The Prince of Darkness

Kadokawa Shoten, TV Tokyo, SEGA, Xebec, ING, MOVIC, and Starchild present a Tatsuo Sato film.

There are as many people as there are stars, as many encounters as there are stars, and as many partings...

Kouichiro Misumaru bows his head before his family's grave, praying for the souls of the departed Yurika and Akito.

An unknown enemy roars into the 8th Terminal Colony, crying havoc. Its defensive lines are smashed. Its command staff is killed. An evil man grimaces, and the colony explodes.

The UE Spacy battleship Amaryllis tries frantically to contact the Shirahime colony, but they can get only static. As they press their sensors, a faint image appears. The Amaryllis's captain, Jun Aoi, stares at the outline of a twisted machine.

News networks scramble to cover the story.

A distress signal from Shirahime was picked up at approximately 6:58 AM, followed by an unidentified mass, according to the United Earth Spacy and the supporting organizations of the Hisago Plan...

A faceless enemy?!

Unidentified entities with the technology of Boson Jump?

An ominous cloud over the Hisago Plan.

Colony annihilated, theory of a terrorist assault.

Captain Aoi of the UE Spacy 3rd Battalion Fleet Amaryllis captures the appearance of the enemy.

Theory of an Advanced Boson Tactical Weapon.

Children, salarymen, and schoolgirls all talk of a "ghost robot'.

A UE General Council emergency meeting is called, but nothing is gained. The Takamaga, Hoss-Cely, Uwatsutsu, and Shirahime colonies were destroyed by an unknown force. Earth blames Jupiter. Jupiter blames Earth. The Hisago Plan, a proposed sphere of colonies radiating out from Earth, is threatened.

Jun Aoi gives his testimony only to scolded for it. The admiralty tell him to change his story. The idea of a phantom mecha is causing a stir and unsettling faith in the military. Aoi's superiors amend his report. There was no ghost robot. His ship's sensors malfunctioned. Neither Earth nor Jupiter can build such compact units capable of boson jumping.

The young man slams his fist into the wall, upset over the bureaucracy.

In closed quarters with Yoshisada Munetake, the deceased Sadaaki's benevolent father shares Jun's frustration. Nothing will get done as long as the two sides are bickering with each other. He's ordered his own investigation. He's ordered his own investigation with the Nadesico.

The NS-955-B Nadesico B cuts through space with a glowing majesty. Lieutenant Commander Ruri Hoshino has the bridge. On her left is First Lieutenant Saburota Takasugi. Once the XO of the Kannazuki and destroyer of the Kakitsubata, he's now a hotshot UE Spacy tactical officer popular with the ladies. On her right is Lieutenant Haley Makibi, Nadesico B's computer operator built in the image of Ruri Ruri.

With Munetake's orders set, the Nadesico prepares to jump the core colony of the Hisago Plan and natural terrorist target. The ship enters Terminal Colony Takiri, using its Chulip gate to fold to her destination, Amaterasu.

Inside Amaterasu, the local government gives the UE ship hell. The colony, headed by UC officer Azuma will give no quarter to the Nadesico or her young captain. Ruri protests. She's here to investigate potential boson buildups in outside space under the Colony Management Regulations for the Emergency Colony Inspection Treaty

Azuma curses her, but after some talk with his XO, Aritomo, he allows her entry.

Ruri is given a tour of the Boson Jump Research Center. But, far from a scientific laboratory, it's a theme park geared toward children. Ruri is given a watered-down explanation of boson physics as the children poke her.

Azuma and Aritomo laugh. Ruri will get nothing from her tour.

Of course, Ruri knew this before ever boarding Amaterasu. She's the decoy. The real information gathering is occurring inside the Nadesico. Haley hacks the system, sifting and sorting through files.

Mayumi, Ruri's pink-haired guide, explains to the children that most people can't boson jump. In order for normal people to pass through Chulips, they need to have their DNA slightly changed. The children conclude that this means they're turned into robots. One child asks Ruri if she's a robot.

Haley, processing his results, finds a black area in the colony's server. Omoikane, breaking through the firewalls, discovers manifests and results from illegal human boson tests.

But, no sooner than this data is loaded, it crashes.

OTIKA begins to flash on screen. OTIKA begins to flash on all the screens in the colony.

Ruri calmly calls Haley up, asking if the child stepped on a mine.

Haley says it wasn't his fault. Rather, systems within Amaterasu are clashing. A rouge program make itself known.

Ruri stares a blinking window for a moment. Her eyes flash wide.

OTIKA.

AKITO.

Ruri breaks out into a desperate sprint, Haley's video window chasing after her. Commandeering a tram, Ruri floors it back to Nadesico.

Outside, boson particles build. From black space, a robot appears. Black Sarena, the ghost robot that destroyed Shirahime, screams toward Amaterasu. She shoots straight past rockets and robots.

Amaterasu's defenses are no match. The colony's civil defense teams turn to dust.

Azuma, snarling, orders the use of heavy artillery within Amaterasu's borders. Aritomo tries to dissuade the man, but it's too late.

Lion's Sickle has been activated.

Twelve Aestivalis throw off their stealth cloaks, revealing themselves to the Prince of Darkness. At the head of the elite squad is brilliant red machine. It's pilot is a raven-haired Ryoko Subaru.

Ruri watches Subaru fire on the black mecha. She observes the carnage the follows.

Hoshino asks Azuma if he wants the nuisance that is the Nadesico to help. He still spits. Ruri sighs, preparing to evacuate the colonists. As she does, she asks Haley to hack into the server again... This time using the passcode AKITO.

The Nadesico transforms into Ruri Mode, all the ship's systems, weapons, and controls patching directly into the girl's mind.

A second boson spike is detected. A sleek, white ship appears. The Eucharis, its gravity cannon rips through UC battleships.

Inside the colony, scientists watch. Dr. Yamasaki laughs. A Nergal ship? He tells the other researchers to pack up. They're leaving.

Inside the Eucharis is a small albino girl, Lapis Lazuli. The Prince of Darkness's servant, she releases a wave of Grasshoppers into space. Ryoko shouts, not having time for this. She smashes through the robot line.

Ruri is calm She applauds Ryoko's anticipation of an enemy attack. She applauds the enemy's tactics.

The black mecha changes, shifting from a fast configuration to a fighter mode. Ryoko curses, asking if the thing's some damn Gekiganger.

Azuma, growing impatience, orders his guns to blanket the sky. All his defense teams pour anti-aircraft slugs into the sky. Black Sarena winds around the explosions, but Ryoko's pinned.

Black Sarena descends into Amaterasu's Gate 13, a port Azuma didn't know existed. Aritomo smiles.

Ryoko, breaking free of her own side's flak, shoots into Gate 13 after the Sarena. Blazing through a network of automated drones and sentries, she screams.

Azuma demands to know what Aritomo is so happy about. His second-in-command throws off his UC uniform, revealing a red and white dress. The charade has gone on long enough. The true heirs to space have at long last risen. Now begins the revolution of the Martian Successors!

Black Sarena hangs in space before a sealed door. Ryoko, jetting up behind the caitiff, establishes physical connect and forces open a comm channel. She demands to know who he is.

The Prince of Darkness does not answer. Instead, he asks Lapis for the password. She provides it. Entering SNOW WHITE into a terminal, the final gate opens. There, behind the wall, is the Heart of Mars. The black box from the Martian ruins is the true form of the Hisago Plan.

Ryoko sheds a tear. Akito and Yurika ended the war. They died for it. Now, how can someone do this?

The Prince of Darkness shouts at Subaru, screaming at her to duck. She does so just in time, deflecting an oncoming Successor bot.

In the main control room, Martian Successors now run every system. Azuma has been relieved of power. Aritomo is in command. They will blow up the colony.

Ryoko's been pinned. Unable to free herself from a mangled mess of steel, she ejects an arm and a leg The Prince of Darkness tell her to leave. She won't.

The Martian relic, the ancient boson computer, opens like a flower. Petals parting, a shape is revealed. Yurika sleeps, part of the machine.

The Successors detonate the colony. It starts to explode.

Ryoko's eyes grow wide. Yurika? Yurika? Akito!

She cries to the Prince of Darkness, asking if he's Akito, begging for him to be Akito. The Prince simply tells her to leave. Racing through the exploding tunnels comes Saburota. The fiery ace scoops up Ryoko into his arms. The girl protests, but Saburota doesn't let go.

Ruri is silent.

She will not let Akito die again.

Time passes. The Nadesico returns to Earth. In a private meeting, Kouichiro Misumaru Genpachiro Akiyama, and Yoshisada Munetake discuss Amaterasu, the Martian Successors, and Haruki Kusakabe... The man who ordered Tsukumo Shiratori's assassination.

Kusakabe has long been considered one of Jupiter's greatest tacticians, despite his fascist idealism. He was removed from power following the Great War when the truth of Shiratori's death was revealed. The man disappeared, and was believed killed, during the coup.

Now, it appears Kusakabe is not dead. Rather, he's been working silently, nurturing militarism, and his loyalists infest the UC militia and the Hisago Plan.

Akiyama apologizes for the actions of his fellow Jupiterians.

A passionate man, Kusakabe has no qualms about dying for a cause. A die-hard soldier, his failing is his inability to accept other views. His way is the only way. His way is the right way.

Ruri asks how she can help. She's told by the sage admirals that the UC and UE are butting heads. No resolution will come through official channels. The bickering of generals will only advance Kusakabe's scheme. Ruri asks how she can help.

Kouichiro Misumaru tells her. While the Nadesico B was constructed as the joint venture between the military and Nergal, a new ship has secretly been in development.

Nadesico C as in Chicken.

Admiral Misumaru tells Ruri to take the new ship and recover the Martian ruin without UC and UE help. She is the only one who can bring an end to the situation before is escalates into a full-scale war.

Because the Nadesico C was built covertly, only non-military personnel can be used. Ruri will have to assemble a civilian crew. To help, Mr. Prospector appears (from behind a fish tank).

He tells her history repeats

With the help of Prospector, Ruri, Haley, and Saburota head out to reunite the ND-001's crew.

First on their stop is the bespeckled Hikaru Amano. She's advanced since her days of drawing yaoi doujin. Now, she's a legitimate mangaka. Haley and Saburota poke around the studio as Hoshino asks the girl to come with her to the Nadesico C

Of course, she will.

Ruri and her two friends just have to be her assistants. They ink issues, make dinner, and answer calls as Hikaru packs.

Up next is the forlorn Izumi Maki, now owning her own bar. Prospector heads up bringing her in or getting himself really drunk.

Ruri, exhausted, sleeps with inking supplies in hand. She dreams.

Akito.

Akito.

Seelie.

Gai.

Shiratori.

Boson.

Evil.

Akito.

Yurika.

Dead.

Shuttle crash.

Killed.

Akito.

Yurika.

Inez.

Dead.

She wakes in a cold sweat.

Along a roadside, a schoolgirl sprints. Cat calls hurled her way, she replies in turn. Yukina Shiratori, in full fuku, dashes back to her home.

Arriving, she's greeted by the sight of her surrogate mother, Minato Haruka. Yukina gushes, exuberant on making the JV team, before realizing that it's only an image of Minato. The woman's gone out shopping, leaving a recording to greet her adopted daughter.

Yukina curses.

Kouichiro Misumaru, Genpachiro Akiyama, Yoshisada Munetake, and Jun Aoi sit together in a summer office, eating water melon and talking tactics. A much as a third of the UC army could be Kusakabe supporters.

Before any further discussion, the old men and young officer are interrupted by a call. Yukina, sugary sweet and seductively tart, smiles at Jun. She wants to know where Minato is. She wants to know what's going on. Jun protests, stating he doesn't know anything. Yukina starts to spit fire.

Kouichiro, Genpachiro, and Yoshisada, meanwhile, have stealthily slipped away from the table, hiding from the girl's wrath in a corner of the room. Yukina shouts, demanding to know what Nergal and UE Spacy are doing. Jun still shakes his head. The little girl then promises Aoi sexual favors in return for his compliance. He chokes.

The admirals shake their heads, sorry that a schoolgirl can out maneuver Jun.

Ruri, meanwhile, is looking for Uribatake. Arriving at his home and garage, Seiya's wife, nursing a newborn and pregnant with another child, tells Hoshino that he's at the town meeting.

Moving onto the next member of the crew, Ruri, Haley, and Saburota stop at Peaceful Days, a restaurant owned by Miss Howmei. Haley suggests that they don't need Uribatake. He's the 20th crew member they've been unable to contact, and Haley says he can do it himself. He can operate ship, and Saburota can be on guns. They've been ranked the most proficient team in UE Spacy.

Haley asks Ruri why she needs the old Nadesico crew.

Ruri orders seconds.

Haley, upset over Hoshino's coldness, takes off. Saburota chases after him, wanting the kid the pay for his meal.

Ruri looks into her bowl. They cannot defeat Kusakabe alone. Haley should know this. Howmei tells the girl that Haley does know it, but he won't accept the truth. He's jealous of the old Nadesico.

Haley runs without purpose through the streets. Blind, he physically bumps into Minato Haruka. After a slightly awkward moment, Haley dislodges his head from the woman's ample breasts.

Makibi apologizes profusely.

Minato giggles.

She asks him if he knows the way to Peaceful Days.

Haley bursts into tears.

Time passes, and Minato's calmed Haley down. They sit together on a park bench as the sun sets behind them. Haruka tells the boy that he reminds her of a girl she once knew. Haley tells her that he's Ruri's brother.

On that note, Ruri and Saburota appear. Ruri's there to take Haley home. Saburota's there to get the kid to pay for his dinner.

Alone in Peaceful Days, Minato and Howmei drink. Haruka wasn't going to rejoin Nergal. She wasn't going to go to war again after she lost Tsukumo. But, seeing Ruri's face, changed her. Seeing the little girl's hard eyes moved the woman.

On the train ride home, Haley and Saburota sleep. Ruri stares forward. As another train passes, she looks into the windows of the oncoming car. The Prince of Darkness and Lapis Lazuli stand there.

A dream?

Terminal Colony Sakuya has fallen to the Successors, and the UC now wages a war to win it back. They're winning, too. The UC fleet has nearly destroyed half the Successor-controlled ships. Suddenly, though, space folds occur. Successor mecha boson jump right on top of the capital UC ships.

Dr. Yamasaki, a Martian Successor, smiles. The Yurika-relic fusion is at a 98% IFS rate. Using her sleeping mind, they will be able to jump any point in the galaxy.

Ruri sits in a bathhouse on Earth. Tenkawa. He's on Earth. She knows it. It wasn't a dream.

In her apartment, she tells Haley that he will leave at 8 AM tomorrow for Lunar Base B. He will conduct a long-distance jump to the Nadesico C. He will supervise the final check.

Haley shakes his head. He doesn't want to go, and he doesn't want to boson jump. Ruri tells him that boson jumping is the safest way. She tells the boy that she needs him on the new Nadesico to install Omoikane.

Gekiganger and Princess Lychee fight. In an arcade, Ryoko and Hikaru do battle. Ryoko pounding buttons and Hikaru's fingers dancing over the controls, they send their anime avatars to clash. They're training. Hikaru hasn't fought in three years. She's at 60% of her previous combat effectiveness.

Izumi, in an outlandish costume, enters, saying it's been too long since she's been a fool.

Yamasaki looks over the sleeping Yurika Misumaru. She's the Biological Image Feedback Unit. The black box bonded with her, she's an electronic angel with silicon wings. Using her total link with the ancient computer, the Martian Successors have harnessed boson jumping.

While early experiments were failures, the Successors stopped trying to control her. Rather, they've occupied girl's mind with Ururun, a shoujo manga. Instead of forcing her to send ships and soldiers across space, they've implanted the images and emotions of the comic inside Yurika. Believing she's engaged in these fantasies with Akito, she freely sends the Jupiterians across the stars.

The final phase will begin soon.

Hokushin, the soldier with evil eyes who destroyed Shirahime, prepares to jump to Earth.

Yurika sees Akito before her. He tells the girl he wants to go to the Chichibu Mountains. Hokushin disappears, sent to the Chichibu Mountains.

Yurika's love for Akito sent him there.

Hokushin, setting down before a detachment of elite Kusakabe soldiers, tells them they are going to kill the Prince of Darkness.

Haley and Saburota descend down a long elevator shaft to the bottom of the UE headquarters. Saburota asks Haley what Ruri tasted like.

Arriving at the 500th sub-basement, they enter into the Underground Jump Experiment Dome. A secret facility, it is here Haley will depart for the Nadesico. With nervous steps, the boy walks out into an open chamber. In the center, he meets his guide.

A blonde-haired-woman, this Class A Jumper will navigate for him. She will envision the destination. He needs only to relax. Photon gravitational particles rise. Mesotron particles rise. The two disappear.

The sleeping Yurika moves. The Successor scientists look at her. Did someone just boson jump?

Ruri stands in a cemetery. With Minato, she visits Akito's empty grave. Behind her, the Prince of Darkness appears. He just looks at her.

Ruri looks at him.

They visit Inez's grave.

Ruri asks the Prince of Darkness what happened to him. He was kidnapped by the Martian Successors. They staged the shuttle accident, taking Class A Jumpers, Yurika, and himself hostage. They experiments on them. They used them. Akito, though, would escape.

Ruri asks why Akito didn't tell her he was alive.

Akito tells her there was no reason to.

Minato slaps the man.

She shouts at him. They're family. She demands Akito apologize now.

He raises his gun.

Across from him, Hokushin stands. The Successor and his soldiers snarl. The Prince of Darkness fires, but his shots deflect off their distortion shielding. Quickly, he tells Ruri and Minato to run.

Ruri says escape is impossible.

Hokushin sneers. He glowers over Ruri. He'll take the golden-eyed girl. She's a white fairy. She's an angel created in a lab. He's a devil created in a lab.

Behind Hokushin, another man enters. He shouts out that the new world will only come when pain ends. Only with the end of destruction and chaos will a new order rise. The man is Genichiro Tsukiomi.

Tragedy only gives more meaning to the glory of birth.

He betrayed Jupiter. He betrayed his friends. Now, he's Nergal's dog.

Springing up from behind graves, men in black stand with swords and pistols. Nergal's black ops, they far outnumber Hokushin's team.

Goat Hory explodes from Inez's grave, a submachine gun in hand. He and Minato stare for a second.

This is the holy resting ground of the dead. Genichiro tells Hokushin to retreat, or he will send him to hell.

The man sends one of his soldiers at Tsukiomi. Genichiro stops him in a single move, throwing the man back into his comrades.

As Nergal's assassins press in, Hokushin and his guerrillas disappear in a flash of light and spray of bosons.

The Prince of Darkness spits. The Successors control Yurika's mind. The final attack is eminent. Akito gives Ruri something. A slip of paper, it contains Tenkawa's recipe for his special ramen. Ruri refuses to take the paper. In a flash of emotion, she shouts at the man. Akito will need it when this is over. The Prince of Darkness shakes his head. Akito Tenkawa is dead. He wants Ruri to have the recipe as proof that the man once lived.

Still, the girl will not accept.

The Prince of Darkness finally removes his mask. His face glows with unstable boson particles. The Successors experimented on his brain. They made his senses go haywire. They short circuited the way he works. He can't taste anymore. He spits. He feels like a tragic anime hero. He can't make ramen.

A shuttle takes off from the New Tokyo Airport. The Nadesico's reunited crew is inside. Akatsuki appears on a screen, wishing the best of luck. They'll arrive at the Nadesico C in 14 hours. He salutes them.

The crew strap on their belts. They wonder why Uribatake isn't there. The engineers promise to do even better to make up for their leader's absence.

Prospector and Howmei wave goodbye from the airstrip. They're not going. They have a different job. The Howmei Girls enter.

Inside the shuttle, Yukina and Jun peddle juice, soda, alcohol, water, and snacks. They're dressed as stewardesses. Both of them.

Minato stares with brutal eyes. She screams at Yukina, demanding to know why the little girl's here. She has school. She has clubs. It's too dangerous. It's too damn dangerous.

Yukina giggles. It's summer, and the inter-highschool matches are next week. Besides, if they fail now, there won't be a next week.

The female crew, meanwhile, is tearing the kawaii Jun apart.

Izumi and Amano dig into their seats.

Main booster ignition!

5G!

6G!

They're knocked backward, reeling against the pressures of take off. Of course, no one else in the shuttle's even minorly affected. Technology has made atmosphere entry and exit painless and pleasant. Izumi and Amano are just reliving "good old anime-style atmosphere departure traditions".

Quietly, the Nergal shuttle passes the Spy Satellite Zone, moving into space.

Ryoko pilots the craft. Hory and Saburota are also there. Everything's going smoothly until Minato enters the cockpit, screaming. Hory knew Yukina was onboard. How could he allow it? Goat explains that she's Tsukumo's sister. She's a potential target. It's far safer for her to be here than alone on Earth.

The shuttle approaches the Battleship Escort Fleet. The task force's commander, Araragi, personally gives his good wishes to the once and future crew of the Nadesico. Plus, he's infatuated with Ruri. Calling her the Electronic Fairy, he says half the fleet's in love with her and will follow her into hell.

Immediately following the close of the communication, Successors appear. The Kusakabe-loyal ships and mecha lock on the shuttle and open fire. While a conservative pilot would pull back, letting the escort fleet handle the matter, Minato pushes her way into the pilot's seat. Yukina's on board. She's in charge.

Minato floors the pedal, rocketing ahead of the friendly vessels and through the Successor line. Confused, the Martians take a moment to recalculate their fire controls, and in that moment, the UE ships slaughter them.

Kusakabe scorns Earth. He condemns the UE's lowly attack How dare they call him evil. He is the true fist of righteousness.

Navigators send a Successor fleet to match the UE advance. Yurika dreams of Akito. The new hostile craft looming, Minato finds a way to cut through them. Izumi and Hikaru twist and turn in a "retro anime-style rapid acceleration sequence".

A ship appears directly ahead.

No time to turn, and no where to go, it looks like the end.

The ship, however, is the NS-966-C Nadesico C. Firing a gravity blast, it burns the Martian Successors to ash. Haley, in the captain's chair, smiles. How did the ship launch so fast? A second man appears. Seiya Uribatake stands on the Nadesico C's bridge. He's been there the whole time. Every since the first hint of a rumor of a new Nadesico, he's been working on the project. There's no way he'd ever miss it.

There are scars on his cheeks, the result of wife's tenacious hold, not wanting to let him go.

But, just how did the Nadesico boson jump? Haley's Navigator, Inez Fressange, bows.

The crew safely aboard, Fressange begins to explain the history of the Universe. Ruri Ruri interrupts. She thought the woman was dead. Inez sighs.

Luckless womanizer Akatsuki's image appears. The Class A War Criminal bickers with Ryoko for a minute then tells that after Tenkawa and Misumaru disappeared, Nergal quickly declared Fressange dead to keep her safe.

Akatsuki says he's got to go, needing to attend to the stage.

Martian Successors jump to Earth, taking over corporations and cities. Soldiers and mecha pressing down, they invade the UE General Council Building. Inside, rather than finding the UE General Council, they find Megumi Reinard on a stage. The girl greets them, welcoming them to Nergal's special concert. Her backup, the Howmei Girls, wave.

Mr. Prospector is on guitar. Yoshisada Munetake is on bass. Miss Howmei mans the keyboard. Kouichiro Misumaru and Genpachiro Akiyama are on drums. And, their very special guest is Mr. Akatsuki Nagare!

Akatsuki rises from the top of the stage with the immortal message...

Don't mess with a rich guy.

The Successors unleash divine punishment on Nagare, but their most holy bullets are deflected by a distortion field. From above, an advanced Aestivalis appears. Dropping down, it thrashes the Kusakabe loyalists. Inside the white mecha is Genichiro Tsukiomi.

In a secret Nergal dock is the Eucharis. On a catwalk beside the corvette, Erina meets with the Prince of Darkness. She tells him the Nadesico C and Ruri have made contact. When the girl and Omoikane link, they cannot be defeated. Erina asks the Prince if he's really going. He nods.

Erina shivers, looking at the man that grew out of the boy she once loved. Vengeance? It's the one thing she never expected to hear from Akito. The Prince of Darkness tells her that he's not Akito.

The Successor Revolution is falling apart. Kusakabe, in a complex above the Martian ruins, demands to know why. The UE has an unstoppable weapon. Genichiro Tsukiomi. He preaches. He shouts out to all who will listen. The Jupiterians can but only throw down their guns next to his words...

Tsukumo Shiratori is crying in his grave!

Nadesico folds from Earth space into the atmosphere of Mars. The great ship appears in the sky above the red ruins, and, in a single moment, Omoikane puts all the Successor systems, ships, and robots to sleep.

Ruri gives Haley, despite protest, the key to the Nadesico. Minato encourages the boy as Ruri takes back Mars. Spreading her consciousness through the entire web, she takes down the revolution.

The girl and the computer have ended the war in the blink of an eye.

Kusakabe bows his head, unable to continue. His men cry out for blood, but Haruki admits he's been defeated. With this computers, rockets, and weapons all offline, there is nothing he can do. He asks for the safety of his soldiers.

But, just as the coup seems to have a civil end, seven boson points form. Hokushin will not allow this battle to come to an end. An experiment, he will not allow his pain and suffering to be meaningless. Ruri, not concerned in the slightest, lets "him" take care of it.

Before Hokushin can fire a single shot, another boson point forms. The Eucharis jumps on top of his platoon, Black Sarena on the bow.

The demon Akito fights the seven Successors.

Ruri, feeling the entire Mars network, touches Eucharis. She greets Lapis and introduces her to her friend, Omoikane. She asks the little girl who she is.

Akito's eyes. Akito's ears. Akito's hands. Akito's legs.

The Prince of Darkness and Hokushin spiral up into the sky, circling and slashing. Hokushin tells the Prince that he cannot hide weakness of the soul behind armor of steel. He bangs on the Black Sarena.

Ryoko appears out of the thin empyrean. Anyone who interferes with Akito's duel will ride a horse to hell. Hikaru is horse number one. Izumi is horse number two. Saburota asks if he has to be a horse, too. Hikaru nods, saying that Ryoko loves to ride him. Ryoko starts screaming. Saburota tells Subaru they can decide who's on top later.

One by one, the Successor squadron dies as the Aesti pilots continue to imagine Ryoko's torrid, torrid sex life.

Against the desert expanse, Tenkawa and Hokushin strain. Both experiments gone wrong, both have lost their senses and lives. Now, each wanting release, they charge. No guns. No rockets. Firing their jets, they slam head-on.

Hokushin breaks some of Akito's plate, but Akito's metal fist goes straight into Hokushin's chest. Crushed by Black Sarena, Hokushin coughs up his red lungs and dies.

Akito pulls away, throwing off his sable armor. Beneath the Back Sarena is the pilot's pink Aesti. It cries oily tears.

Yurika opens her eyes. Surrounded by dying wings, she wakes. Ruri smiles down on her old captain. All Misumaru can do is comment on how old everyone looks. Dreaming for the longest time, she asks where's Akito.

Eucharis takes off into the sky. Ryoko watches him go. The man she once loved is slipping away. His broken heart is set on something, a crusade she can't understand.

Akito and Lapis disappear.

Ruri smiles. She's not worried.

He'll be back. If he doesn't come back, we'll go out after him. Because he's... Because he's a very dear person to me.