S4E30: That Which Lingers

'The horror that was Paa-M912 far in the distance behind them, the Sayan Squad and what remains of the crew of the downed Vulture ''journey through the stars with Mr. Owl to try and get home. But the shadow of their collective nightmare still yet haunts them, hovering above their heads like a guillotine. They've spent a long time on that planet, and much has changed. Many friends have died, Captain Hood is still hunting for them, and to top it all off, The General now has the vile Dr. X under his command.'''

'''Unfortunately, there is little the rebels can do about it. Nothing to do except idle chat...but the ghosts of the past are not so easily exorcised.'''

Plot Summary
Two days had passed since the rebels managed to escape Paa-M912 aboard the newly-christened Storm. The Storm was a much smaller vessel compared to the Vulture, forcing the crew to live together in crampped quarters. They were able to convert a few rooms into makeshift bedrooms, but they were mostly used to house the injured. The majority of the rebels instead converted a large, circular room near the lower fore of the ship into a communal area.

In the days since leaving Paa, Vate had G Squadron overlook their Mimics to see if anything could be done about the damage, with additional help from the Arachni. After one such check, Ketsueki, Oneiros, and Arachnos returned to the communal area. Arachnos looked out the window into the swirling hyperspace tunnel, while Oneiros immeidately began creating Nihility effigies of current and former enemies, only to destroy them repeatedly. Ketsueki talked to Vate, reporting that there was little that could be done for the Mimics without tearing down the ship itself. Vate understood, and said that they just had to hope that the Mimics weren't required until they returned. Amadeus asked if the Mimics were still flyable in the case that combat becomes unavoidable,, to which Vate confirmed, though he added it would be best if it didn't come to that.

Ketsueki inquired as to the wherabouts of Saiyo, claiming to have found a target range and wanting to keep his promise about training her. Violetta replies that it wasn't their job to keep track of his girlfriend, to which Ketsueki immediately denied the allegation. Amadeus said that it was tactless to seem to care about only one of the crew in light of recent losses, and Ketsueki replied that there was not enough beer for him to deal with Amadeus' chastisements.

Violetta went on, saying that at least he still had his friend, and began to mourn the loss of the Vulture's captain. A somber atmosphere took hold of the communal area as friends were missed. They had lost not only the captain, but the chief medical officer as well, along with several of the other crewmen. Not only was this painful for those who had known the crew of the Vulture for a long time; it was also a practical loss. With the doctor dead, none of the crew could afford to get injured as much.

Violetta briefly recounted her own story, saying that the Vulture had become her home; and its crew her family. It was the first ship she served on since joining the Rebellion, and that its Captain did everythign in her power to make her fit in. At that point, it became too much and Violetta had to leave the room. Pete finished for her, adding that Violetta and the captain were practically like sisters from what he had seen. It seemed to help her a lot, as Pete heard rumors that Violetta was the only survivor of her world, period. Having her entire world taken from her twice was not something he felt he could fully grasp. A few members of G Squadron, however, winced at that remark. Paladin and Maria themselves had to leave the room as well.

The conversation shifted from their losses to their current situation. Not only were they down seveal numbers, but Captain Hood was still out there, looking for them. In addition, The General now had Dr. X under his command. Given that X was able to construct a flying city-fortress all by himself, there was no telling what sort of things he could create with The General's technolgy and vast resources. And, of course, there was still the matter of Cyem to worry about. They still had no way to counter his invulnerability generator; not until they returned to EAO17.

Oneiros reacted once Cyem was brought into the conversation. He suddenly remembered something, and went to confront Amadeus about it. He recalled how, back at the star port, Amadeus seemed to mutter certain things during the argument with Cyem. Things that sounded like he agreed with Cyem.

Amadeus said that, yes, he does agree with Cyem, in the sense of the point Cyem was trying to make. He pointed out that Cyem himself probably disagrees with The General, but added that just because you don't agree with something doesn't mean you can't understand it. The point Cyem was trying to make was that good and evil are simply words. No actions are inherently good or evil, as everyone is the hero of their own story. Not even gods are exempt from this, so the question then is who has the right to judge what is truly good and what is truly evil?

Amadeus even went so far as to claim that not even a monster like The General was inherently evil; as he honestly believed he was doing the Omniverse by resetting it. If one were so desperate, one who saw only nothing but endless suffering, he asked if it was truly "evil" to try and fix such a thing?

Amadeus' phrasings got the attention of the other Arachni. Arachnos asked Amadeus if he actually agreed with The General in addition to understanding his motives. Amadeus went quiet, and Arachnos immediately apologized for making such an allegation.

Several awkward minutes passed, and then Amadeus chillingly asked what Arachnos would have done if Amadeus answered with "yes." Stunned silence fell over the room, as Amafeus stood up and walked over to the Arachni. He seemed genuinely surprised that they didn't "know." He asked Vate if G Squadron ever told them, and Vate said no. Ketsueki added that he figured Wolfgang did. Amadeus himself apologized for not mentioning it at their first meeting, and asked the A Unit a series of questions until they came to the conclusion that Amadeus and The General hailed from the same homeworld, as they both fought the war since the very beginning. Both hailed from a world where humans aged much slower than anywhere else.

He then informed them that all members of High Command, including the Supreme Commander himself, also hailed from the same world. The very founders of the Rebellion who had done so centuries ago were still around, still leading RAG. In fact, when The General was still with Kizeki Corp., Amadeus and all the other members of High Command served under him. Oneiros asked if that meant the founders knew about The General's mad designs before he defected, leading Amadeus to reply that not only did they know about it, it was the entire reason they defected with him.

The former members of A Unit were stunned. They immediately demanded to know how Amadeus, or anyone, could possibly believe that the Omniverse should be reset. Amadeus went over to the window, and asked if everyone wanted to hear a story. He then began to recount a legend from his homeworld.

He told of a comet that struck the planet. One that, though it somehow did not scar the planet, poisoned it from within via a "secret evil." The comet carried with it a special form of crystal, one that could reshape reality when condensed tightly enough. In modern times, they were of course known by the name of Force Crystals. He told of a person who saw the potential in the Crystals and converted them into sixteen "Forces," which, when brought together, had the ability to completely rewrite reality. This person handed out the sixteen pieces to sixteen individuals, telling them that they should work together to create a better world. Amadeus concluded the legend by saying five hours later only one of the sixteen individuals remained.

Regardless of the truth of the legend, a deadly game plagued their homeworld. A fatal tournament carried out by the owners of the Forces with the prize of being able to have any wish they desire granted. Even those who meant well seemed to cause harm; such as the winner who wished for humans to live longer lives. The wish was granted, and resources became scarce. There was not enough food to go around, and in some sick way the deadliness of the games helped spread the resources around through the deaths of those caught in the crossfire.

And these tournaments had gone on for so long that they didn't have any actual historical record of its origins; only myths and legends. Eventually, one man stood up and said "enough." This man promised a small group of sufferers a new life, one of adventure, stability, and freedom from that awful place. This man would later be known as The General, and he was talking about joining Kizeki Corp. Desperate, Amadeus and the others eagerly followed him off-world, leaving their planet behind. Amadeus made clear that The General was not lying to them; at least not on purpose. The General himself had been lied to, and it was a lesson they all learned swiftly.

KizCo promised they would be peacekeepers. Instead they were no better than mercenaries, carrying out murders and suppressing resistance against Kizeki. A particular incident seemed to be the turning point; as it convinced everyone that for all the blood they had stained their hands with; all the evil they committed in Kizeki's name...some of it was ultimately for the best. In this case, Amadeus recounted a mission in which their groupw as sent to literally detonate an entire planet, killing the entire populace. However, given that the planet was infected with a mutagenic virus unleashed by the world's governments, one that slowly and agonizingly turned everyone into powerful monsters... There was no hope of recovery for the inhabitants. Once infected there was no cure. Destroying the planet not only removed them as a threat, but also acted as a form of mercy killing.

Amadeus claimed that this moment had them look at their previous actions in a different light. That some of the atrocities they committed were ultimately for the better. An Omniverse where mass suffering is the best option. Amadeus described it as "filthy." The General tried to convince Kizeki into using her powers to undo everything so that the Omniverse could start again, but of course she refused. The moment The General returned from that meeting, he spoke of mutiny without hesitation. If the gods would not help them, they would do it themselves.

And thus they did. They defected from Kizeki Corp, stealing an entire division of the KizCo navy. Kizeki, believing The General to just be insane, severely underestimated them, allowing them to get away and remain a step ahead of her. Eventually Kizeki gave up on pursuing them, her own tech already outdating what they stole. Of course, The General was able to upgrade his own forces, and the fleet they escaped with later became known as Alpha Fleet.

They then began their own campaign, conquering thousands of worlds to build up their forces. One campaign, however, ended in total disaster. One project of The General's (identified as "Top-Secret" by Amadeus and implied to be Null) went so horrendously wrong The General was forced to waste most of his resources trying to terminate it. At that moment, Amadeus theorized, something must have snapped. Their numbers severely cut down, The General did the one thing he promised he would never do: he took them back home. But as conquerors and exterminators. The General sought out the Force Crystals that might have remained on the world, and even if he found none he would turn the planet into his central headquarters.

That was another thing The General said he would never do. When they were still with Kizeki Corp., Amadeus said they he used her resources to seek out and destroy the origin of the Force Crystals. He was successful, but since their massive loss, he began to seek out their remnants to rebuild.

Amadeus and several others refused to participate in his campaign, and fled. Even if they absolutely despised their homeworld, they felt that going against everything they departed that planet for was a line they couldn't cross. The promise of resetting the Omnverse and erasing everything no longer justified their actions in their eyes, and they began linking up with resistance groups from around the Multiverse. Using their own inner knowledge and stolen technology from The General, they unified the opposition into RAG (it was suggested that their defection is what inspired The General into desigining the Conscription Machines).

By this point, even those who knew Amadeus' secret were intrigued; they had not known it on this level of detail. Amadeus concluded his story by saying that while he and the other founders of the Rebellion now fight against their former boss abd to repent for their past sins... not a single one of them ever let go of the original sentiment. Were there a bloodless way to reset the Omniverse, Amadeus believed that the A Unit and most of the rebels would be fighting against RAG instead.

Olyn then inquired about G Squadron's own history. Vate started by explaining to everyone what a Milletian is: immortals bound to a realm known as the "Soul Stream." It grants them resurrective immortality. When a Milletian dies, their soul travels through the stream, either to their old body or into a new one if the old one was beyond saving, respawining in their native world.

This side-tracked the conversation as the question of Aurion came up. If Equu-M417 did not have a soul stream, did that potentially mean he was in fact still alive, but in their old Gensokyo? Vate confirmed that he wondered about that possibility himself, but never said anythng as he didn't want to get Paladin or Maria's hopes up. Amadeus promised to send a scout party to look for him once the Sayan crisis was taken care of.

The topic returned to Vate's story. Their world, Erinn, was full of Milletians. Full of immortals. The General attacked Erinn and slaughtered the entire planet to test out a wepon designed kill immortals. In addition, a single battleship was able to slay two gods at once.

The room was shocked into silence. That an entire planet's population would be slaughtered in the name of a weapons test was too monstrous for most to even comprehend. Arachnos wondered what the Head was even for if a single ship could kill gods. Amadeus responded by saying that the Head is capable of killing Elder Gods, and could step on lesser gods like they were ants.

Ketsueki also reminiesced, claiming to relate to seeing the entire sky literally covered with The General's warships. Kazoku related to Ketsueki, since they were both Japanese. Though Kazoku came from a Japan still stuck in the feudal era, and he was not sure why The General even attacked his world. He wondered if it might have been the more technologically-advanced China, where Qiang hailed from, much to Ketsueki's surprise.

Oneiros was still curious how they managed to even escape the Head if it had the kind of firepower Amadeus suggested. Their "guardian" was brought up, saying that it could only be an Omniverse-level deity, though its identity was still a mystery. Even if it registered as being Anathemus, the Anathemites insisted that that was impossible due to the Dark One's clear and explicit hatred for them.

The discussion of everyone's unique histories amused Amadeus, who said it confirms to him that he made the right choice in choosing to fight against The General. Though every single person in the room had their own unique story, coming from their own unique worlds, different universes entirely, even, they were all unified through tragedy brought on by a single man.

He saluted them all, saying that if they don't make it back to EAO17, he was proud to serve alongside them all, for better or for worse. His salute was returned, the mysterious "guardian" was thanked, and the episode closed out.

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening Theme - Main Theme (Sonic: Time Attacked)
 * 2) Stuck in Space - Aliens, Say Your Prayers! (2013 Remix)
 * 3) A Cold Truth - Fate: Deep-Seated Grudge (Rockman ZX Tunes)
 * 4) Babel Tower (Rockman ZX Tunes)
 * 5) Triple Zero - Lenore (Nox Arcana)
 * 6) Blood of the Unkillable - NPC DragonKnight (Ruairi) (Mabinogi G18 The Drama: IRIA)
 * 7) Ending Theme - Diggy Diggy Hole (Metal Cover)

Trivia

 * This was the first episode to be run on the new Friday schedule.
 * Following the re-write of the outline for the "Planet of Shadows" miniarc, which resulted in a much bigger climax in The Other Side, Part 2, SDM decided that a breather episode was needed between this episode and the next one, Invasion. As such he requested everyone partake in another episode not unlike the first part of Beyond the Stars.
 * An entire second half of this episode was cut. The missing segments will instead be relegated to solos.
 * The use of Fate - Deep-Seated Grudge was a long time coming. SDM had been planning to use it ever since giving The General Babel Tower as a theme. At one point it was even to be used as a character theme for Vlad. However, once Vlad was settled with simply Fate, SDM began looking for a place to use it. He believed he finally found an opprotunity when presented with the option of giving Amadeus' backstory an unsettling opening.
 * Amadeus' history as a former member of The General's army is explained to the A Unit for the first time in the series. Additionally, his backstory, first touched upon in Base Lounge III, is fully revealed for the first time in-canon.
 * Aurion's backstory for the Erinn members of G Squadron, which had been on the books for a long time, is finally revealed.
 * This episode had a non-traditional closing theme. When it was decided to close the episode early, SDM decided to end on a positive note, and so had Amadeus salute everyone and talk about their shared histories. He felt it would be appropriate for the ending theme to reflect this moment, and so found an instrumental cover of the Yogscast's Diggy Diggy Hole.
 * This is a direct reference to the song parody by Arachnos, who rewrote it into an unofficial anthem for the Rebellion. A similar event happened with Revenge and the "End of the Dream."