After being arrested by a younger Warren Carmichael and brought to a military base, the group finds themselves separated, with Cheryl and Ariel placed into a room together while Erevis, Fox, and Sera are in a separate room further down the hall. Vennie Cartwright, also known as Venerator, steps into Ariel and Cheryl's room. He questions why they are in the city, since Cheryl should be in seclusion and Ariel should be on the military base at all times. While he questions them, a younger William Spade enters the other room to talk to the others, and upon encountering Seraphna, grabs his head in pain and confusion. Spade quickly touches Sera and flips through her memories in confusion, against her will. Afterwards, he quickly leaves and locks the door behind him. Erevis states the divergence has already begun, and now Spade will likely try to eliminate them. And that he will try to kill Seraphna specifically since she will be the pause of his death.
Entering Ariel and Cheryl's room, Spade scans the two in front of Venerator. Cheryl's scan startles him for some reason and he immediately demands they be turned over to him because General Cran wants them. Venerator refuses to turn Ariel over since she is under his command, so Spade takes Cheryl instead. Promising to question the others and if their answers clear with him, he'll let them go to chase the individual Ariel mentioned chasing; as he leaves, he doesn't lock the door. Seraphna, no longer wishing to be called Serena, decides to go by Angela, while Red Fox chooses the name Scarlett. Venerator enters and questions them about matters, but they are reluctant to speak. Suspicous, Ven points out Angela's lock of blue hair, commenting that he knows a 12 year old girl with the same type of lock of hair. After a moment he rises and has Lt. Warren Carmichael escort the three from the base.
Outside, Angela tries to sense Cheryl through the Omega Protocol link to the Alpha Protocol but is unable to do it when a rocket flies in at her; Erevis pulling her to safety barely in time. Men leap out of vans with various weapons, intent on killing them; during this, Ariel catches up to Venerator and asks him for his help. Sensing the trouble, though, she leaves and quickly joins the others outside, laying down cover fire to aid them against the forces sent to eliminate them. With Ariel's help in distracting, Warren is able to aid the others in their escape from the attackers. But it's a brief reprieve as they use the vans to smash through the gates Warren managed to close. Chased along the complex, Warren gets them into a shuttle which they get on and escape in. He takes them to a remote location and then leaves to get answers, leaving the team on their own for now.
Heading for Cran Manor, they are led inside and meet General Cran. Also in the manor is a boy in his teens that is a young Chad Winters, still in his Id mode at this point. Cran tells him they've come to take his sister away and the heir that she carries inside her. Shocked at the news, they look up to see Phaeton arrive, smiling and welcoming them.
Session 222: Twilight's Present
The group that did not get sucked into time finds themselves surrounded by 50 Tsivrixsh and a gloating Xevil. Holding her chest wound and wincing in pain, Zephyr announces they are in big trouble. As Xevil tries to goad Dias into a fight, saying John would do it, Zephyr chides him and begins to yell, saying that he's goading him; Dias hears goating, which leads to them bickering, confusing the Tsivrixsh around them. Using the distraction, Dias tosses a smoke bomb, picks up the wounded Terra, and they run for their lives out of the room. Making it to the hanger, they find it filled with dead Tsivrixsh and Billy selling fresh organs for 5 cents. AT that moment an unknown craft flies into the hanger and Dias decides to steal it; running up the ramp they join the pilot who flies them out of the station. The helmeted pilot nonchalantly tells them they can steal his ship later and dodges the fire from the station as he loops back toward Earth. Once back in the ruined capital, the pilot pulls off his helmet, revealing himself to be Darien. Also there is Marcus, who Darien picked up on the way, looking nervous.
Heading to the resistance base, they find Em still recovering from her wounds previously in Season 10, but looking better - but it's clear her heart is broken since her dragoon, Hotaru, is dead. Peacemaker, also present to help fix up Zephyr, notes things only appear to get worse and worse. When Darien begins to try to formulate a plan, Dias and Marcus bickering serves to annoy him and Zephyr; Darien states he can't work with immature people who insult their own teammates and turns to go. Apologizing to him, Dias promises to be good, so Darien states his plan on how to get a fleet to counter the 100 ships out there - by going to the Tsivrixsh Empire.
At first all think he is insane, but he explains that Xevil is clearly acting on his own, especially with plans to remake himself a God. The current Tsivrixsh Emperor would especially dislike hearing that Xevil has proclaimed himself the new Emperor. The only drawback? No one knows where the homeplanet is at so they need to find some starcharts from a Tsivrixsh ship. Deciding there's too many around Earth, Darien states they will go to the Cartel homeworld where there's only a few ships positioned around the planet and they will get Shiva's help to do it. Making plans to go pick up the PAX around Jarivan then head to the Cartel, the team preps.
Later, arriving at Jarivan, they find the PAX 2.0 now belongs to some casino owner. Entering the casino, which has a swimwear theme, they all have to grab swimwear; Zephyr gets a single piece, and Billy ... a 4 year old - gets a bikini. Em, not to be outdone, also gets a bikini. Beginning to gamble to try to win the PAX back, and racking up a small fortune, they are cornered by the owner, who states that he has an opportunity to see Dias 'double' his fortune. He tries to lure them to the back rooms. Dias, refusing, forces the owner to relent and set up a table in the open. A tense hour passes as Dias slowly gets the majority of the owner's money. Desperate, the owner puts the PAX 2.0 up to stay in the game. Zephyr, drunk on the free drinks, exclaims she always wanted a ship. Losing the ship, the owner declares Dias a cheater and brings in security. Kicking the table of chips into crowd and causing a riot, the team escapes,with the owner declaring that Dias had ruined him and he will get revenge one day. And not to forget the name Derrickson.
On the ship, a relieved Tom Pilot exclaims his thanks for rescuing him - and admits he gambled himself away as the personal pilot forever to the man. Then he admits he gambled away every item on the PAX to try to stay in the game. The team proceeds to beat him up.
John begins by telling them how events on Old Earth played out differently for him and those in this alternate, manipulated future reality, which led to Emperor Xevil's rise to power. He tells them how Xevil tricked John and Erevis in returning to Earth which led to him sending Michiru back in time. Taking a knife, Katrina cuts the long hair, tired of it getting in her way, and John is surprised to learn that Katrina is back and alive. Trekking back to the resistance, the team works their way back; an ambush with a mysterious Dark Lady, who uses the Dark Rune, separates John from them and others, so that when they encounter a blonde girl with two guns, who looks skilled in gun combat; after Chad sneaks around and aims at her behind, forcing her to aim her guns at him and Xanatos, she reveals who she is - Aya. Chad reveals he is her father, but she gets angry, saying her father died along time ago. Confused why Zephyr never showed her a picture of him, Aya reveals the PAX exploded and all belongings with it. When they bring out Michiru, Aya calms down and embraces her friend.
Arriving at the resistance, they meet 'Zee' finally, who is revealed to be an older, beautiful Zephyr, with long luxurious hair and apparantly in her late twenties. Also there is Angela and Kyouki, still alive due to the divergence. Zephyr, shocked at seeing Chad alive, looks like she's not sure how to react and feel. After some tense meet and greets between the various people, Zephyr immediately picks up on Chad being ill and catches him when his legs give out; learning he has radiation poisoning, she's clearly bothered and Aya, upon hearing that, walks out. Myria shows the scans of Chad to Zephyr and she jerks, moving out after saying a doctor will be by soon to look at them all.
Eating at the mess hall, Xanatos and Katrina sit together to talk, Kyouki stating that Xanatos is still not over her. Katrina and him talk about things she missed, and she seems surprised to learn Xan and Serena were an item for a while. Katrina states she doesn't judge him for it and Xanatos comments that it's refreshing to see she's stil the same, while the rest of them have changed over the years. Junior, after recovering from a spasm of his cancer now that the Spear of Destiny was destroyed in Wind during Season 10, asks to speak with Katrina, running Xanatos off. He states that Xanatos seems to fancy himself her boyfriend. Junior then proceeds to ask Katrina to let him die, since she had been secretly trying to help ease his pain, and that there was a reason he wasn't reborn in this reality. Katrina responds that she isn't a little girl anymore and he doesn't have to explain, angering her and making Junior walk off.
Encountering the future Zephyr, the two begin to talk and Junior asks her to tell him about his daughter; not sure who he's talking about, Junior states Michiru. Zephyr, surprised, stated she had suspicions about her being John's daughter, but never any proof. Asking what happened to him 15 years ago in this timeline, Zephyr admits to not knowing much, since John, Erevis, and Junior traveled around a lot, fighting the Dark Ones, but she did know he lasted as long as he could manage against the odds. When Zephyr asks Junior what it is he wants out of life, he admits he doesn't have anything - only that there are some bad guys that need to be stopped so others can have happiness.
Meanwhile, Dias and Aya discuss the drugged Chad and if she is his father, the two apparantly close in the future. Dias states that it likely is and if he were her, he'd take advantage of the situation, but Aya denies any desire to speak to the man who gave birth to her since he died when she was a baby and walks off. Xanatos, seeking out Katrina who is brooding, talks with her, asking if they are okay. Katrina seems confused, stating she thought things were fine between them. Soon they are joking when John crashes between them, bloodied and beaten. Standing over John is a woman in her late teens, with long black hair, and a dark glowing sword. The group gathers to do battle with her and she begins to attack, even going as far as to attack their very souls.
The woman, cutting off Xanatos' fake leg, is about to kill him when he stops her, making a deal for his life by telling her something she probably didn't know. Asking what her name and learning she has no name, he tells her where he comes from, she, in fact, does have a name - Billy. Twitching, she stabs him through the throat before being knocked away and Katrina jerks, rushing to him and grabbing at his throat to try to help him, panicking. As he dies, his soul is zapped out to the woman.
With a mexican face off with Cran, Spade, Id, and Phaeton, General Cran asks them once again to leave, his eyes locked on Ariel, the "Mother". When Ariel refuses to leave, Cran admits they stand no chance in beating their superior power, but that he has the Alpha lives in his hand if she does not go. He states that he will leave, with Ariel's Rune Blade, but will give her the code word to protect the Alphas. Promising to raze to the ground everything Cran ever built if he breaks his word, Ariel removes the runes from the sword and hands it to Spade. Giving the code words to Ariel in exchange, the enemies leave and they step outside the manor while Angela checks out her old room, seeing things look different than she remembers it being. The doll explodes, severely injuring her and a note floats down saying 'Welcome home, dear sister'. As a poison spreads through her body, Ariel is forced to constantly use the Holy Rune to keep it at bay and keep her alive. Erevis uses a contact from Ariel to get in touch with Venerator, who arrives as quickly as possible through the front door. He quickly adminsters the antidote.
Venerator then tells them he's been ordered by higher ups to bring them all into custody, and that they can guess why. Warren Carmichael and a younger Xanatos Durran step up to bring them into custody. They surrender, reluctantly, and Venerator says once they're returned to HQ to uncuff them and to not manhandle them. Xanatos, apparantly feeling cocky that a bunch of women pose no threat, while Warren is tense and eyeing them darkly, escort them to an armored van; Erevis tense and straining to control herself at being restrained. Angela begins to talk about the worst day of Warren's life as they arrive and how it was all a test run, clearly agitating and angering him; despite Xanatos' warnings to shut up, Angela keeps pressing it and tells him that his child is in danger. Despite getting punched in the jaw by Warren, she continues, telling him they're from the future and that Cran has his child. Then she reveals Cheryl is the mother, which sets him off considering what Cheryl accidently did to his fiance and unborn daughter in the Ridiarium War. Walking off in anger, Warren leaves them to Xanatos. After being taunted by Xanatos about being afraid of the cell, and even making them a deal that he'll walk in with them, Erevis counters with a new deal - and psionically throws him into the room and shuts the door.
Breaking out with Erevis' sabre, which angers her and she demands it be returned, they do battle with Xanatos. Challenging Xanatos to fight one on one without psionics, Erevis begins to duel him. Psionically stealing the sabre away, and giving it to Angela, since that was not how she worded the agreement, Xanatos calls her a cheater and gets knocked on his ass with her leg. Enemy troops arrive and the team quickly retreats. They reach the hanger to find a fully powered up shuttle with the ramp down and Warren waiting; he announces if they want to escape they have to defeat him. Then whispers for them to make it look good for the cameras. XAnatos joins him and they battle, with him even getting some punches in on Erevis and telling her she can never beat him hand to hand, so she activates her sabre at his groin, making him back off. She tells him that the team is her family, then knocks him out, as does Warren.
Heading for the coordinates Warren programmed in for them, the women arrive at at a farm house. They find it stockd up with weapons and food. Erevis warns Angela that when she faces Spade, he will try to kill her since this Spade is not in love with her due to the timeline changes from the divergence. Then she asks if Angela truly planned to nibble on Xanatos' ear, an offer she made during the battle to throw him off balance, and is surprised to learn that Angela broke up with him.
Warren arrives at the farm house and states he is going with them, completely decked out in stylish black, and states he will learn the truth for himself. At that moment, the farm house door explodes and another Ariel stands there, decked out in weapons and armor, stating the targets have been found and must be eliminated.
At the Cartel Homeworld, Darien drives recklessly along the highway as a Tsivrixsh vehicle pursues them. Dias, disappointed there is only one, earns Darien's ire since Dias robbed the Tsivrixsh when they arrived. After using some deadly, but fancy manuevers, Darien manages to lose their pursuers and continues onward to the meeting spot with Shiva. Shiva states that if they want her help, they have to do something for her first. Teleporting them all, Shiva brings them to hidden meeting place of the true power of the Cartel, where 5 of the 9 seats are filled. In order to help smuggle them onto the ship they want, they want the team to ambush a transport ship of Tsivrixsh goods that are worth a good profit. Darien agrees.
After leaving, and Dias robbing another Tsivrixsh which forces them to be chased yet again by Tsivrixsh patrols, the team arrives at their ship to meet the Cartel contacts. Meeting a beautiful woman who is younger than Katrina by a few years, but who's stance brings forth, no demands, obedience, with long black hair that has blue streaks, stunning blue eyes, and exotically beautiful pale skin. The Cartel agent known as Iceheart, much to Darien's shock due to having the memories of Death Star and his relationship with that reality's Iceheart. Smelling the vomit on Marcus, which came about after he puked from Darien's driving, she makes him do the heavy lifting, showing herself to be no-nonsense.
Thoroughly crippling Marcus and Darien's manhoods with her words, and putting Dias in his place, Iceheart leads them out to their target. She brings down the Tsivrixsh trading vessel with her ship's ion cannons when another vessel leaks out, a sleek battle cruiser designed to protect the trading vessels. When Darien attempts to grab the pilot controls and fly the ship himself to avoid attacks, Iceheart knocks him away, takes over the controls, and dodges the shots herself. Ordering them to take the gun stations, they take out the sleek vessel and are able to continue their mission of raiding the trading one. Leaving Marcus and Em behind, Darien leads them onto the trading vessel and---
Everyone ends up in a cell but Em and Marcus. Darien protests he had no idea there would be such a device and Iceheart wonders why Dias would even touch such a thing, which is what led them there. Now their only hope is with Marcus and Em. While they wait patiently for rescue, Marcus sits on Iceheart's bridge, Marcus picks his nose. After another bit, Marcus is soon in the jail with them after the Tsiv found him on the bridge doing nothing.
Dias, after a bit, asks if Zephyr can blow the cell door open, which she proceed to do so since they didn't put any energy restraints on her powers. Finding the crates, they drag them all to Iceheart's ship and find two Tsivrixsh trying to break into key spots. Terra, the only with her hands free, is ordered to take them out, so she goes over and begins to punch and kick the two Tsivrixsh, who flail in pain without going down. This continues for three minutes. Finally making her metal a hand into a spike, she kills them and the others board the ship with the crates.
Back at the Cartel Homeworld, Iceheart takes her payment from Shiva, and tells the others she hopes to never see them again as she walks off. With it over, Shiva turns to Darien and promises to fulfill her end of the bargain.
Xanatos is dead. Very dead. As Katrina uses CPR desperately on him, the entire group is startled when his body suddenly jerks and stands there without any expression, thought, or feeling. Wind steps out and announces that he has reanimated the body and that since he did not die naturally, his soul having been ripped out, there's still a chance of getting it back in time to reattach it to the body. After some jabs, Katrina stalks off to find the girl and save Xanatos' soul, with Xanatos following her despite Wind not giving the command. They plot out how to stop the girl and the Dark Rune within her since Wind no longer has the power he did before, confessing they are nearly non-existant now. They comment on how Billy enjoys her games and that even this one played one with Xanatos briefly before he bored her and got killed. Wind notes that she noticed Billy seemed to gravitate to Junior; pondering why, Wind concludes that it was Junior dying, the death around him, that drew her in and the fact that Junior accepted that fate.
After Myria lets out a loud noise, tendrils attack, their position given away. After pissing off the underlings by slashing them, the woman comes out, attacking them. Moving in and out of them, she attacks Aya, drawing Angela's attention long enough for the woman to drive a knife through her chest. In a rage, Aya dashes through the others fighting to tackle the woman. Grabbing Aya like a shield and rising, the woman standing there, allowing people to circle behind her. John and Dias suddenly attack from underground and knock the woman away to separate her from Aya. Junior throws the woman into one of Wind's hyperspace attacks. The Dark Rune shields her, leaving her in pain and angry. She begins to drain Junior's soul as the team attacks her, injuring her more and more as she stubbornly persists. With Xanatos' freed as the woman collapses, Katrina watches as they stab the woman over and over. After a bit she dies and the Dark Rune remains, which Wind takes then destroys.
Katrina gives the dying Chad a lecture, so he goes to find Aya. After finding it locked, he instead seeks out future Zephyr and the two talk. She seems angry at him pushing himself into battle after battle while dying and tells Chad what it was like for Aya to lose him at a young age and what it felt like for her. Chad admits he's scared shitless and doesn't know what to do. Comforting him, Zephyr is surprised when Chad kisses her suddenly. They begin to have sex together; meanwhile Emperor Xevil takes Michiru after beating up Junior and the rest of the team prepare to get ready to save her. Once Wind says they have to take on Xevil, John is enraged to learn that Xevil has Erevis and Michiru set up in some trap and Wind plans to sacrifice them to beat the Emperor. Wind states it's a delaying tactic if they go after them.
Everyone decides to go with John to save Future Erevis and Michiru, even if it means losing against Emperor Xevil; Wind walks out to deal with the enemy himself. Stopping outside by Junior, he tells them he was wrong about this universe - that they are indeed heroes. He asks Junior to go with them while he tries to delay the Emperor Xevil. Junior states that John is more father to Michiru than he is and that he will go with Wind to delay the Emperor.
At the farmhouse, the team finds themselves face to face with Alpha Ariel, the real Ariel, since the team's Ariel merely posed as her all those years as not to be discovered and the name simply stuck with her. The group begins to battle the strong Alpha and the fight pours out into the nearby woods, scaring the locals. Alpha Ariel seems more machine than real, with her statements being all analytical fact, such as stating since Angela uses her hand to generate her water attacks, the hand must simply be removed. After a bit and removing the others from the playing field, it comes down to Angela and Alpha Ariel battling it out through the forest until she finally manages to bring Alpha Ariel's assessment of her threat level to Rank S. But at that moment, Spade orders her to stand down, stepping out, stating he only needed the Alpha to wear down Angela for him to take her out. He announces he must kill her to protect his timeline Serena from becoming like her. Right before he can kill her, Erevis yanks her away and Warren aims at Spade, forcing him to retreat with the promise they will meet again. Discovering in her pockets a message from the Spade of HER time, telling her where to find the other Spade, Angela shows it to Warren and the group heads for the base.
Session 228: A Potential Present
The team, crammed into a crate of goods that are shipped up to the Tsivrixsh Battlecruiser, free themselves once on board. Working their way through the battlecruiser and encountering various challenges and annoyances, they manage to to get the star charts and escape the ship. Flying to the Tsivrixsh Homeworld's system, they find the planet Tsi'veros. Talking to the station orbitting in Tsivrixsh to help get past without incident, that is ruined when Dias asks, loudly, what he is doing and is overheard on the comm. Quickly forced to dodge cannon blasts, Darien flies them down to the surface of the planet. Crashing outside the primary city, they find a dark world with dark thunderclouds covering the skyand a sense of oppression about.
Slowly working their way through the suburbs of the city, passing male and female civilian Tsivrixshs, they are soon surrounded by a group of male Tsivrixshs who do not look happy to see them.
10-600.??
Session 229: An Apocalpytic Future
Arriving at the Tsivrixsh Prison Fortress, they find it's so large that one could likely get lost in there for days. Breaking their way into the fortress, they battle their way inward. After a bit and some trial and error with the security systems, they feel the entire fortress shakes as Dark Ones attack it, led by Desaeus. After a long, tedious battle with him, since there is no Dark Rune for Kyouki to use to eat his soul like before, they manage to overcome his defensive barriers and kill him.
Reaching the cell where Michiru and Erevis are held, John has Kyouki hit random buttons to try to figure out which opens it, getting her shocked each time. She gets shocked listening to him about 13 times. Setsuna finally looks under the console then enters the correct sequence, freeing the two captives. Erevis states she knows where Emperor Xevil is and can already feel him growing more powerful by the moment.
Landing near the coordinates Angela provided, the group works their way past sensors and other devices meant to detour intruders. Getting to locked doors, they find they need to open it with two hand pads that are 15 feet apart from each other, but the handscans only respond to Angela. Reluctantly, Angela agrees to chop her own hand off and Ariel chops it off; they quickly place it on the other pad while Angela screems, her one hand on the pad. Then they use the Holy Rune to try to reattach it - it's successful but drains the Holy Rune of almost all it's healing properties. Though it's attached, it'll take weeks to be useable again, leaving Angela with one hand.
Going down into the hidden underground base, they join up with Xanatos Durran who followed them on Warren's orders. Warren discovers part of the base labeled 'Ragnarok'. As they hurry, they hear a countdown for whatever it is begin. Deciding to split up to rescue Cheryl and stop the count down after they are discovered by a patrol, Red Fox, Xanatos, and Angela move on to stop the Ragnarok, while Warren and Ariel continue. Soon, though, Red Fox and Xanatos are separated from Angela.
Venerator, having joined with Cran after seeing he had no choice, attempts to bring Xanatos and Fox in. While he stalls them, Ariel and Warren run into young Chad Winters, Id - or Alex as he's called here - and he attempts to stop them from reaching Cheryl. While Warren fights him, Ariel works on waking up Cheryl and they begin to move again as the base shakes from Ragnarok waking. Xanatos and Fox escape from Venerator and hurry through the base as well, which brings Venerator's wrath and weapons down on him. As Cheryl and Ariel escape, Warren blocks the route off so Alex can't follow, and so it'll be just them. Joining up with Erevis battling Cran, the three join up to try to stop him and Ragnarok. Soon it becomes a battle between Ariel and Cran, each of them trying to defeat the other. As the other two attempt to stop Ragnarok, which is powered by Wind, Ariel stops Cran in combat, only to find her body mysteriously frozen. Xanatos and Fox, meanwhile, come face to face with Venerator, who blocks their path.
Meanwhile, Angela runs into Spade finally. The two do battle with each other, Spade to kill her to protect his Angela, and Angela to save the timeline. She finds unexpected help though when she realizes Spade is in her and gives her the ability to see the other Spade's attacks before they happen. Alpha Ariel joins him and the two continue to fight against Angela, trying to wear her down and overpower her. The fight drags on and on until finally Angela destroys both of Alpha Ariel's hands, but runs out of power to use the Water Rune, leaving her to face Spade without any advantage.
Billy tortures Marcus back at the Cartel a few hours before the other events occurred, with Shiva watching. Threatening his life after Marcus makes a few verbal blunders, Shiva asks what it will take to spare his life - Billy announces marriage. Shiva agrees to marry them and they shake on it, to Marcus' dismay. They kiss and seal the deal. Joining Terra, Marcus has their honeymoon be to go find the others and save them.
Back on Tsi'vaos, the others battle the Tsivrixsh in their way but are stunned when Marcus shows up in a prostitute outfit, which was what Shiva's payment was for getting them there - complete with ass chaps. AFter the shock, they head onward to the building of power for the Emperor. Granted an audience, they inform him of Xevil's plans. The beautiful Tsivrixsh female who led them there, Shretrev, watches them intently. She confirms that Xevil has 100 of their ships over Earth, a defeated planet, against orders. Darien proposes that to avoid a civil war issue, they be allowed to defeat Xevil, with some help, and that afterwards, Earth be a free system so that the Tsiv Empire has someone to trade with and get new ideas from. The Emperor agrees, sending Shretrav to aid them. Shretrav informs them of the battle plan and gets a small fleet together to send them back to Earth.
Returning to the Cartel, Darien gets the necessary explosives and detonators from Shiva. Darien says the plan is to split in two groups; one to fight Xevil and keep him busy while the other plants the explosives to bring down his station of power. Back at Earth, they engage the fleet with Shretrav's fleet, flying on board the station during the chaos. Working their way through the traps and tricks again, with nude Ems being used against Dias, they finally make it to his throne room. Xevil rises and vows to kill them like he did John McCormick.
Junior and Wind encounter Emperor Xevil after destroying some of the defenses inside, and he rises, preparing to give them a thrashing of godly power. Meanwhile, the heroes battle their way into the fortress, trying to play catch up. During it, Katrina and Xanatos bicker playfully, the others face terrible trials and jokes, but after a while it becomes nastier, with Katrina acting resentful with how Xanatos acts toward the elder Erevis, commenting that she must not be the 'perfect girl' anymore. When Xanatos is injured, Erevis pulls him on her lap to help out, much to Katrina's dismay, but by then they have reached the throne room of Emperor Xevil. As they challenge him, he shows them the battered bodies of Junior and Wind, stating if they couldn't do it, none of them can. Ripping off Kyouki's arms to prove a point, the team realizes they are in serious trouble. When they keep trying, he takes both of Cassandra's legs.
As they free Wind and Junior, Zephyr leading the charge, they watch in horror as Emperor Xevil's reality powers, increasing, allow him to erase Zephyr and the area around her from existence. Still determined, Erevis tells Junior that it was he who told her not give up no matter the odds, and she pulls out the Emerald Sword in rapier form. She tells him that he also has an Emerald Sword, and that it will come to him when he's ready to accept it. And so the beginning of the end is here, as Emperor Xevil floats before them.
The Past, 10-585.12.13, and 10-560.??
Session 233: Timeline Convergence - 800th Session
Back in the past, the group continues their battles against their respective enemies. However, when Ragnarok activates, it knocks those closest to it down. In the present, Xevil battles Dias and the others present to keep them from progressing further. In the future, Emperor Xevil's power continues to rise before them. John says if they can't hurt him, to go for his super weapon instead. A tenious battle later, they manage to destroy the weapon, leaving the Emperor himself to face.
Spade and Angela continue their battle, seemingly in slow motion as each use their foresight against the other, trying to land their blows. In the present, the battle with Xevil rages onward. Dias and Xevil slam into each other and are knocked back across the room from each other. In the future, Emperor Xevil battles the others, inflicting damage. Punching Chad in the gut, he gets covered in his blood, grinning.
Bloodied, Xanatos and Red Fox continue to fight for their lives against Venerator. Warren, meanwhile, shivs Alex with a screw driver. Recovering, Xevil and Dias ram into each other again in the present and knock each other away once more. In the past still, Spade and Angela slug it out with one another until he uses the base to shut down her Omega powers. Just when she's about to lose, Angela's hand moves on it's own and attacks Spade. Rising to her feet, Angela continues to attack. The younger Spade realizes in anger that the other Spade from Angela's timeline jumped into her body before his death and had been with her all along. After beating him, her Spade leaps into the younger, wounded one so he can speak one last time with her. He reveals that the young Spade killed his version of Angela actually. He tells her to get going to help the others with Ragnarok and that he will always be with her; as she runs off, the body dies. Elsewhere, out of bullets, Warren and Alex call it quits as the base collapses around them. Elsewhere, Fox manages to cut down Venerator who falls down in his own blood; he tells her beautifully done and to tell Ariel and Zephyr that he is sorry. Fox promises as she and Xanatos leave. Ragnarok, the planet's largest mecha ever made, towers over all with it's core being made of Wind. The team regathers to face it. Cheryl, apparantly clueless that she is pregnant, ponders what this is all about.
Emperor Xevil continues his ruthless attack on the others. He even goes so far as to use his powers to turn Cassandra into a human so that she can no longer be a tank against damage. Wind informs the others they cannot beat him as long as he has his reality powers and they have to remove them. Erevis gives him the Emerald Sword, which he absorbs, and he dashes against Xevil's reality destroying attacks, declaring he needs more power. Junior brings out his own Emerald Sword and reluctantly gives it to Wind to use, who absorbs it as well. Now consumed with the reality power once more himself, Wind reforms his body and cuts off the Emperor's reality powers. With the power gone, the team gets ready for pay back, fighting the Emperor once again. As they do, Wind brings Zephyr back to life from her ashes and heals Chad's wounds. Forming the Spear of Destiny, the Emperor Xevil faces them again - Erevis states that if Wind got that, he could remake reality again. Stating that only his energy form can destroy the Spear, he tells everyone if they believe he will do so to stand back. One by one, they do. Telling them once this is over, it will be up to them, he rams himself into the spear.
In the present, Zephyr and Marcus finish setting up the bomb and tell Dias and Em and Terra that it's time to retreat. Xevil taunts them, asking Em if she'll simply run away from Hotaru's killer. Darien grabs her and runs off, and Em allows it, trembling with rage. In the past, the Ragnarok Warren tells the others as Ariel and Erevis, shifting into her dragon form, battle the dragonic Ragnarok mecha, that it is their fight and for them to get out of there and leave it to them. After a brutally vicious battle, Ariel taps into Erevis' hyperspace, turning into a hyperspace dragon, and begins to ram into the Ragnarok at high speeds. After the Ragnarok shoots her with hyperspace, she painfully absorbs it and sends it right back, destroying Ragnarok and engulfing the area in a white painful light.
Emperor Xevil stands before them, the spear destroyed in his burnt hand, and no sign of Wind. Angered, he begins to attack the team in vengeance since his plans have been foiled, and they fight back with their battered bodies. After a short final battle, they manage to kill him and he falls back off the tower in death. After his death, things begin to shake and Erevis announces the timelines are beginning to converge once again. In the present, Darien gets everyone onto the shuttle and Zephyr informs them over the comm that the core is being destroyed and says her goodbyes to them. Aiming at the explosives set up at the core, she cradles a wounded Marcus and fires at them, the explosion knocking her down into the core's abyss. Darien quickly exits the hanger in the shuttle before Dias can run off and the station explodes behind them; 30 Tsivrixsh battlecruisers leap away when 30 more leap in - the remaining rebel forces quickly surrender.
In the past, Warren and the others find Erevis and Ariel burnt and battered, in bad shape. However, they managed to avoid the end of the world as they know it. Out of it, Erevis grabs him in a hug, thinking he's her Xanatos. The area begins to shake as the timelines reconverge. Erevis states that they will recombine and will try to reconciliate when it can from the conflicting timelines; that which cannot be will be isolated into a new reality since time abhors paradoxes. Warren and Xanatos say goodbye to the group as the tear opens up. After the remains of Ragnarok lands on Xanatos and kills him, Fox drags Warren through.
In the future, tears begin to appear all around them. Zephyr and Chad exchange a hug of passion, telling each other goodbye; Chad asking for the code to unlock her aging before he goes and being given it. Aya watches her father step through the tear, only able to say "Yeah..." to his "Stay safe".
The present, the battle station's explosive waves end and Shretrav contacts them to promise that Xevil and his 30 rogue ships will be caught and brought to justice. As they sit there sadly at the death of Zephyr and Marcus, they are surprised when they hear a knock on the window and see Zephyr. Later, as everyone appears on Earth, they all reunite after a long few days of battles and events. Some are happy to see a Warren alive, while others like Em cry since her Hotaru is still dead. Erevis and Angela hug but that quickly ends when Katrina announces, having hidden the memories from Erevis, that Angela had sex with Spade while he was in Erevis' body. Shifting away from Angela despite being weak, Erevis looks confused and hurt. Xanatos eyes Katrina disapprovingly for her timing. Even though Angela apologizes, Erevis turns and limps off. While Warren comforts the sobbing Em, the others talk about their trials and tribulations, and Cassandra, finally ready to admit her feelings for Setsuna, asks if she wants to go to a hotel to make out. Darien greets Ariel, smiling at her being alive, and they share some banter. Xanatos, having followed Erevis, talks with her and offers his shoulder if she needs it in the times to come. He also reveals to her that having come close to dying twice, there was only one thing he could think of: Erevis herself. And that seeing the future, he finally realizes they are having an impact on the future. Erevis, in her typical way, states that all actions matter and affect the future, to which he agrees and takes her hand, peering up at a single bird soaring overhead.
Session 234: It Was the Best of Times...
With the old capital destroyed, the team is taken to Tokyo, Japan, where the government of EarthGov struggles to re-establish itself. Wounded and tired from the long battles they have faced over the last few months, this is the first real moment of peace there has been so far. They are left to get back in touch with each other - Seraphna and Darien talking about her experiences with Spade and what to do about Erevis since Katrina told her what happened just to hurt her - Xanatos and Dias talking about what all they faced and overcame while Erevis explores the new culture, fascinated - Chad and Zephyr talking about what happened with Aya and him dying in the other timeline. He tells Zephyr that he is dying, much to her dismay. Asking how long he has with tears in her eyes, she learns that it can be any time now. As Erevis buys kimonos and asks Dias if they are on properly, she seems to find the Japanese State to be fascinating. To Xan's annoyance, he continues to hit on her and flirt, asking her if she wants sushi - and when hearing it is raw fish wonders why anyone would want such nasty things - but gives in after being goaded by Dias when he says she's too chicken to try it. She says she finds the culture fascinating due to their honor, and that they are all pleasant, answering things with "Hi" and whatnot. Arriving at the sushi bar, and is taught how to use chopsticks - where she tries sushi for the first time, nearly choking. Then, after eating a few, observes someone putting green stuff on theirs and mimics it, to Xan and Dias' horror. After eating it, her pale skin turns a shade of red. After drinking water, she begins to focus on the wasabi exclusively, finding it good. Afterwards, she samples sake and gets drunk on it, pouring it on her food and other things as she eats. The drunk giggling Erevis sneaks off and begins to try to pick up fish from tanks with paper thin scoops.
As Xanatos and Erevis wander off so he can keep an eye on her, Katrina sits in front of Dias to ask about how close he and Erevis are now; ironically while Seraphna talks to Red Fox and Darien about what to do with her sin against Erevis, who likely doesn't even fully understand what happened. Dias tells her that while they haven't had sex, he would clearly like a deeper relationship with her and the fact he's not with Katrina right now is a testatment to that. When Dias asks what Katrina plans to do about Xanatos and Erevis, she says nothing, having already missed out on too much of her life to go chasing after things that aren't there anymore, unaware at that moment the drunk Erevis and Xanatos are enjoying playful scenes as he teases her for being drunk and she denies it. When he tells her to stand on one foot and touch her nose, she refuses. Erevis stubbornly sits in the snow and throws snowballs at him, still find of snow after all this time. Taking her back to the hospital after she finally falls asleep, she mumbles Ohiyo to him, since Xanatos taught her that earlier.
10-585.12.14
Since the team missed Thanksgiving, the group celebrates it late during this particular day.
Shiva arrives at the hospital with Aya, having been watching her for Zephyr after the Cartel incidents. They share some banter as Zephyr hugs Aya close to her; falling asleep with Aya in the hospital bed, they are visited by Chad who strokes Zeph's cheek quietly, despite her guard dog being Marcus in a wheel chair, telling him not to try anything fresh. When Marcus leaves, Aya wakes up and grabs her dad's leg and asks what he got her; given a locket with a picture of the two in it, he tells her that she'll always have this to remember him by and Aya tells him he's already with her.
On the roof, Darien and Ariel talk about things, overlooking the landscape. When Angela joins them, they discuss what happened to Erevis and how she is handling things, but Ariel tells them that she's been rather privately and that she does not pry. Changing subjects, they discuss finding Ragnarok, since after the convergence, their timeline would still have it, before someone uses it against them. Darien also points out they never found Phaeton who went back in time and they ponder the implications of that once the timelines reconverged. Asking about Cheryl, Ariel tells Angela that she's busy at the moment and Darien points out that one of them should reveal that she's pregnant to her before Warren does. He also tells Angela, after she says that she'll likely just stick with him, that she has to learn to fly solo eventually, but he will help her find the lab and her answers. He also tells her that sometimes, to really discover yourself, you need to be alone with yourself. Afterwards, Ariel asks Darien what his plans are for the immediate future, only for Angela to tell him that Ariel is asking for a date when Darien answers that he plans to stick around to see how things play out on Earth. Startled, he makes some excuse and moves off quickly, unDarienlike.
Across town, Xanatos and Dias share drinks at the sake bar, with Xanatos trying to figure out what Katrina and Dias talked about the previous day. Dias leads him around in circles and doesn't answer outright anything, merely saying that Xanatos can never seen beyond his own two feet. This continues for a bit until Xanatos flat out asks for his help, and so Dias challenges him to finish the rest of the bottle if he wants to hear what he should do. Doing so, Dias proceeds to tell him this: "I'm gonna tell you the opposite of what John told you back on Pax, Xan. And that is to keep your dick in your pants when it comes to Kat. Hell you'll be better off just not talking around her since you'll be dumb enough to decide you want her and then you'll hurt Ere, then you'll bounce back to Ere and hurt Kat, and so forth and so forth, maybe even toss in some Granny action in between." After a moment, Xanatos responds with: "It's funny. Everyone thinks that since Kat is back, that i'll be jumping over myself to try and get with her again. And hell, she is the love of my life, I should be, right? But what have I been doing? Spending time with Erevis. Sitting here talking to you..." After Dias puts down two more cups for more answers, Xanatos tells him he has all the answers he needs and steps out. Coming across Erevis, he asks why she isn't eating turkey so she tells him she has already finished celebrating the slaughter of Native Americans by British colonists. They walk together and to his surprise, she sits back down across from Dias, stating she has arrived to accept his challenge. They eye each other dangerously and ... pull their hands back making Xanatos tense .... then they begin to play rock, paper, scissors. Losing, Dias demands his payment so Erevis reaches into her kimono at the chest level, making Xanatos tense back up, then he pauses as she pulls out tickets. Eyeing his odd behavior, she demands he stand on one foot and touch his nose to see if he is drunk. Afterwards, Dias asks her out on a date - to see the city and learn more about it, causing Xanatos to storm off in anger and Erevis wonder why he doesn't want to go on the date with them.
Shiva enters a club nearby and meets up with a sexy red head with a black dress with a slit and beautiful green eyes who greets her. They share a toast together and begin to catch up on old times. After some playful banter, Katrina grabs Shiva in a hug and holds her tight, begging her to tell her that she hasn't changed as well, like the world around her has since her death. Shiva assures her that she's well, and when asked how she's doing about John's death, Shiva admits she's getting by slowly and that the Tsivrixsh freeing Cartel space is helping. Sharing a laugh over a drink, Shiva tells her she's glad that her friend can still laugh, at least; Katrina responds that sometimes that's all you have left. Finally, the two begin to dance together, to ease the pain of loss.
10-600.??
In the alternate future, with the tears slowly closing and about to seal this off into a pocket reality separate from the real one, Erevis helps Junior along. They talk quietly, about how Erevis and the other Junior got together before he died, celebrating life together in the face of death, and how he wishes he had a chance to get to know her better. Erevis tells him that time is finite and that he should use it wisely, to see with his own eyes what it is he saved this day. Touching her cheek, he tells her she already knows what he would like to say at this moment, so he'll simply take his leave. Stepping through the tear, the others watch him go as it begins to fade. As they get ready to turn away, a large Dark Ship unlike anything they have seen before, flies through the tear quickly. It seals moments later, leaving the stunned group standing there. John grimly says he feels sory for those in the true past.
10-585.12.15
Darien and Angela finally discover the Ragnarok Base that she encountered in the past diverged timeline. Together with Warren, Cheryl, Ariel, and Chad, they are able to open the door with the hand pads without removing hands, and enter the base intent on destroying Ragnarok, with or without Wind as a core. As they walk and Chad asks Cheryl how she's doing, she tells him that she's apparantly pregnant to which he responds he thought she was looking a little fat. When asked how she feels about it, she responds sarcastically that she's jumping up and down and baking cookies. As they enter the command room and try to get the dead terminals on, he reveals that he's dying after he jokes that Zephyr, who is preoccupied lately, is probably planning for his funeral, much to Cheryl's dismay. She looks distracted and the group peers about the dust filled room, estimating it hasn't been used in 12 years. Finding the terminals wiped out long ago, they look for any clues to Angela's past. As Chad accesses a mysterious file, Angela finds a box with a DNA sample and a datapad. The base begisn to explode seconds later from hidden trap. They escape quicky.
Pope finally comes out of his coma that he was put in so long ago when he was shut up, much to the happiness of Em and Terra. Marcus, annoyed when Zephyr doesn't pay attention to what he is saying, tells her he can do just about anything, but not to do that; apologizing, she asks what he said again. Asking her if there's anything he can do to help, Zephyr tells him no. She brings up how the government and military are being rebuilt here and are asking for experienced people like the team to head up certain divisions and help them, and that they want Zephyr to come see them later. Finally, after being tricked by Marcus, Zephyr tells him that it's hard to know Chad is dying and there's nothing she can do to help him.
During this, Katrina and Junior talk, and she tell him that she's still worried about him and that she never stopped caring. Junior reminds her of their differences and how it didn't work out - and how he didn't think at the time he could bare seeing her get old - and that there was a reason he wasn't reborn into this reality. When Katrina asks him why not, he tells her that partly it was due to not wanting to have this conversation, and the other is that one life is enough. After being asked why he came back at all then, he admits that he came back to protect her from Wind; when Katrina points out that Wind saved her life, he notes that while it's true, if he had his way, Katrina would be exactly the way he wanted her to be, not the way fate wanted. When asked what the real reason he didn't, Junior tells her the main reason is that he didn't want to her in his life anymore; that while he cared about her, he couldn't bare another lifetime of repeating the past. Katrina calls out that she's happy with her life and doesn't want to repeat the past, but Junior keeps walking away. After calling out if that's it, he just plans to go off and die alone, Junior says: "I'm not alone. You shouldn't be so arrogant about your own existence. You may be happy with who you are, but you're not the Katrina I knew, even if you have her memories." Katrina, after watching him go, softly says to herself that age was never the reason they never got together.
After escaping the base, those called forth by the government - Darien, Angela, Cheryl, Zephyr, Cassandra, and Setsuna - arrive to meet the President, being called in one by one to have talks with him. Darien, after going in first and coming out, tells Cassandra he bets they are going to offer her the job he turned down, having opted to take something else instead - PAX3, the new diplomatic station that will be set up in deep space amongst neutral space so that all the governments of the universe can easily access it and that it won't be tied to any one force. Once inside, Cassandra is asked to become the Supreme General of all of EarthGov's forces on the planet itself. Accepting it, Cassandra steps out while Angela is called in. Angela is given command of Janus, to roll into the army, and to help rebuild their fleet and weapons into better models and more powerful ones, and to restore Janus' tranished name. Before accepting, she asks what the weapons will be used for, and the President tells her for peace and defense, not only for Earth, but for everyone. She accepts.
As Junior wanders and broods, he finds Erevis wearing a volunteer outfit and holding turkey, pleased with herself. Xanatos pops up as well, surprising Erevis that he knew of this place and Junior calling him a stalker. After some bickering between Junior and Xanatos, Erevis asks Xanatos how Katrina is doing, to Junior's curiousity; Xanatos says she seems to be fine. All of them sit at a table while Junior and Xanatos exchange threats, mostly on Junior's end, and Erevis warily eyes them both, wondering if they will fight and ruin her turkey. Junior finally goes to leave and Xanatos apologizes to Erevis about what Katrina said, that it was done out of spite. When Junior asks what he means, Xanatos tells him it's none of his concern, angering him and making him walk off. Asking Xanatos to wait a moment, Erevis follows after Junior. When he mentions he is not sure why he is here, burdening those he wanted to forget him, and that no one seems to even care to stand up to Wind, Erevis tells him that they do not know him as they do, and that the power's grip on Wind will not easily deviate - one day something will make him lose faith again. Junior states that he doesn't have enough life in him to stop him, and Erevis agrees with him. Junior informs Erevis that she is worth being patient with and that she won't even lie to him to make him feel better; she agrees, saying that lying is dishonorable, even when it's for a good reason. She then gives his shoulder a squeeze and says to find peace. Junior tells her right now is the first moment he wishes he had more time. As Junior collapses, her giving him a sad smile. Erevis oversees the ambulance drive off as Xanatos wipes the crumbs of her turkey sandwich off his face. When asked if he will be okay, Erevis tells him that Junior will be dead within a few hours; when asked if she's okay with that, she says that Junior is a great person and the universe will be lesser without him, and that while she would like to have gotten to know him better because he was a straightforward person, she knows he was tired and wanted this, so she will be happy for him. Erevis turns to go and says that it is too bad that Xanatos will nor miss Junior; when Xanatos asks if she's going off to do more volunteer work, she tells him that they need aid in the capital, rescuing survivors from the traps there. After asking if he can come along, Erevis agrees.
Cheryl tells Ariel, Darien, Angela, and Zephyr that they have made her Supreme Admiral of the EarthGov Armada. Congratulating her sister, and telling Angela - who told others that she needed Zephyr's help - that she will see her about it tomorrow, that for now she has somewhere to be, going. Angela, while seeming sad at separating from Darien, listens as she asks Ariel what she plans to do - that he's sure the military would want to give her a position, too, seeing as they're asking all her kids. Before Darien can go further into why he asked Ariel that, or to promise Angela he won't break the bond, Cheryl is interrupted by a message that makes her jerk; they finally managed to get a ship out to the Dragoon Colony and there have been casualities. High ones. They all quickly rush off after her.
Elsewhere, Zephyr meets with Aya and Chad in the park as agreed. She tells him that they made her General of Special Operations. Suddenly, after offering her congratulations, Chad begins to twitch and convulse, collapsing to the ground. The scene fades on Zephyr screaming for someone to help her.
Session 235: ...It Was the Worst of Times
Chad is rushed into the hospital with Zephyr and Dias following - Zephyr on the verge of breaking down crying at the idea of losing Chad, saying it's too soon. The doctors roll him past the room with Junior, who also hangs between life and death, staring at his ceiling as his clock ticks down to 0. Sitting next to him, quietly peering at the floor, is Katrina McCormick. Rising to her feet, she tells him that she is sorry and that she will miss him, exiting the room and closing the door. As Junior wonders why he is there, foolishly trying to stop the machine, a voice speaks up that he's finally learning. Wind sits in the chair next to him.
At the dragoon colony, they see smoke rising from destroyed buildings. The people there, spotting Darien's uniform for EarthGov, cry out in relief and rush toward him for help. Searching around for clues and survivors, they discover a half-buried metallic object. Scanning it, Cheryl tells her it's a mine; meanwhile, Ariel chases after a person that keeps evading her on the hill nearby. Leading her down a hole, she falls down and discovers other trapped Alphas. They reveal they've been trapped for days after trying to help some humans. While they talk and the others search, someone begins to cover up the hole she fell through; Ariel weakly fires a plasma shot up the hole before it's fully covered.
Xanatos and Erevis, at the capital, are caught in a huge storm - the rain cold and freezing like icy needles. As Xanatos bemoans it, Erevis stands there, soaked to the bone, merely helping the survivors and saying nothing. As she works hard to find survivors against the freezing torrent, Xanatos is all jokes, checking under rocks and telling her that he can see her nipples since she wears no bras and that shirt is soaked. Walking off in anger, she leaves him behind and when hehe gets caught in some mud, he is unable to keep up.
The doctors tell Zephyr, Dias, and Katrina that Chad will be dead in the next few hours from the radiation poisoning. Katrina looks sad and moves to comfort Aya, talking to her in a kind tone, while Zephyr sits by Chad's bed. Joined by Marcus, who mistakes Katrina for Erevis, to her annoyance, they all begin to stand vigil. Zephyr makes Chad promise that he'll live and he does so.
A dog barfs on Xanatos that he saved. Setting the dog down and wiping at the vomit, it's killed a moment later by a falling brick; he surprisingly tells Erevis the truth, which she comforts him by saying he tried. Pausing, she senses three children in danger and hurries for their location. They find a building half submerged in water with the only noticeable entrance being the rooftop. Spotting a path of slippering bricks on the side of the wall that lead to the roof, Erevis points it out; the danger being that it's 2 stories up and falling into the torrent will be fatal. She quickly hurries up with Xanatos following. As he works his way up, he's slowed down by slipping, which saves his life when Erevis, further ahead, triggers a hidden Tsivrixsh trap that blows up the rooftop; knocked back into some mud , he's helpless but to watch the smoke rise for a moment.
Wind stands next to Junior's spirit, neither of them seen, as they watch Katrina talking to Chad. When asked what he is doing, Wind tells him that he merely wants to talk with him and that there is no one else there for him in his final hour. Retorting that Wind hardly seems like the person who would send him off to the next world, Junior watches as Wind changes them to where Angela and Seraphna are hurrying toward Ariel. Answering why not to his question, Wind casually trips Angela, stating he never really liked her. When Junior retorts on how 'benevolent' he is, Wind brings up the fact that Junior blew a hole in her hand when she tried to protect Spade. Junior, stating she could have moved the hand if he wanted, gets a similiar response back from Wind: Why isn't he moving his hand? Death is coming for him head on and he could move out of the way, but he won't. And so begins a series of exchanges and retorts:
Changing the scene again to the capital, where Xanatos lays in the mud with a bloody forehead and inside the building itself, Erevis - trapped under debris and rubble - is trapped in the rising water, the children terrified nearby. Peering at the scene, Junior states he would help them if he could - when Wind asks why he doesn't choose life and help them, they have another exchange:
Turning, Junior sees Billy standing there before him. Billy holds out her hands to Junior as Wind tells him that only Death would like him so much; turning away so he doesn't have to see it, Wind tells Junior that he will miss him. Junior tells him not to turn away, that he never said he wanted to die alone. "Maybe one day you'll understand why I'm not moving my hand--and maybe one day you'll understand that sometimes the best "God" is the one that stays his," Junior tells him as he takes Billy's hand and they step into the vortex.
Back at the Dragoon Colony, Cheryl and Angela join Darien as they look for the source of the flare, seeing no sign of anything. Ariel fires another shot into the hole above them after hearing they lost a few Alphas in the attack, angered; hearing the sound, the three begin to look around. When Ariel fires a third shot, it hits Darien up into the air. Angela catches him as Cheryl greets Ariel down the hole. Darien mutters, in pain, that this is likely some plan to get them out of the way - a diversion. After asking what they could possiblely want here, Ariel states there's only one thing she can think of - the Ark with her people. When Angela asks about it, she realizes that is what Xevil tortured Hotaru about and she died protecting. Since there was no data on the Ark stored here, they are left to wonder what Xevil will do next to get the information, and why he wants it.
Xanatos regains consciousness in the mud and quickly hurries to the building, shouting Erevis' name. Getting no answer, he desperately climbs up the side and finds the roof top gone. The debris from it now lines the bottom of the building where there is a lot of water rising from the storm. Carefully climbing down the inside wall, he finds Erevis bleeding from the head and pinned, submerged up to her neck now. The children, also pinned, have water up to their mouths as they cry in fear. As he heads for them, he shouts to Erevis to wake up, the building groaning around them from the storm. Xanatos works to get a heavy beam of wood off of them as Erevis finally awakens. The children scoot out after he lifts it enough for them to do, but the wall nearby shudders as the building groans again. Praying the wall holds, Xanatos works his way back to the shivering Erevis, who tells him he must get the children out of the building first - when he can't leave her there, then she tells him they will all die. When he mumbles he can't, she tells him he must and Xanatos nods, moving to do so. Getting the children onto his back, he tells her he loves her before climbing up with them. Parts of the wall break on his way up, so Xanatos uses a broken window for a quick way out. Setting them down at a safe location, he turns back to see the wall collapse. Sending up a flare, he runs back to the remains of the building.
Katrina informs Chad that he's a brave man as he lays dying, despite his protest to the different. Telling her that she's talking like he's going to die, Chad informs her he won't let his daughter grow up without a father. Katrina, telling him he believes her, jerks when his body convulses and flatlines, and she sadly lowers her head, whispering that he always did have to lie. At that moment, Wind appears - invisible to all - except the soul of Chad, who he speaks with. Stating that he could not keep his promise after all, Wind asked him did he ever really believe he could. Chad states not at first, but his perspective changed in the future timeline, when he saw his daughter grow up without a father, something she didn't deserve. Wind shares his pain, stating he knows what it is like as he looks at Katrina. They watch Katrina comforting Dias while Zephyr cries into Marcus' shoulder. Wind tells him that after this is over, she will forget her connection to him and Junior and the previous reality - that the power over reality is greater than one individual's will. And that he is here for one person - Chad. Their dialogue begins:
Chad suddenly jerks back awake, his body healed and vitals back. Katrina, surprised at seeing Chad alive, stands there while Zephyr grips him in a tight hug, crying in relief now. When Dias begins to proclaim Chad a zombie, Katrina knocks him out in one punch and tells them to continue their tender moment.
Xanatos, working on digging at the broken wall for ten minutes, while other volunteers watch, not having the heart to tell him it's useless, finally finds her submerged body, lifting her head up above the water. At first she doesn't move, until finally she touches his nose as she opens her eyes, going "I got you", referring back to when she pretended to have frozen to death in Season 6 after Xanatos miffed her and she acted as if they were locked outside to freeze. Apparantly, the way the wall fell, it created a pocket of air for her. Xanatos, relieved, holds her tight, telling her he really did get her; Erevis sneezes on him in response.
10-585.12.17
Those gathered at the cemetary watch Junior's casket slowly lower into the ground, mixed thoughts in their minds depending on the person. Some glad, some sad, some happy for good reasons unlike the glad ones, some confused. Darien looks down at the casket and announces that Garland would have been proud, and does a cross gesture with his hand. Katrina seeks out Xanatos, asking how he is and mentioning she has an assignment on PAX3 as a counselor. Xanatos tells her that is great, but to do him a favor and avoid planets with little aliens that want to capture her; Katrina pauses, then tells him she misses him. Xanatos looks at the ground, then her, and tells her that he missed her for a long time; when Katrina seems surprised, he tells her that he will always love her and that will never change. Katrina asks him to come to the PAX3, then, and that they could use him. When Xanatos says he is unsure what he wants to do with his life, Katrina asks what else is there but flying for him? When he says he is a crappy pilot these days, Katrina asks if he doesn't want to come because of her; giving her a look he tells her that's not true. Katrina says if that's the case, come and join the staff on PAX3. After studying her a moment, Xanatos tells her he doesn't think he'd be welcome on the station, as he's not very popular with people anymore. Asking him if he just plans to run away then, Xanatos counters with if it's right to force himself into people's lives that clearly don't want him. Looking hurt, Katrina turns to walk off, telling whatever and goodbye. Telling her he didn't remember her being so touchy, and hurries after her. Stepping in front of her, he asks her to wait a moment. When she tells him she thinks they've said everything that needs to be said, Xanatos begins to tell her that he's a terrible person and while she was gone things he did things. Katrina tells him if he'd rather stay on Earth with Erevis, then fine. Stopping her again, Xanatos explains that he didn't want this to happen, and that's why he's been avoiding her. That he wanted them to be okay. Shouting in anger, Katrina lets him know she knows what's coming, that she can feel his emotions. When Xanatos only lowers his head and says he knows, she shoves past him and tells him she hopes Erevis breaks his heart.
Elsewhere at the funeral, the group speak and debate what to do; Angela asking Red Fox to join her at Janus, Marcus trying to find a place for himself, when suddenly a delivery man arrives with packages for Dias, Terra, Marcus, Zephyr, Em, and Darien. When they open the packages, each one has a severed finger with a note saying: I'm keeping you all in my thoughts. See you all very soon. Zephyr, realizing the fingers belong to Hotaru's dead body, retches on the ground.
*summaries done by Death Star