drawn in one of the Aveh picture scrolls. Citan: Picture scrolls? Bart: …Well, if you're interested then let's go to the planning room… I'll show you what I mean… Since you're my special guests. Citan: That sounds interesting. (Fei and Citan follow Bart into another room, this one filled with electronic devices, computers, and a huge screen on the floor below.) Citan: This place is incredible! They probably do not even have equipment like this in the capital! Bart: Heh heh. Surprised? All this technology is thanks to Sig. (Bart walks down three steps leading to the oversized television, and stands, waiting. Fei walks into the center while Citan stands off to the side.) Bart: Hey, Fei! Don't stand on the screen. We won't be able to see! (Fei steps back.) Bart: Alright men! Display my special file on the main screen. (A metal projector drops from above, and lights up the screen with a picture. A castle stands to one side of the picture with a fiery, small person standing on the edge of its ramparts. The other two thirds of the scroll are covered by a giant red humanoid being. Its body is entirely covered in flames, and glows even against a bright sky.) Citan: What is this…? Bart: A picture scroll, nearly 500 years old. This is King Fatima I… 'body cloaked in flames making a blood oath with giants'. They say he used the strength of the giants to found Aveh. Citan: It is amazing that such an ancient scroll exists… and in such good condition too! I thought the 'Ethos' controlled all things such as these… Bart: Normally, yes. But this was one of my father's prized possessions. Next! (A new picture covers the screen, this one of the same monstrous giant, but in the center this time. The giant is in a sitting position in a large circle with King Fatima, arms spread wide, underneath. Six men stand on each side of the king, their arms raised as well.) Bart: After founding the country, Fatima forced the giants into slumber… to protect his kingdom's people if needed in the future. But we don't know where they are hidden. In another record, one of these giants is called the 'Great Fatima Treasure'. Citan: What about the 'Jasper'? Bart: Hey… you sure know a lot. Perhaps you're one of Shakhan's spies? Citan: Of course not. It is only an intellectual interest… Bart: Just kidding. It appears the Jasper is the key to finding our treasure. Citan: A key… Could that be what Shakhan is looking for? Bart: Not just him. Gebler is also looking for it. Citan: Really? Then we must rescue Marguerite as soon as possible. Bart: You're telling me! Since we helped you… I was wondering if I could, in turn, ask you a favor? Citan: Would that be… for us to help you rescue her…? Bart: Bright boy! That's exactly it. I heard from Sigurd… it seems that both Aveh and Kislev are after you! So we can help you and you can help us… How about it? It's not too much to ask. Citan: Well, if it pays for my room and board then I will help in any way I can… What do you think, Fei? You have not said anything for a while… Bart: Yeah. You were great back there in that stalactite cavern. Your strength alone is greater than ten or twenty of Shakhan's guards. Fei: … Bart: I'd love to have your power on my side! Fei: Why does everyone want to make me fight? Bart: H, huh…? What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Citan: Fei? Fei: I just don't feel like it! 'Love to have my power'? I don't have any! What's wrong with you, doc, everyone… You're driving me to the brink. Then there's that Gear… Grahf and my father… I don't have the time to help you out with your problems when I've got enough of my own!! (Fei burst out of the room, the door sliding shut behind.) Bart: What's with him? Is he always that short-tempered? Citan: No, that is not… I am sorry. Things have happened so fast that he has not had time to deal with it all yet. Try to understand. Bart: … (Outside of the room, two children run in front of Fei, riding the elevator down.) Child: We're gonna help service Gears now! Second Child: Yeah!!! Child: Let's go! (Fei waits until the elevator returns, and steps on as it goes back down to the dock where the Yggdrasil is. Passing the huge ship, Fei steps onto a platform and rides into the Gear dock. Fei walks up to Bart's Gear, and a man nearby speaks.) Worker: Brigandier is a star of hope for us pirates. The bright red body-color represents Bart's ambition. But since Bart always overdoes things, maintenance is a pain. (Fei walks to the next Gear, one he has never seen. It is about the size of Weltall, and is green, white and gold. A different worker talks to Fei.) Worker: This Gear is called Heimdal. It was excavated together with Brigandier. But we could never get it to run very well. Three test pilots were injured in trying. I guess no one can tame it. (Fei goes back up to the dock, and walks onto the Yggdrasil. Bart climbs out of the hatch, right in front of Fei.) Bart: Can I have a second? Fei: Sure. Bart: Citan told me all about your story. Do you want to talk about it? Why didn't you tell me? It sounds pretty rough. (Bart walks onto the upper level of the deck, near the helm.) Bart: Listen… I'm sorry for being a jerk… just now… Forgive me, will ya? Fei: … (Bart jumps down onto the edge of the hatch off of the rails, and onto the deck.) Bart: Whoa! Anyway… Sorry to bring it up again, but… Fei: No! Bart: What? Fei: I don't like fighting like you do. I only got into that Gear because I had to. I'd rather not ride them. If you want that Gear so much then you can have it! I don't want it! Bart: You think I like fighting? … Is that it? Fei: Don't you? Sure looks that way. It looks like the only thing you do enjoy is fighting. Bart: I can't let that slide. Who likes fighting? Take it back. Like it or not, I fight because I have to. I got my reasons, but you wouldn't understand. Fei: Well I don't have a reason to fight! I don't want to fight. But you people keep on hounding me to get me to get into a Gear? Why don't you just leave me alone!? Bart: It's because I see your skill and think… Fei: Well I hate it! Whenever I get in a Gear people get hurt. If I fight, people die. I don't want to hurt people! I don't want anyone to die! I hate it… can't you see that? Bart: Yeah, I know the feeling of just wanting to run away from reality. But do you think the kids left behind in your village would understand? Fei: … Bart: Citan told me what happened in Lahan. Would it have been better if you had done nothing? Sure, that happened because you were in that Gear. But even if you hadn't, people would have died… right? You weren't the reason. War… no, the people who started the war are the reason. And unless you get rid of the reason, nothing will change. I fight to get rid of the reason… Right now there is no other way so I have to fight… But that doesn't mean I enjoy it. I understand why you would feel guilt toward the kids in your village. And I know you don't want to harm others. But if you want to make it up to those children, don't you have to fight? You do have a reason to fight. A reason you must fight. But as long as you ignore it and continue to run away, those kids will never forgive you. Just remember that. And another thing, I'm not saying that not helping me is running away. You don't have to help. This is my own problem. I don't wanna get you in this against your will. But, if I had your skill I could bring all of this to and end… And make it up to those kids. At least that's what I think… Anyway… sorry to hold you up. The mechanic wanted to talk to you about your Gear. You probably don't care now, but at least listen to what he has to say. Fei: … (Bart walks away, off of the Yggdrasil. Fei, thinking of Weltall, runs back to the elevator and goes down to his Gear. The mechanic stops him and talks.) Mechanic: Looks like someone really knew how to tune up your Gear… Attack, defense, Ether amplification… an exceptionally balanced machine. But we don't seem to be able to dismantle some parts to see what they do… I guess you could call them… black boxes. There are quite a number of them on this machine… Do you have any idea what they actually do? Fei: No… (The mechanic walks off, and Fei is left alone with his black Gear. Fei walks in front of the chest on the long platform, looking up at his Gear. The dark yellow eyes gaze back dully at him, no emotion displayed on the mechanical face.) Fei: … A voice: Fei! Fei: Sigurd, doc… What's up…? Sigurd: We would like to have a word with you… Fei: Oh, okay! (Fei follows the two up the elevator and across the dock platform, where Sigurd stops.) Sigurd: Look over there… (Fei and Citan look out over the expanse of the Yggdrasil's hull, and at the end, they see Bart standing alone.) Bart (thinking to himself): Hey dad… Can you here me? Ever since I first looked in Fei's eyes I knew… He's the same as me. He'd understand me… Or so I thought… Did I just imagine it? I have no confidence. If I follow after you, dad… It'll just be like I'm some decoration. At the moment I can't even carry out your will, let alone rescue Margie… I told him he was running away but I'm really the one who wants to run away… Sigurd: The young master asked me to apologize to you. Pretty strange, huh? He knows it's best to apologize in person… But the young master isn't that good at this sort of thing… He may not look it, but he's really quite lonely… He's always searching for a friend. We, his minders, can't become his friends. Even if we wanted to, he just wouldn't see us that way. He knows that. Why you ask? It's because of the burden that he bears. It must be difficult for one so young to carry so heavy a responsibility. But he does try to do his best, you know? That is why we stick by him… It has nothing to do with him being the prince. Fei, I sense you too are carrying a heavy burden. This might be a selfish request, but... would it be possible for you to help the young master? I'm not asking you to burden yourself with his problems or responsibilities. But could you two… with whatever it is only you two each know, help the other? Please… Fei: I'm sorry… I need time to think. Sigurd: Of course… take your time. It is completely up to you. Whatever you decide, we will be leaving early tomorrow morning. After you're finished preparing for tomorrow, you probably should get some rest. You can use the bedroom in the residential area above. Citan: I wish to speak to Sigurd some more… so you go ahead and get some rest. Fei: … (Fei rides the elevator back up to the residential area, and enters a large barracks. A man talks to him.) Man: We'll leave first thing tomorrow. Are you ready? Fei: Alright. Man: Sleep well. Fei: I'm… so very… tired… (Fei hops onto the bunk, falling fast asleep.) (A deafening rattling sound echoes into the night, then stops, halting for a moment. But the rattling starts again, just as loud and annoying as before. The camera of a Gear levels up, then to the left, overlooking the dock of Bart's hideout. The lights that usually illuminate the halls have faded to an iridescent blue, and are even darker through the Gear's lens. A large, built man with a gray uniform on speaks.) Broyer: Confirmed! It's their base, alright. (A skinny, slightly older man replies, this one wearing glasses and the same uniform.) Helmholz: That rock was easy to break through. I thought it would be a little harder… (A third soldier speaks, his handsome features barely shown underneath his thick and flowing gray hair.) Stratski: These surface-dwelling -Lambs- sure live in a nice place… (The next man has a rough looking face, and bears a thick red beard that connects to his short red hair.) Renk: Look at that…! They built this place far better than the facilities at Bledavik. It's probably a hidden fort built when their old king was still around… (The Gears vault to the floor of the dock, looking around the giant, emptied place.) (A younger man with orange hair steps ahead, ignoring his comrades' caution, and speaking snidely.) Vance: Who cares…? Let's just get this over and done with! (The camera goes left, to a large gear hangar.) Stratski: So… Where are the Gears? (The mechanical legs start moving, and the Gear walks forward, stomping the metal floor as it turns left.) Stratski: Over here? Helmholz: To the right! There's a hangar! (The Gear's camera shifts left quickly, eyeing a long row of cubical areas, some containing Gears. The feet of the Gears stomp again, and turn to find some of the Gears that accompanied Bart when he first confronted Fei.) Vance: Found them!! Helmholz: These are 'Deurmods'. They're standard pirate Gears. Vance: Ha! Ignore those! We can take them out fast. Stratski: Why not take a few? Even if we only get those, it was worth sneaking in. Renk: Alright! Schpariel is now in place at the back! Get ready to take out anything that gets in our way! Helmholz: Prep complete!! Stratski: OK over here! Broyer: Anytime is fine! (The Gears back up a few paces, and then lunge forward, building in tremendous speed as they fly toward the distant wall.) Renk: GO!! (An explosion sounds, and suddenly the bed rocks violently, waking Fei immediately. The sound of a violent fire can be heard, and people nearby in the barracks run around in panic.) Fei: What was that crash? (A siren screams, and red lights flood the room as an automated voice speaks.) Gears have entered the Yggdrasil's dock! 5 Gebler special force Gears, and one single unidentified large Gear. All pilots report to the Gear hangar! (Fei rushes out of the room, jumping onto the elevator and pushing the button as fast as he can.) All noncombatants go to the Yggdrasil!! Immediately! (Three children run by, shouting.) Child: Wahhh, I'm scared!! (Fei walks to the edge of the Yggdrasil's deck railing, and looks out. A voice shouts to him as explosions ring out all over the place.) Voice: Fei! (Past the elevator stands Citan, who shouts at the top of his lungs to reach Fei.) Citan: Fei!! Quick! Get to Weltall now!! (Fei turns his back on the doctor, and ignores his shouts.) Citan: Fei? Bart and the others are already fighting! Aren't you going to do anything? Do you still think it has nothing to do with you? … (Citan walks to the next elevator, and rides it down to the Gear hangar itself, alone.) Fei: I… I… What am I? That old man… he called me… the slayer of God… (Fei forgets about everything around him, and all of the sirens are muffled in his mind as his thoughts consume him.) Fei: I don't want that kind of power… (Fei holds his hands in front of his eyes, clenching and unclenching them.) My strength… My… My… Home… Bart: How many Gears are there!?! I think I took out most of the small fry, but…! Bart's officer: There are at least four, maybe five of them left! Their performance and technique is far greater than any of the ones we faced before! Bart: Dammit!! Bart's officer: Young master! They're approaching! (Before anyone could move, the large Gear before them shoots two bullets from his arm, one at Bart, and the other at one of his two officers. Bart retaliated, striking at the frame with his whips. The three Gears team up on their opponent, and not another shot was fired before it falls back, electricity running over the malfunctioning surface of the Gear. The Gear leaps into the air above them, and darts off.) (On the side of the hangar, Citan stands near Maison and the wild Gear Fei had looked at before.) Citan: Maison, does this Gear work? Maison: Pardon? Yes, it works but… Citan: Alright! (Citan, with surprising agility, leaps into the Gear Heimdal, and operates it.) Maison: Out of the question! It is still under maintenance. It is nowhere nearly operational… Sigurd: It's alright, Maison. (Sigurd enters from the right, walking calmly.) Maison: Master Sigurd! But, for a gent like the good doctor…? Sigurd: It's fine. He'll be okay. It may not even be enough for him. Maison: Master Sigurd…? (The bar lifts, and Heimdal runs out into the fray.) Citan: Well… it has been 5 years since I last fought… I hope I can still remember… Oh, a wild stallion, eh? Well then, it is high time someone broke you in… Broyer: Eeeaaarrrgh!! Citan: Reinforcements? (Heimdal runs up to the winged Gear and smashes a punch into the stomach, followed by a swift sidekick. Sparks fly, and the Gear staggers back.) Broyer: H, hey, that hurts!! Citan: Compared to the pain my friends are going through, yours is nothing…!! I cannot allow people like you to persist in tormenting those who cannot fight back. I will take you on in their place. Come on! Broyer: ?? What are you talking about!? (Heimdal runs up to Broyer's Gear, and does the same maneuver, this time with an extra kick.. The Gear falls back and jumps away in retreat.) Citan: That's it? I know I am a little rusty… There is a limit to what I can learn seeing as I started so late in life. Even so, I hit that guy hard and he did not go down. They must be using 'that stuff'. Young one! They are using -Drive-! They are battle enhancement drugs. Normal attacks will not hurt them! Bart: Are you serious? So, that's how they keep at it, huh? Crap… This'll never end! Citan: Fei!! Bart: It's okay! We'll get by without him! (Brigandier attacks one of the Gears surrounding himself and Citan, beating it with the two whips on his Gear's arms. The Gear, instead of blowing up, vaults into the air, and flies away. Citan attacks the other one, this one holding a gun. Heimdal kicks low, sweeping out the Gears legs from underneath him, and then punches it several times. The Gear cringes back, but managed to fly off with the others.) (On a nearby platform leading to the Yggdrasil, two children run past Vance's Gear, but a giant clawed hand prevents their passage. The children look up, terrified.) Vance: Where do you think you're going?) (Vance lifts a hand to smash the children, but Weltall darts around the bend, ramming the Gear to the floor. Vance: Wha!? Fei: Why are you fighting? Vance: You! What are you doing? Fei: What does fighting get you? What if this was your home!? (Without hesitation, Fei pilots Weltall right at the Clawknight, punching it hard. The Gear stands its ground, and counters the move. Swinging the claw overhead, Vance's Gear hits Weltall on the head, knocking it to the metal floor. Weltall stands, and Fei charges it into Vance again. Vance's Gear stands, slumps over, and then flies off to meet with the other Gears.) Citan: Fei! Bart: I knew you'd come around! Fei: We'll talk later! We've got big trouble coming down on us now! (From above, the giant Gear 'Schpariel' drops to the floor, spinning it's arms like a drill. Heimdal attacks from behind, kicking at the solid back of the strange Gear. Schpariel tips forward, and Weltall punches it as it falls. Bart moves Brigandier into the fight, and the whips shoot out, denting some of the outer shell inward. Schpariel comes back hard, though, and rolls itself over the three Gears, doing massive damage. Fei, managing to sustain most of the hit, takes his chance and strikes at the enormous Gear in the side. Weltall jumps high and kicks the damaged Schpariel again and again, landing just as the main structure of the Gear collapses. An explosion goes off inside of the Gear, and it crumbles to the ground. When the battle ends, the Gebler retreat, and the heroes exit their Gears, standing together.) Bart: …Th, th, thank… Thanks… Fei. (Bart walks away, not saying another word to anyone.) Fei: Bart… Sigurd: Thank you, Fei. Don't know how we could've done it without you. Fei: I… still don't know what I should do. Sigurd: Fei… Fei: What Bart's doing isn't for his own gain. He walks the path he believes in, one step at a time… wishing only for the happiness of those around him. I, on the other hand… Sigurd: … Fei: I thought I didn't have a path that I could take laid out before me. But like he said, that's just running away. I must find my own path. Right, doc? (Citan nods in acknowledgement.) Fei: If Bart wishes, I'll cooperate with you guys. That's all I can do now. But I think I'll find the path I should follow as I help others like you. Moreover, I can't turn my back and ignore what such a terrible group of people are doing to others. Sigurd: Thanks Fei. (Back on the dock of the Yggdrasil, the men prepare to leave the hideout, and Maison leads, already halfway into the stairwell.) Maison: We must infiltrate Aveh and rescue Margie now! Gebler has discovered this base. So we should leave a small garrison and evacuate while we still can. Fortunately, the Yggdrasil is undamaged, so we are able to embark immediately. The crew's preparations are complete. Whenever you are ready, Master Fei and good Doctor, please accompany the young master to the bridge. Doctor Uzuki, Master Fei, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would truly appreciate it if you would be so kind as to stay with us and help us on our rescue mission! Bart: Hey, alright, alright. Let me say goodbye to the women before we go. (The men climb down the hatch, and enter the bridge, walking up to Sigurd at the helm.) Sigurd: It's time to sneak into Aveh at last. First of all, our party should inspect the town and work out a plan of action. Currently anchored at our hideout… Fei: Let's leave the hideout! (The Yggdrasil lifts out of the dock, and heads through the desert to the capital, Bledavik. The huge Gebler warship from the Blackmoon Forest flies silently through the deep blue sky, hovers over the palace and then descends into an opened hatch, its vast wings shortening as it rests in front of a large docking area. In the bridge, a tall, handsome man stands, obviously superior to all others around him in rank. He wears a dark blue and silver uniform, and holds a proud, imperious stance. The mans blonde hair shines in the bright, bluish glow of the monitors while he stands in the center of the large room on the ship.) Crewman: Hull, all sections secure. Crewman 3: Gravity distribution normal. Shutting down propulsion system. Crewman 4: Begin docking procedure. Ramsus: Cancel the alert status. Begin repairs and resupply immediately. (A beautiful woman speaks behind him, her deep blue eyes and hair standing out from the rest.) Miang: The Prime Minister and general Vanderkaum are here to see you, commander. Ramsus: Hmph, what a dismal welcome. Miang: What do you expect? We're on the 'surface'. Ramsus: Miang, let's disembark. Miang: Yes, sir. (The two superior officers walk off of the bridge and across a long platform to meet two men, presumably the Prime Minister and Vanderkaum. Along the side of the ledge of the dock, thirty or so armed; uniformed soldiers stand at attention. The Prime Minister approaches the two as they near.) Shakhan: Well, well, Commander. You've only just taken command and already you are achieving splendid results. You dispatched those irksome Kislev units in a matter of days… I'm very impressed. (Ramsus, ignoring the man, walks angrily over to Vanderkaum. The large, built man stands nervously, the purple tattoo of a cross on his forehead beading with sweat.) Ramsus: I can't believe you were beaten by such a small force… I have only just taken over my post and already you have embarrassed me! Vanderkaum: I am sorry Commander. They were more persistent than we anticipated. They had a new model Gear that was very mobile. I couldn't get a lock on it with the main gun… Otherwise there would have been no way we could have been beaten by such… Ramsus: Fool! Know when to use that big gun, and on whom! You failed because you try to solve everything with force. You have muscles instead of brains. Vanderkaum: Commander!! Ramsus: Dismissed. Go polish your 1200 sem cannon. (Ramsus pushes by his underling, immediately followed by Shakhan, running to keep up.) Shakhan: Tomorrow is the 500th anniversary of this country. Please come to the dedication ceremony. There is a customary Tournament after the dedication ceremony… Ramsus: What about the incident in that report? (Followed by Miang, they walk into an elevator, and are carried upward as they speak.) Shakhan: What? Oh, you mean the 500-year-old mobile weapon excavated from the ruins? Thanks to the help of the 'Ethos', the repairs are complete. I thought we could announce it on the day of the dedication ceremony… Ramsus: Toys like that should be given to Vanderkaum. I'm talking about the 'Fatima Jasper'. Shakhan: I already have obtained one half of the crest. But I haven't been able to get her to tell me where the other half is. She is a rather strong-willed girl… Ramsus: You're not being rough with her, are you? Shakhan: Of course not. I know you despise vulgar acts like that. Ramsus: You said the girl is the Holy Mother of Nisan… Is she upstairs? Shakhan: Yes, in the east tower. Ramsus: Miang, could it possibly be a 'Relic'? Miang: Yes. But there is still no response. There seems to be a barrier or something. However, we do know from the 500-year-old records that one certainly exists in this vicinity. It's probably well preserved too. Ramsus: Let's meet her. I want to talk to her directly. Miang, you come with me. Miang: Yes sir. (The three leave the elevator, and walk into a brightly decorated hall of stone, with a tiled floor. They walk to a door with a guard at it, and stop.) Shakhan: Open the door. Commander Ramsus is here to see her. (The guard immediately opens the door, standing off to the side so as not to cause a rise in the dangerous commander.) Shakhan: Commander, please. (Ramsus walks into the homely room, seeing a comfortable bed, a large table, and chairs. A young teenaged girl stands in front of the bed, brown hair falling just to her shoulders under a red and white hat.) Girl: Who are you? Ramsus: I am Ramsus, she is Miang. We would like to ask you some questions. (A camera watches them from the corner, turning to get a better view.) Margie: I'm Margie. Actually it's Marguerite. What do you want to know? My favorite food? I like cake, Chiffon Nisan is my favorite. I haven't had it in so long… Ramsus: Marguerite, we want to ask you about the Fatima family treasure… I'm talking about the 'Fatima Jasper'. You see, I'm keeping the piece you had in a safe place. But I don't know where the other half is. Do you? Margie: Nope. The one I had you took from me. You didn't even give me anything for it. Hey, the next time you come could you bring some Chiffon Nisan? I used to eat it everyday in Nisan. I don't think they make it in Aveh. Aveh used to have such good bakers, but I guess they must have all died in the war. Ramsus: That is too bad. I don't know much about cake, but I'll see if I can find some for you next time. Margie: Thank you, Ramsus. I'll be waiting. Ramsus: Is there anything else you need? If there's something you want I'll bring it next time. Margie: No. I just want to go back to Nisan. They must be so worried about me. Ramsus: I'm sorry but please wait a little longer. We want you to stay here until we find the other half of the 'Fatima Jasper'. (Outside, and in a different room, the Prime Minister watches through the screen in front of him.) Shakhan: I'm amazed she talked that much. He can handle women as well as he says. (A fat, short man stands by as Shakhan pulls a painting down over the screen, then walks away.) Man: Is it all right? Shakhan: I can't prevent them from meeting her. Not when it's him we are talking about. Besides, Marguerite isn't talking anyway. So there is no need to worry… But where did the leak about the Jasper come from? …The 'Ethos'? Ridiculous…! Hmmm, if this continues my plans will be… We had better find out who is leaking out our information immediately. In the meantime, we'll have to administer some truth serum to our guest, Miss Marguerite. We must find the other piece of the 'Fatima Jasper' as quickly as we can. Man: But… Shakhan: However spineless the last commander, Vanderkaum, was… this time Gebler has sent their highest commanding officer. His country is throwing all their weight into this. And, there is nothing we can do about it! (Meanwhile, Fei, Citan, and Bart walk into the bustling city of Bledavik, and see people everywhere. People trade, buy, and peddle things left and right, and walk around either touring or doing their daily shopping in the big town. Noise of merchants and buyers rises over all, making for a very audible and confusing atmosphere. They walk forward, and are soon greeted by a woman standing past the archway.) Woman: Welcome to Bledavik! We're having a festival celebrating the founding of our country, Aveh. There's a martial arts tournament too. It's been a while since we had so many visitors. Do you already have a hotel? Fei: Not yet. Woman: You'd better get a room soon or they'll all be gone. I know a good hotel. The hotel I am talking about is… (The woman squints and points West, to a large stone building.) Woman: That one. Tell them my name at the front desk and they'll give you a deal. (Fei walks up a flight of steps followed by his two friends, and they walk into the hotel. A woman in a blue and white habit sees them, and appears surprised.) Citan: Let us borrow a room here for our planning session. (The woman walks up, and speaks to Bart.) Woman: Ah… Excuse me but… aren't you Prince Bartholomew? Bart: …And you are? Woman: I was sent here by the Nisan Sect. I'm here to check up on Mother Marguerite. Prince Bartholomew, I knew you would come sooner or later! Citan: Well, let us not just stand here chatting. Shall we use a room? Woman: You must be tired. I'll be in my room, please come by later. (She points to a door on the farthest side of the balcony upstairs.) Woman: That's my room there. (The innkeeper addresses Fei, leaning on his desk as he talks.) Innkeeper: I'm sorry, we're full today. If you can wait till evening I'll have something then… How about 50G a person? Fei: I have a recommendation. Innkeeper: Who sent you? Fei: …I don't know. Innkeeper: Aw, she never gives her name. But… Okay, I'll mark it down to 40G each. Fei: Thanks. Innkeeper: That's three people, it'll be 120G. Come again! The next morning (The three men walk to the nun's room, and enter.) Woman: Excuse me but who are they? Bart: Oh, this is Fei and Citan. They're going to help rescue Margie. Woman: Thank you for coming here in this desert heat. I am a servant of the Nisan Sect. Ever since Shakhan took Mother Marguerite I've been looking into ways to get her back. I've been trying to find out where she is being held. I've been busy listening to workers talk about the comings and goings from the castle… And giving food to the guards who are preparing for the Tournament to loosen their lips, too. Finally, yesterday, I got some information… Margie's in the citadel. The problem is how to slip into the castle… I thought about it a lot, but it looks pretty bleak. I'm sorry. Bart: No big deal. At least we know where she is now. You just relax, we'll find a way to slip into the castle. Woman: My apologies. If there is anything else I can do to help just ask… Do you have any good leads? Bart: Not yet. We're gonna hit the streets for info. Now. Then we'll think about the rest later. Woman: I see. I'm very relieved that you are all here. Please come see me again if you hear anything new. (The men leave the hotel, and Fei leads them down the street. As they walk, merchants shout, trying to sell their products to the tourists.) Merchant: Radishes! Get 'em here! Get your spicy radishes! Big Lahan radishes! (They pass the traders, and walk further up the mountain that leads to the palace of Aveh.) Bart: Fei! The castle's up ahead. If I go, it'll cause problems. If you're going to go, the two of you should go by yourselves. I'll wait here. Citan: Fei, what shall we do? Fei: Let the two of us go. Bart: Okay, be careful. (Fei and Citan approach Fatima Castle, and are immediately confronted by a strange man.) Man: Yo, dude! Try and pick the champion? Citan: The champion of what? Man: Huh? The champion of the 'Tournament'! Citan: Excuse us, we have only just arrived and know nothing of the Tournament. Man: Oh, tourists, huh? Well, let me tell you about the Tournament. Every year they hold a big martial arts Tournament here in Aveh. Fighters from all over the world gather to see who's the strongest. It's like a big brawl. Everyone goes wild over guessing who'll win. So, wanna give it a try? Citan: Betting on the Tournament… Is that allowed at such a grand event? Man: You bet. The soldiers are crazy about it. If Kislev attacked tomorrow Aveh would be dust. What are you gonna do? Registrations not over yet, but all the strong ones have signed up. The rest are only after the consolation prizes anyway… Citan: Let us wait and see. Some strong ones might still register. Man: Ha! What a buncha cowards. Citan: Fei, we can use this to our advantage! If you create a stir at the Tournament, the guards will be watching you rather than their posts. It will make it easy for us to sneak into the castle and rescue Margie. What do you think Fei? Will you enter the Tournament? Fei: Who…me? Citan: While you draw the guards' attention the young one can sneak into the castle. Surely you see that it is the only way we will get in? Right… Let us go sign you up. And Fei, do not use your real name, make another suitable one. (Fei walks over to a desk with a soldier standing behind it, and talks to the man.) Soldier: This is the Tournament Registration Booth. Fei: I'd like to enter the Tournament. Soldier: Please sign in here. (Fei grabs the paper and scribbles down 'Wandering Youth', then drops it back into place.) Soldier: You're the Wandering Youth, right? You are signed up. The Tournament begins tomorrow. Please make sure you are here. (With that accomplished Fei and Citan walk back down to the Shakhan Town Square, where Bart meets them.) Bart: Well, let's go. (The men walk back into town, and talk to an old woman near a grate in the sandstone floor.) Woman: I've been here for 60 years. The water is the only thing that doesn't change. There's a spring flowing beneath the castle. I was worried that when the king died, the water would stop too, but it didn't. That old guy down there in charge of the water won't budge an inch even for Shakhan. Yeah! He's a great guy! My childhood friend. (A man sitting by a grate in the floor looks up and speaks to them.) Man: It's cool here. Cool air blows up from the grate. (Fei inspects the grate on the ground, and tugs at it, but it doesn't budge.) Man: No good, no good. You won't open it without the key! Many years ago a kid got lost down there. I think he was from the armor store. (They walk to the inn, and go upstairs to the Nisan woman's room.) Woman: Any new information? Good ideas? Bart: I just remembered where Bledavik's water supply comes from… Spring water rises up from under the castle and flows to the town via a series of underground waterways. We can sneak into the castle by going through these underground waterways. We can get into them from the town's well. The waterways should lead right up to the castle's reservoir. If we are able to get that far, we should be able to sneak into other rooms of the castle from there. Citan: Tomorrow Fei will be in the Tournament at Fatima castle. We will put on a good show to distract the guards. Then Bart will infiltrate the castle through the underground waterways by way of the well. I will accompany Fei to the Tournament. I will also help to work the crowd and secure our escape. …There is one problem. The well is locked. First we must find the key. Bart: Let's go find the key, and fast! (Fei, Bart and Citan walk from the room, and go back to where the old man sits by the grate for the underground waterways.) Man: The well key? I've got it. I'm in charge of the waterworks association. What are you gonna do with the key? Fei: Rescue Margie. Man: What!? You wanna clash with Shakhan? Hah! This is great! This is great! I like you guys. I'll lend you the key. You get that Shakhan for me! (The man gives Fei the well key, and they go back to the inn, and into the nuns room once again.) Woman: Any luck finding the well key? Bart: Yeah, the old guy next to the well had it. Citan: Preparations for our plan are complete. Tonight we will stay in the hotel and start out tomorrow. We are free to do what we like for now. Let's have a look around the town. The next morning Citan: Good morning. Operation 'Rescue Margie' is now underway! First Fei and I will prepare for the Tournament at the arena. When the Tournament starts, Bart will enter the waterway through the well and head for the castle. If you swim against the current you should reach the castle. I am certain there will still be some guards there, so please dispose of them quietly. We will make a good show at the Tournament to draw the guards' attention as long as possible. During that time, you can rescue Margie. Any questions? Fei: Got it. Citan: Then let us go. Be careful, young one! (Fei and Citan leave Bart in the room, and walk up the mountain to Fatima castle again. They walk up to a guard at the gate, and talk to him.) Guard: Participant? Okay, go on through. (They walk to a tent, but another guard stops them.) Guard: Only participants are allowed in here. Your friend will have to sit in the spectator's area. Citan: Well then, I will be over here cheering for you. Do not beat them too soon. The better you do, the easier it will be for Bart to sneak in. (Fei walks into the tent, and sees a short man in one corner.) Fei: !! Dan… Dan! What are you doing here? Dan: …It's your fault that Alice… I'll never forgive you. I'm gonna kill you! Fei: …Dan… (A guard enters the tent and shouts out.) Guard: Attention all participants. We will be starting soon. Please enter the arena. Dan: You're the enemy of everyone in Lahan! I'm gonna kick your butt in front of everyone! And don't be runnin' away either!! Fei: Dan… (A strange man shrouded in an old blue robe steps from a corner of the tent. He wears a mask, and no features stand out on his face.) Mystery Man: Hey, mister, are you from Lahan? Fei: ?? Mystery Man: Seems like you and that boy have some kind of problem… Fei: Who do you think you are? Mind your own business! Mystery Man: Ha ha ha… Fei: What's so funny? Mystery Man: Nothing… Just wondering what kind of fight you will have with that boy… Well, I'm looking forward to it, 'Fei'. Fei: Huh? (The man exits the tent.) Fei: (How does that guy know my name…? I didn't enter my real name…) Bart: It's about to start! I guess I better go get ready too. Woman: Is this plan really going to work? Bart: It's already started. If something's wrong now, that's tough! What're you worried about? Fei'll do okay. Besides, Citan's with him too. Now, all I gotta do is sneak into the castle through the well. No problem. Woman: I pray so. Bart: Well, I'm going. Margie's waiting in the citadel. Woman: Well then, do be careful. And thank you for helping Mother Marguerite. Bart: No sweat! You'd better get out of Aveh now too. Things are gonna get outta hand soon. Woman: Thank you. (Bart walks to the well, and, turning the key into the lock, hops down into the cold blue water. Meanwhile, at the front of the palace, Prime Minister Shakhan speaks to an anxious crowd, standing on a balcony jutting from the palace.) Shakhan: …Brave young men are spilling their blood on the front lines. Our army is the best, but the tides of war are uncertain. To protect the tradition of Aveh and preserve peace in this desert, we all must have unshaking resolve. The desert is a precious treasure passed down to us from our ancestors. Here we can forge our minds and bodies into one. Our teachers are the sun and wind. We are gathered here today, with our strong bodies forged by the desert. The sun above us is the same as that which burns over our fathers at the front. The wind blowing here is the same that which whisks our resolves and prayers to our sons at the front. This Tournament raises our spirits and renews our blessings from this desert we live in. Brave ones, warriors, fight well and do not shame our brothers at the front. Let the 338th Tournament begin! (A man standing below the balcony swings back a pole, and lets it hit the gong, which booms and resonates throughout the crowd. A loud shout goes through the crowd as well as Shakhan looks down onto the people.) Shakhan: Hmm… a moving speech if I do say so myself. (Ramsus appears through the cloth hanging over the door, followed by Miang.) Shakhan: Oh, commander Ramsus. Sorry to have kept you waiting. This way, please. (Ramsus approaches the stone rail of the balcony and looks uninterested, at the crowd.) Ramsus: I'm afraid I do not have time for such gay revelry. I just dropped by to bid you farewell. Shakhan: What a pity. You do not like our entertainment? Ramsus: I find it boring. Miang: Oh, let it be Commander. Shakhan is only trying to show hospitality… I personally find martial arts quite interesting. I look forward to seeing the Tournament. Shakhan: To say that this event is a tribute to you, Commander, is no understatement. Your gracious help in our time of need enabled us to celebrate the country's founding today. Ramsus: Founding, how impudent. It's not even your country. Hmph, do as you like. (Ramsus walks out of the room and leaves Miang and Shakhan alone.) Shakhan: Miang, how about the Tournament? Will you grace us with your company? Miang: Yes. It would be a pleasure. Shakhan: Oh, it's starting! (The gong is struck again, and a guard shouts out to the crowd.) Guard: The first match… Gonzalez vs. the Wandering Youth! (A deafening cheer courses through the ecstatic crowd, and Fei jumps onto the fighting ring.) Miang: My…what a handsome boy! (Fei, as soon as he steps into the ring, is charged by a giant ogre, and knocked onto his back. The thing holds a large club, and moves slowly, but surely, toward Fei. Fei, using his smaller size to his advantage, ducks under the monstrous figure, and kicks it in the back. Gonzalez hits the floor and rolls over to get up. Fei suddenly remembers to give Bart extra time, and slows down, defending and avoiding attacks instead of attacking himself. Meanwhile, Bart swims through the dark sewers beneath Bledavik. After a few minutes of painstakingly slow progress through the rough current, Bart comes to a large, rusted metal gate.) Bart: That's gotta be the floodgate. (He waits patiently, wading, until finally the floodgates slowly begin to rise. Quickly, he swims under the rising gate, and finds himself in a large room under the palace. He swims through the water and is greeted by an old man standing on top of a short bridge over the water.) Old man: What!? Playing in the reservoir again? Get up out of there now, boy! (Back at the fighting ring, Fei is facing Big Joe, the man from Dazil.) Big Joe: It's Big Joe time! (The crowd cheers uproariously, rooting almost entirely for Big Joe. He stands ready to fight, but his only real edge on Fei is the crowd. Fei swings a balled fist into Big Joe's face, knocking him to the floor of the arena. Big Joe's fans boo loudly, and cans are flung from the crowd, hitting Fei several times. Joe gets back on his feet, and the crowd cheers in support. Soon, Fei grows tired of the continuous attacks from the crowd, and prepares to finish the fight. Gathering up his strength, Fei lunges at Big Joe, using 'Raijin', a technique he had always known since Lahan. His fist raises into the air, and crashes down onto Big Joe. Joe flies back and hits the ground with a thud. The match ends, and back in the castle, Bart climbs the ladder out of the water and greets the old man. Old man: Kid, how many times must I tell you… hmm? How many years has it been? Well, haven't you grown up? Is this some sort of joke…? Answer me! Bart: What are you babblin' on about? Old man, even back when I was a child you used to ramble on. But I see it's gotten worse. Old man: What!? Ramble!? Did you say I rambled on? Why you little brat! The only people I allowed to call me a rambler were my late mother and the young prince. His highness… what was his name? Bart: You mean his highness 'Prince Bartholomew'? Old man: Yes, his highness, Prince Bartholomew. Boy, you certainly know a lot. If Bartholomew was still alive he'd be just about your age. Did you know that both he and his family were killed by that Shakhan? You won't beat me, Shakhan. I'll protect Aveh's water till I die! Bart: Really? Thanks old man. Father would be glad. Old man: ? Whaddya mean, father? Are you the son of an acquaintance of mine? Wait, wait, I remember. ! No, no, that's not it. I don't recall the king having any secret sons. Bart: Sorry, but I don't have time to explain. You'll remember. See ya! (Bart climbs the ladder next to the old man and finds himself in the courtyard of Aveh's grand castle. A few soldiers walk around, patrolling the area, but Bart avoids them, sneaking silently by. He pushes a door open and follows a winding corridor to a big hall where two stairwells lead up. Bart goes up the steps and outside, onto the balcony of the courtyard. Several more guards are up here, and Bart sneaks by again, traversing the balcony quickly and quietly. He enters the other side, and dashes up another flight of the carpeted steps. Entering the next room, Bart walks into a room to see Margie standing by a bed. Back in the arena, Fei has already fought another match and won, and now faces Dan, from Lahan.) Fei: What are you doing here, Dan!? Dan: Hmph! I escaped from Yui's place! I'm here to avenge my sisters death! Fei: …Please, Dan. Stop it! Dan: Shut your mouth! I'll never forgive you. …You murderer!! Fei: Ergh… What do you want me to do…? (Fei defends as Dan shouts at him.) Dan: I'm gonna take you down! This is for all of Lahan! (Dan jumps at Fei, and knocks him down with surprising strength for such a small boy. Fei jumps up, but only to suffer another attack.) Dan: This is for Timothy! (Dan kicks at Fei, but he blocks it this time, and pushes Dan back. Fei, instead of fighting, ducks Dan's attacks and runs back, thinking both of Bart and Dan.) Dan: This is for my sister! (Dan jumps onto Fei, and with knees against his chest, punches him in the face several times. Fei rolls over, stunned, and dodges Dan more.) Fei: Dan… I… Dan: Shut up! I don't want to hear your stupid excuses! Fei, you're such a bastard!! (The man in the dark blue cloak walks onto the stand and stands before Fei. Fei, realizing this is the final bout, attacks quickly. He kicks at the man, and then swings a fist, but misses. The strange man jumps away, and Fei punches and kicks to no avail, missing every time. Eventually, Fei attacks with 'Raijin', but even this strong attack is dodged.) Spectators: Boo! Boooooo! Booooring! C'mon, fight properly! Fei: (This is not good. At this rate…) Wiseman: Just as I thought. Fei: ?? Wiseman: You, where did you learn that technique? Fei: Who cares where…? Come on, now… Put up a serious fight! Wiseman: Hmm. So then, why do you fight? For yourself? Or for the sake of others? Fei: What do you ask that for? Wiseman: Doesn't there have to be a reason or goal, for a person to fight? Fei: My reasons for fighting are none of your business! Wiseman: So, you are fighting for no reason or goal? Fei: Would you shut up! I'm in the middle of finding my purpose! Wiseman: Then forget it! For there's no way you could find such. Fei: What!? Wiseman: You appear to be looking forward… But in reality, you are only looking downward! You are only looking at yourself. Like that, you will find nothing. Fei: How would you know…? Wiseman: I know… By exchanging blows with you, I can tell a great deal… Fei: Argh! Shut up! (Fei spins and throws a punch, but Wiseman simply steps to one side, avoiding it.) Wiseman: Weak, weak… You won't even graze me with those kind of attacks… But superficially, at least, it seems you've matured physically. Fei: ?? Wiseman: You've done well in recovering from those wounds, Fei… Fei: !! How do you know my name!? I deliberately didn't use my real name when I entered the contest. And that thing about me recovering from my wounds…!? You aren't who I think you are!? (Suddenly something distracts Wiseman, and he looks toward the sky.) Wiseman: …Hm!? Fei: ?? Wiseman: Oh my, is it already that time…? …I guess it can't be helped… I've got to be on my way! (The strange man jumps off of the stand and vanishes, leaving everyone bewildered.) Fei: !! Wait! I want to ask you…! Spectators: …Grumble grumble… Referee: …Uhh, ahem. It appears that competitor Wiseman has forfeited… The remaining competitor will automatically be awarded victory! Spectators: What!? Are you serious? Booo! Booooo!! Yeah! I won the bet!! Fei: Wiseman… Margie: Bart! Bart: Let's go home, Margie! (Margie runs up to Bart.) Margie: I just knew you'd come for me! Bart: I'm getting you outta here! C'mon, follow me! Margie: Okay. Oh, wait a second. (Margie runs over to a couch, and picks up a pink, furry stuffed animal.) Margie: I really like this. (The two walk outside of the room, and run around the corner to where Bart entered. Just as they round the corner, though, the Commander, Ramsus, walks through the next door accompanied by Miang.) Margie: Bart! Look! Bart: Crap! Gebler! Ramsus: Looks like we have rats. Where do you plan on taking that girl, boy? Bart: Boy? Ha, boy!?! Let's see you try and call me that again! Who the hell are you, anyway? Ramsus: You do have spunk. But I don't need to give my name to rats like you. Bart: What? Ramsus: Now hand over the girl. She is a very important guest. Until she tells us where a certain piece of the Fatima Jasper is, we can't allow her to be taken away. Bart: Gimme a break! You think I'm gonna hand her over just 'cause you say to? Pull your head out, you Gebler geek! Ramsus: Hmm. I assume you know where such abusive language will lead you. (Ramsus draws a long sword, and Bart steps in front of Margie in protection.) Miang: If you truly want to protect that child, then surrender… Prince Bartholomew! Bart: Oh yeah? You know about me, huh? Heh! It's not such a bad feeling having your name known by someone as beautiful as you. Margie: Ba-arty! Miang: You may have had your problems with Shakhan, but we won't treat you badly. Concerning Shakhan, it really doesn't matter 'either way' to us. Bart: That's nice to know. But I can't accept it. See, for me, 'either way' is bad. Ramsus: …Then it's decided. Bart: Tch… Margie! Hide back behind there! Margie: No! I'll fight too! Bart: I don't care, just hide! (Ramsus attacks, swinging his sword skillfully three times, and catching Bart on the arm twice. Bart retaliates, swinging both whips at his enemy. Ramsus ducks one only to be smacked in the jaw by the other. Bart follows up with a swift kick, in the Gebler officer's midsection. Ramsus flips back, stands, and holds his sword over his head as he charges. Bart jumps to one side, but Ramsus swings the blade wide, cutting Bart's chest as he jumps. Bart swings the right whip sideways, and Ramsus falls to one knee.) Fei: Bart! (Fei jumps from above, landing next to Ramsus, and hits him with the 'Raijin' style punch. The Commander falls back, but Miang walks over and nonchalantly raises a hand. Ramsus jumps to his feet, healed.) Fei: You okay, Bart? Bart: Glad you're here, Fei! Ramsus: Fei? Fei: What's wrong, Bart? I thought this was just a simple rescue. Bart: Shut up! This jerk butted in and slowed me down! Ramsus: (The way he attacked… It reminds me of someone from my past…) (Ramsus remembers something from his past, and an image is formed in his mind. In the middle of a plain, a fire rages in the background, lighting up the black night sky. Two Gears stand side by side, both holding rifles. A man, a hundred times smaller than the Gears, and with fiery red hair, stands between them. His hands go back, and he throws a powerful ball of flame from his hands, smashing one of the Gears into the ground. The next Gear stands by as he jumps at it, glowing in fire. He kicks the Gears left led, spins and hits it twice more with his feet, backflips, kicking it in midair, and slides into it with both hands raised. The Gear falls back, metal squealing, and crashes to the dirt. The powerful man leaps to a third Gear standing nearby, raises his fist, and slams it into the huge Gear, using the 'Raijin' technique. The machine flies to the floor, and is destroyed. All by one man. Without a Gear.) Ramsus: Enough talk! Battling will reveal the truth about you. Bart: Careful Fei! This Gebler jerk's pretty strong. (Fei kicks at Ramsus, but misses. Bart lunges in and strikes the Commander with both whips, bringing a fist in at the same time. Ramsus gets up, but only to be slammed back down by Fei, using a different technique. Swinging his body around, Fei spin-kicks Ramsus in the waist three times, jumps up and back, and then slides forward, hitting both hands into the man's face. Ramsus hits the ground hard.) Ramsus: (He looks… completely different… and there's no response. Is it just my imagination? But that technique was indeed his… What's more… the name Fei… Where have I…) (Another memory returns, and a voice speaks quietly.) Fei… That is my child's name… (Fei and the red-haired man flicker in and out of existence, replacing one another in Ramsus' mind. Fei jumps to the fallen man once again, and raises his hand. His body glows with a dim blue light before the fist hits Ramsus again.) Ramsus: Gah! Margie: Leave the rest to me! Bart: Margie? (All of a sudden, small, furry rodents run through the room, and in the confusion, the three run back toward the exit.) Ramsus: Rats? (The elevator door opens, and a Gebler man walks out. Bart and Fei knock the man down, and Margie joins them as they get in the elevator pressing 'down' immediately.) Ramsus: (Is it 'him'? Or do I only want to think so…? If it is 'him'… I… I am…) …Worthless… …A reject… Ramsus: GUARD! Double the guards on both shifts. Don't let those rats in here again. (The elevator shoots downward, and the three stand nervously, not knowing what to do next.) Bart: Hey, Fei! Do you know where this elevator goes? Fei: I don't know. Where does it go? Bart: I'm asking you! This thing wasn't here before. Don't worry. We'll get you back home… somehow! Margie: I'm not worried. Bart: Hey Fei, how did the Tournament go? Fei: Uh, I won… I guess… Bart: That's what I thought. I knew you could do it. (The three come to a fluorescent-lit hallway, made of metal instead of stone. They run down the corridor, and go through the automatic door at the end. Fei, Bart, and Margie are all awed as they walk into a huge docking area, bigger even than the one at Bart's hideout. The roof reaches hundreds of feet high, and the walls stand thrice as far apart.) Fei: That's… Gebler's aerial battleship! (The huge ship that brought Commander Ramsus to Aveh stood docked in the center of the area.) Margie: Yeah, but look what's coming out of it…! Bart: Are you guys in the mood for another battle? Margie: Bart, we'd better get out of here, and fast! Fei: Quick… run! (Suddenly, a line of twenty or so men in full uniform pour out of the ship, like ants from their hill. They spot the three and immediately give chase. Fei leads the way as they dash toward the other side of the giant dock. Opening another door, they run through the hall furiously.) (In a room nearby, an alarm sounds, and a voice shouts over an intercom. Elly slowly walks out of the room.) There are intruders in the base! There are three intruders…presently heading for the dock area. The two men may be killed… but do not harm the girl. (As soon as Elly leaves the room, Fei dashes around the corner and slams into her.) Fei: ! Elly: ! Elly: Fei! Fei: You're… Elly? What are you doing here? Elly: I should be asking you! Don't tell me you're the intruders, Fei? Fei: Huh? Bart: If she's in our way, just… Fei: Wait a second, Bart! She… Elly is not an enemy! Bart: Not an enemy? Are you sane? Look at her uniform! She's a Gebler officer! Fei: … (The following guards burst through a door around the corner, and walk into the hall.) Guard: They ran in here! Elly: Hurry! This way! (They all run into her room, and Elly closes the door swiftly. Footsteps storm by, and dissipate slowly.) Elly: It sounds like they've gone… Bart: Fei, can you explain to me how you know a Gebler officer? Fei: Well… Bart: I don't know where you met her, but no matter how you look at it... she's a Gebler officer! Not an enemy? Where do you get off saying that? (Fei and Elly look at each other for a few moments.) Elly: Yes. Special Forces of the Sacred Empire of Solaris. Also known as Gebler. I'm Lieutenant Elhaym Van Houten of the Ignas Army's Third Assault Division. And… while returning from a mission to capture the newest model Gear from a Kislev military factory… I was attacked by pursuing Kislev Gears and crash-landed in your village… Fei: … Elly: I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't bring myself to… When I heard what my crash- landing in your village had caused… I couldn't tell you… Fei: …I knew. Elly: !? Fei… Fei: I overheard you talking with doc. Elly: Then why? Fei: It was… all my fault. But I lashed out at you with my own feelings… I'm sorry. Elly: No it wasn't… Fei: Just forget about it. You couldn't help it… You had your own problems. Elly: But, Fei… Why are you with them? Fei: I'm cooperating with Bart and his crew. We came to rescue Margie who was taken prisoner in the castle here. Elly: I see… (Elly opens the door after a moment of silence.) Bart: Hey! Wait just a minute! Where do you think you're going? Elly: You want to get out of the castle, right? In this confusion you can escape through the Gear launch door. Bart: Great idea! But… do we really buy that? I don't think so! She talks sweet, but she's probably planning to turn us over to that old bald geezer. It's a trick, Fei! Fei: … Margie: Wait Bart! She's not a bad person. She said she'd help us, so let's go with her plan. Bart: You're always like this! Can't you see… she's in Gebler!? Don't be so damn trusting! Margie: That's not true… Is it, Elly? Bart: Oh yeah? Look where your ability to judge character got you…! Fei, what about you? Do you believe her? Fei: I made up my mind long ago. Elly: Fei… Bart: Gah! First you, now her! The whole lot of you can go jump off a cliff for all I care! (Elly leads them outside, but halts just outside of the door.) Elly: Wait here a second. …The coast is clear! Quick, follow me! (Fei, Margie, and Bart run after her, through the hall and another sliding door, into a chamber about a fifth as big as the dock. A Gear stands nearby, between two metal walkways.) Elly: This is the Gear's start up code. You can start any standard Gear with this code. Fei: Elly? Elly: This is all I can do for you. The rest is up to fate… Bart: Alright! Let's go, Fei! What are you doing? Hurry up! Fei: Elly! Come with us! Elly: !? Fei: You're not the type of person suited to a place like this! Elly: Fei… Bart: You're just wasting time talking! They're coming! We're gonna get caught! Fei: Elly… Elly: Thanks, but it's impossible. I'm… a Solaris soldier… This is where I belong. I can't go with you. Fei: Elly! Elly: Fei, the next time we meet… we'll be enemies. (Elly runs out of the chamber and down the hall. Fei, giving up, gets into the Aveh Gear with Margie and Bart. It charges for a few seconds, filling the room with a humming sound, and then stomps out of it's holding place, walking onto a solid metal platform set on a rail. It slowly pushes the Gear out of the room, and then stops. After a brief moment of silence, the platform rushes forward with blinding speed, throwing the Gear far from the ship.) A line of five soldiers stand, and in front of them, five differently dressed men stand at attention as well. Then another row of soldiers poise, and in front of them, Elly and four others. Ramsus bursts in, and Miang joins him.) Miang: Commander! Ramsus: Miang, get my Wyvern powered up now! I must pursue them… (Another soldier with a yellow cap walks to Ramsus, and whispers something to him.) Soldier: (Commander… I've a message from Hyu…) Ramsus: What!? Stop the power up! Recall all men back to base and wait for further orders! …That fool. What is he doing down here now…? (A red and white flag on top of a blue and white striped flag waves in the wind over the sand. On the deck, Bart stands at the helm, while Fei, Margie, Sigurd, and Maison talk together. The ship rocks slowly and gently back and forth as it progresses.) Sigurd: Well, Marguerite, now that we have saved you, may we ask you one thing…? Why did you go up against the enemy by yourself? Margie: Sorry… but… I heard a rumor in the town that day… It was said that the Sect's sisters who were captured by Aveh were still alive… Sigurd: Obviously a groundless rumor started by the enemy in order to lure you out. Maison: Please, don't be so hard on her… The Nisan Sect is Marguerite's home. It's perfectly understandable. (Bart turns from the helm, and looks sternly down at Margie.) Bart: Then… You thought you could save them alone!? That was stupid!! Margie: I believed it! So what!? I was wrong. But… but grandma and mom were already executed… Sigurd: Marguerite… Maison: At any rate, Marguerite is unhurt. That's the main thing! Before luck runs out, let's take Marguerite to Nisan. We can talk more there. Now, I'll go prepare Marguerite's room… Miss Marguerite, may I ask you to accompany me? Bart: Margie!! Next time let us know!! We'll go for you! Margie: Yeah… I'll do that. (Maison leads her down the hatch, and they go into the ship.) Sigurd: Marguerite is straining herself. Young Master, you should be kind to her. (Sigurd follows down the hatch, and Fei and Bart go after him. In front of the bridge's entrance, the pink, furry doll sits on the floor.) Bart: That Margie…! Leaving a strange stuffed animal in a place like this! Because of this, we can't get into the bridge. I'm not stuffed! Bart: Hey, Fei!! Stop the funny voices, will ya!? Fei: Huh? I didn't say anything. Bart: …That's weird… Anyway, let's ask Margie to get rid of it. (Bart and Fei hop into the elevator and ride it down to the hall leading to the Gear dock. They go into the hall, and enter a side room to find Margie.) Bart: Hey, Margie! Get rid of that strange stuffed animal sitting in front of the bridge. It's in our way. Margie: It's not a 'strange stuffed animal'! It has a name. It's name is… Her name is Chu-Chu! But that's weird. It was just here, where I put it, a moment ago. (The door to the room slides open, and in walks the same doll that Margie had brought from Aveh. It stands to Fei's knees in height, and has a 'fountain' shaped hairdo. Chu-Chu: Nice chu meet chu! I'm Chu-Chu! I fell in love with you when I first saw you in Bledavik!! Wherever you go, I shall go chu! Oh my… I just declared my love… Bart: What we thought was just a stuffed toy is actually a living animal! Weird! Margie: No wonder it felt strangely lukewarm! Fei: Wha, what!? Bart: Looking good, Fei! Fei: Shut up!! Bart: It's all right. I, as the captain, give you my permission! Chu-Chu: Yeah, yeah! Fei: …Suit yourself! Bart: Ha, ha, ha! Well, I don't want to interrupt you two, so I'll wait outside! (Bart walks out of the room, and leaves Fei, Margie, and 'Chu-Chu' alone.) Margie: … Thank you for your help at the castle. I heard you really riled it up at the Tournament. Bart was bragging how you're both buddies and all. Fei: … Re… really? Margie: I'm so ashamed… I wanted to be of help to Bart but I ended up owing him again. Fei, have you seen Bart's back? He's got scars all over his back and it looks so painful. Long ago, when the two of us got caught by Shakhan, Bart protected me from being beaten… At that time I decided to be his follower… to serve and protect him! But, he is the one who's always protecting me… Fei: … Margie: Uh, oh, so sorry… Anyway, thanks a lot for saving me! (Fei goes back up to the bridge and talks to Sigurd.) Sigurd: Young master, according to Margie, there's quite a troublemaker in Gebler. Bart: Yeah… So, who the heck is he? Sigurd: Kahran Ramsus of the Holy Solaris Empires' Special Foreign Affairs Agency… In other words, he's the commander in chief of Gebler. It seems that Gebler isn't just after the excavation sites around Aveh after all. Bart: You mean, they're not after the Jasper? Sigurd: If that's their goal they wouldn't need to send an important man like him! Young master, this could become unexpectedly complicated… Fei: Doc hasn't come back yet, has he? Sigurd: …Hyu… I mean, 'doc'… No need to worry about him. He'll join us soon. Sigurd: We shall have to enter Nisan through the secret road. Let's keep a lookout for a lone tree in the desert for a sign of where the road lies buried…! Shall we launch the Yggdrasil? Fei: Go ahead! (Once having found the lone tree in the Northern-most part of the desert, the Yggdrasil sinks into the sand, a cloud of the coarse grit flying overhead in the displacement. The road leads it under the sea, and into a small patch of desert sand in Nisan's territory. Sigurd and Citan stand in a room opposite of the Gear hangar and talk.) Sigurd: … Now I see why you came down to the surface… Alright, I understand you. But Kahran Ramsus… taking over the post of Aveh is pretty annoying. Citan: The home country might have had some reasons. Sigurd: Yeah… obviously. Citan: But perhaps there is still a chance of success… You and I, who used to be called 'Elements' at the commander's training school 'Jugend', are both here! Sigurd: I hope you are right… Citan: By the way, she is still…? Sigurd: According to Fei, there was a female aide on Kahr's side… And he said that she had Indigo blue eyes and hair… So it must be her… Citan: So all the old 'Elements' members are on the surface world now… Sigurd: I guess so… (Sigurd turns away, takes a few steps toward some plants on one of the room's tables.) Sigurd: Hyuga… To be honest with you… she scares me. She supports Kahr and is kind to anyone, I know that very well. But sometimes I felt a strange fear in her. That bothers me more than Kahr being in this land. Citan: That cannot be true… Not in her… Sigurd: Yeah, I don't want to believe it, either… But don't you remember how I could always sense these things quite accurately? Citan: Right… By the way, have you told the young one yet…? Sigurd: No, not yet. I don't want him to worry until we know exactly what Solaris' objectives really are. But I have to tell him eventually though… Anyway, Hyuga, have you gotten any information? Citan: Not really… I left there before going to the center section… (At the top of the steps, Fei stands, listening in on what the two say.) A voice: (Fei!!) (Bart approaches, and speaks lowly when he sees Citan and Sigurd.) Fei: (Oh, it's you Bart!? Don't scare me…!) Bart: (Sorry-dorry. It sounds like Sig and your doctor friend know each other pretty darn well… Sig… Damn, I thought I knew everything about that guy!) Fei: (When did doc get back…?) (The Yggdrasil rises up and stops at a dock, the yellow light from its signal tower spinning. Four men stand at the edge of the dock, waiting for the ship to stop. As soon as it does, Fei and all of the others step onto the deck and are greeted by the welcoming crowd.) Sigurd: I'll complete the remaining checks onboard. I'll leave the rest up to you, Maison. Maison: As you wish… I will have the honor of accompanying the others. (Bart walks forward and nods in greeting to the first man.) Man: Bartholomew, healthy as ever, I hope? Bart: Yeah. How's the town? Man: Since we got the word several days ago that there might be an army advancing from the Royal Capital the Sect's representatives have been in discussion. Bart: What have they come up with? Man: For now, they just plan to improve the local defenses. Also, anti-Shakhan people have been gathering here… probably because they heard about what's going on. Bart: That's reassuring. Man: Yes. However, the residents are starting to feel uneasy. People are starting to take refuge up north in the mountains. Bart: Can't blame them. Man: By the way, how's Marguerite…? Bart: Better than we thought. But I know she was in a lot of grief. (Margie walks out onto the dock, and comes up to the man who was speaking with Bart.) Man: Marguerite! I'm so glad you're safe. Margie: Thanks. Man: All the townspeople are overjoyed by the Great Mother's return. (Upon entering Nisan, the group is taken by the beauty of the town, and feel much more relaxed than before in the last few days. The houses around them are mode of a white stone, and topped with bronze roofs that shine in the midday sun.) Margie: Wow! It's been such a long time since I left here. (Margie rushes off, and heads for the northern part of the town, stopping before an archway at the end of the town. A large sanctuary stands tall and beautiful at the end of Nisan, and Margie looks up at it as she speaks to some others.) Citan: Well… First of all, we should accompany Marguerite up to meet the sisters! Bart: …Huh? What is it old Maison? (The three turn around to see old Maison break down into tears before them.) Maison: Sniff… Goodness gracious me…! To think that little Miss Marguerite was finally able to return here… It is so awfully moving! Bart: H… hey! Pull yourself together, old man! Maison: F…forgive me. How terribly embarrassing! I couldn't help it… I… I shall go back and give some instructions to the man left on the ship. Please, young master, go ahead and escort Miss Marguerite up to see the sisters. …Excuse me now. (Maison steps back, and then turns and walks out of Nisan toward the dock and the Yggdrasil. Fei, Citan, and Bart walk across the cobblestones leading to where Margie is, and stop at the arch. A man standing by Margie directly under the arch talks to them.) Man: Oh, Bart! I'm glad you're well. The people at the hidden port contacted us just before you came into town. I've already contacted the monastery. Please take Margie up there as soon as possible. She'll be so happy… not to mention the sisters! (The man steps aside, and Margie walks through before all of them.) Margie: I must hurry and see the sisters. (The monastery sits in the middle of a vast lake and almost reaches the clouds, creating a beautiful sight for all. They enter the doors to the sanctuary, and are greeted by a soft, praising song. A stained glass window rests in the tip of the far wall, just before the ceiling starts. The glass casts down a flood of golden light onto the floor, in the shape of an octagon. The sisters stand past the light, just before a large statue of a man and woman, singing the tune named 'The Wounded Shall Advance Into The Light'. The singing ends abruptly as one of the sisters sees Margie, and shouts out.) Nisan Woman: Margie! (The sisters rush over to the Mother of Nisan, as fast as their blue and red habits allow. They run through the golden light, and all but one surround Margie at once.) Nisan Woman: Margie! Margie: I'm back, everyone! Women: Oh, Margie… We're so glad you're safe… Margie: Yes, it is all thanks to Bart and his men. Nisan Woman: We just received word… So we were singing a hymn of praise and joy. We're so happy… Oh, what a relief! (The one woman who walked after the others finally arrived before Marguerite, and stood before her.) Sister Agnes: Welcome back, Margie. We had faith that you and your cousin Bart would one day return safely… We and your other friends have been waiting for you. Margie: Sister Agnes! Sister Agnes: Unfortunately, your mother and the blessed Royal Mother… Margie: I know, Sister Agnes… I heard about it at the Royal Capital… But at least I have made it back… I'll never go anywhere, or leave you from now on! I won't make you all worry anymore… ever again! Sister Agnes: Bless you, my dear… Margie: Sister Agnes, this just isn't like you at all! Here I am back safe and sound. Can't you rebuke me just a little, for old time's sake? Sister Agnes: Ha… I'm sorry… But I am just so happy that I cannot help but… Nisan Woman: Sister… Sister Agnes: …There is no reason to be so solemnly quiet… Well, everyone! To celebrate the return of our dear sister Margie… and to express our joy to heaven, let us finish singing our hymn. Margie: Thank you, and bless you all! Oh, yes, sister… May I go upstairs? It's been oh so long, so I want to have a look around up there too. Sister Agnes: Oh, but of course, dear! Don't even think of holding back from anything… Except for one thing… Never stay away so long like that again. Margie: Ha, ha! I knew you'd say that. Now that's the Agnes I know! (The sisters return, except for one, who stays just a moment to have a word with Margie.) Nisan Woman: Margie, I am so glad. (Walking back to her place in the choir, the hymn begins again, the divine sound echoing against the vast walls, obviously designed for acoustics as well as beauty.) Bart: It's been a while since the last time I was here. …? Something wrong, Margie? Margie: …Nothing. It's just… I guess I got a little emotional… Heh, heh, heh… Bart: …Anyhow, take it easy for a while… You've put up with enough, okay? Margie: If you're trying to make me cry, you'll fail. Oh yes! I'll show Fei and Citan around our cathedral… Follow me! Citan: What a strong girl she is… It is obvious that she really wants to just break down and cry… Bart: Yeah, you're right… That's just the way she has always been. For all her talk, she understands her position well… Maybe there are a few things I could learn from her too. (Fei follows Margie to a door in the side of the sanctuary, and they all walk up the red, carpeted steps within.) Margie: We go up to the gallery on the second floor from here… (Walking out onto a dais over the cathedral, they get a better view of the resplendent architecture. From the middle of the ceiling, all the way across the sanctuary, hang several slim lamps for decoration.) Citan: …How magnificent! Margie: If we ever got scolded for pranks as kids, Bart and I used to hide here. Bart: Hey, stop telling those old stories. It's embarrassing! Margie: But to me, Bart hasn't changed much since then. (Margie walks across the carpeted floor, looking between slender, strong pillars at the lights. The brightest comes from the farthest end, just between the two statues, and is magnified by lifelike paintings of rays of light. This one is also surrounded by candles at the base, below the foot of the statues.) Bart: What!? You mean you think I'm still a kid!? (Fei, Bart, and Citan walk to the center of the dais, where Margie has stopped.) Margie: I like the view from here best. (The four stand at the edge, and are surrounded by the thick, dark wood that composes the balcony and walls. Five columns reach from around the base of the dais to the ceiling high above on each side of the sanctuary. In their position, the light from the stained glass streams down just around the hanging candles, outlining the statues and light around in the cylinder of brightness. The painting behind the two huge statues is of space; blackness dotted by stars and clouded with a myriad of purple and red shades. The light emanating from just between the two statues can now be identified as a torch, reaching from below on a thin golden pillar. The hands of the statues reach out, and stop just before they can gently touch the flame's surface.) Citan: Yes, this is breathtaking! Light from outside shining through the stained glass of the cathedral's front… What a brilliant piece of artistry this is. Margie: Did you notice that the two great angels only have one wing each…? According to a legend handed down in Nisan… God could have created humans perfectly… But then, humans would not have helped each other… So that is what these great single-winged angels symbolizes… In order to fly, they are dependant on one another. Citan: Ah, so that is the reason for it. I see… On further inspection, the left angel looks somewhat masculine… while the right one looks somewhat feminine. (Citan walks right, to see past the ray of light from above.) Citan: Now that is an unusual feature, is it not? Usually these depictions are not gender- specific. But these angels are clearly distinguishable as having opposing genders. And the space between them is the path from where God advents… Or could it be the path leading to God? Well… I do not know, it could be either, or even both. …Now I see! This all coincides with the teachings of Nisan. Margie: Ha, ha, ha! Why Doctor Citan Uzuki! You are an amusing fellow! Citan: Oh! Excuse me. It is a habit of mine… Fei: The doc knows a lot about a lot of things… Sometimes I can't even understand what he's talking about… Bart: …Hah! Forcing them to fly together…? It would be less bothersome if they could fly on their own, don't you think, Fei? Margie: Bart! You miss the deeper meaning and beauty of it. Someday I wish I could be of help to someone like that… Oh, we haven't visited the 'Room of Sophia' yet, have we? You're really supposed to go through some procedures before you can see it… But this time I think it will be alright if I make a special exception. Fei: Sophia? Margie: Yes, Sophia. She is revered as the founding mother of the Nisan nation… and the founder of the Nisan religion who set forth its teachings. There is a special room upstairs that has a portrait of Mother Sophia in it. Citan: I would definitely like to view that! Fei, let us go have a look at it! (From below, the melodious sound of the harmonies produced by the sisters encompasses the sanctuary in a peace incomparable to any other. Fei and the others follow Margie to another door, and stop before her. The singing is somewhat muffled as they climb to the third floor of the church, over the crimson carpet once again. When they enter the next door, though, the group is greeted by a strange and marvelous sight. The small room, made completely of stone, is lit by a large cut in the wall. The trim of the back wall is formed to the shape of an ornate cross, somewhat familiar in appearance to the cross from Fei's visions. Golden sunlight flows from the opening and is reflected on the red floor, in a much more lucid silhouette.) Citan: Oh y… What an exquisite portrait! And the beautiful young lady portrayed is quite beyond comparison too… What is more… this looks rather familiar…! What do you think, Fei? Fei: Yes, I was just thinking the same thing. The hair is a different color, but the atmosphere or personality about her is exactly the same. Citan: What? Hair color? What do you mean? Fei: What do I mean? Look…! It's the girl I met in the forest… It's Elly! I mean, there's something about her that's just like Elly… You don't think so…? Citan: Yes, now that you mention it… She does resemble Elly. But that is not what I was talking about… I meant that the brush techniques and overall style used in this picture is similar to yours. Fei: …Really? (Fei walks forward, and looks upon the portrait again, hanging from eye-level on the wall. The woman does indeed resemble Elly, with slightly darker hair than Elly's bright orange hair, and a white dress and red sash. But her face, and expression of kindness are unchanged. Upon her breast lies a dark cross with a ruby gem set in the center, and it strongly approximates the cross shape against the wall. Sophia sits in a red chair, her hands folded against her lap calmly.) Fei: Does it…? First of all… I'm nowhere near as good an artist. Citan: No… it is very similar to your style. But somehow I can sense an atmosphere of sadness in this picture. She is smiling, but in a way, gives the impression that she is anxious. Perhaps the picture is reflecting her inner self? Or perhaps it is the inner feelings of the artist being conveyed. Ahh… If you look closely, you will notice that the painting is not completely finished. The artist put his brushes down when it was near completion. …Why is that? Margie: I don't know… But my grandmother might have known about it… Oh! What if we ask Agnes? She may know something. Alright then, I'll be with Sister Agnes. Bart: Well… shall we head back to the town for now? Citan: Yes, alright… But this painting has caught my curiosity. Do you mind if I speak to Sister Agnes before we head back to town? Bart: Yeah, okay. We'll stop by her room on the way out. (Bart, Margie, and Citan exit, but Fei remains in the room. He turns, looking at the painting, and is suddenly overcome with a deep image, almost like a dream. Fei is standing in the same room, painting the portrait himself, the light shining on both the picture and the woman sitting in a red chair nearby.) Lacan… (The trance fades from Fei's eyes, shaking his head as Citan re-enters.) Citan: Is something wrong, Fei? You look like you are daydreaming… Fei: Huh? No… It's nothing… (Fei and Citan walk down the steps, and are joined by Bart. At the next door on the dais, a library is found, and they walk to a desk near several adjacent windows.) Sister Agnes: I understand you were shown Sophia's portrait. The lady portrayed in that picture is Nisan's great founding Mother… Some say that it was painted at least 500 years ago. Citan: 500 years ago… Now that is quite amazing. Personally, I find it intriguing. Do you have any historical material from that period? Agnes: In our hands, there are no such records left intact. All records and materials concerning Sophia have been lost… The portrait is the only thing left. We too do not have much knowledge about her. Citan: That is too bad! So there really is nothing left at all? Agnes: For someone who has helped Marguerite, I would have loved to share them… But unfortunately I am unable to help here… Citan: Oh well, none the matter. Please do not worry about it. I was just inquiring. But, it does seem somewhat strange… If such a majestic building as this survived history, then it is likely a scroll or two would remain too. Agnes: According to tradition, Sophia was present about 500 years ago… She sacrificed herself for the people and has been summoned to be with God. That's all I can tell you. Citan: …I see. So everything was lost in the darkness of history. (Fei, Citan, and Bart walk from the room, and leave the cathedral, heading across the lake and back into the town of Nisan. As they walk through the town to the southernmost end, Maison shouts from a distance. Bart, Fei, and Citan run to Maison to see what is going on.) Bart: Ah! Maison: Yo-ung ma-ste-r! (The gentleman stands in front of one of the large stone houses with a brass roof, and speaks more calmly as they approach.) Maison: The people of Nisan were most generous to allow us to rent this house. So there will be no need to seek lodgings at the inn for a while. Also, Master Sigurd wishes a word with you regarding your next move, if he may… Bart: Alright… So where is Sig? Maison: The good Master Sigurd is waiting for you inside. Bart: Okay, thanks Maison. (They walk into the house, and join Sigurd in another room, followed by Maison.) Sigurd: Whenever I come here it always calms my heart. Anyway, young master… I want to work out what our plans from here on are. Bart: Alright. But before we do that… there is something I want to ask you. Sigurd: …Me? Bart: Yeah. (Bart goes into the next room, followed by Sigurd, and then Citan.) Bart: Sig… What's up with you and that Gebler officer? What's the connection between you and him…? You know, you sure know a lot about Gebler for some reason! (Citan, looking at Sigurd, steps forward and nods his head seriously.) Sigurd: …Alright. I'll tell you. Me and… Citan, here… We used to live in Solaris. Bart: Solaris… You mean… where Gebler's from? Sigurd: That's right. (Downstairs, near the stove, Maison turns around and listens in nervously.) Sigurd: Solaris… calls foreigners 'Lambs'… They are used as manual labor. Basically it's slavery. Bart: Slavery? Is that where you met him? Citan: Yes, it was there. Sigurd: We worked for the Solaris government for a short while… But we learned to dislike their methods and escaped the first chance we had. Bart: …You were friends with these people? I met you when I was a kid and we've been together ever since then… So this would have had to have happened even before then. I probably wouldn't have understood this if I had heard it earlier, but… Why didn't you think I could deal with it now? Surely you could have told me about this? Especially when you had something to do with the people who are backing that Shakhan idiot! I wish you'd told me sooner. Sigurd: …There's nothing I can do about that now. But, there's one thing I want you to believe… We left Solaris on our own will and for our own reasons. Now that they've appeared before us, we can't just sit back and do nothing. If need be, I will give my life to stop them. Bart: Alright, I understand. But can you elaborate a little more? What bugs me is this 'surface dweller' thing… It's as if Solaris is in another location. Like up in the clouds or something? Sigurd: Yes, well… Etrenank, the capital of the Solaris empire is located in the skies above. Solaris is separated from the land by dimensional distortion fields known as 'Gates'. Passing between the two requires special means of transportation… such as an airship. To get to Aveh we stowed away on a regular flight to the surface. Citan: I came much later than Sigurd did… But I also escaped in the same way. Bart: What are Lambs? Sigurd: That is the word Solarians use to indicate those who dwell on the earth. As I said before, such 'surface dwellers' or 'earth dwellers', are used for manual labor there. Manual labor could be anything from soldiers to administrative jobs. Solaris gathers its work force from the land dwellers. Jobs are divide up by who is most suitable. Sometimes people are brainwashed. Bart: Brainwashed!? Sigurd: I… when you, young master, were still an infant… I was used as a test subject. There was probably something they valued inside of me. Fei: You too, doc? Citan: No… I was born in the lower city levels. It is not a complete secret… But I guess I am a Solarian… You see, you still need people to run a country… No matter how scientifically advanced you are, you have no support without people. Sigurd: Pure Solarians are rare. They would not even make up a quarter of Aveh's population. So, they support their country by stealing surface dwellers. Bart: Who is that man? Sigurd: His name is, Kahr… Kahran Ramsus. As you know, he's the Gebler Commander. Bart: Ramsus…? Sigurd: We call him Kahr. In Solaris there is an officer training school called 'Jugend'. He became the Commander after leaving there. Citan: He is a lower level citizen, the same as me. However, with his amazing abilities… After graduation, he rose through the ranks with unparalleled speed. Sigurd: That man had one ideal. To achieve a consolidation of all his colleagues. Even land dwellers, if they had talent, were brought into the army. Bart: So you two were picked by Ramsus…? Citan: No, we were not picked by him… we aligned ourselves with him. Sigurd: At that time… we agreed with him. Citan: At that time, Ramsus was our hope. He had high ideals and wanted to change the system in Solaris. To use test subjects and lower level citizens, he was truly all we wished for. Bart: A benefactor? Sigurd: Yes… even I, a test subject, was changed by his ideals. Bart: So why was it that you wanted to flee from Solaris? Sigurd: We were placed in key military positions by Ramsus… And thanks to that, we came to know the relationship between Solaris and the surface dwellers. Bart: The… 'Lambs'… right? Sigurd: They weren't just using us 'Lambs' for slave labor… They also selected some of us, like me, to be used as subjects in experiments to refine their drugs… Drugs that change people's personalities, to make them more aggressive and to draw out their latent abilities. They were using us as human guinea pigs to test their psychological alteration drugs! Bart: Human guinea pigs…!? Experimenting on humans? Sigurd: Yes, for example… 'Drive' That drug, and all others like it that are used now, are by-products of human experimentation… Citan: However, the role of such experimental subjects was not limited to just that! Fei: This 'Drive' drug is something that anyone in the Solaris army can use? Citan: At least anyone in the Gebler forces who is sent to the surface… Bart: You're worried about her, huh? Fei: …! Bart: I saw some… in her room. Fei: No… Bart: …Anyway… using slaves as guinea pigs… How low are these guys…? Damn! (Bart sits on the bed next to him, relaxing.) Bart: Hmm… I think I get most of it. Old Maison! Go reserve the town hall for us. We'll finish talking there. I'm going outside to get some air. (Bart leaves, and leaves Fei, Sigurd, and the others in the room.) Sigurd: I should have been honest with him sooner… Citan: It is best not to worry about it. You did all that you could at the time. The young one will understand. (Fei and Citan walk over to a bridge at the center of the town, where they stand beside Bart. Fir trees stand nearby in the village, almost as plentiful as the grass and moss that covers the bottoms of the walls.) Bart: I had no idea Sig had such a past… Citan: Are you still suspicious of Sigurd…? Bart: Well… I mean… it was just so sudden. I kind of expected to hear something different… Like they were childhood rivals or something… But that's nothing compared to the story he just told us, is it? Citan: Hmm. So hearing his story has confused you because it was not so simple… There was a time when we were cooperating with one of Gebler's generals… Furthermore, behind Gebler was a country that you had never even heard of… Bart: Hey, what are you picking on me for? Citan: No, I am not picking on you or blaming anything on you. What I am saying is this… If you think about how he feels, then you should see why he could not talk about this with you till now. Looking at the activities of Solaris toward other countries up until now… It has never gone beyond simply maintaining their own empire, or 'self-preservation'. And as you have seen, their military power is immense. So Sigurd was probably thinking ahead… First he was probably concentrating on taking care of the problems here on the continent of Ignas. Once things were settled here, it would give him a stronger foundation to deal with Solaris later. Which is a much better plan than rushing straight into a war he knew we could not win. Quite logical, really. Bart: Sounds like you understand one another pretty well. Citan: Well it is not like we are newly acquainted, is it? And we had talked about a lot of things up until we decided to escape from Solaris. Bart: Speaking of that… Why did you leave? That Ramsus guy was supposed to be a 'Star of Hope' or something, wasn't he? Citan: Yes, I certainly thought so at first. But then I realized his way of thinking was not that much of a change from the previous system. Basically, the only difference was whether they stressed people's rank and class, or their skill. The words had changed, but it was still no different from what Solaris itself had been doing until then. He had no intentions of bringing everyone a better way of life. Bart: In other words, he's an elitist. I don't think I like him much, either. So, Citan… Do you think I can beat Gebler? Citan: Why? Are you planning on fighting them? Bart: As long as they're working with Shakhan, there's no way around it. The way things are going, I'm sure we'll have to fight them sooner or later. Citan: Hmm… I suppose so, but… Even if we were able to defeat the Gebler forces here, there is still Solaris to deal with. If we are not careful, it is possible that we may get involved in a longer war with Shakhan. Do you not agree that continuing the way we have been going is rather hard on everyone? I think it is time we try to get help from a greater number of people. Bart: So defeating Shakhan's not going to get rid of the likes of Gebler… I know what you're trying to say… 'To vanquish Gebler, first gain thy throne!' …Right? Citan: Hmm… You could put it that way. Bart: What do you mean… 'You could put it that way'? But then again, maybe it is time I did something about that. (Bart leads Fei and Citan to the town hall, where Maison and Sigurd are waiting inside.) Sigurd: I went to the tool shop to borrow a table. The owner said… 'If we need anything for the young master, just ask for it.' Bart: I'm grateful. When I was a kid, I borrowed stuff from there and got in big trouble. Fei: Borrowed… What did you take? Bart: A toy boat. …I think that's what it was. I put fireworks in it and let it float on the cathedral's lake. I always used to play 'navy'. I'm not sure, but I think I pretended the lake was the open sea… and I was the fleet commander. Anyway… forget those old stories. We should get started. (Bart walks to the table, resting his palms on the smooth surface.) Bart: First… Gebler is the big problem. Citan: Yes, Ramsus is headed towards achieving his goals. That he is now the commander of Gebler is proof of that. A normal man could not progress so quickly through that country's organization. And now he is presently located here in Ignas. Frankly, the situation is not very favorable. We need to somehow find a weak spot and attack it with all our might. Bart: First, let's just concentrate on Shakhan. Once he's out of the way and Aveh is safe again, we can think about how to deal with the Gebler. With our present strength we should be able to hold off the Royal Guard forces. The problem is how to deal with Gebler in the mean time… They will most likely move at Shakhan's request. They're not just gonna sit by and watch quietly. Citan: …May I have a look there, please? (Citan approaches the table.) Citan: In short, we want Gebler to leave for a while… At least until we are able to take back the Royal Capital, Bledavik. (On the map of Ignas, Citan moves five pieces around. Three are yellow, representing the armies, and two extra pieces represent Aveh and Kislev.) Citan: These are the Gebler units currently in Aveh, correct? The western guards… the Royal Capital defense force… and, units along the front line at the border with Kislev. There are three main groups. Each is made up of a mix of Gebler and Aveh forces. Only two of these are very large. (Citan points to the two units on the right, one at Aveh, and the other at the border.) Citan: The Royal Capital's defense units and the Kislev border units. The western guard along Nisan's border are little more than a surveillance team. Sigurd: In order to recapture the Royal Capital… it will be necessary to draw these defense units away from Bledavik. Citan: We have some Kislev mad Gears, correct? Bart: Yeah, we captured some earlier. Citan: What if we use those Gears to make a raid on the western guards… here at the border with Nisan? (Citan places a blue piece beside the western one.) Bart: I see. We'll draw them out by making it look like Kislev is invading Aveh. Sigurd: But the problem is… will attacking the border guards be enough to set the center in motion? Citan: To be sure then, Nisan will just have to appear to align with Kislev. If they see it that way, they will certainly make a move. Bart: You're saying that you intend to use Nisan as bait? Fei: Doc!? Sigurd: Shakhan is very sensitive to Nisan and Kislev's actions. If Nisan starts moving he will probably leave it to Gebler, but… Citan: Of course I do not wish to do that from the beginning. But looking at the situation, we have to be willing to go that far. Sigurd and Bart: Hmm… Bart: First, we infiltrate into the capital. To take out Shakhan, we'll have to meet with our agents already in the city. Citan: We are forgetting one thing… The front line units along Kislev's border. Bart: …! (Citan moves a red piece onto the board, dragging it from Kislev up to Aveh's border guards.) Citan: The main strength of Aveh's fleet is the battleship Kefeinzel. It's been in service since the reign of the last king. Because of its firepower, the whole unit is nicknamed the 'invincible fleet'. I recall yesterday's intelligence report said the ship is near the border. Bart: Damn… That puts everything in jeopardy! Citan: Do not feel so down. I simply wanted you to see the current distribution of force in the area. Even in the worst case that they do come, it will not be such a great problem. Bart: What do you mean? Citan: I have some additional information about Aveh's border fleet. The former Aveh supreme commander was transferred there. Not really transferred., more like demoted… His name is Vanderkaum. Sigurd: Vanderkaum… You don't mean the Vanderkaum that was in Jugend? Citan: The very same. Young one, he has not been able to adapt to the change in tactics… particularly following the introduction of Gears… He is a man who will never stray from his dependence on large naval guns. Bart: You mean, he's stubborn. He is all size and no real military power. An excellent target for pirates. Maison: Young master! This is not going to be an act of piracy! Bart: Just kidding. Citan: Actually, the number of Gears assigned to the fleet seems to have been reduced. Even with that… how gallant of him to be so self-righteous. Bart: Is he that much of a muscle-head? It'll be fun taunting him. Maison: Young master! Bart: I know! I know! Anyway, Citan, do you think he can strike our Gear forces? Citan: It is not a problem. Even with Vanderkaum, we have enough forces to pull off the feint. However, it would not be wise to underestimate our opponents. Sigurd: Well, now that we know what we are up against, here's what we'll do… Apart from our main unit heading for Bledavik, we must keep the fleet at the Kislev border from returning to the capital. Bart: So you're suggesting that we have another unit? Citan: A few effective soldiers to hold the enemy at bay… A small force is best. Sigurd: A small force…? Citan: What if Fei leads a group of Gears there? Fei: Me…!? Sigurd: Hold on now! There's no reason to involve you all in this! Fei: …I'll do it. Yes, let me do it. When do we leave? Bart: …Are you sure? Fei: We've come this far… Hey, we're friends to the end, now! Citan: Speed is everything. We should do this as soon as possible. Bart: All right, tomorrow! Sigurd: I am truly grateful… Fei… Citan. Bart: Yeah! There's no way we can lose! No one will die in vain! Maison: Well put, young master! (The group retires from the room, going to the hotel for the night.) __The Next Morning__ Margie: Good morning! What's with the long face? Not feeling well? Or are you feeling sad about saying goodbye? Or maybe you're just nervous? Bart: Shut up, stupid! Don't bug me! Margie: Hee hee. Well… It's almost time. Bart: Yeah, yeah… Is everyone ready to go? I'll be here, so let me know when you are through preparing. (Citan and Fei walk outside.) Citan: There is a new wind blowing today… (Citan and Fei walk over to the general store and then the weapon shop. After buying some merchandise from both stores, they return to the town hall, and talk to Bart again.) Bart: Are you ready? Fei: Alright! (At the dock with the Yggdrasil, the men and Margie stand on a platform projecting from the side wall.) Sigurd: Our comrades in Nisan will hit the western guard in Kislev uniforms as planned. We'll wait for the right moment, then head for the palace in the Yggdrasil! Bart: Got it. But avoid any unnecessary deaths. This especially goes for Aveh troops and also the people from Gebler. Sigurd: Yes. We understand. Fei: I guess I'm going to raise some hell in my Weltall then. Sigurd: We're counting on you! Margie: Next time we meet I won't be able to call you 'Bart' or 'Young master'. Maybe, 'Your Majesty'…? Bart: Cut it out. Bart's fine… 'Great Mother of Nisan'! Margie: Hey…! You know I hate that title! Bart: Ha ha ha! Well, we're outta here! Margie: Okay. Good luck! (The men jump down the hatch one by one, and the great Yggdrasil sinks down below. Margie and Sister Agnes stand at the end of the dock, watching as their men go off to fight.) Agnes: Marguerite and Bartholomew… Seeing you two brings my hopes up. Long ago, before the Fatimas of Aveh were called Fatima… The royal brothers and their wives oversaw many prosperous reigns or eras. I'm looking forward to the day, when as the Great Mother of the Nisan Sect, you will take your place on the throne as Bartholomew's wife. Margie: What!? Hey, hold on! I hate talking about queens and romance…! Bart and I are best friends! Agnes: Ha ha, marriage is the best friendship. Well at the rate that you are maturing into a beautiful woman… I don't think Bart will be able to ignore you much longer. Margie: Stop it, you're embarrassing me! (Margie and Agnes walk from the metal planking, into Bart's hideout. Meanwhile, in the Gear hangar of the Yggdrasil, five men in black uniforms stand at ease in front of Bart, Fei, and Citan. One valiant-looking man, a high-ranking officer of Bart's, steps forward and speaks.) Maitreya: Each squad of Gears take off, in order, from here to avoid being picked up. We'll meet at the Rockies by the border tomorrow at 1200. Got it? Men: OK! Bart: Though the warship is outdated, you're only going in as a small unit. It's going to be a tough fight, but you could change Aveh's future. I'm counting on you. Maitreya: Leave it up to us, young master! We'll drag Vanderkaum's tail around and around. Right, son!? Fei: Don't call me 'son'. Cuz you sure aint my pops. Maitreya: Huh? Ha, ha, ha, ha… Well, young master… We promise to make something out of this battle! (Maitreya and his men walk off, ahead of Fei, who stays to converse with Bart and Citan.) Bart: Fei, I know it's odd for me to say this since I'm the one who got you involved… but… Be careful, okay!? Fei: You too… Bart: If… anything happens to me… take care of Margie and them for me! Fei: …Don't jinx yourself! It's not like you… But… I'll take care of them. Don't worry. (Steam blows from the sides of the Yggdrasil, and the top of the fuselage lifts, floating with the raised mechanical arms. Weltall, standing in the middle of the area, seems small and insignificant on the huge ship. Fei's Gear blazes with electricity, and it's feet lift slightly off of the floor. Weltall's eyes gleam golden in the bright sun, and runway lights flash by, like a passing wave. Engines roaring ominously, the Gear dashes across the opened hangar, gliding into a fast flight above the chestnut-colored sands.) __That Night__ (Yggdrasil floats on the warmed sands, shining like a cold metallic sapphire under the reddish moon in the navy blue sky. A few lost clouds drift by, as if an artist of the world has decided to add a detail to the canvas of the heavens. Inside, Citan walks into the lounge room to meet Maison within, standing with good posture behind the bar.) Maison: Oh, aren't you going to rest a little? (Citan approaches the bar, walking pasts the stairs leading to the downstairs bedrooms and the engine room.) Maison: At long last we are heading to Bledavik tomorrow… Though he is the prince, our young master doesn't know the Royal Capital very well… I'd always felt that was an awful pity. But despite that, I tried my best to raise him as Crown Prince. However, looking back, I might have put too much of the 'burdens of kingship' on him too early in life… And it might have been too much for a child with a future like his to handle… I must be the most terrible minder ever! Citan: My dear Lord Maison… I hardly think that is right! The young one would have taken the burden off of himself if he had not wanted it any longer! He is a fine man now… far capable of handling any such burdens or pressures. And I believe you are the very ones to have given him the strength to do so. Maison: Oh my good Doctor Uzuki… I hope you are not too taken back? Lately, there are far too many barbaria… I mean… highly energetic lads, around the young master. So, yours truly, who is in charge of education, demanded to have this room created!! (But, because of that, I ended up having to take a side job…) (Citan walks from the room, and rides the elevator up to the bridge. Citan, instead of entering the bridge, walks out onto the deck. The red sun glows in the night with a strange radiance, and flowing motes of sand caught in the wind fly past the small wings of the forecastle. Sigurd walks up to Bart, who is watching the sun from the deck in silence.) Sigurd: Why such a glum face? Tomorrow is our first return to your castle in 12 years. Bart: Returning to the castle… After we get the royal palace back, I guess I'm going to be the king… I'm not very suited for it, am I? Sigurd: You'll get used to it. Bart: Listen, Sig… Sigurd: Yes? Bart: I guess it really… doesn't matter who the king is, does it? As long as it's a symbol of hope, right? It doesn't have to be me. (They stand in silence for a minute or two, and then Sigurd breaks the quiet spell.) Sigurd: I was kidnapped by Solaris and brainwashed for use as a human guinea pig. But, even they couldn't erase my desire to return home. Then, I remembered you and Marguerite, not as the royalty of our country, but as just normal children. I don't care about rebuilding a dynasty. I want to regain this kingdom because it belongs to you… Because it's your home! Bart: Because it's my home? Sigurd: Yes. For that, we must take Shakhan down tomorrow. Am I correct? Bart: …Right. Then, let's do it! Sigurd: But first, I think you need to take a bath! Bart: A bath!? (Citan stands below, listening beside the flagpole silently, his head leaned slightly over.) Sigurd: You don't look like a king at all! You are facing the enemies leader… so you must have a noble appearance! Bart: Hey, you just said it didn't matter whether I'm a king or not!! Sigurd: That is that, this is this! (Citan holds a hand to his chin, thinking to himself.) Citan: That someone was waiting for you… That one thought was all it took for you to regain yourself… You are a great man, Sigurd… (The same red coin of a moon hangs in the sky over Bledavik that night, and shines in a beam through one of the castle's windows. Kahran Ramsus and Miang lie in bed together, asleep, with the covers pulled snugly over their resting bodies. Out of seemingly nowhere, the nightmare returns to Ramsus, only much more vivid in his sleep. The man with the fiery red hair and black suit stands on a plain, fighting the three gigantic Gears. He throws the arrow of fire, crumbling the first one to the ground. The second Gear stands by, and the terrifying man leaps at it, kicking and punching his strength right through the solid iron and steel. The third Gear rises to be hit with the 'Raijin' technique. Flames surround the surreal man, and the last Gear lies on the ground, smoke coming from its torn body. The man stands, waiting, outside of the Gear. Turning, he sees two larger Gears of the same Gebler make, accompanied by five soldiers on foot. The red moon hangs in the sky here too, and Ramsus steps forward, in front of the other four men. A familiar shape stands on a slender mountain peak, watching from above. The man is Grahf, and he watches in fascination at the slaughter. A giant red Gear, bigger than any of the others, flies to the ground above the mysterious man. He floats up into the Gear, and it turns suddenly on the enemy. Two split wings project like daggers from the shoulders of the Gear, and it flies right through the two standing opponents. The pair of Gears shudder and explode, falling to the ground in pieces.) Ramsus: He's out of control! Stop him! I don't care how, just stop him! (But the frightened soldiers run around confused, not knowing what to do in the face of this terror. The red Gear flies forth, tearing into the fragile men mercilessly. Another Gear lands at Ramsus' side, but falls in an explosion, the red Gear simply raising its hand.) Ramsus: This can't be… (Two new Gebler Gears run at the mighty enemy, punching and attacking, but the red Gear slashes a hand forward, and they fall back, crushed like tin cans. Ramsus, frightened and frustrated, draws his sword as the Gear attacks him.) Ramsus: Ugh! H, help… Uaaaaaaaahhhhhh!! (Ramsus screams, and the world turns into a sea of crimson blood in his eyes. He awakes, his chest heaving and arms shaking. Miang rises beside him, drawing the covers near.) Miang: What's wrong? You look like you have just had a nightmare… It wasn't that same dream again, was it? Ramsus: No… It was nothing. (Ramsus jumps to the floor, and walks away slowly.) Miang: Kahr… (Ramsus exits, ignoring Miang.) Miang: Peeping is not very becoming, you know…!? (Darkness flashes twice over the room, and Grahf appears a few feet from the bedside.) Miang: Heh heh… I saw the boy that you are after fight in the Tournament… I could tell right away. He resembles you greatly. Grahf: You used the influence of the Ministry to set you up with that man… I don't know what you are up to, but don't you dare think about plotting against me. You stay out of this! (Grahf disappears.) Miang: Oh, I see the news has already reached you… As usual, you're the first to hear about everything. But don't worry… I won't steal your 'prized possession'. I'll cooperate… Besides, you and I go back a long way… (On the Yggdrasil, a strange penguin-looking man at a seat on the ships controls looks up.) Crewman: Oh…? Bart: What's up? Franz: No… for a moment, I thought I caught some unnatural sounds… Bart: We're near the capital. It's probably just some kind of ship from there. Franz: But it's not from the surface… It's from under the sand! Bart: Under the sand? This is the only sand cruiser in all of Aveh! Sigurd: We haven't heard anything about a new ship even from the spies at Aveh Naval HQ. Franz, can you try again and confirm what it is? Franz: …I can't catch it again. It could have been a sand whale… Crewman: Young master! I'm detecting an increase in the use of F band! That's the Royal Capital's defense force's frequency! Franz: There… On the surface layer! I'm detecting sounds of anchors being weighed in and engines being activated! The Royal Capital's defense fleet must be departing…! Crewman: We also intercepted a transmission from the patrol at the border with Kislev! They're requesting immediate backup from the Royal Capital! Looks like we've really raised some hell at the border! Bart: …Alright! We'll start! Ready the shuttle boats! When we land, hide the ship! Maison: Y, young master! I have an awfully bad feeling about this… Do be very careful! Bart: It's all right, Maison. (In a Gear hangar at Aveh, Elly leads forth a team of five members, who happen to be the ones who attacked Bart's hideout.) Renk: What? This little girl's our commanding officer? Broyer: She's said to be an elite from out of Jugend. Stratski: She returned single-handedly from the Kislev infiltration operation. Helmholz: And 'empty-handedly' I hear! No souvenirs for the Commander, huh? Renk: Yep, what a pretty face. She's not the soldier type. Elly: You there! Is that how you address a superior officer? Remember your rank! Renk: Oh, scary! Vance: We don't care much for rank… and we don't care much for Renk either! But just because you're beautiful doesn't mean you have to be cocky. Broyer: Ha! This jerk's just jealous. Vance: What? I'm much prettier! How could I be jealous? Stratski: Hey, shut that perv up! He gives me the creeps. Renk: And that's how it is… So don't get in our way, 'Miss Lieutenant'. Elly: … Renk: Anyway, let's just get this thing moving. Can't tell what it can do just by looking at it. Stratski: What kind of machine is this? I've never seen it before. Renk: It's a new model Gear, called Vierge, that's for officer's use only. It's said that people with normal mental power can't operate it. Stratski: So, she's still a 'Jugend' regardless of having no ability? Vance: Hah, this looks like fun. Let's see what she can do! (The huge pink and white metal Gear stands majestically and silently, and Elly watches it with increased interest.) (Maitreya, Fei, and four other of Bart's standard desert Gears stand together at the base of a stony cliff, bearing the sand that blows by with the wind.) Maitreya: Head for the mountain peak. There's no time to waste. Deploy! (The Gears, including Weltall, jump up some of the stony ledges, and enter a tall cave at one end of the mountain. A big cavern resides within, and they follow the cliffs further up to another hole in the cavern walls. Fei goes ahead of Maitreya and his team, bringing Weltall to stand outside on the lofty mountain precipice. All at once, Fei is surrounded by alarms in the cockpit, and Maitreya's voice shouts over the intercom.) Maitreya: Fei! A Gebler Gear unit! Fei: What? (Following a rush of engines and wind, two Gears shoot between the canyon walls. Maitreya's Gear stands off on another cliff, too far away to help.) Fei: Let me handle this! Maitreya: B, but… Fei: We don't have time! While we're wasting time here, Bart's team is already on their way to the castle. Hurry! Maitreya: R, roger. (More of the red desert Gears follow after their leader, jumping up ledge after ledge to catch up with Maitreya. The slim, tall Gear Vierge hovers above Weltall, blue flames flowing from the engines. Two of the other enemy Gears fly up beside her, and stop in wait of a command.) Elly: That Gear!? Don't tell me its Fei!? Broyer: Hey, is that him? The guy from before? Renk: Yep. That's him alright. Broyer: Good. It's time for a rematch. Don't fall behind, sister. Renk: You're in the way. Why don't you stay over there and just watch? (Renk and Broyer's gears fly off, while Stratski and Helmholz's Gears approach her.) Stratski: Yeah, yeah. We can take care of these guys on our own. Helmholz: Sorry about this. Vance: Get outta the way. Elly: Y, all of you! Hold! I haven't given out any orders to attack yet! (Too late, though, for Renk and Broyer rush at Fei in their Gears. The Gears are almost identical in make and attack with their rifles instead of going for hand-to-hand combat. One of them leaps into the air, charging its gun and letting loose a powerful beam. The beam catches Weltall full in the chest, and it falls back for a moment. The other Gear jumps at Weltall, but Fei expects this. Weltall kicks out, and the Gear crumples over, sizzling before it leaps into retreat. Weltall bum rushes the next Gear, kicking a metal leg wide, and smashing it to the ground. The Gear flies away, but all three of the others fall, and surround Fei's Gear. One of them jumps and swings it's thick, winged arms at Weltall while another slices at him with clawed hands. Fei jumps aside of both of the attacks, and punches one of them back, knocking it to the ground and out of the battle. Broyer's Gear swings it's thin chain wings at him, but Weltall only catches a slight bit of damage. Weltall jumps headlong at the opponents, standing between them a split second before he attacks. One hand flies in a fist at Broyer's Gear, smashing the area just below the cockpit. Only an instant later, Weltall kicks the Gear with the dagger-like arms. Then, without pausing, he jumps into the air, and drills an airborne spin kick at the enemy Gear. The group retreats quickly, backing off immediately, amazed.) Helmholz: Aaaaaahhhhh! Vance: Guaaaaaahhhh!! Renk: Vance! Helm! You two okay!? Vance: Why am I losing to a Lamb? Something's wrong… Way wrong!! Renk: Vance!! Get a hold of yourself! Vance: Oh yeah!? I just need more! I need more 'Drive'!! Elly: …I can't do it. I cant… fight Fei… but… (Elly's head slumps down, and she sighs in resignation.) The only thing left… is to use the 'Drive'… But… (Elly remembers a past scene, with her running through a hallway thick with metal and reddish light. The hall resembles the corridors in Aveh's underground headquarters. Elly runs furiously, her voice quaking.) Elly: W, what are you doing? Don't worry. It's just the 'Drive'. The 'Drive' will just readjust your balance and make you feel good. Elly: I don't want it! I, I don't want to use it! Please! Go away! You think we're going to make an exception because your father's top brass? (Elly stands at the end of the hall, nowhere to run, and circled by Gebler men.) You have no recollection? There were no records on mental enhancement drug use up until now. Then it was sudden. She's probably the type that can't handle the 'Drive'. That probably caused her to lapse into delirium. And her loss of self-control? You mean an unconscious burst of pent-up antipathy? But everyone has that. Is that why the innate ability is so high? Yes… What did the Commander call those girls again? It's probably higher than they are. Then it's an instantaneous jump in numerical value. But, we can't use her as a test subject in front of Erich. It's a pity we can't manage it… since there's so much potential. We'll leave you to the bureau. Stay at your residence until further notice. Don't worry! You have power worthy of the chosen one's. It's those weak people's fault for not being able to withstand your powers. (The three men walk forward, to grab Elly. She steps back.) Elly: Please! Stop it! (The next thing Elly can recall is her holding her head in her hands, standing over three dead bodies, faces twisted in horror. Blood covers the walls, ceiling, and floor in splotches, and Elly awakens into the real world, startled out of her nightmarish vision. She raises her head, looking forward clearly.) Renk: Don't! Anymore 'Drive' and you'll waste your mind!! Vance: I don't care! I'm already messed up as it is!! Elly: Stop this now, Vance… I'll handle it. (Elly, without hesitation, injects the 'Drive' into her arm. The world spins and lightens in contrast for a moment. Vierge hurdles down to the cliff Weltall stands on, and prepares to fight.) Fei: …That voice!? …Elly? Elly, is that you!? (Elly's face shows up on Fei's monitor, her features distorted and twisted by the drug.) Elly: Fei… What're you doing? You shouldn't be here! (Fei switches on the boosters, which burn up twice as much fuel as usual, but increase agility and strength of the machine. Elly runs in, and strikes Weltall with Vierge, hitting a rod into the crook of his neck.) Fei: Elly!? Your face…!? What's wrong? Don't tell me you're using that personality-changing drug that Bart told us about!? Elly: It has nothing to do with you. And would you quit trying to be so friendly! (Vierge bends over, shaking, and twelve small diamond-shaped objects fly from her back. They hang in the air for a second, and fly like bullets at Weltall, leaving trails of blue light behind. Each of the small caps shoots out a thin yellow laser in an unorthodox pattern. The beams slash through the dirt and rocks on the cliff and a green light emits from where they struck. An explosion follows, and Weltall falls on his back.) Broyer: Wow! Did you see that?! Renk: Those were Aerods! Vance: Aerods? Helmholz: Animum Ether Response Offensive Drones… Commonly known as Aerods… Within Gebler, there are only a handful of people capable of using them. From what I hear, it should only be people from the Element Class. Stratski: B, but isn't it like, a side effect of the 'Drive'? It's no big deal, right…? Renk: …No. The drive can only draw upon the potential that already exists in her. You're looking at… the real thing, boys! Fei: Elly, stop it! Why must we fight!? Elly: Why? It's obvious. It's divine providence! We are the chosen people, the Abel… Our purpose of existence is to subordinate the earth dwelling 'Lambs'. Those who stand in our way must be eliminated! (Vierge swings a punch at Weltall, but he dodges it persistently, and refuses to attack.) Fei: Elly, snap out of it! Your emotions are being controlled by the drug! Elly: This is my true nature! There is no other! Fei: That's a lie! You once felt responsible, blaming yourself for causing the incident in Lahan for landing there. You were considerate of me when I was troubled… The real you would never say anything like that!! Elly: You talk as if you would know… Yet you know nothing! (She attacks again, and this time catches Fei off guard, slamming him to the ground hard. Weltall gets back up quickly, but Fei knows better than to push his Gear and underestimate Vierge. He jumps away, but is hit again.) Elly: Hahaha! Writhe! Dance!! Die and rot in obscurity here! Fei: …Argh! Elly… Must I fight you!? (Vierge punches Weltall once, and follows up with a barrage of kicks. Weltall falls to one knee, having sustained heavy damage.) Elly: It looks like it's over for you. I'll put you out of your misery now! Fear not! In return for treating me so kindly, I will kill you painlessly. Farewell, Fei… (Inside of Vierge's cockpit, Elly twists suddenly, her world torn in all directions. Her face changes back to its normal, relaxed state, and Elly breathes heavily.) Elly: Uhh!… Aagh… Ah… M, my head… Fei: …What happened? There's something wrong with Elly. I can probably stop her now!! (Weltall runs across the short span between he and Elly's Gear, and grabs Vierge, holding her down to the ground.) Fei: Elly! Wake up and snap out of it! Elly: Ugh!… Silence! Impertinent fool! I will not listen to a Lamb… !! That's… not true… I… No… I don't want this… Guh! Fei: Are you okay!? Elly! What!? Are the effects of the drug wearing off? Elly: Uuahh! (Vierge stops struggling underneath Weltall, and Elly is silent for a few moments.) Fei: Is that it? Elly! Is that what's happening!? Elly: Sh, shut up! I've no need for outward appearances of compassion. …I, I …erh, F… Fei… H, help… Th, this… isn't… This isn't… me… Fei: Hang in there, Elly! Don't let go of your true self! Elly: No---! (Vierge pushes Weltall away, and stands suddenly, Elly screaming within. Beams of light and electricity shoot from the Gear, lighting the sky with pulsing energy. Elly: Noooooo!! (Vierge, worn out entirely, falls to the ground, shoulders slumping, and Elly falling totally quiet inside. Fei, by this time, is already out of his Gear, and runs to Vierge.) Fei: Elly!! (Elly jumps down from her Gear, and stands outside of it, the effects of the 'Drive' having worn off.) Fei: Elly, why…? Elly: I warned you… I said the next time we met we'd be… enemies. Fei: But, there's no reason for you to do this to yourself just so you can fight. There's no reason for you and I to fight… None at all. Elly: There… was no other choice… I'm a Solaris officer… I can't turn my back on my unit, the mission… Fei: Why did you have to use the 'Drive'? Elly: I didn't want to… When I use it, I change. I feel like I'm dominated by some unknown power that I never wanted… There's a power in me I don't want to admit. But… I wanted to protect my allies… So, I had no choice but to use… the 'Drive'. Fei: …Elly, you're the same as me. Elly: The same? …Probably. I felt I knew you ever since I first met you… Probably because our problems are so similar. Fei: I'm here for you. It may not be much, but at least I can relate to how you feel, Elly. Elly: What? Are you saying that we lick each other's wounds? Fei: No, that's not… Well, I guess I am… Sorry… Elly: …I'm sorry. I'm not being fair, am I…? Fei: No, I'm just pessimistic sometimes. But… even so, it's better than worrying about it by yourself. Elly: Fei… Fei: You won't change your mind…? Elly: Please, don't look so sad. I have no choice. It is my only home. Fei: I have to go. My 'friends' are waiting for me. If you can, get out of the army, Elly… That look doesn't suit you at all. (Fei jumps into Weltall, and leads it back into the cave.) Fei: I gotta hurry. The others are waiting for me. (Weltall jumps up a series of cliffs, until at last he reaches the top. A golden ray of sun pierces the cave's grayish coloring, and Fei leaps Weltall up above.) Fei: Looks like the mountain peak is right above here! (Back on the Yggdrasil, Maison is shining glasses at the bar, and drops one onto the floor. It shatters loudly, and Maison looks distraught, down to the floor, where the shards are scattered all around.) Maison: The young master's cup… Is something bad going to happen to him…? (Meanwhile, under the palace of Bledavik, Bart, Citan, Sigurd, and four men stand.) Bart: …Sig and I will take two men and head for the top floor. Citan, will you take the two remaining men and open the castle gate to let in our main force? If we can catch Shakhan we are sure to succeed. Citan: Right. When you capture Shakhan give the signal. It is probably best to open the gate at that time. Bart: Above us is the castle Bailey. The keep must fall quickly. Shakhan should be on the top floor. Sigurd: …In the room that used to be used by the young master'' father. Try not to damage the castle, avoid all needless combat, and above all, remember --speed! Bart: That's why there are so few of us. Our objective is Shakhan! So ignore the Gebler and Aveh soldiers. Alright, let's move on out! (Bart and Citan lead up the ladder, emerging in the courtyard. The five others come out immediately after, and Bart steps forward.) Bart: Let's go! …! (With no prior warning, the front doors of the castle burst open. Shakhan and Miang walk outside, and see the group contiguously.) Bart: You've saved us the trouble of finding you, Shakhan! Now get ready! Shakhan: We've been expecting you! Bart: What!? (Two Aveh guards with rifles pop up, revealing themselves from behind the wall. Six others follow, and then six more. The guards are scattered above and below, on both sides of the walkway, and behind as well.) Sigurd: Crap! An ambush! Citan: Oh-oh…! Where is Kahr…? Miang: I see you are quick to catch on. Ramsus should be taking care of all your divided forces out by the Nisan border as we speak. Ramsus easily saw through your plan to use a feint attack by Kislev long ago. Don't underestimate us… Hyuga, have you lived down here so long that your mind has slipped? And Sigurd, who would have thought you would have joined the last survivors of the royal dynasty… Sigurd: Damn it… Why are you still backing Shakhan? What does it matter to you who the king is? Miang: Hah! You suggest the son of the murdered King Fatima? He refused to cooperate! You mean to say that now he wants to be our puppet all of a sudden? That I don't believe… even coming from the mouth of a traitor like you. Ha ha ha… Besides, stupidity in puppets has its advantages. Shakhan: Stu, stupidity!? Miang, what's that supposed to mean? Miang: Minister Shakhan, I'll let you handle this. You must protect your own position. We don't care who is sitting on the throne. Any obedient sheep will be fine. However, isn't there something that you still have to do? If you will only do that, then we'll help you as much as possible. Shakhan: Yes, you don't have to tell me. One must take care of one's own country's criminals personally. Miang: Then, with your permission I shall take my leave… Bart: Hey now! Wait a minute!! Miang: Goodbye… boys. (Miang walks back inside of the castle, leaving Bart and the others to Shakhan and his men.) Shakhan: You pirate… no, you're just a sandworm. You have caused me enough shame. But this is the end. You didn't know your place and now all that awaits you is annihilation. Prepare to fire…! …Wha? (Over the palace walls, spanning a tenth of the wide courtyard, Citan's land crab flies, propellers spinning. The giant thing lands, and Maison can be seen in the top of it.) Maison: You wretched rebel, Shakhan! Make one move and this Gatling gun shall be spitting fire! Bart: Old Maison! Maison: Reinforcements have arrived, young master. Please come aboard. (The four legs bend down, resting the body of the machine on the ground. The group jumps onto the small ship, and it starts up again.) Maison: Shall we depart? Bart: See you again, Shakhan. Till then… go get your head waxed! (Black smoke flows from the engine, and suddenly the propellers fly off into the sky.) Citan: This… is not good… Shakhan: Is this some kind of joke? Hmm, it seems sandworms can't fly after all. Just surrender. Thanks for the laughs… I almost hate to have to shoot you. Bart: Crap! I guess we're gonna get mauled… Maison: Everyone… Please get down. Bart: Do you have a plan, Maison? Maison: Leave it to me. (They all duck inside of the land crab, and it starts walking around wildly, in circles.) Bart: Maison, you're just walking in circles. Maison: Just leave it to me. (The crab, having gained some momentum, jumps all at once, and hits the far wall, shaking it. Then, it rappels off of the wall and into the center of the courtyard, standing on the structure over the ladder. Finally, the land crab jumps over the walls, and out of the palace. Shakhan, dumbfounded, stands alone between the two giant doors, and watches the group of rebels escape.) (In the Yggdrasil, the men arrive, and go into the bar above the engine room.) Bart: Thanks for saving us, Old Maison! Maison: Please raise your head. My duty is to protect the young master. I'm sorry it took me so long to help you. Bart: I feel bad you had to get involved… I appreciate it. …But I had no idea you could operate such a thing. Maison: It's a trick I picked up long ago… It's nothing special. I'm no expert on it. I'm actually a bit embarrassed about it. (Sigurd runs into the room and interrupts the conversation abruptly.) Sigurd: Young master! The Royal Capital's armies are returning! We were the ones who took the bait. We must escape before we get caught! Head for the bridge as soon as you are through with your preparations! (At the top of the mountain near the border with Kislev, Fei and Maitreya's Gears walk out onto the edge overlooking the desert below. The bright blue sky almost seems to intensify the desert heat, but a gentle breeze flows by as well.) Fei: Is that… Vanderkaum's border fleet…? (Far below, six tiny specks of gray trail after a larger gray dot in the sand. Four more of the smaller ones lead the larger of them forth.) Maitreya: Our job is to slow them down. So how do you want to do it? Fei: … Simple. We do this. (Weltall walks further, and then lunges from the end of the cliff, flying with blinding speed at the enemy.) Maitreya: …He might even be more gung-ho than the young master. Falkon! Follow the kid! The rest of you, stay with your unit but follow me! Don't fall behind the kid! We're going in too! (On the main ship below, an alarm goes off, and red flashing lights fill the bridge.) Soldier: Bogeys incoming vector 3-3-6! 2 groups, about 7-8 machines, distance 2000! (A fat man steps forward and barks out orders. He can be identified as the man who Shakhan talked to in Aveh when spying on Ramsus and Margie.) Aviation Officer: Relay to all ships! Fire at will, begin evasive action! But, don't let fire support positions collapse! Soldier: Roger. Torpedo room, you are free to fire at will. All Rapid fire Control Systems …commence operation! Lay aerial mines. Projection pattern, mark 3! 2nd Soldier: How many machines are on air patrol!? Vanderkaum: Aviation Officer, wait! Comm officer! Change of orders. Contact Von Hipper… Have the second destroyer squadron approach the enemy flank. Open the fleet's side and bait them into entering the Kefeinzel's main gun's firing arch. Aviation Officer: Huh? It's stupid! There's no way the flagship's gun can hit speeding Gears… Vanderkaum: Fire control! Gunnery chief! Ready the type 3 shells. Pull back the deck gunners and prepare to engage the Kefeinzel's main cannon… I'll annihilate them into pure energy… Aviation Officer: Admiral! What are you doing pulling the anti-Gear gunners back!? Vanderkaum: Quiet down, Aviation Officer! Thanks for your valuable opinion but I am in charge, not you! What use are pea shooters and 40 sem guns? Discussion over. Captain! Not too fast! We don't want to leave the enemy behind. Aviation Officer: (Your plan will never work…!) (Outside, Falkon, Fei, and Maitreya speed their Gears at the ship, dodging mines and enemy Gear fire.) Falkon: Aim for the flagship heading west! Don't engage the destroyer! I'll back off and help out! (Fei charges Weltall at the flagship. As soon as he is near it, Falkon shouts over the intercom.) Falkon: Get away from the destroyer! I am going to use reactive shots! (Two shots boom out, and the reactive rounds pummel the side of the destroyer. Inside, men panic and Vanderkaum curses in distress.) Vanderkaum: That moron, Hipper! Pursue them, they're just playing with him. You're not good enough to be my dog! Soldier: Our mobility is too different… Vanderkaum: Fire control! Gunnery Chief! It hasn't fired a shot yet! Range for type 3 is 500. Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes. Soldier: Gears at battle speed can move at 2000 per hour. Vanderkaum: This whole ship! All of you are morons! Aviation Officer: (You're the biggest moron!) Soldier: Black enemy Gear, inside units, stick to your escort! (Outside, the sun burns on as Weltall hovers over the sand. Moving quickly, Fei maneuvers it between two mines, and passes a small army Gear.) Falkon: Just past this line of ships is the flagship Kefeinzel! (Fei dodges between two Gears, and they tumble into the sand behind him. He accelerates the Gear as fast as it will go, and Weltall rushes past, catching up with the lead ship. Falkon: All right! Dodge the escort! The ship in front of you is the Kefeinzel! (Weltall leaps into the air, and flies right at the main ship. A shot fires out of the main gun, and Weltall eludes it easily. On the inside, Vanderkaum's mood worsens.) Vanderkaum: Fire control! Gunnery Chief! What are you doing? You're not even close! Are you blind? Soldier: Destroyer Iltus's engine is down! Flash signal from Luveh! 'Luveh, rudder out, rudder out, end. Three remaining allies! Vanderkaum: Idiotic! Idiotic! What is this mess…? Soldier: Enemy Gear above! Enemy Gear diving from above! Vanderkaum: Go down, dammit! Or Ramsus will have my hide! (Weltall lands on the top of the ship Kefeinzel, and hits the three cannons hard. The Kefeinzel's main gun fires, but whizzes past Fei' swift Gear. Weltall kicks upward and hits the main gun with an uppercut. The guns explode, and fall apart, worsening the ships condition. In the bridge, voices scream in anger and panic.) All personnel, evacuate the ship! Soldier: A, admiral… 2nd soldier: Forget him! Vanderkaum: Right… I still have that… I still have that… Yes… I still have that… I still have that… yes. I still have that… (Maitreya's Gear stomps over the burning sands on the border, and in the distance, all of the ships in the fleet burn in the flames of defeat. Maitreya turns toward Weltall, and laughs over the intercom.) Maitreya: Yess! One for our side! Fei: Yeah… and it's all due to your support. Thanks. Maitreya: Stop the border guards? Hah… we destroyed them! Well, we've done our job! I hope the others do ok! Fei: Bart and his team… He's probably okay… Any word from them? Maitreya: Nothing. They say no news is good news I guess. My Gear doesn't have very good comm equipment. They probably did fine though. (Metallic hands spin around, and guns creak as they load slowly. Cannons sit on top of a leviathan of a Gear, and guns and arms spin faster. Weltall stands from his crouch, and looks around.) Fei: … Maitreya: What's wrong? (A red light on one of the cannons lights up, illuminating the cell under the sand. Weltall turns toward the ruined Kefeinzel, and Maitreya follows suit, looking fearfully at the dismembered ship. A sliver of light bursts from the side of the Kefeinzel, and suddenly the ship breaks in half, crumbling into gigantic pieces around a fearsome Gear. Fire and explosions crack all along the tanker, and the Gear climbs toward its enemies.) Vanderkaum: I… will… kill… you! (Maitreya charges at the monstrous Gear, the Dora, and kicks it back. Unaffected, it keeps fighting, but Fei smashes his Gears body into it, kicking twice at the arms of the tank-like Gear. The Dora opens a hatch, and missiles hit Weltall and Falkon's Gears. Maitreya spins his Gear into another kick, and the Dora shudders, falling back for a moment. Fei and Falkon jump onto the Gear, and punch its shell again and again.) Vanderkaum: Uh… I… (A deep, strangely familiar voice rumbles across the desert.) Do you want the power? Vanderkaum: Wh, who are you!? (The slender, terrible Gear from Lahan and the night in the desert flies out of the sky, air blowing through the engines and around its frame in a roar. It lands before the Dora, and crosses the thick metal arms over its chest. The two long wings hang majestically down the Gear's sides, and it stands proud and tall.) Grahf: I am Grahf, the seeker of power. Doth thou desire the power? Vanderkaum: The power… Grahf: Yes, the power. Vanderkaum: P, power… the power… I want it… I want the POWER! (Fire shrouds the Gear from thin air, and Grahf shouts loudly.) Grahf: So be it! (One arm of the Gear goes out, and dark red flames encircle it.) Grahf: My fist is the divine breath! (The hand opens, and his right arm goes out again.) Grahf: Blossom, o fallen seed, and draw upon thy hidden powers!! (Grahf extends his Gear's full right arm, and a yellow blaze glows underneath the red.) Grahf: Grant unto thee the power of the glorious 'Mother of Destruction'! (A red beam penetrates the ship, and flies about the Gear slowly. The entire area is lit up in a frightening brightness, and then Grahf is gone.) Bart: We'll go back to Nisan! (Sigurd steps forth on the bridge, next to Citan.) Sigurd: It's useless! Young Master! (Maison walks up after Sigurd, and stands behind the other men, speaking hesitantly.) Maison: Y, yes… young master… I hear when they attacked the fort at the border, the Gebler, led by Ramsus, routed them. We'd better withdraw for now, and reconsider… Bart: Margie and them are still there. We'll go back! We have to! That reminds me… What about Fei and his guys? If they're alright, we could… Franz: We've had no contact since we confirmed their order to charge… Bart: Dammit! This can't be happening! Maison: Young master… Bart: Behind…? (Bart's head jerks upright, and he straightens out.) Bart: Something's coming from behind! Jerico! Give me the helm… No, you keep it! Just hurry up and pull either way!! (The Yggdrasil shakes and tilts under the sand, and the crew members hold on to whatever they can to avoid falling over in the convulsion.) Sigurd: Young master…? Franz: Aft of our stern! 300! I'm picking up the sound of torpedoes being readied! A sand cruiser!? It's big! Speed 60! Relative route 0-0-0! They were hiding behind some baffles! Sigurd: Kahr! Franz: I'm picking up some high speed propulsion, breaking away from the enemy's ship! Torpedoes!? Two of them! Speed 87! Torpedoes confirmed with the sonar. They've shifted over to active homing! Bart: Battle stations! Deploy the maskers! Ready the noisemaker! Battle stations, everyone! Open jammer! Noisemaker, 2nd, 4th tube…standby! (The alarm goes off, and the red lights flood the bridge.) Bart: Emit noisemaker! Prepare to stop the engine! Helm… NOW! Steer to the opposite direction as far as you can! Stop the engine! Crash alarm!! Stop the engine! Crash alarm!! (The ship keels over at an awkward angle, and then tips downward.) Franz: Torpedo…1, still pursuing! Dammit! Impact in 3!! (A shock rips through the vessel, and everyone falls down. Electronic equipment sizzles, and then the lights brighten and flash. Loud rumbles shock through the Yggdrasil in a deafening reverberation. On the ship behind the Yggdrasil, Ramsus stands at the bridge, just in front of Miang. Crewman: Confirmed, vessel destruction noise. …Followed by a rapid blowing noise. Enemy vessel is probably floating rapidly to the surface. 2nd Crewman: Fluid static around enemy vessel is decreasing. Sand maneuverability of enemy vessel down 60%. …Looks like the main engine and effect-fins have been disabled. Ramsus: Once their effect-fins are destroyed they will remain buried and unable to move. Surfacing was a smart move. Sand-Torpedo Chief! Well done on lowering their fighting power. Brilliant! Gebler Chief: Sorry to trouble you. Ramsus: Well… what shall we do with them…? Miang: Oh? It's unusual for you to get lost. Ramsus: I promised an old friend… I must take it easy… An old… friend… (Ramsus remembers a past in Solaris, and sees a man walking from a huge gate. Ramsus wears a blue and black uniform, and runs after the man.) Ramsus: Sigurd! Why are you abandoning this country!? You were supposed to help us create an ideal nation! Sigurd: I'm not abandoning it. I've been here to steal this country's technology from the beginning. Besides, there's someone waiting for me. Don't be bitter. It wasn't too bad going after the same ideals with you, for that short time. (Sigurd turns his back on Ramsus and Solaris, and walks away in silence.) Ramsus: You traitor! (The daydream ends, and Ramsus shakes his head.) Ramsus: Comm Officer! Use my name and urge them to surrender. Tell them to surrender if they desire the safety of Nisan. All divisions cease fire, but remain on alert! If any enemy vessel attempts to attack, shoot it individually! (The injured Yggdrasil cruises slowly through the sand, blackened smoke emitting from the top and back sections.) (Fei, Maitreya, and Falkon stand side by side in their Gears, looking over the sands, waiting and watching the Dora diligently.) Maitreya: …What was that? That guy just now? Fei: …It's them… Why them…? What did they do? Falkon: …Huh? Wha!? Oh no!! General! General Maitreya!! We have an R code message! I'm not sure, but it looks like the young master is in trouble!! We don't have time for this junker!! (A beam of blue and purple light lashes out, and blows Falkon's Gear to pieces. The destroyed desert Gear flies hundreds of feet, and crashes to the ground, destroyed. The Dora glows with an eerie aura, green light shining around it.) Vanderkaum: You there… What're you doing ignoring me and messing around…? I'll kill all of you! (More of the strong rays burst from the ground, throwing sand up in front of the Dora.) Maitreya: …Fei, gather the wounded up and return to the young master. Hurry! My unit will stay behind and try to buy some time. All operational Gears left will provide cover as per their commanders' orders, and retreat in set order. Fei: Don't be stupid! I'm staying too! Maitreya: Shut up and listen, boy! You're the young master's guest. I can't let you die here. Fei: But… Maitreya: …The young master… What he really needs is your strength. Please help him. I beg you. Farrant! Vind! Let's move out!! (Maitreya and another Gear charge at the Dora, and Fei stays, unable to move. Explosions ring out, and screams and curses fill the intercom. Blasts of fire shoot all around, and Fei looks over the outcome of the fight.) (Maitreya's Gear hangs upside down, ripped down the middle like a cloth. The other Gear, Farrant, lies under one of the massive claws, the cockpit smashed and crushed inward. Fei's heart pounds. The rush of blood goes to his head, and a low, dull roar fills his ears.) Fei: …Uahh… St… stop it… St…op… Uahh… (Fei's head slumps down, and he growls in frustration.) Fei: Ah… (The beating of his heart sounds like a bass drum in Fei's ears, and suddenly the world goes red. Light fills the cockpit, and his heart stops.) (Four ships flank the Yggdrasil, and Bart's Brigandier stands on top of the ship, holding the helm in its hands.) Bart: Surrounded, huh? How are the repairs? Engineer: The main engine and effect-fins' oscillators are mostly unharmed… but the electrical connections between are wasted. We are bypassing the main connection and trying to scrape together all the energy we can. But it will only give us 70% of our usual maximum at best. The propulsion drills are not damaged, but if the sand can't be granulated they might as well be. We'll make battle speed 3… only barely. Bart: Sig! What has Gebler's 'Mister Puniverse' got to say? Sigurd: He's been quiet since the first surrender demand. Bart: …All personnel to battle stations. Break through is planned after the connectors are up. Sigurd: Young master! Bart: Sig! Listen! Surrendering isn't going to change Nisan's fate. We'll lose the Yggdrasil, the core of our power in saving Aveh and Margie. I know it looks bad, but you can still count on us! Maison: Well said, young master! This old man will follow you to the pits of hell! Bart: Sorry, Old Maison. I'm not dying today! Besides, they don't look like they're gonna hit us. Sigurd: It sure looks that way… Perhaps they have political motives that involve Margie or the young master… Bart: That's probably it, Sig! But they're forgetting one thing… It's harder to bring in an animal alive than dead! Engineer: Young master, emergency connections are complete. Use the engine as you wish. Bart: Thanks!! Alright, let's… Go get those fools!! (On the following sand cruiser, Ramsus listens to updates eagerly.) Crewman: Confirmed, one enemy Gear engaged. Direct course. Enemy vessel engine noise increasing… Speed increase, steering noise confirmed, course change… Taking evasive action. Miang: Commander? …Ha, ha, ha. Ramsus: …Can't help it, eh? All divisions, holding pattern cancelled! …Resume attack! Crewman: Bow torpedo tubes 1-3, Namthal missile. Set 1 and 2 for homing, 3 for anti-radar. Tubes 4-6, Makara Mk5 sand torpedoes. After acquiring target set all to passive homing. All units, begin defensive fire. Aim for the main ship. 2nd Crewman: W, wait!!! Explosions along the perimeter of the fleet confirmed. Multiple vessel destruction noises! High energy reactions… What kind of gain is this!? Commander!! I can't believe this! This… Gear…? It's like reactive rounds are flying around… Miang: Calm down. Put the analyzed picture on the monitor. Crewman: Y, yess'm… Ramsus: Ah… That is…!! (Outside of the ship, several large, round Gebler Gears slide along the sand, following their designated ships. Out of the sky, an enormous red shape zooms overhead. Lasers emit from the sand as it passe, and its very presence causes ripples in the air. The beams catch most of the Gears and several of the ships. The rounded Gears fall apart instantly, crumbling like dust under the heat of the energy beams. The ships do not fair much better, and fall to pieces in a ring of explosions. The red Gear from Ramsus' dreams flies in the sky, flinging bolts of energy like rocks. Greenish light in the shape of wings forms behind the Gears back, and within a few moments, the Gear has destroyed most of the Gebler fleet.) Bart: W, what happened? Is it heading… here? (Inside of one of the two remaining cruisers, Ramsus stands, stupefied as he watches the mighty Gear wipe out his ships.) Ramsus: Th, that Gear! No mistake! It's him! Demon of Elru…! Miang! Let's go! (Ramsus runs out of the bridge, heading for his Gear.) Miang: Commander! Please wait! Commander!! (Miang steps after him, but pauses for a moment, turning and watching the red Gear on the monitor.) Miang: Ha, ha… (On the Yggdrasil, The giant red Gear stands in front of Brigandier, the green wings illuminated by the vapor emanating from its engines.) Are you strong? Bart: …What? Who are you…? I asked, 'Are you strong?'! A white beam shoots from the Gears mouth, and Bart is carried, with his Gear, from the ship. The two stand a distance away from the Yggdrasil, and Bart contemplates.) Bart: (Behind me?) …What are you suddenly attacking me for!? Heh heh, fine. Then play dumb! You, strong… Huh? (Two Gears appear on the horizon, and grow larger quickly as they approach. One of them, a humanoid wyvern, holds a giant sword, and flies with golden wings spanning the same distance as its height.) Ramsus: You there… pirate boy! Do you know him!? That's right… weren't you with that punk, Fei? Bart: No, I don't know 'him'! …But even if I did, I sure wouldn't tell you! Ramsus: Good! Then you won't mind if I take care of him. I owe 'him' greatly! I've finally found you! Now, I must challenge you!! (The red Gear, with no hesitation, runs at the Wyvern with blinding speed, and punches at the golden Gear. Ramsus sword flies from his Gears' hand, and the arm breaks off along with it. The red Gear grabs Ramsus' Wyvern, and leaps into the air with it, like a toy. In the air, the red Gear holds the Wyvern by its head.) Ramsus: Guaaah! This can't be! You m, monster… (The red Gear slams its enemy into the sand, breaking off one of the legs. Then, it holds the Gear into the air, crushing it.) Ramsus: …Guha! D… damn you… If it weren't for you… (A spin-kick silences Ramsus, and the remaining leg snaps and shatters, squealing. The wyvern falls back into the sand. Once Ramsus is defeated, the monstrous Gear charges Bart, stopping just in front of him.) Bart: Tch! Keep back!! (Miang brings her Gear up to the fallen Wyvern.) Miang: Commander… let's pull out! (Miang's Gear stoops, and picks up the wrecked Wyvern.) Ramsus: Don't do anything unwarranted, Miang! I still have one arm!! Miang: We're pulling out! …That mad dog seems to have a new toy to play with. (Miang's Gear, holding the Commanders', lifts into the air and flies away from the scene. The Gear, seemingly growing stronger by the minute, holds a light green aura around its entire body, and stands prepared to fight.) Well, now that my motor coil's warmed up… let's start the main event!! Bart: Today's my unlucky day. Why does this have to happen now? Oh, well… Let's get it over with… (Bart draws both whips, and flips the boosters to full. Running at the large red Gear, Brigandier hits it twice with the whips, and jumps back. Following that, the Gear stands still, in a confused stance. Bart, taking advantage of this, swung his whips in what he knew to be his strongest hit. Bart kicks out the leg, and hits the red Gear in the midsection, expecting it to fall and never get back up. But the red Gear merely stands still, and Bart suddenly turns cold. An indescribable fear pushes itself through him, and Bart looks at the Gear anxiously. With no warning, the red Gear jumps at Brigandier, and hits it with two punches. The first smashes the left shoulder into a thousand pieces, and Bart struggles to keep his Gear standing. The second hit knocks Bart's Gear backward, but it barely manages to remain standing. Bart suddenly realizes that the first attack alone was probably equivalent to about a hundred or so of his hits, and the assault was not even over. The red Gear holds its hands to its sides, and a black circle of smoke ascends, and then is absorbed into the Gears' being. Six punches follow, and each one of them strikes Bart's fragile Gear with such a force that the entire desert reverberates. Steel is shattered under the strike, and Bart's cockpit shakes and is smashed in most of the way. The Gear jumps back, its power surging through its body. Brigandier falls to the ground, electricity sizzling all over its collapsed frame. Inside of the ship, the crew watches in horror as their captain is defeated.) Sigurd: Young Master!!! Engine, ready for full power!! Jerico! Give me the helm over here! Jerico: But first mate! Now with the effect-fins out of order, if you run at full speed, the ship wouldn't be able to stand the friction! Sigurd: It can 'jump' due to the Bernoulli effect on the wings' surfaces instead!! Crewman: First mate!! Sigurd: Never mind that! The Yggdrasil is nothing without the young master! Full power!! Maximum speed!! (As the incredible red Gear stands away from Bart, the Yggdrasil's engines roar and crackle, overheating far past their limits. The ship begins to tilt as speed increases, and the bow begins to raise into the air.) Sigurd: Eeeeeaaaaarrrrgghh!!!! Come on, GO!!! (Sand flies into the air madly from every point of the giant ship, and the shadow of the Yggdrasil covers both Bart and the red Gear. It looks up, curiously, and Brigandier manages to shoot out from under the Gear. Bart pushes Brig to its end, and the Gear falls some distance away. Just as the red Gear looks at the Yggdrasil's underbelly, it falls out of the sky, and crushes it into the sand. Millions of gallons of sand are displaced, and a choking cloud of the grit rises into the air.) Sigurd: Young master! Are you okay!? Bart: Don't overdo it, Sig… Trying to make our ship 'fly'…!? When we get back it'll take a month to get this heap of junk working again. Sigurd: Ha…ha ha… You seem to be okay! Bart: …Shees!! What was that monster anyway? (Suddenly, the hull of the ship bends and breaks in several spots, and the ship begins to fold at the center.) Bart: Sig! What's going on? Sigurd: What… the ship? The engine should have fallen out, but… (The ground quakes, and electricity begins to shoot back and forth in rhythmic patterns over the body of the Yggdrasil. The entire ship begins to float, sand falling from its sides.) Sigurd: What in the hell? (Underneath the Yggdrasil, with one hand holding the bottom of the ship, the red Gear floats upward. It was impossible. A ship like the Yggdrasil weighed thousands of tons, and a Gear could never even hold a remote amount of that… Yet there the red Gear stood, flying a hundred feet over the ground, holding the ship that was easily two hundred times its size. The sun burns onto the scene, and Bart watches in horrified fascination at the Gears unthinkable, infeasible power. The aft end of the ship bends, creaking, and the bow follows, curving at a strange angle. The pressure on each side becomes too much, and the center begins to turn over.) That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating… Take it back! (The red Gear throws its arm forward, and the ship falls, slowly, out of the sky. The shadow covers Bart's Gear, but this time, there is no escape from the broken sand cruiser Yggdrasil.) Bart: Sig!! Maison!!… Uah… (Inside of the ship, alarms ring, and people run around, trying to find a way to escape their imminent doom.) The sand pump, effect-fins and propulsion drills are all out of commission!! Main engine, support engine, engage the auto-scram. Switch power to batteries. Output ratio 0.5, operating time …500!! Franz: The 3rd bridge… it's ruined!! The hangar section, the armament section, and even the pressure shell have been destroyed!! We can't stop the sand from flowing in! Sigurd: Close each section down completely and commence independent operation!! Franz: Then, damage control won't be able to move!! The whole won't be covered!! Sigurd: That's alright!! …Either way, it's impossible to save the entire ship. Our priority is to secure the bridge!! Gather everyone into the bridge immediately! …Hyuga… No… you're Citan now. You need to get out. I'll have Maison guide you to an escape pod. Citan: I cannot leave you all like this…!? Sigurd: We have no right to keep you here and get you involved. …If you see Kahr and Miang, make sure you pay 'em back for me. Maison… Please show him the way. Maison: This way, please. (A few moments later, the emergency pod pushes out of the side, and set rockets shoot it into the sky.) Citan: Sigurd!!! (Citan passes out and wakes up hours later, in the morning of the next day. From the pod window, he can see nothing but desert sands and rocks.) Citan: I am being carried by the wind to the vicinity of the border… (A pile of rubble sits in the sand, and Citan eyes it curiously.) Citan: …What is that? (The remains of the Dora sit in the ground, smoking in the sun. The ship that once gleamed with a new shine now lies in the sand, almost unrecognizable. Citan guides Heimdal, who was in the pod, over to the rubble, and inspects it closely.) Citan: That… is… the… Dora. It was stationed here? That was careless of me… But its condition………… It is just like the others that 'he' destroyed… (A gentle tune plays on an organ within a brightly decorated room, and brass pipes shine in the candlelight. The man sitting at the organ wears crimson robes embellished with gold and blue thread work. His hands run over one of the three keyboards, and his shoulders hunch over in relaxation. A door across from the room opens, and a soldier in a simple brown uniform steps in, walking straight to the man at the organ.) Associate: Kaiser, we have some news. (The man at the organ has a slightly too long, slightly bent nose covering a curved gray moustache.) Sigmund: Yes. Associate: We investigated the cause of the recent explosion at the southern Aveh border. Our data showed a large amount of radiation was released at the epicenter. It was probably caused by an overload of a battleship class slave generator. The cause of this is still unknown. The shockwaves from that explosion took out two thirds of the Aveh and Gebler forces combined. Now, Aveh is in the process of regrouping their reserve units, but that should take at least several days. Concerning your order, the scouts have arrived at the area you requested… Sigmund: Found it, eh…? Associate: Yes, sir. Sigmund: I see. Associate: We know the Gear found was stolen from the 11th base by the Gebler unit in Aveh. And in the investigation of the machine, we also caught the unconscious pilot. The seized Gear has been transported to the capital. From the circumstances, we believe information was leaked to Aveh. Sigmund: How can you say that? Associate: All the Gears except this were destroyed at Lahan. Judging from the ID signal, this one wasn't with Aveh, but was part of a pirate group. Sigmund: Pirates? You mean the young prince? Associate: Yes, sir. Sigmund: Uh huh… Associate: We're now analyzing the combat data. However, we've discovered some black boxes, which are likely to delay the analysis. Sigmund: Black boxes? Associate: That Gear wasn't made by us. The stock body was brought in by 'them'. Sigmund: So that's it… (The Kaiser continues playing the organ, and does not say anything for a few moments. The soldier stands, confused.) Sigmund: …Uh… Kaiser? Sigmund: What? Associate: Shouldn't we begin an assault on Aveh? (The music stops, and Sigmund's hands drop to his side.) Sigmund: Are you trying to destroy Kislev? Associate: Huh? Sigmund: Indeed it would be easy to take down Aveh. But it would exhaust our resources also. Associate: But we can't afford to miss this chance… Sigmund: Even if we beat Shakhan, Solaris would only replace him with another puppet. What if we exhausted our resources and found ourselves under attack? Anyway, we must still be concerned with Nisan. There is nothing to gain by doing anything now. (The electronic door slides open again, and a man in a green uniform steps in.) Soldier: Excuse me! Sigmund: It seems 'they' have arrived… (The Kaiser stands up, and walks to the door.) (In the sapphire sky above, a giant orb with a long extension in the shape of a saucer on top floats slowly to the side of a large dock. Men in Kislev garments run across the deck, finishing their instructed jobs. Two Gears emerge from the side of the ship, carrying a long rectangular crate. They bring it to the ground slowly, and four figures walk out of the ship and across the connecting plank. Two men in blue lead the cloaked person in the middle, and the fourth man follows after. The person in the center holds a tall azure staff, and walks proudly between the others. The group stops before the Kaiser, and the center one steps forward, surrounded by the others.) Kaiser: Is that it? Masked woman: Yes. If you use that, you can pass through the barrier. You will be free to go where and when you please. Sigmund: That man… what was it? Grahf? Is he around? Masked woman: He is rather busy now, I was assigned to be his representative. Sigmund: I will ask you this once. Why do you help us? Who are you people? Masked woman: I've told you before. I simply wish to observe what is in store for the world. There are so many things you people must know. I am merely your guide. I cannot directly assist you. How you use it is entirely up to you. Sigmund: So you're telling me you do not require any recompense? Masked woman: Let me see… Well then, how about this…? (She walks up to Sigmund, and whispers to him through the mask. Walking back toward the ship, she pauses.) Masked woman: Well, I must go… (As she is far away enough not to hear him, Sigmund speaks to his men.) Sigmund: …But what a strange thing to ask for. Associate: What did she say? Sigmund: They want me to transfer that Gear we captured and its pilot to D Block… Associate: D Block? I wonder why? Sigmund: I don't know either. …But, still, we owe them a favor. We can't just deny them. So see to it! Associate: Yes, sir… (Fei, in a deep sleep, dreams the familiar dream of his past, and something he never remembers having happened. The silver cross with the red gem in its axis swings back and forth over Fei's head, light bouncing off of the centered jewel. Fei runs through an infinite darkness, getting nowhere.) Fei: Hah, hah, hah… (The jewel suddenly catches on fire, and the pure white flames follow it as it swings from side to side. Fei's nightmare ends, and is replaced by a pleasant vision of a stone house between a crop of trees.) TO BE CONTINUED…